"Good morning, Mrs. Shelby." Mary greeted Leonor as she came downstairs, covering her mouth as she let out a yawn escape. "And happy birthday."
Leonor stopped, tilting her head, smiling softly. "Thank you, Mary. How kind of you to remember."
Mary nodded, doing her best to keep it a surprise the surprise birthday party that Mr. Shelby's planned.
Not out of endearment, but out of commodity. Like most things in his life, such as his very own marriage.
His popularity with Leonor's kind, as he liked to say, had grown but not as much as he expected to, and Thomas figured it was because he hadn't been seen with her on his arm enough. And on top of that, this party would help his own party, at the parliament.
The working man loves an example, and what better example than Thomas Shelby, a common man, war hero, not just a gangster, but now an important and respected piece on the government, married to a noble lady whose blood was as blue as the sapphire that once took everything from him?
Parading her around as a trophy was just what he needed to do. Luckily for him, his wife was in a good mood on the way to Small Heath, commenting on the view from time to time, pointing at wild horses trotting on a field.
"They look so...happy." Leonor had mused, straitening the hem of her skirt, crossing her legs as she did so. "Do you like horses?"
Thomas just nodded, keeping his eyes on what he thought was an inviting movement, looking away later on. "Made my life about them."
"Did you?" She asked, frowning when he took a longer pause than she was patient enough to wait on. "I like horses, wish I had the time to learn to drive them."
"Ride them," Thomas had corrected, chuckling. "And you have the time, why don't you?"
Leonor shrugged. "Didn't know you would allow me to." He frowned, turning around to face her. "My friend Mariela's husband didn't and he was like you."
"Like me?" Thomas scoffed. No one's like me, he secretly thought. "How so, eh?"
She just smiled, patting his hand, dismissing the subject. "Are we there yet?"
"Almost, Mrs. Shelby." The driver spoke in a hushed tone, not expecting the boss's wife to turn her attention to him.
"That's the third fucking time you ask." He turned to look out the window, half waving to an eager dirty worker by the road. "For fukes sake."
"What?" Leonor asked, putting her gloves on when she realized what he was eyeing, with a disapproving look. "What?"
"The whole part of bringing you here was to show the common man that we are not so different from them." Thomas sighed, inspecting her outfit of choice. She wore a white silk blouse, with a gold rose brooch on it, her shoes were handmade, with shiny gems incrusted on the delicate bow, matching the royal blue of her skirt, which she fixed the hem for the third time since they got in the car. "And your coat cost more than their fucking rent."
"I don't have any other type of clothes." She tried to reason, following the driver coming up to open Thomas's door. "Here." Leonor took her brooch off and placed it inside his inner coat pocket, suddenly glad she had decided at the last minute not to wear the new emerald and diamond bracelet that she got from him for her birthday. "Better?"
He looked at her again but realized that even if she took everything off, and kept only her undergarments, which he knew were made of even softer silk than her current blouse, it wouldn't change a single thing.
Leonor simply looked like the kind of woman that never heard the word no from anyone, to anything. That if she were to ask the most absurd thing, you would do it, not wishing to displease.
So he just stepped out of the car, waiting as she climbed off behind him.
"Ada." He greeted, cutting off the hug abruptly. "She's here yet?"
"Hello, Ada. So nice to see you, thank you so much for managing to set up this meeting, I would never made it without you." She mocked, greeting Leonor as she mimicked her brother. "You look different."
"Older?" Thomas half joked as he patted the brooch on his coat.
"Your brother has such a way with words, Ada." Leonor smiled, turning to face him, the expression on her face different than what Ada'd seen before. "So this is where you two grew up?"
"Brother!" Arthur came to meet them, with his arms open wide, hugging his sister-in-law. "Welcome, my lady."
"Thank you, Arthur." She grunted, his arms too tight around her, finally loose when Thomas nudged his brother, releasing her. Leonor could smell the scent of booze and something else on his clothes but figured it was best to pretend she didn't.
"Arthur, all set?"
"Yes, yes, now that you are here, we finally can get fucking started." He mumbled, waving towards a building.
"Actually, Ada, why don't you go ahead, I need to speak to Arthur first. Show Len around, eh?" Thomas grabbed Arthur's arm before he could stumble on Leonor, as she walked past him, following Ada.
"Not a good idea, Tommy. You see-"
"Go, Ada." Thomas grabbed Arthur's arm before he could stumble on Leonor, as she walked past him, following Ada.
"Fine, suit yourself." They remained in silence for a minute, it was awkward but Leonor was used to it by now. "Len?" Ada scoffed, stepping inside the building. "I take things are getting better."
"Not better...easier." Leonor shivered, stroking her arms. "It's so cold here, how are you not freezing?" She asked, following her to a meeting room.
"Oh, you'll get used to it." She walked in and stopped by the bar, pouring herself and her sister-in-law a drink. "Tom's here."
"I don't see him." Spoke a voice with disdain, this voice Leonor wasn't familiar with yet.
Leonor turned around and saw a skinny tall woman, with short dark hair and pale blue eyes.
"You must be Elizabeth." She took Ada's glass and circled around the table, under Polly's and Linda's familiar set of curious eyes. "I'm Leonor."
"Also known as Tommy's newly bought shiny toy." The woman's breath resembled the scent of liquor in Arthur's coat. "I know who you are."
"Then you must know I'm not a toy." Leonor sat down, taking her gloves off, intending to sip her drink. "What's this meeting purpose again?"
"Lizzie is selling her shares," Linda spoke, writing in a notebook, typing on a calculator, on her side was a man, awkward by the previous interaction. "Mr. Greene and I are just reviewing the contract."
"I'm sure you can't wait to take those shares huh? To replace me on the board as well?" Lizzie still stared at Leonor, who just leaned on the chair, saying nothing. "In his fucking room?"
"Oh, uh, If I may might lighten the gloom and express, " The man interrupted, fearing a physical altercation. All eyes turned to him, and he stuttered even more. "As a relatively new member of this company, what a pleasure it is to be in a boardroom that has so many females in it, and all females who are both sharp-witted and decorative."
"Some more than others." Lizzie jabbed, sipping the rest of her glass.
"Sharp-witted or decorative?" Polly chuckled, lighting up her cigarette.
"Well, not all can manage to be both." Leonor stood up, and stood by the window, grabbing a newspaper left unattended. "And Lizzie, I understand you may be upset. But I assure you, this is nothing personal."
"Really? It fucking feels personal. I stood by him all this time, through thick and thin. I played the perfect fucking wife."
"It's not about playing but being. You see, I can be you." Leonor sat the glass down, looking over the distressed woman, she wanted to be angry, to insult her back but all she felt was pity now. Which wouldn't stop her from standing up for herself, after all, Jesus was the one who turned the other cheek, not her.
"But you can't be me, can you?" To be replaced simply because you weren't born in the perfect standing, with the right last name was something Leonor knew nothing of.
Lizzie looked at her from head to toe, measuring how true was that statement, and felt it in her core. Deciding that she didn't need to be humiliated any longer, she signed the paper, took her copy, and left, bumping into her ex-husband and she stormed off.
Thomas walked in with Arthur by his side, him whispering just now that Lizzie decided to show up in person in the last call, which surprised him, but he hid it well.
"How far have we got?"
"We've established that ladies are decorative." Polly rubbed her forehead. "And sharp-witted."
"Some surprisingly more than others," Linda looked over at Leonor, who was focused on the newspaper smiling, thinking she finally had found a good catholic woman to be her friend in his damned family.
Thar impression changed when Leonor walked past Thomas and handed him the paper. "Can I place a bet on your shop?"
He sighed, rubbing his temple, grabbing the paper from her hand. "We'll see."
Arthur boomed with a laugh, clapping. "That's the spirit. Of course she can Tom, on which horse?"
"Conquistador," Leonor smiled looking over at him, noticing his face twisting in uncertainity. "I liked the name." She justified, the Spanish grabbing her attention the minute she laid eyes on it.
"Yes, but he's lost twice now, for two weeks on end." Thomas lit up his cigarette, handing back the paper. "Chose another."
"Good riddance's a bloody beast" Arthur commented, receiving a slap from Linda, displeased by his gambling side.
"I saw that but I figure it was just too on the nose." She kept her eyes on the paper, almost dropping it when the room erupted in laughter. Even Polly joined and she felt it part of them for the first time since marrying into the family.
The rest of the meeting went smoothly as one could expect.
Linda argued some points, Arthur others, Ada tried to mediate but to no avail.
When they left, Thomas handed the paper to the driver and instructed him to place Leonor's bet and one of his own, to which the driver gladly went.
"Where are we going?" Leonor asked, buttoning up her coat, her fingers aching. He reached his arm, and she took it, savoring up the warmth of it.
"Second's meeting is just for the family," Thomas explained, watching as a kid ran up to their pub of choice, waning the others. "And you need a drink."
"I'm fine." She thought she seemed unaffected by Lizzie's encounter, at least she felt so but he meant it about how she shivered from time to time, not used yet to the English cold wind.
Either way, Leonor didn't argue it.
When they arrived at a pub called The Garrison, Leonor felt out of place as the people clapped, celebrating their arrival.
"Good to see you." Thomas shook some hands and received some requests and complaints. "Have you met my wife, Lady Leonor?"
He introduced her to what Leonor figured was the 'owner'. "No, Mr. Shelby, just in the papers." The man dried his hand down his pants, nervously. "It's so kind of you to come to visit us, my lady."
Thomas looked away from their handshake, attending to another worker who complained about the factory cutting his hours.
When he looked again, he realized that Leonor had taken her gloves off, shaking the hands of an eager barmaid.
"Thank you for having me." Leonor smiled, still firmly shaking her hand. He heard some customers commenting on it, positively and took a breath, relived.
"Gentlemen and ladies.If you'll all move into the saloon bar, where in celebration of my wife's birthday, you will all be served a free glass of wine. Courtesy of my wife's vineyard." The room erupted in cheering, clapping, and some happy birthday wishes. "Any man who served in France gets a brandy chaser."
The cheering got even more lauder, if possible and Leonor found herself clapping as well, smiling at him.
"That was nice, Tom."
"The new wine batch is shit," Leonor whispered, worried. "Don't serve that."
"They are not like you, lady Leonor. They won't be able to tell," Thomas reassured her, returning his focus to the meeting.
Leonor tried to pay attention as well, but the matters they discussed didn't interest her. She could hear singing and laughing happening in the saloon bar, turning her head from time to time to look at it.
On the way back to Arrow House, Thomas noticed her humming a song she had heard in the bar, the words forgotten by now.
"I thought you didn't want to celebrate your birthday."
She turned to face him, confused. "I didn't say anything."
"You're singing."
"I'm humming, that's different." Leonor chuckled, turning to face the window. It had been almost a year since that night and for someone who loved throwing and attending parties, Leonor feared never having the guts to deal with again. "But I had fun in Small Heath today."
He nodded, rolling down his window to blow the smoke from his cigarette away. "Glad to hear it."
"Thank you for taking me." She hoped he would say anytime but knew that was probably too much to ask of him.
Even on her birthday.
When the car approached the driveway, Leonor squinted her eyes at an uncertain Mary, holding a leash in her hand.
"For fucks sake." Thomas sighed, all humor suddenly gone.
Leonor on the other hand, was all smiles as she didn't even wait for the driver to open her door, jumping off the car.
"Dios mio!" She grabbed the leash from Mary's hand, leaning down to scratch the soft fur, laughing at the red bow on his neck, which the pup tried to bite off. "Is that for me?"
"Yes," Thomas dismissed Mary, reading the note she handed him.
"I can't believe you got me a dog." Leonor smiled, the dog even as just a puppy, was too big for her to pick up without damaging or ripping her clothes.
"I didn't." He cleared his throat, taking the leash from her hand and giving her the note, written in Spanish.
"She's as kind as Cyril but not as kind as the birthday lady.
From your friend, Alfie."
Leonor covered her mouth squealing in happiness. She loved dogs and company, so it was the perfect birthday gift.
Thomas kept eying the dog, displeased both at Alfie's daring attitude and his wife's reaction.
He couldn't help but feel a twinge of resentment towards him, for giving her the dog, a gift that seemed to bring her more joy than anything he ever offered Leonor.
He had given her the most expensive bracelet in the store and hadn't gotten half of what that drooly stupid dog did.
He scoffed and the puppy barked in return, Leonor clapped in excitement, laughing.
"Ohh I'm the most happy." She grabbed the leash from his hand and jumped on his neck, hugging him.
"Glad to hear it." It was all Thomas said, his hand on the small of her back. "Keep that energy eh?"
"Why?" Leonor asked, pulling away slowly, and walking towards the house. When she stepped inside, she realized the reason.
The house was almost as decorated as the day of their wedding.
"Hope that dog of yours can bite on command." Thomas looked at both her and the dog, handing her the guest list.
Leonor read it, and when she spotted that familiar D name, she wished the same. "Well, not yet. But we'll get there."