The Monster Within - Peaky Blinders

Family Meeting

Upon entering the house, she realised her Aunt Polly was also at the family meeting, meaning her younger brother was left home alone. Big mistake.

When Lily smelled smoke, she rushed through to the lounge to find the ten year old with a cigarette in his hand.

"Finn!" She grabbed the cigarette and stomped it out. "Where the fuck did you get that?!"

"I stole it from Arthur's pocket earlier." The boy said proudly.

"Finn, you know you aren't supposed to smoke!"

"Why not?! The older boys do it! I even saw you do it once!"

"You are ten years old!"

"I'm eleven on Sunday!" He protested.

Lily crouched to be at eye level with her brother and looked at him sternly. "Don't ever let me catch you smoking again, you understand?"

Finn sighed. "Yes."

She straightened. "Good."

"Oh, by the way, Ada came round earlier." Finn informed the girl.

Lily went quiet. It had been a few days since she'd even seen her older sister, she was always off somewhere else.

"She said she has some big news and wants you to meet her by the bridge in town later."

"..Right. Will do."

—————

When her brother's and Aunt had returned from the Garrison, Lily made her way over to the place her sister had instructed her to meet at.

She walked through the cobblestone streets, careful to not make eye contact with anyone and cause trouble.

When she reached the bridge, she saw her sister stood under it, looking distressed. "Ada?" She called out.

Ada spun round to look at Lily and waved her over. When Lily got closer, Ada pulled her into a hug.

"Ada? What's going on?" Lily mumbled into her sisters shoulder.

Ada pulled away from the hug and looked her sister in the eyes. "I have something to tell you. Something nobody else knows yet, and I need you to promise you'll keep it a secret until I'm ready."

"Of course I will." Lily assured.

"Okay...I'm pregnant."

Lily blinked. "Pregnant? With whose child?"

Ada didn't say anything.

"Ada? Whose child is it?"

"It's...It's Freddie Thornes."

"Freddie Thorne?! Ada, Tommy will kill you!"

"That is exactly why you can't tell him! Promise me you won't, Lily. No matter how much he pushes you to."

Lily thought for a moment. She never broke a promise. Ever. Which is why she is always careful to not make one she can't keep.

"..Fine. I promise. I won't tell Tommy anything."

Ada sighed in relief. "Thank you. It's getting late, you should go."

"You still aren't coming home?"

"No, I'm going to stay with Freddie for a while."

"Oh..okay. I guess I'll see you later then, yeah?"

"Yeah, I'll see you later."

She turned to leave when Lily spoke again. "Oh, Ada?"

"Yes?"

"..Congratulations." Lily gave a soft smile.

Ada smiled back. "Thank you."

—————

Lily miraculously made it home in time for dinner that night. She took her seat at the dining table beside John before Arthur entered the room, his face covered in several cuts and bruises.

Lily's eyes widened. "Jesus, Arthur. What the fuck happened to you?"

Arthur didn't give a real answer. "Don't mind that, Lily. We need to have a family meeting."

Lily began to stand up. "Looks like I'm excused, then."

Tommy stepped in front of her. "Not this time, Lily. Sit back down, this is important."

Lily couldn't believe what she was hearing. They were having a family meeting, and she was allowed to stay? She must have been dreaming. Still, she sat back down.

"Alright," Tommy began. "I wasn't going to say anything originally, but when Arthur was taken, I decided it was important that you all know."

"Taken? What do you mean taken?" Lily demanded.

Tommy immediately shut her down. "Never mind that, Lily. Now, The other week I sent some of our men to steal a crate full of car parts. However, the men were clearly drunk and we now have a crate full of important guns in our possession. Lewis machine guns, ammunition, semi automatic rifles, pistols with shells, you name it, we probably stole it. I had some men, some sober men, dispose of the guns accordingly."

Lily couldn't believe what she'd just heard. This was the kind of thing they spoke about at family meetings? "And what would happen if these guns were uncovered by the wrong kind of people? Like, I don't know, the police?" She said, dryly.

"Well, I'd be probably be arrested."

"Yeah, you would be too for association." John teased.

"They'd lock you up for years. Maybe even hang you." Arthur added. The boys chuckled to themselves in amusement.

Lily, however, did not find that so amusing.

"You are all absolute idiots. I honestly hope you get caught. I might even snitch on you myself." She snarled. "How do you just accidentally steal guns, anyway?!"

"People are capable of crazy things when they are drunk, Lily. Another reason why you're banned." Tommy told her.

"I hope you know how ironic you banning me from drinking because I sometimes drink too much is." She deadpanned.

"You know that isn't the only reason, Lily."

"Yeah, but it's the only one that makes any sense."

Tommy just rolled his eyes. He clearly wasn't up for arguing with the girl. "Right! That concludes this family meeting, then."

"Same time tomorrow?" Lily asked.

"Shut up, Lily."