Chapter 11
"Sshh, you're ok, I'm here." Bessy whispers, running her hand through Tommy's hair as he shakes from the fever surrounding him. She rests her arms on the edge of the bed, making the sign of the cross and whispering out a prayer, brushing her hand back over Tommy's head as she finishes, pressing her lips to his forehead. Tommy groans, letting out panting breaths as the chills take over again, his body shivering involuntarily as Bessy pulls a blanket over him, running her hand over his head, moving down to his arm and resting it there, whispering soothing words to him.
The siblings sit like this for most of the journey, Bessy too scared to leave her brother's side. She spends the first few days perched on cushions Curly had found for her, wrapped in a blanket, occasionally dropping off curled up on the floor, or head resting beside Tommy's on the edge of the bed. Tommy would fight consciousness, occasionally having bursts of consciousness where Bessy would force him to drink something before soothing him back to sleep. When the fever finally breaks somewhere between day 2 and 3, she finally lets herself get some proper rest on the bed with Tommy, top and tailing under their respective blankets.
"How did you know to follow me?" Tommy asks when he finally fully regains consciousness enough to sit up, Bessy sat reading a book beside him. Bessy takes a minute before replying, placing a cigarette between her lips, holding one out to place between Tommy's, striking a match to light them both. She takes a deep drag of hers, turning to face her brother, crossing her legs.
"You always told me to trust my gypsy instinct. So I did. And it told me, you were going to do something stupid. By yourself." Tommy lets out a scoff at this.
"You still have those feelings? Messages?" He asks, Bessy nodding in reply.
"I've gotten better at reading them. Picking out the good from the bad." She explains, fiddling with the hem of her skirt.
"What did you hear the other night? Hmm? When you decided to follow me?" Tommy questions her, Bessy's eyes glued to the bed they were sat on, avoiding meeting his eye.
"It was ma," she says quietly. "She said, 'Don't leave him to do this on his own Bessy-Jo. He needs you now, more than ever.' And then she disappeared but I could see something, like a light, almost like fairy dust, guiding me out of the house and then you were there, at the end of the lane, and I knew what I had to do. Then Scudboat came to the door. And I followed you."
Tommy clears his throat before responding, "She, uh, mum still comes to you?"
"No," Bessy quickly says, shaking her head. "It's been years. This was different. She was, worried."
"I could have-"
"Handled it. Yeah. I know. Big, bad Thomas Shelby can look after himself." Bessy imitates him, cutting him off. "But sometimes, you don't have to Tom. Take the help, eh?" Tommy nods slowly.
"Thank you." He says softly, looking up at Bessy with hooded eyes who gives him a small smile. "I do appreciate it. Especially with..." Tommy trails off, motioning to Bessy's stomach where she lays a hand.
"Of course," she replies, equally as softly. "Look, Tom, before all this happened," she pauses, motioning to the injuries he had sustained. "I got angry with you. You know how I am when it comes to John. I shouldn't have lost my temper..."
"Bess-" Tommy starts, only to be cut off by Bessy.
"No, Tom. I shouldn't have called you a prick. I was just so upset about John being upset, you know how the two of us are. But how I acted wasn't right. And if that had been the last thing I had said to you, I never would have forgiven myself." She says, tears pooling in her eyes as she takes a long drag of her cigarette.
"But it wasn't. Hey, look at me," Tommy says gently, curling his finger under her chin to lift her head to meet his. "I'm ok. We're ok. We all say things we don't mean. But you were right, about John. And when we get back, I'll talk to him. Ok?" Bessy nods, biting her lip. "You know what you're having?" Tommy asks, changing the subject as he shifts to lay on his back on the bed.
"Polly is desperate to tell me. I won't let her." Bessy says with a scoff, wiping the tears from her eyes and taking a deep breath. "Tom. Before all this happened, I was going to ask you about something."
"Mhmm?" Tommy hums, blowing cigarette smoke into the air.
"I want to buy a house. For me and Elijah. And the baby." She begins, sliding down to lay beside him, head sharing his pillow, arm thrown loosely over his waist.
"Mhmm?" He hums again, lifting his good arm to stroke his fingers through her hair. "I'll buy you a house, Bess." Bessy smiles up at him, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
"We have money saved up, we can pay for it. It would just help if you could-"
"I'll pay for the house, Bess. Ok?" Bessy nods, not wanting to start an argument. "We'll find you one when we get back. I've got money that can't go through the company that I've been advised to put into property, under my siblings' names. I'm buying you and Ada a house. And Pol."
"Tom-"
"I'm buying you a house Bessy. You deserve it. You need it." He emphasises. "Just think about where you'd most want to be, eh?"
"I'd want to stay by the shop, so it's not far to go," she says, thinking out loud.
"You don't want to follow John and Esme and go raise some chickens in the country?" Tommy asks, Bessy raising her head to look at him, seeing if he was joking. He raises his eyebrows at her as she shakes her head laying it back down on the pillow.
"Can you see me living in the country, Tom?" She jokes, rolling on to her back to look up at the ceiling. "Or Elijah? Jesus, he'd hate it." Tommy scoffs at this as Bessy lets out a laugh. "We're city people, Tom. Maybe one day, when we're old and grey, but we're happy in Small Heath for now. Where we belong. With our families within reach."
"You hate the business we deal with though." Tommy comments, Bessy humming in agreement. "Why would you want to stay near that?"
"Are you trying to get rid of me?" She teases, turning her head to look at Tommy who rolls his eyes. "I hate what the business makes you boys into..."
"The war did that Bess."
"The fucking war did not make you start this company Thomas." Bessy states, holding her hand up to stop him. "You started this when you took over the races and started dealing with bad people. The war may have changed you, but you dealt with the people you dealt with. Bad people." She emphasises. "And I may hate that, but you know I love the legal side. The thrill of the races. Working with my brothers." Tommy hums in agreement this time, pulling out another cigarette and offering one to his sister who accepts it gratefully.
"You know you've always got a place in the company, should you want it." Tommy says as they fall back into comfortable silence, Bessy pressing a kiss to his cheek in response.
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"Fucking hell, Tom. This place is dodgy as fuck." Bessy whispers as she follows Tommy through the lanes of Camden Town.
"You got your gun?" He asks, ignoring her statement.
"Yes." She snaps in reply, rolling her eyes at him. "'Bessy-Jo. You never leave the fucking house, without your fucking gun.'" She imitates their older brother, eliciting a scoff from Tommy.
"Keep it close, eh? You won't need it. But have it close and stay by me. Ok?" Tommy commands, Bessy opening her handbag to show him her gun, Tommy giving a nod as she closes the bag again. "Here we are." Tommy pushes open the door to Alfie Solomon's building, stepping in with Bessy on his heels.
"Put him down, Ollie. Put him down, mate. He's only little." Bessy raises her eyebrows at Tommy as Alfie heads towards them.
"Well, well, well. Who have we got here? You brought a friend." Alfie greets Tommy, passing in front of the siblings.
"This is my sister." Tommy states, Bessy nodding her head at Alfie. "Bessy-Jo."
"Fucking brave bringing a pretty thing like that around these parts." Alfie comments.
"This 'pretty thing' can look after herself, thank you very much Mr Solomons." Bessy states, crossing her arms over her chest. "And speak for herself." She rolls her eyes as she spots Ollie out of the corner of her eye, looking her up and down. "Oi." She bites out, snapping her fingers in his direction. "Eyes up." She steps into his personal space, finger and thumb on his chin to tilt his head to look her in the eye. "Or you'll lose 'em." She whispers, patting him on the chest before turning back to Tommy and Alfie. "Now. I believe my brother wants to talk business Mr Solomons. Shall we do that?" Alfie gives a nod, eyebrows raised as he turns on his heels.
"Feisty young thing." He mutters as he leads them through the building, talking all the way.
"Now, as you said, your brother and I have business to attend to, Miss Shelby." Alfie states, coming to a stop outside his office. "So how about you stay out here with Ollie? Eh?" Bessy screws up her nose, glancing over at Ollie and looking him up and down before shaking her head.
"That's quite alright, Mr Solomons. I think I'll join you boys." She replies, stepping closer to Tommy, sparing him a brief glance as Alfie shrugs, turning to head into his office. Tommy gives her the slightest of nods, gently pressing his hand into her back to guide her into the room.
"Ollie, get the poor girl a chair." Alfie shouts as he settles into his own chair behind the desk, Bessy giving Ollie a polite smile as he carries another chair in for her. Bessy rolls her eyes at Tommy as she glances over her shoulder, finding Ollie stood outside the office, watching them. She relaxes back into her chair, bag held tightly in her lap as she listens in on the conversation between the two men. She was surprised Tommy hadn't opposed her being involved in this meeting, preferring to keep her work on the legal side of the business, something she was sure this was not part of. Bessy glances around the room, half listening to the conversation between her brother and Alfie, jolting back to full attention at the mention of a gun, eyes glued to Alfie as he opens the top drawer of his desk, watching as he listens to Tommy. Her hands tighten on the bag in her lap as Alfie pulls the gun on Tommy, seconds away from pulling her own gun on him as she glances down to see Tommy's outstretched hand beneath the desk, warning her to stop. She glances breathlessly between the two men, jaw clenched tightly in anger.
"Let's say that I shot you already, right? In the fucking face. And the bullet goes bone, mush, bone, cabinet over there. Which is a shame, isn't it? Not only for your baby sister to see her brother die in front of her, but also 'cause that cabinet's fucked isn't it?" Alfie falters slightly as blood begins to run from Tommy's nose, Bessy, chest still tight in both anger and fear, watches as Alfie drops the gun to the desk, pulling out a handkerchief for Tommy who ignores him, sitting back in his chair. She rolls her eyes at a mixture of her brother's stubbornness, and the direction Alfie was taking the conversation, letting out a scoff as he mentions a nose ring.
"Mr Solomons, I'm very sorry to interrupt," she says sweetly, leaning forwards in her chair. "But I can't see the relevance between, Timbuktu, and my brother's apparent lack of a nose ring, and the deal the two of you need to strike. Forgive me if I'm wrong, of course...but I don't see a connection here."
"You're right, I'm sorry. Go on." Alfie replies, leaning back in his chair and spreading his hands out in front of him. "Tell us your plan." Bessy drops back into her seat too, looking over at Tommy who was making a point of keeping his gaze on Alfie rather than his sister.
Bessy tucks her arm in Tommy's as they exit the building, making sure to keep her grip on his arm tight as she whispers in his ear, "Are you ok?"
"Fine." Tommy replies gruffly, glancing over his shoulder to see if Alfie and Ollie were still stood in the doorway watching them.
"You're lying to me." She hisses as they round the corner, pulling Tommy to a stop and pushing him gently against a wall. "Let me have a look-"
"Bessy. Not here." He states, taking her hand and leading her away.
"Tommy, you were bleeding. Let me have a look at you. Please." She begs, quickening her pace to keep up with the long strides of her brother.
"I will. But not here." He repeats, Bessy rolling her eyes but following nonetheless in silence.
"Tom. I need to find a phone." Bessy says after walking for a while in silence.
"Right." Tommy says around his cigarette, glancing over at his sister, who raises her eyebrows expectantly. "Ok. Let's find you a phone." Bessy winds her arm through Tommy's again as they head through the darkening streets in search of a phone box.
"Shelby Company." Finn greets as he answers the phone, bringing a smile to Bessy's face.
"Hello Finny," she says, the nickname earning a groan from Finn causing her to laugh. "Aw, I've missed you too!" She jokes, eyes flicking to the door of the booth, making sure Tommy was still stood there. "Is Elijah there? I know it's late..."
"He's with John. I'll get him for you." Finn replies quickly, Bessy hearing the phone drop to the desk, Finn calling out Elijah's name as he heads through the office to find him.
"Hello?" Elijah's deep voice appears suddenly on the other end of the phone, making Bessy jump.
"Hi 'Lijah." She says softly, her smile growing as she hears him let out a sigh of relief, picturing him stood in her brother's office, dropping to the chair at the sound of her voice.
"Fucking hell. Bess." He replies, running a hand through his hair. "Hey baby."
"Hi," Bessy repeats, letting out a giggle. "I miss you."
"Fuck, I miss you so much." He breathes out, leaning back in the chair. "How are you? Where are you? Is Tommy there?" Bessy laughs again at his rampage of questions.
"I'm fine, Tommy's with me, we're both safe. But I don't have long, we didn't have much change for the phone. We're in London. Camden Town, meeting with Alfie Solomons-"
"Fuck, Bess-" Elijah jumps in, Besy sighing into the phone.
"I know." She cuts him off gently. "I know. I don't think we'll be here long. But it'll take another few days for us to get home, whenever we do leave. I just wanted to call you and hear your voice."
Elijah softens again at this, taking a moment before replying, "I love you Bess. Stay safe. I'll see you soon, eh?"
"Yeah, I'll see you soon." She repeats, tears brimming in her eyes. "I've gotta go, Eli. I love you so much." The phone disconnects before Elijah has a chance to respond, Bessy hanging the phone back up on the hook with a sigh. She pushes open the door to the booth, walking straight into Tommy's arms, his immediately encircling her to hold her close.