In Small Heath | Peaky Blinders

two; fast women and slow horses

Finn had dropped to a silent whisper, eyes trying to glance past his brothers that were blocking his view, unsuccessfully seeing the new comers to the betting den.

"— it is of great concern that you take a look over those papers and think accordingly. This could be rather beneficial to your family and also mine." The man spoke, causing Bash's head to tilt in confusion.

He hadn't heard the first part of the man's sentence but whatever it was- must be of great importance... to him, as he did sound like the type of man to be selfish and self-centred. His daughters, both of them, looked- from the quick glance the Shelby boy had been able to take, as though they were cut from the same cloth as their father.

Stuck up and obnoxious, the very people the Shelby's do their duty to avoid.

"I don't care if it's of great importance to the bloody King, I'm not marrying off my nephew just because you wrote a business proposition! He is a bloody man, not a horse, or a building." Polly snapped back, pointing an accusing finger in the man's direction.

That caused Bash to turn fully, and take a few rather dangerous steps into the betting den. The man's smile widened as if he had just seen his horse win the Grand National.

"Ah, you must be Sebastian Shelby, am I correct?"
"Father, can't we just leave? That woman clearly doesn't want me to marry him-"

Bash's face drained of colour. He didn't like women in the same way his brothers did, he found no interest in them- he didn't even enjoy the thought of having children. In fact, he had done almost everything in his power to prevent that from happening.

"Have we not thought about what he might want?" Tommy tried to rationalise, but the strangers weren't hearing him.

Actively ignoring Tommy was probably the dumbest thing they could've done, but it was their own damned fault when all said and done. 

"Our Bash can fix any horse, sir, but he ain't interested in your daughter. Not that I've just compared your daughter to a horse... sir." John started to talk, before being hushed out of the room by Polly.

In and amongst the shushing of the fourth born, Arthur couldn't help but hide his laughs in the sounds of talking. Arthur walked back into the kitchen, taking a swig of the now lukewarm cup of tea Ada had made for him almost an hour prior. The urge to spit it back into the cup was present but he knew he'd receive a clobber round the back of the head and he didn't want his brain rattled for a ninth time this month.

No one but Ada had any idea as to what the hushed conversation was about, other than Ada- who had been trying to keep the smallest Shelby from wandering into a conversation even the adults didn't want to be apart of.

"No, cause he cries a lot when horses go to be with mummy." Finn added in, a small yet ever so sad smile etched its way onto his face to better emulate the sadness in his voice.

Silence fell upon the siblings as all eyes turned to little Finn, who hadn't had the blessing of growing up with their loving mother.

"Can we reconvene when it doesn't feel like you've ambushed me into marriage? Because right now the last thing I want to do is stay and continue this conversation." Bash spoke out, finally looking the man; who he only just realised to be Crawford Longley JR, of Bakerloo, London, owner of a rather new and rather good football team.

Crawford Longley nodded his head in defeat, though had agreed to meet again later that week in the Garrison- a place where he thought would be neutral territory. Of course, The Garrison was far from neutral grounds but the man from London didn't need to know that.

"Good, glad we got that settled—" Bash paused, the cogs in his mind grinding away.

An idea popped into Bash's mind, as fresh as day, and now with a clearly upset little brother, he thought of no better time than the present to implement said idea and hopefully cheer little redhead up. Plus, it meant he didn't have to talk to the fast women now in the betting shop, and pay attention to the slow horses out in the field by Charlie's Yard.

Ole Faithful had been their mothers horse for as long as Arthur had been around, there wasn't a day when said horse was alone in his field. That was where Bash's love for horses came from- the sixteen hand horse with a mane of chestnut and the temperament of a saint.

"C'mon, Finney. Let's go see Ole Faithful while the grownups talk, yeah?" Bash told Finn, who was now comfortably on the older Shelbys back.

Despite the man and his two daughters being there for Sebastian Shelby and his godly looks, he didn't want to continue listening to the drivel they were spewing. Marriage wasn't something he wanted ever, but they didn't seem to be the type of people to take no for a definitive answer.

Fast women and slow horses were the cause of every man's failure.