Cannonball

Chapter One: Not a Gentleman

Pulling on her coat, Rosemary waved goodbye to her friends as she stepped out of the small corner shop and closed the door behind her. 

The chilly evening air greeted her, and Rosemary buttoned up her coat to keep warm as her brown eyes swept over the street before they landed on the man that was waiting for her. 

Rosemary had no idea what Thomas Shelby saw in her, she was sure that he could have any girl from the neighbourhood on his arm yet for some reason he had picked her. 

"You know if my father finds out..." Rosemary started to remind him, she did not need another lecture about their relationship when she had worked so hard to keep her parents from finding out they were still together.

Robert Parker did not like any of the Shelby clan and the fact that Thomas Shelby had taken an interest in his eldest daughter did not sit right with him; he had hoped that she would follow her younger sister in choosing a good husband. 

Robert had been so proud that Colleen had chosen well when Peter Kincross had come to ask for his blessing in marrying her; he had a fine job and was able to support her. 

A smile formed on Thomas's face and he turned to fully look at Rosemary, he had not seen her in a couple of days and he was more than happy to come and surprise her like this. 

It was not like Thomas really cared what Robert thought of him, the man was all talk and no action; he was not a problem that Thomas saw himself having to deal with anytime soon. 

Thomas did not care much for anyone else's thoughts on his relationship, he liked Rosemary and after what had happened with his father he had never wanted to settle down. 

However, if he ever did make that step then Thomas could only ever see himself doing so with someone like her and it made him even more determined to ignore what people had to say. 

Those around them had no idea and Thomas preferred to keep them guessing, he knew what they said about him and his family; it was not pretty, and he did not care for the rumours, but it meant that most left him and his family alone. 

"How's Finn?" Rosemary asked softly, she had been helping Thomas's five-year-old brother learn to read when she had the chance and it had been a few weeks since she had last visited the Shelby home. 

With neither of Thomas's parents around anymore, raising the little boy had fallen to the older two Shelby brothers and their aunt which was not an easy task. 

Arthur Shelby Senior had walked out on the family when Finn was just a baby, around the same time that Anne Shelby had died. 

"He asks when you're coming to visit nearly every day," Thomas replied with a smile, he was surprised with how taken Finn was with her and he was glad that his youngest brother seemed to be getting better with his reading and writing. 

The youngest Shelby hated sitting still for long periods of time and none of them had managed to teach him anything; he only seemed to sit still when Rosemary sat with him and helped him with his reading.

Rosemary smiled, she liked spending time with Finn and she was glad to help in any way that she could with getting him to sit still to learn; she had done the same with her younger sisters when her parents had been too busy to teach them. 

The last thing that she wanted was for anyone to fall behind when learning the basics were so important, he was such a sweet little boy and she couldn't imagine how hard things were for him. 

Especially in the absence of both of his parents, she had never had the pleasure of meeting the Shelby mother but she heard such wonderful things about her when she was around the Shelby house. 

Polly had done a wonderful job in stepping in especially when her useless brother had disappeared leaving his five children without any parents to guide them. 

"I'll visit when I can," Rosemary assured, she had not been able to visit much with work picking up and having to sneak around behind her parents' backs was far from easy with three younger sisters around. 

Rosemary wished that she could be more open with them about what she was doing, however they believed far too much in the rumours that were spread by the church gossipers to take her word seriously. 

Her parents should know better than most that there was not always a lot of truth in the whispers that they heard; they had been subject to one or two rumours themselves. 

"I am sure he'll be thrilled with that," Thomas mused, he would be questioned about his visit to see Rosemary as soon as he stepped through the door. 

His aunt had become quite fond of the blonde that had captured his attention dispute her reservations at the start of his relationship with her; she had been worried that he might come to regret his decision to court her. 

"Perhaps I could visit after church on Sunday," Rosemary suggested thoughtfully, she had the day off and she was sure that she could manage to come and visit without attracting too much attention from her parents. 

It would be easy enough to slip away especially if one of the girls would say that she was spending the day with them so that she had an alibi in case her mother questioned them.