Chapter 3
"Hello," Edith calls cautiously, hovering in the doorway to the kitchen.
"Hi!" Comes the enthusiastic reply from the girl sat at Edith's dining table. "I'm Alice."
"Hi Alice," Edith responds, brow furrowed. "I'm Edith."
"Oh, I know." Alice says, still smiling as she points to the teapot on the table. "Tea's fresh."
"Thanks." Edith mumbles, taking a tea cup from the sideboard and pouring herself a cup. "I'm sorry, how did you get in here?"
"I'm Finn's friend." The other girl explains "I spent the night. Finn's just in the bathroom getting ready."
"Ah." Edith replies, raising her eyebrows. "Got it."
"Oh good, you've met." Finn says as he saunters into the kitchen. "Breakfast on yet Edie?"
"I've just got down here myself!" Edith replies with a laugh, following her brother over to the stove. "This is not a bed and breakfast Finn!" She hisses, taking hold of Finn's arm. "If you want to make breakfast for your one night stand, little friend over there, do it yourself."
"Jeez Edith." Finn snaps back, shaking his arm free. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Edith huffs and shakes her head.
"I don't have time for this," she groans, placing her cup in the sink. "I'm meeting Millie at church. Going to see Aunt Pol afterwards. It was nice to meet you Alice." She says politely, throwing the girl a smile as she leaves.
"You too!" Alice calls after her, making Edith chuckle at her enthusiasm as she makes her way back upstairs.
————————
"Morning!" Edith calls to Millie and her family as she jogs to catch up with them.
"Morning Edie," Millie responds, linking their arms together. "How's cutie with the dark hair?" Edith throws her her back and laughs
"He has a name Millie!"
"Ah yes! Mr Bonnie Gold!" she exclaims, pronouncing the name as if he were a Hollywood film star. "So. How is he?"
"He's fine Millie." Edith laughs at friend as she pulls a face at the lack of information on the boy. "There's not much to tell Mil, haven't really seen him much. I tell you what I have seen though!"
"What?"
"A lovely girl named Alice sitting in my kitchen this morning." Edith sings, making Millie laugh.
"What?" She asks again, still chuckling.
"Yup. A friend of Finn's apparently. She spent the night."
"Huh."
"Ohhh...someone's jealous!" Edith teases, knocking her shoulder into Millie's.
"Oh shush." Millie groans, Edith mock gasping at her friend
"So you don't deny it! You're in love with my brother! We could be sisters!
"Ok! Love is a very strong word!" Her friend protests, pointing her finger at Edith. "Don't get ahead of yourself. And don't go starting rumours."
"As if I would!" Edith gasps, resting her head on Millie's shoulder. "I can just see it now..." she says dramatically, "you and Finn...riding off into the sunset..."
"I don't like horses." Millie cuts in
"Well learn to." Edith jokes making Millie groan in protest again. "Ok fine, speeding out of Small Heath in one of Tommy's luxury cars?"
"Now that," Millie says, snapping her fingers at Edith. "Is more like it." Edith laughs again at her friend, hugging her close by her arm.
"I'll see what I can do." She says with a wink.
"Hi Aunt Pol." Edith says softly with a gentle smile, sliding into the pew beside her Aunt. Polly has been bringing Edith to church since she was a baby, the only Shelby child that had grown up, yet still continued joining their Aunt on a Sunday morning. Even when Polly wasn't around Edith kept up the routine, meeting up with Millie and her family at the end of Watery Lane and attending the local church service with them every week, something she knew her Aunt would approve of. The hour a week gave Edith the quiet she needed away from the busy lives of her older brothers, time to be at peace before re-entering the crazy world of the Peaky Blinders. She sits back, waiting for her Aunt to rise her from her knelt position, pressing a kiss to her cheek when she does. "You came."
"You sound surprised." Polly responds, leaning back on the bench.
"I am." Edith replies quietly, placing her hand in her Aunts, this was the first time her aunt had attended a service with Edith in a while. "Didn't expect to see you here. I was going to come by later. With Michael. Maybe Finn too?"
"Michael doesn't come around. He chases after that damn brother of yours."
"But he should. He will. With me you know he will." Edith assures her Aunt, squeezing her hand. "So? Can I?" Her Aunt nods, eyes forward, both of them falling into silence as the church service starts.
————————
"Aunt Pol?" Edith calls, pushing open the front door to her Aunt's house, Michael and Finn right behind her.
"She's probably busy Edith," Finn moans at the lack of reply from within the house, annoyed that his younger sister had pulled him away from the pub he had been in with Isiah. "Let's come back later."
"No." Edith states, pulling off her hat and scarf. "I told her we would be here so we're staying." Michael shrugs at Finn's frown as Edith walks further into the house. "Aunt Polly?" She calls again, her cousin and brother trailing behind her. "Ah, there you are."
"Edith," Polly says with a smile, looking up from where she was knelt stoking the fire. "Sorry love, I didn't hear you come in." She wraps her niece in a tight hug, Edith responding with equal force, sighing into the embrace. "I tidied up for you."
"Oh you didn't need to do that Pol," Edith replies softly, reluctantly breaking the hug to look at her Aunt. "It's just us." She motions with her head for Finn to greet their Aunt.
"Hi Aunt Pol," he says, giving her a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. "How are you?"
"Goodness me, I think you've grown again!" Polly jokes, Edith laughing from behind her. "You're feeding him to well Edith."
"He's eating us out of the house Aunt Pol." She chuckles earning an eye roll from her brother.
"I'm a growing man." He responds making the three of them laugh.
"Alright mum," Michael pipes up from the doorway, coming forward to wrap her in a hug. Polly smiles as they pull apart.
"Right, come on you lot. There's lunch waiting for you in the dining room." She says, leading them into the next room. Finn takes one look at Edith, a mischievous glint in his eye as he shoves her to the side in an attempt to get through the doorway first.
"Hey!" She shouts, letting out a yelp of surprise as she falls back into Michael who chuckles and shakes his head at the siblings' actions. "I'm gonna get you for that Finn Shelby! Get back here!" She yells, sprinting after her brother eliciting laughs from her Aunt and cousin.
————————
"Afternoon." Bonnie greets Edith brightly, hanging over the door to the stall.
"You found me." She replies with a grin, having found a stall near the back of the stable that was clean and empty. "Of course Mr Gold, please, do join me!" She mocks him playfully as he throws her a wink, flopping down on to the hay beside her.
"That would be lovely, thank you Miss Shelby." He teases in the same tone, pulling a packet out of his jacket pocket. "I brought cake." Edith grins and fishes in the hay beside her, pulling out a flask.
"And I brought tea." She says with a laugh, twisting the cup off the top. "A perfect picnic! Hope you don't mind sharing, I could only find the one cup; didn't think my Aunt Pol would be too pleased if she found out I'd brought her best China tea cups to the stable with me."
"Hmm, maybe not." Bonnie replies with a grin, ripping open the paper packaging and breaking the slice of cake in half with his hands. "Clean hands, promise!" He says, holding his hands out to Edith who laughs and pushes them away. The two teens sit in silence for a few minutes, sipping on their tea and taking bites out of their respective pieces of cake.
"So...come here often?" Edith jokes, nudging Bonnie's shoulder with hers.
"Well," Bonnie offers, glancing over at Edith, making eye contact with her. "There's this girl..."
"Oh?"
"Yup." Bonnie nods, resting his body weight onto one arm as he tilts his body towards her. "Heard she likes to spend her afternoons down here so I thought, why not go and see what she's up to?"
"Huh." Edith pulls on her curls, letting them fall around her face to hide her blush. "And this girl...what's she like?"
"Well, I don't know her that well..." Bonnie admits, reaching a hand out to brush some of her hair behind her ear. "But...she's good to animals...that indicates a good heart. In my opinion."
"Really?"
"I'd like to get to know her better." He admits, nodding at her question.
"Is that all?" Edith questions, watching as Bonnie gently turns her hand over, his fingers tracing the lines of her palm.
"Well," he starts again, quietly clearing his throat. "I might like to kiss her as well..."
"Ohh...might, huh?" Bonnie lets out a low chuckle at this, slowly beginning to lean forwards towards Edith.
"What do you think she would say to that?" He asks, voice barely above a whisper.
"I think she might say yes." At this, Edith leans up, closing the gap between them as she gently presses her lips to Bonnie's. She hums into the kiss, moving one hand up to cup his cheek as he smiles against her lips. They slowly pull away, foreheads resting together as they search each other's eyes. "What do you think he would say," Edith whispers "if she wanted to kiss him again."
"Eh, I think he might say yes." He chuckles in a teasing tone, repeating her own words back to her, sitting up so that he could wrap an arm around her waist, his other hand cupping the back of her neck as their lips connect again.