Disclaimer: I do not own anything Peaky Blinder related, that belongs to the series creator Steven Knight.

Face Claim for Rosemary Parker: Celina Sinden.

Chapter Four: No Greater Cause.

"I have news," Robert revealed taking a seat at the table over breakfast, his family were all crammed into the kitchen stopped what they were doing and looked over to where he was seated at the head of the table. It had not been an easy decision to make but Robert doubted that there was any way that he could deny the calling that was coming for all men to sign up for the war and to fight for his country.

Rosemary leant against the kitchen counter in the corner of the room, she had a feeling that she knew what he was going to say; many in the street around them had gone to fight in the war already. It had barely been a few days since Arthur Shelby had left and the streets were emptying of men that were capable of fighting in this war, leaving behind the families that they had built and the people they loved to fight.

"I enlisted in the war effort… my papers came this morning and I am leaving in the coming days," Robert announced knowing that this should not come as much of a surprise for them when everyone was expected to do their part. There was nothing that anyone could say that would dissuade him from this and he wanted to make his family proud of him especially if the worst should happen and he didn't make it back home.

He was not going to be one of those cowards that stayed behind while everyone else was fighting for king and country, they needed every able man that they could get their hands on to win this war. Victoria was completely speechless at the news that her husband had enlisted, it was something that they had discussed, and she had thought that he would remain here with them instead of fighting.

He wasn't getting any younger, Victoria had been so sure that they would not call him up because of his age and she cursed him for keeping this from her until it was no longer an option for him not to go. She did not care if that made him a coward and he was forced to walk around with some white feather attached to his jacket; it would mean that he was safe at home with her and their children, that was all that mattered to her.

Ellen started to cry, she did not want her father going to war; she was frightened and there was every chance that something could happen to him to stop him coming home. Yvette moved to comfort Ellen, none of them liked this but there was no backing out now; he was going, and she had seen how people treated those who were not signing up and she did not blame their proud father for doing so. Those who completely refused to fight for their country were practically shunned by the community; it would not be long before they were attacked for not fighting when every other man was.

"You can't do this," Colleen insisted wanting her father to remain safe, there had to be things that he could do around here that could contribute to the war effort without him being shipped off to the continent to fight. It was not like there was not enough men going off to fight, she could not imagine what she would do if Peter went to war; she had insisted that he stay behind since they were expecting their first child and she needed him here with her.

Rosemary shook her head, there was no way that he could not go now, and she could only imagine what sort of disgrace would be brought upon their family home if their father changed his mind. The Order of the White Feather would certainly make sure that Robert would keep to his duty; they were already ensuring that more men signed up for the cause by singling out those who refused to do so and making a mockery of them.

"My Peter will never join up for this stupid war," Colleen insisted resting a hand on her stomach, she was joyfully looking forward to becoming a mother and this war was not going to change that. Her baby was due in the coming year and she had already started to prepare for that day; she wanted nothing more than to have her husband be with her when that time came.

"Then he's a fool," Robert replied stiffly, he could not imagine that Peter's decision to remain would go un-noticed and his life would be forever marked by his decision not to fight in this war. It would also taint Robert's opinion of the younger man, he was a good man but if he was truly a coward and refused to fight then Robert didn't know what to make of him anymore.

Arriving at the Shelby house, Rosemary could not help but find the house quieter now that Arthur had left for the war; it had only been a couple of days since he had left but his presence was missed by his family. Many men had disappeared from the streets that she walked in Small Heath, all of them going to fight in a war with the promise that they would be back for Christmas with their families.

Shutting the front door behind her, Rosemary let out a breath as she thought about how tense things had been that morning over breakfast; she had made her excuses to leave when her mother and sister had started to argue with her father. There was no way around it now and Rosemary knew that this would be just the beginning; she did not want to think about who would be next to leave them.

"Rosie," Finn called in greeting, he rushed from the living room towards her with a large smile on his face; he had not been expecting her today and he was so happy that she had come to see him. Things had been tensing since Arthur had left and he wondered which one of his brothers would be next; he did not want to be the only one left behind, but he had heard that John was already been down to enlist.

Shrugging off her coat, Rosemary hung it up by the door way and gave the little boy a hug; he seemed to always have a smile on his face when she saw him. Heading towards the kitchen, Rosemary found Thomas and Polly having a deep conversation and it did not look pleasant; she paused by the doorway not wanting to disturb them. Clearing her throat, Rosemary was surprised that neither of them seemed to have noticed during their whispered conversation that she had arrived nor had they heard Finn greet her excitedly in the hallway.

"Rosemary," Polly greeted forcing a smile to her face, she had not been expecting the girl that day, but the visit could not have come at a better time especially given her conversation with her nephew. Thomas straightened up, his eyes sweeping over Rosemary and locking onto Finn; hoping that his younger brother had not heard what they had been discussing and informed Rosemary yet of his intentions.

"You mentioned something about lunch?" Rosemary reminded him, she was sure that he would not have forgotten, she wanted to get away from the house while she had the chance before she was dragged into the argument that was happening. The last thing that Rosemary wanted was to spend even more time around her family when they were arguing; however, it was quite refreshing not being the source of such arguments for a change.

Thomas nodded his head, he moved towards Rosemary knowing that he would much rather spend a lovely afternoon such as this with her instead of running around dealing with idiots for business. Before he could get too far away from Polly, her hand shot out and grabbed his arm; her eyes focused on his face as she pulled him close to her so that Rosemary did not hear her.

"You're going to have to tell her eventually," Polly hissed at him, she had no idea how he had managed to keep this a secret from them for so long but there was nothing that she could do about it now. Thomas would have to face what he had done, she wished that she could do this for him but Polly knew that it was only a matter of time now that Arthur was gone.

Thomas only stared at her for a moment, he knew that she was right but that did not help him now; he was unsure how Rosemary would react to the idea that he had enlisted in the war. His orders had come that morning with his aunt opening them before he could receive them; he had not wanted his family to find out like this especially after Arthur had just left. However, it was only a matter of time, he had even spoken with John who had gone home to break the news to his wife that he was enlisting and to prepare her to look after the family home while he was away.

"I shall see you later Aunt Poll," Thomas insisted with a nod of his head, she was right of course but that did not mean that he was just going to completely drop the news on her unprepared. Rosemary deserved to be told and Thomas had the entire conversation planned rather carefully in his head least he find himself in a fight with her. He could only hope that everything went the way that he had imagined it, he did not want to break the news in a way that might hurt her.

"There's nothing great about war Tommy," Rosemary whispered staring at him in concern, the news that he had enlisted had come as a bit of a surprise even if it had been expected; it hurt that he had not told her sooner about this. She had only just received the news that her father was being deployed to fight, she had never expected that Thomas would announce such a thing on the same day.

Rosemary sat silent trying to make sense of the mess that had come with this war, she feared just what would lay ahead for them; she knew that they were courting and had been for a little while now but she didn't know where they would stand in this. Thomas nodded his head at her words, he did not think that there would be anything good to come from this war; he just knew that he could not stay in Birmingham and do nothing.

"I have to do this Rose… I have to fight for my country, to protect my family… to protect you," Thomas insisted taking her hand, they had been walking around the park when he had broken the news to her and she hadn't said much since he had told her. He had heard that her father had enlisted, and it seemed like a good time to tell her that he would also be fighting in the war; he had also been rather surprised to her that her brother-in-law would not be enlisting.

Thomas very much doubted that would last long especially when Peter was forced to where a white feather to show how much of a coward he was. He wondered what Robert thought of the son-in-law that he boasted about being nothing more than a coward, one that seemed content to hide behind his wife who clearly wore the trousers in their marriage.

"They say the war will be done by Christmas… I should be home soon," Thomas said trying to offer her some thought of comfort, he very much doubted that any war would be over so quickly especially with so many countries now involved in it. But he did want to believe that he would come home to her, it was something that he longed for and he hoped that she would still wish to be with him when he did come back.

Rosemary took a deep breath, she did not believe that for a moment and the more times that she seemed to hear those words; the more she began to believe that the war would last much longer. With a nod of her head, Rosemary accepted that Thomas was going to fight in the war; he would serve in the same unit as Arthur was and her father was going to do.

Relief filled Thomas when he realised that she was not going to try and talk him out of it, he did not want to upset her anymore than needed and it was going to be hard enough to leave when it came time to do so.

"There is one thing I would like to do before I leave…" Thomas murmured with a smile, he could only imagine leaving for war one way and he hoped that Rosemary was going to consent especially given that her parents dislike of him. There was no greater cause than fighting for his country and Thomas knew that he would probably never forget this moment while he was there.

It would be all that he would think about while he was away from her and if anything should happen to him then he was sure that his family would take care of her. His hands felt rather clammy as he looked at Rosemary, he was not quite sure how to say this but he hoped that he was not about to make a mess of things between them.

"Marry me?" Thomas asked, his voice barely loud enough for Rosemary to hear. He wanted nothing more than to have this happen before he left, he cared not what Robert and Victoria would say; he was sure that they would have bigger things to worry about right now. Rosemary Shelby had a lovely ring to it and Thomas very much doubted that they would be the only young couple rushing to get married before the man was shipped off to fight in the war.

A smile formed on Rosemary's face as she stared at Thomas, she could not quite believe that he had asked her, and she knew deep down what her answer would be. It never crossed her mind to say anything else, she didn't even care how displeased her parents would be at this very idea.

"Yes," Rosemary gushed, she threw her arms around Thomas's neck and kissed him; she could not imagine that she would have said anything else to that question. Her parents would just have to deal with the fact that she was going to marry Thomas and he was the man that she choose to be with.

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