Chapter 5

Over the years Alice had horded the memories she had of her all too brief times with Tommy, turning them over in her mind like they were precious trinkets, but if she was honest with herself in all years she had been his lover they had probably spent no more than six months in each other's company - did she really know him at all? Even before his marriage their meetings had increasingly tended towards discussions of the business, and their love making, though no less intense when it happened, had become secondary to the comfort of simply spending time in each other's company. At the time she had believed that this was evidence that their relationship was maturing – turning from a youthful all-consuming passion to a loving and mutually supportive partnership – but perhaps she had been wrong. Perhaps everything she believed about him and about their relationship was a lie. Her heart broke a little more. And now he had put at risk the one good thing in her life! Where once she would have gone into the fire for Tommy Shelby now she wasn't sure if she even liked him very much.

Having ejected the servants from their own kitchen (a not uncommon occurrence in the Shelby household) Polly sat Alice down and dosed her with a large glass of medicinal whiskey. Gagging at the taste of the spirit she loathed at least had the effect of stopped Alice's tears.

'What's the hell's going on here?' she asked at Polly at last.

In response, Polly clenched her fists and let forth a stream of Shelta and English profanities so expressive and inventive that even Alice, who had nursed wounded men for over a decade, learnt something new. Eventually the raging woman calmed down enough to form a coherent sentence.

'That bitch has totally got into his head,' she said harshly. 'She's laid bare all the damage his bloody father did to him as a kid and she's playing on it. He's that desperate for her approval he'll do whatever she wants. But he can never win - she's always at him to have one more drink, one more pipe, one more line - and the more he does the more she digs at him. It's got so he can barely think. She's ruined everything that we've worked for all these years. Damn her to hell!' Frustrated Polly massaged the base of her skull in the hope of lessoning the tension there.

'I didn't realise that it had got so bad', said Alice, horrified.

Polly ran her hands through her hair. 'It's worse than that. Arthur and the boys are doing their best to keep things ticking over but between you and me they just don't have the nous for it. Even our allies amongst the Gypsies and the Jews are starting to ask questions about our commitment. Hell Jimmy Dogs came to me cap in hand last week asking me to intervene and he hates women being involved in business.'

'You think it will come to a war?' Alice asked sharply.

Polly closed her eyes and took a deep calming breath, 'If he doesn't take back control soon I fear it will be much more one sided than that.'

The violence around the Peaky Blinders continued to escalate and without the warmth of Tommy's love Alice felt nothing but despair - she had to get away. Eventually, she managed to persuade Tommy to come to the boarding house one final time. He looked debauched and unhealthy and if anything he seemed further gone than he had when she had seen him at Arrow House only a fortnight before. She felt a flash of revulsion.

'I can't do this anymore Tommy,' Alice said quietly. 'I just can't be around all this pointless violence any longer. And now I don't even have you… It's no life.'

He looked at her impassively. 'If it's money you want…'

The sharp sound of her hand meeting this cheekbone shocked them both. 'You damn well know it's not!'

He moved closer to her, trying to take hold of her wrist. 'Alice, I…'

'It's OK,' she interrupted, holding her hands up to make him back off. 'It's just… over. There's nothing left between us but the boy and I'll lose him too soon enough. I know it's not where we thought we'd end up all those years ago but it can't be helped. '

'What will you do?' he asked fixing her with his intense gaze. 'Whatever happens between us you can't keep Jack away from me.' His voice was rough. 'He's nearly ten now – old enough to be brought in to the family.'

'I know, Tommy', she said brokenly. 'Just give me a while to get my head together and then we can sort things out. Will your wife have him in the house?' She could not bear to say the bitch's name.

'She will – whatever she thinks it's still my house,' he ground out. 'Polly will help see to him.' Alice nodded helplessly.

'I'll leave Edie in charge of the Boarding House.' Alice said numbly. 'She's more than capable. The men like her too, which helps. Then I'll go away for a bit, maybe up to the house in Whitby. I've plenty put by.'

They stood silently for a while, staring in to each other's faces, both searching for a reason to step back from the brink. Tommy dropped his eyes first. 'I'd best be going. I've things to sort out back at the house. I'll give you two months and then I'll send for the boy.' He paused. 'You can sort out the rest with Polly before you leave.' At that he turned on his heels and strode out.

It wasn't until she heard the sound of his car pulling away that Alice stirred. There were no tears. Whatever they had had was dead and gone; she was done crying over Thomas Shelby.

Matters came to a head barely a month after Alice and Jack left for Whitby. The Italians hit the Shelby Company's interests in Birmingham in a coordinated attack. Not only did they turn over the betting shops and torch the pubs but they actually invaded Arrow House – destroying everything they could get their hand on. Worryingly the Lees had been nowhere to be seen. Fortunately the Italians had not found the safe house so the Blinders managed to call in reinforcements at a critical momement and they had eventually managed to drive them off. The cost, however, had been massive both in terms of blood and money. The one good thing was that Charlie had been staying with a school friend and had therefore been out of harm's way.

Head in his hands, Tommy sat in the wreckage of what had once been his graciously appointed study at Arrow House. His ribs ached where he had taken a dozen fierce blows and he could hardly see out of his left eye. Worse still his brain was so mazed with drink and drugs, and from the lack of sleep that had bothered him for the last few months, that he could barely formulate a coherent thought. All he wanted to do was lay his head in Alice's lap and let her stroke away the pain but he knew that that would never happen again. He had pushed her away all too effectively. In despair he made his way up to his wife's bedroom. There he found her chivvying one of their few remaining maids in to packing up her extensive wardrobe.

'What the hell's going on, Eloise,' he asked in confusion.

Furiously she rounded on him. 'What do you think's going on? I'm leaving you, you bloody fool! I thought I'd married a man', she continued with a sneer, 'but all I got was a weakling. You're pathetic Thomas Shelby – a nothing. The mere thought of letting you touch me again makes my skin crawl - now get away from me!' Tommy recoiled in the face of her verbal assault.

'Daddy has agreed to help me get a divorce', she said off-handedly. 'It's all very vexing. At least my first husband had the good grace to kill himself and save me the bother. I don't suppose you'd oblige would you?' Eyes glittering with malice she added 'Maybe I'll have it put about that you were sleeping with that bitch Polly. Incest would certainly strengthen my case. How does it feel to know that they'll be talking about it in Parliament?' She paused, pretending to consider her options. 'Or maybe I could just get an annulment. I'll say you're impotent. Looking at the state of you I doubt anyone would be surprised. '

Perhaps truly seeing her for the first time he finally realised the extent of his error in ever allowing her into his life. With a trace of his old fire he stepped towards her and gripped her jaw in his hand, squeezing cruelly. Her breath quickened at the promise of violence and disgusted he released her. 'Just get out, you nasty bitch. I'll not contest a divorce but tell lies about me or mine and I'll cut your throat.'

Free of his wife's malign influence, Tommy should have been able to regain control of the business. However, gripped by guilt and grief he retreated further into himself and his use of opium became a serious concern. Unable to reach him, and desperately worried, Polly begged Alice to come home.