Juliet allows the stick to rest between her lips as she picks a bottle of rum and two glasses before placing them on the table. Tommy grabs the bottle and pours himself and Juliet a glass of rum.
"Where's Harry?"
"Spending time with his wife," Juliet says. "I told him I'd do the count and lock up. How's the horse?"
"I just put a bullet in his head," Tommy says.
"Oh," Juliet says quietly. "Was he lame?"
"He looked at me the wrong way," Tommy says. "No one looks at Tommy Shelby the wrong way"
"And what is the wrong way to look at Tommy Shelby?"
"With anything other than respect and fear,"
"And yet I look at you with neither," Juliet says. "Does that mean I should be waiting for a bullet to enter my skull?"
"No," Tommy shakes his head.
"You just get more confusing every time you open your mouth," Juliet says.
"You know, in France," Tommy says. "In France, I got used to seeing the men die. Never got used to seeing horses die, they die badly"
"The war spared no one," Juliet says. "Man or beast. I dug out a dress as you asked. Is it Cheltenham you were asking about?"
"The King will be there," Tommy says after a nod to Juliet's question.
"Billy Kimber?" Juliet asks and Tommy looks surprised.
"How do you know that?"
"I may be a woman but I'm not stupid. He's King of the racetracks," Juliet says. "And what is it I will be doing?"
"For two pounds, you'll do what I ask you to do," Tommy says.
"I want three. If I am meeting a King, I won't be wearing a cheap dress. Also, you'll allow singing as part of the deal too"
"Since when?" Tommy asks.
"Because I know you love music too. Saturday nights, open and easy. Grace and I. Everyone gets to sing their song just like I did in London and Grace in Dublin"
"I did some digging," Tommy says. "For what you were earning in that bar in London there is no way you could afford the clothing you own"
"Bartending is not my only talent Thomas," Juliet says.
"Then I found you would visit a publisher in London often but there are no works in your name," Tommy says. "Then I thought about your initials J.M Barrie."
"You figured it out," Juliet says. "Well done. Took you longer than I was expecting"
"So the locked room?"
"My study," Juliet says. "Filled with drafts and random bursts of inspiration"
"So," Tommy leans forward. "Is Peter a villain or a hero?"
"It's ambiguous," Juliet says and Tommy watches her listening to everything she said.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"He may be a hero to some, saving boys from parents who don't want them. But he can also be viewed as a villain. It's all about the point of view of the story. The point of view characters of the story are Wendy, John and Micheal and they never find out the truth. To them, Captain Hook is just an evil pirate chasing after their friend Peter Pan for no apparent reason. The story is framed to look like a good-hearted boy who just doesn't want to grow up being chased down by an evil pirate the true situation of the story is much darker. The real story is about a psychopath who tortures people just because he finds it fun being chased down by one of his victims who has been driven mad and now goes to extremes just in the name of revenge. But as I said, it's completely ambiguous"
"Do you believe people can be viewed with such ambiguity?"
"Yes," Juliet says. "I believe they can. It's about perspective and personal moralities"
