Disclaimer: I do not own anything Peaky Blinder related, that belongs to the series creator Steven Knight.

Face Claim for Rosemary Parker: Celina Sinden.

Chapter Six: No Longer a Parker.

Staring up at the house that she had grown up in, Rosemary felt ill at the idea of heading inside and speaking with her father; she doubted that he would take the news that she had married Thomas Shelby well. Already Rosemary could picture how Robert would react, her father had always had a bit of the temper and the news that she had eloped with Thomas wasn't likely going to go down well.

Heading towards the front door, Thomas knew that this had the potential to end badly and he wished that there were something that he could do to spare Rosemary what was about to come. The door to the house swung open and Thomas had to raise an eyebrow at the sight of Colleen, he had always thought that Rosemary's younger sister was a bit of a busy body, always sticking her nose were it did not belong. It had only gotten worse since she had wed, her marriage to Peter having given the younger Parker sister a sense of empowerment especially since she had wed before her older sister had done.

"What's he doing here?" Colleen hissed standing in the door way blocking their entrance, she stared at Thomas like he was nothing more than dirt on the bottom of her shoes. Colleen could not believe that Rosemary had the nerve to show up with him, especially after not coming home last night. Their mother had tried to wave away concern stating that Rosemary was helping Mary out with some last-minute wedding dress alterations but Colleen did not believe her.

"I need to speak with dad," Rosemary insisted feeling even more nervous about what she was about to do; she did not need Colleen sticking her nose in and making the situation harder than it needed to be. There was silence for a moment as the two sisters stared at each other, neither backing down before Victoria shouted from the living room for Colleen to let her sister into the house.

Colleen stepped aside to allow Rosemary and Thomas into the foyer of the house; she wrinkled her nose as she stared at the back of Thomas's head with disgust. Colleen did not like this, and she hoped that he would be gone soon before anyone realised that he had been inside of the house. Heading towards the living room, Rosemary felt even nervous when she spotted her mother and father seated inside; her heart pounded in her chest and she felt sick knowing that in a matter of moments things would implode.

"Where have you been?" Robert shouted leaping to his feet and moving to approach his eldest daughter before he saw who was behind her; he stared wondering just why Thomas Shelby was here when he had forbidden Rosemary to see him. He had always feared the worst when it came to the Shelby boy especially when he recalled all the trouble that Arthur Shelby had caused before he had disappeared and abandoned his family.

Robert looked between the two as they stood before him and Victoria, he had a feeling that he already knew what this was about and a part of him wished that he could have seen this coming. It seemed everyone was rushing to wed especially with all the men shipping out to the war and even if the government swore that the war would be over by Christmas no one knew if they would be home.

Victoria hesitated for a moment, her eyes moving from her daughter and son-in-law to her husband who seemed to be standing stock still. She moved to stand and places a calming hand on Robert who shrugged her off, she quickly schooled her face to stop the hurt from shining through at his actions and she knew that he was bound to be upset.

"Thomas and I have something to tell you," Rosemary said trying to sound more confident than she felt, she squeezed Thomas's hand when he took it glad that he was here with her. The look that appeared on her father's face scared Rosemary and she stepped back towards Thomas hoping that this was not going to end in tears so quickly especially with her mother here to give support. Colleen, Yvette, and Ellen hovered by the door waiting to hear what would be said and quickly jumped as Victoria signalled for them to head upstairs wishing to offer some privacy for what was about to happen.

"Upstairs now," Victoria snapped sending the younger Parker daughters scrambling up the stairs when her signal did not work and out of sight of the conversation taking place. There was silence in the room for a moment, Robert turning away from Rosemary as he moved towards the fireplace and rested his hands on top of it; his mind was racing and he could not understand why Rosemary had done this.

"Are you pregnant?" Robert asked trying to put his mind at rest, he knew that such a scandal could be the only reason that Rosemary would marry someone like Thomas especially when he had told her to stay away from him. He had always done his best for his four daughters, he had wanted better for them than what he'd had growing up and had hoped they would make good matches.

"No," Rosemary snapped a little angry that her father would jump to such a conclusion, she had not gone that far with Thomas before last night and she knew that she would have been ruined if she had. A baby out of wedlock was not something that Rosemary had ever wanted to experience, she did not think that she would have been able to give up her baby if she had become pregnant out of wedlock.

"Then why would you do this?" Robert thundered turning around to face them, his eyes searching his daughter for some sign that she hadn't lost her mind and gone behind his back to wed this man. Out of all his daughters, he had assumed that Rosemary would know better; surely, he had warned them all about such men and to avoid them at all costs.

Robert could not help but think back to when Peter had come to him and pleaded for Colleen's hand, he had been so respectful and had come with a plan on how he would support Colleen and any children that he might give her. He worked at the local corner shop and despite his reluctance to join the war effort Robert had high hopes that Peter would come around and do the right thing for their country.

"With all due respect Mr. Parker, Rosemary and I made the decision out of love for one another and as I am about to leave the country to fight for it, it felt like the right decision to make at this time," Thomas explained stepping in, his hand still held on tightly to Rosemary's so that she knew that she was not alone in this. They were in this together and Thomas knew that there was little that Robert could do now especially when they were wed with witnesses that could attest to their marriage being legal and binding.

"I love your daughter very much and would never seek to shame her, or your family in any way… I shall always do my best to support her and our family together," Thomas insisted wanting the man to understand that he would be true to his word. It was not easy and there was no telling what the future would hold but he swore that he would do his best to provide for her and keep a roof over their heads.

"Robert… Thomas is a good man, if Rosemary believes that he is worthy then who are we to deny them," Victoria stated trying to talk some sense into her husband, she could see the wheels in his head turning. It didn't take much to work out that she had been in on this little ploy, especially when she did not appear to be as upset with the news of the marriage and her absence for most of the day yesterday.

However, Victoria didn't get to say anymore as Robert raised his hand to strike her, she flinched back expecting him to strike before Thomas caught Robert's hand and stopped him. the two men stared at one another, no one having seen Thomas move across the living room to stop Robert from slapping his wife. Rosemary had taken a step forward to intervene, her eyes lingering on her mother for a moment before staring at her father in disbelief. He was a man known for his temper but she had never thought that he would strike out against her mother for standing up for her.

"I believe it is best if Rosemary and I take our leave now, Mrs Parker… our door shall always be open to you if you should need it," Thomas stated letting go of Robert's arm and turning to speak the last of his sentence to Victoria. He saw that there would be no peaceful resolution to this, the last thing that Thomas wished to do was cause further upset in the household than needed. Rosemary was someone that Robert could not touch, but the same could not be said for his wife and other children.

It was better if they took their leave now before the situation was escalated further and Thomas was sure that given a few days to calm down would solve this problem. Rosemary took Thomas' hand and offered her mother one last glance to make sure that she was okay before the two of them left the Parker home knowing that this was not how they had expected this conversation to go.

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