Chapter 4: Kings and Queens
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
'Excuse me?' Marie is blinking, her eyes seeming to close and open in slowmotion. Reinke is gaping in shock, doing a very good impression of a fish starved for air. Were it not for the seriousness of the situation, Eva would have burst out laughing. But as it is, the tears are threatening to come through rather than laughter.
'How could you?' Marie snarls in their native language, their uncle clearly uncomfortable. 'I am sorry, Marie. But I had no choice...'
Hannah tries to take Marie's hand, but the girl rips it away, stepping back and shaking with barely contained anger and hatred. 'The girl John was supposed to marry, my niece Esme, has been promised to someone else. To stop this war, we..., we needed a replacement. Peter was adamant Reinke not be offered, so...'
Marie lets out a bitter laugh, and Reinke feels a sudden urge to throttle her uncle and aunt and be done with it once and for all. 'So what? You offer me up instead?!' Eva is silent, her still somewhat childish mind trying to understand what the hell is even going on.
'Does this mean... Finn will be family?' Eva pipes up, Reinke closing her eyes and shaking her head. Eva swallows, the guilt visible on her face as she sees Marie getting redder and redder.
The girl she has begun to see as a second sister is minutes from imploding and if they do not defuse the situation, they will be caught in the crossfire. 'If you think any of this will happen with my permission, than you have another thing coming.'
Marie's gaze goes to Thomas Shelby, her lips curled back in disgust. 'I am a grown woman and where I come from, women choose themselves whom they marry. I do not care that you are leader of the Peaky Blinders, good luck in marrying me away, Tommy Shelby. It will not happen. Over my dead body.'
Everyone is silent as the front door slams shut, Reinke biting her lip and shaking her head at her uncle. He does not know what to say clearly, nor does Hannah, and she can both see guilt in their eyes.
'Reinke...' His oldest niece sighs, holding up her hand and making clear she is not willing to talk to him. Not right now. She takes Eva by the hand, taking a deep breath and walking up the stairs.
'I did not expect this uncle. Of Hannah maybe. But you, who knows where we come from...' Reinke leaves the words hanging in the air, gently pushing her sister inside their shared bedroom.
How could he? And to think everything was going great a few days ago.
Marie has settled more or less at last. She has decided to make the best of her situation and though bouts of homesickness still occasionally plague her, her demeanour is in general much sunnier and happier than before.
Reinke is still somewhat taken aback by all this, especially the food, which is very different than what she normally would eat. She is often sick, and this is one of those days. Marie and Eva are both in a good mood that morning, Eva skipping and jumping over the puddles of rain on the ground, the only reminder of the deluge that fell last night.
A smile comes on Marie's face when she sees Finn and Isaiah both approach, Eva grinning with excitement as she runs to her friends. Marie has to admit she has started to like the two boys.
They may be silly sometimes and they get into more mischief than is good for their age probably, but Eva finally has some friends she really likes, and that is enough for Marie.
'Eva?' Marie asks, eyebrow raising in amusement. Eva gets a sheepish look on her face, running back to Marie and giving her a kiss on the cheek with a shouted 'See you later!', before following the boys into the building.
'Reinke not here today?' A voice asks, Polly Shelby stopping next to the blondehaired girl. Marie still does not know what to think of the woman, as she cannot seem to get any height from her. She seems friendly enough, but there is a certain air to her that all the Shelby's have.
The kind of thing that makes people look up and feel jealous, but Marie has not decided yet if this is a good thing or not.
'She is ill.' Polly says nothing, but her raised eyebrow seems sign enough that she wishes to know more. 'Reinke, we, are not used to eating things such as stew. It is very rich and heavy and Reinke, well, her stomach does not always agree with the food she eats.'
'What did you eat where you lived before coming here, if I may inquire?' Marie feels very much like a bug right now, and than she remembers Polly is from a gifted family and has some sixth sense, and she probably knows something is wrong.
Or she feels that something isn't quite right.
'I need to go.' Marie answers instead. 'It was nice to see you, miss Shelby.' Polly snorts but allows the girl to leave, but Marie has seen the look on her face, one John and Tommy Shelby both also have had in their eyes.
They know she is hiding something, and God above help them, they will find out what.
Her gut tells her to be careful, but in the mundane routine of life, it is a warning quickly forgotten.
I am unwritten, can't read my mind
I'm undefined
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand
Ending unplanned
Marie is sure now this is an omen she should have seen. But it does not matter. Not anymore.
Reinke gives her friend a sad smile, Marie biting her lip, eyes red from crying but the tears have at least stopped for now. 'I am sorry, Marie. No matter how much I beg or ask, my uncle will not budge.' Reinke croaks, Marie shaking her head, patting her friend on the arm.
'You have tried. I know you did.' The sun is setting and it feels as if her life is over. She has been judged and found guilty, sentenced to a life of no freedom and forced marriage.
She is sure John Shelby is not a bad man, not in the sense he would be someone who abuses or hurts his wife. But it does not change anything about the fact they barely know each other, and that the few interactions they have had, have not exactly been friendly.
And the children, not to forget the children. He has been married before, his wife death long before her time and now Marie is supposed to take their mother's place. She is a 22 year old, almost still herself a child, and now they expect her to be a stepmother to a bunch of kids who are still grieving?
The horror of it makes the bile in her throat rise, not only angry for the turn her life has taken, but also for the impact it will have on innocent kids.
How has all this been decided, you may ask?
Hannah is part of the Lee family, and by extension, so is Peter. Tje Lee family and Pealy Blinders have been in a 'war' of sorts, and to keep things from escalating, Tommy Shelby has come up with the brilliant idea to marry his brother off to a Lee. Since John told him he needed a wife who can help him raise his kids.
But since Esme is promised to someone else, and there are no available other girls, they decided it was a good thing to offer up Marie instead, who is by extension part of the Lee family, since she has been living in Peter's house.
Great idea, isn't it? Marry John Shelby off to a girl who is not only connected to the Lee family, but her 'uncle' also does business with the Peaky Blinders.
Marie has to admit it is a smart move, and she can even admire Thomas Shelby for his brilliant mind, and she probably would hold him in higher regards if she had not been the one who was the sacrificial lamb so to speak.
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
'How are you feeling?' Reinke whispers, as Marie shuffles on her feet, taking deep breaths as she tries to stop the nerves in her belly. She is shaking, she is sure, Reinke giving her yet another drink so she keeps calm.
'No more, Reinke. We do not want Marie to be drunk at her own wedding, now do we?' Peter admonishes, but keeps quiet when Marie throws him a cold glare. Somewhere, she can understand. She can.
But she still feels too betrayed. Too hurt that a man who has pretty much saved her, is now condemning her to a life she is sure she is not suited for. 'Is she ready?' Hannah asks, as Peter clears his throat and puts the veil over Marie's head.
Reinke gives her hand one last squeeze, before she drags Eva and Hannah outside. 'For what it is worth, I am very sorry, Marie.' The bride to be says nothing but eventually sighs, deciding this is already a day difficult enough without her being bitter and angry at one of the few people she considers family.
'I...I understand. Truly, I do. I just never thought it would be me who is getting married.'
Peter chuckles at that, and Marie allows a smile to appear, holding onto the man's arm as she follows him outside the carriage.
The wedding is being held outside, as per Hannah's instruction. On a sunny hillside. A sort of peace offering to Marie. It is pretty, when the sun is setting, Reinke has to admit. Eva, Finn and Isaiah are giggling behind her, so Reinke gives them a stern look, the three still giggling but quieting down.
Marie feels her heels sinking into the grass, and she feels as if she is walking in a swamp. Her breathing is starting to become laboured, and she feels lightheaded, as if there is not enough air around her to take in.
The Lee family is on one side, the Shelby family on the other, Reinke giving Marie an encouraging smile.
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
Little Finn and Isaiah are standing next to Eva, having crept over to the Lee's side. She tries to ignore the stares of the Shelby clan and the rest of the Peaky Blinders, the notion she will be part of them soon, an unbearable thought.
She, who had promised herself she would start over. That she would make her own decisions, live her life the way she wanted it. But that is all gone now. All her possibilities and dreams she had, they are gone and buried.
And when she sees John Shelby standing at the very end, the priest in front of him preparing to bind them together for life, she wants to stop and run, run as far as possible and never come back.
But when Marie finally has the courage to look up, her steps taking her closer and closer to him, she can see something else. Underneath his nonchalant exterior, the toothpick hanging lazily from his mouth, she can see the storm that is raging inside him. The storm of emotions that have blended together that she is not sure she can discern what he is feeling.
And maybe, maybe,... One day, they can make it work.
Maybe, ...
Maybe one day the man she will be spending her life with, will not be a stranger.
Maybe, ...
Maybe one day.
They will be more than just strangers.
Unwritten, unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
