I'm so grateful for the comments and reviews on the last chapter. It really does encourage me when I'm writing. It's nice to know I'm not just writing into the void. Please continue to share your thought with me. I welcome any constructive feedback and I love hearing from you.

I feel I should add a slight warning to this chapter: There is an instance of inappropriate adult behavior towards a child.

"You too, Rose." Arthur indicated the direction he expected Rose to go as he dismissed her from the family meeting. He had told Finn in no uncertain terms to leave and now he was sending Rose after him. She rolled her eyes and got up. What was the point of a family meeting if the whole family wasn't there?

After they'd got back from London, Tommy had dropped her off at number six and told her to wait there until he picked her up; he had to go to the office. Tired after a long day, Rose hoped he wouldn't be long. She was surprised when Polly and then Arthur arrived as she was making herself some toast, saying that Tommy had called a family meeting.

"Why?" Rose wondered why Tommy hadn't told her earlier.

"None of your business." Arthur informed her.

"If it's family business, then it's my business too."

Polly chuckled. "You need to let the adults discuss this one, Rose."

Rose was about to tell her exactly what she thought of that when the front door closed and John and Finn appeared. She knew as soon as she saw John that something was wrong. This was when Arthur had charmingly ordered Finn to leave and sent Rose after him, but as they made a move towards the door of the shop, they met Tommy coming the other way.

"Finn, Rose, you can stay."

The two youngsters turned back and joined the family in the kitchen. Rose sat next to Polly and watched John sit down at Tommy's request. She still had no idea what was going on but could feel the tension in the room. John sat sullenly at the table as Polly leaned back in her chair waiting. Sensing that John was about to rebuked, Rose braced herself. She hated family arguments.

"John, you cut Angel Changretta. Even though Arthur told you to apologise and Polly told you to compromise."

All became clear for Rose. She looked at Arthur and Polly in surprise. She thought the Shelbys never apologised – especially not to their enemies. As she focused her attention back on Tommy, it was clear to her that he wasn't happy and, as the discussion continued, it became clear to everyone else as well. Rose looked down at the table as voices were raised. Maybe it would have been better to have left when Arthur told her to. She was tired after a long day and felt like putting her hands over her ears to block out the sound of her brother's anger. He seldom raised his voice, so it was all the more jarring to hear him yell at Arthur. She agreed with Tommy though. Apologies made them weak and lifting their heel off the necks of the Italians would lead to more trouble. Polly was shocked at his order to take their pubs, but Rose thought that he was only doing what was necessary to protect the family.

When Tommy told Arthur he was going soft and weak, she winced. He could be so cruel sometimes. She looked up at her eldest brother and could see how torn he was: desperate to change and clear his head of all the things which had cluttered it since France, but unable to let the family - or more specifically Tommy – down.

"Finn, I need to get to Hockley and then home. It's been a long day. Come on, Rose."

Rose got up to follow him out as he gave specifics about which pubs to take and told them not to use the phones, someone was listening. He turned and followed Finn out of the shop. Rose looked back at Arthur and opened her mouth to say something. Polly cut her off.

"Go on, love, you'd better go."

Rose nodded and with one last look at an upset Arthur and a quick glance at John who was keeping his eyes on the floor, she grabbed her coat and shopping bags and hurried after Tommy. He was waiting impatiently in the car with Finn.

"Come on, Rose. Get in."

Rose scrambled into the back seat and Finn pulled off before she'd even managed to close the door.

Finn looked across at Tommy. "Can I go with them to the pubs tonight?"

Tommy was in the process of lighting a cigarette. "If you want."

Finn grinned in anticipation. He nodded at Tommy's cigarette. "Can I have one?"

Tommy handed him the one in his hand and lit another one. Rose wished she could ask for one but wasn't sure how Tommy would react and the last thing she wanted was to be on the receiving end of his annoyance tonight. Instead she asked a question.

"What's in Hockley?"

"I'm picking up something for Grace."

"Who's listening to our phones?"

Tommy didn't answer so Rose sat back and looked out of the window. She knew better than to pester him when he was like this. Watching the street lights flash past, her eyes began to feel heavy and she yawned. It was late and she'd been up for hours. Smiling, she thought about her time with Ada and that hot chocolate; she'd ask Grace about getting some. Yawning a second time, she let her eyes close.

The next thing she knew, she was being carried through the large front door of Arrow House. Without opening her eyes, she knew she was in Tommy's arms. It was a rare place for her these days and she breathed in the familiar smell of cigarettes and shaving soap. She thought about having him put her down, she wasn't a small child anymore after all, but this short moment of closeness with him was so nice that she didn't want to spoil it. He carried her up the stairs to her room and laid her on the bed. He began to take off her shoes and she propped herself up on one elbow.

"I can do it," she whispered.

Tommy looked at her and nodded. He put his hand on the back of her head and kissed her on the forehead.

"Night then, Mouse."

"Tommy?"

"What?"

"Arthur's not weak, you know. He's just not like you."

He sighed and stood up. "Arthur can fight his own battles. Go to sleep."

Rose watched him as he left her room, closing the door quietly behind him. As she took her shoes off, she wondered why it was that, even though her brothers had been back from the war for a while now, they were still fighting battles.

The day of the foundation dinner was fast approaching and Rose was getting tired of that being the only topic of conversation in the house. Grace would talk about nothing else and Tommy would listen with a smile on his face and his head at a slight tilt like it was the most interesting topic of conversation he'd ever heard. Rose avoided them as much as she could and spent most of her free time out with Nua. She loved being outdoors with the wind in her hair. She and Nua were getting to know each other well and Rose rarely used a saddle now. Together they explored Tommy's land, getting familiar with the fields and the woods, the valleys and the rises. Rose was also getting to know her cigarettes well. The silver case had emptied a while ago and she had to sneak them out of the various cigarette boxes Tommy kept around the house. His cigarettes didn't fit as neatly in the case as the original slender ones, but they were the only ones available to her. She could feel her lungs reacting to the tobacco but aside from the odd cough here and there, they seemed to be tolerating it fairly well. Rose found that smoking calmed her down and gave her something to focus on when her mind wandered back to Derby Day.

She was angry with herself for not being able to dismiss the feelings which ran through her when she thought about that day. Panic would suddenly seize her and fear would rip through her, making her gasp. She told herself that Campbell couldn't hurt her family anymore. She made herself relive the moment over and over when Polly shot him so as to reassure herself of the fact that he was dead, but the images spilled over into her dreams and there, Campbell's hands hanging down by his feet clenched into fists before he stood up and grabbed Polly round the neck whilst grinning at Rose over the door of the phone booth. Most of her cigarettes were smoked in the early hours of the morning and Rose became very familiar with the sunrise over Arrow House.

Finally the day of the dinner arrived and Rose was relieved that it would soon be over, although she was worried that Grace would take more of an interest in her once she didn't have a dinner to organise. Hopefully the children's home would take up most of Grace's time as the Russian business did Tommy's. Rose was sat at her open window smoking a cigarette when there was a quick knock followed by the door opening. Quickly stubbing it out on the outside wall and dropping the end onto the ground below, Rose wafted her hands in a vain attempt to get rid of the smell. She looked up to see the smiling face of Alice.

"Good evening, Miss Rose. I've come to help you dress for the dinner."

Despite numerous and often impolite attempts by Rose to stop Alice from waiting on her, the maid seemed undeterred and cheerfully appeared regularly to attend to her young mistress. Against her own will, Rose was beginning to like Alice. She was always positive and never seemed to mind Rose's sulky behaviour. Rose found herself warming to her sunny disposition. It was certainly a change from what she was used to – the Shelbys were many things, but sunny wasn't one of them.

"I can dress myself, Alice. I'm a big girl."

"I'm sure you are, Miss Rose, but it's my job to help."

Alice took Rose's new teal dress out of the wardrobe and looked at it admiringly.

"It's beautiful, Miss. You must have enjoyed shopping for it in London."

Rose stood up and began to undress. "I did. My sister Ada knew all the best shops."

"I wish I had family in London, I've never been. What does your sister do there?"

"She works in a library."

"I bet she has loads of friends and goes out to all the best restaurants."

Rose shrugged. "I don't know, probably. But she has a little boy so she has to take care of him."

Rose let Alice help her to put on the silk stockings. It was surprisingly more difficult than she'd thought; they were so delicate. Alice kept on chatting as she brought the dress for Rose to put on.

"And Mr. Shelby just took you to London, just like that?"

"Yeah, just like that. He let me miss school and everything."

"Does he work in London then?"

"Sometimes. He had a meeting so I went shopping with Ada."

"Will he take you back again soon?"

"I hope so."

"Well, tell me when he does and I'll make sure you have some food for the journey. There's nothing like a sandwich on a train."

Rose put the dress over her head, pushed her arms in and allowed it to fall down into place. She enjoyed the feel of the expensive satin. Alice did up the one button at the back and stepped back admiringly.

"You look beautiful, Miss Rose. Sit down and I'll do your hair."

Rose looked at herself in the mirror and allowed herself a smile. It really was a gorgeous dress. She smoothed her hands over the material and ran her fingers gently over the beading. She turned back to Alice who was waiting at the dressing table to do her hair.

"Does it really look alright?"

"Miss Rose, you look stunning. You'll turn a few heads tonight, that's for sure."

"Do you think Tommy will like it?"

"Of course, he will. He'll be ever so proud."

Sitting at the dressing table, Rose watched in the mirror as Alice deftly did her hair. She styled Rose's thick red hair into an intricate mass of curls tucked neatly around the back of her head and then produced a teal ribbon from the pocket of her apron which she put around Rose's forehead and pinned into her hair, tucking the last curls over it at the back. She stepped back to admire her handiwork. Rose turned her head both ways to see as much as she could of her hair and beamed at Alice.

"Thank you, Alice, it looks lovely."

Alice grinned back and went to get the new shoes, bending down to help Rose put them on.

"There now, Miss Rose, the transformation is complete."

Rose stood up and wobbled a little on the small heels. She had never worn shoes with a heel before. Alice reached out a hand to steady her.

"Careful now, Miss. Why don't you practice walking on them so you get used to them."

So, Rose walked up and down her bedroom, trying to get used to the feel of them, her ankle wobbling over every so often. Alice walked next to her with a hand ready for Rose to grab. Every time Rose wobbled, she shrieked and grabbed Alice's hand who laughed at Rose's dramatic reactions. Soon, both girls were laughing together at the ridiculousness of the situation. Eventually, Rose got the hang of the heels and Alice went to get her coat out of the wardrobe.

"Well now, Miss. It's time for Cinderella to go to the ball."

"Does that make you my fairy godmother?"

"Yes, I think it does, so be sure to leave at the stroke of midnight and don't lose a shoe. I don't think Mr. Shelby will take kindly to Prince Charming showing up here asking for your hand!"

Rose laughed as Alice helped her to put her coat on.

"Be sure to tell me all about it when you get back, Miss Rose. I want to hear every detail."

"I will." Rose smiled at her as she headed towards the door. She was looking forward to seeing her family again. She wondered if there would be punch.

She came down the stairs to find Grace ready and waiting in the hallway. Around her neck hung the most enormous sapphire Rose had even seen. In fact, it was the only sapphire she'd ever seen. She didn't know they came that big. Grace saw her staring and lifted her fingers to touch it.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? Your brother gave it to me."

"It's huge! Where did he get it from?"

"I didn't ask. It's impolite to ask where a gift comes from."

"Oh. It's lovely, Grace. It suits you."

Grace smiled. "Thank you, Rose. You look lovely too. That colour looks very nice on you."

"Thank you."

"You will behave tonight, won't you? I don't want another scene or any more broken noses. This dinner is very important to me."

Rose frowned and looked at the floor.

"Rose?"

"Yes, I'll behave." She spoke through gritted teeth.

"Good. And stay away from the alcohol too."

The car pulled up in front of the door and Grace tutted.

"Rose, will you please go and find Tommy and tell him to hurry up? I'll be waiting in the car."

Grace swept out of the door and into the car, leaving Rose glaring after her. She felt like Grace would never let her forget that she wasn't good enough. She looked down at her shoes and wondered if she could make it across the house in them to find Tommy. Fortunately, he appeared round the corner in a hurry. He was dressed in a dinner jacket and black bow tie with a white silk scarf over his black coat. Rose thought he looked very handsome. He saw Rose and stopped short.

"Excuse me, Miss. Have you seen my sister, Rose? She's got long, tangled red hair, usually wears dirty shoes and smells of horses."

Rose rolled her eyes and grinned. "Shut up, Tommy!"

He laughed and took her hands. "Looks like Ada spent my money well. I'll be walking into the dinner tonight with the two most beautiful ladies in the room on each arm."

Rose looked away as she caught herself blushing. "Grace is waiting in the car."

"We'd better get going then."

At the dinner, Rose found that she was the only child there, unless you counted Finn as a child, which she did. The room was filled with a lot of people she had never met before but who were, apparently, very important and, conveniently for Grace's charity, very rich. They were also very boring, but thankfully, few of them were interested in talking to Rose. A few older women commented on the colour of her hair, but generally, the guests paid her no attention. She scanned the crowd for her brothers and spotted them across the room. Making her way carefully over to them in her small heels, she saw Polly walk through the middle of the room wearing the most exquisite ball gown. She looked like she owned the place and Rose couldn't help but smile.

"Well, you scrub up well, don't you?" Arthur grinned at his sister and thought that tonight he could see in her the woman she would one day become. She was striking with her deep red hair, delicate high cheekbones and blue eyes which the colour of her dress offset so well and Arthur wondered how long it would be before he'd have to make sure the boys kept their distance.

"She's living the posh life, now, aren't you, Rosie? Looking like one of these fancy ladies." John poked her in the side and Rose pushed his hand away annoyed. She stepped to one side to move away from him and her ankle wobbled over in her new shoes. Finn burst out laughing.

"Not that fancy, is she?"

Arthur saw Rose's embarrassment and whacked Finn on the back of his head. "Shut up, Finn. She's fancier than you'll ever be with your ugly mug. She's a beauty. Looks like Mum, don't she, John?"

John nodded. "Yeah, she does."

Rose smiled at Arthur gratefully. He held out his elbow to her which she took, appreciating the extra support. The floor in the ball room was slippery and she didn't feel very secure. She'd had no idea how precarious it was to be a woman in high heels.

"You stay with us, Rosie. I don't know about you, but the folk here make me want to get out and go to the Garrison for some real conversation – and that's saying something!"

So Rose, stayed with her brothers and enjoyed their conversation, as crude as it was sometimes. Arthur was right; they were much better company than the straight-laced guests around them. She took great pleasure in watching her brothers switch to their best behaviour whenever anyone came to talk to them. Eventually, she realised she needed the lavatory. Arthur had kept her supplied with soft drinks which he himself was drinking as Linda was never far away from him, and now Rose was feeling the consequences. She whispered her need to Arthur who offered to walk her there. She declined, telling him that she'd be fine. And she was, until she was on her way back to the ballroom whereupon she stood on a particularly slippery part of the floor and both ankles went over in separate directions. She flung her hands out to steady herself, feeling sure she would be meeting the floor any second. Instead, an arm wound itself around her waist and a hand took hold of her shoulder allowing her to keep her balance. She looked up into the smiling face of a very tall, very bald man.

"Steady on, young lady, you're far too pretty to be landing in a heap on the floor."

The man kept hold of her as he spoke, gripping her to him, and all at once, her stomach lurched. The way he looked at her, almost hungrily, made her feel sick. She tried to push away from him but he held her tight. Before she could say anything, Tommy was at her side, his hands on her shoulders pulling her towards him. The bald man released her quickly but kept watching her, the smile still on his face. She turned and took hold of Tommy's sleeve, looking up at him worriedly. He was looking at the man, his face as hard as flint. If he could have murdered him there and then, he would have.

"Ah, Miss Shelby, we must stop meeting unexpectedly like this."

Rose was horrified as she recognised the voice of the priest who had met with Tommy at the scrap yard. He stepped forward as she moved closer to Tommy.

"I'm delighted to see you again. And Mr Jarvis here is right, you do look lovely tonight, very grown up. I'm pleased to see that your lip is healing."

Tommy had had enough. "Gentlemen, why don't you go on to the concert hall and I'll join you shortly."

He turned his back on them, shielding Rose from view, as they headed towards the hall. Rose watched them go until Tommy took her chin and made her look at him.

"Mouse, you need to go back to the ballroom, find Arthur and stay with him, alright. Don't leave his side."

"Tommy, what's going on? Who are those men?"

"It's just business, Rose, don't worry about it."

She frowned. "He wouldn't let me go, Tommy. I didn't like it."

He held her cheek and brushed his thumb across it. "I know, I know. I won't let him near you again, I promise. Go now and find Arthur. Stay with him, remember."

He gave her a small push towards the ballroom, watched her enter it, then turned and walk briskly to the concert hall. It took all he had in him to keep his gun in its holster.

Polly noticed Rose walking back into the ballroom and, frowning, hurried over to her.

"Rose, what's wrong? You look white as a sheet. What's happened?"

Rose wasn't sure if she should say anything to Polly. She didn't know if Tommy would want her to.

"Nothing, Aunt Pol, it's just these shoes. They keep making me wobble. I almost fell over out there."

Polly smiled. "You'll get used to them. Beauty always comes at a price, trust me."

"I like your dress, Aunt Pol. You look lovely."

Polly took Rose's hand and squeezed it. "Well, it must run in the family then, because so do you."

"Ada helped me choose the dress."

"Ada?"

"Yeah, Tommy took me to London with him the other day. He had a meeting so me and Ada went shopping."

"Tommy took you to London?"

"Yeah, it was fun."

"Who was he meeting with?"

"I don't know. He didn't say. It was probably Russian business."

Polly watched as Tommy re-entered the room. "Yes, probably."

Rose spotted him too and remembered she was supposed to be with Arthur. "Aunt Pol, do you know where Arthur is?"

"I think he's over near the stairs, love."

"I'll go and find him, then."

As she reached her brothers, Michael had joined them and they were discussing one of the guests who was talking to Tommy.

"She's a real duchess, Arthur. From Russia," John was telling him.

"You think she's discussing business with our Tom then?"

"She can discuss business with me anytime."

Michael rolled his eyes. "Whatever they're talking about, he doesn't look best pleased."

Rose scrutinised the Duchess. She was sparkling from head to foot with jewels and sequins and Rose decided she probably was a real duchess. She was about to ask why Tommy's business involved a duchess when the Master of Ceremonies called loudly for the loyalty toast to the king and then announced dinner. As the guests began making their way to the dining hall, the family hung back, waiting to go in with Tommy and Grace.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a man ran at Tommy, a gun stretched out in front of him.

"For Angel!"

Arthur reacted quickly and ran at him with John close behind, but not before a shot rang out and Grace collapsed in Tommy's arms. Michael grabbed hold of Rose and pulled her to him, his arms around her for protection. Rose had heard gunshots before but this one echoed loudly around the room. The fear and panic associated with the shot that had killed Campbell flooded through Rose and she let out a scream. She grabbed hold of Michael's jacket and held tight, squeezing her eyes shut. Michael could feel her trembling and kept his arms around her. Chaos ensued around them, as people made their way to the exits in panic. Rose heard Tommy shouting for someone to call an ambulance and opened her eyes. Still holding onto Michael, the scene in front of her would stay etched in her memory forever. Polly running to call the ambulance, her beautiful ball gown flowing behind her. Arthur, John and Finn violently beating the gunman. Tommy on the floor, a look of pure anguish on his face, cradling Grace's head as her blood flowed from a chest wound. As she watched, Grace's silk-gloved hand slipped finger by finger from Tommy's arm, and Rose knew that nothing would ever be the same again.