nine
as the world caves in
In the four days between Grace's death and the funeral, Anna and Tommy spent every waking moment together drinking, riding horses and often just sitting and talking about nothing and everything. He became a sort of father figure to her, teaching her things she never knew before and caring for her how a father would.
She kept him busy so that he didn't have the time to fall into the pit of sadness which followed him threateningly with every move he made. They helped each other at a time when they both needed it most.
Things changed after the funeral though. Tommy had no choice but to face Grace's death head on. Worse than that, he had to face his family. He didn't speak to anyone at the funeral, hoping to go back to his lonely mansion and grieve freely out of the public eye.
Despite Anna's discouragement, the whole family insisted on returning with her to Tommy's home, where they spent the next few days as they felt that's what he 'needed'. Anna and Tommy both knew this to be far from the truth.
Needing to get away from them, Anna took herself off to Charles' nursery where Mary watched over him playing. Anna smiled to her as she looked up.
"Could I have a cup of tea please Mary?"
"Of course Miss Gray."
"And make one for yourself as well." Mary's face lit up.
"If you insist Miss Gray." Although Tommy payed and treated Mary very well, he never interacted with her on a personal level, leaving her often feeling alone. As Mary exited the room, Anna turned her attention to the toddler who was rolling around happily on the floor, completely oblivious that he has just lost one of the most important people in his life.
"What are you doing?" Anna chuckled as the boy rolled across the floor. Anna picked up a toy car which appeared to replicate Tommy's, rolling it along the floor towards where Charles was now sat still. He appeared completely unimpressed by this so Anna decided to try something else. Seeing a teddy bear, she picked it up and walked it along the floor to Charles, causing him to giggle.
The door opened but assuming it was Mary, Anna continued to play with Charles. It was only when the figure failed to move further into the room that she looked up, seeing Michael smiling down on her.
"Mary said you were in here." While her attention was elsewhere, Charles took the opportunity to throw the teddy bear at Anna, once again earning a giggle from him as a shocked expression washed over her.
"I didn't know you were so good with kids."
"Don't be getting any ideas." She joked, but it was too late. "Besides, I told you I looked after the younger kids at the home I was in."
"I know but I still never pictured you being the motherly type."
"I'm sorry to interrupt." Mary awkwardly shuffled into the room. "Mr Shelby would like to see you Anna."
"No problem, I'm sure Ada will watch Charles." She stood up from her seat on the hard floor, brushing past both Mary and Michael as she made her way downstairs. Her mother, who she hadn't spoken to in a while, was waiting for her outside Tommy's office with her arms crossed.
"Hello mother."
"I can see him in your eyes."
"What are you talking about?"
"Tommy. You're becoming too much like him."
"I'm not mum." Anna was growing frustrated already. It was clear to her that Polly was simply jealous of the influence Tommy was having in her life while she was having little impact these days.
"I'm warning you. It's one thing to ride horses and drink whisky but it's a slippery slope into the bad stuff." Polly warned, turning to open the door before Anna had the chance to respond.
They walked in to see Tommy furiously scribbling at his desk. Sitting down, Anna and Polly looked at each other, both wondering who should speak first. Luckily, Tommy beat them both to it.
"How are the books Pol?"
"Unaffected." Polly said confidently. "There has also been a three fold increase to the charity. The council have been in touch to suggest calling the new school the Grace Shelby Institute." Anna winced at the sound of Grace's name. Neither her of Tommy said her name once, even while they were speaking about her.
"Tell the council that the name Grace Shelby Institute is acceptable to us." Tommy slammed his pen down, folding the piece of paper he had been writing on before handing it to Polly. "That's all from you Pol, here's a list of the other things I want doing. Anna I'd like to speak to you in private." Anna sat there awkwardly as Polly slowly got up and left, rather taken aback by Tommy's bluntness.
"What's going on with you then Anna?" Tommy turned his attention to her once the door was closed.
"What?" Anna was confused by his words. "I don't know what you mean."
"You've been distancing yourself from Michael since Grace died. Now I know why that is but I'm wondering if you've admitted it to yourself yet."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You're scared that what happened to me and Grace will happen to you and Michael." Finally, the thing Anna had been feeling for so long was said out loud, the thing she had yet to admit to herself.
"It's not that. I've always been scared of something happening to one of us, that's why I don't let him in. Grace's death only amplified it." Tommy sighed at her words.
"You can't deny yourself happiness because of the fear you won't have it forever. When you're with him, I see you happy and I also see you pushing him away." Since when was Tommy one for motivational speaking? "I pushed Grace away and because of that, I only got to spend two incredible years of my life with her. Had I not, it would've been a lot more even if she did still get shot by that bastard. Stop delaying your happiness. Send John and Arthur in." Tommy returned to his scribbling, not allowing for a reply as Anna sat there in stunned silence.
Exiting the room, Anna was immediately met by Polly waiting impatiently with questions.
"What did he want?"
"Nothing that concerns you."
"You're my daughter, of course it concerns me." Polly followed Anna as she rushed down the hall in search of anyone that would free her from her mother.
"He was just checking I was okay, that's all."
"An-"
"Right, lets go." Arthur interrupted Polly, standing up from his place by the fire.
"We've already seen him." Polly explained, finally ripping her attention from interrogating her daughter.
"What?" John was now interested in what they had to say.
"He wanted to see people in a particular order." Ada attempted to justify the situation. Not wanting to be around if things got heated, or if she was left alone with Polly again, Anna continued walking down the endless line of rooms in search of one thing, whiskey.
Having lived here for some time now, she knew exactly where to go and hopefully, no one else would bother to go there either. The kitchen was surprisingly warmer than upstairs had been too. Pulling out a chair by the big table, Anna draped her coat over it before retrieving a glass and a bottle of whiskey. She managed to be two glasses deep before her worst nightmares were answered and she heard footsteps growing closer to where she was.
"Thought I'd find you in here." Michael's voice bounced off every wall in the large room.
"Why on earth would you think that?"
"Because you know this house better than most people and so you know where to hide and you also know where the booze is kept."
"But by that theory you wouldn't know I was here so cut the shit and tell me how you really found me."
"Tommy stopped me as I left the room. Said 'if you're looking for Anna, she'll be in the kitchen'." Anna couldn't help but smile as she realised how well Tommy actually knows her, and also at Michael's impression of him. He knows that she gets just as annoyed with the family as he does. Pulling a cigarette case out of his suit pocket, Michael offered one to Anna before lighting them both up and sitting opposite her.
Anna was a further glass and a half deep before dreaded footsteps could be heard once again.
"Oyoy, there's the happy couple. You two come down here for some... privacy?" John joked, walking in with Arthur and Finn following behind.
"Why would we come to a public room for privacy?" Michael sounded annoyed at their intrusion on their comfortable silence.
"What you two doing down here then?" Arthur joined the questions game.
"Could ask you the same thing."
"Well we were told by Polly that this is where the fuckin booze is kept." Arthur got a bottle of whiskey of his own along with three more glasses out of the cupboard, sitting besides Michael at the table. Anna sighed loudly, realising her wish to be alone was never going to come true in this house.
"Surprised a room like this would live up to your standards Miss Gray." Arthur continued, pouring a drink for himself.
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Well you know, with you being high up enough to be on Tommy's level, I'd expect you to need higher class furnishings than these pieces of wooden shit we peasants sit on." Not wanting to get involved with whatever game Arthur was playing, Anna stayed quiet, smoking and drinking as she was before.
"Look at ya." Arthur laughed. "A little miss Tommy Shelby in the making. Yano before you, family meetings used to be together, with all of us. But now it's the boss' meeting and then the worker's meeting."
"Fuck if Arthur." Michael whispered as he got up to get himself a glass for the whiskey being passed around.
"What the fuck did you just say to me." Anna was relieved when Arthur's attention was finally off her.
"None of us asked for separate meetings, mine was even after yours and you don't see me complaining."
"No, I said what the fuck did you say to me." Arthur launched at Michael, leaving no distance between their foreheads as they stood their ground, causing Anna to roll her eyes at their need to be dominant over each other. They were acting like fucking wolves. John quickly leaped into action, working to separate the two. As if on cue, a small scream could be heard from the doorway, attracting everyone's attention. Charlie emerged bouncing on Ada's hip.
"Someone wanted to say hello." Charlie screamed in response. Of all people it was Charlie to break the tension. "Finn would you mind taking him back upstairs, I could do with a drink." Finn did as he was told, as usual, and Ada joined them around the table. Luckily, after his outburst, Arthur took a more relaxed approach to conversation.
It was another two drinks before Finn came running into the room out of breath. "Tommy's gone." He yelled breathless. "I went back to check on Charlie after I put him down and he was gone so I went looking and saw a trailer with Tommy and Johnny Doggs in." Finn was trying desperately to explain but Anna couldn't concentrate on what she was hearing. Why would Tommy leave her? Rushing past Finn and back upstairs, Anna found the nearest window. Sure enough, a trailer being led by Grace's horse was already at the end of the drive.
"He says he'll be back in a few days." She could've sworn Michael was following her. Turning to him, he was holding out a note to her which she read before folding it up and placing it in her boot.
Brilliant. That meant she was stuck here for days with her family and without Tommy.