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Lara paused in front of a large display window, admiring a pair of combat boots. She kept her wardrobe well-stocked, including footwear and accessories, after all she never knew when she returned from her latest adventure with an outfit ready to be thrown out due to stains, tears and general abuse from the elements and unexpected challenges. But still, still… despite knowing she didn’t need the boots, they were tempting. It wasn’t often that she found herself in London, just running errands, nothing too urgent, not actively on a hunt for clues about an interesting site or artefact… Well, no, she did have a few sources to check, but really, they might lead nowhere, it was just idle curiosity. Now, as for the boots-
“Lara? Is… is that you?”
Lara knew the voice, very well even, but she couldn’t place it. She blinked in confusion and turned to the speaker.
A man, mid to late thirties, well dressed and clean shaven, light brown hair combed back from his square, inoffensive face. She knew the face, yet it still took her a second.
“Philip?”
“Yes, yes Lara, it’s me! I can’t believe it, it has been so long,” he laughed in surprise, shaking his head.
“About fifteen years,” Lara agreed, unsure of her own reaction. She didn’t… mind Philip’s presence, she never particularly had. That was, as long as they were just acquaintances, just friends. Their parents had seen it differently though, and the way it had all ended left Lara and Philip unlikely to keep in touch…
I t would be rude to just wave him off and leave though. He didn’t exactly deserve that.
“Fifteen years?” Philip wondered with a smile, “how the time flies.”
Lara hummed, allowing a little smile to play on her lips as she crossed her arms and asked: “So what is the Earl of Farringdon doing here, taking a walk through London?”
“I had a few errands to run. Well, I didn’t need to,” Philip laughed, “but I did welcome a bit of exercise, being out of my office for a moment.” Right, someone spending most of his time in cushy chairs would call this an exercise, wouldn’t he? “And you?”
“Quite the same, actually,” Lara shrugged, “just some errands.”
Philip nodded. “Do you… still live in the mansion you aunt left you?”
“Yes,” Lara answered. Ah, now she should ask something polite and inconsequential back. “And what of your company, faring well?”
“Yes, thank you. I would talk about our new investments but… I remember you were never quite interested in those things.”
“You remember well,” Lara said. A stilted, awkward conversation. The type she had thought she was capable of leaving at any moment, as she had little patience for almost anyone – almost anyone save a few people in her life. But there was still the faint feeling that she owed it to Philip. They used to get along well.
“Well, I’m not quite done with all my errands, but they can wait for a bit, if you’d feel like… getting a coffee maybe? Catch up?” Philip proposed. No, no, she would rather not use the word proposed in relation to Philip. Offered. Should she accept? She wasn’t in a hurry.
“Why not?” Lara breathed out, not sure if she was telling it to him or to herself. Why not indeed. They were mature adults, they could really just… catch up.
Not five minutes later, they were seated in a nearby café, placing their orders. When the waitress left, they lapsed into a short bout of silence until Philip spoke up again:
“I have heard about the… ah, the troubles with law you had a few years back. I’m glad you were found innocent.”
“Glad I was found innocent?” Lara raised an eyebrow at the wording. “It sounds like you are not sure if I am.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean that,” Philip said hastily, “I couldn’t imagine you would kill the professor, no matter how… tumultuous your relationship was.”
“Well now it just sounds like you believe I would be able to kill, just not him specifically,” Lara accused him in a neutral tone. When Philip started opening his mouth, she smirked, finally making it clear she was teasing him.
He paused, noticing her expression. “Ah, hilarious,” he gave her a wry smile. Then he inclined his head, looking pensive, and gave her a side eye. “Although… yes, I would believe that.” There was a joking tone in his voice, but also something else, a little more serious than that.
“Hmm,” Lara leaned her chin on the back of her hand. “I can neither confirm nor deny.”
“Naturally,” Philip responded easily.
“Not many people would believe that,” Lara continued the topic, not sure why, “not those who only knew me… back then.”
“Then they weren’t looking well enough,” Philip shrugged but before he could elaborate, their orders arrived. They thanked the waitress and both took a sip of their beverage, enjoying the taste and the warmth.
“You have always had that spark in you that should intimidate anyone in your way,” Philip said at length, his eyes a little unfocused as he was remembering.
“There is a little bit of difference between intimidation and what you believe me capable of doing,” Lara pointed out. “Although I appreciate the observation.” Most people had been supremely deaf to her distaste of the situations she routinely used to find herself in, among the aristocracy.
“I am merely extrapolating, I feel like I haven’t been present for your… wildest years.”
“I assure you those are still going on,” Lara grinned and took another sip.
Philip snorted. “I believe so.” He fell silent for a moment. “Do you remember… when you convinced me to climb onto the roof of your parents’ manor?” He laughed. “I can’t believe I agreed to that, we were just children!”
“Maybe because we were just children,” Lara shrugged. “I have a feeling I would have much harder time convincing you now.”
“You would!” Philip said emphatically, still smiling. “But the craving to climb roofs probably hasn’t become any lesser for you, has it?”
“Definitely not,” Lara shook her head, amused. “And your craving for exciting business deals?”
Philip huffed out a laugh. “ Well, you’re not wrong. I have always enjoyed listening to my father talking about his work, and I enjoy running the family business myself.”
“Hardly a surprise then,” Lara murmured into her tea.
“Just as the tea you ordered, same as all those years ago,” Philip teased.
“And you?” Lara set her cup down. “The same coffee, down to the number of sugar cubes.”
“Why change perfection?” Philip saluted with his cup, making Lara laugh at last.
“And still enjoying pruning fruit trees in your orchard?” she asked.
“Still creating intricate embroideries on lazy evenings?” he threw back.
They stifled their laughs so they wouldn’t bother the other patrons. After they calmed down, it was Philip who spoke first:
“Despite leaving your parents and pursuing a life of… reckless adventuring… you haven’t really changed much, have you?”
“In the eyes of many, I have. But as you said, they haven’t been looking. I merely realized what I had always been.” Lara smirked lightly. “And you are as you have always been as well.”
“I am a little wiser at least, I hope,” Philip shrugged. “Back then I thought our differences wouldn’t pose a problem for our life together.”
Ah, here it was, finally a mention of the thing . But maybe not in the way Lara had feared. “Do you mean to tell me that you now agree with my decision to annul our engagement?”
“It took me many years,” Philip sighed self-deprecatingly, “but yes, I can say it now with conviction.”
“That’s a relief,” Lara said simply, but with absolute sincerity. At least from now on if they ever met again, she wouldn’t have to worry about that uncomfortable topic.
“It was quite a burden to finally be rid off,” Philip breathed out. “Maybe with that over, we can rekindle our friendship at least?” he offered tentatively.
“I don’t have much time to sit around in cafés – or the desire for it, most of the time,” Lara sipped at her tea, good but nowhere near comparable to Winston’s, “but I wouldn’t be opposed to your company if the opportunity arose.”
“That’s good enough for me,” Philip agreed. “At least it seems we don’t have as much to catch up on. You are an adventurer as you have always been, I am a businessman like I have always intended… our hobbies seem to be the same as back then…”
Lara hummed in agreement and finally started on her chosen dessert, a slice of blueberry pie. “I am sure there had been some changes, but it is funny how much have stayed the sa-” she blinked. “Philip?” He was staring at her now in clear surprise. “Is something wrong?”
He shook his head to clear his mind. “No, it is just...” he gestured vaguely towards her. “Blueberries? You were never much of a fan, if I remember...”
“I… was not...” Lara said slowly, thinking back. “But I don’t mind them now.” Out of curiosity, she took a better look at Philip’s dessert. A chocolate cake with chocolate icing.
“And I don’t remember you ever liking chocolate to such extent. Some icing, maybe, or chocolate chips, but a cake so full of cocoa? You would complain that it is too much.”
“I suppose you’re right,” he looked down at his dessert, picked up a spoon and cut off a bit. “I’ve taken a liking to it since then.” He then ate the mouthful with a content smile.
“I say, Philip,” Lara gasped in mock offense. “I used to know you – I thought I knew you, but this?”
“And you?” he pointed at her pie. “It’s like you’re a different person now!”
They pursed their lips to avoid a burst of laughter. It took over ten seconds before they were sure one wouldn’t cause the other to descend into a laughing fit. Finally Lara took a deep breath, let it out and stated:
“I suppose we have some important things to learn of each other yet.”
Philip nodded gravely. “ Important things indeed.”