I walked into the official offices, a pit in my stomach as I dreaded the conversation I was about to have. I knew Tommy wasn't here and Lizze was off today so it would just be me and Michael in the office. I knocked on Michael's closed door and waited impatiently, tapping my foot lightly. "Come in." his voice called, and I took a deep breath before walking through the door. "Hey, can we talk?" I asked, watching his reaction closely. He looked up, surprised that it was me. "Of course." he said, putting his pen down and standing.
I watched him as he came round the desk and stood in front of me. He watched me with intense eyes that showed buried hope. "It's about the other day. At the prison." I started. He nodded, putting his hands in his pockets. "You know nothing could happen between us, don't you?" I asked him, searching his face. He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Is this why you came here? To let me down gently?" he asked, his eyes turned stormy.
"Come on, Michael. I'm married to your cousin. A Peaky fucking Blinder. What did you think was going to happen?" I told him, brow furrowing. "I'm a fucking Blinder. Tell me you don't feel anything for me." he begged taking a step closer to me. "I love John, Michael." I told him, having to look up at him now. "That's not what I said." he countered. "I'm having my second child with my husband. I'm not just going to throw that all away for a teenager, Michael." I argued.
"I fucking hate seeing you with him. He doesn't love you. Not like I do. He fucking cheated on you for Christ sake, Eves." he responded, his voice raising in anger. "He does love me. I cheated on him as well, remember? I do like you, Michael. You are a sweet kid and you could make a girl really happy." I told him, raising my hand to his cheek. "I could make you happy." he told me, eyes boring into mine. "I know you want to get out of here. We can go get Lily and get on a train. I'll look after you, all of you." he begged, bringing his hands up to either side of my face.
"I can't, Michael. I can't take John's children away from him. He is a good man and a good husband. Please, I need you to understand that." I replied, looking into his eyes. Suddenly his lips were on mine. I pushed him away from me as a sharp pain shot through my body. I doubled over in pain as I grabbed my stomach and cried out. Michael seemed frozen as I sank to the floor. "Get Polly or John." I told him, sitting on the floor and clutching my stomach. "Go, Michael!" I shouted at him, fighting back tears.
"You've got to stay in bed and off your feet as much as possible for the remainder of your pregnancy." Anne told me as John pulled the duvet up and over me. "But I've got to work and I've got Lily to look after." I protested, earning a glare from Polly. "The heartbeat is strong but any more stress and you will lose this baby, Evelyn." Anne told me sternly, I frowned up at John as he sat next to me. "Don't worry. We will make sure she's nice and calm." Polly assured the woman before showing her out.
"I can't stay in bed for five months. There's too much to do." I told John, my brow furrowing. "You and the baby are the priority. We will all help out." he told me, brushing a curl from my face. I frowned at him again as Polly came back into the room. "Right, you heard her. You're to stay in bed until that baby makes an appearance." she told me sternly, hands on hips. "If I don't die of boredom first." I grumbled at her, crossing my arms against my chest. "We will all take turns sitting with you and I'm sure Tommy will buy half the bookstore for you." she replied, softening slightly as she went over everything in her head.
"Great. So I'm going to be the family invalid for the next five months." I responded, rolling my eyes. "I love you but I want to fucking strangle you sometimes." Polly told me before turning. "I'll go let Tommy know what is going on and I'll come back." she added over her shoulder before leaving. I put my head back on the pillow in frustration. "It'll fly by, Eve. You can boss us all around from the comfort of our bed." John told me, kissing my head.
It did not fly by. Three months into my house arrest, I was planning my escape and trying to get Finn and Isaiah on board was harder than anticipated. "I just need you to make a distraction." I told the pair who were sat on the end of the bed. "How do you expect us to do that?" Finn laughed. "I don't know!" I replied. "You're meant to think of that." I laughed, rubbing a hand over my stomach. "So you want us to distract Arthur, Polly, John and Tommy while you sneak out?" Isaiah confirmed, looking at me seriously. "Exactly! Isaiah's got it." I said, pointing at the teen.
"Do you think our lives would be worth living if we did that?" Finn laughed, raising an eyebrow at me. "No, it wouldn't, Finn." Tommy's voice came from the hallway. I groaned. "This is a private escape council meeting." I told Tommy as he came into the room. "Well, I'm just in time then. I'm breaking you out." he told me, putting his hands in his pockets. "Excuse me?" I asked, not wanting to sound too hopeful. "Help Evie find some shoes and a jacket, Finn." Tommy commanded, lighting a cigarette.
"You're being serious?" I asked, my eyes going wide. He nodded. "Don't mess with me, Thomas. I am a woman on the edge." I told him, pointing a finger at him. He laughed, putting his hands up in mock surrender. "I swear, I am taking you outside." he chuckled. I cheered, jumping off the bed. Well, as much as a seven months pregnant lady can and went towards the wardrobe. "Tell Finn what you want." Tommy told me, leaning against the door frame. I narrowed my eyes at Tommy. "There are some riding boots in the bottom, they'll do." I told Finn, pointing at the wardrobe.
He quickly got them for me, handing them to me as I sat on the edge of the bed. Isaiah laughed as I realised I couldn't put them on. I threw a pillow at the teenager, scowling at him as he laughed harder. "Come here." Tommy laughed, coming over and kneeling in front of me. My foot jolted as his finger brushed a ticklish spot. "You're still ticklish on your feet then." Tommy laughed, slipping one of the boots on and tying the laces. "Don't you dare, Thomas." I told him, giving him a stern look.
He looked up at me as he purposely ran a finger up the centre of the sole of my foot, earning a squeal and nearly a kick in the face. "Thomas!" I shouted, laughing. The three of them laughed as he slipped on my other boot, lacing it tightly then offering me his hand to stand. "What have you told John? What if he comes to see me?" I asked as he lead me out of the bedroom and down the stairs. "I've got it covered, Eves. Don't worry." he told me, heading for the front door. "Shouldn't we at least go out the back?" I asked as Tommy took my coat from the hook and helped me into it. "The front will be fine." he told me, taking my hand again and opening the door.
Finn and Isaiah were close behind as we stepped onto the street. I frowned as I came face to face with Arthur, Polly, Michael and John. "What now?" I stage whispered to Tommy who just chuckled back. "We thought it would be nice to go for a drive." John told me, shifting Lily on his side as he pushed away from the car he was leaning on. I narrowed my eyes at my family. "What's going on?" I asked, glancing around at them. "Do you want to go back to your room?" Polly asked, raising an eyebrow. I quickly shook my head. "Then shut up and get in." she told me, turning and taking Lily off John before climbing into the front car.
"Come on, you're in this one." Tommy told me, leading me to the second car. John climbed in first, turning and holding out his hand as Tommy put a hand on my back to steady me as Finn climbed in the front. Isaiah, Michael and Arthur climbed into the front car and Tommy climbed into the driver's seat as John put his arm around me. "Where are we going?" I asked as Arthur and Tommy began driving. They all ignored me. I narrowed my eyes at the brothers but I decided to drop it, resting both my hands on my stomach as I settled in for the drive.
We had just gotten out of Birmingham when John took a spare tie out of his pocket. "Come here." he told me, unwrapping his arm from me and moving to blindfold me. "What's going on?" I asked, frowning at him. "We want it to be a surprise. Now shut up and turn around." he told me. I searched his face for a moment before doing what I was told, putting a hand on John's leg as the world went dark.
I don't know how long we drove for before pulling to a stop. I could hear the voices of the rest of the family as I heard Tommy get out then the door next to me opening. "Is that Ada?" I asked, turning my head to where the voice was coming from. John held my hand out as I felt hands on my waist. John guided both my hands to someone's shoulders as I was lifted out of the car and placed gently on the floor. I could hear everyone talking but couldn't make out any particular conversations. The hands from my waist disappeared, my hands falling to my side, and were replaced by two hands on my shoulders.
"We know these past few months have been hard on you, Eves. But we wanted you to know how much we do appreciate you and we want you and John to be happy together." Tommy said from somewhere to my right. "Oh good. I'm probably not going to be executed then." I replied, deadpan and I heard Polly muttering. "We've all been working hard to get this ready for you and we hope you will make many memories here." Tommy finished, ignoring my previous statement.
I blinked a few times as the blindfold was removed. Once my eyes had adjusted to the light, I realised where we were. We were at mine and Johns cottage. However, now it was all fixed and looked like new. My eyes widened as I took in the amazing stone building. I was speechless as I took in the tamed gardens and repaired walls. "You did all this for me?" I asked, still taking in the building. "Yeah. We wanted you to have somewhere you can escape the city. Somewhere to raise the kids." Arthur told me, a smile on his face. "It's beautiful." I told them. "You've got Ada to thank for most of it." John told me, still standing behind me. "If you don't like anything, let me know and I'll have it." Ada told me, walking over and engulfing me in a hug. "Thank you." I whispered, wrapping my arms around her.
"It's all ready for you." Polly told me as Ada pulled away. "Lily's room is set up, the nursery is all done. You've just gotta stay here and relax." Polly explained. "Thank you, everyone. This means a lot." I told them all, leaning back into John as he wrapped his arms around me. "We will leave you both to get settled in." Tommy said, gesturing for everyone to get back in the cars. "I'll take Lily for tonight and drop her round in the morning." Polly told me, smiling as she climbed into the waiting car.
John kissed my head as we watched the cars pulling away. Our family waving to us until they were out of sight. I rested my head back on John. "Shall we go in?" he asked, resting his chin on my head. "Can we just stand here a while longer?" I asked, looking across the garden and fields. "I could stand here forever with you." he told me, kissing my head once more.
A/N They've moved into the cottage! What did you think about Evies chat with Michael?