THE ARROW HOUSE
CHRISTMAS, 1923.
CATERINA WAS MISERABLE, but at least she looked pretty while being miserable, or at least that's what Lizzie kept assuring her while she was combing her hair for the inevitable disaster that was bound to be the Shelby family dinner.
She tried to dissuade her anxiety with a tall glass of gin as she fixed her appearance before she was needed downstairs to greet and mingle. The brunette stared at her reflection in the carved mirror. Why was she so nervous to host the very same people she saw daily? Perhaps it was the elusive woman that would make her first appearance tonight, the woman Arthur insisted on making his wife.
Ever since they permanently moved to the Arrow House, Tommy and her hadn't had the opportunity to herd in all the family members for drinks and hearty food that was the pride of their newly employed head chef, a brother of Antonio Tavolieri, owner of the restaurant that was the front of Caterina's business for years.
The hostess' heels clicked soundlessly against the carpeted stairs just as the first arrivals pushed through the great arch of the entrance hall, the unmistakeable voice of John Shelby booming from the door.
"Fuck me, which big cock did you cut for this one, Tommy? Looks like the fuckin' palace in here," John chewed on the toothpick, the thin piece of wood perpetually stuck between his teeth.
One of his arms was slung casually around a heavily pregnant Esme, both of them dressed in velvet finery and gold chains that would have looked positively tacky on anyone else but them. The new flow of the company funds suited them exceptionally fine, allowing them to move from the cramped house in Small Heath and into a spacious cottage with enough land for their children to explore.
"John," hissed Esme, elbowing him straight between the ribs. "Watch your bloody language in front of the kids." She gestured to the flock of children, all in festively red clothes already amused by the thick tinsel wrapped around virtually every pole and pillar in the house.
Tommy didn't bother to hide the satisfied smirk on his face as he patted his younger brother's shoulder, "Comes with the territory, brother."
He rarely voiced the pride that surged in his chest every time he observed the rapid rise of his family fortune, all thanks to his clever scheming, and his girl's natural knack for business.
The brunette in question stopped at the bottom of the grand staircase, hands on her hips. "Oi, you little rascals! Watch where you put your sticky hands, capite?" She warned them with mock harshness, a smile playing on her painted lips. The rowdy six froze momentarily before bursting with laughter, and racing each other past the woman and into the sitting room.
Shaking her head with mirth, Caterina sashayed towards the adults, silver dress casting light as she moved. "Have a champagne, you two, please," she nudged the couple as one of the maids stopped by them with a tray, herself indulging in one.
"I'll have two," announced Esme, quickly wrapping each hand around the flutes of the bubbly liquid. John gently extracted one from her grip immediately.
The casks of the good French stuff were a spoil of the Selfridges trip she'd embarked on with Ada, along with the search for a suitable Christmas present for each member of the family. It provided her great amusement to observe how the Shelby sister's communist ideals slowly slipped up and started to crumble with each increase of the allowance Tommy forced upon her bank account.
"I simply want to provide what is best for Karl," she justified vehemently, sifting through the racks of light brocade dresses, ignoring the shopping bags slung over her arm.
"You're full of shit, Ada," Cat would laugh, and then gently stir her towards the Ritz for tea. She's make a capitalist out of her yet.
She attached herself to the aforementioned woman as soon as she arrived, Karl clutching her hand and the young poet that lodged in one of the rooms of her London mansion trudging behind, eyes wide as he took in the elaborate decor of the house. Cat greeted them all with a kiss on both cheeks and offered to show them the newest addition to the renovated parts of the house, the glass winter garden.
Several cousins with their families flooded in, as did Polly and Cousin Michael, matching with her plum coloured dress and his waistcoat. Only noticeable absence was the oldest Shelby brother, and his supposed wife-to-be. It would not be for long.
A hush fell over the entrance hall once the two appeared I the doorway, halting the conversation between Tommy, Cat, Polly and Charlie. Arthur sauntered in, air of relaxation fortified with what was surely a few glasses of whiskey, the woman beside him following in quick, short steps.
He paused before the four with a wide smile behind his unruly moustache. "Linda, I want to introduce you to the Shelby clan. This is my family," he introduced each by name, and Caterina noticed, he made no mention of her different last name. It filled her with a moment of warm acceptance.
A firm grip clasped her hand, and shook it steadily. She had to give it to the woman, at least she did not tremble in their presence.
To her right, Cat could practically hear Polly's spine straightening as she took in the blonde and yellow thing clinging to Arthur's arm. She was well shorter than the eldest Shelby sibling, and tidy in every form of that word. Not a single blonde curl stood out of place beneath her boxy hat, nor did she have any creases in the canary yellow dress that fell well bellow her knees.
"You must be Aunt Polly," she spoke with a crisp, polite tone that revealed nothing. Linda outstretched a hand, expecting a handshake with the older woman
"Arthur's told me a lot about you. How you raised him, and his brothers. It's very admirable," Linda tried with a smile, "It is a very devout thing to do."
"I know," Polly replied with equal amount of brisk, leaving the woman's hand to fall limply after a few seconds of awkward hesitation.
Caterina took the opportunity to shuffle slowly to her left, inching closer to her partner until she could whisper by his chin. "I don't like it, Tommy."
"Tell me about it," he murmured, lips wrapped around the cigarette he was about to light. Just as he took the first drag in, Caterina snatched it from his fingers to take a drag of her own.
"Can't we find him a nice Romani wife, like Esme? She has half a dozen sisters, doesn't she?" She turned to glance at him, before her eyes trailed off to where Linda introduced herself to Esme, the latter hardly concealing the distaste written all over her face.
Tommy blew a long breath of his reclaimed smoke, "God save us from another Esme."
"Oh, I think we'll be hearing a lot about God from Linda."
The two watched as Arthur led his blonde companion into the sitting lounge, where more of their relatives awaited the beginning of dinner.
"He's thinking with his cock," she paused, thinking, "No, worse. He's thinking with his brains." Or lack of it.
"Could have paired him with Lizzie," Tommy shrugged, "She'd keep him straight."
"Over my dead body," Cat snapped with no hesitation, eyes briefly turning towards him with a glare, "Lizzie deserves better than any of us rotten bastards."
A moment of silence passed between them before Caterina brought the flute of champagne back to her lips and took a hefty swig of the bubbly alcohol.
Then a scoff left her mouth, "Anyway, what would people say? That she finally had her pick of all the Shelby's before she decided to settle down? No, I won't have it."
"Whatever you say, my love." Tommy obliged, then stirred her gently towards the rest of their guests. It would be a long evening, for sure.
...
The dinner was a pleasant enough business, five courses consisting of a thick chestnut soup with fried bread pieces, and glazed vegetables, honey and herb crusted roast and rich red wine sauce. An agreement was achieved that the dessert — Christmas pudding with custard, and assorted festive biscuits — would be served later, after a few more drinks in the lounge, and a few games of cards.
For a brief moment Cat regretted the seating arrangement she made for the evening; it placed Linda in between her and Michael, and John and Esme just across. Linda had tried to entertain her with stories from her charity work with her local church, and the tour of villages they made last autumn. Cat had no heart to tell her what a dreadful bore she was, and tried to steer the conversation to a more favourable ground, the current fashions.
So she sipped her wine, and counted the minutes before she could make away and have a smoke in the fresh night air. Places so full of people made her nauseous these days. The opportunity arose few minutes after the last course was taken away, and she sneaked away from conversation. She made it halfway through before she felt someone call her.
"Is Tommy cross with the way I do my job?" Michael stopped her by the grand fireplace, abruptly grabbing her elbow.
Caterina blinked in confusion, trying to extract herself from his grip, "Where is this coming from?"
Michael pulled back, and she straightened out her ruffled dress. "I keep trying to broach the subject of my involvement in more than counting cars in the factory or-or- monitoring the amount of whiskey ordered for our pubs."
Caterina sighed slightly, "Darling, you know it's for your own protection-"
"It's because I'm too young for the family business, isn't it?" asked the young man, letting out a bitter chuckle. The crystal whiskey tumbler in his hand was half empty, and most likely not the first one of the night.
"You know that's not true, Michael," Cat admonished softly, reaching out to touch his arm. His face relaxed slightly, and he nodded. The Italian reached into the pocket of her dress and procured an elaborately engraved cigarette holder, offering one to the boy she considered her family. She knew it bothered him for a while now, not being involved in the heart of the family business, the dangerous sides, and it would surely become a matter of quarrel unless they made something of it in advance.
The peace between them, soft puffing of cigarette smoke, lasted far too short. The sharply cut figure of Tommy Shelby strode into the sitting room with a purposeful step.
"Michael, enjoying yourself?" Tommy asked, wrapping one arm around Cat's waist in an almost possessive manner. He snatched the whiskey tumbler out of Michael's hand with a swift motion and downed it in a gulp. Handing it back to the lad, he ordered,
"Have yourself another of these," said Tommy, with a silent motion of get the hell out of here. The boy nodded, immediately turning into the other direction.
"Having a turn about the room, darling?" She couldn't help but roll her eyes at the dramatics. The lengths the Shelby's would go to in order not to utter a word.
Tommy pulled her along through the room, and into one of the darker corners of the adjoining corridor. "The Russians want a meeting with their contact as soon as possible."
Cat pursed her lips, making a sense of his words through the tipsy haze of her mind. "Can't they wait for a week or two? At least once this whole wedding thing is out of our hair?" she rambled slightly, leaning slightly forward, "Arthur'll want it done as soon as possible. She looks like one of the nothing before marriage types."
Tommy reached forward to steady her, "There's another path that can be taken from that. A convenient one," he said, looking pointedly at her. Even in the darkness of the corridor she could see his scheming face coming to be. It took her but a second to realise what he was implying.
"We can't stage a wedding as a backdrop for business. Absolutely not."
Her lover rolled his eyes, "Yes, we can. Wouldn't be the first time. Just remember John's wedding, and look how that worked out in the end."
"Arthur won't like that, it's supposed to be his wedding. Would you do business on your wedding day?" She was vaguely aware of the territory the conversation was grazing at, all the promises and the unspoken commitments they accepted without any label to show the world. Quickly, she changed the subject.
"Don't answer that, I bloody well know you would."
Tommy sighed slightly, reaching to take her hand in his. "Firstly, Arthur doesn't have to know more than necessary for the day to proceed smoothly." The disapproval in her dark eyes made him continue on.
"Secondly, I have it all planned out," he assured her.
"But I suppose that doesn't mean you'll be including me in any of your plans."
"It's my business."
"It's our business," Caterina stressed pointedly, sneaking her arms around his shoulders and upwards to rest on the sides of his face, "I'm risking everything siding with you on the factories, and you know it. And it's my business if you don't come back home at the end of the day."
Once again, they were interrupted by the gaggle of Shelby children, only this time led by Karl. The two stepped apart, straightening their clothes.
"Auntie Cat, can we please, please, please have our presents now?"
The brunette pasted a wide, unassuming smile on her face and bent down to the children's level. "Why, only if you have a bit of pudding beforehand." A simultaneous groan came from John Shelby's brood.
"But I hate raisins!"
"I don't want custard!"
"Do you have any biscuits?"
As the children tugged her away and to the dinning room, she turned, amber eyes boring into frost blue. "We'll speak of this later."
...
Not long after midnight had passed John and Esme got up from their seats, shaking the sleeping children that occupied the sofas in the lounge and excusing themselves from the remaining party. It proved to be a trigger for several others to take their leave for the night, including Arthur and Linda. They said their goodbyes in the entrance hall, as Tommy helped the woman with her coat.
"Thank you so much for your hospitality tonight, it was delightful to meet all of you," Linda spoke with a small smile, "And have a very Happy Christmas."
Caterina was aware this was the moment of decision. A thought passed through her head, that if there indeed was a God that Linda liked to talk much about, would he turn her away for what she and Tommy were about to orchestrate.
She grasped the woman's hands between the two of her own, making her mind and pasting the most brilliant smile on her lips.
"We are delighted to have you. In fact, we would like to offer you something, an idea, really. Tommy and I would be absolutely delighted to host your wedding reception here at the Arrow house."
Linda and Arthur exchanged a surprised look, both of them turning a deep shade of red. "Oh dear Lord, we couldn't possibly accept such thing– the expenses–"The blonde stuttered out meekly.
"Thank you, brother," Arthur grasped Tommy's hand, trying not to show the emotion pilling in the corner of his eyes.
"No please, we insist," Caterina said, deliberately looking in the bright eyes of the future Shelby bride. "We're bound to be family, after all."
Linda had never seen a shark in her life, only drawings in picture books and the great encyclopaedias at her school library. But she was sure that she shook hands with one that very night, in the glittering entrance hall of the Arrow House.
...
author's note
oh dear it's been a while again, but hey
I passed my first year of uni :))