thunder cloud. peaky blinders

TWO

CHAPTER TWO

The days leading to the meeting at the Eden chose to move excruciatingly slowly. Adelaide felt as if she was unable to speak, her voice escaping as a cold screech every time she parted her lips. Harry had not coped much better, electing to remain in silence for the hours they haunted their apartment in the city. But the silence was not as welcomed as she had thought it might be. It allowed her mind to wander freely, thinking of all that had been said by Sabini and his subordinates, of all that had been mentioned of Tommy Shelby.

Now, she could imagine his face, littered with deep, fiery cuts and covered by a swell of bruises. She could imagine his face, so bloodied and contorted, that she could no longer remember the attractive facade behind the blood. The face she used to love. In her memories, his appearance remained nearly unrecognisable. Beaten, his blue eyes now red and bloodshot- even Tommy's voice came different to her: faint, unsure and hoarse. Adelaide imagined crimson-coated lips, blood leaking from his mouth like tears, caused by an Italian blade, carved by an Italian hand.

Could she even trust her own recollection of her times in Birmingham? Her memories appeared sporadically as if she were plagued by amnesia of the past. Perhaps it was for the best that his face materialised as nothing more than an outline of blood and muck. It meant her memories couldn't tease her any longer.

Adelaide had left him in the past and it was there he was supposed to stay. It was painful, allowing the thoughts of him to come flooding in, sending that familiar warm feeling infecting her body once more. She craved to let herself welcome the thoughts, remembering the man as more than the outline, the name. Even years later, she wanted him still.

After a few days of solitude with her thoughts, the silence was broken by an abrupt knock at the door. It had been expected. On Saturday morning, Sabini's men escorted them to the Eden, the flashy club in the heart of London's party district. Their friend Robinson- Avery Robinson- was already waiting in the back of the car. Her face was the picture of annoyance, lips pulled flat into a narrow line, eyes creased with the wrinkles of a frown. Such expression was targeted toward the driver, who sat with his hat pulled far across his eyes as if it would prevent him from catching her gaze.

The siblings had met Avery a little over a year ago. She was quick-witted and not one to let go of an opinion too fast. Adelaide had liked her instantly, welcoming the closer company that was not her brother or Robert. The woman had little family of her own- the only relation being her brother, an important solicitor who worked far across the country. She herself was good with the law yet not yet allowed to practise it.

In the back of the car, they didn't speak.

When they walked into the club, surrounded by Sabini's cousins, Marco was immediately recognisable: sat in the middle of the busy room, his silk black hair covered by a slim fedora, and his prominent jaw resting on slender fingers. Hidden by a cigarette, his smile was smug- like he was part of an inside joke that no one else knew. 

The club around them was oblivious to the meeting occurring at the furthest table. The music was loud, flashy, fast paced and the lights glimmered a fresh gold, making an atmosphere that Adelaide couldn't recognise. It was strange to think that she had been in London for almost a year and yet she had never witnessed anything like it.

"Miss and Mr Davis, Miss Robinson, good to see you all, please sit," Marco said as he stood, straightening his dress jacket before he reached his hand out to shake. "I trust Mr Sabini has mentioned the air of business for this evening."