Elizabeth hardly slept that night, tossing and turning against Tommy he had kept an arm around her waist, trying to comfort her and get her to keep still, but he knew that would fail. He finally drifted off and she felt his warm breath on her neck. Turning her head over her shoulder, she managed a soft smile at the sight of him before slipping from bed. Looking to the clock on the mantelpiece, she squinted and saw it was a little past three in the morning.
She reached for her silk robe and tied it around her body. Moving down the staircase, she came to the study and contemplated going in there and reading over Tommy's books. She didn't get chance. Instead she looked across the hallway to see Linda emerging from the dining room. She was holding her arm, her eyes wide and her hair a mess on top of her head. She looked an absolute state.
"Linda," Elizabeth whispered to her.
"I'm leaving," Linda said in a small voice and Elizabeth shook her head.
"Is that a good idea?" she asked her. "You were shot…you…you have been unconscious."
"I need to get away from him," Linda said as she stepped closer to Elizabeth and it took her a moment before she allowed herself to feel any kind of emotion. A small tear slipped down Linda's cheek. "He is no good for me and I am no good for him."
"Come on," Elizabeth said to her and moved to take hold of her good arm, urging her to come into the study for a moment. Linda didn't protest. She watched Elizabeth close the door and wrap an arm around herself before leaning against the wood. "What happened, Linda?"
"He…things have not been right for months," Linda admitted to Elizabeth. "I cannot handle Arthur. I cannot handle being a part of this family and knowing what he does. It is not right, Elizabeth. I don't know why you put up with it…put up with them…and Arthur…he's wild. He's uncontrollable. All I did was talk to him…I had a friend and Arthur beat him. He beat him and now he has no face. It's not fair. None of it is fair."
Elizabeth bit down on her tongue. She felt sorry for Linda. She truly did. She didn't wish this on her. The woman was suffering. She was in pain.
"You're not like them," Linda continued as she watched Elizabeth. Picking her gaze up, Elizabeth looked back to her and Linda shrugged. "Why do you stay with him? Why do you stay with him when you are nothing like him?"
"Because…he is not a bad man, not deep down."
"You truly believe that?"
"I know that," Elizabeth said. "I remember him before the war, Linda. I remember the man I met and he is still that man. He has had to change…but…every man who came back from the war had to change."
"But not like them," Linda said. "You are too good for him. I haven't been nice to you and I know that, but you are far too good for him."
"I do not think so," Elizabeth responded. "Tommy is not like Arthur and I know that. Being married to Arthur cannot have been easy for you and I understand that, but will you not reconsider?"
Linda chuckled and shook her head. "I do not think so," she responded. "We have nothing left."
"What will you do?"
"Go to my mother's house. I will take our son," Linda said. "But I need to go now. I do not want to be here any longer."
"Are you fine to drive?" Elizabeth asked her.
"I will be," Linda said.
"At least let me give you a coat," Elizabeth said, remembering she had left her black one in the study on the coat rack. She reached for it and handed it to Linda, a hand moving to tuck her hair behind her ear as she met Linda's eye. Linda took the coat and Elizabeth helped her struggle into it. Pulling her hair from underneath the collar, Linda nodded.
"Thank you," she said.
Elizabeth walked with Linda to the front door, the chill of the morning air biting as the door opened. She watched her go to her car and climb into it. Elizabeth and Linda said nothing to each other. Instead, Linda drove away and left the house behind. Closing the door, Elizabeth sighed and shook her head. Tossing her head to the side, she began to move back through the house. She came to the staircase and frowned as she saw who was at the top of it.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs Shelby," Mosley said, dressed in his suit as Elizabeth moved up the steps and he began to come down them. "Tell your husband I will be in touch soon."
"Will do," Elizabeth said and went to pass him, but his hand caught hold of her wrist and she glowered across to him, standing on the step above him so that they were the same height.
"The strategy is in place, Mrs Shelby," he informed her. "Your husband knows his role. I only hope you will be supportive."
"I always support Tommy," Elizabeth responded.
"I am glad to hear that," Mosley said and lifted her hand up, kissing the back of it. "Take care, Mrs Shelby."
"Goodbye, Sir Oswald," Elizabeth said and moved away from his grip, letting him leave the manor. She stormed up the staircase then and back down to their bedroom. Tommy was still sleeping soundly, his body peaceful and his face rested. Climbing back into bed, Elizabeth turned onto her side and draped an arm over his waist, pressing her cheek against his back. He stirred slightly, his hand moving to hold onto hers before she kissed his shoulder and closed her own eyes again.
…..
Tommy held Charlotte in his grip, her arms holding his shoulders as he balanced her against his hip. His daughter was slowly growing up, almost becoming too heavy for him to carry. But Tommy would carry her for as long as he could. He would keep her young for as long as possible. He needed that. He didn't want to think about her growing up.
Looking into the pond, Charlotte chucked some bread into the pond that she had torn off from a slice. Elizabeth stood to Tommy's other side, shivering slightly in the cold as Charlotte's cheeks slowly turned red and she fed the ducks. Tommy had brought them to the outskirts of Birmingham, promising his wife that there would be a day without work.
"Daddy, that duck keeps stealing all the bread," Charlotte pouted and Tommy chuckled.
"Some ducks are greedy, aren't they?" he said to his daughter.
"Can we get cake after this?" Charlotte asked and Tommy watched her throw another piece of bread into the pond, the ducks going for it. Elizabeth placed her hand on her husband's arm as Tommy turned to look to her.
"Frances was going to ask the cook to prepare a Sunday dinner for this evening," Elizabeth informed her daughter and Charlotte almost began to pout. "But, do you think that you can manage a small slice of cake and then your dinner?"
"Yes," Charlotte said, nodding with vigour. Tommy chuckled and adjusted his daughter against his side. "I can do that."
"Can you really?" Elizabeth asked her. "Well, in that case, I think we might be able to manage some cake."
Charlotte smiled and threw her final piece of bread into the pond. It took a few moments before they began to move off, walking down the path through the park. Tommy nodded at anyone who caught his eye, young families pushing prams and women walking together with their own children running ahead. The air was cold, but the sun was shining, providing some brief relief. Wandering in the park, Tommy kept his hand in Charlotte's as she went to walk by his side. His wife kept her arm inside of his as he acted the doting husband, knowing that people wanted to see that when he was out in public. Of course, he would have done that anyway, always acting courteous toward his wife.
Wandering towards the small café at the edge of the park, Tommy checked his pocket watch and placed it away. Stepping into the café, he held the door open as Charlotte looked at the counter of cakes. Her eyes widened as Elizabeth went to find a table and Tommy ordered food with his daughter, getting his wife a cup of tea.
Sitting down at the table, Tommy looked around the shop for a few moments. It was a force of habit. He always did that. He watched and spoke with his family as Charlotte told them about her night in the hotel and how she had stayed up late and played with Karl.
Tommy watched his wife as she slowly relaxed and he longed for this to be it. He wanted this as his life, but there was always something he had to do. His mind wouldn't let him relax. How could it when he had so much work?
….
Elizabeth looked to Tommy as he walked into the house. She had heard the news. She had heard about what had happened to the Colonel. He had been to visit Tommy. He had been to see Tommy and then had gone back to his car, only for an explosion to go off. Tommy knew who the real culprit of the crime was, but he couldn't say. The death would go down as IRA. Tommy had left his brother to deal with the opium shipment. Arthur needed something to do and keep his mind off of Linda.
"I heard about the Colonel," Elizabeth said as Tommy pulled his coat from his form. "Did you go and see Ada?"
"I told her," Tommy said. "She…she took it better than I had expected. She didn't love 'im. She…she was 'is friend. She…I ruin everythin' I touch, Liz. I ruin it all."
"No," Elizabeth said, knowing that Tommy could let his mind wander. She went to take hold of his shoulders, squeezing them tightly in her grip. "What happened was not your fault."
"A boy died," Tommy said to her. "A boy not much older than Charlotte…a child…a kid, Liz…"
"Christ," Elizabeth said in a low voice and bowed her head.
"We both know who did this," Tommy said to her. "They aren't getting' away with it."
"Do not do anything brash, Tommy," Elizabeth urged her husband. "Do not do anything dangerous."
"I won't," Tommy promised her. "I just…I need to see Charlotte…is she sleepin'?"
"It is gone eleven. She should be fast asleep," Elizabeth said.
Tommy nodded and moved up the steps and towards his daughter's room. Standing in the doorway, he looked into the bedroom and saw her sleeping soundly. He moved slowly into the room and he knelt down, his hand moving to push her hair from her face as he kissed her on the forehead. She didn't stir. She didn't even shift. She remained completely still as Tommy watched her for a few moments.
Moving to his feet, his hand went to his hips as he began to unbutton his suit jacket. He looked down at her for another moment and then went to leave the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Moving back down the staircase, he saw Elizabeth step out from the study as he held his hand out to her. She moved to take hold of it, her hand squeezing his.
"What do you want?" she asked him and Tommy shrugged.
"Yer always ask me that," he said to her, a hand going to stroke her cheek. "Yer always ask me what I want whenever anythin' 'appens…always…"
"Because I want to help you," Elizabeth said. "Because, even though I like to think that I know you better than you know yourself, there are sometimes when that just is not true. There are sometimes when I do not know what you are thinking or what you want…you can be a hard man to read."
"I don't mean to be," Tommy mumbled, "not with you, anyway…never with you."
"I know," Elizabeth said, "but if you tell me then at least I know. That is all I want."
"What did I do to deserve yer, Liz?" Tommy wondered and she moved a hand to his chest, flattening his tie out.
"You love me and I love you, that is enough," she shrugged over to him. "So what do you want tonight? Do you want to plan? Do you want to eat?"
"Neither," Tommy said. "I want to take yer to bed…I want to be with my wife."
"Well, when you say it so romantically," she teased him as Tommy chuckled and bent down to kiss her chastely before backing her towards the staircase. "Come on then," she urged him, reaching for his hand. "Everything can wait until tomorrow, Tommy…just until tomorrow."
Tommy nodded and followed her upstairs to the bedroom, hoping that he could just forget, if even just for a little while.
….
A/N: Do let me know what you think!
