I do not own anything related to Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries nor the characters by Kerry Greenwood and/or produced by ABC.

This is my first and I hope that you will find it as thrilling as I did when I wrote it.

Please leave reviews as it will help me become a better writer.

ENJOY!

CHAPTER 1

The sun crept through the curtains arousing Phryne from the depths of unconsciousness; the depths of dreaming of Jack. She groaned as she looked at the clock on her side table. 9 am?! Why am I awake? Phryne groaned.

There was a soft knock on the door. "Come in, Dot," she moaned throwing her face into the pillows.

"Good morning, Miss. I hope you slept well," Dot cheerfully greeted as she set down Phryne's morning tea next to the bed before moving toward the curtains.

"Not well enough. I would much rather be dreaming," Phryne muttered as Dot threw the curtains open to expose her mistress to the sunlight. Phryne sat up and lifted the tray onto her lap and began to pour her tea.

"As would the rest of the world, Miss, but if you remember you asked me to wake you early. What salts would you like for your bath?" Dot asked as she turned on the tap and ran her hand under the faucet until the water temperature was just right.

Phryne looked at Dot with confusion. "I asked you to wake me early? For today? Oh, the violet salts; I need a relaxing bath if I'm going to stay awake."

"Miss, it's the first day of the Melbourne Cup. I don't think it's right to bet the horses, but you wanted me to wake you early so…" Dot explained. In her excitement, Phryne nearly knocked over the tea tray as she remembered how important today was for Melbourne.

"...I could meet Jeremy Stratham! Yes, I remember now. He's been traveling all over the world racing, and his to return here to race in the Melbourne Cup has the entire country in a whirl. I guess it'll be a quick bath, Dot. Are Jane and Ruth up?" Phryne asked as she placed her cup back on the tray and handed it to Dot.

"Yes. They've been up for hours. They're so excited you're taking them to the fairgrounds."

"Well if I'm to be introduced to Mr. Stratham, I believe that'll make you, their companion to ensure they remain under control and refrain from spending all of their allowance." Phryne climbed out of bed and started to undress for her bath.

"Oh yes, Miss, I'll make sure we're ready. Cec and Bert are in the kitchen waiting for you," Dot spoke quietly before disappearing from Phryne's boudoir.

Phryne cast off the silk garments and slid slowly into the warm water. The water was the perfect temperature and, although she wanted to lay there until she was asleep again, she was preoccupied with the thought of meeting Jeremy Stratham, so she set about to quickly attending to herself.

/ (Time passes)

Phryne decided to wear her new gown by the Fleuri sisters. They had used a raschelle lace, burgundy fabric which lay over a delicate, silk, silver slip, both tailored to Phryne's figure. Her coat was made of silver faux mink on a faded burgundy fabric, her shoes were silver Mary Janes whilst her cloche and gloves matched her gown.

As Phryne walked down the stairs she could hear laughter and two voices arguing. Most likely Cec and Bert discussing the odds on the races for the day, she thought as she breezed into the kitchen.

"Morning, Bert, Cec. Good Morning, Mr. Butler. Good Morning, Jane. Ruth," Phryne greeted, sitting down to the kitchen table.

Variations of good morning were echoed by those in the kitchen. Mr. Butler came over and placed a tray holding toast with marmalade jelly, a poached egg, a few slices of bacon and a teacup in front of Phryne. She poured herself a cup of tea before turning to her daughters.

"Are you two ready for an adventure?"

"Yes! Ruth's never had the candied apple," Jane exclaimed, looking at her younger sister.

"Yes! Jane can't wait to go on the Ferris wheel," Ruth revealed the wish of her sister.

"I can't see why you both can't have what you want. I'll be meeting with one of the jockeys before we're allowed into the boxes, so Dot will act as a companion over the two of you." Phryne leaned in and whispered, "Try not to put her into a fit. It was hard enough to convince her to come." The girls nodded and giggled, knowing Dot wasn't much for adventure and usually had to be persuaded to break some rules.

Phryne inconspicuously inspected the girls' choices of clothing. Jane was wearing a blue and gray calico frock that exemplified Jane's red hair and brown eyes, making her seem even older than her 15 years. Her hair was expertly wrapped at the base of her neck, most likely Dot's doing. While Ruth, a year younger, wore a faded lavender, dotted swiss frock with black Mary Janes and her hair braided into two braids tied with lavender ribbons. I can't believe how fast my girls are growing up. It seems like only yesterday they were slipping my jewelry into their pockets, thought Phryne as she watched her girls interact with each other.

"Oh, which reminds me. Cec, Bert, as a thank you, you'll have the opportunity to attend my box for the races and receive a little extra for your work. I can't ask you to dress above your station, however I can provide you with something more appropriate for the occasion. Bert, I know you prefer slacks, but it's highly unlikely you'll be allowed in the box even with an invitation, so just humor me and wear these before you arrive," Phryne stated, interrupting the heated, albeit whispered disagreement between the two men. She slid two envelopes containing £20 and a ticket to the Phryne Fisher box across the table. Mr. Butler took his cue and brought over two brown packages where inside each held a nicely pressed white shirt, a burgundy tie, grey slacks, and a gray vest to go over the shirt.

"Oh, Miss Fisher, we can't take these from ya," Cec argued as he looked inside the envelope.

"Ain't bloody wearin' that," Bert grumbled as he opened the brown package.

"You will, otherwise you'll be stuck listening to the reports behind the betting stalls and won't be able to see the actual race," Phryne tempered. Bert thought to argue, but knew Miss Fisher was right, so he acquiesced to her request.

Dot finally reappeared in the kitchen. "Everything's ready for you, Miss. Miss! You aren't thinking about wearing that, are you?" Dot exclaimed, taking in Miss Fisher's choice of wardrobe.

"As a matter of fact I am, Dot. It's a beautiful spring Tuesday and the first day of the Cup; a national holiday, Dot. I must look my best, at least for Aunt Prudence's sake. Ready, girls?" Phryne said with a nod toward the kitchen doorway to which Jane and Ruth bolted from the kitchen excitedly.

Phryne linked arms with Dot and practically dragged her to the front door. "Oh don't worry, Dot. If you feel so horrible about it, you don't have to attend for the whole event. But try to at least have some fun today." Phryne took her cloche, coat, purse, and gloves from Mr. Butler and went to go join Jane and Ruth in the Hispano. Dot moaned slightly before going to join everyone in the motorcar.

|| (Changing perspective)

Jack arrived early at the station, much to his disappointment. He'd slept with little thought of anything else except Miss Fisher. Oh, she infuriated him! She was constantly undermining his position while acting sweet on him in a way that made him want to do some inappropriate things, fumed Jack to himself as he sat at his desk. Suddenly, he heard the station door open and in walked Constable Collins.

"Morning, Collins," Jack called out, emerging from his office.

"Oh! Good morning, Sir. I didn't expect to see you this early," Collins said in surprise.

"My plan had been to arrive in an hour, but things didn't work out that way." No way was he going to explain to Collins that he'd dreamt of Miss Fisher the entire night. The dream had rattled him and he realized something had changed over the last couple of weeks between them, but he wasn't exactly going to spend his time dwelling on it. Jack returned to his office and started to look over the paperwork for the case he'd just put to rest two days prior. A man, Peter Highbourgh, murdered his wife, Cecelia, because she'd threatened to file divorce. Turned out, Cecelia was divorcing him because she'd fallen in love with another man, Roger Hansen; a man who didn't beat her when he was under the influence.

After a few minutes of trying to focus on paperwork and making absolutely no progress, Jack sat back and dearly hoped a case would come in that would grab Miss Fisher's attention. But, his hope was in vain as she had mentioned, during the closing of the Highbourgh case, that she would be attending the Melbourne Cup. He missed the smell of her French perfume permeating the room every time she entered or the way her clothes swayed with her every move.

It's going to be a very long day, thought Jack, resigning himself to his paperwork; not knowing it was indeed going to be a very long day. Just not in the way he or anyone else expected.