Beirut, Lebanon

22 August 1941

Dear Alice,

I'm so thankful that I did walk into the diner before shipping out to Queensland. Your letters and friendship have made everything so much easier to deal with in this war.

Miss Spitfire, as you call her, is a little deviant; she's taken to stealing my socks in order to form a little nest of her own - normally this wouldn't be a problem, but when she does it right before guard duty it can be a little frustrating.

(She's so damned cute, though, I can't stay mad at her.)

What are you studying in school this term? Any gory details I can share with the boys (and gross them out so they leave me alone about your letters?) How's Rufus and the diner?

I bet those dinner table case discussions get pretty interesting, especially if it's Miss Fisher and Superintendent Robinson bantering back and forth; we could always tell if she was in at the office - you either heard her car peeling around the corner or smelled her perfume. Always such a whirlwind of a person, isn't she?

I'm glad Clara has a beau worthy of her, everyone deserves happiness in my opinion. If you think wedding bells are in her future, does that mean there might be pictures of you in a pretty dress? And as for Edith, maybe she's making noise about a potential beau for you because she doesn't want you to be lonely? Or perhaps she wants to find someone and takes comfort in going out with a friend as well? You know her better than I do, for sure, so I think I'll leave this in your very capable hands.

(But yes, I do believe in waiting for a good partner to come along - while also having fun doing the waiting since it helps you figure out just exactly what you'd actually enjoy having in a partner.)

If I have space or time to cook for you, then yes, you can sample my cooking. It's not fancy, but it's good and always reminds me of my mother whenever I do cook. (And don't tell my sister, Vera, I'm pretty sure I cook better than her, but she'd probably sock me for saying so.)

Thank you for the biscuits, they were a very welcome treat (that I had to hide from the boys - I think we're all a touch homesick), and I don't mind the burnt ones at all. Any others you wish to send our way are going to be thoroughly enjoyed (by me, and hopefully won't get knicked by the boys.)

The delve into Pride & Prejudice is going well! With guard duties on rotation, I have a lot more free time than before, so I'm making a lot of progress with the book. I'm about halfway or so; met the stiff Mr. Collins (poor Lizzie, but Charlotte seems perfectly capable of handling her husband), I'm up to the part where Lizzie goes to visit Charlotte and Mr. Collins.

And thank you, my dear friend, Alice, for the sketchbook. I'd picked up another lined journal for putting down my thoughts since I'm already close to filling up the one you gave me but hadn't thought to pick out a blank one for drawings. I will still include some in the letters since you liked them - it's very soothing to do them, and it also kind of gives you a glimpse of what I see over here.

I don't know when or if we'll get leave to come home any time soon, but if I do find out, you'll be the first to know (well, after Mum, of course.) I have so much I want to tell you about what I've seen and experienced that can't go into letters without fear of them getting blacked out, and I certainly miss home.

Until the next letter, your friend,

Matthew