I'm really working to get these chapters out. I think all this time at home going crazy is actually good for my story. At least I have something to do and aren't spending all my time watching crappy telly and slowly going insane.
Hope you are all coping and remember I am here if you need someone to talk to.
Sorry if there are any mistakes. I always manage to miss them.
Please enjoy this chapter and remember to stay safe.
Love Comet96 xx
Tommy wasn't speaking to me when we arrived at the Garrison. He was trying to convince me why it wasn't a good idea for me to start working at the pub again but I wasn't having it. If I couldn't work at the school then I'd be happy helping Harry out while training Tommy's horses.
He thought I wanted to work here to keep an eye on him. He didn't have to say it for me to know. I was slightly offended that he thought I didn't trust him but knew that wasn't going through his head.
I wanted to keep an eye on him because I was worried, not because I didn't trust him. He didn't see it that way though.
"Ellie, what are you doing here?" Harry asked as I made my way over to him as Tommy went into the private room. I could already hear John and Arthur and a few of the other men. They were no doubt drunk already. "Shouldn't you be at school?"
"There's a, umm," how was I supposed to tell Harry that I couldn't work there until Tommy sorted it out with Graves? "I'm not working there for the moment, Peaky Blinders business." That should be a good enough answer for him. Harry wasn't one to dig into Peaky Blinders business and he knew not to question anything Tommy was doing.
"Alright," Harry said, but the way he flicked his eyes away from me I knew he was keeping something from me.
"Harry? What's wrong?" I asked, walking around the bar so I could take his hand in mine.
"Mrs Miller's been going around saying you were sleeping with one of the teachers and Tommy threatened the headteacher, it's why you lost your job," he admitted, running his hand over his face in a sheepish way.
"Really?" Is that what people were saying? That I had been sleeping around?
"No one believes her, but she's got a presence here in Small Heath," Harry said, shrugging as if that was an explanation enough. It wasn't a lie that Mrs Miller had a presence in Small Heath.
She had all the wives in the area wrapped around her finger. They all saw her as their 'leader'. It was almost how Tommy was with his men. They thought every word that came out of her mouth was the truth. She used that tool and spread lies. I was surprised people still listened to her after she got called out in the bakery by Mary.
"I'll deal with it, Harry, but in the meantime, I was wondering if I could help you out here for a while? I don't need to be paid, I just want to help you," I said, feeling bad that I was no longer working at the school. Harry was the one that got me the job and I felt like I owed it to him to be here.
"It'll be nice having you around again, Ellie."
The familiarity of closing down the Garrison was relaxing and I couldn't keep my smile as Harry gave me a wave goodbye. Tommy insisted Harry could leave and he'd stay and wait for me to lock up.
"See ya later, Ellie!" John shouted, flinging his arm around Arthur's neck as they stumbled to the doors.
"Not later later though," Arthur said, hiccuping as he giggled. And he did giggle, it was a normal trait of drunk Arthur. "We're going to the whorehouse."
"Goodnight, Arthur," I called to him, shaking my head at the honesty of my brother-in-law. He was never one to hide his love for the whores. "Night, John."
"Have a nice night," John said, a twinkle in his eye as he pulled Arthur out of the pub. I could hear them singing as they no doubt swayed down the street in search for some company.
"They seem happy." I turned to Tommy, noting that he'd been watching me. He didn't respond to me and I rolled my eyes at his childish behaviour. "Thomas, don't you think you should let it go?"
"No."
Blunt and to the point. I could predict what that man was going to do, I was waiting for the day he'd take me by surprise and leave me shocked.
"If you're going to be like that, I won't bother talking to you." I grabbed the last few glasses off the table and set them in the sink behind the bar. Grabbing the damp rag, I went round wiping the tables down, ignoring the intense stare my husband was shooting me.
"You know why I don't want you working here," he said, stepping closer and pulling the rag from my hand and setting it on the table.
"Because you think I don't trust you and you don't want me here watching your every move when you step foot in here," I retorted, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring up at him.
"That's not why." His arms rose up and I could see the desire he had to run them through his hair. Or perhaps he wanted to wrap them around my throat in frustration. That's what I wanted to do to him.
"Oh, please, enlightening me then, Thomas," I sneered, clenching my hand with the urge to hit him.
Gosh, since being with him I'd been so violent. It's in your blood, lass. Something Mah-mee would have said if she was here. She would no doubt tell me I wasn't violent because of Tommy but because I was part Irish traveller and had a fire within me. I knew she was right but why admit that when I could justify it by blaming Tommy? He'd definitely been many reasons why I'd contemplated becoming a widow within the last three days.
"Graves believes—"
"Would you please speak about anything but Graves for one minute!"
It was like he was obsessed with the man. He should have married Graves if he loved speaking about him so much. Every waking minute seemed to revolve around Graves. F Tommy loved Graves so much he'd be happy when I buried him in a grave at the end of the night.
"You're beautiful when you're angry," Tommy said, cupping my cheek carefully as he took a step closer.
"What?" I was startled. I wasn't expecting that to come from him. I was actually expecting him to roll his eyes and say 'It's business'.
"Your cheeks get really flushed and you get this look in your eye like you're about to kill me." I frowned and took a step away from him, smacking his hand away from my face. "That's the look."
"You're not funny!" I snapped, picking up the rag and moving away from him. "I'm going to kill him," I muttered under my breath thinking of the many ways I could make his death look like an accident. "Tommy!" I screeched as he picked me up and flung me onto a table.
"You're so fucking beautiful," he moaned, leaning forward and capturing my lips in a rough kiss. His hands cupped my face and held me still as he slid between my legs and I didn't resist wrapping my legs around him.
"I'm mad at you," I told him, pulling away as I ran my hands down his shoulders. He gave me a smirk before dipping his head and sucking on my neck. "This isn't going to solve any of our problems."
"Ellie," he warned, his hands running up my thighs as he pushed my dress up. His fingers were running over my underwear when I remembered he'd done the same thing on the train to London. I gritted my teeth as I leaned back and smacked him. "What was that for!"
"Stop trying to distract me with sex," I said through gritted teeth. I squeezed the back of his neck as I locked eyes with him. "What's wrong?"
Tommy's jaw clenched and I admired the way it enhanced his cheekbones. It was almost distracting and I wondered if he knew how much I admired his looks. I gave his neck another squeeze and he sighed, bowing his head.
"I don't want you here cause it's too easy for Graves' men to get you," he admitted, resting his head against my chest. I let a little smile lift my lips as I pressed a kiss to the side of his head.
"We both know that won't happen again." I ran my fingers through his hair and pulled on the longer strands so he looked up at me. "I saw about five of your men watching me tonight, Tommy. You're not gonna let it happen again." I gave him a reassuring nod and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "You know," I started, pulling from him and giving a teasing smile. "You can be a bit overdramatic sometimes."
Tommy snorted as his hands brushed against my thighs, slowly sliding down to my knees before leaving me without his touch. I heard the zip of his trousers and the ruffle as he shifted out of his underwear before his hands were on my knees. He gave a quick tug and my back smacked against the table as he pulled my dress up and leaned down pressing a kiss to the inside of my thigh.
"I'll show you overdramatic."
I wasn't expecting anyone to be up when we arrived home, but as usual, Tommy took us in through the main house. He liked walking through the betting shop at the end of the day to ensure everything was sorted before he turned in for the night.
Polly and Ada were sitting in the kitchen smoking and to my surprise, Johnny Dogs was with them. It was even more surprising that he actually had a dog with him. The dog cocked it's head to the side when we entered and I shared a glance with Polly before slowly making my way to the German Shepherd.
The dog was pure black, with no signs of any other colourings. I had never seen a pure back German Shepherd before but he was beautiful and he had these amazing greeny-brown eyes.
"Hey boy," I whispered, offering him my hand, palm up and smiled when he gave it a sniff before resting his chin on my fingers. "What are you doing here, huh"
"We've been asking Johnny Dogs the same question," Polly said, setting her cigarette down as she turned in her chair and looked at Tommy.
Of course, this had to do with my husband. It always had to do with him.
"How did Jones take it?" Tommy asked, joining me as he crouched next to the dog.
"Put up a fight," Johnny said and chuckled. I glanced up at him and saw the smile on his face as if he was remembering the way this Jones reacted.
"Wait." I looked between Johnny and the dog before glaring at my husband. "Did you take this dog from someone?" The smirk on his face told me he did. "Why?"
"He's yours." Tommy rose and extended his hand to Johnny, the two of them shaking on it. "And I didn't take him, I paid for him."
"We've already got a dog. In fact, we have two puppies and there are three more dogs in the stables. We don't need another one," I said, quickly shooting my eyes down to the dog as he whined. It was like he knew what I said. "Not that you wouldn't be welcome to live with us, you are cute."
"You can take him wherever you go and it'll give me some reassurance that you'll be safe," Tommy said in a tone that left no room for arguing.
"But he had a family." Tommy raised his eyebrows at me and I shrugged as if it explained why I was unsure about this.
"Yeah, well, he has a new one." He dropped his eyes back to the dog. "Gunner, come." The dog, Gunner, rose and walked to Tommy's feet and sat, looking up at him for his next command.
"He's been trained," Johnny Dogs said, looking down at Gunner and clicking his tongue. "Gunner, where's your mah?" At his words, Gunner jumped up and came to me, sitting on my feet. I frowned at his behaviour and looked at Johnny curiously. "We've been using your scent to train him. He knows your smell."
"I don't understand why we have though," I said, letting my fingers brush between Gunner's ears as he looked up at me.
"To keep you safe, Ellie," Tommy said, glancing at Polly and Ada before nodding towards the betting den. "Come on, let's go to bed."
I nodded and followed him to the double green doors, turning to glance at Polly and shrug in confusion as she kept her eyes on Tommy. No one would ever be able to understand what went through his head, no matter how hard we tried.
I couldn't deny how at home I felt at the races.
I could remember my first race at ten. I remembered the look on the faces of the Lords and Ladies when Papa brought me. I knew a lot of them thought it was silly of him to bring me, but he knew how much I loved horses, even then. I have been a regular ever since, making my way around all the racecourses in England.
"I'm curious," I said to Tommy as he sipped on his whiskey. He tilted his head my way but kept his eyes on the people wandering around below us. "Your deal with Graves. Is it his name on the pitch that races your horse?"
"For the moment, yes," he replied, leaning forward in his seat as a commotion from down below caught his eye.
"And you'll eventually have it in your name?"
"Just Shelby," he said, pulling out a cigarette as he flicked his eyes towards me. I gave him a smile as I picked up my glass of wine.
He was slowly telling me more of his plan. Well, he wasn't coming outright and telling me the details, but when I asked him a question he was giving my answers.
"Mrs Shelby," a soft voice called and I turned to see Percy at the curtain hiding my box from view. He was looking unsure of himself, his eyes darting over to Tommy and then back to me. I bet he was wondering who he should be talking to. "A Mr Kimber wishes to speak with you. Though he called you, Lady Cromwell."
"The race is about to start," Tommy pointed out, turning away from Percy as he looked over the course.
"Percy, can you tell Mr Kimber I'll speak to him once the race has finished," I said, giving him a small smile as he gave me a nervous look before leaving. He'd taken over Kyle's place of being my guard while the boy was healing. "How's Kyle?" I asked, turning to face Tommy as he rose from his seat and leaned against the balcony.
"He'll be back on Monday."
"Are you sure he'll be okay to be back?" I was worried about the boy. Once I found out what had happened to him, I was concerned that he wouldn't want to come back or hold the same job of watching over me.
"El, he wants to watch over you," Tommy said, sighing deeply as he glanced at me over his shoulder. "He likes keeping you in line."
I snorted and rose from my seat joining Tommy at the balcony. We both knew he couldn't keep me in line and there was no hope in Kyle doing the same thing. He just followed me around like a lost puppy.
"Not even you can keep me in line, Tommy." I pressed a kiss to his cheek and smiled at the way his lips tugged up. "I find it hard to believe Kyle will be able to do that."
Thank you for reading xx
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