I told my own voice on the message machine that I'd be back by five.

"Understand this," he told her, his voice cold and hard.

"You are too kind," she told him, her voice free of hostility.

"My lord will be with you presently," she told him, her voice cold and level.

"It cannot speak to those without a name, young man," she told him, her voice low and musical.

"You have thirty seconds to start talking," he told her, his voice low and intense.

"Release me," the old man told her suddenly, his voice so deep and firm that it surprised himself.

'You might make a mistake one day,' she told him, her voice still cold.

"I want you again," he told me, his voice low and rough.