VICES AND VIRTUES | Thomas Shelby

PROLOGUE

"My parents are going to be speechless when they get home and meet her, she wasn't meant to be here for another few weeks," Imelda whispered, gently running her knuckle up and down her daughter's fresh skin.

"She must have been tired of waiting, besides she's the perfect early Christmas present," Polly told the girl, standing up and collecting the cloth and water bucket, ready to help Imelda give her daughter her first wash, "So we should make her look like the star she is before everyone returns from work and the pub."

Polly placed the bucket and cloth beside Imelda, aware that she probably didn't feel ready to stand up. Polly watched in awe as she watched Imelda gently clean her daughter's skin with so much attention and care, the little baby's eyes staring back at the two girls.

"I don't even have anything to wrap her in," Imelda sighed, disheartened by her supposed failing as a young mother.

"I do," Polly smiled at the girl, handing her the soft yellow blanket, "It's a gift for you and baby Florence."

"Pol, this is beautiful," Imelda beamed with glossy eyes, wrapping the soft fabric around her precious daughter, "I can't thank you enough for what you've done today."

"Don't be silly," Polly shrugged off her thanks, "This was all your work."

"No," Imelda shook her head in defiance, "I knew that we were safe because we had you, I'd have been terrified without you."

1914
"They'll be back by Christmas, my darling," Florence's mother kissed the girl's head as she watched Polly and Ada say goodbye to each Shelby man, one by one, her heart yearning for the middle Shelby boy to take notice of her.

"It's not just them though, is it?" Florence whispered solemnly as she watched her best friends Elijah and his younger brother George, accompanied by their doting yet heartbroken mother.

"Come to wish us well, have you Floss?" George, the cockier and more confident brother approached the girl with open arms, his older brother trailing behind.

"Something like that," She smiled, even though deep down she knew that she had nothing to smile about, despite her mother's best efforts to protect her from the true brutality of war.

"Do I get a good luck kiss?" He smirked, as though she might protect him from what awaited him in France.

"Not a chance," She rolled her eyes at him, wrapping her arms around him and holding onto him as though he might slip through her fingers the second she let go.

His arms remained firmly around her waist as she glanced at his brother Elijah over his shoulder, his mother gripping her oldest boy tightly, "George, I need you to make me a promise."

"Yes, I will marry you when I get back from France," He teased, receiving a playful smack to the back as Florence continued to cling onto him.

"Look after Elijah, I know you're capable of protecting yourself, but I worry about Eli," She whispered, knowing that Elijah didn't have a violent bone in his body, and while George was equally as kind hearted, he had the bottle to protect himself and those around him.

"You don't even have to ask, sweetheart," He muttered, slipping out of her embrace, looking over his shoulder at the Shelby family, "Besides, we've got Shelby boys on our side too thanks to you."

Growing up next door to the Shelby family, Polly and Florence's mother being childhood best friends kept the Dawson women fiercely protected. While the peaky boys weren't necessarily violent before the war, they were incredibly protective of both Florence and her mother. Any boy that took a fancy to Florence was never deemed good enough by the Shelby brothers, and any boy who dared break the beauty's heart, well he'd have a lot to answer to.