Chapter 11 - Sisterly Love

*.*.*.

Jack stared down at his ex-wife as she sat in his office, thanking him for clearing her father's name. It was strange, he decided. There was something normal about being with Rosie again, they had been married for so long and yet… yet she wasn't Phryne. Rosie would be horrified, he knew, if she knew who he'd shared his bed with last night. A part of him was horrified when he let the reality of his situation filter through. Somehow, though, when he was with Phryne that didn't seem to matter. She had her own sense of logic about what was between them, one that made perfect sense when she said it and, as bizarre as it was, he found himself able to relax around her in a way he never had with Rosie and couldn't alone. She was oddly good for him. All Rosie would see was him having an affair with a lady of the night.

"You're a different man these days, Jack," Rosie said in an unprompted compliment. "You've got your fight back."

"Probably just that lack of ambition," he joked.

"Or escaping a marriage that didn't suit you."

"It's war what didn't suit me," Jack insisted. The truth was that he was no longer convinced that the war had changed him so much, that maybe he'd been so in love with Rosie when they got married that he hadn't seen the incompatibilities that were always there. Either way, it was much easier to blame those traumatic times in France for his failure to be the husband she wanted because it had changed him. It had changed all of them.

There was a knock on his open office door and he looked up to see Sidney Fletcher standing there.

"Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt, love. Your constable said you wanted a quick word with me, Jack?"

Jack had been sat on his desk so he quickly moved to his seat to look more professional. "Er, yes, if you have a minute."

"Go ahead."

Rosie looked between the men. "Do you need me to leave?"

Jack wasn't sure. Phryne had put so much doubt in his head about a deeper conspiracy that he couldn't ignore the possibility that maybe Rosie shouldn't be here for this but, for crying out loud, Rosie and George had been family to him. If there was some big evil plot going on here, surely he'd have got wind of it before now. He looked over to Fletcher and decided to let him be the judge. "It's just a couple of questions about a former employee of yours."

Fletcher patted Rosie's shoulder. "It's OK, love. Just routine questions, you can stay. I've nothing to hide from you."

Jack nodded and indicated for Fletcher to sit in the empty seat. "Maurie Burke, used to work for you on the docks. He may possibly have been employed under the name Berkowicz."

"Can't say I know the name," Fletcher replied. "To be honest, it's a side of the business I don't take much notice of. I've got managers to keep an eye on the staff for me."

"I see. Well, it was Burke who killed the girl and framed George."

"How awful!" Rosie exclaimed, looking at Fletcher. "And he used to work for you?"

Fletcher looked sad and shook his head. "I'm so sorry, dear. I don't know what to say. If I had any idea… I would never have let a man like that work for me."

"No," Jack agreed shortly. "No, I imagine you wouldn't have done. After he left your employment he took a job at the Imperial Club. Speaking to the staff there I gather he was still doing work for your company on the side. Do you know anything about that?"

"No, nothing." Fletcher seemed surprised. "I did have a shipment come in earlier than expected, I remember my manager saying he was going to struggle to unload it all in time. Maybe he got this Burke to come back for a few hours just to help with that?"

Jack considered this possibility. It did sound plausible but, no, there was more going on with Burke at the docks than simply a few extra hours unloading cargo, that much he was certain of. No matter what Phryne said Jack still trusted George but Fletcher, no, he wasn't so convinced about him. If Phryne was right about the box containing items that he could hold over Commissioner Hall, then he could likewise use a relationship with Rosie to hold George to account. Or was he just a jealous former husband to be thinking these things about Rosie's new man?

Either way, he had absolutely no proof that Fletcher had any involvement other than employing Burke, which made him just as liable for his actions as Phryne and Madam Lyon were. So, for now, Jack had to accept Fletcher's very logical justification. "That would explain it. Thank you, Mr Fletcher."

Fletcher grinned. "Sidney, please Jack. After all, we are practically family, aren't we?"

Jack said nothing to that, wondering if the other man was hoping to provoke some jealousy in him. Fletcher stood and turned to Rosie. "Ready to go when you are, love. No hurry."

With that, he walked back out of the office. Jack decided that if Sidney Fletcher was playing some crooked game, he was very sure of himself.

Rosie nearly followed Fletcher straight out, but to Jack's surprise she turned back to him. "You know I didn't get a chance to tell you amid all the fuss but Sidney and I are engaged. It's very different, the second time round."

Jack paused for a second, waiting for that wave of jealousy to overtake him. It didn't. He was worried, worried that Fletcher was the villain that Phryne seemed to think was behind everything and worried that Rosie was headed into another marriage that would hurt her, but he realised that he didn't mind that her heart belonged to another now. He just hoped he was wrong about Fletcher. "I wish you all the best."

*.*.*.

"...and it's driving Miss Fisher to distraction, knowing that her sister's out there somewhere and that Inspector Robinson knows where and won't tell her and I don't know what to say to calm her. Is there any way you can find out for me?"

Dot looked up imploringly at Hugh. He hadn't been sure about continuing his relationship with her once he had found out she was a Catholic but Inspector Robinson had insisted that she was a lovely girl and that Hugh wasn't going to come across such a woman every day. Hugh hadn't needed much persuasion, he liked her very much and she seemed to like him. The only issue other than religion was this one little thing, that whenever she brought up Miss Fisher's sister he had to lie and he didn't like hiding something from her.

"You do know where she is, don't you?" Dot exclaimed. "Hugh!"

He groaned and shook his head. "Dottie, I can't tell you. She's asked us not to say anything. I would like more than anything to tell you, Inspector Robinson and I both agree she should leave that place and go to her sister but–"

"What place?" Dot insisted.

"I can't say!" Hugh replied in despair. "Come on, Dottie. We're on this lovely walk and we've got this lovely picnic to enjoy. From what I've seen of her, I'm not sure that Phryne Fisher is worth us getting upset and falling out over."

Dot stopped walking and folded her arms, glaring at Hugh. "Maybe Phryne Fisher isn't, I don't know her, but I assure you Janey Fisher is. What do you know?"

"I know," Hugh replied slowly, trying to think of a way to appease Dot while not compromising his job, "that Phryne Fisher is alive and well. That Inspector Robinson has been keeping a close eye on her. That Janey Fisher really doesn't need to worry about her sister. That I wanted to spend a nice afternoon with Dottie Williams. That I really didn't want to upset her by keeping things from her but I also know that Dottie Williams understands that as a police constable there will sometimes be times when I have to keep some things from her…"

"But I don't want that, Hugh." Dot complained. "I don't want secrets. I don't want you to keep things from me because you think they might hurt me."

"I know, I know," he insisted. "That's not… that's not what I meant. I meant… I can't tell you private information about cases."

She seemed angry with him now and everything he said had made it worse. What bothered him most was exactly how close Inspector Robinson seemed to be with Phryne Fisher. Since they'd closed the case at the Imperial Club Hugh hadn't seen her, he hoped that meant that Inspector Robinson hadn't either but he wasn't sure. And he gathered that he had told her things about the case, a case she was involved in. So why wasn't he allowed to do the same with a woman he trusted and cared for?

"Look," Hugh said with a sigh, looking around as if Jack Robinson might jump out from a bush at any second and fire him. "I shouldn't tell you anything but, if it helps, Phryne Fisher was helping us with that murder at the Imperial Club."

Dot's eyes widened and her arms fell to her side. "She's at the Imperial Club?"

Hugh nodded fiercely. "I didn't say that."

Dot actually skipped happily as she came back to his side and slipped her arm back through his. "Thank you, Hugh."

"Huh," he scoffed. "I don't know that you'll thank me if you speak to her."

*.*.*.

Dot decided not to tell Janey what Hugh had said about her sister. When Janey spoke about Phryne it was with such love and fondness that Dot was certain she'd be a wonderful woman like her sister. Hugh's face when he spoke about the woman he knew told a different story.

On her next day off, Dot snuck out. She knew she had lived a sheltered life in many ways and didn't really know much about places like the Imperial Club. She knew what her mother would have said about the women who worked there but, they couldn't be all bad, could they? Her mother would have had things to say about some of the girls Dot had worked with at the laundry, too, but they weren't bad people they'd just had a bad time. Maybe it was the same with these women.

The door to the club wasn't closed and Dot walked straight in. The place was dark and quiet, there was no one around. She glanced up the stairs and saw a statue of a naked lady. Dot gulped. She'd tried to pretend it wasn't but clearly this place was some sort of brothel.

"What are you doing here?" a voice called from up the stairs.

Dot looked up and nearly dropped her bag. "Nell?!"

"Dot!"

Nell Williams came rushing down the stairs and grabbed Dot, pulling her into the shadows. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I, um, I came looking for someone. What are you doing here?"

"I work here, Dot, what do you think I'm doing here?" Nell shook her blonde locks and Dot took in her immaculate makeup and showy dress, realising exactly what that meant. "Were you looking for me?"

"No," Dot replied, stunned. "I had no idea…"

"Then who? Quickly, before you get thrown out."

"Someone called Phryne Fisher."

Nell shook her head. "Never heard of her."

Dot stood her ground. "Well, I have it on very good authority that she works here."

"If she does, she doesn't call herself Phryne Fisher. We don't, you know, go by our old names. I'm Lola now."

Dot scoffed. "You still look like Nell to me."

Nell softened slightly. "What happened to you, Dot? You had that job as a maid, then you disappeared and we didn't hear from you again."

Dot shook her head, deciding that she didn't want to relive it all again, not for Nell's enjoyment. "I had a spot of bother with my old employer, that's all. But it's all sorted now. I'm working as a maid for a very respectable lady. At least I'm not working as a–!"

"That's it, get out!" Nell interrupted her, pushing her back to the entrance.

"No!" Dot fought her. "I have to look for her! I know she's here!"

"She's not here, Dot, now go!"

"Girls!" a voice snapped, deftly interrupting the childish squabble.

Nell finally let go of Dot. Dot looked up at the newcomer. She was older, very glamorous and seemed very sure of herself. She looked Dot up and down. "Lola, who's this?"

Dot glanced at her sister, who seemed nervous. "She's my sister and she was just leaving."

The woman took a step closer. "She's very pretty, must run in the family. And what are you doing here, Lola's sister?"

Dot took in a deep breath and decided to be brave. "My name is Miss Dorothy Williams and I'm looking for someone called Phryne Fisher."

The woman shook her head. "There's no one of that name here."

"There is," Dot insisted, "I know there is. Nell said the girls all change their names, so maybe she's called something else so if you check…"

"With who, dear?" The woman seemed amused by Dot's stubbornness. "This is my establishment. I know the names of all the girls here, past and present. I assure you, there is no one here with that particular name, nor has there ever been. I'm sorry but your information is wrong."

Dot hung her head. "It's not," she insisted, knowing Hugh would never lie to her but not trusting this woman one bit.

The woman turned to Nell as if the matter was closed. "Lola, go and speak to Peony, I want to make sure there is someone in the lobby at all times the front door is unlocked, not just during opening hours."

Nell nodded and raced up the stairs, abandoning her sister to her fate. The woman turned back to Dot. "And you. You know, you really are very pretty. You've got that innocent little girl look about you, a lot of men like that, you know. If you want a job here you'd probably do very well. Your sister does."

Dot was appalled. "I do not want a job here, Miss. I have a very good and respectable job with a good and respectable lady."

The woman didn't seem happy with that reply. "Well then, I suggest you follow your sister's instructions and leave. You wouldn't want your good and respectable lady employer to know you've been in a place like this, would you?"

Dot glanced up the stairs. She knew Hugh was telling the truth. Phryne Fisher was here, or at least had been up until very recently. Which meant that either this woman and Nell were lying or Phryne Fisher had given them a false name. If she was braver, Dot would push past and inspect every room until she found her. She could even take the woman up on her offer of a job, go under cover and find Miss Fisher's sister that way but she could never do that.

Instead, she mumbled an apology to the woman and ran out of the building.

Once back out in the fresh air, Dot suddenly realised that she could never tell Miss Fisher what had happened to her sister. Knowing that Nell was working in that place made Dot feel physically sick. She understood now why Hugh and Inspector Robinson had decided to keep if from Miss Fisher and why she now had to do the same.

*.*.*.

Jack held Phryne close to him in the darkness. This had become regular now, her coming over at night. Only a couple of times since that first night had it not happened and only because one or other of them was working far too late. He was already thinking of that side of his bed as hers, which he knew was incredibly dangerous. She had warned him not to fall for her, which he didn't think he had, not really, he had just got rather used to her presence.

"Have you been telling people about me?" she asked him softly, her body nestled against him.

"What do you think?" Jack asked, amused at the very idea.

"I don't know what to think." Phryne sounded serious. "Apparently Madam Lyon came across a young woman in our lobby looking for someone called Phryne Fisher. Why would someone do that?"

Jack thought for a moment and then groaned. "Collins."

"Your constable?"

"He's courting your sister's maid. I've told him not to say anything but, well, he's a bit too honest sometimes."

Phryne went silent for a moment. He gently ran a hand down her arm and to his delight she didn't push him away.

"Was it your sister?" he asked her tenderly.

"No," she replied sadly. "She was the sister of one of our girls but not mine."

"What did you say to her?"

"I didn't see her. You see, there's no Phryne Fisher there."

"I'm sorry?"

He felt her turn in his arms and then a soft hand pressed against his chest. "Madam Lyon changes the name of all the girls when they start, for lots of reasons but traceability being one of them. But I wasn't stupid when I ran away. I always knew there aren't many other Phrynes in the world. Until you called me Miss Fisher when you came to the club no one had called me by my real name since the morning I left home. On the streets, if anyone asked, I went by Fern. So, as far as Madam Lyon is concerned, I was Fern Harrison before I was Peony, not Phryne Fisher."

"Of course, silly me."

He took the opportunity to kiss her and she responded by pressing her body against his. It really was very nice to have someone to share his bed with again.

"So you really haven't told anyone about us?" she asked him cheekily.

"Told anyone what? I don't even know what 'us' is."

Phryne giggled. It was a strange sound. Phryne usually came in two modes; protector or seductress. Neither one really giggled the way the woman beside him just did. Then her head dipped down and he felt light kissed trail from his collar bone down onto his chest. "Come on, Jack, you're a grown man."

"A grown man who was married for 16 years and only got divorced a couple of months ago," he reminded her.

"A couple of months," she scoffed. "Don't try and fool me, Jack, you've been single a lot longer than that."

"My wife spent quite a while living with her sister before the divorce," he admitted. "But I remained faithful to her throughout our whole marriage."

"Unusual," Phryne replied.

"In your experience, I'm sure it is."

Jack didn't need the light to know what the look on her face was at that comment. "What I don't understand is why you divorced in the first place."

"I came back from the war a different man to the one she married. We tried to make it work but as the years went on we drifted further and further apart. I have to admit, it's been so long that I've had any form of, well, let's loosely call it a romantic attachment, outside of an unhappy marriage that I would have no idea how to explain this to anyone. It might be easier if I just paid you."

He felt rather than heard her sigh as she snuggled her head down against his chest. "You and I both know you'd never do that."

"And we both know you wouldn't accept my money," he agreed. He pulled her closer to him.

"Was she faithful to you?" Phryne asked.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I would have assumed so but… I found out recently she's engaged. I'm not sure if that's too quick, or…"

"Depends, I suppose," Phryne replied. "For many women, getting married is still their only, or at least best, option. If he's rich she may not have wanted to hang around and wait."

"Or she could have started divorce proceedings so she could get married again?"

"It's possible," Phryne agreed. "Does that thought bother you?"

"No," he replied. "How could it bother me when I have you instead?"

"I thought I told you–"

"I don't mean in that way," he tightened his arms briefly, just to prove that he did have her in at least one literal respect at that precise moment. She didn't move. "You know, before you it had been so long since I had last made love, at least for any reason other than duty, I'd almost forgotten that it was supposed to be fun."

"So is that what this is, Inspector? Fun?"

She sounded offended but Jack suspected she was simply teasing him. "Are you not having fun, Miss Fisher?"

"I'm having lots of fun with you, Jack, you know that."

"And you've made it very clear that there's no chance of it turning into anything more."

"Absolutely zero chance."

"So fun it is," he grinned. "Although, as a novice in these sorts of things, I was wondering, how much longer we'll be having fun together?"

She sighed and rolled away from him. "Honestly? In my experience we probably don't have much longer together. Usually within a few weeks either one of us will get bored or move on, or worse you'll develop feelings for me and I'll have to end it before you get too attached."

Jack didn't like the sound of that but he felt telling her that would make her think that he did have feelings for her. He reached out and pulled her back close to him. "Then we ought to make the most of whatever time we have left together."

He felt her hand on the back of his head as she pulled him in for a deep kiss. "You read my mind, Jack," she told him briefly before continuing the kiss, not giving him time for a verbal response so all he could do was kiss her back just as fervently.

TBC...