'I'm the slayer again.'

Tommy had to keep himself very still to stop himself from shaking with joy and relief. However, he let a thankful smile tug the corner of his lips up just as his brothers and Isiah all burst out in a fit of cheers and whoops before swooping down on Maddie to embrace her.

'It's good to have you back Mads!' exclaimed John as he lifted her into a bear hug and squeezed her tightly.

'It's good to be back,' she replied as she hastily wiped away a tear from her cheek as he put her down.

It was finally over, thought Tommy. The worst few weeks of his life were finally over; and just when he was starting to think Maddie would be stuck that way forever. He could feel his stomach beginning to relax out of the knot it had tied itself in since the night she lost her powers. It had been torture, for both of them since that night, more so for Maddie of course. But it had been far from easy for him to watch her deteriorate like she had in the space of weeks; watch her become almost emaciated from not eating and do nothing but sleep for eighteen hours of the day at her worst.

When her weight loss had started to become noticeable, Tommy was thankful for the private time he got at his office in Small Heath because for a couple of days he had to fight to stop the frightened tears that were angrily trying spill out of his eyes. However, the tears soon got their way when Maddie's arm continued to cause her excruciating pain despite the morphine, keeping the tears only for himself. Of course, he made sure that she was unaware that her condition was affecting him so, she needed to focus on getting better and not be concerned with how he was feeling.

Looking at her now, Tommy noticed that she still looked skeletal like; her cheeks were sallow with her cheekbones protruding. Her collar bone which was just visible through the collar of her shirt was fully defined, the end points sticking up on her shoulder line. He clenched his teeth as he pictured how her ribs and hip bones had become protruded over the last few weeks and were no doubt still doing so now even if her thick skirt and shirt were hiding it. The sight was still enough to make the back of his eyes sting, however the feeling receded when he noticed that her pale skin had regained a rosy redness around her cheeks that she had lost and that the muscles in her forearms looked solid a strong again.

When the cheering had died down a little, Maddie looked over at Tommy and smiled, noticing his usual stoic silence as these thoughts rambled through his mind. Her smile however shook him out of it, and he automatically opened his arms as she ran into them and buried her face in his neck. He took a shaky breath and closed his eyes before kissing her forehead tenderly.

'I'm sorry,' whispered Maddie after a few seconds, making Tommy furrow his brow and pull her away from him so he could look into her eyes.

'What for?' he asked.

'I must have caused everyone such pain over the past few weeks,' she said, casting an apologetic glance at the others before looking back at him. 'It must have been like looking after a sick child or something.'

Maddie looked down at her feet embarrassed, and Tommy glanced at his brothers and Isiah who were shaking their heads in unison before lifting her head back up to look at him.

'You don't need to apologise,' said Tommy. 'You're our family, and we take care of family.'

'That's right,' agreed Arthur stepping forward and putting a hand on her shoulder. 'We knew you'd come back to us eh. So, we don't want to hear another sorry word from you alright?' Maddie let out a snuffled laugh as she wiped away another tear before leaning in to hug Arthur again as he held his arms open. 'Although, you could do with putting on a few of those lost pounds,' he chuckled making the others smile and nod their agreement.

As if on cue, just as Arthur finished speaking, a loud gurgling noise sounded and echoed around the training room, taking everyone by surprise for a second until Maddie's eyes widened and she gripped her stomach and blushed. Everyone tried their best not to smirk except Tommy who put a hand on her shoulder.

'You alright?'

She rubbed her stomach and swallowed, 'Speaking of which, I'm fucking starving.' Then without warning, she began walking at a brisk pace out of the training room and they paused before they all went to follow her.

It wasn't yet dinner time, so Tommy had to order the kitchen staff to cook up a meal for Maddie as quickly as they could, a command they didn't look too pleased about, but they knew better than to kick up a fuss. They all sat at the table in the kitchen with a pot of tea as they waited, talking animatedly to Maddie about what she was going to do now her powers were back and what jobs in the business they needed her to help with, which she silently listened to. Tommy also remained silent and rested his hand on her leg tenderly which soon began to bob up and down restlessly as she waited for her food. She kept glancing impatiently toward the doorway through which the smells of the cooking were drifting, and it was soon obvious that she wasn't listening to his brothers and Isiah anymore.

'Fucking hell Mads,' laughed John, making her snap her head towards him. 'You really that hungry?'

She cast him an unimpressed look before sighing and pushing herself up to stand. 'I can't wait any longer,' she muttered before hurrying off into the other part of the kitchen. John raised his eyebrows and snickered as the rest of them, including Tommy, smiled knowingly at each other. A few seconds later they heard the cooks talking to Maddie, saying that the food wasn't ready and to go back and wait. After a pause a pleading call echoed through the doorway as her scurrying footsteps returned.

'Miss Maddie please, that's for this evening's dinner!'

Just then Maddie reappeared carrying a chopping board with a full loaf of bread on it with a butter dish in her other hand. She brought her spoils over to her seat hurriedly and sat back down, everyone watching with amusement as she immediately tore a large chunk out of the loaf and not bothering with a knife scraped the chunk over the top of the butter and put the whole thing in her mouth. She chewed quickly and swallowed the buttery chunk, a look a satisfaction spreading over her face as she proceeded to tear another chunk off.

The whole table then burst into laughter, including Tommy who tried his best to stop. It was the first time he'd laughed in weeks, and the sensation was unusual but welcome. Maddie stopped momentarily and looked around disgruntled and gave him a look of shock when she realised that he was also laughing. It was a relief seeing her eat again, even if she had discarded her table manners. Not that her etiquette was anything to write home about in the first place.

'What?!' she asked indignantly. 'You all try barely eating for weeks and then getting all this slayer power back in one go! You'd probably eat a horse if you could!' she exclaimed before stuffing the second piece into her mouth.

Her outburst only proved to make them laugh more and Tommy had to reach into his pocket for his cigarettes in the hope it would help him stop. Maddie didn't fail however to notice this and turned to him with an annoyed expression.

'That won't fool me you know,' she said. 'You can't hide your laugher with that stupid cigarette Tommy.'

John and Arthur were now nearly falling of their chairs with laughter and Maddie only managed to hold her annoyed expression for a second before her face softened and she joined in the laughter. However, she soon continued with her loaf of bread, which was bigger than her head, as the rest of them sipped tea and smoked as she ate. She quickly became oblivious to them as she focussed on the bread, at least opting to use a knife for the butter after a few chunks. However, by the time Tommy had finished his cigarette, she had gotten through the entire loaf of bread, and everyone looked at her in shock. He admitted that he had almost forgotten how good her appetite used to be, even so he was sure she wouldn't have been able to eat that amount that quickly before. She took a sip of tea and placed her hand on her stomach, only a few seconds passing before she glanced over toward the doorway again.

'Fuck me,' muttered Isiah, also noticing her fleeting glance. 'You can't still be hungry Mads?'

'Not as much as I was a minute ago,' she grumbled, blushing before sitting up straighter with a flush of confidence. 'But if I'm going to start patrolling again, I'll need to fill myself up as much as possible.'

Tommy looked at Maddie with a stern look with mention of the word 'patrolling'. Surely, she can't be planning on going out patrolling tonight? She had only just got her powers back and her fighting could be rusty. Not to mention she was still skin and bone, even if that wouldn't be the case for long if she was planning on eating a loaf of bread with every meal.

'Patrolling? Tonight?' questioned Tommy, his tone betraying his concern making the table fall silent.

Maddie turned to him with a raised eyebrow, 'Um… yeah. I am the slayer remember. Who has also been off the job for almost a month?'

'And that time could also have made you rusty,' he replied.

An angry huff escaped Maddie's nose and her nostrils flared, 'I'm not rusty.'

Tommy met Maddie's eyes sternly for a few seconds. She was more than likely right, but he couldn't help but think that taking one night to train and get back into the swing was the best course of action. He knew his caution was because of the incident in the house a week ago, when he had almost witnessed a vampire drain the life from her right in front of him. The vivid image of her even more bruised body after that night filled up his mind making him sick, and he clenched his jaw frustratedly as he noticed Arthur awkwardly reach for the whiskey on the side table and pour all of them a drink.

'Use the night to train and test yourself and go back out when you feel ready eh?' Tommy pleaded.

'I am ready!' retorted Maddie. 'I feel like my muscles are on fucking fire! If I don't go out patrolling, there's no way for me to burn off all this energy!'

There was a split second before Maddie's eyes flickered with realisation to what she'd unintentionally inferred, and she hastily looked away as Tommy's cock twitched in his trousers. Luckily the moment passed unnoticed by the others as just then the cooks finally brought in the food; a full plate of meat and veg for Maddie and some cheese and crackers for everyone else and the conversation quickly resumed. She quickly began eating her food, pointedly ignoring him as she did so. He lit up another cigarette to try and distract himself, refusing the cheese and crackers Arthur offered to him.

Tommy couldn't help but cast his mind back to the moment he and Maddie had in his office before the watcher attack. He had been so close to throwing her onto his desk and fucking her until she screamed when they had been interrupted by his brothers. Thinking about it, it had been nearly two weeks before then that he and Maddie had last had sex, meaning he had barely touched her in over a month. It didn't feel like it though, whilst she had been weakened, sex hadn't even occurred to him, the fear for her health blocking it out. But now the realisation as to just how long it had been dawned on him, he felt his cock begin to harden and throb between his legs making him cross them as inconspicuously as he could. No doubt this realisation had occurred to Maddie following her heated comment and she seemed to be making extra effort to focus on her meal, although it did nothing to stop the red blush from forming behind her ears and on the back of her neck. The sight of her pink skin didn't help, and his cock throbbed angrily. He needed to fuck her soon otherwise he'd lose his mind, it was like his sexual desire had been pushed into a dark forgotten pit and now it was a beast rearing its head, demanding its needs be met.

Maddie quickly neared the end of her meal although she seemed to slow down purposefully, as if to kill time a little longer. Tommy tried to catch her eyes, to get confirmation as to what he was suspecting. That she was playing her old games with him, trying to turn him on as much as possible and deny him his pleasure for as long as she could. But she kept her gaze away from his as she ate the last of her plate. Fine, thought Tommy. If she wants to play games.

Tommy let a devious look pass over his face which he quickly covered with his usual stoic glare, before moving his knee slightly outwards enough so it touched Maddie's. She didn't move her leg away, but he did notice her body tense momentarily, making him purse his lips in a slight smirk. He shifted a little more so their feet met side by side before slowly moving his hand down underneath the table, making out that he was putting his hand in his pocket. He rested his hand on his own knee for a second before sliding it slowly over to hers. He watched her silently as she flicked her gaze toward him without meeting his eyes and back to her plate again. He kept his hand in one place but began to slowly trace a circle with his finger on the inside of her knee, making his own heartbeat quicken now with anticipation. Maddie did a good job of ignoring Tommy whist she still had food on her plate, but she failed to hide her growing arousal once she had finished, a pink hue beginning rise on her chest under her shirt.

'You made short work of that Mads!' commented Isiah with a laugh. Maddie turned to him, looking pleased with the opportunity to distract herself making Tommy also look at Isiah with slight annoyance.

'Yeah,' she replied. 'Looks like my appetite…for food… has definitely returned.'

Maddie's emphasis seemed lost on the others, but Tommy knew it was intended for him as a smug smirk twisted her lips once Isiah had turned back to the conversation with John and Arthur. Tommy, who's cock was close to ripping his trousers open, took his opportunity to start moving his hand up her thigh, watching as her breasts rose and fell more rapidly as he reached the top of her stockings where her thighs were pressed together, stopping him from rising further. In one smooth motion he hooked his foot around her ankle and coaxed her leg open. She feigned resistance, tugging her leg in the opposite direction teasingly but ultimately let him spread her thighs apart so he could move his hand up toward the apex of her thighs. His fingers met the silk of her underwear and quickly registered that they were already wet through, and a wave of arousal rippled through his skin angrily. He pressed his finger firmly against the wetness where he knew her clit to be and felt more wet heat emanate from her pussy.

'Actually,' announced Maddie loudly, making Tommy withdraw his hand slightly to rest on her thigh again. 'I'm still a little hungry.'

Reaching her yellow bruised hand over the table, Maddie dragged the abandoned plate of leftover cheese and crackers towards her and began to eat it as an angry heat spread up Tommy's neck. She really knew how to wind him up.

'You must be joking,' laughed John with a shake of the head. 'You're only supposed to put the lost weight back on, not make yourself as big as a house!'

They all laughed together before Maddie gave John a sharp punch to the arm making him rub it, 'I'll have to eat way more than this to get fat with my metabolism!'

Whilst the three men were distracted with laughter at John's expense, Maddie finally turned to look at Tommy in the eye, a reignited confidence in her gaze. She just looked at him silently with a provocative smirk before moving her left hand swiftly underneath the table and palming his erection over his trousers firmly, making him stiffen in his chair but he refused to drop his gaze. She smiled again before slowly putting another cracker into her mouth and releasing his cock, turning back to the others. Hishand was still on her thigh, his little finger touching her wet underwear. He paused for a moment, forcing his jaw to relax before picking up his whiskey with his other hand to take a swig. Maddie was eating the crackers painfully slowly, buttering each cracker meticulously before adding a slice of cheese and eating them in two mouthfuls. This behaviour had gone on quite long enough.

He moved his hand back over her pussy again, pressing the heel of his hand against her clit. There was a sharp intake of breath from Maddie, and she hastily picked up her tea to take a sip, Tommy not even bothering to hide his smirk. He stretched his fingers out over her wetness to find the edge of her underwear and gradually began to pull it to one side to expose her to the cold air. Then her hand was on his wrist, grasping tightly and stopping his movement. He tried to resist but it was clear she wasn't going to let him this time. She removed his hand from between her legs before releasing her grip and pushing herself up to stand in one sudden motion.

Everyone looked up at her with raised eyebrows. 'Alright there Mads?' asked John.

'I'm fine,' she sighed a little too hazily, making them all cast each other knowing glances. 'Maybe that was a little too much food, I'm going to go and…' She gestured with her hand behind her toward the door. 'Walk…' she said, glancing at Tommy fleetingly. 'Walkit off…'

She lingered awkwardly for half a second on the spot before turning on her heel and marching out of the room, the others sniggering as she did so. Tommy's cock was like marble between his legs; he was unsure if he stood up that he wouldn't stumble over. He took his final swig of whiskey and cleared his throat.

'I could do with a walk too,' he announced, turning in his chair and standing, making sure the others wouldn't be able to see the erection stretching his trousers. They all failed to conceal their knowing laughter as he marched as fast as he could from the room and as usual John couldn't keep his mouth shut.

'Enjoy yourwalk!'

Tommy didn't really register John's joke as he had already begun to catch up with Maddie who was marching down the corridor ahead of him. She looked over her shoulder and gave him a provocative smile as she walked out into the foyer. Once he had made it into the foyer after her, he called out, 'Still planning on going patrolling? Sun isn't due to go down for a few hours.'

Maddie turned to face him but continued to walk backwards away from him, like she was drawing him in with and invisible rope. 'That depends,' she replied teasingly.

'On what?' he asked, already knowing where this conversation was going.

'On how much energy I have once the sun sets.'

Maddie continued to walk backwards and in the direction of Tommy's office, biting her lip as she cast her gaze down to his crotch and smiled hungrily. He picked up the pace slightly to try and close the space between them, but she only walked backwards faster to reach his office door and pushed it open. She came to a stop a few paces into the room and finally he caught up to her and came to stand in front of her, their chests touching slightly. He looked down into her eyes darkly and she met them unwaveringly, biting her lip again in the way she knew made him crazy. He lowered his head down so his lips were brushing hers temptingly and he heard her sigh wantonly against them.

'Do you know how long it's been?' he asked huskily, making Maddie shiver slightly with the sound.

'Five weeks. Thereabouts,' she whispered in reply before a short pause followed by a giggle as she brought her lips to his ear. 'Bet you've almost forgotten what it feels like.'

That was all he needed; he couldn't resist any longer. He snatched at Maddie's arms with a loud growl and crashed his lips to hers with a ravenous hunger. She wrapped her arms around his neck and didn't hesitate in kissing back, the two of them fighting to bite the other's lip within seconds. Tommy moved his hands down her back and over her backside before aggressively tugging her skirt up to her waist, making her let out a pleasured laugh against his lips. Fuck had he missed that sound.

Taking hold of her underwear, Tommy pulled and tore them and the seams, letting them drop to the floor as she giggled. 'Looks like you've forgotten how to take my underwear off at least,' she teased menacingly with a grin.

Tommy's hand roughly grabbing the sensitive skin of her thigh soon erased her grin and she couldn't stop her eyes closing with pleasure making him smirk victoriously. He glided his fingers up to her pussy which was now practically dripping with arousal, and he tenderly began sliding his index finger towards her opening. Her head began to fall backwards with the sensation, a soft moan escaping her lips. He pushed his finger inside and curled it upwards firmly, watching her face as her mouth dropped open in a pleasured moan.

'Doesn't look like I've forgotten how to make you moan, eh?' teased Tommy, not wanting their little game to end.

Maddie opened her eyes and looked at him with half-hearted annoyance before grabbing his cock and rubbing it, catching him off-guard so he was unable to contain a moan. 'Neither have I,' she replied.

Then she was pulling at his waistcoat, undoing the buttons and pulling it off him and Tommy did the same to her shirt. She pulled his suspenders down and undid his shirt, giving up half-way, content to pull it back over his shoulders enough to see his chest. He however wasn't prepared to settle for the same and tugged her shirt over her head before ripping the buttons off the back of her bra and throwing that aside also just as she had moved onto undoing his trousers. Before she could free him however, Tommy lowered himself down enough so he could suck one of Maddie's nipples into his mouth. She let out an erotic whimper as he ran a circle around it with his tongue before biting it firmly. He did the same to the other before ascending up to her neck, planting kisses all the way up before nipping her neck just under her ear. He could feel her begin to run her hand down his stomach and he responded by biting slightly harder on her neck. She slipped her hand under the waistband of his underwear and soon found his marble hard erection and grasped it hard before beginning stroke it gently. Tommy gritted his teeth as she worked him, not caring that pleasured moans followed by Romani curses were spilling from his lips.

Maddie pushed Tommy's head up to look at him, her eyes dark and hazy. 'I wish I knew what you were saying,' she whispered. 'When you speak Romani, it makes me so fucking horny.'

Another growl made Tommy's chest vibrate at her words and moved his hand back to her pussy to rub circles around her clit again, 'I said that I wanted to fuck you until you scream my name.'

'Then why aren't you?' she asked between uncontrolled moans.

Tommy lifted Maddie up and she wrapped her legs around him as he walked them over to the sofa, dropping them both onto it before kicking his trousers and underwear completely off. He brought his lips back to hers and kissed her violently, the act becoming painful as their lips began to bruise. With his hand, he pushed her knee up and back before taking his cock and positioning himself at her entrance, feeling the soft wetness inviting him in. She was gripping the longer part of his hair with her hand, keeping her lips against his, as she put her heel against the small of his back and began to coax him downwards. Soon he felt himself surrounded by her and swore loudly again in Romani, making her let out a heady laugh. She was right, he had nearly forgotten what it felt like. Pleasure waves surged through his body as he sank deeper inside of her, the feeling turning his brain to scrambled egg. He began to move his hips in a slow thrust, relishing the feeling even more before gradually picking up the pace.

'Ah… fuck….' moaned Maddie loudly, bringing Tommy close to the edge. He didn't slow however but picked up the pace and thrusted with more force, remembering what he had said in Romani a few minutes earlier. Shetilted her head back and grabbed the arm of the sofa with both hands, a moan which was closer to a scream filled the room.

'Fuck, Tommy! I'm gonna cum!' squealed Maddie, her thighs squeezing his waist painfully. The sound of her calling his name made Tommy's eyes roll into the back of his head as he finally came, erupting inside of her as she also reached her climax, her chest rising and falling rapidly against his.

After a minute of catching their breath, Tommy sat himself up and leaned his head back against the sofa with his eyes closed and smiled.

'I don't know why you're looking so smug,' said Maddie who sat herself up as he looked at her with his eyebrow cocked. 'That barely burned enough energy to make me sit still for five minutes,' she laughed and made to get up off the sofa, but he snatched her wrist had yanked her back onto his lap.

'Who said I was finished with you?'

Maddie scoffed, unimpressed. 'Like you said, there's a few hours until sunset. You won't be able to keep up with me for that long.'

Tommy chuckled as he grabbed her face harshly but playfully, squeezing her cheeks firmly and staring her sternly in the eye. 'We've got five weeks of fucking to make up for love,' he whispered seductively. 'You're staying with me all night.'

Tommy got his way in the end; Maddie didn't go patrolling that night. It took them until sunset to venture out of his office for dinner, his brothers and Isiah thankfully having the sense to have shown themselves out in that time. It took all of his stamina, but they fucked each other until the early hours of the morning until they finally both fell asleep. It was like he couldn't get enough of her; like the time they first fucked all over again. When morning came though, he wasn't at all surprised to find she was not next to him. She had probably woken early and had gone downstairs to train or go out riding, something he knew she had dearly missed over the last few weeks. He doubted that her high energy would die down any time soon, and if that meant more fucking like the night before, then he wasn't complaining.

Tommy got himself out of bed and got ready for the day in his usual manner before journeying downstairs. It was to be an unusual day work wise; he wasn't due to go into the office until that afternoon as he was expecting new candidates for the position of his new head housekeeper to arrive in an hour or so for interviews. He realised then that he had yet to tell Maddie this. Frances' death had been hard on her; something she had blamed herself for no matter how hard she had insisted she didn't. The experience of that night had evidently been traumatic, and he had avoided telling her about the interviews as she had still been weak, and he didn't want to remind her about Frances. However, he doubted Maddie would be impressed if she found out by seeing several strange women gathering in the house for what could only be one reason.

'Maddie is out in the stables sir as far as I know,' informed Harriet when Tommy had asked for Maddie's whereabouts. He nodded without a word and headed outside to search the stables and was pleased to see he had caught her before she had left on Luna. She turned and smiled as he walked in, momentarily distracting her from brushing Luna in her stall.

'Morning!' she chirped. 'We going to head to the office soon?'

'Aren't you about to go out riding?' said Tommy, coming over to stroke Luna on the nose.

'I already have,' replied Maddie. 'Just got back. I've been up since sunrise. I may as well come with you to the office and get back to my job. Must be a mountain of paperwork for me by now!'

Tommy nodded silently. He looked down at her right hand and saw that the bruising was almost gone. Looking even closer he could see that her cheeks seemed to have filled out slightly overnight and had to blink to make sure it wasn't a trick of the light. Noticing his silent gaze, Maddie blushed and laughed awkwardly.

'What you looking at?' she asked teasingly.

'You look better. Much better.'

She looked down at herself and back up at him, 'Really? I suppose it's hard for me to notice. Should be back to my old self in another couple of days! So, are we heading off soon?'

'No,' he replied, making Maddie look at him perplexed. 'There is some other business to attend to first.'

'Oh?'

Tommy took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it as Maddie waited patiently for him to elaborate. 'I'll be doing interviews in my office for the new head housekeeper.'

Maddie's brow creased slightly, and she looked down at her feet, 'You haven't mentioned that before.'

'I know,' he sighed. He put his hand on her shoulder gently and coaxed her to look up at him. 'I didn't want to remind you of Frances. Not while you were still weak.'

'It's okay…' she said, brushing him off with a weak smile and looking away.

'Hey,' said Tommy, taking Maddie's hand. 'Her death wasn't your fault.'

'I – I know,' she stuttered. 'But if I'd had my powers maybe she wouldn't be dead. I could've done something about it.'

'You didn't know she had invited a vampire in,' replied Tommy, shaking his head. 'Even if you were your normal self, you wouldn't have known in time.'

Maddie sighed and nodded, closing her eyes. Tommy glanced at his pocket watch; the candidates would be arriving soon, and he needed to make sure he was prepared. 'I need to get ready for when they arrive. Be ready to leave for the office at midday.'

'Okay,' she nodded as he began to walk out of the stable. 'That'll give me chance to do some research of my own before we leave.'

Tommy looked back at Maddie questioningly, his mouth open, ready to ask what she meant but stopped himself. He didn't have time to get into this discussion, he realised. She was likely referring to the demon cultists she had been looking into until a week ago and that was a long talk he couldn't afford to have with her in that moment. He turned again and continued out of the barn and back into the house when he couldn't help feeling that the cultists weren't the only thing Maddie was referring to. It wasn't a great leap for Tommy to conclude that the only other group that she had a grievance with was the Watchers, for obvious reasons, and wouldn't let what they had tried to do slide without repercussions. If she was indeed planning some kind of revenge, then the other thing that he had been keeping from her would soon come to light, and he was sure she wouldn't be pleased about it.

However, now wasn't the time to worry about that and he shook it from his mind as he entered his office. He pulled one of the chairs from around the room up to sit facing his in front of his desk ready for the first interview and sat himself in his chair. After putting his glasses on, he got the papers and references out of his desk for all the interviewees and re-read them, preparing any questions in his head as he waited for the first one to arrive.

'I was head housekeeper with the Buxtons for fifteen years until they moved away to Scotland,' whittered the woman sat opposite Tommy. 'In that time, I also helped care for their three children, so I have some experience with young ones.'

This woman, whose name was Iris, was in her late fifties. Here hair was greying, and the lines of age were appearing on her face. She had a sharp voice, authoritative, and sat with her back straight and shoulders pulled back. She had told Tommy that she was a widower with no children or indeed any close family to speak of so had no commitments outside of her work. The resemblance to Frances, both in appearance and background was plain and this realisation made him shift slightly in his chair. If Iris was anything like Frances, then she would make and exceptional housekeeper. However, he knew deep down that having Iris around would be a constant reminder for Maddie about Frances's death. Not to mention that if Maddie didn't get along well with Frances when she was alive, she may well not see eye to eye with Iris either.

'Thank you, Iris,' said Tommy clearing his throat and standing. 'That's all my questions for now. I'll have my secretary be in touch with a decision in due course.' He rounded his desk and shook Iris' hand as she stood.

'Of course, Mr Shelby,' she replied curtly.

Tommy led her to the door and held it open as she walked out, 'The lady in the foyer will show you out.'

He shut the door behind her and sat back down with a sigh, rubbing his hands over his face before lighting up a fresh cigarette. Iris had been the penultimate candidate, the women before her being not too dissimilar to her only less experienced. In honesty, he wasn't keen on any of them although he wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for. Maybe this last candidate would have what he was looking for. A minute passed and there was a knock at the door and Harriet entered followed by a woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties.

'Miss Parker for you, Mr Shelby.'

'Yes, come in,' ushered Tommy, standing again to greet the woman with a handshake. She took his hand and shook firmly with a warm smile.

'A pleasure Mr Shelby.'

Tommy nodded in response and indicated to the chair for her to sit. He noticed how her face was soft and motherly looking, whilst also gripping onto the beauty of youth. Her hair was dark brown, almost black in colour and had still yet to show signs of greying. Tommy cleared his throat and turned away to sit behind his desk, realising that he was looking at her more intently than he should. She sat down as he glanced at her references again and found that her first name was Esther, he looked back up her and saw she was waiting patiently for him to speak.

'May I call you Esther?' asked Tommy flatly.

'Of course,' she replied.

'It says here Esther that you have over ten years' experience as a housekeeper but looking at your face you don't look a day over thirty.'

Esther laughed bashfully at this and shook her head. 'I'm thirty-three,' she clarified. 'And I've been doing this job since I left school. My mother was a housekeeper for a large family, and I followed in her footsteps.'

Tommy nodded, considering Esther for a moment. She had a soft, calm voice but gave the impression that she could be harsh if needed. She reminded him a little of Ada if she were a few years older and remembered how well Ada and Maddie got along. Esther certainly seemed closer in temperament to Maddie and was certainly closer in age than the others. The only issue was that Esther was younger than a fair few of the house's staff and that wouldn't help in gaining their respect.

'Have you been head housekeeper of a house this size before?' questioned Tommy.

Esther betrayed a brief look of nervousness before answering, 'No, this would be the first time. But I have worked in a house this size for many years, and I am confident I know what the role entails.'

Tommy paused for a minute in thought. Esther would be a risk, but there was something about her that was different and fresh enough that was telling him that she would be a good fit. However, with his lifestyle and reputation, he needed to be sure where her loyalties lay.

'Do you know what I do, Esther?' asked Tommy evenly.

Esther met his eye and swallowed before nodding, 'Yes, Mr Shelby.'

'Then I assume you understand that what you might witness or even be involved in were you to be given the role, must be kept to yourself. I'm sure the consequences of speaking to anyone about these matters aren't lost to your imagination,' he said, locking his eyes with Esther's.

'Yes, I understand,' she replied, only a small quiver in her voice.

'Good,' said Tommy. 'That's all I need from you. Any questions?'

Esther paused before nodding, 'Your advertisement said that you have a young boy in the house and that the role would require some responsibilities caring for him. But you didn't specify if there is anyone else living in the house.'

Tommy removed his glasses and looked back at Esther blankly, 'There is Charlie and I as well as a young woman called Maddie. A number of the houses staff also reside here during the weekdays.' Esther nodded, looking like she wanted to ask another question but hesitated. 'Something else?' he asked.

'This Maddie,' began Esther. 'Is she your wife?'

Tommy looked back at Esther with a blank expression and cleared his throat, 'No.'

'Mistress?'

Tommy let out an annoyed huff from his nose to the word 'mistress' but didn't reply. He supposed by modern definition, that was the closest word to describe what Maddie was but at the same time it was far from it. She was more than a girlfriend, a very adolescent word as far as he was concerned, but without the formal title of wife, mistress was the most appropriate one. Then the idea of marriage with Maddie came back to Tommy, an idea which he had put aside for a while. It was now approaching a time where if he didn't propose, anyone outside his family would begin to talk, even more so that they already were, and possibly cause problems for them. He quickly pushed these thoughts aside; he didn't have time to think about that issue right now.

Noticing his annoyance, Esther was quick recover, 'I'm sorry, I only ask so that I understand what I might expect so as not to address anyone inappropriately.'

Recovering his stoicism, Tommy waved Esther's nervousness away, 'It's alright. She is not my wife or my mistress, but we are… intimate.'

A flicker of understanding passed over Esther's eyes and she nodded, seeming unperturbed by this admission which undoubtedly would have troubled Iris and the other older women just as it had Frances. Even if his ex-housekeeper had kept her opinions to herself over the past months.

'Say no more Mr Shelby, I make a point not to bother myself with the personal lives of my employers.'

Tommy let silence fall between the two of them for a few seconds, thinking over what she had said before coming to his decision.

'In that case I'd make sure you keep that up,' he said, making Esther look up. 'You're hired.'

Esther's eyes widened slightly in surprise before a bright smile lit up her face, 'Thank you, Mr Shelby! I wasn't expecting you to make a decision just like that.'

'I think you're what this house needs. Someone young who can see themselves here for a long time and who will be loyal to me and family.'

He said this with a slight tone of intimidation so Esther wouldn't be mistaken as to what he truly meant, and she nodded again with understanding. He stood and ordered her to follow him out of the office and into the foyer where Harriet was waiting.

'Harriet,' began Tommy. 'This is Esther, your new head housekeeper.'

Harriet's eyebrows raised slightly at his announcement, but she quickly set her features again and turned to greet Esther properly. Just then a set of footsteps on the stairs caught their attention and they looked up to see Maddie descending the stairs. She noticed them in the foyer and paused, a look of realisation passing over her features before she continued down the steps. Luckily it looked as though she had just bathed and was dressed for the office and not in muddy outdoor clothing. Esther would soon learn how peculiar Maddie was, but it was probably best for that shock to come later.

'Esther, this is Maddie,' Tommy introduced as Maddie came up to them. 'Maddie, this is Esther. Our new housekeeper.'

Maddie gave a nervous smile to Esther, 'Hi.'

'Pleased to meet you Miss…' began Esther, holding out her hand and faltering as she struggled to address Maddie without knowing her last name.

'Oh – call me Maddie,' interjected Maddie, taking Esther's hand. 'Or Miss Maddie if you want, that's what all the other staff call me.'

'Okay Miss Maddie,' smiled Esther.

'Harriet,' said Tommy, catching the maid's attention. 'Please show Esther around the house and where she will be staying.' He turned to Esther then, 'Can you start this evening?'

'Oh – er… yes, but I will need to gather my things from home.'

'Harriet will call a driver to take you home once she has shown you around.'

Harriet and Esther nodded before Harriet led her away to begin an initial tour of the house, leaving Maddie and Tommy alone in the foyer.

'She seems nice,' said Maddie. 'Younger than the rest.' Tommy let out a huffed laugh and allowed himself to smile.

'Were you spying on them?'

Maddie looked up at Tommy sheepishly, 'I only got a look at a couple of them. The last one looked too much like Frances.'

'I know. But it seems like you and Esther would get along.'

'Yeah, I'm sure we will.'

'How did your research go?' asked Tommy, keeping his eyes on the road ahead of him.

'Okay, I guess,' replied Maddie. 'I'm going to go patrolling in town tonight. Make a visit to a couple of places I know the demons around Birmingham hang around. Now I know more about these cultists, I should be able to find out where they're hiding.'

Tommy didn't respond, just kept his eyes ahead at the road. He was anxious about her going back out patrolling for the first time, but not enough to protest. She seemed focussed, the most focussed he'd ever seen her, and he doubted that she would be in any danger as long as she didn't do anything rash. She fell silent as well and he began to think that his earlier suspicion about her planning something else had been wrong when she turned to him with a serious expression.

'I'm going to go and stay in London for a couple of days later in the week,' she said, and Tommy knew he had been right. 'I've already asked Ada if I can stay with her.'

Tommy clenched his jaw and swallowed. He knew it, she was planning on visiting the Watchers. Only there was a problem that she was currently unaware of that would make that difficult, or more likely dangerous.

'What for?' asked Tommy tersely, wanting her to confirm her plan in words. She looked at him confused, like he should know why she would want to go to London

'To pay Mr Travers a visit obviously,' she said. 'I'm not letting what they did to me slide.'

Tommy sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. He had to tell her; she needed to know the truth. He took a deep breath to ready himself, now regretting keeping this information from her until now.

'What… what is it?' asked Maddie after noticing his odd reaction.

'Mr Travers is dead,' stated Tommy flatly.

A silence fell in the car for several seconds as Maddie looked back at him in shock. Tommy said nothing, just waited patiently for her response.

'What did you do?' she asked, the puzzle pieces evidently falling quickly into place in her head. He sighed, anticipating the storm that was about to erupt.

'After that night they sent those men to take you, I sent spies to London to watch the Council. They fed me information about when different members came and went. Including Mr Travers,' began Tommy. He glanced over at Maddie who was staring at him silently, a dangerous look in her eye before looking back at the road and continuing. 'I came up with a plan to have Mr Travers and one of the others jumped on their way home by Arthur and a few men. They were only supposed to threaten Mr Travers. I knew if they killed him, it would create a lot of problems for us, so I ordered the other man to be killed in front of him as a message. But the mistake was in sending Arthur…'

'Jesus,' muttered Maddie, putting her face in her hands.

'Travers wasn't easily threatened. Wound Arthur up and pushed him to the point where he shot him as well.'

'And you're only telling me this now?!' burst Maddie angrily. 'Do you have any idea what kind of shit we're in because of you?!'

'I didn't want to tell you-.'

''Whilst I was so weak,'' parroted Maddie bitterly. 'I had a right to know about this. I'm all about revenge Tommy but these guys are serious people. I don't have the power to fight them if they decide to retaliate, which they definitely will!' She ceased her outburst and slumped back into her chair with a huff, leaning her head back with a pained expression. Tommy let himself relax; his body having tensed up with her furious words. He couldn't deny she was right. He'd made a dire mistake. He and his brothers had been so hell bent on getting revenge themselves, they hadn't thought through the consequences thoroughly. 'And fucking Arthur, what was he thinking?!' she after a minute. 'Fuck… the fuck am I going to do now?'

Tommy wanted to say that he'd take care of it, but the words wouldn't come. He knew any more involvement from the Peaky Blinder's would only make matters worse. He could only hope that Maddie could think of a way to put out the fire. They sat in silence for the rest of the journey, Maddie spending it all staring out of the window in deep thought, her face creased with stress as what must have been a hundred different options ran through her head. When they arrived at the office and pulled up, Arthur, John and Polly came out of the door before he had even turned the engine off.

'There's our Mads!' greeted Arthur loudly with open arms as they got out of the car. 'Back at the office again!'

Tommy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head at Arthur in an attempt to try and warn him. He looked over at Maddie as she got out of the car and looked at Arthur with a thunderous expression. Arthur's face dropped a little on seeing her face and creased his eyebrows in question.

'What's going on?' he asked as Maddie approached him. Before he could say anything else she lifted her fist and punched him sharply in the nose. Not enough to knock him over but it was enough to make him yelp and cover his nose with a groan. John was quick to step between them before she decided to throw another shot and placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back a step. Polly just watched on unamused as Tommy caught up to them.

'The fuck was that for?!' asked Arthur angrily, his hand over his nose still.

'Mr Travers,' stated Maddie flatly. Arthur opened his eyes and looked at her with realisation before casting the same look at Tommy. John also gave the same look to him and to Polly, who rolled her eyes in a 'told you so way'. Maddie noticed this and turned to Pol.

'You knew as well?!' she asked.

'I did. I warned them you wouldn't be happy about it,' said Pol. 'I was going to tell you, but they made me keep it quiet until'the time was right''.

Maddie shook her head and huffed in disbelief; the initial anger now dissipated and cast them all disappointed looks. Arthur removed his hands from his face to reveal a trickle of blood coming from his nose and took out his handkerchief to wipe it away. She looked up at Tommy briefly, pursing her lips in frustration before turning away.

'I need a walk,' she said and began walking away down Watery Lane at a brisk pace.

Tommy instinctively went to follow her but was stopped by Polly's hand on his arm. 'Let her go Thomas,' she sighed. 'Let her cool off.'

'Why did you tell her?' asked John once Maddie was out of earshot.

'She was planning to go to London to see Mr Travers. She needed to know,' sighed Tommy angrily.

'I did warn the three of you, but as ususal you never bloody listen to me!' snapped Pol impatiently before going back inside as the others followed.

Maddie was only gone for a couple of hours and soon reappeared in the office looking considerably calmer. She walked into the office as Tommy was discussing something with Lizzie and he watched as she sat herself at her desk and began looking through a pile of paperwork which had built up over the past few weeks. Lizzie looked at her with a contemptuous expression and went back to her work as Tommy approached her desk.

'You alright?' he asked.

Maddie looked up at him and offered a small smile, 'I no longer feel like I want to rip all your heads off so… yeah, I'm alright.'

He nodded slowly, 'Are you still going to go to London?'

Maddie bit her lip in thought for a moment before smiling more widely this time.

'Uh huh,' she nodded. 'What you did was stupid, idiotic at best, but I think I might be able to make this work out for us in the end.'

'How?' asked Tommy looking perplexed.

'By telling them I was the one who ordered Arthur to kill Mr Travers.'