That's the limit for this old man. But you two girls go ahead. I think I just might take a nap."Emily and I chatted incessantly on the ride. I couldn'...t help myself from asking how she got hooked on cocaine."Well, Annie, I couldn't keep losing enough weight to suit the modeling agencies. Diet pills, laxatives, Dexatrim and starving myself no longer did the trick. My agent suggested the cocaine. It does really help burn it off. When you smoke crack, food is the last thing on your mind. You could. "Yeah. You, too?" Yes." Susan was afraid you'd be so put out by my showing up here and revealing myself to you that you'd just turn around and fly back to California." She has an exaggerated view of how fragile her mother is." Well, I think she was pretty sure you'd still come to Baltimore, but she told me that, if necessary, she'd put you up in a hotel close to Dan's house if you didn't want to face me again when we got back on Thursday." Really? I don't think I've ever fully comprehended how. Is that it?" The wizard shrugged. "Hey, who killed that shade?" I gritted my teeth. "We both did, but you created it in the first place. But I get your point." I closed my eyes in annoyance, and uttered a word of Power to draw Merlin's sperm straight to my fertile ova. The Curse used to do that as soon as sperm entered my pussy, but now I had to choose to get pregnant. Again. The first time I got laid after being Curse-free. Merlin patted me on the shoulder. "Thank you,. At least Billy would be here too. That helped.Leanna gave up on the idea of reading and went to her room. The candle at her bedside was all the light she needed as she undressed and washed her face at the basin. Grandfather had installed indoor plumbing - mostly for her, but he loved new gadgets and innovations. She was thrilled to have running water in the kitchen and a privy in the house.Pulling a nightgown from the drawer, she turned towards her bed. Without thinking, she opened the window.