[sylvanSpider]

Benjamin forced a smile as other, less pleasant, thoughts bubbled to the surface of the recesses of his mind, forcing themselves into his consciousness. Dorothea had never met his parents. Hells, his parents never even heard of Dorothea. They never saw his posts go out; they never saw hers come in. He collected the letters before his father picked it up and he went to the office himself to send them out. Only under the guise of wealth could he have ever brought her to his parents as he was about to do with this complete stranger.

"They will believe it," he finally said with a smile, "They've been suspecting that I may have found someone for quite some time, and they have been encouraging me to pursue a wife." As he spoke, he couldn't help but remember that he was back in a world where his beloved had loved him, where she still wrote to him faithfully. Where he could still write to her faithfully. He nodded, looking at her grimly "Let's hope that that is the reason you and I ended up here. And don't forget." He chuckled "My parents might find it a bit...disconcerting."