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'𝙀𝙉𝙅𝙊𝙔 𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙍𝙎𝙀𝙇𝙁,
𝘿𝘼𝙍𝙇𝙄𝙉𝙂.'
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The light from outside shone through the crack in the curtains, blinding Victoria instantly as her eyes slowly opened. She laid still for a moment, enjoying the sound of life peacefully moving on around her, the pain of losing her brother still freshly running through her.
Just as she was lifting herself out of their bed, a knock at the door echoed through the room. "Coming!" Victoria called out as she slipped her silk dressing gown on over her night wear, quickly tying the belt up. She then walked over to the door and twisted the door knob before pulling the door open, a light smile flashing over her when she noticed who stood in front of her.
"Good morning Ada."
Ada raised her eyebrow when she noticed that Victoria was still dressed in her night wear. "You may want to hurry up and get dressed in your best, we're going to the dress shop. Aunt Pol' is just eating her breakfast and she wants to be off soon after because the boys are starting to annoy her."
"I shall get ready now, I'll be straight down." Victoria chuckled before closing the door once Ada had made her departure. She turned back and glanced at the bed and sighed, another morning to count that she had woken without Tommy by her side, much to her despair. Shaking away her thoughts, Victoria opened up her trunk and looked through the dresses that had been packed for her, eventually lifting a one out and laying it on the bed.
With a light hum, she softly slipped the night dress and dropped it to the floor. She smiled as she pulled on a cream dress, smoothing it down her body and then stepped into a pair kitten heels that matched the dress just right. Victoria decided to pin back a few pieces of hair out from her face and allowed the rest to naturally fall down over her shoulders. After applying a light coat of red lipstick to her lips and a small amount of powder across her cheeks, she picked up her brown dress cost and stepped out of the bedroom.
Her heels clicked against the wooden flooring as she walked along the hallway towards the larger mirror. The cream dress with a white collar that she had chosen fit her upper body in all the right places and pulled in at her waist with a small pink bow before flowing down her mid calf.
She looked back at herself and noticed her eyes had started to brighten up, the pain of losing her dearly beloved brother becoming easier to handle as time went on. Victoria had hoped that there would come a day where she looked into the mirror and be happy. Genuinely happy.
Clearing her throat, she pulled her coat on over her shoulders before walking down the stairs slowly, holding tightly onto the banister for assistance. She came to the final few steps and when she had looked up she had noticed that Tommy, Polly and Ada had been watching her make her entrance.
She gave them all a smile, her eyes stopped when they met Tommy's. "How do I look?" Victoria asked, a deep part of her craved his approval. Tommy lightly shook his head before nodding back towards the stairs, "get back upstairs and get changed. You can't go out dressed like that..."
Hearing his words stung and knocked the air out of her lungs, but she hid her disappointment and turned around to go back upstairs. Tommy had waited till she walked a few steps away before he grabbed her hand and turned her back to face the trio again. "I was joking, you've always looked beautiful and I doubt there will ever come a day that you don't." Victoria lightly slapped his chest and smiled, "you silly man, you had me fooled again!"
Tommy smiled as he glanced at all three ladies individually. "Now I have already seen the lady in the dress shop and I have seen to the cost of everything that yous will require for this weekend." The ladies all nodding as they listened to what he had to say.
Victoria looked up at him, quickly glancing down at the suit that he wore. "Are you wanting me to get a certain coloured dress so that it matches your suit?" Tommy adverted his gaze down to meet hers and nodded. "I'm going to be wearing dark blue suit, so it would be grand if you could find a dress that you like that matched." She mentally took a note of his request, "blue it is."
Tommy smiled as he watched the three ladies walk out of the door towards the car. "Enjoy yourself, darling." He called out giving them all a light wave, earning a light chuckle from Victoria. She climbed into the front seat of the car and glanced over at Arthur in the driver seat, "thank you for driving us."
"It's my pleasure, I had arranged to meet someone while I was in town anyway, might as well make myself useful and drop you ladies off while I'm at it." Arthur chuckled as he brought the car to life, driving out of the end of the street.
While they drove, Victoria remained silent and kept her eyes on the window as she observed her surroundings. "Are you any good with numbers then V?" Arthur asked, eventually breaking the silence. She turned to look at him to give him her attention and nodded. "I've always been pretty good with numbers, top of my math class in school. Why do you ask?"
He glanced over at her for a moment before looking back at the road. "Well I was wondering if you could come into the pub to make sure that my numbers in the books are correct?" Victoria smiled, nodding her head. "Of course Arthur, I'd be delighted. I shall come over tomorrow and take a look for you, not a problem." She replied before turning her gaze back to the buildings that passed them by.
After a few short minutes, the car pulled up outside of a shop that had a beautiful front, many royal and magnificent dresses stood in the window on show. The trio of ladies thanked Arthur for driving them before stepping out of the car, wide smiles plastered on their faces as they stepped inside the shop, a bell ringing out as the door opened. The dresses that hung around the store were like those Victoria had always dreamt about, never had she imagined that she would ever get the chance to wear a one.
When the bell ran out, a plump lady that wore a navy blue pinafore dress appeared from behind a curtain. "You ladies look marvellous, is there anything I can do to help you?" She asked softly. Polly stepped forward and smiled, "myself and Ada already have our eyes set on dresses that we have seen before but we just need to get them fitted. So we shall go first while Victoria picks out a dress for herself."
The lady looked over at Victoria and smiled. "Well just go on ahead, we have a wide selection of colours and different types of materials for you to chose from. Once you've found a dress that catches your eye, you can try it on to see how you like it." The lady explained before guiding both Polly and Ada over to the podium to stand upon while fitting their dresses.
Victoria then slowly walked through the archway of the room, many beautiful dresses throwing themselves to her attention. She ran her hand over the dresses that hung on the rail, her eyes gazing over the small details that encapsulated each one individually. After looking for a few minutes, her eyes ran over a one that had hidden amongst many others, it catching her eye more than the others had done. slowly, she walked over to where it hung, gasping softly as the material ran through her fingers.
Victoria picked the dress up delicately as though it was a new born child and carried it through into the other room where she had left the ladies. Polly was stood on the podium, the dress maker pushing small pins into the material while Ada watched on from the set to the side. "That dress looks perfect, Polly." Victoria complimented in awe as she looked up that her. "It's not about the dress, it's more about the lady wearing it." Polly stated, giving them all a wink.
"And rightly so 'Pol." Victoria chuckled before holding up the dress against herself so that they could get better look, a smile setting in across their faces. "Oh I do like this one very much and it's a dark blue like Tommy had wanted, so we will be matching on the day." All three ladies stopped what they were doing and looked the dress up and down, admiring all the small details of the dress. "It's beautiful, made just for you." Ada complimented with a smile.
The plump dress maker gave her a light smile, "go slip it on and we'll check it for any adjustments that may need doing." With light nod to show that she understood her order, Victoria walked into the corner like directed and stepped into the changing room, pulling the curtain closed to give herself some privacy.
Turning her back to the mirror, Victoria pulled her cream dress off and laid it on the seat in the corner of the changing room. Slowly, she slipped her petite frame into the dark blue dress, adjusting it slightly before doing the clasp up at the back. Turning to face the mirror, a smile spread across her face when she took in her appearance. It had been an awful long time since she had worn someone so elegant and something so beautiful.
Victoria blinked away the tears that had started to appear before she pulled the curtain back and stepped back into the room. With a bright smile she slowly walked to where the ladies stood, this time Ada was on top of the podium getting the waist of her dress pulled in more and Polly was stood to the side observing while wearing her newly adjusted dress. When they noticed Victoria standing there, they all turned to look at her, gasp escaping as they took in her appearance.
"You look absolutely beautiful, like a princess." Ada complimented with teary eyes, clutching her hands at her chest. "Thank you so much, I really do feel like a princess. And that dress looks amazing on you, Ada." Victoria spoke softly before she turned to face Polly, taking a step closer to her.
"So Polly... Do I live up to the standards of the Shelby family standards?" She asked, doing a light twirl of the dress. A minute of silence passed by as Polly looked over her, admiring all of Victoria's features, she could see the need for approval in her eyes.
Polly took a step closer to her and placed her hands on her shoulders with a bright smile. "You look magnificent. Even if Tommy's horse doesn't win, he will still be the luckiest man on that race course by having you on his arm." Her words made Victoria blush slightly, a tear rolling down her cheek.
"I truly can't thank the Shelby family enough for all that you have done for me over the past few days. The support that you all have shown me is outstanding." Victoria spoke as she looked over at Ada and Polly, wiping the tear away. "Our Shelby boys wouldn't be alive if it weren't for Danny, we will be eternally grateful for his sacrifice. So please, allow us to return the favour." Polly explained as she dropped her arms to her side.
The dress maker made placed the final pin in Ada's dress before she moved back to check her work. "Right Ada, you're finished, I've brought the waist and the chest in a little more so that they fit a little better to your shape. Now Victoria, if you would step up onto this podium so that I can see if anything needs changing. " The lady explained as Ada stepped down, making her way to beside where Polly stood, allowing Victoria to take her place.
The lady then stayed quiet as she began her work, pulling pieces of material in and pushing the pins into place, Ada and Polly watching in admiration. "Soooo Victoria, how do you feel about my brother then?" Ada asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk set upon her face. Victoria shook her head, "for now we are just getting to know one another more."
Polly nodded sternly, a slight smile starting to appear. "Our Tommy hasn't so much as looked at a lady since he came back from France. He's had his floozy', but nothing ever more than that. Then you come along and he's like a dog to a bone." Victoria couldn't help but laugh at the older lady's description. "So he's going to chew me up then bury me in some dirt?" She questioned. Her response sent all three ladies into uncontrollable hysterics.
When they eventually settled, Polly shook her head and smiled. "You know what I mean... please don't hurt our Tommy. He may seem like a tough guy, but deep down he has a good heart and he always tries his best to look out for everyone close to him. God forbid anything ever happened..."
Victoria lowered her head slightly for a moment as she thought about Polly's words, before raising her head again. "I have no bad intentions, I would never want to hurt Tommy or any of you for that matter. He has already done so much for me. However I do worry sometimes that being with him and the life around him is too dangerous for me to be around." She explained, a frown starting to set in on her face.
Polly let out a soft sigh, "I'm not going to lie to you. Having a good soul in such a bad world is an unfortunate combination." Ada stepped forward so she was stood by Polly's side before speaking up, "however there is a chance that you and Tommy could have something special together."
"But a question you need to ask yourself is, is what you and Tommy could possibly have worth sticking around?" Polly questioned as she kept her gaze on Victoria, "the ball is in your court. Whatever you decide, the Shelby family will always be there whenever you need us to be." Victoria glanced at both of them with a light smile, "thank you all, ever so much." she whispered softly.
The lady then pushed in one final pin before taking a step back while observing the adjustments that she had made. "You're all ready now, I will finish making these alterations for you and I'll have your dresses delivered to the Shelby house just in time for the races."
Victoria stepped down from the podium and closed her eyes before twirling around to give them all a better view of the dress, the material spinning around in the circle with her. She let out a soft giggle and opened her eyes with a smile, "I absolutely love it!"
"It really does look outstanding on you." Ada complimented as she looked up at her with a smile. "Right, we better get out of these dresses and back into our clothes, we have an afternoon of tea scheduled at the tea-room down the road." Polly instructed as she walked over to the changing room she had occupied previously, Ada copying her and going to the one she got changed in.
Victoria then walked back into her original changing room and pulled the curtain back closed, letting out a content sigh as she looked at herself in the mirror. "Oh Danny I do hope I'm making the right choices, please help and guide me through the right path." She whispered before taking the dress off, slowly so she didn't move any of the adjustments made. Victoria then pulled on her own dress, buttoning up the front, fixing the collar and running her hands down her body to smooth her dress out.
After fixing herself up, she pulled her coat on over her shoulders and delicately picked up her new dress before stepping back out into the main room. The other two ladies were already waiting for her back in their own dresses now, Victoria laid her new dress on the counter with a smile. "Well it was lovely to see you ladies again, thank Tommy for me, it's been a pleasure of doing business." The dress lady stated before picking up their dresses that she needed to adjust.
The goodbyes to the dress maker were kept short and sweet before the trio of ladies walked down the middle of the street, happy that they had finally sorted out their dresses for the upcoming races. After a little while they finally reached the small tea-room that they would be spending the afternoon. As soon as the ladies stepped inside they knew that they were in for a treat, the people who dined there were dressed in high class clothes sipping tea from bone china teacups.
Later in the afternoon, Arthur was sat in the car waiting in the agreed spot to pick up them up. Just as his patience was beginning to wear thin, the ladies climbed into the car, Victoria sitting upfront beside him. "I should have known by now that yous would be late," Arthur complained, the strong smell of alcohol coming from them. "And I might have known that alcohol would have been involved."
The only response they had to his complaints had been were drunken giggles, but deep down he didn't mind, at least he knew they were getting home safely. Shaking his head, Arthur started up the car and began to drive down the road without saying anything. As they drove, Victoria looked out of the window thinking about everything they had discussed. Knowing that she was accepted in a place and into a family that would protect and keep her safe in her time of need, made grieving for her brother an easier process.
By the time the car pulled up outside the Shelby residence, all three ladies had drifted off into a drunken sleep, something Arthur knew all too well about doing. With a smirk plastered across his face, he screamed out causing them to wake up in freight, the fear soon leaving their faces when they realised that it was only him. "Bloody idiot!" Polly mumbled before getting out of the car, walking straight into the house, the others soon following her inside.
Victoria walked down the hallway and stumbled into Tommy's office where she was hoping he would be, but she was soon disappointed when she spotted John at his desk instead. "Have you seen Tommy around?" She asked raising her eyebrow as she held onto the door. John looked up at her and instantly knew that she was intoxicated, seeing her in that way caused him to chuckle lightly. "He's just sorting some business, I was just looking for some papers." He nodded as he stood up, slipping his hands into his pockets. For a split second she took in his well groomed appearance and she understood why many woman crave his attention.
"Alright, I think I may need my bed, goodnight John." Victoria nodded, her words coming out in a slur. When she turned to walk out of the office, she stumbled over her feet slightly, John quickly rushed to her side. "Let me help you," he chuckled before wrapping his arm around her waist, guiding her down the hallway slowly.
"You know John, you are a lovely man." Victoria slurred as she leaned her full weight onto him for guidance, the intoxication getting the better of her and regret for that last drink getting more and more. "I know I am, many ladies have stated that." He replied with a smirk, guiding her up the stairs and towards the bedroom that she shared with his older brother.
He pushed the door shut before helping her into the bedroom, sitting her down in Tommy's armchair in the corner of the bedroom. "Now if you need anything then I'll be just downstairs, don't hesitate to call for me." John explained before walking out of the bedroom, pulling the door shut behind himself.
Victoria stayed sat in the armchair for a few minutes before slowly standing up, the room spinning before she managed to steady herself. Without a thought, she pulled off her dress and threw it into the direction of her trunk while looking around for her nightwear. Upon looking, her eyes stopped upon one of Tommy's shirts, a one he had previously worn and was awaiting to be washed. She walked over to it and without thinking she pulled it on over her shoulder, doing up the front buttons.
Once the shirt was fastened, she wandered over to Tommy's armchair in the corner by the window and wrapped her arms around herself. She looked out upon the window and for the first time she was able to see the stars, twinkling brightly above. Usually in Small Heath this was a rare occassion due to the smog that filled the air, but tonight the sky was clear enough.
An hour had passed by and Victoria was still curled up in his arm chair waiting for Tommy to get home, yet there was still no sign of him returning any time soon. She couldn't shake the envy she had towards the person that was preoccupying his time. They had the attention she so desperately craved.
After finally realising that he wasn't going to be home to her any time soon she stood up, holding onto the windowsill for a moment to help ease the blurred vision before stumbling over towards the bed. She curled herself under the quilt and took in a deep sigh, wearing his shirt that still had his scent made it feel like he was by her side. Slowly but surely her eyes grew heavy and she had to give in to the need for sleep.