𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒 ♛ thomas shelby

xxxxɪ | ᴛʜᴇ ᴛɪᴇs ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʙɪɴᴅ

There was no changing for the Flanders Boys, Caterina had already learnt that lesson. Their bodies might be here, in Birmingham, but their minds would forever stay in the trenches of Belgium and France, along with any innocence they might have possessed.

"Do you, Arthur Shelby, take Linda as your lawful wedded wife," asked the priest, his eyes flicking over the groom with a poorly disguised distaste. There was wilderness in Arthur's blood, the very same one that fuelled the fire in Tommy's eyes, and kept John searching for comfort in other women's arms. Those in attendance who knew him the best looked on with apprehension towards the pair's future.

"I do," Arthur's eyes visibly watered, voice wavering as he uttered those two words. Tommy's eyes briefly flickered from his brother towards his lover sitting in the front pew. She was already looking his way before their eyes met, an unspoken promise filling the moment. Caterina's heart clenched for a brief second before she averted her eyes towards the couple.

"And do you, Linda, solemnly swear to love and obey, until death do you part?"

Polly almost inaudibly snorted behind her handkerchief, "Other way around, I should think so." Cat let herself smile ever so slightly, watching as the couple at the aisle exchanged their rings as a promise of eternal faithfulness.

"Should've been you and Tommy up there," Ada said under her breath, keeping one of her hands firmly clamped on Karl's shoulder, lest the boy ran off during the service. The Shelby streak in him had started to show more prominently in the past few months, causing mayhem with his older cousins and friends.

"We're busy for that kind of stuff," Caterina repeated for what seemed a millionth time in the past few months. It seemed to be expected almost, ever since she moved into the Arrow House and established herself as the de facto mistress of the household, people around them kept dropping annoying nudges and curious glances towards her ring finger.

"I'd like to witness it before I die, or I'll haunt you and your grand bourgeois mansion," Ada threatened softly, her bony hand grasping Caterina's own underneath the pew.

Caterina squeezed it back, wordlessly, as an assurance more to herself than the woman she liked to call her sister in all but blood.

A nudge came from their right, "Something for the palate," Polly passed a small, leather bound flash she procured from her handbag, winking at other women.

The priest was finally finishing up the ceremony, "What God put together may no man tear apart," and the couple took that as a sign to seal their union with a kiss.

"God and the Peaky Blinders," said Polly gravely as Ada passed the flask towards Caterina.

"Amen," she agreed, taking a swig from the flask, cherishing the familiar burn of gin down her throat. As she returned the flask to Polly, Caterina took a moment to survey her surroundings.

There was a foreign looking man lighting a cigarette at the end of the church, his eyes never leaving Tommy's face. It filled her stomach with icy dread, the way his dark eyes levelled on Tommy's brow, as if he was calculating some ungodly plan there, in the pews of their chapel. As soon as the organ sounded again, and its melody filled the chapel, it was a sign for the guests to file out.

"She's got relatives in uniform, on my grounds," Tommy ground out through his teeth. Gold and silver medals shone dimly in the January sun, proudly exhibited on the uniforms of Linda's cousins and uncles that once served as cavalry, sticking out in the crowd like a sore thumb. Many Blinders, the Shelby's included, cast hateful looks in their direction.