Letter Collection B:

My dearest Lia, what have I gotten myself into this time? I will start from the beginning, best as I can, but it all seems such a jumble in my mind! I woke in a strange bed, uncertain of where I was or how I got there. The last thing I could remember was Lawrence kissing me, late at night, before he began his shift with the treasure. He went to touch the back of my ear, I remember those skilled fingers sliding so tenderly through my hair…

A woman was waiting for me to rise. She attended a bath for me, and bade me to wear a set of beautifully crafted if not a bit sheer silken robes. Perhaps similar to those worn in the harem, though a tad more modest. She took me down long marble arched hallways to a dining room, a table set with a feast fit for a queen! And none other was presiding over it than Lawrence himself, smiling like a cat who licked the cream. Nicked, more like it.

"Nefret, my love, you're finally awake," he said, as though I'd only been taking a casual little nap and he had nothing to do with it. He gestured for me to sit next to him on the cushions, the seat of honor for a prized woman.

"Lawrence, what have you done? If Lawrence is indeed your real name."

Still pleased, Lawrence leaned back, popping a bite of delicious smelling food in his mouth, and bidding me to do the same. Because I did not think he meant me harm (and I was absolutely famished!) I did partake of a spiced tidbit of lamb. "Actually, it really is my name, and is one of the very few truths you know about me. Something we will happily remedy, if you wish."

By the look in his eyes, I knew he knew I wished.

"So, was Ramses right? Are you really a thief? I know you didn't just infiltrate our family for me?"

"Ramses did figure it out, did he? Clever bastard. Yes, I am a thief. A prince of thieves, if you will, your family has been acquainted with my father for some time now, actually. Particularly your Aunt Amelia."

My eyebrows show for the roof. "You are Sethos' son?"

"Indeed. And I will say that had I only made off with you, the heist would still have been my most valuable feat."

"But that's not the case, is it?"

"I'm afraid not."

"The treasure?"

"All gone."

"The professor will throttle you if he ever gets a hold of you," I stated matter of factly. Not as a threat, but it was indeed the truth of the matter.

"Perhaps. So would ramses. Neither of which amounted to enough of a deterrent to keep me from you, I'm afraid."

"Why--why like this?"

"Would you have agreed to run off with me, had I asked politely? I told you, you make me want to do the most ungentlemanly things."

"It's funny how similar this situation smacks to a tale a generation older than ours. Is this form of courtship genetic?"

Lawrence laughed, delighted by our banter. "This is in fact my father's house. I think our situation rang so similar to the tune of his own unrequited love story, that he agreed to aid me. No direct planning, mind you, that's all on me. He hasn't broken that little promise of his to Amelia."

"Sethos still loves Amelia." I wasn't exactly asking.

"Madly. Truly. Always, I think. He never loved my own mother that way."

"Do you resent that?"

Lawrence pursed his lips, and I knew he would give me an honest answer. "Perhaps in a small, irrational part of my brain. But then again, you didn't know my mother. I know why he chose Amelia over her, even if that love was doomed to forever go unreturned."

"It is a tragic story, isn't it? Something fit for the books. If aunt Amelia were married to a man less worthy than the Professor, I would even say it a story still worthy of some intervention."

Mischievously, Lawrence asked, "Are you so sure its still not? I would love to have her as a Mother in Law, you know."

And I scolded him, "Amelia would never succumb to your father."

"Perhaps, though the effects of prolonged exposure can be strangely moving."

"I believe you are referring to Stockholm syndrome. And this is your plan with me?"

"Not at all, my dear. I'm already at a great advantage."

"Are you now? And why is that?"

"Because, my sweet. You know and I know that you already like me. That's half the battle."

I feared he was right, Lia! I feared it , yet felt so compelled to play with fire at that moment. I almost think I partly wanted him at that moment, just because I could. We sat and bantered for quite a bit longer, a considerable amount of the night, eating and drinking and laughing together as no jailor and captive should. After a while he stood, offering me a hand to do the same. "Come for a walk with me?"

I could think of no reason to refuse. And he laced his fingers in mine, and we walked like that the whole way, and I could think of no reason to refuse that either. "So, you've never been to Calcutta, or seen Shanghai?" I asked, as we drew to a stop near a lotus filled pond.

"I have, actually." he corrected. "I've done quite a bit of traveling, of my own accord. Getting a feel for new markets, as it were."

"My, you are being honest tonight."

"I told you I would."

And then he kissed the back of my neck, sweeping my hair aside like a curtain, and my knees nearly gave out from under me. But his arm around my waist wouldn't stand for that. The garden was so beautiful, and Lawrence such a --a surprising comfort at my back. "I really liked you you know." I divulged with a sigh.

"Is there any reason why you still cannot?" asked Lawrence, obviously amused by my moral dilemma. Perhaps something he rarely suffered from. His lips moved down to graze my neck, and my senses went all a jumble.

"It seems there are a great many, in recent light."

He chuckled (damn him!) and the sensation so close against my skin sent a shiver down my spine. "I may be a thief, my love, but it enables me to treat you as you well deserve, like a queen."

I fought not to melt, Lia! Valiantly, but I was afraid I was losing the battle. "I have my own fortune, you know." I reminded him, turning in his arms. "I don't need you, or any man, to take care of me."

Lawrence smiled a self deriding grin. "I know that, Nefret, though it doesn't make me want to care for you any less." And with no warning, he ducked down, crashing over me with a kiss that left very little of my mouth unknown to him. It fogged my senses, and took quite some time for me to break away.

"Do you always just take what you want?" I demanded, breathless.

"But Nefret," he said with that infuriating smirk, and not the slightest bit of shame. "As I recall, it was you who wanted me to do something ungentlemanly. And so now you have it, the grandest act of caddery!"

I narrowed my eyes at him, but in the face of his good humor it couldn't last for long. The truth was that he wasn't a cad. This almost would have been easier if he simply were. But it was far worse. It seemed Lawrence was deeply, irrevocably, desperately in love. With me.

I knew Ramses and Aunt Amelia and the Professor must have been worried sick about me, and there I was, Lia, thinking maybe I can stay, just for a little while.