The Golden Girl ↠ Finn Shelby

CHAPTER 46 ↠ trip to london

"Bea!" he shouts. When he gets to her he jumps to her arms and Bea holds him up in a hug.

"You still remember me?" Bea asks surprised, since it had been a few months since he'd last seen her.

"Of course."

Bea continues to hold Charlie as she walks and stops behind Lizzie, who was rocking Ruby to sleep.

"She's so beautiful," Bea compliments and reaches Ruby's little hand with a finger she holds onto.

"Let's go have lunch then," Tommy rushes. "We need to get back to work."

They had a calm lunch and afterwards Arthur and Polly came to work of the business as well.

"Hello, love!" Arthur greets overly excited.

"Hi," she greets suspicious.

Arthur moves to her side and puts an arm around her shoulders.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine. How are you?"

"Great, great... I was just wondering how you could have ended up being part of the family."

"Arthur," Polly warns.

"Part of the..." she stops speaking and looks at Tommy as realization soon hits her. "If I had known you were going to tell everyone..."

"I only told Arthur."

"I obviously told Polly," Arthur says shamelessly. "Polly told Ada."

"For Peaky Blinders, you speak way too much. I wouldn't have guessed that you are the same people that pretended Arthur was really dead, or that kept a secret the whole plan with Polly pretending to sell out Tommy to Luca."

"Oh, that was business," Arthur dismisses. "This is... a funny theme of conversation."

"I don't find it funny," Bea affirms.

"Well, we do," Arthur says with a smile.

"Not necessarily funny," Polly says backing Bea, "but... interesting to know. I was surprised you didn't just marry him then and there."

"I thought we were here to work, not discuss Michael and I."

"Good thing there's not much to discuss between Michael and you. You said 'no' after all."

Bea rolls her eyes, removes Arthur's arm from her shoulders and walks ahead to Tommy's office.

The week passed by quickly and then Bea found herself on a train to London with Tommy and Polly. As soon as they arrived, Polly was gone to see Ada and, since Tommy didn't need Bea's helping hand at the moment, he told her to go with Polly.

They stayed there for a couple of hours, having tea and speaking to Ada — Bea listening more than speaking — and then they went to the hotel for dinner and a good night of sleep.

For four days, most Bea did was go in with Tommy to meetings, greet whoever was inside and then either sitting away from the table they were around but at hearing distance or she'd leave the place altogether.

The times she stayed, Tommy usually asked what she thought about what she had heard, what was said and how it was said and if she believed that the people supported Tommy or not. 

"Hey, Tommy, can I ask you something?" Bea asks the night before they are meant to go back to Small Heath.

"What?" he asks as he smokes, without looking at her.

"I was wondering if you need me to go back to Birmingham straight away."

"Why?"

"Because if you would give me three days I'd go and see my sisters..."

Tommy finally looks at her and studies her face in silence. The silence was deafening and his piercing blue eyes studying her face for so long made Bea uncomfortable, so she looked away as he continued to smoke while staring.

Starting to wonder whether the silence and the stare were because her question shouldn't even have been asked in the first place and the answer was obviously 'no', Bea was ready to get up and leave Tommy alone.

"Sure, you can stay in London for three extra days," Tommy finally agreed. 

So, the next day, Tommy and Polly went away and Bea stayed.