‘Indeed?’ Phryne was not concentrating. She was worried about Eunice, and caught herself agreeing to come and watch him training on the morrow before she realised what she had done. I really must start listening to what I am saying, she told herself firmly, but by then it was too late.
‘Have you known Mr Thompson long?’
‘Lord, yes, we were at school together — Melbourne Grammar. I was quite a new chum then, coming from London, and the other fellows would have ragged me to death had it not been for Alastair. He’s a good chap. I owe him a great deal,’ said the young man solemnly. ‘And he’s very clever. A real shark at school for all those mathematics — I couldn’t get the hang of them, either — and now they say he might win the surgery prize this year. He’ll be a good doctor — sort of trustworthy, you know. But a nasty temper when aroused. We were playing football once, just a friendly game, and one of the forwards copped him one on the nose, and he gave a roar and pounced, and it took three men to pull him off the bully. But the nicest, kindest fellow you could meet,’ he said hastily, ‘a very good friend to me. I reckon there’s nothing he couldn’t do if he set his mind to it.’
Phryne replenished the brandy-and-water and asked her guest to show her his wristwatch. He exhibited it wrist and all, forcing Phryne to take his hand.
‘It’s a good watch, the Pater sent to New York for it — they are all the rage there, I’m told — and it keeps good time.’ The hand and arm were now lying across Phryne’s breasts, and her breathing jogged her nipples. ‘I just have to be careful to keep it. . out of. . the water. .’
His face was close, the mouth opening on a soft lip, his skin smelling of yellow soap and masculine sweat. Phryne abandoned herself and the arms circled her, the mouth closing on hers with emphasis and skill.
Phryne had retained her deep devotion to the male sex. She took care of her body, and her virtue took care of itself. The young man was sleek and strong, an intriguing combination, and had the promise of being a very fair lover indeed. But she did not have the time to indulge in spur-of-the-moment indiscretions on couches, and she detached herself gently, putting aside the hot mouth that kissed and clung.
‘No, no, not now. Come back some time my pretty young man, and I shall be delighted to receive you — but I’m too old to be seduced in front of a fire at four in the afternoon. Oh, you are lovely,’ she kissed him again, just below the ear, where his hair curled enchantingly. ‘Quite lovely.’
‘Oh, Miss Fisher,’ gasped Lindsay, dropping to his knees in front of her and burying his head in her shoulder, ‘I think I’ve fallen in love with you!’
‘Quite possibly,’ agreed Phryne briskly. ‘But it will wear off. I will come and watch you train tomorrow, as I promised when I wasn’t myself, and then we may make some arrangements. But I am not toying with your heart, Lindsay — just your body. It is useless to fall in love with me — I do not want to damage you. Do you understand?’
‘No,’ confessed Lindsay, rubbing his face against her neck. ‘But whatever you say, Miss Fisher.’
‘I think,’ conceded Phryne, ‘that you had better call me Phryne.’
Mr Herbert gulped his drink.
Eunice Henderson, safe behind her veil, surveyed her lover with doting eyes. He was not tall, just the right size, and had delightful blue eyes, which were at present clouded with worry. He was worried about
‘How do you feel, Eunice? I’m horrified by all this.’
‘I feel much better. Miss Fisher has been very kind to me. She is also going to find out who killed Mother.’
‘Oh. What about the burns, Eunice? I didn’t know that chloroform would burn skin like that. Poor girl! What does the doctor say?’
‘She says that it will heal without a scar if I don’t scratch, though that is very hard, for it itches like fury. However, it doesn’t hurt anymore, and it really was painful. Ally, I thought I’d never bear the train journey to Melbourne. I only managed it because I was reading
‘My dear girl, can you doubt it? I was just about to storm Police Headquarters when the girl rang and told me where you were.’ He kissed the hand he was holding.
‘Lindsay has gone to talk to Miss Fisher, he wanted to meet her, he’s a crime buff. I bet he wouldn’t like murder so much if he ever saw a corpse. What happened on that train, Eu? I’ve only read the press reports, and they are very highly coloured.’
‘I don’t know. I didn’t wake until it was all over. Someone drugged the train, and dragged mother out of the window, no one knows how, and then she was found dead quite thirty feet from the track, and no one knows how she got there, either. It’s all a terrible mystery. If it hadn’t been for Miss Fisher the children on the train would have been dead, and the doctor still doesn’t know if I’ll have permanent liver damage. Can we talk about something else?’
‘Oh, Eu, I had no idea that it was so bad! What would you like to talk about?’
‘Us,’ whispered Eunice. ‘Now we can marry.’
‘Of course we can, as soon as you are better. Let’s put the notice in the paper tomorrow. The engagement is announced between Alastair, only son of William and Charlotte Thompson, of Right Street, Kew, and Eunice, only child of the late Walter and. .’ He faltered, and Eunice finished the notice:
‘The late Anne Henderson of South Yarra. We can’t put that in the paper, can we, with Mother not even buried? After the funeral, when I am up and about again, then we can marry. Unless you’ve changed your mind?’
‘Oh, Eunice!’ exclaimed Alastair Thompson, and embraced her with sufficient fervour to convince even the most obdurate lady that her swain had not changed his mind.
Phryne, who was not obdurate, was swapping kisses and confidences with the second pretty young man in her house. Lindsay was ardent; his breath scorched her face; his lips were demanding and could prove engrossing; but Phryne’s mind, which was seldom involved with her body at all, was ticking over nicely, and she was extracting much interesting information from Lindsay in between embraces.
‘So you live in the same house as Alastair? What a comfortable arrangement. Who does the housekeeping?’
‘Oh, a woman comes in every morning to make the beds and cook us some dinner to re-heat,’ said Lindsay, insinuating a supple hand down Phryne’s back. ‘What involved undergarments you wear!’
‘I shall teach you how to remove them,’ promised Phryne. ‘You will find that skill useful in years to come. But not now. Have you no sense of timing?’
‘That’s what the coach always says,’ chuckled Lindsay, removing his hand. ‘Very well, Miss Fisher, let us be proper. Alastair hasn’t got much cash, see, his people are poor — respectable, I mean, his father’s a doctor, but not much lettuce — so he lives with me. Pater gave me the house, and he pays for the housekeeper, and I like the company, so it all works out well. Amazing fellow, Alastair. I’m uncommonly fond of him. You know, even when he’s strapped, he’s never bitten me for a fiver till Thursday? None of the rest of my acquaintance have showed that restraint. Some of them look on me as a money tree. . I like this fabric, it’s so smooth. What is it?’
‘Silk,’ said Phryne, pulling down her skirt so that it almost reached her knees. ‘It is supposed to be smooth and I’m glad that you like it. I think that it’s about time that I flung you and your friend into the snow, Lindsay. I’ll see you tomorrow. What time?’
‘Nine in the morning,’ said Lindsay, reluctantly releasing Phryne. ‘At the boathouse. Why are you throwing us out? Have I lost my charm, already?’
‘No, my dear, you have all the charm you came with. But I have to go and read a post-mortem report, and talk to a policeman.’
‘Can I come too?’
‘No. I’ll see you tomorrow.’ She rang the bell. ‘Mr Butler, will you see the gentlemen out? And bring the car around. I’ve got to go into Russell Street.’
Lindsay collected his friend and left, not without a backward glance.
‘Well, what did you think of them?’ she asked Dot.
