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‘Is that a bad thing?’

He shrugged. ‘You let emotion creep in. But it’s not just you we’re talking about is it, my dear? You mean other women. Not everyone has your constitution, and very few would have been raised in the environment that you have or had the exposure . . . and education. And if we start letting inexperienced women in, there’s going to be a lot of . . . well, histrionics.’

She resented his choice of words but she knew why he might fear such a situation. ‘But that’s my point, Dad. More should be exposed, to get used to the funeral business. I think women can bring something very special to the industry.’

Henry made a scoffing sound. ‘They only got the vote in England after the Great War!’

She didn’t know if he was aiming for levity or really believed it was relevant, but either way his remark felt patronising. Irritated, she continued. ‘Yes, and they had to be thirty years old and meet property qualifications. Very short-sighted, I’d say. But it’s different here. This is not England. We not only gave all women the right to vote a quarter of a century ago, but South Australia was the first place to allow women to be elected to Parliament – you surely can’t overlook that?’

Her question was rhetorical and she didn’t wait for her flustered father to answer, pressing on. ‘We were the first city to admit women to university on equal terms as men, more than half a century ago. Adelaide elected the first woman to an Australian university council. I won’t labour the point, Dad, but if our city, and our state, can be that forward thinking, don’t you think it can embrace the idea of women entering the funeral business? Or are all your cronies too scared of us?’

In that moment, she regretted her final words and looked down. ‘I didn’t mean that. My blood’s up, that’s all.’

‘Is that how you see me? A crony?’

‘No, I certainly don’t. But maybe the other men in this business. Your colleagues seem to think they own the world of grief and dying, of burials. Stodgy, suited-up and looking sombre isn’t the only way, Dad. It likely was at the turn of the century, but we’ve fought a war since, we’ve had Spanish flu rage across nations and a worldwide Depression on top of that, which we’re only just emerging from. And in all that upheaval, women shouldered a lot of the burden for keeping their nations looking forward. They raised children, found ways to feed them, worked untold hours and when the men were at war or incapable, they did their men’s jobs as well and kept countries safe, fed, productive. Seriously, now – don’t you think we can arrange funerals and acquit ourselves appropriately during them? I would go one step further and say there are instances where I believe women can handle aspects of undertaking better than men.’

He narrowed his eyes over the vapour he puffed out from his pipe. She noted once again how grey his pallor was. Irma was right: her father was either desperately ill or dying, and his mind leaking its memories was part of it, she was sure. ‘Would you indeed? It seems we’ve come full circle, Fleur.’

She knew exactly what his pointed remark was aimed at. ‘But that’s my point. No one in our line of work is offering any special handling for women and children who die, or even for those women who are grieving over dead children. Ask any woman, Dad, and learn the truth – most women would far rather have someone like me preparing her for a final farewell or that of her mother, sister, aunt or any child. And I suspect when a child is involved there’s a sense of tenderness that a woman can bring. Men just don’t understand.’

‘What don’t we understand?’ He sounded wounded.

‘That there’s pain, Dad. Probably everlasting. It doesn’t matter that a woman can have another child, or ten. That’s how most men would comfort her. Bear up now, you can always have another,’ she mimicked. ‘The fact that she’s lost a single child comes with heartfelt and lifelong regret. You know there are plenty of men out there who just ten years ago didn’t allow themselves to get caught up in the excitement of a newborn because they weren’t sure it would survive its early days, or even its early months.’

‘Yes, well, they didn’t,’ he replied, sounding frustrated, tapping out the contents of his pipe against the wall. ‘So what?’

She smiled sympathetically, as if the gesture would help him to grasp her point better. ‘But women do, Dad. If they want a child, the pregnancy is welcomed with joy. Losing that child through the pregnancy, or worse, at birth or soon after, is a torture beyond your reckoning. But it’s not beyond mine. Even though I’ve never had a child, I can empathise with a woman’s trauma of loss. And it’s those women who might welcome more female involvement in preparing their precious loved ones. Can’t you see that allowing me into your business is one of your genuine strengths? It’s a masterstroke, to be honest.’

He looked slightly baffled. ‘Most of my peers think I’m mad letting you work with me.’

‘Most of your peers don’t have your foresight, or so much success attached to their funeral home. Appleby’s is the gold standard in so many ways. I salute you, Dad, as a forward thinker and modern man, but your colleagues are frightened of women being in their clubs, their hotels, their workplaces, their industries.’ She gave a wry smile. ‘And if I’m being honest, they should be . . . because we’re coming.’

He didn’t share her smile. If anything, he looked unbalanced. ‘What do you want from me?’

It was now or never, Fleur decided. She held up a finger. ‘First, I’d like to set up a new business, separate from our existing one, that only cares for children and mothers who pass away during childbirth or soon after.’

‘And you’d call it AppleBaby, I suppose?’

Her father’s mirthless jest fell flat and it was her turn to frown. ‘Don’t make light of it, Dad.’

He cleared his throat. ‘Why does it need to be separate?’

‘Because it does. I plan to give it a new look – no black; white and pale greys. I want to align it with the young and rid us of our Victorian approach to all things funereal. And I’d also like to handle the work slightly differently. I will use women only to tend to women and children under twelve.’

‘And this is to be yours alone?’

‘I’d prefer it that way, although I would agree to Appleby and Daughter. I’m not trying to cut you out.’

‘Appleby & Co, it would have to be,’ he said.

It was a start. She should take the higher road. ‘All right, but it must be a new business that is not financially attached to the old.’

‘What is your problem with the business that has fed you and raised you and given you such a good life, Fleur?’

‘It’s not the business.’

‘You said you’re not trying to cut me out, but why are you trying to carve yourself away from all that we’ve built?’ He stared at her and she knew he was demanding a truthful answer. They both already knew it but he needed her to say it.