The diamond was never recovered, and the Duke died without an heir, his line extinguished. It resurfaced a decade later in the collection of a rich si...k merchant named Eonimier Lithwelian. The merchant refused to say how he got it, except that he bought it from a trusted client who needed gold. There was nothing to tie him to the original theft, but the odium of the bloodshed surrounding its disappearance clung to the merchant, and many of the noble houses refused to do business with him. He. Consciousness began to sweep in as my thoughts settled on the remembrance of the perfect first kiss I had shared with him in the lake. Reality crept into my thoughts as I felt Raphael’s body against me, his breath on my neck, and his hand playing in my hair. I couldn’t have been any happier there if I had tried. As Raphael noticed that I had begun to awaken, I rolled slightly to look him in the eye and see the grin on his face. I could tell he was just as happy as I was. He kissed me on the. Right now Brian needed a bathroom immediately. Turning at the end of the corridor, the basketball player finally got to his destination."Oh shit! What do I do now?" Brian said, speaking out loud. There was a sign on the men's room door that said out of order. Brian had to think fast, something he wasn't accustomed to. Looking at his watch, he noted the time was just past 8:30 p.m. The mall would be closing in less than thirty minutes. And the nearest store bathroom had to be a five-minute walk.. “I do hope that there are no further complications, my dear. If other changes arise, there may be consequences for you that you might not like. I do not like the consequences with which I must deal, and do not wish you to share in them!”Julie looked very sober, and Jim and Beverly could almost hear the wheels turning in her head, and could see that complicated thoughts were happening in her head, but all that she could say was a chastened, “M’kay.”Jim and Beverly went to her and drew her into a.