Sending thanks again to those who took the time to review. You keep me going!

Buckle up - we're heading for the finale...

Quietly, with no big fanfare, Tommy joined Rose on her morning rides. As before, they didn't talk much – just rode side by side, taking in the early morning calm, watching spring move towards summer, the woods and pastures growing greener and fuller.

"I spoke to Michael."

"About what?"

"About what he said to you."

"Oh"

"He won't be telling you those kind of things again."

"I didn't want him to be in any trouble."

"He won't be – unless he scares you again."

Rose didn't say anything. She didn't want to think of how that conversation had gone. She was fond of Michael, he'd always been nice to her before. Tommy glanced at her.

"He needed to be told, Mouse. What he said was wrong, he made you doubt your family, he made you doubt me."

She shrugged. "I suppose." Kicking Nua on, she moved ahead of Tommy.

He watched her ride ahead of him. Whether or not she agreed with him, he had no doubt that the conversation with Michael had been necessary. He'd called him into his office at the end of the day and given him a glass of whiskey. Sitting opposite him at his desk, Tommy took a sip from his own glass.

"So, Rose needs to figure out who she is so that she can live without her family. Did I understand that correctly?"

Michael frowned. "That's not what I said to her."

"So, what did you say to her?"

"I was just saying that anything can happen and that she should just be prepared, you know."

"That's not what she said."

"She must have misunderstood."

Tommy scoffed. "I don't think she did. She's young, she's not stupid."

"I didn't say she was."

"You scared her."

Michael looked down at his glass in his hands.

"I don't know why you said it, Michael, and I don't care, but there's one thing I need you to remember. Rose is a child and she's my responsibility. Any advice she needs will come from me. Any words of wisdom for her will be dispensed by me. Any life lessons she needs will be taught by me. Is that clear?"

Michael looked back at him and sighed. "Yes"

Tommy leaned forward. "I'm serious, Michael. She's mine to raise. You're her cousin, make her laugh, ask about her dog. Keep within the lines."

"Fine."

Tommy stood up. This conversation was over. "If you scare her again, Michael…"

Michael stood up abruptly. "I get it, Tommy."

Staring at him for a few seconds longer than was comfortable, Tommy moved round the desk and slowly walked out of his office, leaving a smarting Michael behind.

After rubbing Nua down and making sure she was settled after the ride, Rose rushed to the empty stall where she kept Fred while she was out riding. Fred heard her coming and rushed to the door, yapping and jumping up, happy his mistress was back. Rose hung over the door of the stall and laughed at his antics. Tommy came and stood next to her looking down at Fred also. Looking up at him, she smiled.

"Isn't he sweet?"

"Hmmm"

"What? He is. Look at him jumping up to see me. He's gorgeous."

She moved to open the door and Tommy stopped her. She looked at him in surprise.

"You can't make a fuss of him when he's behaving like that."

"Why not? He's just a baby."

"Why do you think?"

Rose looked at Fred, thinking. Tommy watched her, her brow pulled down as she thought. The answer came to her and she turned to him.

"Because if I make a fuss of him, he'll see it as a reward and repeat the behaviour."

Tommy smiled. "That's right. You need to teach him how you want him to behave and then reward that."

She nodded. "Will you show me?"

So, Tommy and Rose spent the next ten minutes training Fred to sit. Rose watched in awe as Tommy calmly and firmly got Fred to do what he wanted. She listened as he spoke to the puppy in a quiet, almost hypnotic way, sprinkling a few words of Roma here and there. She did as he did and quickly picked up how to handle Fred. He sat back and watched her confidently get Fred to do as she wanted and thought about how these last ten minutes had been the most enjoyable of the past few months. No planning, no accidents, no business, no priests, no jewels – just him and Rose training a puppy. He swore to himself, that after he'd finished this last bit of business, then these moments with Rose, with Charles, with the family – they'd take precedence.

He stood up, brushing himself down. "Come on, then. I'll drive you to school."

Rose scooped up Fred and stood up also. She walked with Tommy to the house, talking to him about Fred and Nua and her plans for the opening of the institute which was the next day. Tommy clasped his hands behind his back listening closely as he walked beside her, occasionally nodding or asking a question. He was impressed with how she'd taken on the outstanding tasks for the opening of the children's home. He discovered that she was quick to understand how to work out orders; she was detail orientated and efficient in her work. She had good ideas and was able to work out solutions to problems within her limited experience. He hated to admit it again, but Alfie had been right when he'd said she'd be an asset to him. He was already planning how to involve her properly in the company once she left school. She was clearly able to do more than secretarial work.

"Have your friends arrived?"

"Friends?"

"Your soldier friends, to dig the tunnel."

"Oh, yes, they have."

"Have they started?"

"Yes"

"Will you help them?"

"No, never again."

She looked up at him, reached out a hand to hold his and they walked to the house in silence.

Watching from an upstairs window, Alice looked down in contempt at this man who was the devil incarnate as far as she was concerned. That poor child at his side had been neglected and corrupted by the sins of her brother and Alice was zealous for her rescue and redemption. The maid was tightly holding a piece of paper which had been delivered to her early that morning. She opened it up and re-read it, committing every detail to memory, then turned and threw it in the fire. Watching as it quickly turned to embers, Alice took a deep breath. Everything depended on her.

That day, after returning from school, Rose rode out to see Mal. She took Fred with her, tucked safely in a bag she carried across her shoulder. He stuck his little head out of the top and seemed to enjoy every minute of his ride out before falling asleep in the bottom of the bag. When she reached the camp, Mal was skinning a couple of rabbits ready for his mum to cook for the evening meal. Rose loved rabbit stew and hoped she'd be invited to stay. She was excited to introduce Mal to Fred.

"Hello, Mal. Catch those yourself?"

"Like you have to ask."

She chuckled. "They're a bit small. Did they big ones get away?"

He looked at her witheringly which only made her laugh more. She sat next to him on the log and watched him as he expertly skinned and cleaned the rabbits. He finished the last one, took them over to his mother and went to wash his hands in a bucket of water before coming back to sit next to Rose again.

"There's something squirming in your bag."

She beamed. "That's Fred, he's awake now."

Carefully taking the puppy out, she lifted him up to show her friend. Mal regarded him.

"Something else for me to skin. Hang on, let me get my knife."

He reached out to take Fred as Rose pulled him into her chest with a squeal.

"Don't you dare!"

Mal laughed at her. "It's alright, he's too small to make a meal of anyway."

Rose put her hand over Fred's ear. "Don't listen to the mean boy, Fred. I'll protect you from him."

Still laughing, Mal reached over to stroke the puppy who was excited to meet someone new and get more attention. Rose let Mal take the puppy and watched as he made a fuss of Fred, smiling approvingly at the gentle way he handled him.

"What do you think? He's lovely, isn't he?"

"Aye, he's grand. Sturdy little thing, would make a good hunting dog."

"Well, he's not going hunting, he's going to protect me."

"Protect you from what? Frogs? He's a puppy."

She shrugged. Mal grunted. He didn't like to think of Rose needing protection. He wasn't impressed with the way Tommy put those around him in danger for the sake of money and power. Mal had sharp ears and knew more about the things his dad was involved in than he was supposed to. He knew Tommy Shelby had a lot of enemies which meant Rose also lived with a certain amount of danger. Rose nudged him out of his thoughts.

"Your dad said you'd help me train him. Will you?"

"Yeah, if you want."

"Tommy has shown me a bit but he's too busy so I thought I'd ask you."

"Shall I show you how to train a dog before or after I've shown you how to shoot a gun?"

Rose looked at him, surprised at the edge in his voice. "What?"

"Rose, I'm not one of your staff, here to do whatever you want whenever you want."

Her mouth dropped open. "I know you're not. You're my friend. I was just asking for help, that's all." She took Fred back from him. "Don't worry about it, ok? I'll do it myself."

She stood up and hurried across the camp to Nua. She was really quite upset. Mal had never spoken to her like that before and she was confused as to why he had now. Reaching Nua, she stopped to carefully put Fred back in the bag. Once he was safely settled, she reached to take Nua's reigns from the tree she'd attached them too. As she did so, Mal came up beside her. She paused, looking at him, not knowing what to say. He shuffled his feet awkwardly, looking down at them as he spoke.

"I'm sorry, Rose. I didn't mean it."

"Yes, you did. I don't understand why you would think that. I've only ever treated you like a friend."

"I know, you're right. I was wrong." He looked at her with his clear green eyes and she knew he meant it.

"It's fine, don't worry about it."

Mal spoke in a rush. "It's just that your brother treats my dad like that, and… it's wrong. My dad risks his life for your family all the time and I don't want to be treated like that by anyone."

Rose looked at him, understanding his outburst now. She knew that Johnny Dogs was paid handsomely for the work he did for Tommy and that he never had to be asked twice. She also knew that Tommy would never force him to do a job he didn't want to do. She felt Mal thought more highly of his father than he deserved, but then maybe she did the same with her family. She decided not to share her thoughts with Mal. The truth was, she admired his integrity and the fact the he knew the kind of person he wanted to be. She found herself drawn to him in a way that she didn't quite understand. Mal was still looking at her, waiting for her to respond, and she suddenly found herself blushing under his gaze. She quickly turned away and pulled herself up onto Nua.

"It's fine, Mal, really. I need to get back home, I have flowers to order. I'll see you soon."

She nudged Nua forward and headed home, leaving a slightly confused Mal behind her. She closed her eyes and cringed. 'I have flowers to order.' Why had she said that? What will he think of her now?

The following day, the Shelby family gathered at the site of the Grace Shelby Institute for Orphaned Children, all dressed in their finest. Tommy had warned them all to behave, the papers would be there, to say nothing of local dignitaries and pillars of the community. Ada had arrived at Arrow House with Karl the previous evening. She was now employed by Shelby Company Limited as the new Head of Property and Acquisitions.

"Things are changing, Rose, you'll see. Me and Polly and you when you finish school next year, we'll change the company."

"To what?"

"To a fully legitimate one that doesn't use guns and violence to be successful."

"What will we use then?"

"Our brains and our abilities."

Rose grinned. "Count me in! Can I have an office?"

"Course you can. I'll have large one in Boston."

"Boston?"

"Yeah, that's where the job is. Didn't Tommy tell you?"

Rose looked away. "No, he didn't."

"I'll be back to visit though. Boston isn't that far away these days."

"First Arthur, now you. Everyone will be so far away."

Ada brushed Rose's hair behind her shoulder. "Not everyone. And you're used to me being away since I've lived in London."

"I know, but London feels a lot closer than Boston."

"It's how life goes, Rosie. People have jobs, people move. This is what I want and it means I can give Karl a better life."

Rose nodded. "I know. And I'm pleased for you, I am. I'll just miss you, that's all."

"I'll miss you too, but I'll write. And you can bet I'll be better at staying in touch than Arthur."

Rose laughed. She was learning that Ada was right. Things changed, people moved on, not everything can stay the same. She'd enjoy the times she had with those she loved and would figure out the rest.

Sitting next to Finn in the large hall of the Institute as they waited for the service to start, Rose nudged her brother.

"Do you see the flowers?"

"The what?"

"The flowers."

"What about them?"

"I chose them."

"So?"

"So, what do you think?"

Finn shrugged. "They're flowers."

Rose glared at him. "You weren't at the front when they were giving out brains, were you, Finn?"

Finn scowled at her as John and Arthur, sitting in front of them, roared with laughter, turning round to enjoy Finn's annoyance. Arthur nudged her knee.

"The flowers are really lovely, Rose. Good job."

Smiling at him, she leaned forward to tell him and John all about how she'd chosen them and how she'd worked out how many they'd need and how she'd ordered them. They nodded politely and were pleased when Polly appeared at the front to start things off.

Rose looked across at the children who would be the first residents of the Institute as Tommy talked about them being safe there. They were mostly younger than her and looked smart in their uniform. She'd chosen a warm dark wool made into functional clothes so that they could play and run about easily. Tommy had been happy to sign off on her choices and complimented her on her work. She'd been walking on a cloud of happiness and pride ever since.

After the service, everyone gathered for tea and cake in what would be the dining room of the children's home. Rose told any family member who would listen about the flowers and the uniforms and other things she'd helped with for the opening. They listened politely and nodded at the right moments, amused at her enthusiasm but bored by the details. Polly cupped her chin gently.

"I'm sure Tommy appreciated your help, Rose."

"He said it saved him some work. And he said he couldn't have done it better himself."

Polly smiled at her niece's beaming face. "I noticed you chose yellow in the flowers. Your mum's favourite."

"And blue – Grace's favourite."

"That's very thoughtful."

Rose proceeded to tell her about the uniforms again and Esme, who was sat next to them fed up and very pregnant, snapped at her.

"Rose, if I have to hear about those bloody uniforms again, I'll kill myself!"

Stopping mid-sentence, Rose stared at her, clamped her mouth shut and turning abruptly, walked away. Polly called after her, laughing.

"Don't mind her, Rose, she's just ready to pop, that's all."

Esme glared up at Polly and tried to find a more comfortable position on her chair. "She would be annoying even if I wasn't pregnant."

"I know, but it's better than her sulking cos she's had another argument with Tommy."

Leaning her head on her hand, Esme ran a hand over her swollen belly. "Kids! Why do we inflict them on ourselves?"

Polly smiled dryly. "Presumably because making them is something you can't resist."

"Yeah well, never again."

Polly scoffed. She had no doubt John and Esme's family would continue to grow. Some folks couldn't help themselves.

Rose walked across the room, looking for someone a bit more friendly to talk to. She watched as various ladies accosted Tommy and was amused by the way he smiled and pretended to be interested in what they were saying. She spied Michael and began to make her way to him. She wanted to make sure he wasn't upset with her for telling Tommy what he'd said. One of the nurse maids from the children's home stepped in front of her.

"May I have a word, miss?"

A little surprised to be singled out, Rose smiled at her.

"Yes, of course."

"Would you come with me, miss? I'd like to show you something."

Rose frowned a little. She couldn't imagine what the nurse needed to show her and wasn't keen to leave the family.

"Right now? Can it wait?"

"No, I'm sorry, miss. It won't take long. It's about the uniform."

"Oh, well, ok then."

The nurse smiled stiffly and turned round to leave the room. Rose followed her, wondering what the problem was. She was lead along a long corridor to a room which looked like a large stock room with shelves along all the walls. The nurse closed to door behind her and turned to face Rose.

"Miss, I wanted to talk to you about the amount of uniform allocated to each child. It simply isn't enough. If you'll allow me to show you…"

She walked past Rose and reached to take a pile of clothes down from the shelf. Rose wasn't sure she would be able to deal with this. It sounded like a costing issue and that wasn't Rose's department, it was Michael's. She opened her mouth to say so when she was interrupted by the sound of loud shouting and doors slamming in the corridor outside. Her stomach lurched. Something was wrong. She ran to the door and pulled it open. Rushing into the corridor, she saw John racing down corridor throwing each door open and looking inside.

"John, what's happened?"

His face was white and she felt the fear rise within her. He grabbed her shoulders.

"Charlie's gone. Have you seen him?"

Her heart sank. "Charlie?"

John was impatient. "Yes, we think he's been taken. Have you seen him?"

"No, no. I'll help you look."

She ran after him, calling Charlie's name, looking in rooms, panic taking hold. They ended up outside and she stopped short when she saw Tommy. He was distraught, unable to think straight. She watched Arthur take control, physically holding Tommy up, telling him what to do. This was Tommy's worst nightmare. Ada ran up to Rose.

"Rose, I need you to take Karl back to Arrow House with you and look after him. I'm going to the shop with Tommy. Can you do that?"

"I want to come with you."

"No, Rosie, you'll just be in the way and we need to make sure you and Karl are also safe until we know what's going on. A couple of Tommy's men will drive you home and stay with you. Go on now, go and get Karl - he's in the hall with Esme - and take him home. I'll phone you if there's any news."

Ada ran to the cars and Rose watched as one by one they all drove off. Standing by the car that was left were Tommy's men waiting to drive her home. She was terrified for Charles. What kind of a person would kidnap a small child? She turned and headed inside to get Karl. She wished she could be with Tommy. She felt so helpless and so far away but she knew that Ada was right – there was nothing she could do to help.

Half an hour later, Rose and Karl had arrived home and Rose had handed Karl over to Joyce who was the maid who usually looked after him when Ada visited. Joyce took Karl to put him to bed and Rose was glad not to have to do it. She didn't think she could keep a smiling face for him. Mary told her that there had been no phone calls so Rose posted herself in the drawing room with Fred, ready to pounce on the phone the minute it rang. It didn't. Rose smoked cigarette after cigarette and paced the room endlessly but there was still no news. She took her shoes and stockings off and sat with her feet tucked under her, Fred in her lap listening to the clock tick away the seconds. More than once she thought about phoning the shop but knew she shouldn't block the line. Mary had come to offer her food but she wasn't hungry. She did drink the cordial Mary brought her though, her mouth was dry after so many cigarettes. She finished the last one in her case and stood up to refill it from the box on the desk when the door flew open and Alice dashed in. Her eyes were wide and she could barely stand still as she pointed to the door.

"Miss Rose! You have to come quick, it's your horse."

Rose dropped the cigarette and the case which were in her hands. "Nua? What's wrong?"

"I don't know, miss. She's ill, I think. Jim just sent me to get you. He said to hurry, she's in pain."

Rose pushed past Alice and ran as fast as she could through the house, in a hurry to get to the stables. She couldn't think what was wrong with Nua but the thought of her being in pain was too much to bear. She vaguely heard Alice behind her, calling for her to put on some shoes and a coat. She wasn't going to stop now. Rushing through the kitchen to the surprise of the girls in there, she ran through the back rooms and pushed open the door which led out to the back of the house. It was already dark and was pouring with rain. She barely noticed the rain or the ground under her bare feet as she continued running. Rounding the corner which led to the entrance to the stables, Rose stopped short at what was in front of her.

Two men she didn't recognise were waiting for her. One of them dropped his cigarette on the floor and lazily trod on it. They both looked at her indifferently. She froze, her chest heaving. Alice came running up behind her, also out of breath.

"Now, don't be afraid, Miss Rose."

And all at once, everything fell into place. Rose swung round to look at Alice who was looking back at her anxiously, her hands up in front of her.

"It's ok, these men are here to help you. It's all for the best…"

Rose didn't wait for her to finish. She turned and ran towards the front of the house where she knew Tommy's men were on guard. She'd barely gone ten steps before she tripped over something solid and fell heavily, her head hitting the hard ground. The last thing she saw before blacking out were the wide open eyes of one of Tommy's men, staring at her blankly as the blood from a bullet wound in his head ran over them and dripped to the ground.