Nora curled up in the blankets before she opened her eyes. She could hear the fire popping and felt the silky bedding she lay in. Blinking her eyes open, she looked around the room. "Fuck." She said under her breath. She got out of bed and looked for her dress.
Slipping it on she began looking for her shoes and knickers, then remembered they were downstairs in Tommy's study. She tiptoed out of the room and down the hall. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she jumped as she almost collided with a woman just a bit older than her brother.
"And who are you?" The woman asked with an imperial look on her face.
"Leaving." Nora responded curtly as she walked around the woman.
"I asked who not what."
Nora remained silent as she continued her way to Tommy's study.
"Nora!" She heard Charlie yell and she froze.
"Um, good morning Charlie." She said in a kind yet awkward tone.
"Did you sleep here?"
"I did, yeah. We had a lot of work to do so your father let me stay." She lied.
"Did he?" The woman asked with a knowing expression.
Nora eyed her. "But now I'm afraid I have to go. I just have to get something from the study."
"You can stay if you want to." Charlie said innocently.
Nora smiled softly at the boy and bent over to look him in the face. "That's very kind of you Charlie, but I have a lot of work to do today."
"Will you come back?"
"Possibly. One day….. It's hard to say." She responded awkwardly.
"I hope you do. We can be friends."
Guilt rose in Nora's stomach at the innocent and genuine expression on his face.
"But we are friends Charlie." She said as she grabbed his hand and knelt.
"Is that why you saved my life?"
"Absolutely. What kind of a world would it be if my friend Charlie wasn't in it? It breaks my heart just thinking about it. So, you have to be extremely careful from now on. Yeah?"
"I will." He promised.
"Good boy. Run along now and I will see you later."
Nora let go of Charlie's hand and he flung his arms around her neck before she stood, catching her off guard. After a moment, Nora put her arms around the boy and hugged him in return. Charlie let go and ran out the backdoor yelling, "Bye friend!"
"Well. He's taken to you, hasn't he?" The woman said.
"Who are you again?" Nora retorted.
"Elizabeth Gray."
"Is that supposed to mean something to me?"
"Also known as Polly Shelby. I'm Tommy's aunt."
"Oh." Nora said as she turned her back to Polly and proceeded once more to the study.
"Are you a whore?" Polly asked.
Nora whipped around, "What?"
"Are. You. A. Whore?" Polly asked as if she were simple minded.
"No."
"Which means you're the reason he's not trying to bring back his wife."
Nora continued walking, Polly on her heels. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"He knows she is in America, but he isn't going after her. Instead he's fucking you."
"I have nothing to do with that."
"I have also noticed that since Charlie fell in the creek, he has stopped with the opium. Is that you too?"
Finally, Nora reached the door to his study and threw it open, walking in. Tommy saw the irritation on Nora's face and that familiar look on Polly's and knew what was going on, so he quickly got off his call.
"he is a grown man. He makes his own decisions." Nora said as she went around the room picking up her shoes. "Move." She ordered to Tommy and he moved his chair so she could bend to pick up the knickers that lay under his desk.
Tommy cleared his throat. "Do you want breakfast or-"
"No. I don't want fucking breakfast. I should have been gone hours ago. Not being followed around by your aunt or explaining to Charlie that I may or may not be back." She said angrily as she sat to put on her shoes. "in fact, I shouldn't have stayed in the fucking first place."
"Well, that's one thing we agree on." Polly said and Tommy shot her a look.
Nora looked at her with an annoyed expression then at Tommy before standing and walking out of the room without a word. She marched to the front door and exited as Tommy ran after her.
"Nora. Wait, I-"
"Stop it! Just stop!" Nora said as she turned. "Can you just for once do as I ask you to? This is why sex is a distraction! I get tons of questions from your aunt, get blamed for you not getting your wife, answer awkward questions from your son, AND am late getting back to where I should be. I'll have wasted half a day that I can't afford to waste this close to the rally."
"I'm sorry. I'll talk to them." Tommy said as he held his hands up to her and motioned to the house.
"I don't want you to talk to them. I want you to just respect what I am trying to do instead of seducing me all the fucking time."
"Twice." He defended. "That's it. But alright. It won't happen again."
"Oh, because you can control yourself?" She rolled her eyes.
Tommy breathed a chuckle, "I can."
"I have to go." She said and she got in her car and drove away.
Nora walked directly into her office and called for Anna and Ishmael.
"Anna, I need you to get me three of our women who can go to this rally; Ishmael will get me the men. I want the best of the women. Best shots and quickest."
"I can do it, ma'am." Anna offered but Nora shook her head.
"Mosely knows what you look like and that you work for me. It would compromise things."
Anna nodded and left.
"I want seven men that look the part." Nora instructed Ishmael, who nodded but remained still.
Ishmael stared at her; his jaw clenched.
"What?" She asked.
"You just get in?"
"What?" She asked again as she put her pencil down and turned her chair to him.
"From Birmingham? You just got back? You spent the night?"
"No." She lied. "I did not spend the night in Birmingham. I got back late."
"And this morning?"
"I had a meeting."
"In the same dress?" He pointed out.
Nora looked down at the dress she forgot to change and back at Ishmael.
"What is it exactly that you are asking?"
"Are you fucking the Gypsy?" He asked bravely.
She stared at him; her jaw clenched as anger grew inside her.
"No. I am not fucking the Gypsy!"
"Your bother-" He began before she cut him off.
"ISN'T HERE!" She yelled angrily as she stood.
"No but if he knew-"
"KNEW WHAT. ISHMAEL? Hmm? Knew what?" She said as she began to shake with anger, her eyes wide and mad. "That I don't change my dress?"
"listen-"
Before he could finish his sentence, she swung a letter opener, slicing his cheek. Ismael grabbed his face as Nora opened her top drawer and withdrew the whiskey. He looked at his hand then up at Nora in time to see the whiskey bottle collide with his nose. He fell to the floor as blood fell from his cheek, his nose, and glass cuts on his face. Nora stood over him and put her heel on his groin as she lowered herself down putting her knee on his chest, the top of the broken bottle still in her hand.
"You listen to me. Yeah?" She said as she put the broken end of the bottle under his chin. "If I wanted to fuck a pikey, I'd walk up to the canal and do it. You understand?" He looked up at her eyes and saw the same look her brother had when he had beaten people nearly to death. "You work for me and I don't pay you to worry about what I wear. You do your job and I'll do mine. And don't ever bring up my brother like that again, do you understand."
Ishmael nodded. Nora began to stand, her heel still on his groin and she began to put pressure on her foot. "You and I may have fucked years ago, before I left. That doesn't mean you get to have any sort of opinion who's in my bed." Her heel pressed harder and pain and fear showed in his eyes. "When I do decide to fuck someone, you keep your opinions to yourself. Mm?"
Ishmael nodded quickly and she moved her heel. She looked through the window and saw the workers all watching the commotion inside her office. She walked the doorway and yelled, "I don't fucking pay you lot to stand around!" and they turned and scurried back to their work. Ishmael left her office and she walked back to her drinking cart. She stared at the bottles and decanters before she grabbed the edge of the cart and tipped it, shattering everything.
"Fuck!" She yelled; putting her hands through her hair and scratched her scalp in frustration before walking out of her office.