Anna [J.Shelby]

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

"What's happened?" Anna asked, indulged by the blankets as she turned over tiredly to see John getting dressed at barely 6am.

John sighed, glancing over at her.

"One of our boys in the prison's been killed, Tommy came 'ere at half 5"

Anna's eyes softened, "poor boy"

"Was only young, too. Plenty of life ahead of him, no criminal record. Just getting by for his mother"

Anna sighed, "it's the way of living, doing jobs you shouldn't do just to get paid. Reality of the modern day, John."

John shrugged, leaving the room.

Later in the morning, Anna dropped the kids off at school and left Isabelle with the nanny before entering the closed off room next to the betting den, unexpectedly, Michael sat there.

"Oh, hello Michael"

He glanced up at the woman, offering her a small smile.

"Polly left you out here while she deals with the boys, ey?" Anna asked him.

"I thought it was a family meeting" He cleared his throat.

"Well if it was a family meeting, you would be included wouldn't you? No, if there's a load of men it's just a workers meeting. If there's only a small amount of men, it's inner circle and family only,"

"I would never have pictured you to be living in a place like here" Michael spoke after a while.

Anna laughed, "because I sound a little more 'posh'? There's a lot more to me than my accent, Michael."

"Where were you, before birmingham?"

"I lived in a very secluded village in Somerset, built around a church where I went every day to learn how to read and write and do basic math. I lived in a very religious household, which often made it unhappy as I grew older. And one day, just before the war something happened which caused my mother to claim me a sinner and kick me out. So I became a nurse in the war, travelled to France and was just behind the frontline. When it was over I stayed for a while, there were injured men who were not deemed fit to travel and while many nurses left to go home, myself and others stayed to tend to these men before I returned with nothing left for me"

"And you came here?"

"I needed somewhere different, somewhere loud and somewhere nobody would know my name or look at me twice"

Michael laughed, "that didn't work out well, the Shelby's looked twice at you"

"Your mother was very kind to me, and well, John was just the drunk man who came through the doors of the Garrison after hours"

This made Michael laugh, before he glanced to the door and got up.

"What are you doing?"

"I want to be apart of this, I want to be included" He admitted.

He messed with the door before it opened and Anna followed him, hissing to get back outside.

"Dont look at me, the boy has his own mind" Anna raised her hands as everybody turned to her for letting Michael come in.

"I thought I told you to lock that door." Polly's voice raised at John.

"He did, I used the key on the nail" Michael replied.

"Look, I've been listening, I wanna go with them" Michael spoke.

"You see!" Polly shouted.

"I love horses, I can even help!"

"Over my dead body." Polly spoke sternly, her voice raising an octave.

"It'll be alright, mum. I've been to loads of horse auctions before with me uncle. They're very respectable, people bring their buttlers" Michael tried persuading her.

"Yeah, and their posh wives" Arthur added with a grin.

"And their mistresses" John nudged Michael, making Anna raise her brow from behind him and clear her throat, John turning around sheepishly.

"Let him come Polly, we'll go there, buy a horse and come back" Arthur urged her.

"I'll drop him back at the house in Sutton before it gets dark" John told her.

"No. Fuckin' no" Polly continued.

Michael left the room with a face like thunder, shutting the door loudly behind him as Anna watched as he sat back at the table in a sulk.

Later that day, after a very long day, a day full of guilt over the lost boy, John returned home, wanting nothing more than to just be with his wife, talk to her, lie next to her.

Anna smiled at her husband as he entered, the kids already put to bed.

His arms wound around her waist as she smiled and leaned into his touch, glancing up at him as he leaned into the crook of her neck, his breath teasing her.

She turned around, wrapping her arms around his neck and brought her lips onto his, fitting together like a puzzle

She pulled away, staring into his blue eyes.

Anna's eyes spoke to him, he could see exactly what she was going to say, and he didnt waste time as her lips pressed against his lips, his jaw. John carried his wife to their bedroom, where time was lost.

Time was lost in kisses and whispers, Anna's eyes fluttering close as they moulded together indulging eachother.

"I love you, I love you" She whispered over and over again, breathlessly.

"I love you, I do" He breathed as he eased himself besides her, pulling her bare body into his arms and, kissing her neck.

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An extra Chapter to tide you all over until I figure out the rest of Series 2 ;)