Chapter Text
“It’s beautiful.”
Thomas stared at her in shock. “What?” She nodded as she looked at the everyday people milling around the dirty streets. “This place is sh*t.”
She shook her head as she said. “I don’t think… I’ve never seen people this happy before.” He frowned. “Yes, I can see that they’re poorer and hard-working people, but,” her voice got softer. “The kids, running and playing in the street. I never had that.”
He looked at her from top to bottom. The clothes she was wearing were really nice. The blouse was covered in lace, and her skirt had embroidery on it. Her belt was on crooked as well. It was like she’d never dressed herself before, or she’d gotten dressed so fast that she didn’t work on her clothes. She was a curious woman, and he found her interesting. She was beautiful too, more so beautiful this morning. Her hair was hanging halfway down her back, and her green eyes were shining.
He cleared his throat and said. “Did you eat breakfast?”
She blinked and shook her head. “N-no.”
“Inside.” He hopped off the horse and moved towards the door. He opened it and yelled. “Finn!!!” Finn came running down and around the corner. Kate, she looked at the boy as if she were confused at the sight of him. He handed him the reins of Monahan. “Here. Take him back to the stables.”
Finn looks terrified. “But he’s big!!”
“Just walk the horse, Finn.” He said, tousling his hair. “You’re eleven on Sunday, remember?” Finn nods and walks uneasily in front of Monahan. If it were any other horse besides Monahan, he’d be concerned. Monahan was very laid back for a racehorse.
Finn looked back at him as he said. “Arthur’s mad as hell.”
“Whatever.” He exhaled deeply as he walked up to her. Those green eyes of hers widened as he approached her. “Inside.”
“Mr Shelby,” she cleared her throat as he turned her around. “I don’t eat breakfast as a rule.”
“Today you will.” He said as he opened the door for her. She stood there, waiting for him to go through this time. It was ridiculous. He’d never taken time to put stock in manners, but she made him consider it. He nodded for her to enter before him, and she smiled at him, dipping her head in gratitude. “Straight back is the kitchen.” She walked into the small kitchen and looked around. While she was high and mighty, somewhat, she didn’t turn up her nose at people. That was saying something. Ada was sitting at the table, eating jam on toast. Ada’s eyes widened in surprise as he said. “This is my sister, Ada. Ada, this is Kate.”
Kate nodded at Ada and said. “How do you do, Ada?”
Both he and Ada were surprised for a moment. Ada let out a laugh before saying. “Christ, this is the strangest thing you’ve brought home yet!” Kate started turning pink as she shifted backwards in surprise. He catches her and moves her forward towards Ada. “Does Polly know?”
“None of her f**king business,” he stated calmly before saying. “I have to talk to Arthur. You, make sure she eats. She’s going to be working at the Garrison.”
That only made Ada start laughing harder at him. “Her??? My God, Tommy! She’s not meant for that kind of life! Besides, what is she to you?”
“Like I said, Ada, none of your business.” Ada went still and shot him a look that said she’d yell at him later. “Now, make sure she eats.”
With that, he turned on his heel and headed to the betting room. He had a feeling that Kate didn’t even know how to cook an egg. Ada would help her figure that out. Whatever happened to her, she was strong enough to know that she had to adapt in order to survive. When he put his hand on her back, he could feel that she’d forgone the corset and a few other layers. She trembled every time that he touched her. He knew that it was from fear, and he hated that. She was a very innocent woman but resilient as well. He didn’t know if she had the guts to make it in this world, but he had a feeling that she could.
As for Arthur, he was, as Finn said, mad as hell. But Tommy was madder, and he didn’t really give a f**k. He was tired of living this way. He needed something to focus on, and he had big plans. He had big f**king plans. He was going to rig the races at Kimber’s and give everyone a reason to start making bets. On top of that, he’d made one hell of a discovery with the machine guns a couple of nights ago. Arthur could call a f**king family council tonight. He wouldn’t be there, and Kate, she’d give him the perfect excuse not to be there.
He entered the kitchen to see Kate and Ada laughing. Kate had her hair down…and he couldn’t help but stare at her for a second. Her hair was long, down to her waist, and it shone brightly in the light. “Right,” Ada said. “Let’s see if you’ve got it down now.”
“I think so.” He watched as Kate threw her hair over her shoulder and began to awkwardly braid it. Her fingers were stiff, but she was doing it properly. It would probably come undone in a matter of hours, but she’d get used to it. “Is this right?”
Ada laughed and nodded. “Yes, yes it is.” She shook her head before asking. “Where’d you come from?”
Kate’s fingers paused for a second before saying. “Somewhere far away. Most people don’t even know it exists.”
“How’d you wind up here?”
She was silent a moment before stating. “I ran away.” Ada blinked in surprise. “I don’t want to go into details, but… I had a feeling that, if I didn’t get out of…that place, that I was going to kill myself.” That caused him and Ada to go still. “I couldn’t…take one more night of being confined to my room, ordered about and drugged to force me to sleep.”
“Who was doing that?” Ada asked as she placed her hand near Kate. “Who?”
Kate blinked and whispered. “I really can’t say. Your brother is kind enough to help me find a job, and in time, I will find an establishment to reside in. But… I really do not want to reveal too much of my past.” Her voice got soft again, that softness full of pain that he knew all too well. “If the time comes and I have to go back” – he didn’t like the sound of that. “I don’t want my memories of my time here to be tainted with memories of…that other place.”
He knocked on the doorframe, and she spun around, forgetting her braid and letting it unravel. He cleared his throat and asked. “You ready?”
“Yes.”
“She needs to braid her hair first,” Ada says.
Kate nodded at him. “One minute.” He just turned her around to face him, gathered her hair and began to braid it tightly.
Ada laughed. “Haven’t seen you braid a girl’s hair in a while, Tom.”
“Braided yours, didn’t I?” he asked.
“That’s why I cut it all off!” Ada teased.
He ignored her teasing and asked Kate. “Did you eat?”
She nodded. “I had some toast.”
“She’s never used a toaster before, Tom.”
He nodded. “I thought so.” He grabbed a tie from the table and tied a double knot in her hair. “Right, let’s go.”
“Where are you taking her?”
“Like I said before, the Garrison.”
“Tommy, she’s not going to fit in there.” Ada said. “You can have her work the books here.”
“Ada!” He said firmly.
“It’s alright.” Kate said, in that formal tone of hers. “I’ve been enough of an imposition, and I do not wish to rely further upon Mr Shelby’s kindness. It’s alright; I’ve never been in a pub, so I must confess to being curious as to what it’ll be like. In addition,” she exhaled as she said. “Some liveliness and honest work in my life would be a worthwhile thing for me.”
He nodded. “You heard her, Ada. She wants the job,” he nodded. “Come on.”
“Yes, Mr Shelby.” She nodded at Ada. “Thank you again.”
“No problem,” Ada said with a wave. “Tomorrow, I’ll teach you how to scramble an egg.”
“Thank you.” She said. “I’d very much appreciate that.”
“Come,” he repeated before turning and walking out of the room. Kate’s shoes clicked behind him, and she caught up with him. They went out of the Garrison, and he headed up the street. Again, he watched her out of the corner of his eye, and her eyes darted all around. She was genuinely excited and curious about this. That…made no sense to him. Why the f**k would a girl, especially one of her class, be excited to work in a pub? It made no sense. Her hand brushed his, and he glanced down at her hand.
“I’m sorry.” She instantly folded her hands in front of her, tightly gripping her middle and index fingers. Seemed to be her way of calming herself down without looking like she was terrified.
He didn’t say a word, mostly because he didn’t know what to say to her. The opportunity to talk to her would present itself in time, but for now, it was business. They entered the Garrison, and it was only slightly busy. As they headed towards the far end of the bar, he observed Freddie Thorne in the corner. It made sense that his name was Thorne, because he was becoming a massive ‘thorn’ in Thomas’s side.
“On the house, Mr Shelby,” Harry said, instantly pouring him a glass of whisky. He nodded at Harry, who turned to Kate, who was by his side. “Ah, you must be the one who’s come here for the job.”
“Yes, Sir. I am.” Kate inhaled. “I feel it’s my duty to tell you that while I have no qualifications or references, I always follow through with anything that I set my mind to.”
“Tommy recommended you,” Harry said. “That’s good enough for me. Now, have you ever poured a pint before?”
Kate shook her head. “No.”
Harry chuckled. “Come on, lass. There’s an apron in back of here. Put it on, and I’ll show you. There’s a big game coming Saturday, and you’ll need to be on your toes.”
“Yes, sir.”
Kate hurried around the bar, a faint smile on her face. “Sir,” Harry said dryly. “Where’d you find this one again?”
“She got into the back of my car to get away from three men chasing her.” Harry’s face went still. “Someone’s after her, so keep an eye on her.”
Harry nods. “Yes, Tommy.”
“Anyone shows up asking for her, you know nothing. Make sure no one bothers her either.”
“Yes, Mr Shelby.”
At that moment, Freddie walked up and said. “I’ll take a mild.”
“Right.” Harry said. “Come here, lass.”
Words faded as he watched Kate bustle over and pay attention to Harry instructing her as he poured. Kate nodded, and then Harry handed the glass to Freddie. Another barkeep walked over with a tray of dirty glasses and said. “Three milds to the table by the window.”
“Right,” Harry said. Thomas turned to see Kate, already filling three mugs with milk. Harry chuckled. “Well, Tommy wasn’t fooling when he said you were a fast learner.”
Kate smiled and focused on her job at hand. “Who’s that?” Freddie asked.
He exhaled as he said. “None of your business.”
Freddie seemed to know that Thomas wasn’t in the mood for any of his games today, so he decided to play it straight. “One of my union comrades has a sister. Works in the telegraph office at the BSA factory.” He didn’t care. “She says, over the past week, they've had messages coming up from London to the brass. From Winston Churchill himself. Something about a robbery.” Ok, now he cared a little bit. He focused on his whisky and the cigarette in his hand in order to appear unaffected. But Freddie knew him. “A robbery of national significance”, it's said. She found a list of names left in the telegraph machine. And on that list was your name and my name together. What kind of a list would have the name of a communist and the name of a bookmaker side by side?”
He never got to answer that question. Because right at that moment, Danny Whizz-Bang came barrelling into the Garrison like he’d been shot out of a cannon! Thomas turned towards him as people shouted in chaos while Danny began throwing chairs and stuff around. Kate had the extreme misfortune to be in his path when that happened, and Danny knocked her onto her back, sending all the mugs of beer into her face as she landed on her side. Well, she wanted some excitement…she was getting some and probably a scar to mark the occasion!