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"I'm so sorry."
"Rosie, this isn't your fault. This is Sidney... this is your... This isn't your fault."
The fragile woman who had cried every tear in her well shook her head, "No. That's not what I mean. I'm sorry for doubting you. For doubting your partnership with Jack. I didn't think..."
Phryne glanced at the back seat of the car they'd picked up in Adelaide. A '29 Graham Page. Not as flashy as the Hispano Suiza, but that was the point. Della was the type of friend who didn't like to ask or answer questions. That's the kind of friend they needed.
Their arrival in Adelaide was not as unnoticed as they'd hoped. Sidney had a long reach. He was shipping magnate; that shouldn't have been surprising. It did limit their options.
"It's all right, Rosie. I understand you wanted what's best for Jack. Our partnership is a bit unconventional."
"I didn't understand it at first," she acknowledged, "But I know you have brought back his passion for justice. I only wanted to protect him from getting his heart broken... again."
"Very noble intention."
"It's not always obvious because the surface is so still, but he feels things very deeply," Rosie said looking back at her former husband.
"I've noticed."
"After the war, I started drowning in those depths," her eyes watered again, having tapped into a deeper well of tears. "The more he tried to protect me from it, the more I sank... with it my dreams for a normal, happy marriage."
"The war drowned a lot of dreams."
Rosie stared ahead in silence for a moment before nodding in agreement.
Finally, she wiped her eyes and nose with a handkerchief, "Do you think we'll safe in the Outback?"
Phryne shrugged and nodded slightly, "Safer than Melbourne and Adelaide, certainly. Throwing out red herrings by asking for directions to Portland and Victor Harbor won't hurt us. There aren't a lot of—or any—ports in the Outback."
"Will this ever really be over?" Rosie asked sadly.
"I don't know. But I do know that there are places in this world where my influence is greater than his. I think we need to make our way there."
"Not go back? Melbourne is my home," she protested. A shade passed over her face and she looked at her hands in her lap. "It was my home. I really have nothing left. No family. No friends. No hope."
Phryne reached her hand across to the passenger seat, taking Rosie's hand in hers, "You're wrong, you know. You do have friends."
Rosie shook her head, "And don't think I don't appreciate everything both of you are doing for me, but my only friends are my ex-husband and his... what? Lover?"
Phryne tilted her head in acknowledgement.
"What will people say?"
"Why, darling, in London this sort of thing isn't even avant-garde," Phryne smiled at her.
"London?" Rosie asked, "Has that been your plan all along?"
"It's always been an option. The specifics take shape as situations change."
"Why conceal the plan from me?" Rosie was slightly miffed.
"I’m concealing a lot of things, that’s what a lady does,” Phryne smiled at her, "But it wasn't intentional. I like to keep my options open."
"Jack certainly has changed if this works for him," Rosie was shaking her head, "All right. But London is so far..."
"And this is the long way. But I think it's the best bet for the reinvention of Rosie."