Red On Her Hands | Tommy Shelby

Chapter Two

"It was in yesterday's paper," the woman argued as she stepped forward.

Lynette sighed as she put out her cigarette in as ashtray on the counter before turning to the woman who looked over at her in surprise. "Listen sweetheart, he's probably doing you a favour. This is a rough place if you haven't noticed," she spoke politely as she gestured to the state of the pub.

"I'm not asking for favours, I'm asking for employment."

"You're too nice," Lynette pointed out once the woman continued to insist. "And too pretty. The men in here would have you against a wall as soon as they got the chance."

"And you're not?" the blonde questioned the taller woman.

Lynette shook her head with a fake smile, now starting to become annoyed. "I don't take any bullshit from men, comes with the heritage."

She watched as the woman turned back to Harry, now pulling sheets of paper from her bag as she approached him. "I have experience and references," she offered as she handed them to the owner.

Harry read over the reference sheets for a moment. "What part of Ireland are you from?"

"Galway. I worked in Dublin."

A smile had now appeared on The Garrison owner's face. "Me mother was from Galway." There was another pause before he shook his head, with an apologetic expression. "You're too pretty."

"Watch. And listen," The woman instructed as she placed her bag down, and rested her hat on a table allowing Lynette to get a proper look at her face. She had quite a thin face and her features were quite sharp, yet she was still a beautiful woman.

They watched intrigued as she picked up a bucket on the floor and made her way along the bar, where she started to empty the spittoons, doing so while she started to sing.

"I wish I was in Carrickfergus. Only for nights in Ballygrand. I would swim over the deepest ocean, the deepest ocean my love to find. My boyhood friends and my own relations. Have all passed on now like the melting snow."

She finished her song by placing the bucket on the table in front of Harry, who had laughed through his shock at her performance. Even Lynette was impressed as she watched on with a smile, knowing that the woman had just earned herself the job.

"In Ireland, my singing made them cry and stopped them fighting."

"Well, I hope you know a lot of songs," Harry commented causing the blonde woman to finally smile.

Lynette approached the blonde with an amused smile, offering out her hand to shake. "Welcome to The Garrison. I'm Lynn Reid."

The shorter woman smiled at her as she accepted the handshake. "I'm Grace."

..............................

Grace picked up how things worked in The Garrison much quicker than Harry and Lynnette had anticipated. Her previous experience was a great advantage to the pair as they were able to call her in to work the very next day. All three stood behind the bar, the extra pair of hands making the shift easier as the worked together to serve the growing crowd.

"Is it always this busy in the daytime?" Grace asked her colleagues as she carried pint glasses to a group of men at the counter.

"No, these boys are on their way to St Andrews," Harry answered her as he placed money in the cash box.

"To pray?" she inquired.

Lynette laughed as she switched places with Grace to reach the taps. "That'll be the day," she commented. "St Andrews is a football ground."