"Arthur!" Elizabeth called, pulling up her skirt slightly as she ran across the street, cutting in front of two cars, ignoring the shouts of frustration. Her eldest brother turned, frowning at the voice, not knowing where his sister had appeared from.
Elizabeth faltered for a moment as her brother came to a stop, not really knowing what she wanted to say as he stared at her with a mixture of suspicion and annoyance. Her and Arthur hadn't talked much since he'd slapped her, they'd kept up pretences in front of Polly and Finn but other than that had not spoken a word to each other. She had had plenty of time to think on her reactions during her cleaning of the Garrison and she'd realised she'd played into her father's hands, reacted just how the man would have wanted, tried to create a crack to worm his way into, and she'd fallen for it, hook line and sinker. She knew Arthur was most likely embarrassed about how he'd reacted to her goading, and she'd been too angry at his blatant defence of their father, giving plenty of space for their father to wiggle in and manipulate Arthur more, and she'd let it happen.
"Lil, what are you doing?" He asked, eyes narrowed as he stared at his sister, having not realising he'd been followed the entire walk to the station.
"I came to help." Elizabeth answered honestly, pulling off her cap and playing with it in her hands, suddenly feeling nervous and like she'd overstepped her bounds, her gaze falling to the floor, "I know what you did, Tom and Pol haven't noticed yet but,"
"But what?" Arthur cut in, looking away from his sister as his anger with her diminished. Elizabeth glanced up, offering a slight smile of comfort and an offering of peace.
"I thought we could get it back, if we get it back in before Pol comes to count it tonight, we'll be fine." Arthur eyed her, seeing a tinge of guilt in her stance as she looked down at her hat again quickly, "I may have moved some cash around to hide the evidence, but if we're quick I can sort it back and we can pretend nothing happened."
"Why?" Elizabeth looked up sharply at the question, her head tilting as confusion flooded her face.
"You're my brother Arthur, why wouldn't I?" She replied, genuinely confused at the question. Arthur eyed her before sighing and gesturing her to come on. Elizabeth smiled, pulling her cap on and moving to walk alongside him, her eldest brothers hand falling between her shoulder blades to keep her at his pace as they entered the station.
"Come on, he'll be on the train if we're not quick." Arthur hurried, gesturing to the staircase that would take them up to the platform he'd already worked out when he'd arrived. Elizabeth nodded and pushed herself to take the stairs two at a time, her elder brother following quickly behind her as they heard the whistle signalling there would only be a few more moments before the train would be on the move. Elizabeth twirled around as they got to the top, frowning heavily as she looked for signs of their father, Arthur taking a moment to look around before tapping her on the left shoulder, gesturing to their right, taking the lead as the two walked over. Elizabeth hung back, not wanting to interact with their father but be there to support Arthur.
"Dad?" Arthur called over, watching the man interact with two women. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and scoffed, glaring openly between the women and her father, earning a dirty look in return. Arthur Shelby Senior let out a small huff of frustration but stepped away from the two women, looking over his two children that had arrived.
"Hello, son, Lil." Arthur Shelby Snr offered, snorting slightly as Elizabeth fixed him with a dirty look, before sighing as he returned his gaze to his eldest son, "May I ask who gave you my whereabouts?"
"Marsden. Said you left him last night with a bill for your whores." Arthur revealed to the man, Elizabeth remaining silent though silently fuming at the idea their hard-earned money had gone towards their fathers' debts.
"Well... At least we got to say goodbye, son. And bid a fond adieu to your dear brothers, would you?" Their father asked, looking down at his pocket watch,
"How could you do this to us?" Arthur asked, sounding more defeated than Elizabeth had heard in a while. Elizabeth took a step forward, placing her hand on her brother's arm, sympathy for Arthur being the only thing holding her back from telling her she told them so.
"Do what, son?" Their father asked coldly, no longer interested now he had what he wanted.
"All that stuff you said about... Shelby Casino... And Atlantic City." Arthur repeated, his sister glaring at their father openly as she realised the promises the man had made to convince Arthur to give up the money.
"Hmm, well, if the truth be told, I'm not so acquainted with that promised land as I had thee believe." Arthur Senior smirked, not feeling any remorse or regret for his actions. Elizabeth went to take a step forward but frowned as Arthur held her back, pushing her behind him slightly.
"You're a fucking liar. And a thief. Now you give me back my fucking money!" Arthur shouted at their father, learning from his mistakes and not willing to let his sister incur the man's wrath once more. Elizabeth winced as she looked over, seeing the dark look over their father's face and took a step so she was stood slightly further behind Arthur, admittedly beginning to get slightly scared as the devil man began to stalk over to them.
"Do not despise the thief who steals to satisfy his starvation. That's in the Holy Bible, son. And I have starved for so very long. Fair thee well, son." Arthur senior recited, a hint of warning in his voice as he eyed his daughter over Arthur's shoulders. Elizabeth put on a brave face, glaring down the man, until he turned and walked back. She moved round to stand beside her brother, patting Arthur on the arm in comfort as her older brother looked to the floor seeming broken.
"He's a waste of space Arthur. Let him have the fucking money for his whores. He's a coward that can't even face his own children, just steals and runs off, never dealing with the consequences. We're better off without him." Elizabeth muttered to her brother as her anger and her loudmouth got the best of her, her volume being just loud enough for their father to hear. The man froze, turning slowly his mouth set in a dangerous smile as he looked at his daughter. Elizabeth tensed, as he heard her father turn around, and glanced over, letting out a shaky breath as he slowly stalked over once more, his hands bawling at his sides.
"I waited for ya. I waited." Arthur breathed out, his gaze still on the floor, not paying attention as their father made his way back over. Elizabeth's grip tightened on his arm, making him glance over at her, seeing her paling considerably and fear crossing her face.
"No, no, not again." Elizabeth breathed; her voice so low Arthur wouldn't have heard her if he'd not been staring at her. He glanced up, seeing their father staring down his sister, threat clear in his eyes. He frowned, glaring at his dad as he continued to stalk closer.
"You, girl, have spoken out for the last time." Arthur Senior declared, "I tried to break you, I tried to sell you, only reason your still here is because your bastard brother walked in before I could finish the job." Elizabeth backed up slightly, trying to hide behind Arthur.
"What's he on about Lil?" Arthur asked, allowing his sister to hide behind him, able to sense the danger from their father.
"He tried to kill me." She quickly explained, her voice the quietest it had ever been, "Tommy found me." Arthur twisted to look back around at their father, anger across his face, his mind flashing with the memories of Tommy dragging their sister back from where he'd found her in the cut, John and him having believed she'd fallen or jumped.
Arthur didn't pause as he quickly pounced on their father, grabbing him by the labels as he raised a fist to try and defend his sister. There was a small scuffle as they both tried to get an advantage. Elizabeth remained frozen as she watched on, her eyes wide at her brother's defence of her, not having expected Arthur to pick a fight with their father. She let out a gasp as their father was quick to twist her elder brother and push him up against the wall.
"Listen to me, boy. You're not in the prize ring now. Never put your hands on me again or I'll cut your fucking throat and spread you on these tracks. Same goes for your sister." Arthur Senior bit out, glaring at his eldest before tossing a glare over to Elizabeth who stepped back, looking away.
The older man nodded, seeing his two children seeming to submit and released his eldest son, brushing his lapels before returning to stand beside his suitcase, pulling out his pocket watch once more. Elizabeth glanced over at Arthur who sniffed, brushing his hand through his hair to push it back. He pushed off the wall, bending down to pick up his hat that had fallen off in the skirmish. He walked over Elizabeth, gently turning her around and leading her back to the staircase, neither sibling looking back as they descended back into the station. Elizabeth paused at the bottom, Arthur frowning at her only to let out a huff as Elizabeth threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.
"Thanks Artie." She breathed quietly so only he'd hear her. He patted her back.
"No problem, Lil." He offered, his mind still reeling but understanding his sister needed it. Elizabeth pulled away, wiping a hand under her nose and sniffing, blinking a couple times. Arthur said nothing more, patting her on the shoulder before leading the pair off out the main entrance and back along the street.
It was a silent walk back to Watery Lane, neither sibling sure of where the others head was at or knowing what they could possibly say. Elizabeth was concerned for Arthur, he was quite sensitive to family matters, and it's what made it easy for their father to work his way in, but always made it so much worse when it went wrong. The revelation of her near drowning being their fathers attempt to get rid of her, the lies he'd told, the fact he'd stolen money from them for whores and had no intention of staying, she knew it would hit her elder brother particularly hard. It hit her hard. She hated being right about their dad, but she'd seen the evil side of the man too often to believe he'd ever come back for a good purpose. Elizabeth knew Arthur would probably have questions but just hoped he would wait to ask; she didn't want to relive it.
Elizabeth sighed as they came up to the door of the house, unsure what she was going to do now. The 500 was already spent and she didn't have enough to cover the amount from her wage packets she'd saved. The most she could stick in was 100, meaning she'd have to play with some numbers before Polly or Tom would notice. The realisation hurt; she'd been hoping to use her money to buy a horse of her own to keep at the stables.
Arthur pushed the door open, leading the pair in. He didn't stop to hang up his coat, hoping to pick up some of his whisky from the sideboard and to drink away his sorrows. Elizabeth paused to pull off her hat and hang it up, moving to pull of her coat when she heard a page of a paper turning and saw Arthur freeze just inside the door.
"Where's your father?" Elizabeth winced at Polly's question, knowing there was nothing she could do now, "I'm assuming he's frittering away the 500 you took from us and put into his thieving, whore-groping hands." Elizabeth quickly pulled off her coat and hung it up, coming in to stand in front of her brother, facing down Polly who ignored her, her disappointed gaze firmly on Arthur. "What were you thinking? How dare you do something like that without talking to Thomas or me."
"Polly." Elizabeth glared, not happy with her aunt's tone in her house, "He ran it by…"
"Does Tommy know?" Arthur cut in, not wanting his sister to take the fall for his mistakes. Polly eyes the two, before lifting her paper back up, her gaze flickering across the pages as she let out a sigh.
"No." Polly admitted, her tone somewhat biting, "But you're going to tell him." Elizabeth let out a sigh and rolled her eyes.
"I'll take care of it." Elizabeth bit out, moving over to the stove and picking up an empty pot and taking it to the sink. Polly let out a sigh, rolling her own eyes at her niece but saying nothing more on the topic, unable to argue for her standing up for her brother after the hell she'd given her about her sister.
Elizabeth glanced over her shoulder as the front door slammed, her eldest brother having silently disappeared while her back was turned. Her shoulders sagged, the emotions of the day creeping up on her. She bit back any tears, doing what she knew best and trying to push it all back, unwilling to lose herself with her aunt still in the room, unable to let the woman see how much everything was getting to her. It was tough being enemy number one, and it got to her more than it should, but her family were her everything, Elizabeth would do anything for them, including being the bad guy or facing her fears and standing up to their father. It was becoming clearer and clearer to her that the only way to go on was to push everything away, it was the only way she'd get anything done, she'd gotten too involved recently and let her emotions lead and it had caused her to freeze in a situation she should have been able to handle. She'd faced down German patrols and enemy fire. She should have been able to get past seeing the man, push away the fear and stand up for herself. It was embarrassing.
"Lil! Lil!" Finn shouted, the front door slamming as he ran in. Elizabeth shook her head of her thoughts, quickly twisting and marching past Polly who set down her paper to watch as the boy ran into the room.
"Finn? What's going on?" Elizabeth asked kneeling down over the front of him and brushing off his coat, concern pulsing through her, seeing her younger brother so disheveled and out of breath.
"It's the guns, their gone!" Finn revealed to his eldest sister who tensed, her grip tightening on his shoulder, "Tommy said there'd be trouble."
"Polly, take Finn." Elizabeth ordered, pushing herself to her feet, turning to their aunt who threw down her paper and nodded, an understanding passing between the two women to protect the youngest Shelby from the events that could be about to occur. Elizabeth twisted back to her brother, patting him on the head, "Finn, you did great coming to tell me, I need you to go with Pol and stay there until we say, ok?"
Finn nodded his head, hearing the seriousness in his sisters voice. Elizabeth offered him a half smile before marching out the kitchen door, picking up her coat as Polly came and wrapped her arm around Finns shoulders, comforting the boy and explaining what was happening. The eldest Shelby sister pulled on her cap, tucking her hair up to keep it out of her face and nodded to the pair. She offered them a smile before exiting the house.
The coppers had gotten the guns, they'd gotten their bargaining tool, which meant only one thing. The inspector would be on a war path, for both her and her twin. With the embarrassment of the truce her and Tommy had all but demanded, the Irishman would take the first opportunity he got to get some revenge. She wasn't sure if she'd be high on the list, Tommy would be top priority, but she felt she'd be at risk enough that she needed to hide.
Elizabeth kept her head down as she walked, her eyes flickering from side to side as she took in as much as she could, listening closely to whispers as she passed. She lifted her head, nearly rolling her eyes as she caught sight of her twin entering the Garrision, the man looking around before he entered. She debated her options for a moment before crossing the road, fully intending to push him out of there, knowing he needed to hide more so than her. A surge of urgency flashed through her as she heard the whistle indicating police were on their way, knowing she was likely out of time. She quickened her pace, wasting no time as she pushed the door open to the pub, ignoring the patrons that turned at the slam of the door opening. She crossed the bar, opening the door to the back office and holding back her annoyance at the sight of her brother with the blonde barmaid.
"The police are in the lane, Tommy." Elizabeth warned her brother, "You need to go." Tommy turned and glanced at her, concern in his eyes.
"What about," He started, Elizabeth shook her head.
"No time. I've sent Finn with Pol, Arthur and John won't be high on their list and he won't be able to get Ada. Go." She ordered her twin, "I'll deal with it."
Tommy seemed about to argue when Grace grabbed his hand, pulling him out the back door, ordering him to come with her. Elizabeth hummed with narrowed eyes as she watched her brother leave with the blonde, trying to not let suspicion get the best of her but unable from letting her distrust show for a moment. The door slammed closed as the two disappeared from view. Elizabeth let out a sigh as she heard the shrill of the whistles getting closer, knowing she was most likely out of time to leave unless she followed after the pair, but she was unwilling to risk giving Tommy away. Silently she turned on her foot, closing the door to the back room and Harry flashed her a look of concern as more and more police seemed to gather outside. She offered him a half smile before silently plucked a bottle of scotch, sighing as she poured herself a glass and looked around the men in the room, recognising a few of their men.
"Do not do anything. They'll be eager for the fight." She ordered the group of men, all staring at her with confusion. She ignored them, her eyes falling on Scudboat, her head tilting in silent question, ensuring he understood. She let out a small sigh of relief as he nodded, happy he wouldn't cause and would stop any trouble once the officers entered the bar.
Elizabeth let out a breath, downing her glass before quickly pouring herself another, needing a bit of courage before she faced the other devil that had inserted himself in her life. She crossed back over to the other side of the bar, shooing away the people sat at the first table at the entrance and taking a seat opposite the door. She pulled off her cap and sat the glass and cap on the table before she untied her coat, she sat down, crossing her right leg over her left and leaning back in the chair, waiting.
The group of men stood around the bar in a tense silence as they watched the eldest Shelby sister sip her whisky slowly, her eyes never leaving the door. They could all hear the thundering of footsteps getting louder and louder as more and more officers seemed to gather just outside the window, but the young woman in front of them didn't even flinch, just remained sitting staring calmly at the front door.
After what seemed like forever, Detective Inspector Campbell marched in the door of the Garrison, followed quickly by a mass of officers. Elizabeth lifted her glass and took another sip as he entered, watching the man carefully as the anger and rage seemed to be disrupted for a second when he saw her, confusion and what looked like disappointment crossing his face. She tilted her head slightly as she took him in, wondering why he was disappointed, if it was because she was not Tommy or because her presence destroyed part of the thrill of the chase. The inspector quickly recovered, pulling out his revolver and setting it on the table before he in buttoned his coat and sat down opposite Elizabeth, letting out a frustrated sigh.
"Where is your brother Miss Shelby?" Inspector Campbell asked, eyeing the woman as she sat sipping on a whisky, seeming completely at ease with the situation.
"Which one? I have four." Elizabeth responded shrugging her left shoulder slightly, a cold smirk on her face as she admired her glass, twisting it in her hands. Inspector Campbell glared at her, in no mood for games.
"Thomas. Your twin." He bit out, "The leader of your subordinates." Elizabeth hummed in thought as she continued to stare down at her glass, her mind reeling as she tried to think quickly about what she could say, how she could buy herself time. She knew what her fate would be if she didn't give the man what she wanted, but hell would freeze over before she gave up her brother.
"Have you tried that tearoom you invited us to? Ever so lovely." The Inspector fixed her with a dirty look, knowing full well the woman in front of him was covering for her brother. He waited for a moment to see if she would continue before he let out a huff of frustration and pushed himself to his feet, picking up his revolver.
"Perhaps I should ask that question again." Inspector offered, looking over his gun with a tinge of delight as Elizabeth's gaze turned uneasy. He turned to his side and lifted the gun, so it was aimed between her eyes, ignoring the grumbles of men around the room. "On your knees."
No man moved, following the orders she'd given, an uneasy silence falling over the room as the gun continued to point at the woman that they'd all known most their lives. Elizabeth didn't flinch as the Inspector cocked his gun, surprising the Blinders that surrounded her, she remained seated, her gaze on the copper as the two stared each other down. Elizabeth eventually sighed, setting her glass down as she placed her hands on the table to push herself to stand, only to be grabbed by two officers. The men shifted, eyes narrowing as the woman grunted but didn't fight hard as she was forced to kneel before the Detective Inspector.
"Understand this, Miss Shelby, I don't care if you live or die." Inspector Campbell hissed at the woman who openly defied him. The Shelby smirked, letting out a snort of amusement.
"Lately Inspector I've been feeling the same way, but if it's all the same to you, I'd prefer to leave here breathing." She sassed.
"Where is your brother?!" The Inspector shouted, taking a step forward and pressing the gun to the woman's temple, kneeling down so he was at eye level. The two stared each other down, neither willing to give up. Harry glanced at Scudboat, the only cousin close to the Shelby's that was currently in the bar, and felt his worry grow for the woman at the obvious unease over his face, knowing the woman wouldn't dare say anything to a copper. The Inspector moved his finger to hover over the trigger, seeing the stubbornness in Elizabeth, knowing she was never going to reveal anything.
"He left!" Harry called quickly, making the Inspector pause and Elizabeth's eyes widen in shock, as she turned to look at the barman.
"When? Where?" Inspector Campbell pressed, twisting his head around to stare at the man, his gun still pressed against the woman's head.
"I don't know, he left. With the barmaid. He left with Grace. I think they were going to her place." Harry stuttered out as the man turned to him. Elizabeth turned her gaze back to the inspector as the man dropped his aim, frowning in confusion at the look of pain across his face. She opened her mouth to question him, only to grunt as she was roughly pulled to her feet by the two officers.
"What shall we do with her, sir?" One asked, his grip on her arms tightening as he peered at her slightly. Elizabeth glared coldly over her shoulder.
"Leave her." Campbell ordered before turning and matching out the door as quickly as he had come in. Elizabeth blinked in shock as the two men holding her dropped her arms immediately and followed the inspector out, every other copper quickly filling out after him. She lifted a hand to shake off any dirt on her jacket as she stared at the door, trying to understand what had just happened, work out why he had not taken the chance to lock her away. She flinched when a hand slapped her right shoulder, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Glad you're still with us El." Scudboat offered, patting her shoulder once again. Elizabeth nodded dumbly.
"Me too." She responded absently before humming and opening the door to the snug. She climbed up into the window and moved her head to glance outside, gazing out through the gaps in the frosted glass. Her eyes flickering around the street as the coppers were quickly climbing into the van, clearing the streets. She shook her head, slumping in the windowsill as she frowned.
"What the fuck is going on?"
It was later that night, Elizabeth sat in her armchair, staring at the pages of the book in front of her but not actually reading. Her mind was too busy, too full. She'd spent most of the evening cleaning the house after the coppers raid and had run through so many scenarios in her head but just couldn't work out what had caused the Inspector to call of his search, to abandon his chance to use her as bait or leverage against Tommy. The only thing she knew it was something to do with the barmaid. At first, she had thought maybe it was because the woman was an innocent civilian, but she'd remembered Tommy had told her what the man had threatened to do to Finn if they so much as stepped out of line, the inspector was a cold-hearted bastard and innocence meant nothing to him. She was wondering if the man had taken a fancy to the woman, if there was something more behind the scenes, especially with the brief flash of pain on his face.
Her musing was cut off as the front door slammed, making her frown and tense. She removed her hand that had been keeping the book open and twisted it behind her back, her fingers grazing the cold metal of the revolver she'd taken down from her room, out of fear the Inspector would change his mind and come looking. The woman remained tense, her eyes staring down the kitchen door, only to relax when she saw her eldest brother stumble in, she let out a sigh before her eyes narrowed in on his neck, seeing bruising beginning to form.
"What the fuck happened Arthur?" Elizabeth asked as she pulled her hand away from the gun, quickly folding the book up and setting it to the side. She pushed herself to her feet, throwing the blanket that had been over her legs over the chair, hiding the gun from her brother's view.
"Don't worry about it." Arthur waved off, ignoring her as he sat down on the chair at the kitchen table closest to the armchair. Elizabeth rolled her eyes at him, quickly walking over to pick out a cup and make up some tea, throwing in a scoop of honey as she came back over. She sat on the edge of the chair, her gaze fully on her brother.
"Worrying is my job, Arthur." She reminded him, small comforting smile on her face, gesturing to the tea, "Drink up, trust me it'll help." Arthur eyed her unmoving as he waited for her to elaborate. Elizabeth let out a sigh and sat back in her chair slightly crossing over her legs, "I, um, I once may have gotten into trouble and the person I was in a fight with tried to kill me with a strap." Elizabeth kept her face neutral as she relayed the half story, knowing her eldest brother still didn't know what she had gotten up to during his time in France. He didn't need to know she'd been caught during a search of a home and had had to fight off the man as he'd tried to strangle her with the strap of his rifle.
"Right." Arthur muttered, getting the feeling she was lying but in no mood to argue as he twisted to drink the tea she'd made. Elizabeth let out a breath, eyeing her brother as he sat quietly, guilt eating her slightly as she picked up on the fact that he was getting tired of not knowing what was going on. She curled her legs up to her chest and let out a small sigh, deciding to change the topic and give her brother a small peace offering.
"Um, it was when I was 16 that Dad tried to kill me." Elizabeth revealed to her elder brother, who froze at the reminder of yesterday's events. Elizabeth waited for a moment, waiting to see if he would break in before she let out a breath and continued, "He'd tried to sell me off to the Lees and the McBrides but I, um, opened my mouth, argued with them. Zilpha found it rather funny at the time, her mother not so much, same for the McBrides." Elizabeth snorted, turning her gaze back to the fire as Arthur stared at her, "Dad finally had enough, took me down to the cut with the promise of heading down to London, before we got to the boat, he threw me up against a wall and knocked me out. I don't remember anything else, but Tommy told me he'd been down there with Freddie, he'd been on his way home when he saw dad, which was odd as he'd never been down there before, Tommy followed back the way he'd came, assuming trouble and found me."
"Lil," Arthur cut in, making Elizabeth look over at him, "Why didn't,"
"Because you looked up to him. John, Ada and Finn didn't need to know. Tommy and I kept it a secret to protect the family." Elizabeth admitted, shrugging her shoulders and smiling lightly, "We didn't think he'd turn back up out the blue and start playing mind games, but we should have known."
"Lil," Arthur sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. Elizabeth let out a dry chuckle, knowing from his tone he was trying to work up an apology.
"It's fine Arthur, I understand." She nodded, before smirking, "But you hit me like that again and I'll hit you back twice as hard."
The two siblings shared a small smile but said nothing more on the topic, both drifting off into their own worlds as they relived the last few days. Elizabeth could admit she felt exhausted, more exhausted than she'd been in a while. She'd been pulled in so many directions over the past few days, she hadn't slept much, and when she'd gotten the chance, her adrenaline had always been so high she'd never truly managed to settle. She hoped now by making peace with Arthur and their father having departed, it would be one less problem, she still had to work out what was going on with Grace and fix her relationship with Ada but at least half of her stress had dissipated. She just hoped Tommy would return from wherever he'd run off too soon, they needed to strategise their next move with the guns now gone and with Inspector Campbell acting so out of character, she knew she should be in prison or most likely dead.
The two siblings sat in silence as the nights slowly started transforming into dawn, Elizabeth remaining there in an offering silent comfort to her eldest brother who stared at the fire in thought. Eventually Elizabeth's eyes drifted closed, her breathing slowing as she fell asleep. Arthur almost let out a snort as her head fell against the side of the chair, but refrained, knowing his sister probably hadn't slept properly since their father had turned up, that's she'd been most likely chasing after him in hopes of limiting the damage their father would have done.
Arthur shook his head and glanced back at the fire, his thoughts turning dark once more at the thought he could have been down a sister because of the man he'd been fighting for all this time. Guilt crushed him for his constant fighting with Lil and Tommy about the man, about how unfairly they treated him, about how much they needed him. He'd once again been left in the dark by the twins and had caused more pain because of it.
The front door slammed, causing Elizabeth's eyes to fly open and bringing Arthur out of his musings. The two stared at the door, Elizabeth tense almost expecting more coppers only to sigh in relief as her twin appeared inside the doorway. Tommy eyed the two, his head still rattling with the information Polly had given him, having caught him on his way home and explained the situation. He made eye contact with Elizabeth as he walked over slowly, his sister giving him a tired half smile, clearly tired but also seeming annoyed with him, which he knew would fall back to his delayed escape. Averting his gaze, he focused on the injuries displayed by Arthur, moving to push the aside of his shirt to get a better view before clapping him on the shoulder, leaving it there for a moment of silent support before removing it to take off his coat. Elizabeth lifted a hand to cover her yawn as she watched on, preparing to act as mediator if required.
"So, Polly told ya." Arthur called to Tommy as he moved to take a seat.
"Yup." Tommy agreed, as he moved to the tea that he could only assume Lil had prepared earlier, pouring himself a cup and taking a sip before continuing, "You should've used a gun." Elizabeth rubbed a hand over her eyes letting out a sigh as Arthur straightened.
"Are you laughing at me, Tommy?"
"Yeah." Tommy nodded, leaning forward to speak to Arthur after casting Elizabeth a look to tell her to relax, "Just when things are starting to go right, Arthur, you try and do this. Don't you like fancy parties? Or, um... Champagne? Or fast cars? And how about this?" Tommy pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket, Elizabeth tilting her head in curiosity as she watched on, "Your name on a business card."
"Shelby Brothers, Limited. Arthur Shelby. Associate bookmaker." Arthur read from the card, a brief smile passing over Elizabeth's face at the hint of hope and happiness that had filtered into Arthur's voice as he read.
"I just had them picked up from the printer's this morning. You are one of three shareholders. Me, you, John. And according to the law, we are equal partners. And it is written in the paperwork in black and white. A third, a third, a third. But the thing is, uh... Well, me and John, we quite fancy splitting your share, so... just next time, use a gun, man." Tommy finished, taking another sip of his tea as Arthur let out a chuckle, smiling down at the card with his name on it, Tommy smiling back as Elizabeth watched on. Eventually Tommy raised his gaze to Elizabeth, almost seeming to know what was still on her mind, "Our men at the station tell me that copper is leaving town." Her eyes widened as she sat up straighter, a hint of a smile back on her face.
"So?" She questioned, gesturing for him to continue.
"We're in the clear." He smiled at her, before glancing back at Arthur, clapping him on the back once more as Elizabeth relaxed back in her chair, a smile blossoming over her face, "We are on our way up in the world, brother. Believe me."