Astor // Arthur Shelby x Reader - Peaky Blinders

Chapter 60

Arthur's steady hand guides me into the house, cozy and full of furniture and trinkets. Polly greets us with a warm smile, and though fear grips me at the sight of her — associating her with the time my mind was so full of darkness, I couldn't even think straight — I feel only comfort as soon as she embraces me tightly, her eyes twinkling with recognition.

"Ada's not here?" Arthur mutters.

Polly gives a firm shake of her head. I frown. This is the second time Arthur's been strange when mentioning Ada.

"Pot of tea for Astor please, Pol," Arthur says, taking me in his arms as soon as Polly's released me.

"Arthur," I mutter as my cheeks turn red.

Polly glances between us with a knowing smile. "Not to worry, love," she says, heading into the kitchen. "I've made many a brew in my time."

Arthur brings the puppies in from the car, and Polly rolls her eyes at the sight of them.

"A whole bloody litter?" She says to Arthur, as the largest and fluffiest of the bunch pees all over her rug. "What were you thinking?"

But as Arthur cleans it up, Polly ends up with all four of them jumping up at her, and she settles the teapot for me on the table before sinking into the sofa with them all piled up over her, laughing her head off.

"It won't harm you," she tells me, as I hesitantly pour a teacup. "Only stops anything from happening in the first place."

I try not to pull a face as I sip the tea. Bitter, pungent, acrid — I decide Arthur was right in saying he'd be more careful in the future.

"Do you know how to track your fertile period?" Polly asks me.

Another brain zap — a feeling I ought to remember.

"Can you remind me?" I ask.

She talks me through it, and by the time Arthur returns from washing the rug outdoors, I've finished the entire teapot. My mouth tastes so bad I'm tempted to ask for a whiskey to wash it down, but I don't want to be rude. Least of all to Polly.

We stay for a couple of hours, talking and laughing, especially as Arthur fills Polly in on work. Most of it goes over my head, but I become aware of a few things — most of it is entirely illegal, and even the parts that are above board, they execute in illegal ways.

What on earth did I marry into? I ask myself, wondering how I got so tangled up in a life of crime. But when I look at Arthur, I have only adoration in my gaze. I realise it wouldn't matter to me what he does.

"How are you feeling?" Polly asks me.

"Better," I say truthfully. "I don't know how these things are measured. But better."

"Are you still taking the medicine?" She asks.

I frown. "What medicine?"

Arthur clears his throat. "That was only for a few weeks, Pol. The doctors are happy with how Astor's doing."

"Good." Polly smiles. "It's nice to see you. Both of you. Come more often."

"I see enough of you at the bloody betting shop," Arthur says, giving me his hand as I get to my feet.

"I wasn't talking to you," she says, rolling her eyes. She pulls me into another hug. "Don't you be a stranger. Alright?"

"Say, Pol, you wouldn't mind looking after the dogs, would you?" Arthur says. "It's just, I was hoping to take Astor out for the evening."

"Do I look like a bloody dog minder?" Polly asks, but even as she says it, she scoops one up into her arms.

"Owe you one," Arthur calls out to her, lifting a hand in goodbye as he leads me to his house across the road.