The Slayer and the Blinder

by StoryQueen2

Maddie is 2020's current chosen one: The vampire slayer. Until she is pulled through time to 1924 and the world of the infamous Peaky Blinders. Years and dates are an estimation so don't judge me too harshly! Initial slow burn romance with some eventual regular smut so read at own risk.

26. Important Dates

The remainder of that weekend progressed a lot faster than Maddie wanted. Sure, she no longer had the secret of her implant looming over her like the sword of Damocles, but she was still apprehensive about having her and Tommy's engagement being announced in the newspapers. She knew her perfect little bubble of happiness she had been living in for the past few weeks would be shaken, if not burst, by the real reality of what being Thomas Shelby's fiancé meant. When Monday came and everyone was sat round at breakfast, Maddie finally came face to face with what she was fearing printed on the thin, powdery paper of the morning newspaper.

Engagement Announcements

Mr Thomas Shelby has announced his engagement to Miss Madeline Chapman which took place in late September of this year. The wedding is set to take place in January of the new year.

As she stared at the black and white print on the page, she finally learnt how significant her being a person from the future had been. Up until now, her identity had been shrouded in anonymity. She essentially did not officially exist and therefore she had been able to go about unhindered and unidentifiable in the world. Like a living ghost. Something she was now also realising had felt impossibly freeing. Well, that was now at an end, and everybody of any importance would know who she was.

'You okay Mads?' asked Ada, who was sat next to Maddie at the table and who had likely been watching her with some concern as she stared at the words on the page.

'Oh! Erm… yeah, I'm fine. It's just strange seeing my name printed on something so official,' replied Maddie before she glanced over at Tommy who gave her a small twitch of a smile.

'It'll be alright,' encouraged Ada. 'I'm going to stay here at Arrow House for a few days to help you get into the swing of answering letters.'

'You mean, they'll start arriving so soon?' asked Maddie, unable to keep the nervousness from her voice.

'I wouldn't be surprised if a telegram or two came today, Mads,' chipped in John, who for once was trying his best not to be immature and teasing about the situation and gave her a sympathetic smile.

Maddie felt her stomach turn uncomfortably and shuffled in her chair. She wasn't ready. She wasn't ready for any of this in the slightest. But she wouldn't be able to avoid it forever, so facing it sooner rather than later was probably for the best. However, as a slayer, she had been used to being a shadowy figure whose identity was never put into the spotlight as it were, so she was going to have to figure this shit out, and fast.

Her and Tommy had already discussed what to do if anyone questioned Maddie's background, which they likely would considering the horrendous conversation she'd had with the war widows at the orphanage opening. She shouldn't have been at all shocked to hear that Tommy had in fact made up a realistic, if slightly mundane, history for her that she would need to act as if were true if she wanted to avoid suspicion. This tale even begun from her birth all the way to the present day. According to Maddie's age, Tommy had easily figured out that her birth year would have been 1899 if she had in fact been born in this era and had used his numerous contacts to have a birth certificate forged for her. He had also manged to forge several other documents that had never existed in order to create a believable paper trail that suggested that she had always existed in this time. These included things like rental contracts for places she never lived; copies of pharmacy prescriptions she never had and bank statements from an account she never owned.

Suddenly, Maddie's existence in this time had reached a whole new level of real and it was making her more on edge than she liked to admit. He had orchestrated an entire life seemingly out of nowhere and it made her shudder as she realised just how much influence Tommy truly had. He had instructed her to learn the story of her false life to the last detail, so that if questioned, she could respond calmly and with confidence. It did make her a little sad that she wouldn't be able to talk about her true past with anyone except the Shelby's, but at least that was better than nothing.

Maddie hated seeing Tommy and the others off as they left for the office that morning. The last thing she wanted was to be faced with whatever telegrams and letters that might arrive that day without him by her side.

'Don't worry, eh?' he whispered as he kissed her forehead tenderly. 'You'll have Ada to help you, she'll know what to say in response to any letters alright?'

'Okay Tommy,' nodded Maddie, who did feel a little better at being reminded about Ada.

Soon after they had left, Zach arrived who looked pleased to see Maddie although his oddly nervous look told her that he had already seen the morning paper.

'Congratulations on the announcement,' he said after a moments pause as they greeted each other in the foyer. 'You must be pleased.'

'Thanks,' said Maddie with a meek smile. 'I think I am pleased but…'

'You are concerned that all attention will be on you,' stated Zach without hesitation, making Maddie look up at him in surprise.

'How did you…?'

'I have already put a lot of thought into this Maddie,' responded Zach with a warm smile. 'The life of a slayer is meant to be one of secrecy and anonymity. It was clear that you were not going to be swayed on your engagement so I have had to think about how we will keep your duty a secret going forward. I have even had a hand in helping Thomas create your identity.'

Maddie blinked in shock, Tommy had failed to tell her this although she was sure he and Zach had kept it to themselves so as not to overwhelm her unnecessarily.

'What about the Council?' she asked. 'Do they know?'

'I informed them about your engagement the day we met, and I have told them since that you won't be swayed on the matter,' continued Zach. 'I have already discussed with Mr Wolton the difficulty this will present to us regarding your identity as a slayer and he in fact has pulled a few strings himself. Even he admitted that letting you marry someone with such a high profile with no evidence of you ever existing was too much of a risk.'

Maddie let out a disbelieving chuckle at what she was hearing. The Council had actually done something to support her in her personal life, when she had expected them to try and sabotage her engagement at every turn. This news put her at immediate ease, and she sighed a big, long sigh of relief.

'I wasn't expecting any of that but boy am I glad to hear it,' she said happily as Zach gave her a quiet nod.

'Let's start your training,' he said, changing the subject. 'I have a lot planned for the morning.'

The morning's training went by without interruption and Maddie had even manged to forget about the engagement announcement for a couple of precious minutes until it reached midday. Shortly before they were due to finish for a lunch break, she heard the sound of brisk heels marching toward the training room and Esther entered, interrupting the last of Maddie's sword drills.

'Excuse the interruption,' said Esther apologetically. 'But some telegrams have just arrived for you Maddie.'

Maddie's heart jumped and tried its best to claw its way up her throat which she stubbornly swallowed back down to where it belonged with a gulp. She gave Zach a nervous look which he returned with an understanding smile.

'It's alright,' he said. 'You go and attend to that and I'll tidy up and prepare for later.'

Maddie nodded but secretly wished for once that Zach had demanded she stay down in the basement for the rest of the day and maybe even into tomorrow if it meant she didn't have to face those telegrams. With a nervous huff, she joined Esther in leaving the training room and headed toward the sitting room where Ada had been relaxing for the morning. She was sat at the small table in the corner with a pile of letters and telegrams in front of her which Maddie guessed she had been given by Esther to look after whilst she went to get her. Maddie eyed the pile of letters with apprehension before huffing to herself angrily. For fucks sake Mads, it's just a pile of paper and ink, it's not going to bloody bite you!

Ada gave her a cheerful smile as she sat down next to her and she pushed the letters across the table so they were in front of her. 'May as well get started,' she said before setting a blank sheet of paper and a pen on the table also. 'It may be useful to make a note of who has written and if you need to respond so you don't get confused.'

'Oh, we don't want that,' mumbled Maddie sarcastically and Ada chuckled heartily.

Maddie picked up the first item of the pile which was a telegram judging by the words 'Post Office Telegram' that was printed at the top of the small piece of paper. She had never received a telegram before and had only heard the term in old black and white movies, so she was unsure of what the etiquette was. Back home, she was used to receiving messages on her mobile and wondered if like that, it wasn't always necessary to reply to the person depending on the message. She read the short, typed note that was written beneath the heading and sighed.

Dear Miss Chapman,

Congratulations on your engagement. My husband and I look forward to meeting you in the near future.

Regards,

Mrs Jean Slattery.

'Um… do you know who this is?' asked Maddie, showing the note to Ada who skim read it swiftly and nodded.

'Mr Slattery works with Tommy, he owns some factories in Birmingham but most of his factories are in Coventry. His wife is a decent woman, you should reply to her.'

'Okay,' nodded Maddie, putting the telegram to one side and writing a note on her piece of paper.

Once the first telegram was out of the way, Maddie found it easier to address the others in the pile and soon sorted them into two piles according to whether they required a reply or not. In amongst them was a single more formal looking letter that was addressed to both her and Tommy which both she and Ada scrutinised.

'How did someone get a letter to us that quickly?' asked Maddie. 'I thought they took longer than telegrams?'

'They do,' replied Ada. 'Perhaps this letter was prepared ahead of the announcement with instructions to be delivered once it was made. Go on, open it.'

Ada sounded impatient with her own curiosity and Maddie opened the envelope and pulled out a sheet of paper. As she pulled it out, a small rectangular piece of card fell out of the envelope onto the table and she retrieved it, holding it up so both she and Ada could read it.

Mr Thomas Shelby and Miss Madeline Chapman,

I formally invite you to attend my Christmas party on the 23rdDecember at my home Longleat House. Please arrive between the hours of 3pm and 5pm in order for dinner to be served promptly.

Yours Gratefully,

May Fitz Carleton.

Maddie's eyes lingered on the name signed at the bottom of the card before she let out a mournful groan. Great, of the people that had to invite them to a Christmas party, it had to be one of Tommy's former lovers.

'Your first invitation,' commented Ada who took the slip of card from Maddie and appraised it. 'I'll help you write the response for this one.'

'Who said I even want to go?' asked Maddie indignantly, sounding much more childish than she intended.

Ada gave her an amused look. 'Tommy would want the two of you to attend. May Carleton always invites many influential people to her parties that he wouldn't want to miss the chance to meet. Plus, the earlier you get into the good graces of her social circle the better.' Urrgg. Maddie was already starting to resent this new element of her life before it had barely begun. 'What does the letter say?'

Maddie had almost forgotten about the accompanying letter that came with the invitation and she unfolded the paper to read the handwritten message that was written in the same elegant handwriting as the invitation.

Dear Madeline,

First of all, congratulations on your engagement to Tommy. I apologise for not congratulating you in person myself at the races. I must admit the proposal took me by surprise and I was unfortunately tied up with various matters over the course of that afternoon.

Please find your invite to my Christmas party enclosed. I hope you can forgive me for not wanting it delivered to you until your engagement was officially announced. Afterall, one cannot always guarantee these things will turn out as planned. As you and Tommy will be travelling a long way, you will of course be expected to stay the night as my guests.

I look forward to speaking with you at length when the time comes.

Kind Regards,

May Fitz Carleton.

Maddie read the letter twice to be sure she hadn't imagined the passive aggressive undertones of what was written, and she felt her nostrils flare angrily. She had called her 'Madeline', which always made her blood boil, and'took her by surprise', what was that supposed to mean? Now she really didn't want to go to this party.

'What does it say?' asked Ada. Maddie handed her the letter and waited for her to read it before snorting indignantly.

'"One cannot always guarantee these things will work out as planned,"'whined Maddie, mimicking May's irritating posh accent venomously. 'I ought to give her a good slap when I see her.'

Ada chuckled as she put the letter down on the table. 'I'm afraid a lot of your interactions with people will go like this. Especially with the upper classes. Don't worry Mads, I'll help your write something that will get back at her.'

Maddie smiled slyly and sat forward eagerly to start writing her replies to her mail when Zach walked in.

'Maddie, we need to get back to training soon. Get something to eat and join me downstairs,' he instructed.

She looked over to Ada who waved her away with a smile. 'Go, it's alright. We'll have plenty of time this evening to reply to these.'

With a sigh, Maddie got up and trundled out of the room to the kitchen for a swift lunch before going back downstairs for an afternoon of training which went by in a flash, five o'clock soon arriving and bringing an end to her training.

'Good work today,' said Zach. 'Remember tomorrow night you need to patrol until late, so we won't train all day.'

Maddie couldn't decide if this was good news or bad news. An afternoon off would give her time to address what further letters she would probably receive tomorrow, but on the other hand, she wouldn't say no to an excuse for her to shun that duty if she could after what had arrived in the post that day.

After seeing Zach out, she went and found Ada again in the sitting room and they began to write replies to the telegrams, leaving May's letter until last, whilst they waited for Tommy to get home. The telegrams were actually fairly straight forward to respond to, needing only a few simple words of thanks and niceties. They drafted them all on a piece of paper for one of the house's staff to take to the post office in the morning to be sent on to their recipients. The two of them had a good laugh at the fact that Maddie hadn't realised that telegrams were sent via telegraph from one post office to another and transcribed before being delivered to the recipient and not by calling for a random man to come to the house and take the telegram all the way himself in person.

When it came to writing the reply to May's letter however, Maddie struggled to get to grips with it. The first issue was her handwriting. Since the telegrams would by typed at the other end, her handwriting hadn't mattered, but when it came to writing a more formal letter, apparently quality and neatness were everything.

'Bloody hell, Maddie,' exclaimed Ada. 'Who on earth taught you to write like that?'

'What's wrong with it?' replied Maddie, looking confused.

'Your writing is so big and round.'

'Well, I never learned to write elegantly at school, it isn't seen as that important in the future I guess,' she admitted and the two of them laughed hopelessly.

'Try to copy May's handwriting, join your letters together.'

Maddie sighed and nodded before starting her letter again on a fresh sheet of paper, writing slowly and meticulously so she created a much neater and presentable attempt. When it came to what to write, Ada guided her through it, helping her with what words and phrases to use including slipping in a few pointed remarks that emulated the vibe of what May had written. Soon, they had a well written reply that made Maddie seem classier and more elegant than she actually was and she re-read it with a proud smile.

Dear May,

Thank you for your gracious letter and for your kind invitation. I too regret that we didn't get chance to talk more at the races but I'm sure we will have plenty of chances to talk at your party which Tommy and I will of course attend. I wouldn't want to miss what I'm sure will be an interesting occasion.

Do not apologise for delaying your letter to me, I would have done the same if our roles were reversed.

Tommy and I will see you in December.

Best Wishes,

Maddie Chapman.

Maddie couldn't bring herself to sign the letter with her full name even though she knew she ought to have. Well, sod it, she thought. She preferred Maddie and she would be damned if she was going to call herself Madeline in her own bloody letters.

As she finished checking over her letter, car headlights shone through the window behind them, and they knew that Tommy was finally home. Thank God, praised Maddie, all of that letter business had made her practically ravenous over the past two hours so all she could think about was dinner. She waited until she heard his footsteps heading in the direction of the sitting room before getting up to greet him as he walked in. His handsome yet stony face was a welcome sight and she walked into his arms which he held open for her, placing her hands on his shoulders and resting her head on his chest. He didn't say anything straight away but just held her and planted a kiss to the top of her head. Eventually, he pushed her away and lifted her head up with his finger under her chin.

'Did you get any post?' he asked softly. Maddie knew he must have already seen the pile of telegrams on the table that Ada was still sat at and was only asking out of formality, but she nodded anyway.

'Mm-hm,' she mumbled, not wanting to leave Tommy's arms as his suit as ususal smelled of the irresistible whiskey and cigarette combination.

Tommy pursed his lips together in a fleeting smile and kissed her forehead. 'Show me.'

Sighing, Maddie let him lead her back to the table before he put on his glasses and picked up the pile of telegrams and sifted through them at a quick pace, not giving any indication whether he was happy or not with any of them.

'Oh, and I got this too,' said Maddie, handing May's letter and invitation to him.

Tommy skim read the invitation first and this time his face betrayed what Maddie hoped his reaction would be. His jaw muscles tensed and flexed for a second and she had to stifle a smile as he quickly moved onto May's letter. An irritated sigh escaped him as he read it and glanced down at Maddie who was watching him read with curiosity and an ounce of amusement at the fact that he had obviously noticed the bitter edge to May's words.

'Have you sent a reply yet?' he asked stonily, and she handed him the letter she had just finished writing. He appraised her letter with a blank expression and she shuffled nervously, hoping it was good enough.

'I said we would be going to the party,' said Maddie as he read. 'We guessed that you would want the chance to speak to the other guests who could be useful contacts.'

'Yes,' replied Tommy with a nod. 'It will be a good opportunity for you to foster some contacts as well.'

Maddie felt her stomach sink a little. Great, it was one thing being polite to these people, but trying to make actual friends?

'Okay,' she sighed, sounding a little disappointed that Tommy hadn't in fact said that he didn't want to go to the party. He must have picked up on this as he turned his attention away from the letter and placed it back on the table.

'We have time to plan and practice before then,' soothed Tommy, cupping Maddie's face in his hands. 'And we'll be going together anyway, eh?'

That was true, Tommy would be by her side for most of that night. She doubted that she would get away with gluing herself to him, but she could at least keep him close by. However, she needed to make sure she practised enough so that there wouldn't be a repeat of the incident at the orphanage opening, that was for sure.

'Is the letter I wrote alright?' she asked, hoping that she wasn't about to be humiliated.

'It's fine,' replied Tommy. 'Ada taught you well.' Maddie looked over at Ada who smiled and rolled her eyes at them. 'I got some telegrams at the office myself. I expect we will get more tomorrow.'

'Oh, joy,' mumbled Maddie sarcastically.

Tommy's prediction was of course correct. The following day, Maddie received what must have been three times the number of letters and telegrams she had received the day before which took her and Ada a considerable amount of time to sort through. Tommy had even had to help that evening before she was due to go on patrol as they had only managed to get through half of them by the time he got home. This volume of post continued for the entire week and she had decided that she needed to invest in an address book as all the names began to blur together pretty quickly.

Amongst the post were a handful of further invitations for various charity dinners and such, some that included Tommy and some that didn't. One included an invite to a lunch with the war widows which made Maddie shiver as she read it. She tried to make and excuse to get out of it, but Ada convinced her to accept it. The widows were important sponsors for the Grace Shelby Institute, so maintaining a good relationship with them would be important since Tommy had made her the head of the charity.

Maddie had been reluctant to take up this particular job, finding the idea of running the charity that was named after Tommy's dead wife very weird, to put it mildly. However, he had in fact encouraged her to take on the role, saying that having her do it was a way of her showing respect for Grace in a way. He also made it clear that she was one of the few people he trusted to do the job and their closeness would mean he could keep an eye on the charity as well. It had taken her a while to get past the sickening feeling this responsibility gave her which was then replaced with a constant underlying feeling of stress.

The juggling act of her training with Zach and attending to her new responsibilities soon began to wear Maddie down so she was thankful that by the weekend, the volume of post she got seemed to die down and allowed her room to breathe. It was a good job too because Ada had eventually returned home to London by that point meaning she was no longer there to watch over her, although Ada trusted that she had gotten the hang of it by that point. However, nearly every waking minute was spent working in some way and the days passed by quickly so that by the time Maddie's birthday came around she had completely forgotten about it.

'Morning!' greeted Maddie that morning as Zach entered the training room. She had been awoken early that morning by Tommy running his hands all over her before fucking her so hard that her skin felt like it was charged with electricity. It wasn't unusual for them to have morning sex, but she had noticed that he was oddly enthusiastic and passionate for such an early hour and wasn't entirely sure why. However, her only option afterward had been to make a start on her warm-up to distract herself from her unwaning arousal he had caused as a result.

'Good morning,' replied Zach, looking a little surprised to see she was already looking slightly sweaty although he thankfully didn't ask where her early morning energy had come from. 'Have you warmed up?'

'Yep!' sang Maddie. 'I'm ready to go!'

'That's good,' chuckled Zach. 'I'm sure you want to finish as soon as possible so you can enjoy your afternoon off?'

'Huh?' she asked, her brow furrowing. 'Afternoon off?'

Zach looked back at her perplexed before laughing with amusement. 'Did you forget? You wanted the afternoon off today.'

He pointed to the calendar on the wall and Maddie looked over to it, her eyes landing on the current day, the 10thNovember, where she had written 'MADDIE'S BIRTHDAY!' at the top. She quickly recounted the days of the month in her head to be sure that it was indeed the tenth and gasped once before laughing at herself. Well, that explains what had gotten into Tommy that morning, she thought. But he hadn't actually wish her happy birthday. She frowned to herself but quickly put a smile back on her face when she remembered that Tommy wasn't a birthday person.

'Happy Birthday by the way,' said Zach as Maddie stared at the calendar gormlessly. She felt his hand rest on her shoulder softly and she turned to smile at him.

'Thanks.'

Maddie paused, half expecting Zach to pull a gift out of his pocket but he didn't and instead turned to walk over to the weapons cabinet. She sighed quietly, the child in her desperately wanting a present to unwrap with giddy excitement. Yes, she was an adult and couldn't exactly expect a sack full of presents anymore, but she still liked the novelty of unwrapping at least one gift. He opened the weapons cabinet and pulled out the crossbow before throwing it to Maddie who caught it easily.

'Put your coat on, we'll be practicing outside today.'

Training outdoors was always a refreshing change, even when it was wet and cold like that day. Maddie was used to the weather on her birthday being like this, so she had learned not to let it get her down. Zach had her practice shooting moving targets, namely birds and rabbits which he frightened out of hiding by disturbing the bushes and trees in the forest on the outskirts of the house. The animals flitted and dived in between the trees rapidly, making them surprisingly difficult targets. She wasn't overly keen on shooting the animals but admitted that they could at least take them back home to be used for dinner and not go to waste.

They returned to the house at about half past eleven, finishing the training slightly earlier than expected. They entered through the kitchen entrance, and she handed the various kills she had made to the kitchen staff before they headed toward the foyer.

'I'll take the crossbow downstairs,' said Zach. 'You go and get ready for your afternoon.'

He smiled kindly and Maddie handed him the crossbow happily. 'Thanks.'

At that moment, Esther walked into the foyer on her way to the kitchen and Maddie gave her a smile and a wave. Esther returned the smile before her gaze flicked to Zach followed by a pause. Maddie looked back at Zach and caught what she thought was a small, almost imperceptible nod of his head in Esther's direction. She looked toward Esther who quickly continued her path down the corridor and the moment had passed. That was odd, thought Maddie.

'I'll see you tomorrow, Maddie,' chirped Zach as if nothing had happened, making her blink and shake off her momentary bewilderment.

'Er, yeah, see ya,' she said as Zach pulled the crossbow strap over his shoulder and walked away from her toward the cellar door.

Deciding she must have imagined Zach's strange head nod; Maddie made her way upstairs to the bedroom and immediately started to strip herself of her clothes and hurried to get washed. She was suddenly full of excitement as of what to do for the day. Forgetting that today was her birthday meant she hadn't planned anything with her afternoon and now had to think of something to do. She was a bit sad that Tommy and the others were working all day and wished that they had taken they day off so they could do something together but remembered that birthdays in general weren't taken as seriously in this time period. It was just another day after all, and to be honest, did she really feel that much different than she did yesterday? Well, maybe I don't, concluded Maddie, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna sit in the house all afternoon!

Maddie sat at the dressing table with her dressing gown on, looking at her reflection in the mirror in thought as she brushed her hair, trying make her mind up as to what to do. She debated whether to go into the city and just walk into an expensive restaurant and have lunch by herself and had almost talked herself into doing just that when there was a knock at the bedroom door.

'Come in,' called Maddie, recognising Esther's soft respectful knock.

'Pardon me, Maddie,' said Esther as she entered. 'But Mr Shelby is on the phone and wishes to speak with you.'

Maddie turned quickly on her stool with a new smile on her face. Maybe he's decided to wish me happy birthday!

'Okay,' she said before drawing her dressing gown further around herself and heading toward the door.

She went to Tommy's office barefoot, a sight which all the houses' staff were used to by now, and found the phone on his desk off the hook. She picked it up and brought the receiver to her ear.

'Tommy?' asked Maddie, a slight sing-song tone in her voice that betrayed her optimism.

'Have you finished your training?' Tommy's voice asked gruffly. The question was so abrupt that it made Maddie blink in surprise.

'Er… yeah, I've got the afternoon off,' she said. There was a brief pause before he spoke again.

'Good. We've been invited to lunch with the head of the city council and his wife. Wear something expensive,' said Tommy in a matter-of-fact tone that made Maddie shiver with its coolness. 'I've sent Isiah to pick you up so be ready when he gets there.'

'Oh, okay…' was all Maddie managed to say in response. Tommy sounded like he was likely in the middle of something and was currently distracted, hence his icy tone. She paused, hoping that despite his mood, that he might take this opportunity to acknowledge her birthday out loud, but she was instead disappointed.

'See you shortly,' he said after a second's silence before the line clicked signifying he had hung up.

Maddie sighed and hung the receiver back on the hook and put the phone back on the table, slamming it so it made a loud bang as she let out some of her frustration.

'By the way, happy birthday Maddie, I love you,'mumbled Maddie, mimicking Tommy's deep voice to herself and scoffing angrily. 'Bloody prick.' She admitted she loved the man to death, but by God did he get on her nerves sometimes. She was now even doubting that he even knew it was her birthday and that the sex that morning had just been a coincidence.

In her moment of irritation, the fact that she and Tommy were about to have lunch with the leader of the Birmingham city council had completely skipped over her mind and she suddenly felt her chest tighten horribly. Oh fuck… Well, I guess I'd better put the practice I've put into being a normal woman so far to good use, she thought. What a way to spend my birthday, it'll probably end up being a very boring afternoon. With her shoulders slightly slumped like a moping teenager, she shuffled out of the office and back in the direction of the bedroom to get dressed, residing herself to the fact that today wasn't going to be the birthday she was hoping for after all.

Something expensive Tommy had said. Maddie perused her wardrobe and pulled out one of her more expensive dresses that was suitable for a daytime event. It was a cream colour with some black panels that created an art deco style pattern on the front and back of the dress. She also pulled out a suitable matching coat and hat as well as a pair of cream leather cloves and a black scarf from her drawers. She then took off her dressing gown and opened her underwear drawer when a devious thought came to her, making her smirk knowingly to herself. She reached into the drawer and gently pulled out the white lace of Tommy's new favourite lingerie and laid it onto the bed. Well, if he's going to make me sit through a boring lunch, then I'm going to find a way to have my own fun, she thought.

Maddie descended the front steps of the house just as Isiah pulled up on the drive in his new car, his previous one she had ruined after soaking demon guts into the leather seats. She opened the passenger door and hopped in, giving him a wide smile. Maybe Isiah has remembered my birthday?

'Hey, Mads,' said Isiah. 'You look nice.'

'Thanks,' smiled Maddie, waiting for him to say what she hoped he'd say.

'Tommy's meeting you at the Midland hotel, sounds like him and the head of the council have a fair bit of business to discuss,' he said as he pulled the car away again.

Maddie sighed in disappointment. Looks like Zach was the only one who was going to remember that it was her bloody birthday. Not only that, but now it was almost guaranteed that her afternoon was going to be even more boring than she had initially thought if Tommy really had business on his mind. However, she hadn't put her lace underwear on for no reason so she could at least try and have some fun. If that failed, which she doubted, she hoped that the councillor's wife would be good company at least.

'Oh boy that sounds fun…' she droned sarcastically, making Isiah chuckle.

'Oh, come on Mads, surely lunch at the Midland is better than training all day?'

'I'm not so sure about that,' scoffed Maddie before letting herself laugh dismally. 'Well at least you've been given the delightful job of driving me around this afternoon. Aren't you all too busy to be driving all the way here in the middle of the day?'

'I suppose,' shrugged Isiah. 'But whatever Tommy says goes. Besides, the only thing I've got left to do is to go and pick up some stuff for the-.'

Isiah stopped speaking abruptly and Maddie looked over to him to see a sightly panicked look on his face which he corrected quickly and she narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

'For the what?' asked Maddie, her interest suddenly piqued.

'Oh, nothing important,' he mumbled, brushing her off. 'Boring company stuff.'

She had known Isiah long enough to tell when he was lying but she could tell that he wasn't going to open up about whatever he was hiding and decided to leave it be for now. The rest of the drive was spent chatting about various topics as Maddie tried her best not to drop the fact that it was her birthday into the conversation. She wanted them to remember without her having to remind them as she was sure she had mentioned it at a couple of points over the last month as well as it being written in bold on the calendar in the training room. It was childish she knew, but nevertheless she was determined not to say anything.

Eventually they reached Birmingham and Isiah pulled up outside the very big and very fancy Midland hotel. Maddie spotted Tommy stood near the entrance of the hotel looking at his pocket watch impatiently. He looked up as he heard the car pull up and tucked his watch away in his pocket again. He didn't look like he was in a particularly good mood and she felt her heart die a little on the inside. Isiah got out and walked around the car and opened the door for her as Tommy walked over to the car to meet her.

'Hey,' she greeted as Tommy came and placed his hand on her waist and planted a kiss to her cheek.

'Come on, they're waiting inside,' he said and began to coax her toward the entrance by pressing his hand against her back. Maybe he really has forgotten it's my birthday and this morning really was just a coincidence, she lamented.

Maddie gave Isiah a smile of thanks which he returned before she walked with Tommy toward the hotel. They walked through the entrance, the door being held open by a concierge, and they approached the front desk.

'How do I look?' she asked as they came to a stop to wait behind a couple who were checking in. Tommy turned to look at her, his gaze flitting over her to appraise her appearance before turning away again.

'You look nice,' he responded, parroting what Isiah had said in the car as the couple in front of them moved away and he stepped forward to speak to the man at the desk. Nice? Fucking nice?! Maddie felt her blood surge angrily in her ears and she huffed furiously. She was already tired of his attitude, and on her birthday no less. But she knew exactly how to change that, and she stepped forward next to him as he told the man at the desk about their lunch appointment.

'One moment please, Mr Shelby,' said the man who turned his attention to a large ledger on the desk.

Now's my chance, she thought. Discreetly, Maddie used one hand to reach forward to gather up her dress at the front so that it came up to her thigh, the act hidden as she was stood square against the desk and her long coat was covering her from the back. With her other hand that was closest to Tommy, she reached out to take his hand in hers as she looked up to watch his reaction. This initial move didn't illicit any reaction as expected, the gesture not unusual for the two of them and his hand automatically grasped onto hers. Then slowly, Maddie pulled his hand over toward her and pressed it against her upper thigh over the top of her lace underwear.

Tommy's eyes flashed and his gaze darted to her as his fingers reflexively pinched at the lace material he no doubt immediately recognised. She smirked at him victoriously and bit her lip for good measure and his nostrils flared angrily as his gaze lowered to try and get a glimpse of her exposed leg.

'If you'd like to follow me Mr Shelby,' said the man at the desk, making Tommy blink and snap his head back to face him. Maddie let go of his hand and dropped her skirt back down as he gave the man a curt nod and placed his hand back on her back so he could nudge her forward, keeping a few steps behind their guide.

'Now is not the time to play this game, Maddie,' whispered Tommy, his lips seductively close to her ear as they walked. He sounded somewhat serious although she could hear the hint of amusement in his voice, and she celebrated quietly to herself for improving his mood.

'The hell it isn't,' Maddie whispered back with a smirk.

'Well, don't expect me to play along,' said Tommy, sounding more serious this time, and she frowned back at him sourly as they walked into the dining room.

Maddie gasped as they entered, the ginormous room glittering brightly with the fancy décor. Golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling and some of the walls were lined with mirrors making the room seem even bigger than it was. The tables were set with expensive silk tablecloths and sparkling silver cutlery that twinkled in the light. The wine glasses didn't have a single spec of dirt on them, and she quickly began to wonder how expensive this place probably was. They were led over to their table where the head of the city council and his wife were sat by the window. The councillor was a tall yet chubby man with a surprisingly cheerful face. His wife was comparatively short, shorter than Maddie in fact, and was very petite and youthful with strawberry blond hair and pretty features. They both stood to greet them as they approached and Maddie turned her polite smile on, forcing her to forget about her plan to have fun winding Tommy up.

'Ah Tommy! There you are!' announced the Councillor with a wide smile and he took Tommy's hand and shook it forcefully.

'Afternoon Danny,' responded Tommy. 'I'd like you to meet my fiancé, Maddie.'

Tommy gestured toward Maddie and Danny looked down at her with a twinkling look and gave her a cheerful smile which she returned.

'It's a pleasure to meet you sir,' said Maddie, holding her hand out to him which he took and lifted to kiss the back of it politely.

'Please call me, Danny,' he said with a chuckle. 'And the pleasure is all mine, Maddie.' Danny then turned to his wife and put his hand on her shoulder. 'This is my wife, Ellie.'

'How do you do?' said Ellie, smiling cheerfully like her husband.

Tommy took Ellie's hand and kissed it the way Danny had done Maddie's before she and Maddie shook hands. A waiter approached and offered to take their hats and coats which they handed over to him before taking their seats at the round table so that she and Tommy were sat at right angles to one another with Danny opposite Maddie and Ellie opposite Tommy.

'Congratulations on your engagement,' said Danny once they were all sat comfortably.

'Thank you,' responded Tommy.

'Where did you meet such a lovely lady?' asked Danny with a friendly smile in Maddie's direction. She had already decided that she liked Danny very much, he had a jolliness about him that put her at ease.

She glanced over at Tommy who gave her a knowing look before turning back to Danny. 'She is an old friend of my sister Ada who invited her to one of our charity benefits a few months ago where we met.'

'Oh, how lovely,' said Danny. 'And what did you do for a living, Maddie?'

'I worked in the local library, filing books and things, nothing especially exciting,' replied Maddie, trying her best not to sound overly rehearsed. Along with all the other documents he had forged, Tommy had also forged an employment contact with the city library where she was supposed to have worked for the past few years.

'And what about your parents?' followed Danny, looking like he was genuinely interested in getting to know her.

'They passed many years ago. My father died in the war and my mother died before that of the flu unfortunately,' lied Maddie. War records were also surprisingly easy to forge apparently and so many people died of the flu in the early 1900s that records weren't kept of everyone who died which made it convenient to fabricate her ancestry.

'I'm sorry to hear it,' sighed Danny with a genuine frown. 'But you have found a good man in Tommy, I'm sure your parents would have approved.'

Maddie smiled back and Ellie, who had been listening politely, gave Maddie an encouraging smile also as Danny turned back to face Tommy.

'Which reminds me Tommy, we have some business to discuss don't we?'

Danny and Tommy began talking about factory business enthusiastically and Maddie tried her best to listen and take in what they were saying as she perused the menu. However, the menu was long and included a lot of dishes she had never heard of as they were all written in French. Maddie wished she had asked Marie to teach her some French when she were here and she stared at the menu hopelessly, her heart fluttering nervously. She glanced at Tommy, wanting to ask for his help as she knew he spoke French, but he was so engrossed in conversation with Danny that she knew it would be rude to interrupt them. Fuck, I might have to just pick a random thing and hope it's okay.

'I can't read it either,' said Ellie suddenly who was sat on Maddie's left and she looked up at her startled.

'Oh,' sighed Maddie with a laugh. 'Thank god, I thought it was just me.'

Ellie smiled sweetly, a smile that could put almost anyone at ease, and peered over at her menu.

'This one is nice, it's just beef stew with vegetables,' she said, pointing to one of the items on the menu. 'And this one is a fish pie that I had last time we came here.'

'Thanks,' said Maddie, now feeling more at ease and gave Ellie a thankful smile.

A waiter brought a bottle of wine over to the table that Danny had ordered for her and Ellie whilst he and Tommy of course drank whiskey. It was a red wine, which wasn't usually Maddie's first choice, but when she tasted it, she pursed her lips in surprise at how sweet it tasted. She could also taste however how strong it was and she knew she would have to be careful how much she drank. The last thing she needed was to end up drunk whilst at lunch with the head of the Birmingham City Council. Then again, it was her birthday, so maybe getting a little tipsy wouldn't hurt.

After the waiter took their orders, the conversation changed to more political topics which Ellie became more involved in. They spoke about the recent strikes around the city as well as various changes in government policies which Maddie had neither heard about or understood. She clung to her glass of wine protectively as she tried to at least listen politely to the conversation but soon found that she was struggling to follow it. Tommy for once didn't look bored and was joining in their chatter frequently. Perhaps because he was with someone other than his family, he made the effort to seem engaged however he did check his pocket watch a little more than he usually did. As Maddie sipped at more of the wine, she felt the familiar warmth of tipsiness creeping up on her and she decided it was time to start winding Tommy up a bit.

Shifting her weight in her seat, Maddie lifted her right leg up to cross it over the top of her left one, making sure as she swung her leg up that she brushed her toe against Tommy's leg to get his attention. His eyes flitted toward her, and she smirked against her wine glass, taking another sip as she slowly began to pull her dress up her leg again. He watched out of the corner of his eye as she gradually revealed her stockings and finally the hem of her underwear where it sat at her mid-thigh. The muscles in Tommy's jaw started to twitch and he looked up to meet her eyes sternly and she pursed her lips back at him smugly.

Maddie wasn't sure what her goal was with her teasing. She wasn't expecting Tommy to excuse himself and pull her from the room like he had the other day at home, but it would certainly mean that he would probably ravage her at the first opportunity he got. At least that's what she hoped. However, he managed to pull his gaze away and set his features back into a calm façade as Danny and Ellie changed the topic yet again to something else and Maddie felt her heart sink. He had never managed to resist her like that before and it had set her teeth on edge. Thankfully, the welcome distraction of food arrived at that moment, and she hastily readjusted her dress as the plates were set in front of them.

Deciding she'd be better off trying to join in the conversation, Maddie made more of an effort to listen as she ate, nodding at all the right moments and chipping in with the odd 'Oh, absolutely' and the occasional 'I agree' at the appropriate moments. She even managed to follow the train of conversation and learn a thing or two that she realised would be helpful in the future if the topics ever came up again.

Once their plates had been cleared, Danny and Tommy had gone full circle and started talking about factories again and soon Maddie grew bored, although so did Ellie by the look of it. She too had drunk a good couple of glasses of wine by that point and had seemed to relax. So much so that she inched her chair around the table slightly so she was sat closer to Maddie and gave her an amused smile.

'I just hate it when Danny talks about bloody factories so much,' she said with a sigh. 'Is it the same with you and Tommy?'

'You could say that again,' scoffed Maddie, although she admitted that this was one of the few times Tommy had gotten so engrossed in conversation that he had forgotten she were there. Ellie hummed in agreement before leaning in closer to her to whisper something in her ear.

'Even my flirting won't distract Danny today either,' she said causing Maddie to nearly choke on her wine.

'I'm sorry?' said Maddie, looking at Ellie in shock like she must have imagined what she had just said.

Ellie giggled and sat back in her chair, giving Maddie a knowing wink. 'I noticed you trying to distract Tommy earlier. I do it all the time to Danny,' she said quietly so that only the two of them could hear. Maddie felt her cheeks blush scarlet red and looked away bashfully, but Ellie only laughed and placed her hand on her knee. 'It's alright, don't be embarrassed. To be honest I've probably had a little too much wine.'

'But you looked like you were really concentrating on the conversation earlier,' said Maddie after finally finding the courage to speak. 'I couldn't tell you were flirting with him.'

'It takes practice,' informed Ellie with a devious look in her eye. 'I was like you once, couldn't pay attention to a conversation for the life of me if I had that task on my mind. Just start with simple tactics and work your way up.'

Maddie giggled and Ellie joined in, the ridiculousness of the two them discussing how to distract their men during dinner setting them into a quiet fit of hysterics. Soon, Tommy flitted his gaze over to them suspiciously and Danny soon followed and beamed at them obliviously.

'Good to see the two of you getting along,' said Danny happily. 'Something tickled the two of you?'

No, but I wish Tommy would tickle me, thought Maddie and she glanced at Ellie which only made the woman laugh more.

'Just a story Ellie told me,' said Maddie with a shake of her head. 'I think the wine is going to our heads as well.'

'Maybe that's a sign that we should get going then, eh?' said Tommy, looking at his pocket watch again.

Although Maddie was beginning to enjoy herself, leaving now meant she could finally get him alone and to herself, so she agreed eagerly. Tommy waved the waiter over and asked him to put the bill on his tab and they all got up to leave. The men helped their partners into their coats before putting their own on and exiting the hotel together.

'We must meet up for afternoon tea soon,' Ellie said to Maddie as they said their farewells outside the hotel. 'Just the two of us.'

'I'd love to,' smiled Maddie and Ellie took her hand in hers and squeezed it.

Danny and Tommy shook hands before the turned away from each other and began walking in different directions. Tommy rested his hand on Maddie's hip as they walked down the street toward where she assumed his car was.

'What were the two of you laughing at in there?' he asked. 'I know you were lying.'

Maddie snorted and looked up at Tommy smugly. 'We were making fun of you and Danny, that's all.'

Tommy quirked his eyebrow at Maddie questioningly but must have decided he was better off not asking. They reached the car after a couple of minutes and he opened the door for her before rounding and getting into the driver's seat. As soon as he had shut the door, she took the opportunity to pounce and shuffled over to him, pressing her body against him making him turn to face her. She brushed her lips against his and breathed in the scent of whiskey on them as he let out a low chuckle.

'What's gotten into you this afternoon?' he asked as she ran her hand over his chest.

'Me?' asked Maddie. 'You're the one who's been ignoring me all day. And on mybirthday.'

She watched him for a reaction, to see if he really had forgotten or not but he simply smirked and began to run his hand over her leg and under her skirt.

'You know I don't care about birthdays, Maddie,' hummed Tommy, bringing his head down to kiss her neck as his hands reached her underwear and he rubbed the lace between his thumb and index finger.

'But…' replied Maddie, trying not to get distracted by Tommy's lips on her neck. 'I thought it might be different onmybirthday.'

He chuckled again and pulled back so he could look into her eyes. 'And what did you want me to do differently on your birthday?'

'I dunno…' mumbled Maddie. 'At least play along when I tease you.'

Tommy considered this a moment before quirking his lips in a smile and pressing a soft kiss to her lips again before sitting back and putting the key into the ignition, signalling that their little make out session in the car was at an end. Maddie huffed and retreated back to her seat, folding her arms over her chest. What has gotten into him? He would normally be all over me by now. He pulled away from the kerb and began the journey back home. The sun was already mostly set by now and darkness quickly filled the car. Nevertheless, that didn't stop her from trying to grab his attention again by fiddling with her stockings and flashing him glimpses of her underwear. He noticed as she saw his blue eyes dart to her legs whenever she moved but otherwise, he remained stoic and her fantasy of them having sex in the car at the side of the road was never realised. By the time they reached home, she was in a sour mood due to his uncharacteristic indifference to her flirting.

As they went inside, Maddie gave him the cold shoulder which only seemed to amuse him for some bizarre reason. As if he knew something she didn't which only proved to piss her off further. They handed their coats to Esther as usual before Tommy took Maddie's hand and she looked back at him in confusion.

'Come and relax with me, eh?' he asked softly as he began to pull her in the direction of the sitting room.

Relax? That was the last thing she wanted to do, but Maddie reluctantly let him lead her in that direction anyway. He opened the door to the sitting room to find that it was pitch black inside and eerily quiet. Too quiet…

'What the-?' said Maddie as goosebumps prickled her skin.

She was cut of by Tommy reaching out to flick the light switch, bathing the room in bright light that made her squint in response which was followed by the most thunderous yell.

'SURPRISE!'

Maddie started with the sound, gasping loudly as the Shelby's screamed and jumped up from behind sofas and chairs with beaming smiles and waving their hands in the air. She felt her mouth drop open as she took in the scene in front of her, completely lost for words as she noticed the paper streamers and decorations around the room. Then her eyes fell on a large pile of presents on the coffee table all wrapped in brown paper and she felt her eyes well up with tears. So, they didn't forget after all.

She stood there gobsmacked for a second and she soon became acutely aware that everyone was waiting for her to respond and she shook herself out of her stunned state.

'Oh my god… a surprise party? So, you really didn't forget my birthday?' she said.

'Of course not Mads!' said John with an amused smile. 'But we couldn't just throw any normal party for you. This was my idea by the way.'

Maddie laughed and shook her head. Of course it was, John was a big child at heart. It was then that she fully took in who was in the room. Everyone was there and was surprised to see Ada, Zach, Johnny, Uncle Charlie, Curly and even Lizzie had come.

'Thank you! I really thought you had all forgotten!' she said before realising something and she turned to face Tommy who was looking like he was trying his best to look unbothered. 'Hang on! You knew about this all along, didn't you?!'

Everyone chuckled as Tommy pursed his lips is a smug grin and nodded once. 'It's a good job Danny phoned to invite us to lunch as I was struggling to think of an excuse to get you out of the house.'

How the hell didn't I figure this out? Maddie cursed herself for her ignorance, now remembering the odd things that had happened earlier that day; Zach's discreet nod to Esther followed by Tommy's conveniently timed phone call, Isiah's almost slip of the tongue in the car and Tommy repeatedly checking his watch at lunch. And here she was feeling all bitter because she thought she wasn't going to get any presents. Speaking of presents…

'Are those all for me?' asked Maddie, pointing at the pile of the table, the excitement evident in her voice.

'Who else would they be for?' laughed Arthur.

Maddie couldn't stop herself from bouncing on the spot and clapping her hands together with a giggle before dashing over to Arthur and hugging him hard.

'Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you all of you!'

She released Arthur after a second, making him gasp for breath before moving on to hug John who lifted her off her feet. She went around the room and hugged everyone one by one, thanking them all repeatedly. They had only known her eight months, so she knew she didn't deserve such a thoughtful gesture from them and she couldn't have been happier. She even gave Lizzie a hug, who accepted it with a surprising amount of grace. Little Charlie had also been included who had even been dressed in one of his best outfits for the occasion and Maddie cuddled him to her in amongst her hugging fest.

'You knew too, didn't you?' she asked Zach as she gave him a hug last.

'I volunteered to help set this up. You certainly deserve it,' he replied with a smile.

Just then, Esther appeared with a wheeled trolly loaded with alcohol which everyone hurried over to and Maddie took the opportunity to run over and hug her as well, taking the housekeeper by surprise. There was no way this could have been done without Esther's talent for organisation.

'No need to thank me Maddie,' she said. 'It was my pleasure.'

Once everyone had drinks in their hands, Ada came over and pulled Maddie over toward the armchair. 'Come on Mads, time to open your presents!'

Maddie giggled and sat herself down on the armchair and waited for everyone else to get comfortable when she realised she should probably at least try to sound somewhat humble.

'Honestly guys, this party really is the best present you could have gotten me,' she said before looking at the presents and reaching her hands out excitedly. 'Now, gimme, gimme, gimme!'

Ada reached over and picked up one of the wrapped boxes and passed it to Maddie as Tommy came and perched himself on the arm of her chair with a glass of whiskey in one hand as he held Charlie in the other. There was a tag attached to the box and she turned it over to read it.

To Mads,

Happy Birthday!

From Michael

Maddie looked up to spot Michael sat next to Isiah on the other side of the room and smiled before tearing open the paper on the smallish box. The box underneath was of a good quality, bound in leather but didn't give any indication as to what was inside. She lifted the lid of this box, holding her breath excitedly, to see what was inside. Nestled neatly inside the box, which was lined with what looked like a velvet material, was a leather-bound mauve book of some kind with a gold fastener. Maddie gasped and carefully lifted the book out of the box. I was heavier than it looked, and she examined the front of it to see that '1925' was etched into the leather with gold leaf. She opened it and confirmed that it was a diary with one day per page as well as an address book at the back. Just what she needed! She could tell by its quality that the diary was far from cheap, and she looked up to meet Michael's eyes who smiled back at her.

'Thank you, Michael,' she said. 'It's beautiful, just what I needed. But it must have cost you a fortune.'

Michael lifted his hand up and shook his head. 'You're welcome, Mads. Don't worry about it. Besides I doubt that I've spent that much in comparison.'

Maddie felt her eyebrows raise as she glanced around the room, and everyone looked back at her in amusement. Just how much money have they spent? Then she realised she was sat amongst one of the wealthiest families in the country who didn't do things cheaply or by halves. This really was the best birthday ever!

'Open mine next!' called Finn, who picked up a large box from the table and planted it on her lap. The box was almost large enough to obscure her view of everyone and she laughed as she felt the weight of it and was surprised to feel that it was light for its size.

Maddie unwrapped and opened the box, placing it on the floor at her feet so she could look down inside it. Inside was a pile of what looked like padded white clothing and she furrowed her brow at it in confusion before pulling it out of the box.

'Um… what is it?' asked Maddie as the room quietly began to giggle and Finn's face began to blush slightly.

'It's padding for sparring,' he said. 'I thought you might want to spar with someone properly so this could help protect them.'

Maddie snorted and quickly tried to hold in her laughter. The padding was thick sure, but not thick enough to fully protect anyone against her punches in a fight. Nevertheless, it was a very thoughtful gift and of course it was the thought that counted.

'Are you going to volunteer for that job Finn lad?' asked Uncle Charlie, smirking knowingly as the room sniggered quietly. Realisation seemed to dawn on Finn then as he figured that no one in their right mind would wear some mediocre padding and face off against Maddie if they didn't want to go home a walking bruise and he flushed an angry shade of red.

'Fuck off the lot of you!' he grumbled. 'I thought it would be a good idea alright?'

The room laughed collectively now, and Maddie gave Finn a sympathetic smile. 'Thanks Finn, it's great, really. I'm sure I'll find some use for it.'

Tommy took Maddie's first two gifts from her and put them to one side as more gifts were handed to her which she unwrapped with unwaning excitement. The other men all brought her things related to fighting and outdoorsy things, as she should have predicted. John and Arthur both brought her separate guns, Arthur a discreet but expensive looking pistol that would fit in her handbag and John a garish and heavy rifle. No doubt Tommy had suggested the pistol to Arthur as he had mentioned several times that she should carry one around just in case despite her protest. As for the rifle, she wasn't sure what she would do with it but was sure it would come in handy one day. Charlie and Curly had made her a bespoke saddle for riding and Isiah and Johnny brought her a collection of outdoor wear including leather boots with a knife strap and riding gloves. Zach's gift was a pair of authentic Japanese nunchucks that were heavy but well balanced.

'Oh, awesome!' she exclaimed, pulling one out of the box and doing a quick hand move with it causing those sat closest to her to recoil slightly. 'Thanks Zach, I've always wanted some of these.'

'You're welcome,' smiled Zach as Maddie continued to swing one around. 'Maybe save the practice for the training room though.'

The women in comparison opted for more feminine gifts including a range of hats, dresses, jewellery, make-up and shoes which Maddie loved and appreciated as much as the men's gifts. She had always felt like a princess at heart when it came to clothes and that would likely never change. Soon, she had amassed a large pile of gifts and that left only one small box on the table which was when Tommy set little Charlie on the floor.

'Go and pass you're gift to Maddie Charlie,' he instructed softly as Maddie looked up at him with a smile. They had even thought to get a gift from Charlie.

Charlie toddled over to the table and picked up the final box before toddling back to her, reaching up adorably to hand it to her.

'Thank you, Charlie,' she said sweetly, taking the box from him and stroking his head softly.

There was a tag on the box that was written with Tommy's handwriting but was made out as if Charlie had written it which made Maddie smile widely and she felt a small tear begin to form at the corner of her eye which she hastily blinked away. She didn't think Tommy was even capable of writing something so sweet and thoughtful.

She opened the gift as she had the others to find something covered in tissue paper which she removed before gasping loudly. It was a black and white photograph set into an ornate silver frame and the memory of when it was taken suddenly returned to her. She lifted the picture out of the box and looked down at it, a surreal sensation washing over her as she spotted herself in the photo. It was a picture of all of them taken at Cheltenham after Tommy had proposed. They were all stood together posing for a picture on the balcony and she recalled the photos being taken and how she had wanted to see what they looked like. She was stood next to Tommy in the picture, looking very fashionable in the purple dress he'd bought her. It was ironic that the picture was actually new but looked old due to being black and white and grainy. It was also very surreal seeing herself in a photo that she would normally imagined seeing her great-grandmother in. However, she could still tell that she was smiling in the picture and that Tommy had his usual stony expression and she felt the tears begin to fill her eyes quickly and spill out to land on the glass protecting the frame.

'What's wrong Mads?' asked Ada suddenly and Maddie snapped her head up to see that everyone was still watching her.

'Oh! I'm sorry I just… forgot this photo was even taken,' she said, wiping her tears hastily. She felt Tommy's hand rest on her shoulder, and she looked up at him and he gave her a small smile. 'Thank you,' she said before turning back to everyone else. 'Thank you all for my gifts, they're really great.'

Everyone smiled widely and nodded before Johnny stepped forward. 'Hang on there!' he called. 'Tommy hasn't given you his gifts yet.'

Oh yeah, now she thought about it, none of the gifts on the table had been from him. She looked up at Tommy expectantly, the excitement back again and he looked over at Johnny and nodded.

'Yes,' he nodded. 'That's because my gifts couldn't be wrapped.'

'Where are they?!' asked Maddie excitedly, now desperate to know what he had gotten her. Tommy nodded to Johnny again who nodded back and began to walk out of the room.

'Just a moment,' he said as he left, and Maddie couldn't help but shuffle herself to the edge of the chair in anticipation. Then Tommy's hands were suddenly covering her eyes and she giggled girlishly.

'Hey!' she complained half-heartedly as she heard everyone laugh at them.

'Close your eyes,' he instructed. Maddie huffed and nodded as she heard Johnny step back into the room. Tommy removed his hands, and she kept her eyes closed as she heard him stand and be passed something from Johnny as she heard little gasps and whispers around the room as everyone else tried to keep quiet. Then she felt his hand on her knee and assumed he had come to kneel in front of her.

'Alright, you can open them now.'

Maddie grinned and opened her eyes to finally see what he had gotten her and when her eyes landed on it, she let out a loud scream of girlish surprise that prompted nearly everyone to cover their ears with its volume. In Tommy's arms was a small and adorable puppy that looked up at her with big brown eyes and she covered her mouth with both hands in shock.

'A puppy?!' exclaimed Maddie. Tommy broke out into a genuine smile and held out the pup to her, its tail wagging frantically and she immediately reached for it and cuddled it to her.

'He's a pure-bred Rottweiler,' said Tommy before standing up to sit on the arm of the chair again.

The puppy immediately began to lick Maddie's face and she giggled. 'I've always wanted a dog! Thanks, Tommy.'

'What are you gonna call him?' asked Arthur and she considered this a moment.

'Ummm… oh, I know! Cerberus!' announced Maddie.

'Cerberus?' questioned John who stifled a laugh at the odd name.

'The three headed hound from Greek mythology,' clarified Zach.

'But he hasn't got three heads,' said Arthur with a smile.

'I know but he'll grow up to be a big dog and I'll train him to be my sidekick,' said Maddie. 'He'll need a scary name.'

'Cerberus it is,' agreed Tommy who reached down to pat the dog on the head. 'Now come on, your other gifts are outside.'

Maddie snapped her head up to Tommy with her eyebrows raised. 'Wait, you mean there's more?!'

Tommy nodded before taking Maddie's hand and pulling her up to stand as everyone else stood too, all of them looking excited for what was coming next. Esther appeared and offered to take Cerberus and watch Charlie whilst they all went outside. They all followed Tommy out onto the drive where he stopped and pulled out a cigarette as if waiting for something.

'What are we waiting for?' asked Maddie, giving him a perplexed look. He looked down at her with an amused expression and said nothing just before the sound of a loud engine rumbled from around the corner.

A second later a large and very imposing looking car drove around the corner and came to stop in front of them and Johnny got out, admiring the car as he did so. She hadn't even noticed Johnny had snuck out again in her excitement about the puppy. Maddie quickly spotted the familiar motif of a winged figure on the bonnet and her eyes widened in disbelief. Surely not?

'What do you think?' asked Tommy, his hand resting on her back as she felt his gaze on her.

'Is that… a Rolls Royce?' she asked as if the car were an illusion.

'Yes,' said Tommy.

There was a moments quiet as Maddie took in the sight in front of her, an awkward silence falling over the crowd before managing to speak again.

'No. Fucking. WAY!' she yelled suddenly, making everyone jump, including Tommy who she immediately threw herself at, pulling his head down to kiss him roughly before releasing him and running over to the car excitedly.

The thing was monstrous in size, the length of the bonnet half the size of the entire car itself. It was painted black, and the roof was obviously convertible and made out of a deep red leather which matched the seats she could see inside the car. She walked a lap around the vehicle as everyone else came over to admire it as well. She could scarcely believe it, a Rolls?! How the hell was she going to drive this thing? She struggled at the best of times with the other cars, and they were half the size of this one.

Maddie opened the driver's door and climbed in, letting out yet another gasp of shock. The dashboard was made of an expensive looking polished wood and the dials were inlaid with gold. It reminded her of the first time she had gotten into Tommy's car all those months ago and she couldn't stop herself from smiling like a maniac. The passenger door then opened, and Tommy got in as the rear doors also opened and Finn and Isiah climbed in to have a look, both of them evidently excited and jealous at the same time.

'So, you like it?' asked Tommy as he reached over and grabbed her leg to pull her toward him. Had the kiss she'd given him not told him that already?

'Like it?' she scoffed. 'I love it! This has been the best birthday ever!'

Tommy smirked in amusement and pulled Maddie even closer so that their heads were only an inch apart. She watched as he flicked his gaze down to her lips and immediately felt warmth ripple across her skin and down to between her legs. She didn't want to admit it, but on this occasion, he had bought his way to her heart and the hungry look he gave her then told her what his true intentions for spoiling her were. It was like he knew the smell of the new leather would make her weak at the knees and she wanted nothing more than to let him devour her right there.

He brushed his lips against hers, making sparks shudder through her body and she leant forward to kiss him properly, but he moved away and she gave him an annoyed look. Maddie had forgotten about everyone else at this point and was vaguely aware that people were climbing in and out of the back seats, taking it in turns to look at the car. Tommy also didn't seem to care as he smirked again and ducked his head down to whisper into her ear.

'Have you forgiven me for pretending to forget about your birthday?' he hummed huskily causing shivers to ripple down her spine.

Maddie bit her lip in response as she imagined them sneaking out in the middle of the night in order to fuck in the car but knew that they would likely be caught in humiliating style although she was sure they would end up doing that eventually in the near future.

'Hmmm, maybe,' she teased, knowing full well she was ready to forgive Tommy ten times over and give him whatever he wanted. He quirked his eyebrow at her playfully, evidently playing along with her and opened his mouth to reply when a sharp rap on the windscreen snapped them out of their little bubble. Tommy sighed in irritation as they looked up to see John smirking at them.

'Come on, Tom,' he said. 'You still have your last gift to show Mads.'

Maddie looked back at Tommy again in shock. Surely, he must be joking?

'You can't be serious Tommy,' said Maddie in shock. He must have spent more money that she had ever seen in her lifetime by now and it still wasn't the end?

'Come on,' he said, jerking his head to indicate to get out of the car.

They all followed Tommy again, this time around the side of the house toward the stables. Oh my god… don't tell me he's bought me a horse, she thought. Once they reached the large stable doors, he came and stood behind her and covered her eyes again as he had earlier.

'No looking,' he said and began to walk her forward into the stables. They walked several yards into the building as Maddie could smell the scent of hay getting stronger until they stopped somewhere inside.

Tommy lifted his hands away and Maddie blinked as her eyes adjusted to the glow of the gas lamps before they came into focus on the stallion in the stall in front of her. The horse was tall, almost twice her size and a dark shade of brown that it almost looked black in the dark. It looked like a thoroughbred from what little Tommy had taught her about horse breeding and must have cost him an arm and a leg. The horse snorted and shook its head as if it wanted her to approach and she stepped forward to put her hand on its nose softly.

'He's beautiful,' murmured Maddie in awe as Tommy came and stood behind her and whispered something in Romani to the horse before replying to her.

'He is. We're going to enter him into the Derby next year.'

Wow, my very own horse in the Derby! This is so fucking surreal, she thought. She looked over at Luna in her stall who was peering around at them curiously and she gave the mare a smile. Don't worry Luna, you're still my favourite. As everyone else began to approach and admire the horse themselves, Tommy took the opportunity to wrap his hands around Maddie's waist and press her back to his chest.

'Is this enough to convince you to forgive me love?' he whispered before kissing her softly on the neck.

'Oh, definitely.'

The rest of Maddie's party that evening was like a dream come true. They ate, drank and danced all evening and her night was topped off with some of the best sex she had ever had. Tommy had made it all about her and had refused stubbornly to let her pleasure him in any way that didn't involve her getting as much, if not more pleasure during it. After that night, she made a note in her head to plan something for his birthday next year, although she was sure it was the last thing he wanted. Well, tough, she thought, there's no way I can't return the favour.

Christmas was now fast approaching, and the following weeks were swallowed up with preparations for that as well as getting on with the wedding preparations. They had finally set a date for their wedding, the 21stJanuary, and the day was fast approaching. Maddie quickly found her every waking moment was spent either shopping, planning, training or patrolling. Her shopping trips consisted of searching for everyone's Christmas gifts as well as visiting dress shops, florists and caterers for wedding stuff which Pol and Ada were thankfully helping her with. Ada, who Maddie had insisted be her maid of honour, with her impeccable taste helped choose the decorations and flowers as well as design the wedding invitations.

Picking her other bridesmaids had been an easy task considering Maddie didn't know that many people anyway. Esme, Linda, Pol and even Lizzie were going to be her bridesmaids as well as Marie who Maddie had called and insisted she be included. The day they went dress shopping was both stressful and exciting. Marie had sent her measurements as she couldn't get away from her duties for the occasion which she very much regretted but with Ada's expert eye, they had decided on a warm copper colour for the bridesmaids' dresses that they agreed would suit everyone.

When it came to choosing Maddie's dress, the process took more time than she expected. She had never before entertained the idea that she would get married. Being a slayer had cut her off from that possibility back home which meant she had never put any thought into what sort of wedding dress she would wear. She vaguely remembered picturing herself getting married as a small girl, before she got the calling, wearing a long white dress with some lace patterns but that was as far as she had gotten. Tommy, who Maddie had asked if he liked any particular kind of dress, had simply given her a blank look and shrugged giving her no help whatsoever.

The wedding dresses in 1924 were a long way from what Maddie was used to. They were all annoyingly modest and unflattering, making her feel frumpy and heavy which was never something she had been self-conscious of before. Ada had passed her dress after dress into the changing cubicle with no luck and she was beginning to doubt that she would find a dress she actually liked and debated whether she was better of wearing the purple dress Tommy had bought her for the races.

'Try this one Mads,' said Ada, handing yet another dress through to her.

Maddie sighed and looked at the white dress that was handed to her. It was made out of a thick silk material and seemed to be lined with another thick fabric. She took it off the hanger and pulled it on, immediately sensing that the dress didn't fall in a way she liked. She looked in the mirror and grimaced. The dress practically eliminated all of her curves and somehow made her look like she was rectangular in shape. She opened the curtain to show the others and she watched as they tried to keep their expressions polite.

'Oh… it's…,' stammered Esme with an awkward look.

'Hideous,' nodded Maddie, and the room exhaled with relief that she had said it first.

'It really is,' confirmed Ada who gave Maddie a sympathetic smile. 'Don't worry, we'll try another shop that I know of.'

They had travelled to London that day to shop for dresses as there were a lot more options in terms of shops and Ada it seemed was familiar with almost every shop in the city. They thanked the shopkeeper as they left and headed to the next one a short walk away. Once inside, Maddie felt immediately more hopeful as the dresses on display looked a lot more flattering than the ones in the other shop. Still, she had to try on a handful before they finally came across the one she knew was perfect.

As soon as Ada passed it to her, Maddie felt her heart flutter a little at how beautiful it looked. It was made out of lace with silk underneath so it was soft to touch. The fabric was also thin and lightweight and looked like it would hug her body comfortably. She pulled it on excitedly and took a deep breath before looking up at herself in the mirror. Please look nice, she prayed. When she looked up at her reflection she smiled and sighed in thankful relief. She looked amazing, the lace material hugging her well. The dress was long sleeved but the sheerness of the sleeves and chest meant it showed off her shoulders whilst still looking modest. The skirt stopped at about her mid shin and draped and flowed in a flattering way. The waist needed some adjustment, but otherwise Maddie was sure this dress was the one.

She stepped out of the changing room and the women looked up, their faces looking like they expected another dud before lighting up happily.

'Oh, this one is beautiful!' announced Linda.

'Yeah, it's the best one so far,' nodded Esme, looking happy that the dress shopping may be coming to an end.

Pol smiled and nodded. 'You'll turn heads in that one Maddie love.'

Ada approached and inspected the dress with a sharp eye, pulling at the fabric where it needed to be adjusted but eventually smiled and clapped her hands together. 'It'll be perfect once it's been adjusted, Mads. What do you think?'

'I really like it,' smiled Maddie, twirling once on the spot. 'Do you think Tommy will like it?'

A snorting noise came from Pol's direction, and they all looked at her. 'I'm sure he'd like anything you wore. They'll all end up on the bedroom floor by the end of the day regardless.'

She had a point there, admitted Maddie, and the women all laughed together. Ada asked the shopkeeper to come and inspect the dress and she put pins in it where she needed to adjust it. They paid for the dress and set a date to collect it before leaving to enjoy a much-needed lunch at a local café to celebrate the successful shopping trip. Maddie kept the dress a secret from Tommy although he knew that she had found one she liked. She noticed that he looked curious as to what she had picked when she told him about it, but he must have decided not to probe her for hints.

Writing the invitations for the wedding proved to be a stressful and laborious task. Tommy presented a list of people that needed to be invited and the two of them spent one evening writing out the invites by hand as well as planning the seating for the dinner. The two of them fell out more than once over the course of that evening, Maddie snapping at him at every turn. In truth, the wedding planning was beginning to wear her out and she now understood why brides were known for being temperamental. Anyone would when they had to plan every last detail of such a large event. Tommy for the most part had not done anything to help the planning except for organise the chapel in the village to host the ceremony so when he insisted she write out over fifty handwritten invites, she had been close to ripping his head off. Additionally, the fact that she didn't have any of her own family or friends to invite, apart from Zach and Marie, made the process even more infuriating.

When they had finished, Maddie tried to hold in her tears but failed horribly and eventually burst out crying, taking Tommy aback. He pulled her into his arms and shushed her softly, his previous tense demeanour fading with her sobs.

'What is it?' he asked softly.

'All of these people,' said Maddie, nodding at the pile of finished invitations. 'I don't even know them. The only people I know are your family but they're still technically your guests. I just wish my friends from home could be here.'

Tommy sighed and held her tighter, not saying anything in response but caressed her arm soothingly which helped her somewhat. Maddie didn't want to ruin her wedding with these thoughts, it couldn't be helped. Besides, she could use her wedding day as an opportunity to make friends, she realised.

The only respite Maddie got leading up to Christmas was the small amount of time she got with Tommy, Charlie and her new pup Cerberus who she put her all into training to be a good companion dog. She also found time to ride her new horse who Tommy had suggested they name Count Fleet as he needed a racehorse name for the Derby. Maddie wasn't keen on it but agreed to the name, calling the stallion Count for short. Count proved to be much more difficult to ride than Luna, the huge stallion having a rebellious and unruly streak. He threw Maddie off several times, the last time causing her to dislocate her shoulder as she hit the ground. Tommy was reluctant to let her go back out on Count after that, and they argued about it as he helped her put her arm back into its socket. However, he agreed to help her out with some advanced lessons as it turned out thoroughbreds were notoriously difficult to ride, even for seasoned riders. However, the weather soon turned icy, and Maddie couldn't take Count out riding as much but she continued to go to the stable to brush him and Luna as a way to escape her busy schedule.

Soon, they were only days away from Christmas and Maddie finally felt she was getting into the Christmas spirit. She begged Tommy to let her decorate the house as soon as December came around although he refused to let her until the day before they were due to go to May's party. She had tried her best to get him to join in but failed and was now decorating the large tree in the sitting room with Charlie on her shoulders as Tommy watched them from the comfort of the sofa.

'Last Christmas, I gave you my heart,

but the very next day, you gave it away.

This year to save me from tears, I'll give it to someone special.'

Maddie sang joyously to herself as she and Charlie hung baubles and other decorations on the tree. She knew the song hadn't been written yet, but it was one of her favourites and Charlie seemed to be enjoying the tune, even if she had been repeating the same lines over and over for a good long while.

'Maddie,' snapped Tommy suddenly, making her stop singing and turn to face him. He was rubbing his temple in irritation before he pinched the bridge of his nose. 'Can you not sing anything else?'

'Oh sorry,' she said, giving him an apologetic smile.

'What kind of song is that?' he asked.

'It's from the eighties I think, by a band called Wham,' informed Maddie as she tried to think of a more relaxing song to sing.

'Wham?' questioned Tommy, a perplexed expression on his face which made her giggle.

'Uh-huh, it's one of my favourites,' she hummed. She always found Tommy's confusion with the future hilarious and decided to try and confuse him more. 'Wizzard also did a really good Christmas song to.'

Tommy looked back at her silently, as if debating whether she was pulling his leg and she couldn't help but laugh at him.

'Wham and Wizzard,' he said with a shake of his head, getting up to pour himself a drink. 'I don't think I'll ever understand the future.'

Maddie smirked and took Charlie off her shoulders and placed him on the floor before passing him a decoration to put on the lower branches of the tree. 'Well, Mariah Carey sung one of the most popular Christmas songs in my time.'

'Oh?' said Tommy, coming over to look down at Maddie inquisitively as he took a sip of his whiskey. 'And how does that one go?'

Maddie swallowed, suddenly nervous about singing despite the fact she had been doing that just a minute ago. She was never a good singer and only really did it in the shower on her own, but she took a breath and started singing softly anyway whilst continuing to decorate the tree.

'I don't want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need.

I don't care about the presents, underneath the Christmas tree.

I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know.

Make my wish come true, all I want for Christmas is you.'

Maddie finished her little rendition of the song, realising that it in fact applied quite strongly to her and also to Tommy it seemed as she soon felt his arms wrap around her once she had finished singing and he spun her around to face him.

'I liked that song better,' he said, hugging Maddie to him as she looked up into his cold blue eyes.

'Is that because you want me for Christmas?' she teased with a flutter of her eyelashes.

'Obviously.'

Maddie giggled and reached up to kiss Tommy softly, leaning into the kiss as she felt his hand wander down her back to her bum. She reached up with her hands to caress the back of his head, the feel of his shaved hair making her tingle between her thighs. She couldn't quite believe she had nearly made it to the end of 1924 after nine months in the past. Not that it even seemed like she was in the past anymore. And now she was about to spend Christmas with the man she loved more than anything in the world. She couldn't have been happier in that moment, and she pressed herself against Tommy firmly prompting him to grab her ass harder.

The sound of the box of decorations falling over prompted them to stop and they looked down to see Charlie had upturned the box in a quest to get them out. He laughed sweetly as several baubles rolled and scattered across the floor making Maddie laugh also. She stepped out of Tommy's grasp and the two of them retrieved the decorations before he finally decided to join in with decorating which made her very happy as she sang a selection of other Christmas songs she thought Tommy might enjoy.

They had to use a stepladder to decorate the top half of the tree but eventually manged to fill it with decorations. The only thing left was the star. Maddie picked up Charlie who was holding the star eagerly and climbed the ladder to the top before holding him out toward the top of the tree.

'Put the star on the top Charlie,' she instructed, and he reached out to rest the star on the top branch.

'Looks good,' said Tommy as Charlie clapped happily at their finished work.

Maddie climbed down with Charlie and admired the tree when the sudden realisation came to her that they had to leave early the next day for May's party, making her grimace.

'What's the matter?' asked Tommy, pulling her and Charlie into a hug.

'It's that fucking party tomorrow,' she grumbled. 'I just hope it doesn't ruin my Christmas.'

Tommy breathed out a laugh, running his fingers through Maddie's hair softly. 'It won't. Maybe you'll enjoy yourself, eh?'

'I suppose so…' sighed Maddie as Tommy kissed her forehead softly.

'Fucking party!' yelled Charlie suddenly, causing them to jump and look at him in shock. Did he just swear? Maddie and Tommy shared a silent look before they both started laughing earnestly.

'Don't say that Charlie!' scolded Maddie unconvincingly. 'That's a grown-up word.'

Charlie laughed but didn't say the word again and instead pointed to his toys on the floor. 'Play with me!'

Maddie, Tommy and Charlie played in the living room for the remainder of the evening until they took Charlie to bed. She herself managed to get some sleep in Tommy's arms after they made love, but still she couldn't shake her nervousness about the party no matter how hard she tried.

'Are you sure I look alright?' asked Maddie as she looked down at her outfit again as she sat in the passenger seat of her car. She was wearing an expensive long sleeved black gown that was embroidered with beads and lace which came down to her shins, the neckline low but not scandalously so. It was paired with matching black shoes and white gloves and coat that were nowhere near warm enough for winter. She had also put extra effort into her hair and make-up, painting her lips dark red and styling her shoulder length hair into soft finger waves accompanied by a beaded headband.

'For the final time, you look fine,' replied Tommy tersely, not taking his eyes from the road.

They were on their way to May's mansion for her Christmas party and according to Tommy they were nearly there. For the last half of the journey, she had been obsessing over her appearance and incessantly asking Tommy if she had chosen the right outfit and if her makeup looked okay. This was her first big event that didn't involve just the Shelby's and her heart was currently beating out of her chest. Her hands also felt worryingly clammy and she sat back in her seat with a nervous sigh.

'I'm sorry,' she sighed, shutting her eyes. 'I'm trying not to be nervous.'

For fucks sake, Maddie, she thought, you have literally nearly died multiple times but a room full of normal humans scare you? Get a bloody grip.

'I know love,' replied Tommy, shaking away his frustration. 'You'll be fine once we get there. You're just thinking about it too much, eh?'

'Yeah, I know, you're right. As ususal,' she responded with a laugh, giving Tommy a roll of her eyes which he chuckled at.

Maddie managed to settle herself for the rest of the journey by watching the countryside go by out of the window. It was icy and grey out, but it cast a beautiful melancholy feel over the fields and made her feel calm. She took fleeting glances over at Tommy, smiling at how handsome he looked in his dress suit. He was normally clean cut on an average day, but today he looked even sharper than usual with his jet-black tuxedo, white scarf and trilby hat. The combination made her heart flutter and skin tingle, not to mention the new leather smell of her car was making her horny too. She half wanted to make him stop the car so they could fuck before getting there but she dared not risk ruining her appearance after all the effort she had put into it that morning.

Maddie had wanted to try driving her car some of the way there however she had realised quickly the day after receiving it that the thing was almost impossible to drive, and she was still struggling to not stall it every so often, so Tommy had made the decision to drive the whole way. How he managed to drive the huge lump of metal was beyond her; and all whilst looking so chill which frustrated her no end.

Another half an hour went by when Maddie spotted what must have been May's home in the distance and gasped audibly as it came into full view. The place was gigantic and looked like a palace out of a princess fairy tale. It must have been at least five times the size of Arrow House with what looked like ten times the amount of land. Even in the dull winter afternoon light, the place had a regal beauty about it that took her breath away.

'Fucking hell…' breathed Maddie, leaning forward in shock. 'I can't believe that anyone could live in a place like that.'

Tommy smiled briefly and nodded. 'I thought that when I first came here.'

Maddie had nearly forgotten that Tommy had of course been to May's house before and a small pang of jealousy upset her stomach as she realised that he had likely stayed here before back when he was sleeping with her. Maddie knew it was stupid to be jealous of May when whatever happened between the two of them was a long time ago and he was now engaged to her. Nevertheless, she wondered whether being here would bring Tommy's memories of sleeping with May inside those very walls back to him. He was a man, of course he would remember anything involving sex, the question was would part of him enjoy those memories. She shuffled uncomfortably in her seat at the thought and tried to push the idea from her mind. Until now she had not put much thought into whatever previous relationship Tommy had had with May, but her nervousness around the party was making her particularly paranoid it seemed.

Tommy drove them up the long winding driveway toward the mammoth house until they were pulling up outside the front door, the walls of the building looming over them. He came to a stop next to a doorman who was waiting for cars to arrive; the poor man looking like he had been stood in the frozen cold for hours. Maddie glanced at Tommy nervously who gave her an encouraging smile before getting out of the car as her door was opened by the doorman. He held his hand out for her to take which she did and stepped out of the car in as graceful a manner as she could. Tommy rounded the car and came to stand by her side as the doorman shut the passenger door. Another much younger man approached and Tommy handed him the car keys, informing him that their bags were in the boot.

'Of course, Mr Shelby,' said the man with a bow of his head before he went to get into the driver's seat. He'd better be careful with my car, thought Maddie as Tommy held his arm out for her to hook hers into.

He led Maddie toward the front door which was opened before they even reached it by a tall, pompous looking man who must have been the butler. They stepped through the front door into a large hallway that felt more like a ballroom with its size. She narrowly stopped herself from gawping like a fish, remembering where she was just in time. The walls were lined with paintings in expensive looking frames and equally as expensive looking antique furniture filled the lavish room. In the middle of the room was a huge Christmas tree that nearly touched the ceiling and made Maddie's Christmas tree back home look quite pathetic in comparison.

'Ah, Mr Shelby,' greeted the butler politely. 'And Miss Chapman. It is a pleasure to see you.'

'Thank you,' replied Tommy as he took of his hat which prompted Maddie to do the same.

'Lady Carleton and the other guests are in the reception room. May I take your coats before I show you the way?'

They handed their outer layers to the butler which he put away in a nearby cupboard before nodding to indicate they were to follow him. He led them through to an impossibly long corridor that seemed to go on forever with yet more pictures lining the wall and a plush carpet runner that ran the length of it. As they walked down the corridor, Maddie could hear the sound of chattering voices echoing toward them and she couldn't stop her heart from beating faster in her chest. The house was already intimidating enough, now she had to deal with a room full of posh people too? She glanced up at Tommy who as usual was looking annoyingly calm and stoic prompting her to question whether he was actually nervous on the inside.

Eventually, they reached what must have been the reception room and the butler turned into one of the open doors. They followed him into the room and Maddie had to hold in her shock yet again. The room was another huge space but was filled with expensive furniture that was a deep gold colour, the curtains and rugs matching this colour scheme. The room was decorated for Christmas as well, another huge tree in the corner of the room as well as an abundance of holly wreaths and ornaments around the room making it look very festive and warm. There were already a large number of guests that had arrived that were scattered around the room drinking and chatting happily together and after a second, Maddie saw May emerge from the crowd and approach them, nodding to the butler who bowed and made to leave the room the way he came.

'Tommy,' she said, smiling softly at him and taking his hand to shake before turning to Maddie. 'Madeline. It's lovely to see you both. Thank you for coming.'

'Thank you for inviting us,' replied Tommy with a curt nod.

'Yes, thank you,' agreed Maddie, also shaking May's hand. 'Call me Maddie by the way.'

'Ah, forgive me, formalities and all that,' nodded May. 'How was your journey here?'

'Uneventful,' said Tommy. 'Although I'm afraid it might start snowing tonight.'

'Yes, Ronald was saying the same thing just now,' hummed May. Urg, is this all that these people talk about? The weather? They really did live up to British stereotypes. 'Come, I'll introduce you to a few of my friends and I'll be sure to show you to where you'll be staying tonight before we go for dinner.'

May turned and led them toward a group of people who were talking animatedly amongst themselves. She introduced Maddie and Tommy to them who shook their hands and smiled politely. Maddie smiled sweetly back; a smile that she had been practicing in the mirror for the past couple of days. A couple of the men already seemed to know of Tommy as they commented that it was good to finally meet him and he responded the same way, indicating to her that he likely knew who the majority of the people in the room were. Of course he does, she grumbled internally, I wish I knew at least a few faces in here.

For the best part of an hour, Maddie and Tommy were led around and introduced to various people and pulled into snippets of random conversations. All the while, she maintained her grip on his arm like a lifeline, likely making her look like a lost puppy. She however couldn't bring herself to break away and mingle by herself just yet and hoped her courage would come to her soon. She was struggling to commit everyone's names to memory, a problem which Tommy didn't seem to have, and she was relying on him saying their names in order to remind her of them. The last thing she wanted was to commit the faux pas of forgetting someone's name at an event like this.

It also didn't take Maddie long to realise that she and Tommy were the only people who had accents that weren't posh. The only exception was one couple, Gregory and Susan, who had strong Yorkshire accents who so far had been the friendliest faces in the room. This made her self-conscious of her Brummy accent for the first time in a while. Since she had been surrounded by people whose accents were stronger than hers for months, she hadn't realised just how thick her own had become and she tried her best to soften it a bit. May, who had broken away from them not long after greeting them, welcomed a handful more faces to the party as they arrived before she approached them again not long after five o'clock.

'Dinner will be served before too long,' she said. 'Let me show you to the guest wing.' Did she just say guestwing? Maddie glanced up at Tommy and raised her eyebrow at him and she saw his lips tilt upward in an amused smile as they followed May out of the room.

The guest wing felt like it was the same size as the entirety of Arrow House with even more bedrooms. All these rooms just for guests? I couldn't imagine having this many rooms just for that, Maddie thought. The staircase up to the second floor was wide and grand and looked like it belonged in the main wing and not the one for guests. They were led along the upstairs corridor a short way until May stopped and indicated to two separate doors opposite one another causing Maddie to look at her confused. Hang on… separate rooms? Is she joking?

'Maddie this will be your room,' said May, holding her hand out to the first door. 'And Tommy, I'm sure you recognise this room from your last stay here.'

A small but definitely sly smile tugged at the corners of May's lips, and she gave Tommy a knowing look which caused acid to rise into Maddie's throat. His last stay? Don't tell me that's the room they fucked in? Maddie stared daggers into May as she continued to look up at him with an almost seductive look in her eyes before Maddie whipped her gaze up to him. He was looking back down at May blankly but didn't say anything and she felt herself take in an angry breath, her nostrils flaring as she opened her mouth to speak. Tommy, as if suddenly sensing this, placed his hand on her arm by her side, stopping her in her tracks.

'Thank you, May,' he said curtly with a nod of his head.

'My pleasure,' she hummed. 'Your bags should have already been brought up. Join us again downstairs when you're ready.'

Tommy kept his hand on Maddie's arm as May walked away back toward the stairs, waiting until she disappeared around the corner before letting go.

'What the fuck was that about?!' hissed Maddie angrily as soon as they were alone and out of earshot, casting Tommy a sour look.

'She's just trying to get a rise out of you,' said Tommy, letting himself look annoyed now May was gone. 'Don't give her the satisfaction, eh?'

'Easy for you to say when she was looking at you like you're some kind of snack,' she snapped, folding her arms over her chest in annoyance.

'A snack?' he asked, an amused look painting his features.

'Y'know, like she wanted to eat you up,' clarified Maddie. 'And what's with the separate rooms anyway?'

Tommy huffed out a laugh, evidently finding her frustration more funny than serious. 'Don't worry, I don't plan on sleeping in there tonight.'

'I should hope so,' she murmured. 'Otherwise, I'd assume you'd be lying there thinking about what you and May did in there the last time you were here.'

Tommy's expression darkened suddenly, and Maddie quickly regretted her admittedly harsh jab, looking away from his eyes awkwardly.

'We didn't sleep together in that room,' he said matter-of-factly, making Maddie's heckles rise.

'Oh, so you snuck through the house to her room? That makes it okay then,' she scoffed.

'Maddie,' he warned, his voice dangerously low. 'Let's not have this argument now.'

'Why not?' retorted Maddie, finding her confidence again. May's behaviour, she realised, had really gotten to her and made her more insecure that she cared to admit. 'There's no way you haven't, at least once, thought about the time you slept with May since we got here.'

Tommy sighed angrily, turning away from her and running his hands through his hair before turning back to face her gain. 'What do you want me to say Maddie?' he asked bitterly. 'It's impossible for anyone not to remember that when you see the person again.'

Maddie huffed and looked away from him in frustration. Of course he was right, anyone would be forced to picture the past when they saw their ex-lover, even if it was only for a brief second. This was evidently May's intention, to drive a wedge between them for her own satisfaction, and it looked like it was working.

'I know…' sighed Maddie, looking at the carpet stubbornly. 'I can just tell she still wants you.'

'Well, unfortunately for her, I don't want her,' said Tommy, his voice regaining its softness.

His hands were soon on her, resting on her upper arms and massaging them with his thumbs. Maddie sighed and looked up to meet his eyes and saw that he was giving her a soft smile to indicate he had already forgiven her for starting the argument. They looked at each other for a moment before Tommy dipped his head to connect his lips to hers softly. She let the warmth of his whiskey flavoured lips melt her insecurity and frustration away for the moment and she let him deepen the kiss as his hands came up to cup her face. After a few seconds, she felt his tongue run along her bottom lip and force her mouth open to explore inside and she gripped onto his jacket roughly. A minute passed and they broke apart to take a breath, Maddie unable to keep the smile from her face as Tommy tilted his head to whisper in her ear.

'How about I create some better memories to replace the old ones, hm?' he teased, pushing her backwards slowly toward her bedroom door until her back was against it. She giggled despite herself and reached out to find the doorhandle.

'But isn't dinner going to be served soon?' she asked, purely for the purpose of winding Tommy up for the sake of it.

'We have time,' he replied huskily, pushing the door open and they stumbled inside.

Thankfully, the guests were still in the reception room by the time Maddie and Tommy made it back downstairs. He had kept his head between her legs until she was writhing in ecstasy on the bed and had cum twice into his mouth. She had wanted to return the favour but he refused, not wanting her make-up to be ruined, even though he looked like he desperately wanted to get her on her knees in front of him. It was for the best it seemed because it took her some time to correct her hair as well as readjust her underwear and garters which he had thoughtlessly twisted and tangled during his assault of her pussy. As a result however, they were absent for a good forty minutes and she had to try her best to suppress her blush when they reappeared.

'Ah, Mr Shelby!' called a man whose name Maddie couldn't remember, who was stood with several other men making them look over in their direction. 'Just the man we wanted to speak to!'

The man started beckoning to Tommy enthusiastically and he looked down at her apologetically. 'Go and mingle for a while. I have business I want to discuss with them,' he said and Maddie pouted at him discreetly but nodded with a sigh.

'Okay,' she replied, and Tommy dipped his head to give her a fleeting kiss. His lips still tasted of her arousal, and it immediately made her pussy throb so that she couldn't help but give him a hazy look as they separated. She manged to catch his sly smirk just before he turned to walk away toward the men.

Well, I guess I'm on my own for a while conceded Maddie as she rubbed her arm nervously and looked around the room before deciding to go to the drinks table. As she walked toward it, she spotted May and made eye contact with her. May's expression betrayed that she had noticed their absence and Maddie pursed her lips together in a smug smirk before moving her gaze away and continuing toward the drinks table, feeling considerably more cheerful.

She helped herself to a glass of expensive looking champagne when she sensed someone walk up beside her and looked up to see that a woman she had been introduced to earlier had come over to her. Maddie recalled that the woman's name was Anabelle and that she had seemed much friendlier than all the others she had spoken to earlier. Anabelle was roughly the same height as her with blond hair that was almost white in colour and was styled in finger waves. She had pale green eyes that sparkled like jewels with long dark eyelashes. She wore a pale grey dress that hugged her curvy body flatteringly and Maddie remembered concluding earlier that Anabelle was the most attractive woman in the room by far. Despite this, her friendly innocence meant that she wasn't worried that Anabelle would end up turning Tommy's head with her radiant beauty.

'Maddie, isn't it?' said Anabelle in a well-spoken accent, smiling widely.

'Yes, that's right,' said Maddie nervously. 'Anabelle?'

'Oh, please call me Annie,' she replied with a tinkling laugh that made Maddie smile immediately. 'When I saw you earlier, I thought 'there's a lady who looks like she knows how to have fun'. Honestly the people at these parties can be such a bore sometimes.' Maddie laughed, not expecting Annie to be so forthright in insulting her fellow guests. She picked up another champagne glass and passed it to Annie who gave her a devilish look. 'You're a woman after my own heart. There's nothing that a decent glass of bubbly can't fix!'

Maddie and Annie chatted together for a good while and Maddie soon felt herself begin to relax a little. Annie was very easy to talk to and asked questions in a way that allowed her to speak without sounding awkward. Annie seemed genuinely interested in Maddie's life and didn't make any kind of rude comments when she told her she used to (in theory) work in a library. In return, Maddie discovered that Annie was married to one of the men May knew through the horse racing board and spent most of her time taking up hobbies like painting as well as outdoor sports which surprised her greatly. The two of them seemed to bond quickly and Maddie felt like she wanted to tell Annie about who she really was and about her secret slayer identity. But that of course would be an unwise idea and so Maddie kept up her façade, feeling slightly uncomfortable lying to someone she actually liked.

'What are you pair chatting about?' came a new voice interrupting their conversation. The two of them looked to see two women approach them and Maddie didn't fail to see Annie roll her eyes a little out of the corner of her eye. Maddie hadn't been introduced to the women yet and figured they must have arrived whilst she was upstairs.

'Maddie has just been telling me about herself,' said Annie, a definite sound of ire in her voice signifying to Maddie that she didn't like these two women. 'Maddie, this is Greta and Betty. They are married to the two gentlemen talking to your fiancé over there.'

Maddie looked in the direction that Annie indicated to see Tommy deep in conversation with two wealthy looking men.

'How do you do, Maddie,' said Greta, holding out her hand which Maddie shook before doing the same with Betty's.

'Very well, thank you,' replied Maddie as she realised she ought to ask a polite question to get the conversation going. 'Are you enjoying the party?'

'Yes, May has done a wonderful job this year I must say,' replied Betty before she looked over her shoulder in her husband's direction. 'So, you are Thomas Shelby's fiancé?'

Betty's voice had an edge of bitchiness to it and Maddie now understood why Annie didn't like these two women. She regarded Betty a moment, wondering where she was going to take this line of questioning.

'Yes,' nodded Maddie. 'I am.'

'And what is it that you do?' asked Greta now, a knowing smirk on her painted red lips.

'I did work in a library, but I stopped working there after Tommy proposed,' said Maddie as she felt her nerves begin to come back with a vengeance.

'Well, I'm sure that must have been… lovely,' droned Betty before her gaze flitted downwards to look at the ring on Maddie's finger. 'I'm surprised you didn't sell that ring as soon as he gave it to you after working a job like that.'

Maddie felt the hairs on her arms stand to attention immediately and had to clench her teeth together hard to stop herself from lunging at Betty and ripping her to shreds. She managed to keep her expression calm, however she didn't realise that her grip was tightening on the stem of her champagne glass and it snapped in two in her hand, making a loud cracking noise that caused the women to all jump in surprise.

'Oh, my goodness! Be careful not to cut yourself Maddie!' exclaimed Annie who waved over a maid who came and retrieved the broken glass from her as Maddie apologised profusely.

Luckily, she hadn't cut herself but she could feel herself blushing like a beetroot as she felt Greta and Betty's judgemental stares boring into her as she kept her eyes downcast. Annie handed her a new glass which Maddie held with as slack of a grip as she could without dropping it before looking back up at the two women.

'I'm sorry about that,' she said. 'I don't know my own strength sometimes.'

Maddie now knew she needed to be careful. The stem of the glass had been thin yes, but being able to break it in one hand was still difficult for any other woman her size. If any other incidents were to happen that night, she may well risk blowing her cover. Greta and Betty shared a bitchy glance with each other and pursed their lips, looking like they were about to continue their interrogation of Maddie when Annie's high-pitched voice interrupted them.

'Come, Maddie,' she said loudly, hooking her arm into hers. 'I simply must show you May's library. She has the most wonderful collection!'

With that Maddie let Annie lead her away from Betty and Greta, crossing the room toward a set of large double doors that led to the room next door. Once they were out of earshot of Greta and Betty, Annie sighed audibly and made a snorting noise with her nose.

'Honestly, those two women are just ghastly,' she said. 'You pay no mind to them Maddie. I'm surprised their husbands still put up with them in all honesty.'

Maddie let herself laugh with Annie as they reached the doors. Annie had already proved to be a great friend in such a short space of time and Maddie decided then she would try to spend most of the evening with her if she could. Annie opened the double doors and stepped inside with Maddie following close behind and they found themselves inside a huge and beautiful library. The walls were lined with bookshelves that extended from floor to ceiling and were filled with thousands of leather-bound books. There were ladders that were attached to rails on the floor and ceiling that were used to reach the top shelves and Maddie's face lit up.

'Oh, wow! I've always wanted to see one of these!' she exclaimed, hurrying over to the ladder and stepping onto the first rung. Annie laughed as she followed Maddie over to the ladder.

'I would have thought the library you worked at would have had these?' asked Annie. Oh fuck! Quick, Mads, think of something!

'Oh, er, actually at the library I worked at we had to use small stools to reach the top shelves. Besides the shelves there weren't nearly as high.'

Annie nodded as Maddie held out her hand to her. She took it and Maddie pulled her onto the step with her before pushing the ladder along its's track with a push of her foot. They giggled hysterically as the ladder travelled along the line of bookshelves before coming to a sudden halt as it reached the end of the track near the window. Maddie had to catch Annie who nearly fell off with the sudden stop, her drink which was still in her hand sloshing out onto the floor.

'I knew you were going to be such fun Maddie!' laughed Annie. 'Oh, you and Tommy simply must come to our home after the new year and spend the weekend.'

'That would be great!' agreed Maddie, already excited at the idea. It looked like she had made a new friend in Annie, and she made a mental note to add her to the list of invitees to the wedding.

They stepped off the ladder and admired the books on the shelves for a couple of minutes when they heard someone step into the room and looked up to see a man in his mid-forties. He was tall and intimidating but had a handsome rugged face that had a softness to it.

'There you are Annie,' he said, beaming as he saw her. 'I was wondering where you had snuck off to.'

'Oh Teddy, I simply must introduce you to Maddie,' exclaimed Annie as she grabbed Maddie's arm and led her over to Teddy. 'Maddie, this is my husband, Teddy.'

'It's a pleasure,' smiled Maddie, holding out her hand which Teddy took and kissed, making Maddie blush slightly. It was a good job Tommy wasn't there otherwise he may well have given him a stern look for making his fiancé blush so shamelessly. Teddy however was gracious and didn't take notice of her embarrassment.

'Lovely to meet you Maddie,' said Teddy. 'I was just talking to Tommy in fact. He has asked for my help in getting your horse entered for the Derby next year.'

'Oh, how splendid!' clapped Annie. 'You are both welcome to join us in our box on the day, don't you agree Teddy.'

'Absolutely.'

The couple smiled at her, and Maddie nodded graciously. 'Thank you, that's awfully kind.'

Just then they heard a voice from inside the reception room call that dinner was to be served and Teddy held his hand out for her and Annie to go ahead of him back into the room.

'After you ladies.'

They went back into the reception room and Maddie quickly spotted Tommy looking around for her with a furrowed brow and sniggered to herself. She told Annie and Teddy to go on ahead before walking over to Tommy who eventually spotted her and quirked his eyebrow at her.

'Where did you go?' he asked as she fell into step next to him.

'I made a new friend,' said Maddie happily. 'Teddy's wife Annie. We were exploring the library.'

Tommy lifted his lips in a slight smile and nodded. 'I'm glad you get along with her. Teddy is a very influential man on the board.'

Maddie rolled her eyes at him. Why does everything have to be business with him?

'I'm not going to use her to get closer to the board, Tommy,' said Maddie. 'I actually like her and her husband. I want to invite them to our wedding.'

Tommy chuckled this time and nodded again but didn't say anything further. They followed everyone out into the corridor and were led down to the dining room. Inside was a long rectangular table that ran the length of the entire room and was decorated with seasonal decorations as well as name cards. They walked down the side of the table and found Maddie's name card but saw that Tommy's name was not next to her. He reached over the table to check the opposite seat and saw that it didn't have his name on it either and her heart sunk even lower when she saw Betty's name written there.

'They've separated all the couples,' said Tommy, placing the name card back on the table. Maddie looked at him nervously, the last thing she wanted was to be sat between people she didn't know for the entirety of dinner. Much less sit opposite that vile Betty woman.

'Do we really have to sit separately?' she asked, wanting to go and find Tommy's name so she could swap them with someone next to her.

'Everyone else is sat apart too,' he said, nodding his head at the table and she looked up to see everyone had started to sit down. She spotted Annie about five places up from her on the opposite side of the table and Teddy who had sat down even closer to the head of the table. 'I'll see you afterwards, eh?'

'Alright,' sighed Maddie and Tommy kissed the top her head before leaving to find his own seat.

Maddie sat herself down timidly and looked at the table settings nervously. There were several sets of cutlery laid out, some she had never come across before and she swallowed her saliva back, her mouth feeling dry after the champagne. She recalled what Ada had taught her about table etiquette and remembered that she simply had to work from the outside in with the knives and forks. However, there were a number of glasses on the table that she wasn't certain she knew what they were for. The only ones she recognised was the whiskey tumbler, for obvious reasons, and the red and white wine glasses. Otherwise, she was in the dark.

'Having trouble Maddie?' came a voice from across the table and she looked up to see Betty leering at her with a Cheshire like grin. She must have been watching Maddie staring at the table nervously and found it very amusing.

'No, I'm fine, thank you,' replied Maddie, trying her best not to sound annoyed.

Betty pursed her lips at her before turning to begin a conversation with the man next to her. At this point, the people sat next to Maddie took their seats and introduced themselves. The one on her left was a young man she had shook hands with earlier called James and on her right was an older man called Robert who she could immediately tell was already drunk judging by the smell of him. Great, this is going to be fun, she thought sadly.

Once everyone was seated, the waiting staff brought a selection of drinks around to the guests as they waited for the first course to arrive. Maddie picked the white wine and the waiter poured her a glass before pouring a sherry into the small glass that looked like a mini wine glass for Robert. So that's what that glass is for, she thought, making a mental note of it in her head. Whilst she waited for the first course, she sat back in her chair quietly as everyone else struck up conversation around her and sipped her wine as slowly as she could. At one point she leant forward to crane her neck to look down the table to try and spot Tommy but concluded he must have been sat on the same side as her some way down the table as she couldn't see him. She did however catch Annie's eye who smiled at her and gave her wink and she waved back to her, trying to look cheerful. As she sat back in her chair again, she spotted that Robert had been looking at her, his gaze pointed downward at her chest before he quickly looked away as she noticed him. Oh… hell no, he's a fucking pervert? This really is going to be a long ass dinner.

Finally, the first meal was served and Maddie was glad to have something to concentrate on. She ate the soup slowly and in silence, using it as an excuse to not get drawn into any conversations which as far as she could tell were all political and very boring. During the first few courses, she noticed Robert steal yet more glances down the front of her dress whenever he could, and she soon felt her temper rising dangerously. If he wasn't careful, he was going to end up with a cake fork in his eye very soon.

During the main course, Robert was distracted by the person next to him asking him something and Maddie sighed with relief and decided it best to try and make conversation at last and began talking to James next to her. He happily started talking about the financial situation in London, speaking as if she knew what he was talking about and she smiled politely, trying her best to look interested. This worked for a while until James was asked a question by the man opposite him and their conversation was at an end. She turned back to face her plate when she heard a sound next to her, as if someone was sniffing something and whipped her head round to see that Robert was actually leaning toward her slightly and was staring at her lap.

'Excuse me?' said Maddie, managing to keep her voice quiet so as not to create a scene.

Robert adjusted his gaze and leant back, giving Maddie a lustful look that made her stomach curdle. 'I'm sorry, miss,' he said, his words slurring slightly. 'I was just smelling your lovely perfume.'

Maddie narrowed her eyes at him but didn't respond. She wanted nothing more than to knock him out cold, but she couldn't, not here at least. She doubted that this man realised she was Tommy's fiancé as she was sure he wouldn't dare act so disgustingly if he knew. If only Tommy was sat closer so she could signal for him to come and save her, then she wouldn't have to withstand being sat next to this vile prick. The next course arrived then and she turned away from Robert as the plates were sat in front of her. A few seconds passed before she felt something touch her leg and realised that he had put his hand under the table and was trying to feel her leg. Her stomach turned horribly, and she immediately felt the urge to be sick. Right, that's it! With one rapid yet quiet movement she lifted her foot and stomped her heel hard onto the top of his foot underneath the table causing him to yelp loudly and withdraw his hand from her leg. This drew the attention of what seemed to be the entire room and Maddie quickly put on an innocent face, turning toward Robert with a concerned expression.

'Oh, I am so sorry,' she trilled as everyone turned on them to see what the commotion was. 'I must have caught you with my heel by accident.'

Robert grimaced and reached down to rub his foot for a few seconds before he looked up at her and she caught his eye before he glared at her angrily as she gave him an equally venomous stare back. He looked like he was about to say something when suddenly his gaze shifted upwards to look at something behind her and his face dropped to one of fear almost immediately.

'Maddie, is everything alright?' came Tommy's familiar voice and she felt his hands rest softly on her shoulders making her instantly much calmer. He must have heard Robert's scream and correctly concluded that Maddie had something to do with it and decided to investigate. By now, the entire table was likely watching them, and she let herself smile as she watched Robert's face turn a ghostly shade of white and a sheen of nervous sweat break out on his forehead as he realised who's fiancé he had been harassing.

'I'm afraid I may have wounded poor Robert's foot,' said Maddie with an air of womanly innocence, giving Tommy a silent glance to try and communicate what had been going on. His jaw muscles tensed, and she knew that he had likely guessed what had been happening.

'Oh, no, no it's fine Mr Shelby,' stammered Robert. 'It was an accident I'm sure, do forgive my outburst.'

Maddie looked up at Tommy again to see him staring icy daggers into Robert for several seconds as he looked away nervously. Eventually, Tommy turned his gaze to her, silently asking if she was alright and she nodded to him.

'I'm fine, go and sit back down,' she said, giving him a small smile. Tommy hesitated but nodded, giving Robert one more dangerous look before he squeezed her shoulder and walked away back to his chair.

The tension around them quickly relaxed and Robert turned away from her hastily causing her to smirk victoriously to herself as everyone continued their conversations.

'What's it like having a racketeer for a future husband?' asked Betty, prompting Maddie to look back at her, no longer bothering to hide her distaste for Betty in her features. 'I imagine scenes like that happen often.'

'I suppose it happens every now and again,' replied Maddie before dropping her voice so only Betty could hear. 'So, may I suggest you don't get on my bad side.'

Betty blinked, looking suddenly nervous before recovering and sneering back at her and turning to talk to the person next to her again. Ha, I thought as much, thought Maddie and she went to continue eating in peace.

Needless to say, Robert didn't so much as cast his eyes in Maddie's general direction for the rest of the meal and the final few courses passed by with relative quickness. Once everyone had finished, May announced that the party would move into the ball room and everyone began to stand up and reunite themselves with their partners. Tommy came and found Maddie immediately, pulling her aside with an angry expression on his face.

'What did he do to you?' he asked in a low voice, the fury evident in his tone.

'Forget about it, Tommy. I think he's learnt his lesson,' replied Maddie. They had already created enough turmoil as it was, the last thing they needed was for him to do something stupid when he had some important business deals on the line at this party.

'Maddie,' Tommy warned, looking down at her sternly for an answer making her sigh. He evidently wasn't going to let it go that easily.

'He kept looking down the front of my dress,' she admitted, and she watched as Tommy's jaw rippled as he took in her words. 'Then he leant in to sniff me before trying to feel my leg.' Tommy huffed an angry puff of air out of his nostrils before looking around to try and spot Robert who had predictably already made himself scarce. 'Seriously Tommy, leave it be. You've scared him out of his wits already.'

He sighed and gave her a frustrated look but agreed, turning to lead her out of the dining room with everyone else. They entered the ball room, which was much grander than the reception room with a band already playing in the corner as the guests with their after-dinner drinks in hand began to fill the room. Not long after they walked in, Annie scurried over to them, taking Maddie's hand.

'What was all that about at dinner?' she asked eagerly. 'Don't tell me old Roaming-eyes-Robert was giving you grief?'

'Yeah, but don't worry I took care of it,' said Maddie as she felt Tommy's body stiffen next to hers at hearing Robert's nickname. 'So, he's done this before?'

'Oh, he tries to get a good look at all the women at May's parties, the old slime ball,' scoffed Annie with a sour expression. 'But he's close family to her so she has to invite him.'

By the sounds of it, most people at the party were aware of Robert's behaviour and Maddie had the sudden realisation that May might have sat her next to him on purpose. That fucking bitch of a woman, she thought, she really is going out her way to piss me off. She looked back up at Tommy, squeezing his arm to get him to relax his still stiff muscles and he looked down at her with a stern expression that told her he was more than a little angry.

'Why don't we go outside for some fresh air?' suggested Annie with a smile. 'There's a beautiful fishpond by the patio.'

Maddie for one felt like she could use a dose of the frigid night air to calm her nerves and by looks of it so could Tommy. She nodded and tilted her head to him to come with her before beginning to pull him to follow Annie who was making her way toward as set of glass doors that led to the patio. As soon as she stepped outside, the icy cold air hit her like a brick wall and she inhaled sharply, her breath fogging as she breathed out. It had also begun to snow, just as Tommy predicted, which was falling in large pretty flakes that were settling on the ground. It was a good job she was wearing a long-sleeved dress that evening as she was sure she wouldn't last five minutes in the cold otherwise. There were already a handful of people out on the patio who evidently had the same idea. One of which was May, who noticed them immediately as they walked out and was quick to start beckoning Tommy over to her. She was stood with two men who looked over in their direction also and he stopped momentarily before looking down at Maddie.

'I should go and speak to them,' he said. 'We're close to closing a deal.'

'Alright,' said Maddie with a small sigh, disappointed that Tommy was being taken away from her again so quickly.

Tommy released her arm, giving her hand a firm squeeze before walking away in the direction of his beckoners as she hurried to catch up with Annie. She had walked over to the far end of the large patio and had stopped at the edge of a large pond that looked pitch black in the darkness and Maddie joined her by the water's edge. The pond had completely frozen over and the snow was beginning to settle on the surface.

'Look there, can you see?' said Annie, pointing to something in the water. Maddie peered into the dark abyss of the pond and spotted a brief flash of orange and silver underneath the ice before it disappeared again.

'Isn't it too cold for fish in there?' she asked, wondering how the hell the scaly creatures were still alive with their home frozen over.

'I don't know, maybe,' replied Annie as they continued to stare into the dark pool.

'What are you two ladies doing?' asked a voice behind them and they both turned to see that Greta and Betty had found them again. Urg, groaned Maddie internally, don't these women have anyone else to annoy?

'Just admiring the pond,' replied Annie sourly, who sounded more pissed off than Maddie was feeling. 'What's brought you two out here?'

'It was getting too warm inside. We decided the night air would wake us up,' replied Greta.

The four of them stood and engaged in forced conversation about some internal gossip as one of the waiting staff brought drinks to the people stood outside which Maddie accepted hastily. Luckily, Annie was quite adept at carrying conversation, even with people she evidently disliked, and Maddie was able to mostly stand and listen to them chat. They whittered away about all the recent drama that had unfolded between the rich people that they knew, none of which she understood as she was not familiar with who they were talking about.

'I swear to you!' exclaimed Betty. 'She found him in their bed with some local whore! Now if that wasn't a scandal for the times, then I don't know what is.'

Annie scoffed, evidently unimpressed. 'Well, it's hardly a shock to me. They had barely spoken to each other in months.' Maddie hadn't a clue who they were referring to, but found the gossip entertaining, nonetheless. After a further minute of gossip, the snow began to fall heavier and Annie looked up into the sky, her cold flushed cheeks shining as she and the others began to shiver violently. 'Perhaps we should go back indoors,' she said before starting walk in the direction of the house as the others nodded in agreement.

That was indeed a good idea as Maddie herself could feel her fingers and toes starting to go numb. Before going into the house however, she decided she wanted to try and get another glimpse of the fish and turned to look over the edge of the pond again, squinting into the darkness.

Suddenly, Maddie felt a force shoving her from behind against her back and before she knew it, she was falling headfirst into the icy water of the fishpond.