VICES AND VIRTUES | Thomas Shelby

TEN

"You'll keep my son out of trouble today, won't you?" She replied, impressed by how well Florence had presented herself.

"I would've thought you'd be asking him to keep me out of trouble," Florence sighed, fiddling with the ring on her index finger that her mother gave her for her sixteenth birthday.

"Florence, I know I may have doubted you in the past, but we do have one thing in common, we both care about my boys," Margaret assured her as they reached the top of the stairs, "And I know you didn't have an easy childhood, but I see that it made you a strong woman, so I trust that you'll keep my son in check."

As much as she didn't appreciate the sly line about her childhood, given that she wouldn't call being raised by a single mother difficult, she looked past it. But she appreciated that Margaret was making an effort, and wasn't actively attempting to keep the girl out of her sons' lives.

"I'm sure that Dakota will do you all proud today," Florence smiled as the two ladies made their way down the grand staircase, unsure of how to respond to the latter.

"Florence, I'll be honest, I don't care," Margaret sighed, "But no doubt, the horse will win, my husband will be delighted and then he'll have her registered in every derby for the next year."

"Think of what you could do with the prize money if you won," Florence reminded her, paying attention to the way the woman's eyes lit up.

"My husband has been in your ear, hasn't he?" Margaret laughed as the two women reached the bottom step, the front doors were open, revealing the Harringtons' car, the driver waiting beside it. Of course at an event like this, the family wouldn't have Elijah drive himself, they had a reputation to maintain.

"I feel somewhat underdressed," Elijah's voice startled the girl. Florence looked to her left to see him walking towards her, dressed in a navy blue suit with a crisp white shirt and matching navy blue tie, "You look as wonderful as ever, it's a good thing George isn't here or he'd be calling off his wedding to Diana."

"Elijah, behave," Margaret pointed her finger at her son, not that he noticed, his gaze was focused on the woman standing beside his mother, the woman he had called his best friend for years, but always wondered whether there was a chance of something more.

"The car's ready," Richard Harrington appeared at the open front door, glancing at Florence, "You look lovely, Florence."

"Thank you," Florence smiled tentatively as Elijah stepped towards her.

"Shall we?" He held his arm out for her to hold onto, leading her through the front door and down the steps to where the car awaited them.

"Good morning Mr Harrington, Miss Dawson," The driver smiled, opening the back door and letting Florence and Elijah climb in.

"Thank you, Geoffrey," Elijah replied as he closed the car door, nodding to his parents who watched eagerly from the doorstep.

"I would've been fine if you'd driven, you didn't need to pull out all the stops just to take me to the races," Florence assured Elijah as the car engine began to sound and Geoffrey proceeded to drive them away from the house.

"It's for show, my parents believe it makes us look more prestigious," Elijah explained, turning his gaze to Florence as the car pulled out onto the road.

"Anyone would think you're trying to impress me." Florence teased, tucking the loose strands of her hair behind her ears as they got caught in the wind.

"Who said anything about trying?" Elijah smirked, letting his eyes linger on the Dawson girl's lips just a little longer than he should.

After a long drive to Cheltenham, the Harrington car finally pulls up at the main entrance to the race track. It's busier than Florence had expected, women and men wearing all sorts of colours, which made Florence happy, given the hues of grey and brown she had grown so used to seeing at home.