midwife » michael gray. [completed]

CHAPTER FIVE.

Hannah tightened her lips before turning around so she was facing the rest of the girls. "I don't want you all to think bad about me or start having a go at me because of this but yes, I am going out for dinner with Michael. I completely understand that Michael isn't everyone's cup of tea because of the bar fights he gets into but surely one day, we could just overlook that. It's a few bar fights, nothing major. You all made me believe that Michael was some dreadful man and had me worrying for no reason at all."

"Hannah." Alexandra moved nearer, her eyes flashing with concern. "It's not just a few bar fights that Michael has been involved with, it's way worse than a few bar rights, I promise. Is that what he's told you?" Alexandra placed both of her hands-on top of Hannah's and gave her a heartening smile. "This is Michael Gray that we are talking about, not some drunken man who drinks too much because he cannot handle his drink and then ends up saying something that he shouldn't say. Michael is a dangerous man, darling."

Hannah tilted her head to the side and muffled a giggle. "Dangerous? I think dogs are more dangerous than Michael. Where are you getting this from?" Hannah was trying to act confident and stick up for Michael, but her voice was trembling, as were her hands. She knew that this time would come sooner or later, the time when she would find out the truth about Michael and what he did for a living, but no amount of overthinking could have prepared Hannah for what she heard next. The past week of snide comments, endless puzzling messages and not telling the truth was finally going to make sense.

"You haven't been in Small Heath for long, so we couldn't have expected you to know about The Peaky Blinders."

"The Peaky Blinders?" Hannah chuckled. "What on earth is that? It sounds absolutely ridiculous."

"The Peaky Blinders are a gang. Many men around Small Heath work for them as do the police, it's why they get away with everything that they do. The Shelby family run the gang, you see."

Betty sat forward and leaned across the bed. "Have you seen that burnt down pub? It's a few streets down and it's been vacant for about a year now. Sometimes, you see the kids running in and out of it so see if there's any leftover junk that they can try and sell for a bit of money." Hannah nodded as she recalled seeing it a few times on her journeys, but she had never paid it that much attention. The fire had happened way before she had arrived at Small Heath and was no concern of hers. "Michael and his cousins burnt the pub down. Apparently, one of the workers or somebody who was just drinking there, I don't know the exact facts, was racist towards his friend and a fight broke out. Next thing you know, the whole pub is on fire and the owner is dead."

Hannah squinted her eyes as she tried to think of some excuse for Michael's behaviour, but she was finding it tough. She felt as if her world had come crushing down around her. This is what she had been waiting for, the truth. Now that it was out in the open, she wanted to erase it from her memory completely and keep her image of Michael clean. "Well, that man shouldn't have been racist. I'm sure a lesson was learnt."

"Hannah, the man ended up bloody dead. I don't even know if he made some comment towards Michael's friend. Can you not see that these people don't care about anyone but themselves?" Alexandra's voice was harsh and stern, yet she tried to be comforting as she believed that she was doing this for Hannah's own good. "Do you know what Michael does for a living?"

Hannah nodded. "Yes, he's an accountant for his family's business. I think that's a good job for such a young man and it shows that he is intelligent and has a good future ahead of him."

"The only reason he has a good future ahead of him is because the Shelby family made their way to the top by doing illegal activities Has he told you that his family murder people?" Hannah shook her head. "No, I didn't think he would. Ask anybody around here and they will all tell you stories about The Peaky Blinders. It was only a few years ago that they shot another man in the middle of the street. They had army guns and everything, stolen army guns may I add. I was more angry at the fact that they made a complete mess of the street and I found it very difficult to get to Mrs. Lane who was about to give birth to her first child all on her own. The poor sod."