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The woman lying in the bed in the prison hospital wing was pale, almost the color of the old sheets covering her. Her thin lips, no longer covered in lipstick bore the bluish shade of a heart slowing its beat to the temp of death. It was obvious to anyone familiar with the medical arts that soon Madam Bolkonsky would no longer need psychic powers or tarot cards to speak with the dead.
“Inspector, I tried to convince you when I first read your palm that denying true love causes pain. Had you heeded my warning, Miss Fisher would have never shared her boudoir with dear Warwick. Until you and Miss Fisher choose to end your hesitancy and fear of the past, you can never have the future you both deserve.”
Jack’s face was a profile in confusion. “You asked for me because you were worried about my relationship with Miss Fisher?”
The old woman’s eyes were bright with both pain and determination.
“I am merely the conduit, my ties to the afterworld are stronger because I will cross over long before any human jury weighs my fate. There are those on the other side who cherish the two of you and want you both to have the happiness you deserve and are frustrated by both of you allowing your pasts to lock you away from your futures. Tell Miss Fisher that the fortune teller at the circus was not wrong, merely imprecise. Marrying well did not mean she will marry a rich man, she meant she will have a rich and fulfilling love. She will not give birth four times, she will raise four children who will love and adore her.”
Staring in amazement and not just a little flustered, Jack asks what he later admits to himself is a silly question given what the psychic has already shared.
“What about the croquet?”
At this, Mrs. Bolkonsky chuckles which leads to coughs. “Neither those on the other side nor I can explain that one. The final thing I was told to say to you and Miss Fisher was to stop faffing about and get on with it.”
This time, it was Jack that chuckled. “When I give Miss Fisher this message, may I tell her who it was from?”
Her answer both warms his heart and shakes him to his core.
“The message comes from a pirate girl from Collinwood.”