Astor // Arthur Shelby x Reader - Peaky Blinders

Chapter 34

Never before have I been able to play the part.

It's a fact my mother often laments, often detests. In her mind, there has never been a good enough reason to scowl rather than smile, or stay silent when I ought to be entertaining guests.

Apparently, I am capable when Arthur is in danger.

When my husband is plotting to kill me.

I step into a muddy pair of boots and slip through the front door, blocking as much of the indoor view as I can manage.

"Mrs Changretta," I greet Luca's mother, kissing her on each cheek. "I'm just on my way to feed the horses. Join me."

She blinks in surprise, but falls beside me easily enough as I begin to walk towards the grounds.

"You are without your dogs," she noticed. "And where is Angel? I see his car is here."

I pray she does not see the flash of horror that crosses my face before I clear my throat. "Indoors. Making telephone calls across the Atlantic, he asked not to be disturbed."

The ache continues to spread through my skull as I walk and talk. I feel slightly out of it, as though I've had one drink too many, though I haven't had any at all. I wonder briefly if I ought to be checked by a physician. But I have to get through this first.

"Did he mention how long he will be?" Audrey asks. "I have a stack of paperwork for him in the car."

"He did not. But I shall ensure they are passed on." I smile and bend down to pick up a bucket from outside the barn.

Her voice is suddenly firm as she places a hand on my shoulder and stills me from walking any further. "Astor, wait."

I fight to keep my face even, to keep my pain from showing. Fight to keep my hands from trembling and betraying my nerves. At any moment I expect Pauline to come sprinting across the green, or Angel's corpse to fall from the sky.

"It is not difficult to see you are unhappy," she says. Her eyes are... kind. "I get the impression you might not have married my son, if given another choice."

"Luca is good to me," I reply. It sounds rehearsed and robotic even to my ears. "He has allowed me to stay here, where I am happy."

"He is also trying to claim all the rights to your trust," Audrey points out. She tilts her head. "All this business with the lawyer... it would be unpleasant for any woman. I won't blame you for being angry."

She slips a hand into the pocket of her coat. Am I imagining things, or do I hear the click of metal? How much does she know? About Pauline, about how her son plans to kill me? Is she part of the plan? I stare into her eyes and they betray nothing. Do you know your son is a monster? Are you one, too?

"It was lovely to see you, Mrs Changretta," I say firmly, but with a smile. "I can't imagine you'd like to come any further. Once you set foot in the stables, you'll smell as badly of horse as I do."

She nods, smiles in return. "I won't keep you. And I won't disturb Angel on my way out, I'll leave the documents by the front door." She squeezes my hand in goodbye then turns and begins to leave. But, before she's taken more than a few steps, reconsiders. "Do give the Shelby boys my love, won't you?"

My blood chills. "Pardon?"

"I am told you were seen with them at the horse auction." Her eyes aren't so unreadable any more. "Lovely boys, in their way, but... Rather troublesome. Much more so than my Luca. Do be careful, won't you? If my son hears you are unprotected in the company of gang men while he is out of the country, he'll be displeased to say the least."

I bristle with anger, no longer caring if she does have a concealed gun or not. "If I'd known I'd be stripped of so much autonomy when I got married, Mrs Changretta, I might have reconsidered. Even with your son making his threats."

"Please. Married?" She steps back in toward me. "You have kept your last name. Your house. You will not look your husband in the eye, will not even discuss division of property without a lawyer in the room. You refused to return with him to New York. Because he made a few threats, you say?" She laughs softly. "You don't know Arthur Shelby well at all if you think he'll be above Luca's threats."

"You appear to be highly misinformed where your own son is concerned," I say. "You noticed I am without my dogs. He strangled one to death, and I've feared for the lives of the two I have left ever since."

"Be thankful," she says instantly, barely reacting to the news, "That it was your pet, and not your own neck. After the way you have treated my boy, were I allowed to act on his behalf, I would not show you the same mercy."

She reaches into her pocket then, and before I can do more than flinch in reaction, pulls out a small, intricately carved metal box and tosses it through the air for me to catch.

"A family heirloom," she tells me. "A gift. And with it, some advice. Marriage is like a business contract. The more emotions involved, the messier. Luca will be a good husband. As a mother, I ask that you only give him the chance before trading in for another man, just as capable and as ruthless, negating your reasoning for doing so, if that truly is the issue. Because my son will tolerate so much, to a point, and then he will have had enough. And god help you when he does."

She leaves. I stand beside the barn, turning the small music box over in my hands until the distant drone of her engine has long faded, and Arthur has come in search of me.

I look into his eyes. "I think we need to speak to your Aunt Polly."