"The basis of optimism is sheer terror." Oscar Wilde

Jack stood on the outside of one of his least favorite doors in the world. It probably ranked as the door to the Chief Commissioner's office, his dentist's, and this one. "Dammit Robinson, don't be a coward, you have faced down Germans in the fields across Europe, you have brought down smuggling rings and rapists and anarchist terrorists, you can handle this!" He raised his arm to ring the bell and before his finger had even left the button, it had been opened by a positively decrepit old man, he was Methuselah's older brother, without a doubt.

"May I help you sir?" The butler wheezed, sounding as though he would actually choke to death on the words before they were done coming out of his mouth.

"Why, yes, I'm here to speak with Mrs…."

"It's quite all right Beasley, he is expected. Now if you would be so good as to bring some tea to the drawing room?"

"Very good madame." He bowed, Jack was almost certain that he heard the man's joints actually creaking at the gesture. Jack stepped inside and through to what he assumed was the drawing room, this house had so many damn rooms in it it could practically be called a village. He had never answered this house before with anything but fear or trepidation, but at least when entered the room, he was greeted by a certain smiling young lady for whom he had great affection. There on the couch was Jane Ross , looking up from the book she had previously been absorbed in to call hello to him, just as Mrs. Prudence Stanley moved to her favorite seat, eying the Inspector up and down.

"I thought it very strange, Inspector, that you should call so early this morning and request to see me. I assume that all is well? My niece, she is well? I was wondering why it was that you were asking to see me without her, since as you can imagine, it was an unusual request. And precisely when Jane should be with me for the school holidays… it is all very peculiar and I don't mind saying so."

"Yes, Mrs. Stanley, I understand that it was a bit, unorthodox, but I'm afraid that I find myself…" he was interrupted by the sound of Mr. Beasly walking in the tray of tea. Jack could hear the sound of the china clattering against the silver tray as he walked, no doubt due to the old man's shaking hands and arms. Jack would have happily met the man and carried the tray over to where they sat, the sound of the clattering dishes on the tray was really not helping his nerves at the moment. But, knowing Mrs. Stanley liked things to be done properly, he sat there, trying to stay calm and collected as the Butler somehow successfully managed to set everything down without dropping the entire set.

"That will be all, Beasley. Thank you." He bowed and began the slow walk out of the room. As Mrs. Stanley moved to pour tea she eyed the Inspector up and down, her lips pursed and eyes narrowed, trying to ascertain the purpose of his visit to her, without Phryne, while Jane should just happen to be there. Given the way the normally composed man was acting fairly distractedly and looked exceptionally nervous and pale, she had an idea as to what he was doing there… but if she was right about it, it was still very unusual. She poured tea and offered up an assortment of muffins, which the Inspector declined- he was rather afraid that he may vomit at any moment and did not want to eat a thing.

"And so you were saying, Inspector?" She spoke so pointedly and almost with an accusatory tone.

"Ah, yes. Well, I have come here today, knowing your relationship with Miss Fisher, you are very much like another mother to her. And you, Jane, as her ward have become a daughter to her. Given Miss Fisher's parents' current absence in the Americas, and her mother's delicate condition at this time… and taking into account her fondness for the two of you... " Oh get a hold of yourself Robinson! Is this snivelling idiot the man who not only took down Sydney Fletcher, the Padrino of the Cumora, and more than a few anarchist terrorists, but also somehow found the bravery to declare himself to Miss Fisher AND get her to marry him? This really was going to be a horribly embarrassing memory for him. He took in a deep breath and tried to recollect his thoughts before continuing on.

"I have come to ask the two of you for your blessing to marry Phryne.I know how much she loves and respects the two of you as her family, and although I maybe went a bit out of order here," they didn't need to know precisely HOW out of order events had happened, yet, "as I have asked her, and she said yes," again, a slight discrepancy in who asked whom, but not important at the moment, "and now I am here to ask for your blessing." There, that was much better.

The room was silent, he could hear the grandfather clock on the other side tick-tocking away, but the ladies didn't move. Oh God, had this been a terrible mistake? He thought he was doing the gentlemanly thing and that surely Mrs. Stanley would appreciate the gesture he was making, even if she didn't think he was quite good enough for her niece, she would appreciate his manners. But perhaps he had been mistaken. And was Jane really going to think it was so wonderful? He thought they had always had a special bond, but perhaps the idea of having a pseudo-step father was a bit too much for the girl…

Wait. Was that laughter?

Yes, Jane and Mrs. Stanley had actually just looked at each other and erupted in laughter. In fact, they didn't quite seem able to control themselves, Jane doubled over and Mrs. Stanley was trying to wipe tears from her eyes. Upset, he had been prepared for, incredulous even, he had been prepared for, but mockery? That hadn't entered his head.

"My apologies if you believe this to be a joke, however I can assure that I am quite in earnest." This only set them off on another laughing fit- every time it started to subside, they would just look over and see the look of complete and total bewilderment in Jack's face and again, they would completely lose their composure- he looked such a forlorn and defeated creature.

"No, Inspector, we are not laughing at you, per se, we were merely… It's only that…" Mrs. Stanley was having quite a bit of trouble keeping herself in check so she could explain the humor in the situation. Jane somehow was able to get it together first and continued on behalf of her Aunt.

"It's only that I told her just this morning that you and Phryne seemed… distracted lately, a bit off. I was worried about the two of you and we were actually a bit worried that this visit would be you taking your leave of us all, had you and Phryne split up."

"Jane, please do not use slang in my house."

"In case you two had parted. But then she had the strange thought that maybe it was because you wanted to ask her permission this, and I said that not even Jack Robinson would be so brave as to ask someone for permission to marry Phryne and bet her that you would know better! So now Aunt P must let me choose her costume for that Charity fancy dress ball next month because you would know that if she ever found out you asked someone for permission to marry her, she would show you the door before you said anything else!"

"Nothing too outrageous, please Jane, I am a respectable woman after all."

Jack had to sit back, trying to take it all in, this was not at all what he had expected when he came here. He had assumed he would be grilled rigorously on his financial situation, his political and religious leanings, his career history and ambition… to see that not only had these two been concerned that he and Phryne were over, and were sad about it, made him swell up a bit with happiness. He had never seen like this, she was like a teen girl with Jane right now, happy and carefree and actually downright silly. Maybe he had become enough a part of the family that he was being let in a little to see their softer, cozier side, leading him to smile at the company in the room.

"I'm very relieved to tell you that we are not, in fact, breaking things off. I have to admit that I'm not entirely sure how I got so lucky to talk her into marrying me, but I seem to have done so and I'm anxious to make it happen quickly, before she can come to her senses and change her mind. But I am sincere in my purpose here, it would mean quite a bit to me, and I think to her as well, that we have your blessings- not your permission, but your blessing. Jane?" He turned to the young woman, knowing she would be the easier of the two.

"It depends, on a few things actually." Uh-oh, that tone sounded so like Phryne's "I'm about to toy with you" voice, this couldn't be good.

"And they are?"

"First of all, you promise me that you love her more than anything. Because she may have a few faults, I know that, but she is the most wonderful woman who has ever lived and if anyone ever did anything to hurt her, they would be in terrible trouble with me." She was looking him in the eyes, her gaze was remarkably steady and unflinching- perhaps he should bring her in on interrogations with particularly difficult suspects, she was not joking around. He met her gaze, wanting her to understand how serious he was about this.

"I love her more than absolutely anything in my world and if I ever do hurt her, I don't deserve anything but your worst." She smiled at that, but with that mischievous look in his eyes that reminded him that she had grown up in some particularly rough circumstances, if anyone could make him pay, it was her. "What else?"

"Well…" And this time she hedged, looking away for a minute, seeming a bit nervous. "What about me? I understand that you and Phryne may want to be alone, once you're married. I'm not normally home all that often, ever since I came back from the Continent I spend most of my weeknights at school and then alternate between here and Phryne's on holidays and breaks. And I would understand if you wanted me to move here more permanently, you and Phryne may want the time without me, I can be a bit loud and messy and I'm not used to…"

Jack interrupted her, he could see the look of anxiety in her face this time, poor girl, after everything she had been through… "Jane. I'll admit that Phryne and I have not discussed this topic yet, but I feel very confident that she would agree with me on this- YOU are part of the package. Whatever sort of family Phryne and I end up cobbling together, you are undoubtedly and unquestionably a major member of it. But, you know, I've never had anything like a ward or a daughter before. So, I may be a bit of a mess at it. Are you willing to be patient with me while I try and figure out what I'm doing?"

Soberly she looked at him, then broke out in a smile, "Well, since I've never really had a step-dad before, I think we'll both have some work to do to figure it out, won't we?" He smiled at her, pulling her into a big hug- he hadn't actually thought much about what his relationship with Jane would be like in this new situation, but he was a bit overwhelmed at how willing she was to adopt him! For a man who had lived the life of a single bachelor for so long, the size of his family seemed to be exploding at a rather madcap rate, and it was awfully nice. Well, that was one down on his list. He turned, ever so slightly to Mrs. Stanley.

"Jane, I don't suppose you would be so good as to retrieve something from my room, would you? I'd like to have a moment to speak with the Inspector alone, if I may." Jane looked a bit crushed, she was almost 16, she hated being kept out of interesting conversations. But, she understood the tone in Aunt P's voice and agreed easily enough. "Thank you dear, if you could please bring me the dark blue velvet pouch in the top drawer of my night stand? That would be most helpful."

Once they were alone, she poured herself another cup of tea before beginning to speak.

"Did Phryne ever tell you much about how her father and mother met?"

"I believe it was at The Grand, was it not? During the Twilight Waltz? But I'm afraid that's the extent of my knowledge. Sadly, I don't think that Mr. Fisher and I got along all that well when I met him on previous occasions."

"Well, in my opinion, that may just be a point in your favor, Inspector."

"Jack, please, Mrs. Stanley."

"Very well, Jack. You may call me Prudence." Well, he wasn't sure that was true, it seemed difficult to think of ever thinking of this battleship of a woman as anything but Mrs. Stanley, much less calling her that, but he nodded politely.

"My sister, Margaret, was a lovely girl- one of the prettiest in Melbourne; Phryne looks almost exactly like her mother at that age, you know. Only Margaret always had the most beautiful, raven black curls, all the way to her waist." She was telling the story, that smile on the face of people as they wax particularly nostalgic. "She could have married anyone, my parents even spoke a bit of sending her to England, to stay with our relatives there, see if she couldn't nab a Duke or Earl. In America she could have married a Rockefeller, I am certain of it. But from the first time she waltzed with Henry Fisher… she was lost. By the time we found out that he had no connections and less money, she was a goner and would have no one else, even if they had to elope. Eventually my parents agreed, Phryne's stubbornness is most certainly an inherited trait, by the way." She paused, not entirely sure why she was sharing this story, maybe it wasn't her place to tell some of this, maybe it was for the girl to tell him. But, every thing in life needed context, including this gesture.

"Henry was never much of a husband, and an even worse father. His constant schemes to strike it rich blew through her small dowry and the family sunk lower and lower in poverty with each one. I begged her to take the girls and leave that horrible brute, no child should be raised in a place like those slums, with that man. To this day, I'm ashamed I ever let a sister of mine live there, but every time I gave her any assistance, he would gamble it or drink it away, it was terrible. I would try to have the girls over as often as possible, tried to take them on holiday with us, but Henry did not like my influence on them, or on my sister. As you have probably gathered, his general character has not changed since those days." She was getting just a bit choked up, she had so much shame over the way she had handled that situation, even for a while cutting out her sister and her girls, hoping if the family hit the absolute dregs, then maybe her sister would wise up and get out.

"So, when my mother died, I promised that I would deliver Margaret's portion of mementos and keepsakes from her estate. But, I just… I couldn't stand to see that man pawn anymore heirlooms, so I lied. I lied and said I had sent them and wailed that they had been lost in transit by an incompetent shipping company."

Jack was awfully confused about this story. Well, he would be confused if he hadn't been distracted with thoughts of how Phryne must have suffered growing up. He knew the broad strokes of the picture from conversations with her. He had also grown up not far from Collingwood, only North Richmond, but it may as well have been different worlds. his mother and her church ladies had spent so much time ministering to the sick and the old in the Slums down by that big church… she wouldn't even let Jack join her as a young boy of 10 or 11 when she went to the worst parts. Thinking about this and his anger with Henry Fisher, a man it was going to be very difficult to think of as a Father-in-Law, he didn't notice Jane steal back into the room with a small parcel. She handed it to Aunt P and left again.

"I was only just looking through things again, and I found this. I have been trying to determine what to do with it and I think you have given me the perfect idea. Inspector- Jack. You may have noticed I have a soft spot for that dear girl, I see everything she has been through- that neighborhood of her childhood, her father, the War, Janey" She was tearing up, trying to hold it together as she finished her story and her plan "…and she has always been a bright spot through all of it, a great comfort and a credit to an old Aunt. But I never pushed her to marry, as my sister sometimes did, because I had seen what could happen when a young girl marries the wrong man. And it is obvious to me that you are not the wrong man. In fact, it's possible you may just be the ONLY man that could ever do the job well enough for my satisfaction, perhaps." She looked up, her eyes smiling a bit. He realized that his heart had been pounding a bit, his breath held, waiting on the final pronouncement.

"And so, not only do you have my blessing, but, I would like for you to have this- to give her." She handed him the pouch in her hand, a deep blue velvet with silver drawstrings at the top. It was small and light and Jack was curious as he opened it. He pulled out the contents, holding a single ring, one large sapphire, cut like a teardrop, surrounded by pearls and tiny bits of diamond. He was speechless, he didn't think he had held anything so valuable in his entire life. He looked up at her, trying to make sure his mouth was not hanging open.

"Now, I know it may not be quite her tastes, or you may have already bought a ring," He had not, he had actually been rather dreading that issue, trying to figure out what kind of ring he could ever possibly afford that would be good enough for the woman that had absolutely every financial resource he could only dream of. "But, it belonged to my mother, her grandmother, Elinor. It should have gone to Margaret upon her death, and ultimately to Phryne, but I just couldn't bring myself to let that man get his hands on it. My parents lived very happy, prosperous lives, they were together for almost 40 years, and I believe she would be very happy to see it given to Phryne in exactly this way." Jack looked up and saw tears in her eyes, but a large smile on her face.

"Mrs. Stanley, I can't… I mean to say, I'm overwhelmed... "

"Jack, I really am very glad that she met you. And I hope that you will take care of her. She means far more to me than that ring, or anything else in my possession."

"I promise you, Prudence, I will love and care for her as no one else ever could."

"You know, dear boy, I believe you. I truly do."