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 Twenty-Five: Monaghan Boy.
Moving to do the dishes, Rosemary sighed thinking about what she would do for dinner that evening; it was her night off and she did not have to worry about going around to John's house to help with the children. Things were still strange and Rosemary's heart broke every time one of the children asked for their mother; they did not seem to understand that she was not coming back.
It wasn't easy and John's actions weren't getting any better, he barely spoke to Rosemary when she was around the house to help; so, lost in his own grief that he didn't seem to realise just what he was missing out on. Although Ada had told her that John's fancy had been taken by the one of the local working girls, she wasn't sure which one it was but she had heard from one of the neighbours that this one had been seen leaving the house a few nights this past week before anyone in the house was awake.
"Mama. Mama. Come look," Kathleen shouted from outside catching Rosemary's attention; she had sent the little girl out to play in the garden with the express instructions not to leave the garden. The last thing that Rosemary wanted was for something to happen to her daughter; she did not know what she would do if something did happen and she wasn't able to protect her.
Drying her hands on her apron and sharing a look with Victoria, Rosemary headed for the front door wondering what had gotten Kathleen so excited; it had been quiet on the street and she could not think of anything that could make her excited. Her mother had come around to help out with Kathleen, she had been helping out when she could and she had even offered to help John with his children.
Victoria could not imagine how difficult things were for the man having lost his wife in childbirth, he had four little ones that needed him and he did not seem to be coping in the best of ways. Reaching the doorstep, Rosemary looked outside at the small garden that Kathleen had been playing in; she stopped at the sight that greeted her and she wondered if her husband had completely lost his mind. The two women stared at the sight before them, neither sure what had been going through Thomas Shelby's mind when he had decided that this was a good idea.
"Look Mama. Look what daddy brought home," Kathleen called thrilled, she couldn't take her eyes off the horse that was stood beside her father just outside the front gate. She had never seen one up close before and it was so much more impressive than she had imagined; she had only seen them in books and now there was one standing right outside her front gate.
"Tommy?" Rosemary asked wondering why he had a horse, she looked at him wondering if he had completely lost his mind; what would they do with a horse and where would they keep it. Their garden was not big enough to keep it in, no matter what he might say; there wasn't even any grass in their back garden that would be suitable to feed such an animal.
"What do you think?" Thomas asked patting the horse, he had not told his wife what he had been planning but he knew that this was the first step on the road that would change things for them. The look on his wife's face did little to deter Thomas from his plan, she would understand more when the horse started earning his keep; it was a start that he knew would lead to great things.
"Have you lost your mind? Where will we keep him?" Rosemary asked crossing the garden, they did not have much money as it was and some days, they barely had enough to make sure that they could put food on the table. Things were not going well at the store and Rosemary knew that if she lost her job then they would struggle even more than they did so now; there was just no way that they could afford this right now.
Things weren't going well for Mary and she had hinted several times that she couldn't afford to keep all the girls on; she had even mentioned that she might move away from Small Heath and go stay with family up in Scotland for a while. Lily was the only one that would make such a move with her, having family of her own up in Scotland and from what Rosemary could recall she was rather sweet on a boy from there. His name quite escaped her at the time but she did recall that he was a sheep farmer.
"It's all taken care of," Thomas assured her, he knew that she worried about money but that would change soon; especially if his plans for the horse went well. Thomas was certain that his plans would lead to extra money coming into the house and Rosemary's worries would be put to rest quickly; he knew that she was stretched thin right now.
It greatly annoyed him how John was acting, he wasted his money on whores and barely spent any time with the children; it was left to Rosemary, Polly, and Ada to clean up his mess. Victoria could not help but feel rather amused by the fact that her son-in-law had brought a horse home with him; she remembered the time that Robert had brought home a piglet and insisted that they could make some money off it by entering it in the fair.
"What's his name?" Kathleen asked not noticing the annoyed look that had filled her mother's face, her own blue eyes staring in wonder at the horse that her father had brought home. She did not dare take a step out of the gate knowing that her mother had told her not to do so; instead, she was pressed up against the garden wall as she stared at the magnificent creature that was stood beside her father.
"Monaghan Boy and he's going to win the Cheltenham Races," Thomas stated proudly, he was sure of it and he knew that the winnings would be used to buy Rosemary something nice; she deserved it after everything she had done while he was away. There were no doubts in his mind that this was going to change things for the better; the horse was going to make big changes to how things were done around here and this was just the beginning of what he had planned.
"I think Billy Kimber might have something to say about that," Rosemary replied wondering just what her husband was planning, she did not want trouble knocking on their door. They had Kathleen to think about and Rosemary did not doubt that this would be the first place that people came looking for Thomas if things went wrong. There was no way that a man like Billy Kimber would care if Thomas had a wife and daughter at home should he desire to get his own back on someone who was trying to outplay him at his own game.
"It's all in hand love," Thomas replied, he had everything under control and there was nothing for Rosemary to worry about. A part of him was thankful to see Victoria here, he had noticed that his mother-in-law visited more often now and Rosemary had mentioned that she was helping out since John was not coping. It was the least she could do especially knowing that they were rather stretched thin especially when it came to child care for the four children that had lost their mother while their father was drinking himself into an early grave.
"Do you want to go for a ride?" Thomas asked looking at Kathleen, the little girl looked in awe of the horse and he was sure a trip around the block was in order. It would certainly give Rosemary a break, his wife worked hard and he knew that she'd been helping out a lot with John's children; enough for him to consider knocking some sense into him. Glancing back at her mother uncertainly, a bright smile filled her face when Rosemary nodded her head; she scampered out of the gate without another look back at either her mother or her grandmother.
"We're not done talking about this Tommy," Rosemary insisted, she would not fight with him in front of Kathleen and the look of joy as the little girl was lifted onto the horses back warmed her heart. The last thing they needed right now was trouble with the Kimbers, the man would not take kindly to anyone moving in on his turf and Rosemary knew he would kill Thomas if he needed to do so.
Watching Thomas ride down the street with Kathleen, Rosemary sighed as a smile formed on her face; she could hear the little girl's laughs as she disappeared down the street with her father. No matter what was going on with Thomas, she loved this side of him; the side that made their daughter so happy no matter what it seemed to cost. It did not matter if it were some doll that she could play with or another toy, even turning up with a horse knowing that it would bring joy to their daughter.
Seeing Thomas like this made Rosemary wish that they had another, things in their relationship had improved since her brush of death but some things remained the same. Thomas was focused on his work and she wanted nothing more for him to see that everything was okay the way it was; they managed and that was enough for her as long as he came home to her and Kathleen.
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