Returning to the house, Elizabeth felt a slight sense of trepidation. Being in London had felt so fresh. It had felt new to both of them. It had been an opportunity to put things behind them and pretend that none of it mattered. Being back home felt like that weight was back on Elizabeth's shoulders. Tommy had gone back to working in his study, but he had told his wife he was feeling slightly more content, kissing her chastely before heading off to work.
"Mrs Shelby, the chef wondered what to do for dinner this evening," Frances spoke as Elizabeth sat in the sitting room. Charlotte was working on her spelling, kneeling on the floor and writing in her small book on the coffee table. Elizabeth watched her daughter with a soft smile, silently promising never to let her go.
"Oh," Elizabeth said, looking up to Frances. "Just some casserole with vegetables should be fine, thank you, Frances."
"Thank you, Mrs Shelby," Frances said. "And…if I may say…it is good to see you smiling again."
Elizabeth continued to smile then, her lips quirking upwards as she nodded. "Thank you, Frances," Elizabeth said, "not just for that, but for everything…you've been a real blessing to us."
"Least I can do," she replied and swept from the room.
Leaning forwards, Elizabeth picked up her cup of tea from the table, crumpling her shirt slightly as she stifled a soft yawn. She took a sip of it as Charlotte turned around, her big eyes looking up to her mother.
"I'm finished," she said.
"Are you now?" she asked her.
"And daddy said that we could go and play later," Charlotte said. "Where is dad?"
"Hold that thought," Elizabeth said as the phone begin to ring. Moving to her feet, she stepped into the hallway and picked the phone up as Charlotte followed her. The little girl stood by her and wrapped her arm around her waist, her cheek pressing into her stomach as Elizabeth wrapped an arm around her shoulders, ruffling her hair.
"Hello?" Elizabeth spoke into the phone.
"Mrs Shelby?" a voice questioned.
"Yes, who is speaking?" she wondered.
"We need to talk to Mr Shelby," the voice spoke, a thick Irish accent. "I would appreciate it you got him now."
"Fine," Elizabeth said, voice curt. "Hang on."
"Charlotte," Elizabeth said, looking down to her daughter, "can you go and get daddy from his office? I don't know why he didn't answer the phone there."
Charlotte nodded and ran off as Elizabeth held the phone to her ear, listening to the woman breathing on the other end of the line. Elizabeth bit down on her lip, wondering exactly what was going on and what her husband might be involved in. Who did he know in Ireland? She didn't know. She doubted that she wanted to know.
"He isn't there," Charlotte said. "I saw him outside through the window."
"Okay," Elizabeth said and moved back to speak down the phone. "Hello? He has just stepped out for a moment. Can I get him to call you back?"
"The operator will have the number," the woman said and hung up.
Elizabeth scoffed at her rudeness before taking hold of Charlotte by her hand. "Come on, let's go and see what he is doing."
The two of them walked out, moving down the driveway as Elizabeth looked into the distance, suspecting that Tommy was in the field. What was he doing? What was going on? She had no idea. All she knew was that Tommy was still acting mysteriously in certain instances.
"Charlotte, you run ahead and grab him," she urged her daughter who happily accepted.
Folding her arms over her chest, Elizabeth ambled along at a slower pace, watching Charlotte run off into the distance. It was only as she saw Tommy running back did something inside of her change. Something wasn't right. She could sense that something wasn't entirely right. Tommy ran and grabbed hold of Charlotte, stepping out of the field and picking his daughter up, holding her tightly to him as she remained none the wiser. But Elizabeth saw the look of fear in Tommy's eyes.
"You said that you would play with me," Charlotte said, pouting slightly at her father as Elizabeth came within earshot of them.
"And I will, eh?" Tommy replied, looking at his daughter, his eyes searching hers and wondering if she had any idea what had almost happened. He looked to Elizabeth as she stood before them and she bit down on her lip, shaking her head. "Listen, Charlotte, why don't yer go inside and ask Frances for some cake? I'm feelin' 'ungry and we can 'ave cake and then go and play, eh?"
"Okay," Charlotte said and Tommy let her go back to the ground and she ran back to the house.
"What is it?" she asked her husband.
"There's explosives in the field," Tommy said to her and Elizabeth's eyes widened as he held his hands up in defence. "I don't know why, Liz. I don't know what's 'appenin', alright? I went there and found a scarecrow with a letter addressed to me…saying how I need to reap what I sow…"
"And that gun?" Elizabeth asked, thankful Tommy had dropped it before Charlotte could see it in the distance.
"I need to blow it up," he said to her.
"Who did this?" she asked him. "This is our house, Tommy. Someone came here…while we were sleeping probably and set a trap. What if Charlotte had gone in there? What if she-"
"-She didn't," Tommy interrupted, knowing how Liz's mind could wander to that dark place. "She didn't go in there and nothin' 'appened. I'm goin' to find out who did it and sort this, alright?"
"This doesn't feel right, Tommy," Elizabeth protested to her husband, her voice soft and a whisper as Tommy took hold of her waist. "There's a woman on the phone with an Irish accent. She said she needs to talk to you. What is going on?"
"Liz, look at me," Tommy demanded, a hand going to her cheek and forcing her gaze to his. "I don't know, alright? Honest to go, I 'ave no idea what is goin' on…none of this…I don't know."
"I believe you," she said, and she did. She knew when Tommy was hiding something. Yes, he had been acting odd, but hadn't both of them? "Just…come inside when that is sorted, okay?"
"Aye," Tommy said, kissing her on the cheek. "Go back to Charlotte. I'll deal with the call and come to yer."
Elizabeth nodded and moved back inside, the noise of gunfire echoing through her ears as she reached the door and went to find her daughter. Charlotte was in the dining room, three slices of cake on the table as she sat there, not touching hers. A glass of water was in front of her and a pot of tea also sat there too. Elizabeth went to sit next to her.
"Well, this looks yummy," she said, forcing a smile onto her face.
"Where is daddy?"
"He will be here in a few minutes. He just had to take that phone call, remember?"
"Yes," Charlotte said and looked to her mother, shyly peering up through her eyelashes. "You're not as sad anymore," she observed.
"I…well…" Elizabeth said, uncertain what to say to her. "Things have been difficult for the past couple of years," Elizabeth said to her daughter. "You know that your…well…sibling…died…and…that made me sad."
"Daddy said it wasn't your fault. He said that sometimes people just die," Charlotte said, playing with her hands in her lap and peering down as Elizabeth nodded once, seeming to agree with that analysis.
"Daddy is right," Elizabeth said, her heart breaking slightly at hearing her daughter. "But everything is going to be okay now, Charlotte. Daddy and I love you very much and we will…we will be happy, okay? Us three will be happy."
"Will I have a brother or sister one day?"
Elizabeth wondered what had just happened to being happy as her daughter looked at her. She shook her head and reached out to stroke her daughter's hair. "No, darling," Elizabeth said to her. "I…the doctors do not think that I can have another child. It would be too dangerous."
"Oh," Charlotte said and looked back to her mother. "I would have liked a little sister, but I don't want you to be ill…daddy said that you were ill last time…I love don't want you to be ill."
Elizabeth felt her chest ache at hearing her daughter and she bent down to kiss the top of her head, feeling nothing but love and adoration for her little girl. Before she could say anything, Tommy walked in, gathering his breath as he placed his hands on his hips. His top buttons to his shirt were undone and he was shrugging into his suit jacket.
"Daddy, it is Victoria sponge," Charlotte said.
"Is it?" Tommy asked and ruffled her hair before sitting at the head of the table, his wife to the side of him as he looked to her and nodded. "Rumour is that Michael was caught by a gang in Belfast talking to some people and planning to betray me…take the racecourses…overthrow the business."
"What?" Elizabeth said, trying to keep her voice down as Charlotte ate her cake. "Tommy…why did they call you?"
"Seem to think I could be an ally now I'm with socialism," he said. "I told 'em to send 'im 'ome. I'll deal with him and see if it is true. Pol will get it out of 'im anyway."
"I am beginning not to trust him," Elizabeth admitted, tucking into her cake with her fork as Tommy did the same.
"You and me both."
….
Sitting up in bed later that night, Tommy waited for Elizabeth as she finished readying herself. She was brushing her teeth and cleaning her face, changing into her nightgown. She peered out the curtains for a moment as Tommy sighed, knowing that she was paranoid after what they had discovered in the field.
"I 'ave extra security set up," he said to her as he saw her step away and climb into bed. Holding his arm out, he let her burrow against his side as she pulled the duvet up to her chin. "Somethin' is goin' on…I get this feelin', Liz…a feelin' that someone is tryin' to take everythin' from me and I think it might be Michael."
"No," Elizabeth said to him, peering up at him as she bit down on the inside of her cheek. "Tommy, no one is going to come for you. You are fine…you just…everything that has happened…you are questioning things. I can understand that."
"Everythin' feels like it is goin' to shit," he responded in a mutter. "Mosley…he's in my mind and now Michael…I 'ave Finn to sort out."
"Is Finn back in Birmingham?"
"I sent for 'im to come back up yesterday," Tommy confirmed.
"Then I will come and see him tomorrow. That boy needs setting straight."
"I know," Tommy nodded his head. "He might listen to yer more than me. He's always favoured yer the most."
"I make no promises, but I will see what I can do," she replied. "As for Michael, I have no answer to him. The fact that he ignored you and lost all the money infuriates me, but I suspect your Aunt Pol can deal with him. She is his son."
"I'm just worried that nothin' will make that boy listen."
"She will," Elizabeth assured him. "I think we need to find out who has been to our house and is now coming after you. They are more of a threat than Michael."
"I agree with yer on that," he replied. "I'm goin' to get Aberama Gold to get onto it to find out what is goin' on. Someone who probably wants to overthrow me…someone who wants what I 'ave."
"But they cannot have that, can they?" Elizabeth said, a hand going to his chest. "Tommy, I have always maintained that so long as we are together then nothing else matters. You, me and Charlotte…no one can take that away."
"No one ever will," he promised her, bending down to kiss her. "I'll make sure of that."
"You and me both," Elizabeth promised him. "Now get some rest and stop worrying. If we have security outside and Gold is on it then that is all we can do."
"Yer takin' this better than I thought."
"Because I…after everything…that was not the most shocking thing I have seen and it will not happen again because we will not let it," she replied. "We will never let anything happen to our family. Whoever is doing this will not win."
Tommy nodded and laid down with his wife as she turned her bedside light out and sunk down into the pillows, leaning over to kiss him chastely. Tommy said nothing as he closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but failed, too much going on in his mind to do that.
….
A/N: Do let me know what you think!
