Y O U R C R U C I B L E
"May you be in heaven a full half hour before the devil knows you're dead."
Lottie Thorne, sister of the notorious Freddie Thorne, is counted as part of the Shelby family. And her loyalty is...
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"Let it burn"
It's Derby day. Tommy's voice was going in circles round Lottie's mind as she sat in front of her mirror, fitting her hat atop her auburn curls. He was going to kill a man, a Field Marshall. Campbell, under the crowns order, (not that he needed any persuading) was forcing him to do it. Lottie had to turn away from Tommy when he told of her of his chances surviving. He had stared at her with his unblinking bright blue eyes and she had stared right back. "You'll find a way out, though," Lottie had said to him.
"I'm going to try," Tommy replied.
Lottie nodded, biting her lip. This man that stood in front of her, she had known him for all her life. He was always around, her protector, the one who had helped her through whatever life had thrown at her. Tommy clearly was caught off guard when she had thrown her arms around his shoulders. He did react though. After a moments pause, he relaxed and held her close to his chest. Lottie never really knew how to define Tommy; she loved him, she knew that. But was he her best friend? A brother to her? Her protector? Guardian angel? All these things all at once? As a teenager, she'd had feelings for him, but that had much subsided since the war; events during that time had made her distracted with all things concerning love. She hadn't even thought about her old feelings for the man she was hugging in many years. All she knew I that moment is that she couldn't bear to lose him. He cannot die on her. It was against the rules.
True, Tommy's chances had been increased after he instructed John to blow up the Marshall's house in Belgravia, but it was still slim. Lottie slid her deep red lipstick across her lips as she stared at her reflection. She knew what she was to do. She knew that Arthur was going to be saved. But before she could leave to meet the others, she had one last thing to do before she was to go to the betting room to meet with the others.
The sound of her heels echoed down the hall as she made her way through Tommy's offices. Lizzie was just leaving as she arrived, she looked beautiful. Lottie frowned slightly, confused. "Are you alright?" She asked.
"I'm not sure," said Lizzie, shaking her head slightly. "Tommy's never asked me to go to an event like this before."
"You'll be fine," said Lottie as comfortingly as she could. "I'm sure he just wants to thank you for being such a help."
She nodded. "Yes," she said, "I'm sure that's it." Lizzie then looked at Lottie, tilting her head to the side. "Why are you here?"
"Oh," Lottie mumbled. "I'm here to see Michael."
Lizzie smiled knowingly at her. "Enjoy," she said. "Goodbye."
