Your Crucible | Peaky Blinders

Chapter Thirty-Two ~ Snow

Tommy shook his head. "Come on."

"You really need to do a map," Arthur added.

The room was busy with Shelby's. Tommy stood in the centre, cigarette to his lips, as Isiah and Finn greeted them, Charlie standing in the corner, ominous as always. In the midst of the servants walking through the kitchen, Tommy looked up. "Alright, boys, you're all here."

Maxim crossed his arms and leant against the cabinet. Lottie stood next to him, smiling happily to herself at the chaos that were the Blinders. Michael stood beside her, cigarette in his mouth, puffing out smoke. Lottie knew she shouldn't smile at the stress in Tommy's eyes, but she couldn't help it.

"Today, this is my fucking wedding day," he said with a false calm, his hands lifting to his sides as if he were trying to calm a horse.

John pointed. "Yeah, and you said there'd be no bloody uniforms."

"Nevertheless," Tommy interrupted as he walked towards his brother. "Nevertheless, John, despite the bad blood, I'll have none of it on my carpet. Now, for Grace's sake, nothing will go wrong."

Lottie rolled her eyes to herself. "God forbid we upset Grace," she muttered quietly. Maxim gave her a sharp elbow to her ribs, but Michael gave her a smile which she mischievously returned. 

"Those bastards out there are her family," Tommy continued his voice getting more strained despite the forced quietness. "And if you fuckers do anything to embarrass her, your kin, your cousins, your horses, your fucking kids, you do anything-"

As his voice climbed to a shout, Isiah stepped forward. "Tom?|"

"What?" He snapped.

"What about snow?"

Lottie put her hand to her head. What a twat, she thought to herself.

John ruffled Isiah's hair, smiling. "Yeah, their women are sports, I'll say that."

"No," said Tommy, his eyes unblinking. "No. No." He stood before Isiah, their faces close as he lifted his finger as if to tell off a child. "No cocaine. No cocaine." He moved to John. "No sport." He turned to the rest of the room. "No telling fortunes. No racing." He moved onto Finn and grabbed his faced. "No fucking sucking petrol out of their cars." He looked to his uncle. "And, you,, Charlie, stop spinning yarns about me, eh?"

"Ah, I'm just trying to sell you to them, Tom."

He rubbed his eyes, exhaustion and stress clear on the lines of his face. "But the main thing is, you bunch of fuckers, despite the provocation from the cavalry, no fighting. Oi!" Once again, he moved to Isiah. "No fighting." To John. "No fucking fighting." To Arthur. "No fighting." He turned to Michael and Lottie. His eyes skipped past Michael and landed on her. "No fighting." She saluted with two of her fingers. At that, he turned back around, his arms raised. "No fucking fighting!" He sighed. "Good."

As he moved back to grab his jacket a servant entered the room, bumping into Tommy. Lottie pitied the boy as Tommy pushed him away, glass shattering on the floor. "Get the fuck off me!"

***

Freddie had his elbows rested on the windowsill, staring out at the courtyard. Lottie smiled at him as she stared from the doorway. "See anything interesting?"