Tommy sat in his office after Nora left and thought about her words. Though she told him some information about herself, he had no way of knowing how she would fight. He understood Alfie as much as any man could, but how much like her brother was Nora? Was she as unpredictable and short-tempered as he was?
Three days later Tommy left the House of Commons quickly, as to prevent Mosely from speaking to him. He walked down the street a way until he entered a men's clothing shop. He walked to the front desk and said, "Shelby" then he was immediately ushered to a fitting room containing the suit specifically tailored for him.
He put on his new suit and stepped out of the fitting room to properly examine the fit. He bowed his head as he adjusted his collar while he walked to the mirror. He looked up as faced the mirror and froze when he saw dark brown eyes looking back at him partnered with a coy smile.
Tommy cleared his throat as he continued to straighten his jacket and look in the mirror. Nora was sitting with one knee over the other on the wooden shelf behind him containing neck ties in the drawers.
"How is it you always know where I am?" He asked, his tone expressionless.
"I know everything."
Tommy turned around. "You follow me?"
Nora's eyes began to sparkle as she tilted her head and looked at him, her smile never wavering.
"Now, Mr. Shelby, do you honestly expect me to have nothing better to do than follow you?"
She jumped from the shelf and walked to Tommy and began to smooth his shoulders.
"It's time to start the rumor that I have returned to London, and I need you to tell your mate."
"Tell him how?"
"I'm sure you'll think of something."
Tommy looked down at her eyes as she cut them from his jacket up to meet his. Slowly she raised her chin, their faces inches apart.
"I have plans for him."
"And what plans are those?"
"I need the element of surprise to be on my side."
Tommy looked away briefly before cocking his head at her. "So, you aren't going to tell me? It's hard to fight a war when I don't know the strategy."
"Your mission is to trust me soldier." Nora said with an overdramatic stern expression as she stepped back. "And not to pass on an opportunity for socialization." She said as she pointed at him, giving him an order with a twinkle in her eye.
Tommy sighed and clenched his jaw. She looked him up and down, "I like that suit but you should have gotten it in blue. It would have looked good with your eyes." Then she turned on her heels and walked toward the back until she slipped through the door and was gone.
The next day Tommy asked Mosely's secretary to put him on Mosely's schedule, and at 3 o'clock that afternoon Tommy entered Mosely's office.
Oswald Mosely looked at him for a moment before saying, "Tommy. You don't have to ask for an appointment, chap. You are my partner."
"I wanted to make sure we both were available."
"Alright. What is it?" Mosely asked curiously.
"I heard something. One of the Jews that came through Birmingham got drunk, started talking." Tommy paused as he lit a cigarette.
"And?" Mosely pressed, his attention fully on Tommy.
"He said something about a Solomons coming back to Camden Town."
"Alfie Solomons is dead." Mosely said with faint doubt in his tone.
"No, he kept saying 'She'… I don't know, he was drunk." Tommy said as he shrugged and began to put out his cigarette as if he were going to leave. "I doubt he knew what he was saying."
"Wait." Mosely said and Tommy stopped and stared at him, curious to see if he believed his lie. "Are you sure? A female Solomons?"
Tommy shook his head and released a breath. "That's what he kept going on about. But as I said, he was drunk. He-"
"What reason would he have to lie?" Mosely interrupted. "You know as well as I do Tom, drunk men are more honest than sober men."
Tommy watched Oswald's mind process the new information.
"We need to find out if Alfie has any living relatives other than his nephew. Women. If there is a woman Solomons bringing Jews to Camden Town, we need to know. We don't need a new Suffragette on our hands. Particularly one for the Jewish cause."
Tommy left Mosely's office and walked to his own. When he closed the door, he reached in his pocket and took out a small glass vial. He took out the cork and emptied the liquid into his mouth.
"You're going to get her killed, Tommy." Grace's ghost said from across the room. Tommy shook his head.
"People always die when they get close to you." She goaded and Tommy's thoughts went to the drawer containing his gun.
Tommy ran both hands through his hair before grabbing his belongings and leaving.
Tommy drove to Ada's house and went in without knocking.
Ada sat at the table; her pregnant stomach barely visible beneath her dress.
"You're early." She as she looked at the time.
"Yeah." Tommy said distractedly as his heart raced with his mind.
"Are you alright?" she asked concerned.
Tommy didn't answer, he walked to her drinking cart and poured himself a glass of whiskey. He attempted to focus his mind on his sister and her house, but his heart raced as if he were sprinting for his life. Tommy closed his eyes and inhaled a slow deep breathe attempting to slow his heart.
When he finally turned around, he found his sister looking at him with concern.
"What?" He asked, hatred for the pity in her eyes overtaking the anxiety in his chest.
"You still haven't gone back to the doctor, have you?"
"I'm fine Ada." He said as he walked away from the cart and to the center of the room.
"You're not fine. You can deny it all you want, but you need help."
"I got help, Ada. And it didn't work."
"Because you stopped going." She said walking toward him.
Tommy rubbed his hand across his forehead and squeezed his temples. "Right. I have to go."
"What about dinner?"
"Not hungry." He said and he put down his glass and walked back out the door.
Tommy fought his anxious mind the entire drive home. By the time he walked in the door, he was mentally exhausted. Cyril met him at the door, as always, followed by his son Charlie.
"Dad, I started making a bridge of rocks today in the creek! I made it halfway before it got dark."
"Charlie," Tommy started as he knelt down to speak to his son. "I don't want you going to the water by yourself. Do you understand?"
"But, Dad-" Charlie began to argue.
"No. No buts. It's dangerous."
Before Charlie could argue, Lizzy came around the corner. "It's about time you told him." She said.
Tommy clenched his jaw before telling Charlie to go play.
"I need to talk to you." He said to his wife.
"You going to tell me not to go in the forest either?" She said sardonically causing Tommy to shoot her a look out of the corner of his eyes.
"The woman than came by, you know which one I'm referring to…" He added as he saw her mouth open and she closed and pursed her lips. "She is going to be coming by regularly. It's all for business. You don't have to talk to her or be around her, but she will be welcome in this house so long as I say. What we are dealing with is a lot bigger than whatever territorial marking agenda you have."
"I don't need to 'mark my territory'. I live here. This is my house."
"And you will welcome her in this house." Tommy said
"Who is she?"
Tommy thought for a moment, contemplating whether or not to tell her. Finally, he said, "She's a Jew."
"She's going against Mosely?"
Tommy nodded and exhaled a breath. "So she says. We will find out soon enough."
"It really is just business?"
"Yes. It really is just business." Tommy said, though he had been tempted to make it more.
Days went by and Mosely was in Tommy's office more often than ever.
"Her name is Nora Solomons." Mosely told him. "She's his sister! The only one left. He had another but she died in a brothel in France years ago."
"What does she look like?" Tommy asked, curious to see how much Mosely knew.
"Brown hair and brown eyes."
"You found a copy of her travel papers?" Tommy asked as he noticed the way Mosely repeated her description.
"Yes. That is all I found. No pictures." Mosely complained. "she's staying hidden wherever she is. Jimmy says he hasn't spotted a single woman that looks like she is the leader and all of them have brown hair and brown eyes." Oswald sighed. "All this searching has got me extremely frustrated. What do you say we go out and get a drink? Hm? Release some pent-up frustrations?"
Tommy looked at Mosely. He wanted nothing more than to say no, but he thought of Nora's order. 'Not to pass up an opportunity for socialization.'
"Good." Mosely said when Tommy agreed.
They walked into a frequented pub and ordered their usual. They hadn't been sitting for long when Tommy noticed a woman with dark blonde hair looking at Mosely. She looked familiar but Tommy didn't know where he had seen her before. It didn't take long for Oswald to notice her. He stared at her, his eyes looking up and down her body until finally he waived her over.
The woman walked to their table and stood, her back to Tommy.
"What's your name?" Mosely asked.
"Anna." The woman said as she eyed his flirtatiously.
"Well, Anna. What are you drinking?"
"Whatever you buy me." She responded with a seductive smile.
Tommy sat awkwardly at the table as Anna and Mosely flirted. Whispering in each other's ears and Anna giggling. He checked his pocket watch and before he decided to dismiss himself, Oswald interrupted his thoughts.
"What do you say we take this party somewhere else?" Mosely said to Tommy.
Tommy stared at him; unsure exactly what Mosely was inviting him to be a part of.
"She wants to go to Victoria's. That club I've been telling you about."
Tommy looked at Anna whose flirtatious expression was gone, with the absence of Mosely's attention. Instead, she looked at Tommy with a serious, almost business-like expression and he realized where he had seen her. She was the woman who had been sitting across from Nora at the tea shoppe.
"Why not?" Tommy said to Mosely, who smiled and turned back to Anna, who smiled a look of triumph as the three of them walked out of the pub and made their way to 'no man's land'.