Chapter 13: Seaweed

The earth stubbornly spun on for Phryne, who walked the garden in silence at the time. She had a fair idea, where Jack might be hiding, but for good measure she looked everywhere all the same. Finally she spotted him lying in the grass further down in their garden, where the lake splashed lazily against the shore. She wasn't surprised to find him looking up at the stars, it was a habit of his that she found touching.

Phryne lay down beside him and turned her own eyes to the twinkling lights far above them. Really, she wanted to look at him, count the worried creases on his face, but she resisted.

"It's the same sky," he said, after some time. Miss Fisher smiled into the darkness.

"Of course it is. We aren't that far from home, Jack."

"It feels awfully far away."

There was a sadness in his voice that made her reach out her fingers and weave them through his. She understood. He felt homesick. Not so much for Melbourne, but their privacy, their happiness. They had successfully blocked out the world for the past weeks and now the world was back and it was chaotic and a little cruel.

"I am right here," she said, after a long moment of silence. She could hear him smile beside her.

"I have noticed that, Miss Fisher." He turned his head. "So has Samuel, I believe."

Phryne didn't know what to answer. So he actually had followed their conversation.

"A very charming young man, that cousin of yours. How old is he?" she wondered aloud.

"I cannot remember," Jack lied, "Fifteen, twelve. Possibly a little out of your usual hunting grounds."

Phryne wrapped her fingers tighter around his.

"It might surprise you Inspector, but I am currently not looking for a lover. Not even a young and handsome law-student with an incredibly flattering attitude."

"I didn't think for a moment you were," Jack Robinson replied, only half joking.

"I believe your cousin Iris sees things differently," Phryne sighed after a pause. "She watched us like a hawk all night. As if she suspected I would jump the poor boy and ravish him in front of the whole family."

The Inspector laughed a quiet, deep laugh.

"She's not all that bad, Phryne."

"I'll take your word for it."

There was silence and darkness for some time, while Jack thought about how to explain Iris' behaviour to his fiancée.

"She's scared," he finally admitted.

"Of me?" Phryne rolled over in the soft grass to face her lover. Jack looked at her, smiling.

"For me mostly, I believe. Look, it is a long story and I do not want to bother you with-"

"We have all night, Jack."

The Inspector rolled his eyes.

"You know that she shares a deep friendship with Rosie?"

"Yes, but you'd think she has gotten the hint of your separation, after her friend got remarried to somebody else."

The Inspector smiled wryly.

"A fair point, but not the whole story, Miss Fisher. See, Rupert is Iris's second husband. She married Christian pretty young, they were quite in love."

Jack was silent for a moment, and Phryne started to worry, what was to come, when he continued, in a serious, quiet voice. "He didn't return from Turkey. Only three months later, Iris's father fell in Flanders. It was a rough year for the Morgans."

Miss Fisher nodded into the darkness. It was a common fate in their time, but that didn't make it any less painful. Jack turned to look at her, his eyes white in the night.

"I believe, she never really forgave Rosie or me for not working it out, despite being so lucky. But she also feels like she needs to protect me even more now."

Phryne sensed her throat tighten as she reached out to cup his cheek. There were no words in her to express how glad she was that he had been lucky enough to return. And also, she had to admit, that he hadn't worked it out with Rosie. He seemed to have heard her thoughts all the same, as he took her hand and pressed her palm to his lips, smiling.

"For the record, Miss Fisher, I am considering myself the luckiest sod in the world."

"It's a big world, Inspector."

"So it is."

For a long moment they lay in comfortable silence, just looking at each other, feeling each others skin under their fingertips.

"I actually thought, there was more to your story," Miss Fisher teased. "A first forbidden kiss in the enchanted garden, reading Shakespeare to your cousin..."

Jack's eyes widened.

"A kiss? With Iris?"

He pulled such a grimace that Phryne wanted to laugh.

"Oh, come on, Jack, she is quite an attractive woman and cousins get married more often than you'd think."

The Inspector shook his head as if trying to wipe away the picture Phryne had put in his mind.

"Iris is like the sister I did not have," he explained, his face still distorted in confusion.

"I thought, you did have a sister?"

"Yes, but Amanda was usually busy dressing up in garments ten sizes too big for her and then getting berated for smearing mud on them," the Inspector grinned.

Miss Fisher felt confused. The relief was there. Yet, she suddenly knew clear as daylight, that she had never actually feared a lurking romantic interest between the cousins. There was still a slight jealousy hidden in the pits of her stomach, not for another woman but another companion. Someone who had been there a long time before her and would likely never leave. It was an odd sensation. She could not remember ever having cared enough about a man to wonder who else might care for him. But then, she did remember how it felt to have a sister.

In the distance a light was switched off, dipping them into even denser darkness. Dot and Aunt P seemed to have come to the conclusion that it was bedtime after all. Or possibly Jane had gotten tired of reading. Mr. Butler had been pretending to sleep for hours. Miss Fisher wondered dimly, if Mac had returned from her nightly wander yet and with what conclusion.

"You talk a lot about Iris, but you never told me much about her sister," she said, snapping the Inspector out of whatever train of thoughts he had just followed.

"What would you like to know?"

She could see his eyes glimmer in the darkness.

"Oh, you know. What does she do? Where does she live? Why isn't she married?"

"Hazel is rather independent, a bit like you." Jack replied after a brief pause.

"I don't know if you have noticed, Inspector, but I am not that independent anymore."

She leaned forward to press a teasing kiss to his lips but was surprised, when he didn't answer.

"Let's just say, Hazel is and I believe she will stay that way."

Miss Fisher looked at him startled, then she realised what he meant. So Mac's attraction wasn't quite as hopeless as she thought. That was certainly good news. Phryne was about to open her mouth, when the Inspector turned to her, suddenly serious again.

"Phryne, I do not believe that they know. I guess, that Iris and Aunt Olivia would have to suspect something, but please..." he trailed off, leaving his lover somewhat startled. She briefly considered being offended by the implication that she might waltz into the family meeting and uncover Hazel's secret, but it occurred to her how much Mac still struggled after all those years. Jack was trying to protect his cousin. Miss Fisher closed her mouth and stayed silent. It was the best she could do for Hazel Morgan.

After a pause, she pulled herself to her feet and undid her dressing gown, slipping it onto the ground. Her nightdress followed shortly behind. Inspector Robinson, who had briefly feared he had offended his lover, watched her with his mouth agape. His voice sounded suspiciously rough, when he spoke.

"What are you doing, Miss Fisher?"

"I am taking a bath in the moonlight," she pointed out.

The Inspector made a show at looking at the small sickle, that was currently half-hidden between a pile of clouds.

"There is not much moon to bathe in."

But Phryne wasn't listening, she was already half in the lake, her white back standing out against the dark blue of the night. It was a surreal picture and Jack couldn't manage to tear his eyes away. When the waves reached her knees, she called out over her shoulder.

"Are you coming?"

It was almost autumn and the nights weren't that warm anymore. The water was probably freezing cold. And the term "moonlight skinny dipping" woke unpleasant memories in Jack of a murder victim who had turned out to be one of Miss Fisher's former lovers. Yet, he found himself already unbuttoning his shirt, while he still pondered why on earth he would follow her. Because she was Miss Fisher of course; it was as simple as that. He ran into the black waves, before he could change his mind, the cool water pricking on his naked skin.

"You are insane!" he panted, when Miss Fisher resurfaced from the dark waters right beside him.

"And so are you, Inspector," she replied with a cheeky smile, while curling her arms around his back, pressing her cool, wet body to his. Jack resisted the urge to shriek away from her cold embrace and instead wrapped his arms around her slim limbs, trailing his fingertips over the small of her back, then further down her familiar curves.

"So, this whole moonlight bathing, does it usually involve certain activities?" he asked.

"That depends, Inspector Robinson."

Her fingernails drew a line along his spine, leaving tingles in their wake. The Inspector found to his surprise, that the cold water was no sufficient antidote to his burning desire for the Honourable Miss Fisher. His voice sounded accordingly rough, when he enquired further.

"On what would it depend, Miss Fisher?"

"Mostly, if you can catch me."

Before the words had arrived in his quickly clouding brain, she had slipped out of his grasp and dove back underwater. Jack's hand grasped into emptiness. With a small swear on his lips, he let himself fall into the waves, chasing the shadow of Miss Fisher who was a stronger swimmer than he remembered. Then again, the last time they had been in a lake together, she had been unconscious. That would have somewhat tipped the score to his advantage.

When he resurfaced spluttering water, her head was only two metres away from him, but already moving the other direction between the dark waves. Her silly laughter echoed over the silent lake and the Inspector couldn't help but grin to himself, while he did his hardest to push his cold muscles into some form of coordinated movement. When he finally caught up to her, the shoreline now far in the distance, he couldn't help but wonder if she had let him win on purpose. Treading water, they circled each other like a shark it's prey, yet neither jumped. Suddenly Phryne was gone again, and Jack still wondered if he should be worried, when her arms wrapped around his waist, pulling him underwater. He struggled, but she had caught him off his guard and the waves closed over his head, before he had time to react much. Something in the inky black water seemed to slow down his thoughts in time. While he twisted in her embrace to face her, felt the coldness of the lake invade every single millimeter of his skin, his mind was suddenly clear and as sharp as a knife. It did not matter, where in the world they were. She was his, he was hers. They were one. His hand grasped hers, despite being unable to see more than a white shadow in the darkness they were floating in and they resurfaced. Jack sucked cool night air into his stinging lungs. It burned. Phryne's hair was sticking wet to her head but her eyes were huge in the dim light and he felt the warmth in the inside of his numb body with an intensity and clearness that he hardly ever had time and space enough to feel.

"I love you."

It was out, before he had even thought it. Miss Fisher looked a little surprised, but incredibly pleased with herself. She curled her arms around him, pulling him into a wet, smouldering kiss. When they broke apart breathlessly, life had returned to the lower parts of the Inspector.

"That's cheating, Jack," she pouted, slipping through his arms again and swimming back towards the shore. Inspector Robinson followed shortly behind, unable to repress a grin. He didn't catch her till they had almost reached their garden. The Lake Villa was now lying in complete darkness and Phryne got distracted by wondering about Mac's disappearance. The Inspector used this to his own advantage. As soon as he could feel the ground under his feet, he grasped his lover and pulled her towards himself, spinning her to press her against his own freezing limbs. In the coldness surrounding them, the remaining heat of their bodies was irresistible and they held onto each other like clinging onto life itself.

"And since when do you mind cheating, Miss Fisher?" Jack whispered beside her ear, his hand following the curves of her back, his rough cheek brushing against her neck. Phryne pushed herself away from the ground, wrapping her long legs around his hips.

"I never said, I did."

Any answer Jack might have uttered, drowned in a long drawn groan, as her overwhelming warmth surrounded him. Lazy waves broke on the two entangled bodies moving in the dark waters, finding a slow, intense rhythm between them, chasing for heat in the cold. When the fire spread through Jack's core, his knees actually buckled underneath him, throwing both of them back into the inky black waters. Breathlessly spluttering they resurfaced and burst into giddy laughter.

"You know, I could say plenty of unpleasant things about Marcel Denier," Jack panted, while they climbed back onto the grass and collected their clothes from the ground. "But he did have a point about moonlight skinny dipping."

X

Mr. Butler starred against the dark ceiling, when he heard quiet laughter sound through the open window. So his Mistress was enjoying her holidays. That was good news or so he tried to convince himself. When the party had brought a somewhat strained atmosphere back from their dinner at Wombat Hall, he had been somewhat worried. But the hushed giggles down in the gardens spoke a different language. They would work it out. Mr. Butler turned under his quilt and made another pointless attempt at going to sleep. Now, there were feet tapping over the floorboards outside his room and amused whispers. He tried a knowing smile to himself, that didn't quite play out as planned. Yes, his Mistress was enjoying herself and for the first time in history, Tobias Butler found himself envious of something that she had. He needed neither her money nor her title, not even her adventures. But her relationship with Inspector Robinson who was not due to leave for India and who had not asked her to question her life, was something he couldn't help but feel deep envy about. Another turn. He couldn't leave, could he? Throw away everything he was, he had ever been? Miss Fisher needed him. But did she really? Surely, she could find another butler. India could be a new start, without a butler's uniform. Just be a man for once, Riya's man. Mr. Butler finally fell asleep. He dreamed.

X

She awoke with a start when grey morning light hit her face. Hazel sat up in the unfamiliar bed and attempted to orientate herself. Last night. She had... Vivid memories flooded the brunette's fuzzy brain. She turned her head and spotted the red curls, almost hidden under the edge of the duvet. Her heart was racing in her chest. So she hadn't dreamt it.

With a sigh she fell back into the warm pillow, about to dig out Mac from under her covers to snuggle up against her, when something else occured to her. Blinking, she focused her eyes on her wrist watch.

"Oh, bugger," Hazel Morgan swore in an unladylike manner but quiet enough to not wake her lover and slipped out of bed. While she got hurriedly dressed, hoping that she wouldn't run into Uncle Walter on his way out hunting, her eyes kept being drawn back to the redhead in bed, who still hadn't stirred. It was so unreal still, she found. It had never been easy, feeling this way about another woman, always something to step about carefully to not run the risk of exposing yourself to the world. And yet, she had known. As soon as Doctor MacMillian had opened her mouth the first time to speak to her, she had felt her heart skip a beat. There was something about the woman that just pulled her in. At present, she fought the invisible urge to crawl back into bed and be completely unreasonable. Hazel Morgan sighed, as she slipped her gloves back on. There was too much at stake. Not only her own family finding out, God knew, what they might make of this immoral behaviour, but also she wasn't sure, how far Mac's companions knew about her secrets. It wouldn't do to be discovered here in the first light of the morning. She leaned over the bed and kissed the doctor's ear, the only thing she could currently find in the mess of covers and curls, and retreated before the longing could overwhelm her. Seconds later she snuck down the stairs and breathed a sigh of relief, when she pulled the front door shut behind herself. She completely missed the pair of curious eyes following her way down the path from a window in the first floor.