Chapter 2: Bougainvillea
When the Inspector ceased to cough and splutter, he found himself being watched intently by Miss Fisher in silent amusement.
"I hope you are talking about Jane," he finally brought out, still sounding hoarse, "Or are there any other children I should know about, Miss Fisher?"
"None that I am aware of, Inspector."
"Well that's a relief."
He didn't look relieved though, Miss Fisher found. Instead he was staring out into the rain that was still pouring down the windows of the parlour. She couldn't have described the expression on his face, but it worried her. She touched his shoulder, which made him turn around to face her. There was a tear glittering in his eye, that she hadn't expected.
"Jack? You are aware, that Jane will be your legal ward, once we are married?"
He lowered his eyes for a moment, clearing his throat loudly.
"Yes, yes of course."
Phryne cupped his cheek, forcing him to look at her. She was suddenly deeply unsettled. She had always felt that Jane and the Inspector were fond of each other in a quiet way that didn't need any expression and the letters she had shared with Jane since Jack had moved into their family home, had spoken just that language on the side of her foster daughter. That she was happy for Phryne to have found a love in the Inspector. In fact, she had expressed this a lot more cheekily, but that was beside the point. Phryne had never actually confronted Jack with the little detail that she had a daughter floating around in Europe, who would eventually return and be part of their family life. That might have been a mistake. He looked deeply upset right now, and Phryne was frightened when he opened his mouth. She loved him, but she could not ever let go of Jane. Not even for him.
"I just never thought I'd have a daughter," Jack whispered tonelessly, causing her breath to hitch in her chest.
"You know, she's almost grown up nowadays," Phryne joked, her throat tightening at the tears filling his eyes.
"Yes, but... Does she know we are engaged?" Jack asked.
"I sent her a letter the very next day," Phryne smiled, "But you know how long mail takes to find it's way to France."
He nodded slowly, wringing his hands. So he was anxious. Phryne reached out her fingers to still his.
"Jack, there has not been a single bad word about you from Jane's lips. Please stop worrying. She will be as happy as anyone else, that we are making this step."
The Inspector thought of his family, his father's words: "Don't you dare, ever bringing this woman into my house." He nodded, his jaw clenched. Maybe not everyone. Jack buried his face in both hands, then got up rather stiffly. He needed to be alone for a while, sort through the emotions that were currently racing through his veins. A daughter. The thought made him smile and wanting to curl up in dread at the same time. Jane was a teenager, who had been through the wringer repeatedly in her life. Accepting Miss Fisher as her guardian was one thing, but how would she feel about being forced to live under a roof with him, he wondered, let alone having him as her foster father? He was still berating himself for not having thought through all the implications in his longing to make Phryne his wife, when he heard a knock at the door. The voice that greeted Mr. Butler was vaguely familiar, even though it currently blabbed something that exceeded his own French. Miss Fisher had jumped up, running into the hall.
"Jane! We didn't expect you till next week!"
Mother and daughter were curled up in a tight embrace, when Jack stepped into the door of the parlour, staring at them nervously.
"Je voulais vous surprendre," the girl blurted out.
"Well, you have succeeded in surprising us," Phryne smiled, "I think Jack more than anyone by the look of it." She turned to see her fiancé still standing rooted to the spot. He was pale and she almost felt sorry for him. "In fact we were just talking about you this minute," Miss Fisher smiled, still looking at Jack with an expression that made clear that she expected him to play along, no matter what currently happened in his brain. "About how much we looked forward to seeing you again."
The Inspector managed a smile, but Jane's attention was at present drawn in by something else. She stared at Phryne's hand that had waved in the air pointing at Jack. Jane grabbed it, having a closer look at the ring wrapped around Miss Fisher's finger obviously and tellingly. Then she turned to the Inspector.
"No, you haven't!?"
He gulped.
"I'm afraid I have."
She turned to her guardian.
"And you said 'yes'?"
Miss Fisher nodded, suddenly nervous herself. Then a squeal broke through the silence of the house, as Jane hugged her mother. Seconds later, Jack found himself in the tight embrace of a very enthusiastic teenager. It took him a moment to realise what had just happened, then he allowed himself to hug the girl to his chest. He had just gained a daughter. The thought caused a warm fuzzy feeling somewhere in the pit of his stomach. When he opened his eyes, Phryne was watching them with soft, tender eyes. He gently peeled Jane from himself, holding her at arms length to look at her. She had grown a bit taller or maybe she had just turned a bit more into a woman since the last time he had seen her. Soon he would have to start fending off boys with a stick, Jack realised. The idea didn't bother him as much as it should have.
"So tell me, how did you propose?" she babbled on, as she grabbed both adults by the hand and dragged them into the kitchen, where Mr. Butler had started to prepare a late morning tea. Jack shared a look with Phryne, realising, that he could not tell her ward about the fact that he had popped the question spontaneously and stark naked in the aftermaths of lovemaking, before his heart rate had had a chance to slow down.
"It was on the rooftop, under the stars," he finally admitted the truth as far as he deemed it suitable to share with a teenager.
"Ohhhh, that sounds very romantic." Jane stated, having a closer inspection of the ring.
"It was," Phryne smiled, grasping Jack's hand with the fingers currently not occupied by her foster daughter.
"I'm still somewhat surprised you said 'yes' though," Jane admitted with a frown.
"So was I," Jack grinned truthfully. Miss Fisher shot him a look that could have killed on the spot, if it hadn't been somewhat softened by the happiness she felt. She hadn't quite realised, how tense she herself had been about Jane finding Jack in the position of her future husband, rather than a family friend.
"Well, I'm glad I can still surprise people," Phryne pouted, pulling both her hands back to grab a sandwich from a platter that had magically appeared on the table.
"Now tell me all your adventures. I want to hear details." She prompted, completely forgetting to sulk. And so, three people sat down on a kitchen table, sharing their adventures over tea and sandwiches. Laughter and chatter filled the small kitchen as Mr. Butler silently pulled the door shut and retreated. Sometimes a family needed time to themselves.
X
A blue sky hung over the branches of beautiful old trees, only decorated with a few tiny clouds. Bees hummed in the air, content with the variety of flowers on offer in this quiet part of the garden. Lavender was all good and well, but occasionally, even a bee needed a change of scenery. In the shadow of the oaks and linden trees, silence was spread over the hidden little garden like a comfortable blanket. It was interrupted rudely by a strawberry blonde woman racing out of the door, a man hot on her heels. Underneath a pergola, overgrown with vines that currently flowered in a rather tacky shade of pink, he caught up to her. He grabbed her arm and spun her, but if the woman was intimidated by the man who towered over her, she didn't show it.
"You don't seriously think, I will forget about this!" she spat, "Pretend I didn't see, what you've done? You're delusional!"
The man locked his arms in front of his chest, smiling in a way that made even the bees fly avoid him.
"Nobody will believe you."
"We shall see about that," the woman panted, stalking off. The man watched until she turned the corner, then he swore under his breath and walked off in the opposite direction. They would see about that. Indeed they would.
X
Jane was just describing her first trip with the London Underground in vivid colours, when Mr. Butler, who was busy polishing silver in the dining room with a traitorous smile on his face, was called to the hall by an enthusiastic knock.
"Is my niece at home?" Mrs. Stanley asked, pushing past the servant without so much as a greeting.
"Miss Fisher is currently in the kitchen with..."
Mr. Butler trailed off, when he realised the absence of anyone listening. Mrs. Stanley had stormed past him into the dining room and was currently ripping open the kitchen door.
"Phryne, I have to talk to-"
Prudence Stanley had raised two sons of her own. It was hard to put her off her stride, especially when she was angry. Yet, she stood with her mouth open, staring at the harmonious scene that greeted her at the kitchen table in awe.
"Bonjour, tante Prudence," grinned Jane, the first to catch her breath.
"Jane?! You're back. How lovely."
Phryne could see the wheels in her aunt's head turning. She almost, but not quite, felt sorry for her.
"Aunt Prudence! How nice of you to drop by. Would you like a cup of tea?"
If Miss Fisher's smile was insincere, Mrs. Stanley's was an outright lie.
"Actually, Phryne, could I talk to you a moment in private?" Aunt Prudence asked, dabbing her sweaty forehead with a lacy handkerchief.
"Of course. Please excuse me."
Miss Fisher winked to the Inspector, who sat silently, but had obvious troubles hiding a smile. Jane had no such hang-ups, she was already chattering again, before the door had fallen shut behind the two women.
"Shall we go into the parlour? It's more private there," Phryne offered, leading the way. She offered a drink, which was with strained politeness refused and held on to her smile tightly. Needling Aunt Prudence was just too much fun to resist. Finally, she sank into an armchair.
"What would you like to talk about?"
"How long has Jane been back?" Her aunt asked instead of anweing while still standing. Miss Fisher made a show of inspecting her golden watch.
"Exactly two hours and 13 minutes," she finally stated calmly. Mrs. Stanley sank into a chair, again grabbing for her handkerchief.
"And you did not feel the need to tell me she was returning from Europe? I might have liked to see her," she said stiffly. Miss Fisher nonchalantly slipped to her feet, pouring herself a glass of water.
"I'm afraid my daughter did not announce herself. She took an earlier ship to surprise us. Therefore, my dear Aunt P, I had no chance to let you know."
Mrs. Stanley swallowed at this, nodding slightly.
"But I assume you did pay us a visit hoping to find Jane unexpectedly sitting in my kitchen. So why did you come, if you don't mind me asking?"
Phryne fell back into her chair, taking a calm sip of water, watching her Aunt work herself into a state. It was too easy. Miss Fisher had a fair idea what had brought the lady here. She might have forgotten to tell her some things and society had it's own ears and mouths. Plenty of both in fact.
"You seem to lately be in a habit of not sharing things with me, Phryne." Mrs. Stanley finally said, as expected. "I hear you have gotten engaged?! Is it true?"
"That I will not deny." Phryne smiled. Another sip. Another use of the handkerchief. Too easy and way too much fun.
"To that Inspector of yours?" Mrs. Stanley enquired, her feathers ruffled.
"To whom else, Aunt Prudence?" Phryne said sweetly, while she silently got ready for a fight. She would not have her aunt insult Jack in his home. No matter how much she thought herself above him. But there was silence for a long moment that was filled in only by the rain.
"While I welcome your choice to finally settle down, Phryne, I must say that I am surprised. I had not expected this to be quite so serious."
Miss Fisher briefly remembered, why she actually did like her aunt, despite her sometimes rather spiky exterior. The feeling was quickly diminished however, with the next sentence.
"What do you even know about the man? Have you met his family?"
Phryne smiled coldly.
"I doubt, that it is necessary to know more about the man I have shared my bed with for a long time, Aunt Prudence."
Mrs. Stanley blushed at the obvious hint at premarital intimacy.
"However, if it calms your nerves, be assured, I have every intention of meeting my in-laws in the very near future. In fact, I believe, we are invited to Daylesford next week."
She waved the still closed letter that Jack had left on the table. Aunt Prudence, who had a particular liking for the secrets of other people, took it, running her eyes curiously over the address. Then she paled, which made for an interesting contrast with the still glowing cheeks.
"Your Inspector is a Cox-Stafford?"
Miss Fisher forgot the angry words that had been lying on her tongue already in defence of 'her Inspector'. She knew, that the family of Jack's mother had some land around Daylesford and she was also a good enough detective to realise that the letters that occasionally arrived at her home were not written on cheap paper. Yet, Aunt Prudence recognising the family was a somewhat awkward twist of events. She did her hardest to not show her surprise.
"Jack is a Robinson." She explained calmly. "His mother however was the daughter of an old Daylesford family."
"Phryne, do you have the slightest idea, who you are marrying?"
Miss Fisher rolled her eyes. It really did not matter to her at all, if Jack's family had blue, green or purple blood flowing in their veins or if they had sometime in the 1800 shaken hands with the stable master of the Queen himself. Neither was she interested, if his great-great-great-uncle had sat in prison for stealing a duke's chamber pot or his grandmother sold fish on the market. Jack was Jack and while she was more than curious about his family, it would not change who he was to her. Oblivious to this, Mrs. Stanley had started babbling about the long history of the family, Anna Robinson had sprouted from. Miss Fisher wondered dimly if she should advise her aunt to write a book on the various dramas of the Australian upper classes. She was so busy pondering this question, that she had almost missed it.
"Pardon me?" she asked. She must have misheard.
"It is settled, Phryne. I can absolutely not let you marry into a family without forming my personal opinion. I will take up their invitation and join you in Daylesford."
"Aunt Prudence, I am quite sure, the invitation was not addressed to you."
Miss Fisher didn't point out the fact, that it likely wasn't even addressed to herself – She wasn't even certain, if Jack's uncle knew about her existence. Regardless he definitely didn't need her Aunt storming through the halls of his country estate, looking for trouble. But Mrs. Stanley had already gotten to her feet.
"I'm certain, they will understand my concern about your person, Phryne. Surely, they are equally worried about the family the Inspector is marrying into. So, we will show them our best side. I will go home now and arrange things and speak to you tomorrow."
With little consideration to Phryne's current state of speechless silence, she got to her feet. The door fell shut, before Miss Fisher had come up with a response.