Chapter 33: Carrots
"Yes, Cec. The day after tomorrow. So, how did you go at the salon?"
Miss Fisher listened.
"That's just wonderful. You're such a clever boy. Now, when will you arrive? Don't forget to bring your wife and Bert. Yes, and Ryan. Of course, he can bring a date, it is a wedding after all. I would offer Bert to bring one too, but he will just stare at you like you had grown a second head."
She smiled into the phone as Jack snuck up on her, gently nibbling her ear, while his arms snaked around her waist. Phryne closed her eyes, trying her hardest to listen to the cabbies happy chattering.
"Perfect, Cec. Did you find the dress Dot wanted? Yes, the yellow one. You better make yourself a list, I'm afraid."
She turned in the Inspector's arms, running her finger's through his hair, while finishing her conversation with half an ear.
"Working hard, are you, Miss Fisher?" Jack asked grinning, after she had rung off.
"Organising a wedding is rather annoying," she admitted. "I am somewhat envious of the brides who indulge in picking flower-arrangements and table decorations."
"And there I thought you would at least rush to Melbourne to get a dress fitted," Jack mumbled, returning to nibbling on her neck. Phryne lifted her chin to grant him better access and sounded somewhat breathless, when she continued talking, "I'm afraid, that is completely unnecessary, Inspector. I have already discussed the wedding dress at lengths with Madame Fleuri and she is currently having it done exactly to my wishes."
The last word turned into a moan as the Inspector intensified his attentions to her tender skin.
"You are a very resourceful woman, Miss Fisher," Jack murmured into her neck, while a hand slipped into the back of her dress. Phryne found herself unable to answer.
"Jack," she finally gasped.
"Phryne?" he hummed, without moving his lips from her, causing her skin to vibrate. Goosebumps were forming on her arms while her fingers wove through his hair.
"I believe we should head upstairs, they might be back soon," Phryne pointed out without opening her eyes. To her disappointment, Jack resurfaced, tipping his head. Then he pulled her body snug against his.
"I think you are completely right," he whispered, before closing her mouth with a kiss. Phryne felt her knees weaken and her body melting into his. She really needed to get upstairs, before she lost her head and did unspeakable things to him in the hallway with Jane and Aunt P. returning from Wombat Hall at any moment and Hugh bringing Dot back from a walk in the fresh air. When she opened her eyes, a knowing grin on Jack's face greeted her. He took her hand and she let him lead her upstairs like a new bride, scared of her wedding night. She would be his bride soon, she realised with a start. Of course, she was trembling with anticipation rather than anguish when it came to spending the night with Jack. But when he laid her down on the bed, starting to unwrap her like a precious gift, the reality of their adventure hit her. In two days they would actually be husband and wife. Phryne wasn't sure if the butterflies in her stomach were caused by the knowledge that she would very soon wear Jack's ring on her finger or by the Inspector's exploring mouth on herself. She leaned back, letting her eyes fall shut and the world melt away. She was safe in his hands, inside and outside of bed.
X
Phryne awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of a cricket singing in front of the open window. She found Jack lying on his side, looking at her with soft eyes. When he noticed her stirring, he reached out a hand, running it over her naked arm.
"Are you cold?" he whispered.
"A little," Phryne admitted, allowing him to pull the warm sheets over her exposed skin.
For a long moment they were just lying in the darkness, looking at each other.
"It's like a dream," Jack finally whispered. "I expect every day to wake up."
It was the truth, but it sounded silly, even here in the deep of the night. He held his breath while he waited for her reaction. Phryne took his hand, tenderly pressing her lips to his wrist, where his warm blood was pulsing under his skin, then snuggled her cheek into his palm.
"I am not going anywhere, Jack."
The only answer she got was a tiny nod and his second hand reaching for hers, intertwining their fingers. His eyes fell shut on their own accord, while he lay still under the warm sheets, listening to Phryne's breathing.
"Are you worried about marrying while we still haven't solved the case?" she asked, when he had almost drifted off, causing his lashes to flutter open.
"There will always be some murderer running around, Miss Fisher. I don't think we can wait until we have caught them all."
Phryne smiled in the darkness.
"It is all rather confusing though," she admitted after a pause. "Like we are turning around in circles."
Jack sighed. He was sure that was exactly what the killer wanted them to do.
"So, what do you propose, Miss Fisher?"
He watched her chew on her lip in thought, while a soft wind made the curtains flutter.
"We could try bringing all our suspects into one room, confront them with the facts and see how they react. Play a little game of our own."
Jack grinned.
"You have been reading too many novels, Miss Fisher."
She didn't protest that, but instead snuggled against him, going back to sleep.
X
Riya was woken by an annoying amount of sunlight flooding the room. She had forgotten to close the curtains, when she had headed to bed after painting in the moonlight into the early hours. She ached all over and her mood wasn't brightened by the view that greeted her after her eyes had adapted to the bright light. The sunset was mocking her from its canvas and she was in a good mood to just pour a jar of black paint over it.
Inga arrived, not knocking this time, which threw her Mistress somewhat. The girl hardly ever did what she was told, which was one of the reasons she kept her around.
"The tickets have just arrived with the mail, Ma'am," she said, handing the envelope over. Mrs. Santi's stomach did a lurch somewhere between pain and relief. She couldn't wait to leave Australia behind by now, but then that was it, wasn't it? Maybe she still waited on her knight in shining armour to show? How silly of her.
"And this, Ma'am."
It was a letter and again, her stomach flipped. It needed to stop doing this, unless she wanted to lose her breakfast before she even had had any. Riya turned the envelope a few times in her hands. It wasn't Tobias's hand on the expensive paper and she almost wanted to lie it down and go back to sleep, when she changed her mind and instead ripped it open.
Her eyes flew over the single card it held.
"What is it?" Inga asked, trying to get a glance. Her Mistress looked up at her.
"It's a wedding invitation."
Inga didn't ask just why this announcement sounded like Mrs. Santi had been asked to attend her own funeral.
X
Mr. Butler chopped carrots in silence. Of course, in a kitchen like Maria's, it was never really quiet. Meat sizzled, a kettle boiled, the knife danced with a dull sound over the wooden board, leaving the bleeding carrot rings to roll over the table.
He missed the look the cook gave him from where she was pondering the wedding meal for tomorrow.
"Tea?" she asked finally.
Mr. Butler found a cup being shoved into his free hand, before he had a chance to answer. Which was a shame, since he really had meant to refuse. That would have been rather rude in the current situation though and he took a careful sip of the Darjeeling that was a blunt and strong as Maria.
"You don't seem very happy, Mr. B," the cook went on conversationally, while she prepared her own cup. "Has it got to do with the wedding?"
Tobias forced himself to smile.
"Why ever would you think that? I am very happy for Miss Fisher and the Inspector."
"What a shame that your face is calling you a liar."
He looked up at the big, rough face of Maria Edinburg and sighed, lowering his knife in surrender.
"Their timing might be a little inconvenient," he admitted, returning his attentions to the carrots.
"Because your sweetheart left you?"
With a curse he wished nobody had heard, Mr. Butler sucked on his bleeding thumb. Maria smiled.
So she had hit the nail on the head - or the thumb rather.
"Let me have a look," she offered. It was a tiny cut, hardly worth worrying about and she handed him a towel to help stop the bleeding.
"It would be more accurate to say that I left her," she heard Tobias Butler say.
"Might be better, in the long run," Maria pointed out, as she turned her attention back to figuring out the filling for the wedding cake. The bride had insisted on including raspberries in it, which would be a little bit of a challenge. Tobias frowned. Maria had a point of course.
"Then again," the cook looked up with a smile, "it is rather stupid of you, to quit before you know, if that is indeed better."
Tobias grumbled something in return, getting his hands back into the job of massacring innocent root vegetable.
X
A form of anxious excitement that only wedding preparations can cause was haunting the walls of Wombat Hall. Hazel, Mac and Jane had vanished some time ago, but nobody had time to miss them. Aunt Prudence was attempting for the fifth time to talk her niece into moving the ceremony further down into another pretty part of the garden, finding herself confronted with the bride's stubborn nature, also for the fifth time. Olivia Morgan was busy collecting the pieces for the table setting together in the mountain of clutter spread over many a dusty storage area of Wombat Hall. When she reached the attic, three pairs of eyes flew up staring at her in shock, then gesturing her to close the door quickly.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"We, mother dear, are preparing at wedding gift," Hazel smiled, without looking up from her work.
Olivia squinted, trying to figure out, what exactly the gift consisted of.
"Oh," she said. "Do they know?"
"That would rather spoil the surprise, wouldn't it?" Hazel murmured, handing the piece back to Jane and gently guiding her fingers as she continued working.
Her mother smiled to herself, as she pulled the door shut. Something was happening with her daughter and while she had not the faintest idea what it was, it was nice to see her genuinely happy for once, rather than hiding behind her sarcasm. With a little melody on her lips Olivia skipped down the stairs, before she realised that she had actually meant to look for a candle-holder.
The morning went by with busy excitement and by lunchtime Phryne felt rather exhausted. She envied the Inspector who had politely retreated to the station to set her plan into motion and invite their suspects around for the afternoon. Uncle Walter had not been particularly pleased with the idea of having both Crossley and Barton in his house, but Jack had insisted that the intimate setting was necessary to catch them off guard and in the end the master of Wombat hall had given his nephew a free hand.
As Phryne wondered, if this really was an idea that could work in real life as well as in literature, she spotted Dot walking towards her. Her companion insisted that she was feeling better, but she still appeared a little green around the nose, and her Mistress wondered if she just couldn't resist helping with the wedding planning.
"Did you pick any flowers for your bouquet yet?" the maid asked, her voice glowing with bliss.
"I haven't got the slightest idea, Dot," Phryne sighed. Whenever she sorted one problem, the next one seemed to appear. It was indeed fortunate, she reflected grimly, that she only would have to endure this tedious process once.
"Would you like me to?" Dorothy asked and Miss Fisher looked at her with a surprised smile.
"Would you mind, Dot?"
"Of course, Miss. I think I might be still pondering about my wedding flowers if you hadn't made a call back then," she grinned. Miss Fisher laughed at this.
"I am glad that I decided on my dress weeks ago or I would probably end up bringing Madame Fleuri to tears today as well."
"I'm truly sorry about the lead-up to my wedding, Miss. I completely lost my head."
"As it is the unique right of the bride," Phryne smiled, hugging the girl to her chest. "I am glad I won't have that much time."
A faint choking noise disturbed the touching moment, as Dot struggled free and disappeared between the bushes. Miss Fisher hummed unhappily.
"We might have to get Mac to have a look at you. Not being able to keep any food down can't be healthy for you or your baby."
"I'll be fine, Miss," her companion insisted, returning from the hedges.
"No discussion, Dot, you are going to have a lie down now and I'll find Mac and Hugh."
Dorothy Collins had been Miss Fisher's companion for too long to try and argue with her.
X
"Nausea is normal at this stage, but nevertheless we can't let you starve. Your pulse is a bit faster than it should be as well," Mac said, letting go of Dot's wrist.
"Is there nothing we can do?" Hugh asked, grasping the freshly released hand of his wife, while he sat down at the edge of the sofa. Dot felt a little awkward, surrounded by half of Jack's family.
"There are some herbs that do have a soothing influence," Mac stated calmly, watching with half an eye as Jack walked through the door, astounded at the collection of people and started whispering with Phryne.
"We do have a bit of herb garden," Esmeralda announced from the back. "What are you looking for?"
"There are quite a few that might help. Lemon Balm and peppermint are the most commonly used," the Doctor stated, packing her things away.
"Lemon Balm we have growing outside, but peppermint has the tendency to take over whole gardens, so we avoided this," the Lady of the house explained. "But there is plenty of it growing wild in the forest along the creek. I could go and fetch some if it helps our poor Mrs. Collins to get through the day."
"I'll come," Jane announced, worried about her friend.
A knock at the door caused the group of people to turn. The entering housekeeper found herself being stared at by 20 eyes of all colours and ages. She straightened her back.
"I'm sorry to interrupt Ma'am, but Maria would like to discuss the wedding meal with you."
"Thank you Mrs. Roman, I completely forgot about this."
Helplessly Esmeralda looked around.
"Don't worry, I'll find the creek, how hard can it be?" Jane smiled.
"Quite hard actually, there is a bit of forest out there," Walter smiled. "I would accompany you, but sadly," he looked at his watch, "the Vicar is waiting on me talk through the ceremony. And probably rip my head of for the lecture he has gotten from his Bishop," he grinned.
"I'll take you," Jack offered. "It's been a few years, but I spent half my childhood in that forest," he added grinning. Miss Fisher briefly considered pointing out that their suspects would be arriving in less than an hour, but then she saw the look being traded between Jack and Jane and didn't have the heart. When his eyes sought out hers they told her that he was well aware of the facts. But he couldn't let this chance go by unused. Time was running out on him to bond with Jane before she was officially his foster daughter. Phryne nodded. If all else failed, she could handle a room of murder-suspects on her own. Jack grasped her hand and pressed it in a quick gesture of gratitude on walking past.
After they had left, Walter Cox-Stafford pulled himself to his feet.
"I better get on my way as well," he stated.
"Would you mind, if I walk a few metres with you?" John asked, also getting up. "I would like to discuss something with you."
Walter looked disconcerted for a moment, but there was a twinkle in his brother-in-law's eyes that told him that the man was planning something. It might be safer for everyone involved to hear him out.