Chapter thirty-three: Before the summer ends

Thomas holds firmly onto Kate's hand. Fury doesn't even begin to describe the emotions he feels towards Emmett Webber. Thomas is seriously contemplating ripping his head off, but he has to discuss this situation with her father first. They can hear raised voices coming from the library, so, that's where they go.

The moment he pushes the door open, all eyes go to them. Kate shifts, drawing her robe closer around her as he allows her to pass before him. Her mother, father and Rosemary are all seated in various parts of the room. Rosemary is clearly enjoying this whole thing.

"Where's the ring?" her mother ask faintly, as if she's aware that Kate really has made up her mind.

"I don't know." Kate shrugs easily as he closes the library door. "Thomas threw it and it's lying on the floor upstairs somewhere."

"She won't be putting it back on." he states as he places his hand on her shoulder. "Ever."

Rosemary asks gleefully, not even bothering to hide her excitement. "Is the wedding's off for good this time?"

Kate nods. "Yes." Her mother promptly starts hyperventilating as Thomas leads her to sit down on a chair near her father. "I'm not going to marry Emmett."

"You're going to marry Mr. Shelby?" Rosemary's enthusiasm is contagious.

"Eventually," Kate nods as she glances at him. "yes, I am."

"Finally!" Rosemary shrieks, causing Kate to blush while he laughed at her. "I knew it had to be you two. I knew it."

"Stop it Rosemary." Her mother inhales. "This is not a happy occasion!"

"It is! Do you know Kate swore that she'd save her first kiss for the man she'd marry?" Thomas jolts in surprise at those words and he looks at Kate for confirmation. "You claimed her first kiss! You had to be meant for my sister! I knew it!"

"God," the blood drains slightly out of her face. "I'd forgotten about that."

Thomas leaned forward and trapped her lips in a passionate kiss. She moaned as he lifted her up onto her feet and held her close. God, it all made sense now. Everything had been there from the first glance, the first kiss and the first touch. She was the love of his life; perfectly made for him.

Kate gently pushes him away. "Thomas, not in front of my parents."

"I don't see why not Kate." She turns towards her father. "I've been observing the two of you for a long time now. If Thomas is the man who you truly love…then be with him. I already gave him my consent and blessing."

"Along with bribing him." she states pointedly.

"Yes, I could say I regret that making him that offer, but I don't." Kate lets out an outraged sound. "Because I look at you now and you're exactly as I wished you'd be. I haven't seen this side of you since before the war. While my motives weren't honorable, my intentions were." Her father's tone and words cause her to slowly simmer down. "You've been sad for so long, its time you were happy. I saw you were happy with him and he made you a stronger person. He was everything I ever wanted for you. Your mother won't be happy with either of us for a long time, but the one thing that matters to me is, do you love this man?"

Kate looks up at him and smiles faintly as she nods her head, sending his heart racing. "Yes, I do love him."

"Then as soon as you two discuss your future together, I will give you away at your wedding. I raised you for so many years, the least you can do is allow me to walk you down the aisle confident that you're with the one man who I'm confident will give you everything you'll need in life." He clears his throat. "Now, we need to discuss the wedding going down tomorrow. What's to be done?"

Kate glances at him, asking him to speak for her. He nods. "The wedding is the least of our concerns. Emmett assaulted and threatened Kate in the library last night."

Everyone's reactions are almost priceless. Rosemary stares at him before deadpanning. "What the f**k?"

Her mother bolts upright, staring at him, her face growing paler by the second. Her father's expression grows dark and thunderous, mirroring the emotions inside of him. Kate reaches for his hand as he continues speaking. "He's currently threatening to sue Kate for a breach of promise, which is the least of our concerns. The thing is, he's the one who put a hit out on me, for 300,000."

"Where the hell would a law student get that kind of money?" her father roars. "He can barely afford a house!"

"He's in league with inspector Campbell." Kate explains. "They're in it together. He also agreed to pay off Campbell with the money he'd get from me the moment we married."

"He also claims to have a hit on Rosemary."

Rosemary blinks. "What did I ever do to him?" Kate shoots her a look. "So, I put something in his drink once and made him vomit at dinner, that's not my fault!"

"I was thinking of the manure in his hat."

"That was Anton!"

"Regardless, you're Kate's little sister." He reminders her."She's bound by nature to take care of you."

"He said," Kate swallows. "that he'd be willing to lift the hits if I married him."

"The hell you will!" her father bellows. "I'd rather see you dead than married to a man like that!"

"And I'd prefer it." Kate replied.

"But…Emmett was so perfect." Her mother said feebly. "How could he do such a thing?"

"He was never perfect." Kate says somewhat sharply. "He didn't spend time with us as a family and he went out of his way to avoid our family."

"He seemed so good for you. Are you sure you're not making any of this up?"

"Willow!" her father says sharply. "Reflect on your past for a moment. No one ever questioned the truth to it, don't question hers."

"Come on!" Rosemary declares. "Is anyone really surprised? Kate was practically marrying a stranger!"

"Don't allow yourself to remain blind and ignorant, mother." Kate states firmly. "He barely showed me any signs of affection, which I pushed aside, considering him to be a well brought up gentleman. However, looking back, we should have been concerned with how little time he spent with us, especially father, because he knew you'd eventually see through his ruse."

"I saw it from the first." Her father states firmly. "I never liked him and I didn't understand why."

"He says you killed his father."

Her father shrugs. "If I kept a diary of how many men I've killed, it could fill a novel. However, I shall see if I can find out his father's name and then maybe I'll remember why I killed him. Now, what do we do about tomorrow?"

"First, I don't think there's a hit on Rosemary." Thomas states. "300,000 for me, makes sense. However, 5,000 to kill one of Gilbert Kovach's children? It's like killing royalty. There isn't a man alive who'd risk his life for so paltry a sum."

"But why would he," she reflects back on the way Emmett had delivered the speech. "he improvised. He knew if it was one person I might hesitate, but if he threatened two people that I cared about, that would buy my silence."

"What made you speak up?" her father asks. "You were silent last night."

She was silent for a moment. "I needed some time to collect my thoughts. The thought of being married to a man like that….was worse than death."

Rosemary states. "I long suspected that he thought of Kate as a possession, rather than a person. Granted, she can be considered a great catch to any fortune hunter."

"Then why didn't you say anything?" Kate asks. "Father was very vocal in his opposition."

"Because I knew you'd figure it out at some point. And you did," Rosemary grins. "you fell in love with him."

"As romantic as this whole thing is," her father says dryly. "let's try to focus on the problem at hand. Last night, I looked up the legal allowances to object to at a wedding. So far, we've only got him on coercion."

"Refusal to have children." Thomas adds, surprising her father. "Those are grounds as well."

"Refusal to-

Kate nods as she rubs her neck. "He didn't want to have children. I had to argue with him to agree to having just one child."

"I can't believe this." Her father groans.

"He only wanted my inheritance. He cared nothing for me and he even said if I wanted to continue my relationship with Thomas in back alleys or hotels that was fine with him."

Thomas gripped her hand firmer, he was trying to keep his temper under control, but every word seemed to enrage him more. He turns to her mother. "That's the man, you thought was worthy of her?"

"I think he enjoys tormenting people, like a child pulling a cat's tail. He said he'd have the perfect satisfaction knowing that while he'd allow me to be with the man I loved, I would never be completely his."

"He's actually deranged enough to think a man like me would be content with sharing you?" Thomas states.

"I don't think he thought that far ahead." Kate blinks before turning to look up at him. "I suppose father told you how much I inherit? My dowry is almost as impressive."

Thomas shakes his head. "Not interested." She arches a questioning brow at him. "You're all I need, I mean it."

She smiles. "Just checking."

"So, Thomas Shelby," her father asks. "do you have a plan in place?"

"Part of one. It's going to be a little tricky, because I have an assassination to carry out tomorrow at Epsom races."

Kate gasps. "I forgot about that. Who are you-

"Field Marshal Henry Russell." Everyone stills. They know what a man of power he is. "Winston Churchill made the request by order of the crown."

Kate starts shaking her head. "Thomas. No."

"Kate, I'll be fine." he assures her. "Everything has been planned down to the finest detail. Campbell, will be at the race and I'll take care of him." He looks to her father. "At 12:30 you place a few calls into the ears of a few men, such as Sabini and Solomons that the man who hired them to take me out, is a penniless lawyer, working with a police inspector."

Her father nods. "I'll also find out who else Emmett contacted. If there is indeed a hit on Rosemary, I'll find that out too. I'll also put one on Emmett's head as well."

Thomas shakes his head, along with Kate. "No, we don't want him to die. He's conniving and manipulative, but he's a coward. And a coward dies a thousand deaths."

"Cute idea Shelby," her father snarls. "but I don't want him to live."

"Making him live, will be a worse punishment. We'll destroy him tomorrow."

"By humiliating him at the altar?" her father asks. "That'll most likely make him look sympathetic."

"Not it we tell the world exactly who he is." he leans forward. "the kind of a man who'd' force a woman to marry him and have her sister, a child, killed. It'll ruin his reputation."

"And career." Kate adds quietly. "Churchill himself finally responded to the invite, saying he'll be able to attend the ceremony after all."

Her father nods, catching on. "I'll make sure a few reporters are at the wedding as well. There won't be a single person that would know what kind of man he is! If we can get Churchill to say a negative statement, there won't be a reputable man who'll hire him. There won't be a man alive who'll allow their daughter to marry him. He'll die alone and penniless."

"It'll be poetic justice." Kate says. "My life would have ended had I married him. His life, as result, will end at the wedding he insisted on having."

"I can't guarantee that he won't wind up dead. When Solomons and Sabini find out that he was playing them with an empty deck, he'll have to sleep with one eye open all of his life."

Thomas turns to her. "What time is the wedding to start?"

"2:00."

"The assassination is taking place at 12:20. That gives me an hour to get back here."

"I can give you a few of my men."

Thomas shakes his head. "I told you, nothing that was part of our deal."

"Well, I'm going to allow that part of the deal." Kate states. "It's alright with me, Thomas."

"Kate, I'll be fine without your father's men." Kate doesn't look convinced. She exhales raggedly as he turns her towards him. "Hey, look at me." she does, her green eyes as shining with tears that want to spill down her cheeks. "I promise, I'm coming back for you. I am not going to let you wind up married to a man like that. You're going to be my wife, Kate." she bites her lip, so he adds. "My heartsong."

Kate trembles slightly before wrapping her arms around his neck. "Be careful. Please."

He nods. "I will."

"What are we going to do about mother?" Rosemary asks.

Her father nods. "You've been silent Willow. Don't tempt me to lock you up in your room tomorrow."

"That won't be necessary, because I can promise you that I won't say I anything tomorrow." Her mother states. "I don't approve of you marrying either man. But since Emmett, put a hit on my daughter…he deserves whatever he gets." She crosses her hands over her knee. "If Mr. Shelby does return, we'll deal with that unsuitable match then. Until now, our focus is on dealing with Emmett."

Thomas shrugs. "That's good enough for me." he glances at his watch. "I should be leaving for Birmingham by noon." Kate stiffens by his side, but keeps a stalwart face. He reaches for her. "Come on, I want a few words with you, in private."

"They better be just words." Her mother says sharply. "She's not your wife and you don't have the right for anything more."

"We're getting married, that gives me every right."

"And should you not make it back here and she's left here pregnant? No decent man will marry her if she has your child."

"If that does happen, as unlikely as it is, I'll simply move down to Birmingham with Polly." Kate states calmly. "Considering Thomas is her favorite nephew, I doubt she'd have a problem helping me raise his child. But it won't happen, he's coming back."

"Men like him, promise that," her mother states. "but they never do."

"He'll come back to me." Her voice didn't even waver, even though he knew she was extremely worried. "He'll come back for me, because I'm the one who loves him."

"As a lady of society, you have to marry a gentleman."

Kate lets out an unladylike snort, causing him to smirk. "I tried a 'gentleman' and look at the mess we're in now because of it." Kate wraps an arm around his waist. "I think I'll have better luck with this one." She looks up at him. "You have something's you want to say to me, in private?"

He nods. "Yes. Come." Kate nods and falls in step with him. "And I will, come back for you. I swear it."

She smiles up at him. "I believe you, Thomas Shelby."

MeriemDjez: I know, it was a bit of a cheap move, but if Thomas had told her earlier, she wouldn't have blown up as bad. But at least there aren't anymore secrets between the two.

Idcam: Her mother incidentally, timed that perfectly.

TheHoodedAssassin: The truth will set them free. Her father is going to be livid. Trust me, Rosemary will get a little bit of what's coming to her in a few chapters. Lol, you were right about her mother. But at least she's promising not to say a word at the ceremony tomorrow.

Guest: Trust me, it'll be glorious.