Author's Note: A guest left a comment asking about the meaning of the flowers Dot picked for Fern's/Phryne bouquet. There are many 'languages of flowers', but these are the meanings that lead me to choose these particular blooms (taken from some websites):
- Gardenia: 'Secret Love' / 'You are lovely'
- Peony: Good Fortune/ Prosperity /(but more in theme) «romance and love, and are regarded as the omen of good fortune and happy marriage.» Honour and wealth / In some cultures the peonies may also convey shame.
- [white] Roses: «Purity & Innocence, Reverence & Humility, Heavenly & Honor, Everlasting love, Marriages and New Beginnings, I am worthy of you, Beauty & Youthfulness, Remembrance» / I also read 'secrecy' somewhere.
I chose 'spray roses' because they looked good on the type of bouquets popular at the time.
Feel free to ask me things whenever you feel like it. I love to hear from you and very interesting conversations have already risen from reviews left here.
Thank you for continuing to read this story even if the updates aren't as frequent as everyone (both you and me) would like, but sometimes writing isn't simply 'happening' for many reasons.
I hope you enjoy the following chapter.
Now that the guests were off, Phryne had gone to the kitchen to tell Dot and Mr. Butler that they could finish for the day and conclude taking care of the dishes the next day if they wanted. None of them seemed very keen on taking her offer though, so she left the room behind, unwilling to keep them from their task.
She was walking up the stairs that lead to the hallway when the she started to hear the sound of a piano. Knowing very well the part of the house it came from, she tiptoed up the remaining steps and across the hall until she was by the doorframe of the drawing room, standing in an angle that allowed her to not be easily seen from the inside, even if Jack was visibly focused on what he was doing.
The chandelier had been turned off and the room was only lit by the small matching crystal and bronze wall sconces placed on strategic points and by the glow that came from the blaze in the fireplace. It made the drawing room seem not so large anymore, cozy even, something it rarely conveyed despite how luxurious it was.
Jack was playing the vertical piano set against the wall between the windows. From where Phryne stood, she could see his profile, his left hand and the tip of his right fingers lightly pressing the keys as if to make them sound quieter, his back straight but not stiff.
It felt strange to lurk in the dark like that even if he seemed so at ease, but it also felt odd to disturb him, something Phryne become aware of when she realized she was unable to both take her eyes off him and also to walk towards him or to call his attention somehow.
Olympia and Yates had left about an hour ago and he could have easily followed suit, but was still there. They hadn't been able to discuss the dinner in much detail yet, but there was certainly more to it. He was waiting for their nightcap perhaps. Definitely waiting for their nightcap, Phryne believed, hoping it wouldn't sound extremely pretentious, especially because she regarded it in a similar way.
He didn't stop playing but she noticed that it the melody had turned into a new song. Still trying to make as less noise and be as less intrusive as she could, she tiptoed her way to the piano.
When she was about a foot away, Jack looked over his left shoulder but he kept the music going, the look on his face denouncing that he was surprised by her presence there but didn't mind it at all. Phryne sat next to him in the bit of the stool that was available, her back turned to the piano and her legs slightly bent under the seat.
«Though I know that we meet every night / And we couldn't have changed since the last time», Phryne sung, well but not in a not very loud tone, nudging him playfully.
«To my joy and delight / It's a new kind of love at first sight», Jack ended up conceding, still looking at her, a somewhat shy smile on his face, making a little pause after the last words.
«Though it's you and it's I all the time / Every meeting's a marvelous pastime», their voices perfectly matched in pace for the following lines of the lyrics, despite the fact that they felt the weight of each verse.
«Oh, the moon's not a moon for a night /and these stars will not twinkle and fade out,/ and the words in my ears /will resound for the rest of my years /In the morning I find with delight /not a note of our music is played out.», the song went at some point.
Jack looked at Phryne. None of them said anything, but in their minds both acknowledged that they should have perhaps put an end to the singing before it had taken such a path. They seemed to know the all the lines, so they had to be conscious of their theme, of how those words were dangerously close to their reality and yet they had chosen to continue. Despite it all, 'Let's Misbehave' had seemed much vaguer, filled with 'we's which were applied broadly, one 'I' and a couple of 'you's thrown in there for good measure.
He wasn't exactly a believer of such things, but it was hard to not start wondering if it wasn't indeed true that something or someone must really want them to be together.
« I'm touching your hand / It tells that you're standing near, and / at the sound of your voice / heaven opens its portals to me. / Can I help but rejoice /that a song such as ours came to be? / But I always knew /I would live life through /with a song in my heart for you.»
On her side of the stool, Phryne wasn't as apologetic and regretful as she felt perhaps she should. It was a recurring thought, but how could it not be when the circle was getting tighter and tighter and it was even more difficult to avoid this frame of thought.
Jack played the last note and said, turning to her:
« I heard this on the wireless yesterday night and it got stuck in my head, I'm afraid.»
They were standing close to each other once again. So close they would touch even if they didn't mean to and both seemed aware of that, considering that they kept as quiet as they could be.
« It's a great song, there's no need to apologise.», she replied with a smile on her face, « and I think our rendition was nearly perfect.»
« I am in no place to judge.», he replied playfully.
» I think the dinner went well, wouldn't you agree?»
Phryne was a bit taken aback by the sudden change of theme. It wasn't completely out of tone, but, at the same time, she expected them to linger on other matters for a while more.
« I do. It was agreeable and I hope to hear soon from Yates. He still has to take the paperweight after all.»
« For a moment I thought we might have lost him, though.»
«The man just gets under my nerves. And not in a good way.», Phryne said, stretching her hands in the air.
«He told me he wanted a second opinion about the paperweight, so I guess you'll have to endure having him here at least another time.»
« Are you teasing me, Jack?», she asked not seriously at all.
«You can't always be the one doing so, Miss Fisher.», he said with an amused smile on his face.
» I guess Yates needs as much validation as the perspective members of the Elvsworth.»
« Do you think he has had anything to do with the murders?», Phryne asked more seriously.
It was odd to notice how little they had talked about the investigation, considering it was the inception of those circumstances and of utmost importance. Three people had died, after all.
«He may have, I believe it's too soon to tell. The investigation the police carried about the victims' lives didn't find out many details that might indicate motive for murder but the part of their stories connected with their participation in the Elvsworth keeps being rather vague so far. Even if it's only speculation at this point, I wouldn't rule out completely that we may not have many suspects now because we may simply haven't met them yet.»
« Even considering it is a private club, there's a lot of secrecy around it.», Phryne acknowledged.
» If they end up accepting Fern and Archibald - as they will absolutely do – the Elvsworth better be as good as advertised.»
Jack smiled.
«I'm sure Wendell Yates' first and foremost concern will be matching your expectations, Miss Fisher.»
Those 'Miss Fisher's with which he finished some sentences were sounding more and more out of place as of late. For Jack, at first, they had come out of his politeness and in part they still did, but he wondered sometimes if they weren't also an unconscious way to keep some distance, to remind them both of the particular context of their relationship, to keep them in check.
During the past weeks, Phryne had considered telling him that he could call her by her Christian name whenever he wanted, not only when in distress or in extreme moments when he wanted to catch her attention as he had done so far. She had been on a first name-basis with him for the most part of their acquaintance, hadn't she? Yet, Phryne still hadn't said a word, wishing perhaps he would do so on his own accord eventually.
«Would you like something to drink?», she asked.
«I'm afraid I had my fair share for today, between the aperitif, dinner, and having to keep company to Yates in the dining room after the ladies left.»
«Oh, it's true! How could I have almost forgotten… How did that go?», Phryne asked, rearranging herself on the stool, folding her right leg under herself so she could face him even more directly now.
«Well enough, I guess? But it didn't help much to advance the investigation, I'm afraid.»
Jack had turned his body too, so they were looking even more squarely at each other.
» Thankfully, he didn't want to go to the billiards room and play, so it was a favourable start but after some political conversation and paperweight-showing we joined you in the parlour.
»How about Olympia? Was she more cooperative?»
« Not exactly, I would say. She mentioned how devoted to the Elvsworth her husband is – there was no need to say it because he simply glows when he talks about it – and the deep impact the deaths had on him, work-wise and beyond. He has put his accountacy office on hold for the moment because everything at the Elvsworth was in shambles and he couldn't in his heart let such historical institution falter.
» I also learnt they have been married for 12 years and have an 8-year-old son. Hardly anything we didn't know already.», she said with a shrug.
«We must have patience.», Jack said to appease both of them it turned out. She might be slightly more vocal about it, but he didn't need to think much to discover he was tired of that long process too. If the Joneses were accepted at the Elvsworth good, they would have a new development from which to draw their investigation, if not, the sooner it was known the better, so the Police could come up with other ways to find the answers they had been looking for.
The conversation came to a halt and he appeared rather restless, his jaw shut tensely, his hands tapping on his knees. Phryne had already seen him like that. Many times, in fact, right before he bid his goodbyes, went to search for his hat and overcoat, and left.
« Must you go?», she asked, even if he hadn't yet said a word but the lower way he was holding his head and his pursed lips gave away the he was on the brink of doing so. The sound of that question reverberated in her mind, the tone perhaps more pleading than what she had intended, but that she couldn't completely cast out.
«I'm afraid I must.», he replied regretfully.
A rather bold wish took hold of him. He did want to stay, but that he couldn't reveal or act upon. It wouldn't be the first time they'd be sleeping under the same roof and considering how the undercover operation was going it probably wouldn't be the only one – a prospect that tightened his stomach when it came across his mind -, but nothing of what had happened in the last day was similar to what had taken place in the chalet. Back then it had derived from having been snowed in but giving in to this invitation would be setting a very dangerous precedent they couldn't allow themselves in that moment.
» Gregor is relying on me to have his dinner, you see.», Jack justified. It was true, but even if he didn't have the dog with which to excuse himself, he would have had come up with other reason to leave in that moment.
« That detail had slipped from my mind, I believe», Phryne acquiesced.
» Let it be known that, in the future, if you need to stay here and have provided for Gregor to have his dinner any other way, your room will be waiting for you.», she said in what she expected was a lively and light tone, trying to compensate for the disappointment she found within herself.
« Thank you for the offer. It's very tempting but we'll have to put a pin on it for another time.»
Jack got up from the stool sorrowfully, reaching out his hand to help Phryne afterwards. He knew she didn't need it, but he had felt prodded to do so nevertheless and moved by a similar feeling she had taken it.
They walked to the hallway in silence, Phryne's heels hitting the wooden floor as if they were the tick of a clock marking that time was running out and soon he would be off to a house she had never been to, a house she didn't even know exactly where it was, in fact. She was once again slightly haunted by how little she knew of him and yet it was strange to remark that apart from the shock of such realization and the curiosity that understandably came in tow not knowing those things didn't dramatically change her feelings for him. (Although the exact words with which to define those feelings was something much more difficult to ascertain.)
« What if Yates is hiding in the next street corner and he sees Archie leaving at this time of the night?», she said when they were by the coat stand , Jack already holding the brim of his hat in his fingers.
Perhaps that jab had been over the line, uncalled for even, now that they had been able to negotiate a way to part for the night, but Phryne was feeling rather wistful. She acknowledged it wasn't the most honest reason for which to want him there, but as fun and entertaining getting ready for the photographs, taking them, and preparing the dinner and living through that evening had been, the emotions it had elicited didn't mix well with the tiredness that was wearing her down after that long day. Get yourself together, she thought. Vowing to not say a word more before his reply, she waited.
« I'm sure we'll come up with something suitable, if that's the case. », Jack was also off his game now. Despite all the constraints he could name on the spot that advised him of how imprudent staying there would be, he we was getting less and less sure he would have abided by them, so he was truly glad Gregor made him have to go home.
Phryne brought herself to open the door and moved a bit to the side to make way for Jack.
« I may drop by the station tomorrow. See if there are any news.»
« You'll be very welcome as usual.»
«As usual? How things have changed!», Phryne said, laughing, completely at ease now, a state of mind that influenced that Jack's as well.
«Goodnight.»
Jack was already on the outdoor step, framed by the threshold, a dark blue sky dotted in stars behind him.
«Goodnight.» , she replied, keeping her eyes on him until he got in the car and drove out of sight.
A/N: «With A Song In My Heart» is the name of the song Phryne and Jack sing and it obviously doesn't belong to me in any way or capacity. The lyrics were written by Lorenz Hart, the music was composed by Richard Rodgers, and it was part of their 1929 musical «Spring is Here».
I hope there's some part of fair use that can be applicable to this case because I don't mean any copywright infringement. I just wanted to have these two singing again. If you're curious about how it sounds, look for Leo Reisman Orchestra and Ran Weeks' version - you can easily find it on youtube. The lyrics are easily accessible too.
(Not sure if including links will not stall this, so I'm afraid I have to send you look for it yourself).
I hope you find the song as suitable to both the moment and to their story as I did.
I know it doesn't develop the plot much, but sometimes I just find myself writing these little bits that cater to the romantic side of the equation.
As usual, feel free to review/comment/etc. Like I wrote above, it's always wonderful to hear from you. Thank you in advance.
P.s: Don't hate Gregor.
