I hope everyone is doing good and they are staying safe.
I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I was a bit thrown out by the interaction between Elsie and Tommy. It's a big step in their relationship and Elsie seems to be on a roll with her strong backbone, but I think Elsie has reached her limit within the last few days.
Let me know what you all think xx
I really do appreciate the reviews and I know you're all patient with updates, but I'd like to say that I write a chapter and then update as soon as I have it written. I don't have a secret stash of chapters that I update randomly. I'm sorry it's taking so long to update an such, but I've been really busy as of late and I'm quite pleased with myself with all the updates this week - this is my third.
Please stay with me and thank you for all the support. I really love receiving your reviews and I have laughed at some of them. Thank you against and I hope you enjoy the chapter. Love Comet96 xx
Walking home was strange. I realized that half the people walking around were Peaky Blinders and wondered what Tommy had them doing. It was fascinating to see how others reacted to them too. Many mothers were pulling their young children out of the path of any Blinder and I could see the fear in their faces.
I was surprised to see Al and his younger brother Percy standing outside the house when I returned. They were smoking and keeping their eye on something at the end of the street.
"Mrs Shleby," Percy said, giving me a large smile as I drew closer to them.
"You're supposed to be working," Al muttered, his eyes turning away from the end of the street to look at me before glancing at the end of the street again. I followed his gaze down the street and caught sight of their brother, Jimmy. What were they doing?
"Is Tommy here?" I didn't see why I should be telling him why I wasn't working. I was surprised that I hadn't caught sight of Kyle either. Wasn't he usually following me?
"In his office." Nodding at Al's words, I slipped between them and opened the door.
Polly was sitting in the kitchen when I entered. She was looking over the paper with a cup of tea in her hand and a cigarette resting in an ashtray. Before she could speak I was pushing open the doors to the betting den and making my way to Tommy's office.
"Elsie!" I heard her call but didn't bother looking at her as I threw the door open to Tommy's office and closed it just as fast.
"What happened with your meeting with Graves on Saturday?" I asked him, cutting off any words he was about to say.
"Hello, wife, it's nice to see you as well," he said, leaning back in his chair as he set his pen down on the desk.
"I'm being serious, Tommy. What happened with Graves?" I rested my hand on his desk as I leaned forward and looked down at him.
"Why?"
"I've just been fired from my job!"
He sat straighter at the news and let his eyes run over my face. He could see that I was growing annoyed with him, but he should have known that considering I've been giving him the cold shoulder since Monday morning when he started acting like a twat.
"I'll speak to Mr Porter," he said, leaning over to reach his pen.
"No you won't," I replied, placing my hand on his to stop him. "I told Mr Porter that he made the right choice. Did you know that Graves and a few of his men visited him last night? He's coming into your home, Tommy, and giving out orders. What are you going to do about it?"
"I'll deal with it." He was staring at me in hope that I'd let it go but I wasn't Arthur and I wasn't John. He did not intimidate me as he thought.
"No, I'm dealing with it, Tommy. I'm telling you what's going to happen," I spat, letting go of his arm and making my way to the door.
"Elsie, you better stop this and sit the fuck down!" I didn't have to be looking at him to know he was standing up.
I could see some of the men turn to look into the office and notice the way Polly was hovering over John. John was sitting on one of the tables, his eyes on the office as he nodded at what Polly was saying.
"I'll tell you what, Tommy," I said softly, turning to face him. "You're going to put some of your men on Mr Porter's road and you're going to make sure one of them stays with his wife at all times. I want two more men at the school in case Graves gets any ideas about going there. No, don't bother." I stopped him as he went to speak and made my way back over to the desk. "I may not be working at the school anymore but Finn and your nephews are going to be there. There are children there, Tommy, and a lot of their parents pay you for protection. Protect those children."
I straightened up and glanced out of the window where John and Polly were. They were both watching and I could see that Polly looked smug as I gave my orders to Tommy.
"Elsie, I —"
"If you ever speak to me like that again, Thomas, you will regret it," I said cutting him off before making my way to the door and opening it.
Polly was making her way to me when I left the office but I didn't want to deal with her either. Rushing through the room I sighed in relief when I saw Jacob sitting at the kitchen table swinging his legs.
"Auntie Ellie," he exclaimed, jumping from the table and hugging me. He smiled up at me brightly and I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of the day.
"Come along, Jacob, let's go for a walk," I said, taking his hand and leading him to the door, grabbing his coat off the peg. Quickly pushing him out into the street I closed the door and helped him slip into his coat.
Percy and Al were still outside and were now joined by Kyle and Jimmy. Al and Jimmy were muttering under their breath and were shooting me curious looks. Percy was all smiles and it reminded me of when Tommy said the boy liked me, perhaps he was right. Kyle was frowning at me and I knew I had to apologize for leaving him at the school as I ran off home.
"Kyle, we're going for a walk, will you join us?" I asked, taking Jacob's hand in mine and led us down the street without waiting for Kyle to reply. I could hear his footsteps following behind us.
Seeing Jacob running around on the field as I chased him made me feel better about the events of this morning. While I loved teaching, I enjoyed spending time with Jacob and it hadn't just been me and him in a long time. Letting him be a child in the middle of the plans and expansion of the Peaky Blinders was something I think he needed.
He didn't have to be stuck inside because there was no one to take him out to play. He was alone now that his brothers and Finn were at school and I felt bad for him. Come September he'd be joining them at school but for these next eight months, he was alone.
"I'm coming to get you," I called to Jacob, running after him as he tried to escape my arms. He was giggling as he threw himself on the floor allowing me to capture him. I spread kisses over his face as I tickled his stomach.
"Stop, Ellie, stop," he pleaded, waving his arms about as he tried to escape me. "Please, Auntie Ellie."
"Alright, mister, you go hide and when I get to ten I'm going to find you," I said, helping him from the floor and watched as he ran and made his way to hide behind one of the large trees in the field. I covered my hands as he turned around and shouted at me and laughed as I started to count. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. I'm coming, Jacob!" I shouted, opening my eyes and following him to the tree.
As I made my way towards him my stomach started to turn. I hadn't seen him stick his head out and I wasn't hearing him trying to keep his giggles in. We'd be playing this game for about an hour now and I was used to Jacob running away before I could reach him. It was strange because he was still hiding behind the tree.
"Jacob?" I called, feeling uncomfortable at the silence as I approached the tree. I picked up my pace as I grew closer to the tree and almost fell to my knees when I turned the tree and didn't see Jacob. "Jacob!" I shouted moving back around the tree and looking for the little boy. "Jacob!" He should be here.
I could see Kyle stand up for where he'd be sitting on the bench and ran towards me. He was shouting something but I couldn't hear him. All I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears and my fear grew. Where was Jacob?
"Jacob!" I shouted, turning around to face the tree. I gasped in surprise as a man stood behind me and brought his arm down towards my head. "No," I whispered, as the pain caused me to fall forward as my vision blurred.
Someone had been trying to wake me.
The stinging on my cheek was evidence of that, but the grogginess I felt told me I had been asleep. No, not asleep. Knocked out. I could feel the bruise on my head, it was pulsing with every beat of my heart.
From the lack of movement from my hands, I knew they were tied behind my back and I was sitting on a wooden chair. Blinking my eyes open, I struggled to stop my eyes from watering as I looked around at my surroundings.
An abandoned warehouse and from the smell it was near the water. The only person I knew that had a warehouse by the water was Tommy but I found this hard to believe it was him.
Unless he was really pissed off about early.
"Ah, she wakes." I knew that voice. Glancing in the direction the man spoke, I scrunched my nose in disgust as Graves stood not too far from me, a sickening smile on his face. He looked pleased to see me and I bet he was more than happy to see my ties tot eh chair defenceless. "You know, I really thought it was going to be harder getting you, but you made it so easy for me."
"Where's Jacob?" I asked, trying to spot the boy only to find he wasn't here.
"He's safe. It's you I wanted to speak to." Graves walked closer, his cane tapping against the wooden floor with each step he took. Tommy hadn't mentioned that Graves was using a cane. Was this because I shot him in the knee? "You know, I signed those contracts with your husband and grandfather on Saturday. They get to race a horse every race in one of my spots for fifty per cent of all profits they make, but I'm still finding it hard to believe it was that easy. Your husband looked too smug when they left that meeting." Graves stopped in front of me and leaned his weight on his cane. "What has he got planned?"
"Where's my nephew?" Graves jaw tightened at my words and I watched the way he shifted his weight back on his feet.
"Listen here, you little whore. I want to know what your husband is planning and I'm not letting you go until you tell me something," he spat, rising his cane and pressing the metal end into my shoulder.
"Show me, my nephew," I said tilting my head up in defiance. Did he really believe I was going to tell him what he wanted just because he had me tied to a chair?
"Bring the brat out!" He ordered and two men came in, one of them holding onto Jacob by the arm.
There were no marks on him from what I could see but his face was red from crying and I could see the way his body was shaking in fear.
"Jacob," I called out to him, thankful there seemed to be no harm to him. His watery eyes flashed to mine and he tried to struggle against the man holding onto him. "It's okay, Jacob, don't fight him." I didn't want any harm coming to him now that I knew he was somewhat safe.
"You've seen the brat, now give me my answers," Graves spat, digging his cane further into my shoulder. I laughed closing my eyes and shaking my head. Was he really that stupid?
"Do you really think Tommy tells me his plans?" I chuckled again and despite knowing it was going to happen, I wasn't prepared from his fist in my face. I was expecting him to slap me not throw a punch.
Graves pulled away and rolled up his sleeves. It made me nervous to think why he'd be doing that, but I sighed in relief when he took a step back and looked me over, a smirk on his face. He looked satisfied with himself.
"I didn't, but I wonder how loose his tongue will be when he sees you," he said, moving away towards the office. What did he mean by that? Was Tommy on his way?
"You're making a mistake!" I called to him, thankful when he turned to look at me. "Tommy won't tell you anything."
"We'll see, Mrs Shelby," he said turning back around.
"Auntie Ellie," Jacob cried, managing to pull away from the man holding him and rushing towards me.
"Oi!" The man holding him sprang after Jacob, but the boy was climbing in my lap and wrapping his arms around my neck.
"Leave the brat," Graves spat turning to face us again before entering the office.
Jacob's crying brought my attention to him and I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around him. Jacob shuffled until he had his legs on either side of me and his chest resting against mine as he buried his face in my neck. He clung to me as his sobs shock us both and I closed my eyes as I snuggled into him.
"It's going to be okay, Jacob," I whispered to him, hoping I could calm him down. At least he was with me now even if I couldn't wrap my arms around him.
Thank you for reading xx
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