It was the next morning and I was sat in between John and Arthur in the Garrison snug. John had a cigar in his mouth and Arthur was reading the paper. I had Johns notebook on my lap and was sketching his profile as they interviewed potential new Peaky Blinders. My back was against Arthurs shoulder and my legs were across Johns.
Tommy looked up when the door opened and I looked at John as the guy closed the door behind him. Taking off his hat, he stood in front of us. I gave him an encouraging smile, pencil still in my hand. "All right, then." Arthur said. "Name?" John asked. The guy shifted awkwardly on his feet. "The Digbeth Kid." he muttered. This made Arthur look up from his paper. "The Dig…? What are you? A boxer?" Arthur asked. "Digbeth Kid, like Billy the Kid." he admitted.
John looked out the window in a vain attempt to stifle his laughter, Arthur ruffled the paper next to me. I sat straight, taking my legs off John and resting my shoulder against his as I put the notebook and pencil on the table. "Spend a lot of time at the pictures, eh?" Tommy asked, a smirk in his voice. "Cowboy pictures? Tom Mix? Yeah?" Tommy continued, the Digbeth Kid nodding along. He looked around at us before moving his jacket and going for the holster at his hip. John and Arthur instantly had their guns pointed at him. Tommy and I hadn't moved. "What are you.." Arthur started. "Wait! Wait! It's not a real gun." he admitted, raising his hand.
"Let's have a look then." I smiled, sitting forward. "It's made of wood." he told me, handing me the carved gun. I examined it for a moment before pointing it at Arthur. "Bang." I pointed it at John. "Bang." I laughed. "Bang." I smiled at Tommy, fake gun aimed at him. They all played along, feigning being hit as I went. "Very nice." I smiled, giving it back. "Where'd you get the gun belt?" Tommy asked as he put it away. "My sister made it out of an old blacksmith's apron. My mum did most of the stitching. She's not my real mum but…" he explained. "But she does what mothers do. So she made you a gun belt." Tommy finished for him.
"All right, mothers boy. There's the door, on you go. We're looking.." Arthur started before Tommy put his hand up to silence him. "Have you ever been arrested?" Tommy asked. "Yeah." he replied, confidently. "Yeah?" Tommy confirmed. He looked between me, Arthur and John. "No." he admitted, looking back at Tommy. "Good. You're the first bloke in here today with no criminal record. Arthur, we can stand him up." Tommy said. "You know what that means?" I asked the lad. He shook his head.
"The new Home Secretary wants something done about illegal gambling." Tommy began. "Damn right." John said, banging his hand on the table. "About bloody time." Arthur added. "We help our coppers make their quotas of convictions by having men stood up to be arrested. First offense, you'll get a week inside. We'll give you five quid for your trouble. How does that sound, cowboy?" Tommy explained with a small smile. "Yeah." the Digbeth Kid nodded, grinning, "Good.. Write your address down for Finn on your way out." Tommy told him, grabbing a paper off the table. "I can't write." the lad admitted. "That's all right, Finn can't read." John said beside me. I rolled my eyes, nudging John with my elbow before grabbing his notebook and pen from the table. "Tell it to me, darling. I'll give it to Finn." I smiled. He quickly recited it and I wrote it down, ripping the page out the book and handing it to him. "Give this to the lad outside and we'll send someone round." I told him.
"If the sheriff don't run you out of town first." John said, serious as he pointed a finger at him. There was a moment of silence before Arthur and John burst into laughter, I shook my head at the pair of them, leaning back into the chair. "Good man." Tommy said as he left. "Oh, I don't know, Tom. Kids these days…" Arthur said, going back to his paper. "They didn't fight. So they're different. They stayed kids." Tommy replied, turning his paper over. "That's not a bad thing." I told him, raising my eyebrow when he looked up at me. "No, it's not." he replied.
"Finn." I called, taking the paper off Arthur. The door opened and the teenager came in. "Lily alright?" I asked. He nodded. "Yeah, she's still asleep." he told me. "Good. There is a family meeting later, you all need to be there." I told the men, folding the paper in front of me. "About what?" Tommy asked, watching me. "Turn up and you'll find out." I replied, looking at him. "Right, Finn. Send in the next one." Arthur instructed.
The rest of the interviews went by quickly and we were soon on our way home. It seemed that one of the guys stuck in their heads more than anyone. "Did you both seriously think that the kid was going to pull a gun?" I laughed, pushing Lily's pram. She was sitting up and taking in her surroundings with wide eyes. "He was the Digbeth Kid, Evie. Anything could've happened." Arthur laughed. "The Digbeth Kid is the most feared around here." John added, taking his gun out of the holster and pointing it at Arthur.
Arthur laughed before drawing his gun, aiming at John. "Move away from the lady and no one gets hurt." Arthur told him. I laughed at this, turning to Tommy and taking one of his guns from his ribs before turning on Arthur. "This lady can look after herself." I told him, narrowing my eyes at him. We all looked at each other for a moment before setting off running. "Run, Evie! I'll protect you from the kid." John told me, laughing. The house came quickly into sight and I ran around the back, going for the kitchen.
"Run for the hills! It's the Digbeth Kid!" Arthur shouted as I opened the door. I could barely breathe from laughing as I ran into the kitchen, gun aimed behind me. Both my face and hand dropped once I saw who was there. "Henry." I said, shocked, and he went to reply before John pushed me out of the way as he ran into the kitchen backwards, gun trained on Arthur. "Get out of town kid or I will shoot your fucking head off!" he laughed. "Time's up!" Arthur shouted, following closely. He made a gun sound as John's eyes went wide and he lowered his gun, noticing our visitor.
"You're dead. Go down. John!" Arthur demanded. "And you, Evie. I shot you outside." Arthur said, turning and finally noticing there was someone new in the house. Tommy came in, holding Lily on his side. I handed him his gun as he handed her to me, all three holstering their guns and pulling their coats over the top to cover them. Arthur and John were laughing to themselves and I had a feeling I knew why. "Alright then, Polly? Who's this?" Arthur laughed, leaning on the back of the chair and trying not to laugh. I rolled my eyes at their antics. "John, Arthur. This is your cousin. Polly's son, Michael." Tommy introduced, watching both of their faces fall. Arthur straightened and Michael walked to them, shaking each of their hands. "Pleased to meet you." Michael said, confidently.
"I'm Arthur. You've met me. I used to throw you out of the window so John could catch you." Arthur introduced. "I used to put you in a shoe box and kick you down Watery Lane." John admitted. Michael chuckled "That's my wife, Evie, and daughter, Lily." John added gesturing to me. Michael turned to look at me, a slight frown on his face. "I bet you're glad to be back." Tommy laughed, drawing Michaels attention away from me. "I don't remember any of it." Michael replied. "All I remember is the day they took me away." he added. Polly's face dropped at this, going over to her son and wrapping her arms around him.
I caught Johns eye as Arthur looked around awkwardly. "Well, you're here now, son." Tommy told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Welcome to the Shelby family." he added. "Later on, we'll show you the ropes." Arthur told him, putting his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, we'll show you what's what." John added. Polly turned to look at Tommy and I, concern in her face. "Let's leave him alone for now, eh? Let him get settled in first." I told them, shifting Lily onto my other hip as she kept trying to reach for Tommy.
"Yes, come on, boys. Evie." Tommy agreed, walking towards the shop, causing Lily to shout out in frustration at her retreating uncle. "Come here, you." John chuckled, coming over and taking her from my arms before following Tommy. "Nice suit." Arthur commented, before turning and following his siblings. Polly laughed, adjusting Michaels bow tie. "I've asked for a family meeting tonight, Pol. If you don't want to come, I can speak to you at a different time." I told her before following the men.
"Well, as the prospect of an actual family meeting seems to be getting smaller and smaller we might as well just tell you now, Tom." I said, closing the doors to the kitchen and turning to the men. "If you're still concerned about London, Eves…" Tommy began. "Let the girl speak, Tommy." Arthur interrupted, knowing what I wanted to tell him. Tommy looked between his brothers before turning back to me. "Go on then, tell me." he told me, watching me closely as he put his hands in his pockets.
"I'm pregnant, Tom. John and I are having another baby." I told him, fighting the growing smile on my face. There was a moment's pause before Tommy broke into a smile. "The Shelby family just keeps growing." he laughed, coming over and pulling me in for a hug. I could see the happiness in his face once he pulled away but I also caught a bit of uncertainty in his eyes as he turned to John, hugging him and squeezing Lily between them. The Shelby family was growing, but so was the danger.