One month.
Thirty days. Seven hundred and twenty hours. Forty-three thousand, two hundred minutes.
He is dismayed that his mind has catalogued these details. He never thought of himself as sentimental, but it seems his heart has other ideas. Perhaps the adage about absences and hearts is correct.
Since their parting, she has dealt with fifteen different officers from precincts across Melbourne. She instantly dismissed thirteen as being undeserving of her assistance and the remaining two later revealed themselves to be entirely too dependent on her brilliance and interested only in luring her to the bedroom.
In the evenings, to alleviate her increasing disappointment in the hiring practices of the Melbourne police department, she sips one of Mr B's decadent cocktails, mindful that the whiskey decanter remains untouched. However, it is in the evenings that she is at her most productive, because she is formulating a plan.
"Miss Fisher!"
He is ashamed to admit it, but Collins' exclamation by way of greeting causes his heartbeat to quicken and a warm, pleasant emotion to sweep through his chest. Without realising quite how it happened, he is standing in the doorway of his office, hoping he doesn't betray how her reappearance is affecting his emotions as he turns toward where Collins is standing. He chooses to ignore the constriction his heart undergoes when only Miss Williams and the red raggers are to be found in the station's waiting area and his questioning glance toward Collins provides no answers.
"She's at a luncheon."
He is grateful for Bert relieving his suspense, although Bert's unwillingness to elaborate results in him envisaging a number of unpleasant – to him at least – scenarios involving potential luncheon partners. He murmurs some inane pleasantries, excuses himself and returns to his office, his heart heavy with missed opportunities.
She had convinced Dot and Hugh to participate in her scheme with the promise that a little deception was necessary for their ultimate reunion – she chose to view Bert and Cec's willingness to participate as loyalty to her as opposed to petty vengeance against him. She felt certain she would be proven correct, as she sat in her parlour looking over his notes regarding his latest case. After all, he was far too stubborn to back down without irrefutable evidence of the indestructability of their partnership. If that took a little deception, that made her plan that much more enjoyable to carry out.