Astor // Arthur Shelby x Reader - Peaky Blinders

Letter #20

November 1918

Dearest Astor,

We've got fuck all paper here and every man's wanting to write back home, so I can't say everything I want to. But it doesn't even fucking matter.

It's over.

It's finally done.

We can talk more when I'm back home. I'll be here a little while longer to help with the cleanup, then... well, who bloody knows?

Looking forward to seeing you soon, my girl.

Your brave fucking soldier,

Arthur Shelby.

***

I clasp Arthur's letter to my chest, a smile on my face as tears form in my eyes. I read his words again, and again, and every part of me sighs in relief. My fingers move to the necklace at my throat, tucked beneath my jumper. It's over. Arthur's safe, he's coming home.

Suddenly, even my dilemma with Luca doesn't seem so insurmountable.

That is, until the front door of the house opens, and he comes strolling outside in his infuriatingly slow manner, aiming for where I'm stood beside the chicken fence. As though he's sniffed me out like a bloodhound on the tail of a fox.

"Miss Astor," he says in his thick accent. There's a glint in his eye. "How are you this morning?"

"The war is over," I say. "How could I be anything but happy?"

A strange smile crosses his face. "I agree. Come with me. I've got something to show you."

I repress my sigh. "Might it wait? I have a few jobs to tend to, before the rain arrives."

"You won't want to miss this," he insists, stepping behind me and pushing me firmly forward, toward the house.

A general sense of foreboding settles in as we move. There's nobody around, not a single maid or housekeeper. The dogs are not even at their usual spot where I left them inside at dawn — they always rush to greet me when I enter. My footsteps echo across the marble tiles as Luca guides me past the staircase, through the narrow hallway leading to the kitchen and staff's bedrooms. Each footstep I take feels like I might be walking to my own execution.

The words are barely audible, leaving me in one anxious jumble. "I really must exercise the horses before lunch—"

"Shh," he tells me, leaning past me and pressing in close as he turns the door handle to the storeroom.

The door swings inward.

He turns on the light.

The dogs bound toward me, finally free.

Pauline tries to scream.

She's gagged and tied up on the floor, shoved between the enormous sacks of potatoes. Tears stream down her swollen face.

"Pauline!" I rush to her at once, bending down and ripping my fingernails untying the knots that bind her. The room smells of the dogs — they must have been trapped in here for hours. And Pauline with them.

There's the click of a gun in the doorway. My head instinctively whips round in fright. Luca's holding one of our most lethal hunting rifles, loading bullets into the chamber. He's no more than a deathly, menacing silhouette.

Rounding us up for execution.

"What the fuck," I whisper, pushing myself back on my hands on the floor. Pauline wraps her arms around me.

We're going to die here.

"Arthur Shelby," Luca says. He finishes loading the rifle and holds it at his side, barrel pointing skyward. "My parents know his family very well. Everywhere they live. I thought about bringing his lovely sister here to see you, but I didn't know if you'd care about her as much as you do your little friend. And now the fighting's over, Arthur will be home. Isn't that wonderful?" He smiles that same lethal grin, and it doesn't meet his eyes. "Then I thought about drowning one of your dogs."

I stifle my whimper as he approaches close, crouching down in front of us. He uses the barrel of the gun to push a strand of hair from my face as I squeeze my eyes shut until he's done.

"But I don't want to upset you," he says softly. "You're going to be my wife, after all. I don't want to do any of this. But I will." He nods sagely. "I needed you to believe me that I will. And if you think about stopping me, or hurting me, I have enough men to finish the job in my place. But I don't want to do that. I want my mother to be happy. I want my business dealings to run smoothly. And for all of that, I need you. Hey, Shh, don't cry," he tells me, but I refuse to let the tears fall as I glare at him, as he caresses my face. "I'll make a good life for you. Your name means everything to me, after all."

"Fuck you," I whisper.

He considers my words for a moment. Then he grabs Bernice by the throat and lifts her into the air, clenching her tightly as she writhes and tries to squeal. Pauline sobs, and I reach for Bernice, but Luca holds her too far out of my reach.

"Stop!" I cry. "Jesus, stop, please! Please, let her go."

"Will you quit disrespecting me?" He asks.

While Bernice's life is in his hands, my answer is simple. "Yes—"

"When I ask you to marry me tonight, in front of our families, will you accept?"

"Yes," I sob.

"And will you tell Arthur Shelby he is not to contact you again?" He smiles when I hesitate. "Or do I need to drag him down here and kill him in front of you, once I've finished with your dogs and your friend?"

The others are yapping furiously. Bernice is barely alive. Pauline's grip on my arm is so tight, I begin to lose feeling in my hand. "Let her go, please," I beg. "I'll do anything."

He waits just a moment longer before releasing Bernice, where she drops to the floor, smacking against the stone. I scoop her up in my arms at once. She isn't moving, but she moans feebly, and I clutch her to my chest.

"You have my terms," says Luca. "See that it's done. Once we are married, I'll go back to New York. A few of my men will stay here to keep an eye on you. And don't worry, everyone else who lives here will be back for lunch," he says as he leaves. "They all went to celebrate the end of the war. The first wave of soldiers coming home. Ironic, isn't it?"

I don't stop shaking after he leaves. I cradle Bernice in my arms as the other dogs try to lick her, sniff her, work out what just happened. Pauline's leaning back against the wall, trying to recover herself.

There's no doubt in my mind that if I don't do what Luca says, he'll hurt Arthur. And he'll make me watch.

I have to protect him. Even if it breaks me.