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It was nearly twilight when Jack walked down to the Fisher-Stanley family plots near the family chapel and a grove of trees. He had come in search of Arthur and spotted him sitting on the bench at the foot of Janey Fisher’s grave.
“Hello, Arthur. Mind if I sit with you for a moment? Your mother asked me to fetch you for dinner. She said to tell you that we would be having roast beef and if we were timely, there would be Pavlova with strawberries.” Arthur turned and smiled gently at Jack. “I like Pavlova! I was just talking to Janey, Papa, Grandma, and Grandpa. I like to come down and keep them company. They like to hear what Mama and Phryne and the rest of the family are doing. Phryne says not to tell anything that would get her into any trouble but those are Janey’s favorite stories. ”
Jack chuckled, “Now why doesn’t that surprise me?”
“Inspector, may I ask a favor?”
“Of course, you can, Arthur. And you know you can call me Jack. We’ve become friends, haven’t we?”
Arthur shook his head happily.
“Mama took me to my doctor last week and after he checked me, they sent me to sit in the chair outside the office. They didn’t think I could hear them. He told Mama that it wouldn’t be long before I joined Papa and Janey.”
Jack put his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Arthur. What can I do to help?”
“Jack, Mama has Phryne and Bert to take care of her. And Guy has Isabelle. And Bert has Cec. And Jane has Phryne but Phryne, Phryne needs someone to take care of her so she won’t be too sad.
Growing up it was always me and Phryne and Janey ‘cause Guy was at school. We always played and we took care of each other. Phryne always made up the best adventures and when we played in the garden, it didn’t matter that Uncle Henry was mean to them or Guy was mean to me or that they didn’t always have warm clothes or that I was slow. When we were together, everything was better. We climbed trees and played games and Phryne told the best stories. But then, Janey was gone and Phryne and I just had each other. And then Uncle Henry took them to England to be royal.
I’ve been worried that when I go to be with Janey and Papa that no one would remember Phryne when she was Phryne before she had to get fancy and honorable. There wouldn’t be anyone to love her for her and not for the pretty dresses and jewelry and cars. Someone needs to love her for the mark on her ankle where she skinned it shimmying down the peach tree, and her freckles, and how she laughs when she gets caught in a rainstorm ‘cause she thinks it’s fun. I don’t want her to feel like she’s all alone and that no one knows her.
I need you to make sure that she remembers that just because we’re in heaven doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten her or that we don’t still love her. I need you to remind her that she’s loved fancy or not. “
It took a moment before Jack could compose himself. After taking a deep breath he said with a crack in his voice, “I’ll do my very best but you and I both know how she feels about being independent.”
Arthur rolled his eyes in a way that reminded Jack very much of his cousin. “I know but even Phryne who stands up to anything and anybody still gets scared by spiders. No matter who you are you still need someone to protect you from the spiders in your life.”
The two men rose to go back to the house.
“May I ask, why did you pick me?”
“Because of the gobstoppers. I saw your face when she gave them to me and your eyes told me that you saw the Phryne underneath the feathers and the glitter and that you’d always protect her from spiders no matter what.”