20He lay, shivering on his side under the blankets where Adeline had arranged him. She seated herself at the foot of his bed.
“Withdrawal can be a b***h,” she offered sympathy. “You feel feverish?”
“Yes . . .” Alexei buried his face in the cool of the pillow.
“Want some sherry? Or a cigarette? Might take the edge off,” she suggested.
“No . . .”
“Lancaster seems like a pretty decent guy, huh?” she tried making conversation.
“Except for the whole . . . wanting to study me thing . . .” Alexei groaned.
“Yeah, well, nobody’s perfect.”
“He has . . . a nice family.”
“Let’s not start that again,” she lay down on her back, hands behind her head.
“It just made me think . . . something I hadn’t really realized . . .”
“How babies are made?”
“No . . . just that . . . I could do that. I coul
