A/N: Hi, thank you for giving this story a go!

I haven't written any fanfic for years and this is my first foray into Miss Fisher fanfiction so please be gentle! This story hasn't gone through a beta reader so there might be little errors I've missed. Likewise I'm not Australian so I may have got some of the language wrong, although I'm hoping a lifetime of watching Aussie soaps will have helped with all that.

I think this is longest fic I've written to date and there are many chapters to come so please let me know if you'd like to read more. I'm hoping to upload a chapter every week as long as there is an appetite for this story and life doesn't get in the way.

This is technically an A/U fic I suppose, which focuses on the very end of series 1 and series 2. I have started reading the books but this is based firmly on the show and follows the main plots from the series but not everything happens the same way or at the same time so I hope there will still be twists, turns and surprises in store.

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All standard disclaimers apply.

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Goddess of Scandal

By akbudbabe

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Chapter 1 - The Difference

*.*.*.

"Janey. Janey."

The words were spoken so softly it was almost as if the voice was in her head. Janey glanced around. Phryne and Arthur were transfixed by the magic show so they wouldn't notice her stepping away for a second.

She followed the sound to where a man stood in the shadows at the edge of the tent, watching the trio watch the show.

"Who are your friends?" the man asked her in his gentle voice.

Janey recognised him as the man who had given her the ticket for the circus in the first place. She had been keeping watch for her father and Phryne while they did whatever it was they did. She knew what they got up to involved trickery and that her father would beat her if she spoke of it to anyone. She'd once overheard Aunt Prudence call him a conman. All Janey knew for certain was that her father knew lots of tricks and when he was in a good mood he would entertain the girls with them. That wasn't enough for Phryne though; she demanded that he tell her how it was all done which he did sometimes. There were moments when the pair of them were as thick as thieves although those moments became increasingly rarer as Phryne got older. Janey didn't get jealous of their relationship, being close to Father came at a price. He was a happy and charming man when life was going well, but that could change in the blink of an eye and he'd go out drinking and then come home shouting and blaming them for his bad luck. It was always Phryne who got the beatings on those days. Janey was happier away from him which was why all she did was look out for policemen, whistle if she saw them and if it looked like Father and Phryne wouldn't disappear in time, she would distract the copper.

That was how she had met this man. He reminded her a little of her father, actually. He was very kind and charming but she didn't trust people who spoke to her for no reason. People always spoke to Phryne first and then Phryne would force them to acknowledge her little sister. But the man had been kind. He'd stopped her because she reminded him of his little girl who he'd lost a few weeks ago. He had a spare ticket to the circus, did she want it?

She nearly told him she didn't need it. Phryne hadn't been content just learning her father's tricks, she wanted bigger and better. To a casual observer right now Phryne looked like she was completely taken in by the act, like Arthur was, but she wasn't. She was trying to work out how they did it. So obsessed with magic, Phryne had long ago learnt to sneak them into both the circus and the travelling magic show whenever either was in town. The sisters went often. They'd made friends with the circus children and most of the adults turned a blind eye to them sneaking in now. In the end, though, Janey had taken the ticket. It might be nice to watch the show from a seat for a change.

She had told Phryne, of course, but she told her that she'd found a ticket for the circus not that she'd been given it. Phryne had immediately taken the ticket away from her. Just as she looked after Janey, Phryne also had a sense of responsibility for Cousin Arthur. Her parents called him horrible things and his brother Guy acted like he didn't exist. Guy also had no interest in hanging around with his poor girl cousins but Arthur loved them both. They had told him all about the circus but Aunt Prudence refused to take him and he wasn't able to move very quickly so Phryne said she couldn't sneak him in with them. So Arthur had the ticket the man had given Janey.

Phryne had begged Mother for Arthur to stay over this night, a treat for her birthday which was coming up. Eventually the adults agreed, their parents on the understanding that Phryne was looking after Arthur. Aunt Prudence was just happy for Arthur to have a normal childhood experience and she trusted Phryne, although Arthur had once told them he'd heard his mother worry that Phryne was going to turn out exactly like her father, but that both girls had such promise if only they could get a good education.

So, with Phryne in charge, Father out and Mother lost in the task of altering one of her dresses, the three of them had slipped out to the circus with Arthur using the free ticket Janey had been given.

"My sister Phryne and our cousin Arthur," Janey replied to the man's question. "Arthur has the ticket because he can't run and hide like we can."

"I see." The man seemed angry with her.

"It's nearly Phryne's birthday, so we brought Arthur as a treat. I thought as Phryne's birthday is close to your daughter's she'd like her ticket to be used for a party."

A change came over the man as Janey spoke and he switched attention to stare at Phryne, who was still watching the show. "It's nearly Phryne's birthday? What about you, when's your birthday?"

"September," Janey replied. "It says December on my birth certificate because Father had drunk too much and gave them Phryne's birthday instead of mine. At least I have the right name, Phryne was supposed to be Psyche but he'd been drunk registering her birth too."

The explanation about their birth certificates had been well learnt by the pair as they had to explain to other adults why Janey birth date was wrong and why Phryne had such an unusual name, although secretly Janey wasn't convinced that Psyche would have been any better in that regard.

The man tutted and shook his head. "I'm sorry you have such a terrible father, Janey."

"Me too," Janey replied.

His eyes hadn't left Phryne as they spoke. "I'm glad you've managed to put the ticket to good use. Your sister seems to really love magic."

"Oh, she does."

"You should go back to them now. Your cousin is looking for you."

Janey looked back over at them. Arthur was indeed making his way over to her. She should go to him, he shouldn't be alone. Janey turned to tell the man so but he'd vanished almost as if he'd been part of the magic show himself.

Janey shrugged, not caring where he had disappeared to, and ran over to Arthur and Phryne, the latter having finally noticed that her charges were wandering off while her back was turned.

*.*.*.

Janey sat in the playground waiting for Phryne. The other children were leaving school, some were even lucky enough to have parents picking them up. Phryne had taken a beating from Father last night and sometimes she was late getting out of class when that happened because the teachers wanted to talk to her. Phryne was very bright, so despite her being disruptive and very often absent, a couple of the teachers paid her special attention. She'd heard them say she could get into university when she was older if she applied herself. No one said these things about Janey, but she did know that as the blonde one she was called the pretty one. Phryne could have been the pretty one too, but she kept cutting her hair too short and the ends of her skirts were usually in tatters.

"Where's your sister today, Janey?" one of the teachers asked when she saw her sitting there.

Janey looked around. She wasn't supposed to get Phryne into trouble. "Um…"

The teacher tutted and rolled her eyes. "That girl! Honestly. Are you alright to get home on your own, Janey?"

Janey stood. She probably could but Phryne had never left her to do it alone before. Even if she skipped school, she'd come back for Janey and she always made sure Janey went to school herself. "I think so."

"Are your parents at home?"

"I don't know."

"Wait here, I'll get my coat and walk with you. I'd like a word with your father myself."

The teacher was surprisingly good company on the walk home. They discussed books and the teacher had promised to lend some to Janey to read. She liked books. The teacher said she knew that Phryne got all of the attention because she was so troublesome but they were all keeping an eye on Janey too. She told her she was just as bright as her sister, she just wasn't as naughty. Janey liked that.

Father opened the door to them when they arrived at the Fishers' home, almost pulling the door off its hinges.

"Where the hell have you been? Where's Phryne?"

"I was going to ask you that, Mr Fisher," the teacher stated bluntly with no preamble.

Father didn't answer the teacher. "Get inside, Janey, go help your mother."

Janey ran past him but she didn't go that far. Like she'd watched Phryne do on multiple occasions, Janey hid behind some furniture to listen in on the adult's conversation.

"Phryne wasn't in school again today, Mr Fisher."

"You know as well as I do that short of tying her to her desk there's nothing you can do to make that girl stay somewhere she doesn't want to be."

"But she likes school, Mr Fisher. She loves learning things. She gets bored easily because she picks things up quicker than the other students. If you tried to get her a scholarship to a better school…"

"Don't be ridiculous, she wouldn't last with those sorts of children, she'd be expelled within a week. You want to see how she and her cousin fight when they're forced together. No, she needs to get out into the real world and get a job. That will settle her."

"It will settle your pocket," the teacher snapped at Father. "Where is she?"

"I don't know but she'll come home eventually, she always does."

"She doesn't abandon her sister."

There was a pause as Father considered the teacher's words. Then Father called Janey back over to them.

"Where is Phryne, Janey?"

Janey looked from one adult to the other. The teacher bent down to her with a kind look on her face. "Phryne isn't in trouble. We just want to make sure she's safe."

Janey didn't want to tell her father anything but she trusted the teacher and she was worried about Phryne herself. "I don't know. We walked to school. Her eye was still hurting her so she went to get something to stop it hurting and I went to class."

"Why was her eye hurting?"

Janey glanced at her father. He was angry now she'd said that. Janey knew she was only safe from his beatings by Phryne getting between her and Father. Without Phryne around he would take it out on her.

"Go to your mother, Janey," the teacher said firmly and this time Janey did so as she wanted to keep well out of Father's way. She heard them shouting and arguing and then Father left shortly after the teacher did.

Janey realised that the only reason he hadn't beaten her that night was because he knew the teacher was keeping an eye on her.

*.*.*.

Phryne never came home. A few days later she was officially reported as missing. The police said they'd keep an eye out for her but no word of her being found ever came. A couple of years later, Father inherited some money and a title in England. Janey didn't want to go, she still went looking for Phryne whenever she had any spare time but her parents insisted that she had to go to England with them.

She had the best education money could pay for in England. At the end of the war, after she'd finished at school, she went off to work in a factory making weapons. Her parents were horrified that the Honourable Miss Janey Fisher would do this sort of work but it gave her a sense of freedom and oddly enough she felt it brought it closer to her missing sister. She swore this was what Phryne would have done if she was with them, might well still be doing. She certainly wouldn't have just sat at home crossing her fingers and hoping for the best.

When the war finally finished Janey went back to her old life although her parents never let her go back into education like she wanted. Her mother kept inviting rich, eligible bachelors to their home but Janey never fell for any of them. She spent her time reading books and tending the garden, both of which she enjoyed but equally were tasks that allowed her to spend time away from her parents. Phryne wouldn't have meekly married a man and started a family just because Mother said so, so Janey decided to wait until she fell in love instead of simply marrying the first decent man who asked her. Sadly, for whatever reason, Janey never fell in love with any of her suitors.

Things only changed for her when she received an invitation from her aunt back in Australia. Cousin Guy had got engaged. The wedding was to be in England, which of course the Fishers were attending, but they were also invited to the engagement party Aunt Prudence was holding in Melbourne. Janey was disappointed when Father and Mother said they weren't going. It had been the same when Aunt Prudence had sent them the details of Uncle Edward's funeral. All Janey wanted was to go back home to look for Phryne again and had begged to go back to Australia both times. Her parents had given their eldest daughter up as presumed dead by this point but Janey still couldn't believe it. Phryne simply wouldn't have accepted death. So this time Janey booked her own ticket back to Australia, deciding that she was brave enough to take the journey alone if her parents wouldn't come. Her aunt was happy to offer her accommodation so it was all settled. If nothing else came of this trip, Janey knew it would be good to be home again.

*.*.*.

Aunt Prudence and Arthur were so inviting when Janey finally arrived weeks later. For the first time since Phryne had gone missing, Janey remembered what it was to feel loved by her family. Guy, too, was nicer than Janey remembered, although that might have had something to do with her having money now. The fiancée seemed right for him but the truth was Janey was much happier spending time with Prudence and Arthur rather than the happy couple.

The day after her boat got in, once she was a little more settled and had got her land legs back, Janey drew herself up and filled herself with fake confidence before she caught a taxi to the local police station. A young constable was behind the desk as she entered.

"Can I help you, Miss?" he asked as soon as he spotted Janey walking over to him.

"I want to talk to someone about my missing sister."

The constable picked up a notepad. "When did she go missing?"

"1913."

He put down the notepad in annoyance at her answer. "Miss…"

Janey spoke over his attempt to put her off. "Her name is Miss Phryne Fisher. She took me to school and then played truant. I was the last one to see her and the police found nothing. We moved to England two years later and this is my first time back in Melbourne since then. What has happened to find her since we left?"

"Miss, it's been so long, I think –"

"Don't tell me she's dead!" Janey yelled at the unfortunate man. "You don't know Phryne, there's no way–!"

The constable looked sorrowful at Janey's obvious distress. "I'm sorry, Miss, but if a missing person isn't found in the first few days …"

"I don't want excuses I want…I want to speak to someone in charge!"

The constable paused for a second and then walked away into an office just in view of the main desk. Moments later he appeared with a man Janey assumed was a plain clothed officer. This new policeman had a kind but stern face. Janey wasn't sure if he was to be trusted or not. Father and Phryne had taught her to be cautious of police, especially ones who seemed too friendly, but this man had an aura of trustworthiness about him and he seemed too serious to be faking anything.

"Can I help you, Miss…?"

"Fisher. Janey Fisher," Janey introduced herself to this new policeman.

"Detective Inspector Jack Robinson." He held out a hand to Janey which she cautiously shook. "You want an update on an old missing person case?"

"Yes, my sister, Phryne Fisher."

Robinson nodded at her but spoke to the young constable. "Collins, can you see if you can find the file on Phryne Fisher? Miss Fisher, would you like to come into my office to talk?"

Janey followed the Inspector into his office. He offered her a seat, which she took, as he sat down behind his desk.

"I'm going to find her," Janey told him sullenly in the following silence.

To Janey's surprise, the Inspector didn't argue with her. "And I will do my best to help you. You are aware you might not like what you find? You may prefer to remain in ignorance and assume she's out there somewhere, living a good life?"

"I have to know," Janey replied firmly.

Robinson simply nodded in response and at that moment Constable Collins appeared with the file on Phryne, which Robinson diligently read as Janey watched anxiously.

"According to our records, your sister was a known trouble maker, caught more than once stealing with your father. Does that sound correct to you?"

Janey sighed. "I never knew for certain, Phryne kept me out of it as much as possible but yes, that sounds about right."

"Right. It took your father nearly a week to come to the police when your sister disappeared, well, yes considering his run-ins with the law that would explain why it took him so long to come forward. It's also why you're uncomfortable here, I assume."

"I…"

"Oh, don't worry, Miss Fisher, I'm not offended," Robinson replied, honestly from what Janey could tell. "A search was conducted. Paperwork sent out to all stations to keep an eye out for her but there's no photograph, just a description. Height, well that's no good now, brown hair, blue eyes, may be disguised as a boy?"

Janey smiled as he voiced that last description as a question. "She wasn't exactly a tomboy, Inspector, but long hair and skirts annoyed her because they got in the way. Once when we were playing dress-up with our cousin she put on his clothes and pretended to be a boy. Unfortunately our mother caught her that way and was horrified and the tale of Phryne wearing trousers stuck ever since. She did say she quite liked wearing them because they were easier to run in than skirts and she did on occasion give our cousin sweets in exchange for his trousers as Mother refused to let her have her own pair. She was never allowed to keep them, of course, but if she got hold of a pair of scissors she'd cut her own hair short and once it had been cut there was nothing Mother could do about it."

Again, the Inspector just nodded at this information. "Well, we've all changed a lot since then and she could even dye her hair, so a woman with blue eyes is all I have to go on now."

"I know," Janey replied sadly.

Inspector Robinson sighed and closed the file. "Miss Fisher, I'm going to be honest here. We don't know if your sister's alive or dead."

"She's alive, Inspector," Janey insisted. "That file says nothing about is who she really is. Yes, she had a nose for trouble but she also had a knack for getting out of it. My parents are…selfish people, they should never have had children. Mother just sees me as something to marry off to someone rich and influential. Father just saw us as pawns to use in his schemes. Phryne helped him sometimes, as you've read, but that was because she was smart and quick and loved learning all his tricks. I only ever kept a look out. But when he was caught or gambled away all the money he had, he used to take it out in us, Phryne especially. He'd given her a very bad beating just before she vanished."

Robinson's brow furrowed. "Which leads credence to the idea that she ran away."

"Yes, but more than that, Phryne looked after us, all of us. She made sure there was food and water, left to my parents that wouldn't have happened. She was used to looking after four people, Inspector; she would have had no problems just looking after herself."

"And she would have left you alone with your parents willingly?"

"Well, not really," Janey admitted.

"Hm. As I said, right now we have nothing to go on. If your sister did die, either at the time or at a later point, even with a body we might struggle to identify it as her now."

"I don't believe –"

Robinson held up a hand to interrupt her protest. "As I said, Miss Fisher, we simply don't know. So I am equally considering the possibility that she's still alive. From what you've just told me I do consider that possible, but again by this point she could be anywhere. I assume that if she did run away and live she would have gone by a different name. The name Phryne would have stood out if she'd carried on using it. Can you think of any aliases she might have used?"

"Not really, well maybe Psyche. That's what she was supposed to be called but Father was drunk when he registered her birth."

"He sounds like a charming man," the Inspector said sarcastically.

"So you'll help look for her?"

The Inspector looked sad at her hopeful question. "I will reissue the missing person notification across Victoria. Unfortunately, that's the best I can do, but I will make sure any women we come across that could be a match for Phryne are noted."

"I suppose that's better than nothing," Janey felt deflated.

"Is there anything else you can tell me, anything else out of the ordinary apart from your father's beating that could have played a part in her going missing?"

Janey shook her head.

"Well, if you think of anything, let me know. I'll keep in touch, Miss Fisher."

Janey stood, understanding that she was being dismissed and that the police were going to be no further help in her search for her sister. "Thank you, Inspector."

TBC...