The buzz in the Shelby household was immense, the energy and excitement something Elizabeth hadn't felt in years, the last time being well before the war when she'd done well with some horses at some events. Tommy and she had been up from the early hours of the morning, the pair watching the sunrise out the kitchen window as she read a book, and he paced in front of the fire. She was clueless as to what he'd been so excited about, she'd been up anyway having had another round of nightmares, but she knew from the way Tommy had been it wasn't nightmares that plagued him but anticipation. Her twin had left the house as soon as the sun had peaked fully above the neighbouring houses, no explanation or words leaving him as he'd marched out the door.
Elizabeth looked up from her teacup at the sound of footsteps and offered a smile to Polly who was descending the stairs, still in her nightdress having stayed the night. Without a word Elizabeth got up to pull out a cup, filling it with tea before placing it in front of the woman, who offered a nod of thanks as she stood at the head of the table, rosary in her hand. Elizabeth hummed, her eyes narrowing in confusion as Polly closed her eyes and began to pray.
"Dear Lord, make this day pass well. Let none get hurt, and make them that do not Shelbys." Elizabeth smirked, but continued to watch on confused, "Watch John, 'cause he has so many depending on him. Watch Arthur because he's as likely to hurt himself as anyone else." Elizabeth glanced over as Thomas appeared inside, tilting her head at him as he watched over to stand at her side as they watched Polly, "Watch Thomas. I know how he is. But he does what he does for us. I think. Amen." She crossed her body before glancing back at the twins, feeling uneasy as they stared at her, "I used to do that every morning during the war. Think'd I'd done it for the last time."
"Today will be the last time, Pol." Thomas promised, "After today, there'll be no need for prayers. We'll be set." Elizabeth frowned, her brow scrunching in confusion as she tried to connect the dots before she lifted her head, realisation written all over her face.
They were taking Billy Kimber today.
Elizabeth glanced between Polly and Tommy only to move her gaze to her cup, suspicion and confusion filling her once again at not having been included in any planning, realising she'd been left in the dark. Briefly she wondered if that was how Arthur had felt all these years with her and Tommy's scheming but thought got quickly pushed to the back of her head as Tommy turned his back on her.
"Family meeting, half-ten." He called back to them before he swanned out the front door once more, Polly casting him a hard glance as she was left with Elizabeth who was still staring at the table. They'd known she would be angry.
"What's going on?" Elizabeth questioned as she glared down at her cup, doing her best to keep a level head and try to rationalise the choices made to not include her.
"It was Thomas's decision." Polly sighed, knowing the girl was smart enough to put together what was happening, what would be happening. Elizabeth leaned back in her chair, lifting her head to look at her aunt.
"You've planned this all out without me?" Elizabeth frowned, shaking her head slightly as she stared down her aunt, "Kept me in the dark? What for?"
"Tommy wasn't sure," Elizabeth let out a dry laugh cutting off her aunt, her hands clenching into fists.
"If I could be trusted." She scoffed glaring at her hands, "Still don't know who shopped Freddie, he knows it wasn't him, no one broke and squealed the truth. So just blame the best liar in the family. I see. Makes sense."
"Lil." Polly cut in, coming to the table but Elizabeth shook her head and stood up, walking out the door before her aunt could try and stop her. She grabbed the coat and hat on the top of the pile, paying little attention as she opened the front door.
"I'll be back for the meeting." Elizabeth called over her shoulder ignoring Polly's shouts of her name as she slammed the door behind her, pulling on the coat and cap as she walked.
Anger and disappointment were flooding through her veins as she marched over the cobbles of small heath, people diving out her way to not incur the Shelby wrath. The hurt of knowing her own twin didn't trust her fuelling the rage she could feel in her chest. Everything she'd done since before the start of the war had been for her family and for them to think that she'd betray them, squeal to coppers of all people, hurt. Sure, she didn't like Freddie all that much, and she was sure her disappearance and occupation during the war wasn't the easiest to accept, but she'd thought that with everything else she'd done to make up for it, they'd at least trust her not to let slip information.
Elizabeth glanced up as she felt her boots hit mud, her mind clearing as she realised, she'd ended up at the yard. Her eyes flickered across to the stables before she found herself walking once more sliding inside, knowing she was likely clear of being hassled by Charlie as he'd likely been in on the plan from the start. Her hands clenched in her coat pockets, realising he'd been lying to her too. She let out a huff, she marched down the stalls until she arrived at Mags. The only thing she'd enjoyed that was left untainted in her life. Her old horse huffed out as she twirled around slightly in the stall, seeming to sense the rabid anger that was festering in Elizabeth.
Seeing the unease that she was causing, Elizabeth paused in her movements, taking a moment to let out a calming breath and shake out the tension in her hands. Feeling slightly better she slid the door open, running her hands along the mares back until Mags seemed to calm, allowing her to lean against the mare in a half hug.
"I'm an idiot Mags." Elizabeth sighed, pressing the side of her face against Mags, taking comfort in listening to the horse breathing as she continued, "Messed everything up. With Tommy. With Arthur. With Ada. With Finn. With Pol." She huffed out a laugh, "Only one I haven't hurt is John and that's cause he's too busy with his new Mrs to notice."
Mags let out a snort making Elizabeth smile, her gut knowing it was a request for some treat of some kind but happy to half imagine that the horse was actually listening and replying to her. Elizabeth let out a sigh, pulling back slightly as she moved around to pet Mag's head.
"Feels childish to run off, but honestly Mags, maybe I shouldn't have come home." Elizabeth hummed, considering it, "I mean, the war ended, and I was kind of swept up in a lot of things, hastily moved here and there to ensure they were surrendering, moved to France to keep an eye on some anti-English provocation, then finally released from my duty." She leaned her head against Mags, "Could have stayed on the continent. I mean, there were a few men I liked, could have liked well enough to cope. I could have started anew, new name, new country." Elizabeth closed her eyes, "But I gave it all up and came home. I thought they'd need the support, the reassurance of old habits… I was just trying to help…" Elizabeth opened her eyes and Mags pulled back once more and snorted, scrapping her front hoof on the straw in a mini huff, making Elizabeth chuckle and roll her eyes, "Yeah, Yeah. I know."
The eldest Shelby sister slid out the stall and closed the door, sliding over to the bag of apples and picking the biggest one she could find before she came back over to Mags with a smile, petting her mane with one hand and holding out the apple with the other as the horse began tucking in. Elizabeth let out a hum as she watched, her anger and hurt still licking under the surface but reduced after having gotten the worst off her chest.
"I can't stay long Mags. Tommy might still need me and, well, you know I'm an idiot." She shook her head, "I'll play my part. Do as told. But once this is done Mags, I'm putting my foot down. Maybe Pol was right, maybe I should run as far as I can." Mags snorted as she finished up the Apple, Elizabeth nodding and smirking, "Yeah, I don't think I'd make it far either. Can't stop myself from getting involved." She shook her head, crossing her arms on the door of the stall and leaning her head on top of them, watching Mags as she twisted in the stall heading back to her hay.
"What I don't get, is who shopped Freddie, and why?" Elizabeth hummed as she watched Mags eat, "I mean, maybe it was chance, some passersby saw a communist and just wanted them off the street. However, calling the police to the Shelby's home? That's suicide, we'd find out eventually." Elizabeth pursed her lips as she continued her musing allowed, "Maybe they wanted to cause a scene, but I mean, not many people knew about my dislike of Freddie besides my brothers, Ada, Freddie, and Danny?" She snorted, "And out of all of them, I'm the most likely candidate, I've done something similar before, when in Germany, it was good way to spread mistrust, I wiggled my way into a few Generals houses by making them fall out, they would complain endlessly to me about whoever I'd spread rumours about…" Her eyes widened, "Fuck."
The blonde fucking barmaid. Grace. She'd been under their noses this whole time, waiting for her brothers. Tommy spilled her guts to her on numerous occasions after Freddie and she'd have gotten plenty of information from Arthur who blurted out family secrets to anyone Tommy deemed worthy. She felt like a fool. She'd allowed her brothers to let the woman into the fold, allowed Tommy to fall for the woman. She should have shouted louder, complained more, but she'd been too keen to play her old part, not wanting to argue too heavily. But with her silent disagreement and judgement, she'd pushed Tommy towards Grace. She was an idiot!
"I am an idiot." Elizabeth sighed, earning another snort from Mags making Elizabeth roll her eyes, "Thanks Mags."
Pushing herself off the stall door she made her way back out the stables and the yard, heading very quickly back to the cover of Small Heath. Her mind working overtime as she tried to think of what she could do.
Elizabeth knew she couldn't outright accuse Grace; Tommy had made it obvious he trusted the barmaid over her and if the woman had been doing what she thought she had and filling Tommy's head with lies and twisting her words then there was no way her twin would believe anything that came out her mouth, especially since he knew about her job. She could only hope that Grace had been also left out the planning, that this had truly only been a family affair. Her moving against the blonde in anyway without some way to prove it would only push Tommy away more and she couldn't do that, the divide is what had caused the mess in the first place.
She pulled open the front door to the house, sliding off her coat and cap as she glanced up at the clock, noting it was just after half ten. She silently pushed open the door to the kitchen, a hint of annoyance flashing through her as she heard Tommy's voice booming from behind the closed door to the shop.
"This is the day we become respectable. The day we join the official National Association of Racecourse Bookmakers." She pushed the doors open, drawing all eyes to her. She could feel the keen eyes of her twin watching as she closed the doors and moved to lean against the pillar as far away from the group as she could, tilting her head as he continued, "But, first, we do the dirty work. Now, you've all known this day's been coming, I just haven't told anyone the date." Elizabeth bit back her scoff, however her eyes narrowed at the group, now realising everyone had been involved, "We're going to the Worcester races. Track opens at 1:00, we get there at 2:00. Now, Kimber thinks we're going there to help him fight the Lee brothers. Thanks to the efforts of our John and his lovely new wife, Esme, the Lees are now our kin. I interrupted those efforts this morning and, uh, I can assure you all, John is making great sacrifices in the cause of peace." Elizabeth didn't react, her gaze turning cold as she watched her siblings and cousins all begin chuckling at John's expense.
"Yeah, alright." John dismissed.
"So, it'll be us and the Lees against Kimber's boys. We take 'em out and leave the bookies. I'll expect a swift victory which will send a signal all the way to London that we believe in letting legitimate businesses run peacefully." Tommy finished, glancing around at all the men of the family who nodded wordlessly.
"And, uh, what about Kimber himself?" John checked.
"I'll deal with Kimber." Tommy promised before glancing around the rest of the group, "Any other questions?" Elizabeth watched as the men all shrugged, her eyes catching Esme glancing back at Polly with a knowing smirk.
"Yes." Polly called purposefully not looking at Elizabeth as she moved back to the doors of the shop, glancing over her shoulders, "Does anyone object if I bring a newcomer to the meeting?" No one argued, all the men sharing confused looks, allowing Polly to open the door, "Come on."
Elizabeth felt her gaze soften slightly at the sight of her youngest sister, her eyes falling to the baby curled up in the bright yellow blanket she instantly recognised as the one their mother had said herself and Ada had been wrapped in when they'd been born. Hearing the baby's happy coos she averted her gaze to the floor, her hands clenching into fists as Polly introduced them, "I'd like to introduce the newest member of the Shelby clan." The men gathered began to applause as Finn instantly walked over to see his new nephew. Elizabeth remained at the post, shunning herself in effort to not ruin the family moment, the cooing reminding her of the screams on the night Freddie had been taken, her temper flaring again now knowing they all blamed her.
"Welcome home, Ada." Tommy greeted, smiling at his younger sister.
"We named him Karl. After Karl Marx." Ada revealed to the group that had gathered around to see the baby, making them all chuckle.
"Karl bloody Marx. Let me get a look at him." Arthur called as he came over, gently taking Karl from Ada's arms to get a better look at his nephew. Elizabeth glanced up for a moment, feeling as if a hole was forming in her chest at seeing how happy her siblings were without her.
"Oh, here we go." John called as Arthur pulled off his cap and stuck it on Karls's head, parading him around.
Elizabeth shook her head, letting out a quiet sigh as she closed her eyes briefly, not wanting to watch any more, unsure if she could cope. Wordless she pushed off the pillar, sliding around everyone as she moved back into the kitchen, allowing the family to have their moment. She glanced at the door once more before biting her lip and moving over to the sink to stare out the kitchen window, two side of herself arguing as she debated what to do. Everything in her wanted to run, hide in her room and just escape the hole that was forming in her stomach at watching the family smiling without her, but she knew she couldn't, not if she wanted them to see she wasn't a traitor. It was something she'd learned in training, to avoid suspicion create an alibi with reliable sources. Thomas couldn't blame her if she was with him.
She heard the cheering and shuffling of feet behind her as cousins began shuffling out of the shop, signalling the end of the meeting. Her head twisted to allow her to glance over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing when she noticed Arthur and John exchanging looks, as if debating speaking to her, before they both moved off into the hall. She quickly realised why as she soon felt the ominous presence of her twin behind her.
"Lil," Tommy began, his defensive tone sparking the fire inside her. Elizabeth let out a scoff.
"Thomas, if you're going to accuse me of being a traitor, at least do it with my full name." She bit out, letting out a huff, "Lil was the family name, but I'm not family."
"It was just temporary, I needed to be sure." Tommy continued, ignoring her snapping tone. Elizabeth shook her head, smirking as she looked down at the sink before she twisted to lean against the counter, folding her arms across her chest as she eyed her brother, trying to work out the answer to the question that had been burning inside her since she'd been let in on the big secret.
"Did you ever trust me?"
Tommy didn't respond instantly, his mind faltering for a moment as he tried to work out the best way to phrase his answer, knowing he was on delicate ground with his twin. The silence, however, spoke volumes to Elizabeth who let out a dry unamused laugh, her heart breaking at the news. Polly and Ada appeared through the door of the shop, both glancing over at the twins, sharing a look of concern.
"I was an idiot to come home." Elizabeth bit out, shaking her head once more as she glared up at her twin, "I should have known you wouldn't trust me after finding out where I went, what I did. You think I'm some measly copper cause I did my bit to get you three home. Sad thing is I wish I had been the one to shop Freddie, cause at least then it would be true, and I could play the bad guy and you wouldn't have to face the other liar."
"If you know,"
"Thomas, if you would believe me, I would." Elizabeth cut in, softening her gaze as she glanced back at Ada, "I am sorry Ada, truly I am that I couldn't fight off those coppers. I should have fought harder for you and Karl." She returned her gaze to Thomas, "I'm coming with you Thomas. For nothing else other than to clear my name of any further betrayals you'd see me fit to blame. Once you've got Kimber, I'll not disgrace the name Shelby any longer."
"Lil," Polly cut in, seeing the hurt and disappointment in the woman. Elizabeth shook her head, pushing off the sink and moving to the door, glancing over her shoulder at the three.
"Don't call me that. El, Bessy, Liz, whatever, I don't care. Just, don't call me that if I'm not family."