March 23rd, 1925

Dearest Betty,

I feel fully vindicated. I should warn you, this may grow long, as I've much to tell.

I have followed Thomas Jefferson's advice and determined I shall not be idle. Not that I've been particularly idle with my travels, but primarily when left to myself I've spent it reading rather than doing. This afternoon I resolved I was done with idling. 

Sending Mary on an entirely superflous errand that would keep her from the rooms for several hours, I retraced my drunken tipsy steps last night, donning my night gown again. I lighted candles, read out the words to the "bind cat" spell, and once again, nothing happened. Well, not nothing, as then I conversed with Moza, but no magical sign was given.

You see, I figured if I tried it again while wholly sober in the glare of daylight, then I couldn't possibly be imagining it, and it did so feel true before. Fortunately, I was not losing my mind again. Moza had conversed with Neris who would attend me later that afternoon. We conversed a bit, although his mind seems rather singly attuned to his stomach, so I can't call it particularly witty conversation.

At any rate, then I was terribly excited and spent the rest of the afternoon waiting on Neris's arrival. I half expected her to climb in through the window as a cat and transform before me, but my imagination had once more run wild. At precisely 6:07pm there was a knock on the door and I let her in.

Neris is a beautiful young woman, made even more beautiful I think by the knowledge she carries. Her mind is quick and that olive skin of the natives here gives her exotic features a beautiful glow. Were it not for her abnormally slanted eyes, she would be quite the hit in society.

Neris assured me the scrolls were safe where they once again belonged. I asked for assurances on that, and she confided that she is a Priestess of Bast- an Egyptian goddess. We got to talking and I asked if there was anything that could be done to help myself and companions in the upcoming New Moon. I think that was about when things went beyond the normal. Or perhaps it was what followed.

Regardless, its difficult to recount this part. Before Neris would help me, she insisted that she must get Bast's permission, which apparently, she could do right there in my room. We cleared the room of furniture as best we could and Neris began chanting and then... Then I had a conversation with a goddess.

I realise that when the others said they'd done similar, I scoffed. I even wondered at their sanity. I'm still not convinced at what happened to them, but I will tell you, if you ever have the... pleasure is definitely the wrong word... the experience of meeting a god, you will know it.

It was dark, there were cats, and a mighty presence. I will say I believe I did myself and Searle proud, not simply crumbling at the demands Bast made. I bartered and checked the terms and conditions as he would have done before accepting the mantle she offered/required for her help. She asked if I would sing her songs, but as you know I am not the most accomplished singer by any stretch of the imagination. So we bartered, and I said I would do my best, a certain hedge that I have no doubt will completely ignored should Bast will it.

Bast won't intervene on our behalf directly, although promised Neris would teach me some oblique manners of protection. She cautioned me that we were likely to die in the upcoming New Moon, which chilled my blood, but she made me promise to try to stay alive. In truth, that particular thread did not feel like much a bargain and her words left me shaking. When something larger than yourself expresses the desire to play with your soul, you do not argue too glibly.

In the end, I was relieved when she went, although burdened by my new station in life. I am a Priestess now, can you imagine? I may not have been the most religiously pious before, but I assure you, I will be keeping my obligations to Bast with a fervor I never felt before. Meeting your god will certainly be a converting experience.

I spent the rest of the evening conversing and learning from Neris. In the wee hours of the night, we fell asleep and it was nearly dawn when there was a racket at my door. I will admit to being rather frightened that Bast had returned to tear my throat out, but upon opening the door all I found was a thoroughly intoxicated Louis who stumbled in, made vague noises, and passed out on my floor. I covered him with a blanket and returned to my room in time to catch Neris leaving by the window. The manner in which she escaped made me feel as if we were lovers nearly caught. What an idea! But somehow I'm not ready to confess my new allegiance to those here. Writing it to you doesn't have the finality that saying it outloud would, so I think for now I shall keep it to myself.

Fearing for the state of my carpet, Mary and I dragged Louis to the bathroom, dumped him into the tub, and woke him with a pail of water. He was not impressed, but I did manage to get him cleaned eventually while waiting on breakfast.

Louis had no interest in breakfast, and confessed the result of his evening with Violet to me. It appears he broached the subject of their relationship and she envisaged her life as it is. Violet doesn't feel she can do the society thing, nor did she have any interest in stopping in her current career. To Louis that clearly meant there could be no help but to keep their relationship quiet, and Violet wasn't particularly impressed by that idea either.

Frankly, from the way he said it, I could hardly believe Violet sat through the whole thing without slapping him. Here we are in 1925, women even having the right to vote, and Louis is speaking to her as if he will have full control of her life and she would have to do everything he asks to have a relationship with her. I let him know precisely how badly he'd erred in his discussions with her.

In his defence, I don't believe Louis ever thought that one could have someone who was not merely a society wife. Louis had no idea that Father had been grooming Searle and I to carry on as a couple the way he and Mother had. I've put the notion in his head that she might still find some employment that would be suitable for the family as well as her ambition into his head and hopefully he has not entirely ruined their prospects as a couple.

Nevertheless, I doubt he shall have time to square things with her before we must act on the New Moon. It is tomorrow night, and today we shall travel out to enjoy a late night picnic by the pyramids. The pretense is a complete falsehood, but a necessary deception to confirm our suspicions about the Clive Expedition.

I hope to have more concrete answers on that front soon. In the meantime, I shall be following Moza's lead and spending my afternoon napping.

Your tired friend,

Rose

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