Tommys car came to a stop and he got out, standing on the gravel. He walked up the path, his head down. "Who the fuck are you?" a man shouted. Tommy paused, slowly pulling his gun. "I'm the owner of this colt pistol and the bullets within it. And i'm in a hurry. I followed the patron signs of the Lee Family. Im looking for Esme Shelby-Lee"
"Never heard of her"
"She is my brothers widow" he said in Romani. "I am very anxious to speak to her"
"Esmes husband was a fucking dirty diddicoy, he was a Peaky blinder"
"Yeah?" Tommy asked. "Well, i am the elder and more terrible. And as i said i'm in a hurry. Where is she?" he held up a stack of money.
Esme walked up toward him, between the men. She grabbed the money.
"Put your gun away Thomas, there's children around" she sighed. "You only found me cause i let you find me. I heard you were looking and i'm curious.
"If any of these men is your man, tell them i want no trouble"
"I don't have a man. What use is a man? Horse pulls the wagon, dog keeps me safe, cat keeps me warm at night. And if anyone's gonna give you trouble, Tommy Shelby, it'll be me" she said. "What do you want?"
"Tell em to leave"
"You think i'm in charge here?" she asked. "Oh i'm sure of it, Esme"
Esme told them all to leave and turned to him. She walked away and Tommy followed.
"Didicoys too grand to put his arse on the grass these days" she scoffed.
He sat and took his hat off. "I have a daughter, Esme, her name is Ruby. She's fallen ill, suddenly. She's very sick. And i can tell by saying her name and looking in your eyes, that i've wasted petrol, time and hope."
"Wasted petrol on what? Oh..Tommy Shelby OBE, MP, running around the mountains in pursuit of a Gypsy curse, is that? I thought you had Polly deal with the spirits"
"Polly is dead"
Esme leaned back slightly. "Bullet or blade?" she asked.
"Still speaks to me in my dreams. It was her who told me to come find you" he said, staring at the grass. "Polly," Esme breathed, standing. "That name like the ringing of a school bell. 'Come and do as your told.' Fuck, so glad i'm not in your camp anymore. Made of bricks and bars"
"My daughter is dying, Esme" Tommy raised his voice. "Some people go to France. To Lourdes. I hear they sell trinkets, i need more than fucking trinkets"
Esme looked over her shoulder, frowning at him. "Delilah?"
"No, Ruby and I can tell from your reaction, Esme, this is not your going. Sorry for troubling you," he walked back toward the car.
-
Delilah sat patiently, looking as Oswald walked into the room.
"The butler says our American friend is parking the car," he spoke. "He also says, in answer to your inquiry, Diana, that the coat our exotic friend is wearing is made by Chanel" he placed a hand on the chair, kissing Diana's cheek. "That's a very expensive label" he continued.
"Yes it is" Diana agreed. "But the perfume i can smell on you is very cheap."
He cleared his throat. "I'm deeply, deeply annoyed that Thomas isn't here." Mosley said, sitting down. "It is a family emergency apparently," Diana looked at him. "We only have the eldest daughter Delilah"
"Well, would the daughter like some more champagne?"
"Oh..the daughter is allowed to speak?" She hummed, clasping her hands together.
"She thinks this lunch is purely social" Diana laughed.
"The daughter is here because there's sickness in the family. My father wanted someone from the Shelby organisation to introduce Mr Nelson to you, and to offer all three of you an invitation."
Oswald made some sort of excited sound.
"I thought you owned a Designer store?" Diana tormented, taking a drag from her cigarette.
"I handle Shelby Distillery which is half the income of Shelby Company Limited. And yes, i own a designer shop which makes more money than Shelby Company Limited made in the past four months"
"What invitation?" He asked. "The invitation can wait. And please remember that in this moment, in this room, it is the Shelby family that holds the power because we have the information and the incentives that will make Mr Nelson do what you require him to do. So when i speak please keep your fucking mouths closed. Because although i'm reluctant, i'm actually quite good at this. And yes, i will have champagne"
Oswald raised an eyebrow.
The doors opened and Gina walked in, laughing, holding Mr Nelson's arm.
Jack handed the butler his coat. "Okay so before these full introductions begin, I just have to tell you something that my niece, Gina, just told me."
"No Jack-"
"She said the Shelby family are all witches and sorcerers who speak freely with the dead. So..who here is a Shelby?" he looked down at Delilah.
She sighed, standing.
"Is it true?" he asked. She looked over to Gina. "Gina" she said, pursing her lips into a line.
"Hello Delilah" she smiled smugly. "Micheal sends his regards,"
Jack nodded, looking her up and down. "You're the daughter?" he asked. "Yes, it seems I am, indeed, the daughter"
"I did some research, you were once just a Shelby girl who hardly had value to the family name, but diamonds and lipstick now?" Jack asked. "Actually as Tommy Shelby's daughter i always had value to the family name. But i just have more value now that i know how to handle things."
"She's one of Mr Shelby's 'most trusted' partners." Mosley said.
Jack turned to him. "And you, you're the future prime minister of Great Britain and its dominions."
"Indeed i am"
"And you, Lady Diana Mitford. Talk of London, with her amphetamines and emeralds" he looked back to Delilah as laughs left Gina's mouth. "It's her sharp mind that i'm in love with" Oswald told him.
"Men bore me" Jack scoffed. "Delilah, do you have a man, a family?" he asked. "I'm married and my mother, Francis, died years ago but of course, we speak often" She mocked, referring back to his mention of witches.
A smirk appeared on his face
"Between this sparkling conversation, could i get a drink of some kind?" Gina suggested.
"So this little kid, Gina, she runs out, marries a gangster and now here we all are" her uncle sighed, sitting beside her. "Oh, Jack, please. You're so blunt"
"Yes, it's wonderful. A man who is not careful with his words" Diana smiled.
"I'm not careful. Just say it first then clear up the broken glass with my bare hands" Mosley handed Gina a glass. "Here you are"
"I don't seem to have a drink either" Jack observed. "Well, i have Scotch or Irish,"
"Tommy drinks Irish" She spoke up. "Where the hell is he?" Jack asked.
"Irish" Gina whispered to Mosley.
"He's been unavoidably detained." Florence said, looking at her hands. "Nothing is unavoidable," Jack scoffed. "His daughter is unwell" Oswald said.
"He doesn't have a wife?"
Delilah tilted her head back slightly. "You know i did some research on you too, Mr Nelson."
"Delilah here is the smart one of the family" Gina looked at him.
"I learnt that when you were young, you lost a brother and a sister to consumption" Gina sat straight and Jack stared at Delilah blankly before grabbing the glass of whiskey he'd just been given. "No ice?" he asked.
"Well that same awful illness has entered our family. And you see my father has very little faith in current medical practices regarding tuberculosis. He's gone off in search of alternative approaches to cure the disease. Experimental work that he hopes will save the life of his daughter,"
"In his shoes i would do the same thing. Your father intrigues me,"
"Yes, he often has that effect on people." She looked over to Diana.
"Yes and tommy future husband has that effect on 20 million people in this country, who attend his rallies and listen to his broadcasts." Diana bragged.
"It's amazing..what English upper-class women can do with just skin, bone and arrogance."
"He sends his apologies for not being here, and would like to invite all of you to our home for a meeting" She told them, standing and handing them all an invitation. "A meeting where the real business will be done. And where you can meet like minds from Ireland. Who'd also like to discuss the future of Europe. But as you say, this lunch is purely social. And looking at my glass, i see i still don't have champagne."
"Micheal told me that the daughter and sister had gone straight?"
"Yes, but, Tommy is the sun, the rest just orbit around him." Gina said.
"Gina tells me lots of things but i want to hear it from you, Delilah. What exactly does the Shelby Company Limited do?"
-
Tommy sat in his car, swearing as he failed to start it up. He looked at Esme who tapped on the window with the missing piece of the car. She climbed in beside him.
"You used to have eyes in the back of your head. How can you change so much but not change at all?"
"I have other lines of inquiry. Give me the spark plug. Give me the..." she pushed her hand back. "Give me the fucking spark plug."
"Give you the spark plug, give you hope, is that what you want?"
She scoffed. "I do know things about this matter," Esme spoke in Romani. "There's something you should see. Someone dead. Someone grieving. A lot of hate against you"
Esme placed the spark plug in his hand. "You were wise to come to me, Thomas"