Guardian Angel | Thomas Shelby

Thirteen

Tommy and Ruby were in the car on the way to her parent's stables, where Tommy wanted to talk to Alex again to possibly settle on a training plan with him. The two of them parted after having lunch with her parents, Tommy watching Alex train a race horse and Ruby got to work herself.
After riding two show jumping horses, the last horse she had to train was a pearl white dressage horse, that moved like heaven. Plus, she was a dream to ride.
Ruby always wondered if one day they would make enough money off the stables so she wouldn't have to work in Birmingham anymore. Her parents thought about teaching kids and adults, though they needed to make a name of themselves first, which was hard. Not many people had the money to take lessons.
Ruby noticed Tommy leaning against one of the wooden poles that separated the riding space from the meadow, smoking a cigarette and watching her. He didn't remember that she could ride this beautifully, the horse and her were in unison. Once she finished the training she rode to the courtyard where she let the horse have a drink and started taking the saddle off, while Tommy pet the horses head.
"I'm really impressed with Alex's training methods, I think I'll let him train my next horse." He explained and Ruby beamed at him.
"That'd be amazing. Alex is a genius and you won't regret it, I promise." Ruby approached him, pulling him closer by his coat and giving him a kiss.

The couple were on the road again the following day. Tommy had found Polly's son, Michael, and wanted to pay him a visit.
Not far from Sheffield was a little village where Michael lived with his foster parents and his little brother. Thomas and Ruby got out of the car when they had arrived at the little house. Michael and his brother were playing ball out in the fields and were just walking home for lunch, their mother standing in the front yard, waiting for her boys to go inside.
„Ms. Johnson?" Ruby asked when they approached the woman standing at the gate of her garden.
"Yes, who are you?" She asked, confused as to what stranger would come to her house. „We're from Birmingham Council. Bordesley Parish." Ruby explained to the woman, now standing in front of her.
„No one wrote to me." Michael's foster mom said. „What do you want?"
„I'd like to talk about your son, about Henry. Can we come in?" When Michael heard his name from where he was waiting at the door of the home, he turned around, looking at the two strangers.
„I'd rather you didn't, he doesn't like to talk about his."
„I see. So what does Henry know about his real identity, Mrs. Johnson?" Ruby asked further, not letting the conversation go.
"I only deal with Mr. Ross from the agency. And he only ever writes. So why are you here in person?"
„The boy is approaching his eighteenth birthday, that's why we're here. What does he know, Mrs. Johnson?" Ruby asked again, she could feel Thomas slowly getting tense behind her. He was getting annoyed by this woman.
"He knows his mother couldn't cope. She drank too much, she used opium, she used to beat him."
Thomas spoke up from behind Ruby and she took a step to the side.
"But that isn't true, is it?"
Ruby could see the woman panicking, she was scared of Thomas, asking the two to come back later when her husband was home.
"Does he know what his real name is?" Thomas kept on pushing the conversation. „His real name is Johnson. Henry Johnson. Now, I would like you to go away." But Thomas wasn't moving one bit, he got exactly what he wanted because Michael, who had watched the whole scene, was approaching them.
"Truth is, he was taken from his mother without her permission." Thomas spoke on, not to her but to Michael. „Your real name is Michael Gray. Your real mother wants to see you."
Thomas handed over a card with Polly's address, but not without the woman hitting his arm, desperately trying to prevent Michael from getting the information. Ruby would've laughed at that, if this wasn't so heartbreaking.
"She just wants to talk." Were Thomas's last words, before the woman screamed at them to leave and they finally turned and walked back to their car.
Before getting in, Ruby grabbed Thomas by the collar of his coat, giving him a kiss. „He'll come around, Tommy. I've seen the curiosity in his eyes."