Chapter Thirty-Three
The Changretta's
"You want to go somewhere?"
The loud crowd was bustling in the orange lit rooms as Lottie stood with Nic. With Polly talking to a man in the end doorway, that business expression on her face, she knew whatever was going on wasn't good. Despite that, Lottie also had more glasses than she could count and work was not exactly what was on her mind. At least it wasn't until Maxim was making his way towards them. "Lottie."
She frowned at his serious expression. "What is it?"
"There's a Russian here."
"What?" She said. "But how? Why?"
He shrugged. "Tommy's furious. They shouldn't have come on his wedding day."
Nic nodded. "Right."
"I'm going to let the others know," said Maxim already turning away.
Lottie nodded. When he had disappeared, she sighed, her shoulders slumping. "There's always something, isn't there."
Nic smiled at her and put his arm around her shoulder. "There's never a dull moment."
She glanced around the crowd. "Nic, you didn't notice where Michael went, do you?"
He shook his head. "No, let's ask Ada or someone."
"Alright," she nodded.
Lottie made her way through the labyrinth of the house, thinking back to Arthur's comment of there needing to be a map. Joining the room where the majority of the guests were standing, she spotted Polly speaking with some other blinders and Ada. She walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hello," she greeted.
"You alright?" Asked Ada, noticing her eyes scanning the crowd.
"Yes," she nodded. "Just looking for Michael."
"Oh, I saw him go into one of the other rooms," she replied.
Lottie rolled her eyes. "That's helpful," she said sarcastically.
Chuckling, she corrected himself. "I think he went down that corridor there," she nodded in the direction, "and went into one of the rooms on the right."
"Thank you," Lottie thanked. "See you later."
Lottie dodged her way through the crowd of ladies fancy dresses and men in their suits and Grace's family in their red uniforms. The states from the various men made her feel superior in a way that only she could explain; she loved that they wanted her, but what she loved more was the fact that they could never get her. Finally, reaching the corridor Ada had nodded towards she walked down, checking the doors on the right, poking her head in.
The girl from the table was kneeling in front of a coffee table, cocaine on that. "As if I were a whore," she said flirtatiously.
Lottie opened the door widely and stepped in. Their heads looked up when the door opened, looking towards Lottie, who smiled and entered the room, shutting the door behind her. It took everything in her not to roll her eyes. By the cocaine on the table and the look of the girl kneeling beside it, she could tell that she was a complete amateur and had no idea what she was doing. Pathetic. Forcing a smile onto her lips, she said, "Oh, go ahead. Don't mind me, I just wanted a drink."
She heard Michael cough. Lottie made her way to the set of drawers to the side of the door where a decanter sat on a tray along with a glass, and poured herself a drink. The girl looked back towards Michael, confused. "I should get back," she said.
"Yes, run back to mummy and daddy," sneered Lottie.
The girl jumped up, her face beetroot red. She looked towards Michael as if for support, but he offered none. Finally, unsure what else to do or say, she stormed out the room, slamming the door behind her.
"Was a pleasure to meet you!" Lottie called out after her. She turned back to Michael. "And what were you doing?"
"She wanted some cocaine, I was only making sure we didn't have a death on Tommy's wedding day," he explained.
"Hm," she hummed, stepping towards him like a lioness stalking her prey. He grabbed her arm and pulled her onto his lap. His grey eyes landed on her, a mixture of love and lust. Without looking away, he put the cigarette down on the ash tray and faced her properly. Leaning in, their lips met. It began soft, but soon became feverish. Lottie shifted her position so that her legs were either side of his, her hands on his cheeks, and then in his hair; his on the small of her back, slowly making their way down to her thighs, pulling her closer to him as if he wanted their bodies to be touching completely. They broke apart, out of breath, their cheeks flushed. "You want to go somewhere?" He asked, panting slightly.
"Oh, god, yes," she replied instantly. She quickly jumped up off him pulled him up by his hand, leading him out the room, the two practically running as they made their way upstairs to the room they had been assigned to stay in for the night.
***
With the money received from the duchess, they were all on the lookout for the Russian infiltrator who had the wrong codename. Maxim walked around the crowd, checking in the various rooms searching. He opened another and found Ada sitting on the sofa with the Russian leaning towards her, his arm resting behind her head. Fire boiled in his stomach. They turned to see him.
"Max," she said. "We were just talking politics."
"I see," he said, moving to sit on one of the armchairs.
"Max, are you alright?" she asked.
"Fine," he said looking at the fire. He cleared his throat and looked at the man. "You're wanted in the stables," he said. "There's a woman waiting there. She's just arrived."
He nodded and stood.
"Arthur's waiting to show you." Maxim stood as well. "I'll take you to him."
Ada turned, frowning. "What's going on?"
"Just business, Ada," Maxim said. They left the room and Maxim took the Russian away to where Arthur stood at the edge of the main room.
***
Back at the gambling den, the smoky room was familiar compared to the large house that Tommy owned. Lottie made her way straight to the kitchen where Polly was sitting, cigarette in hand. "Smoke?" She offered.
"Yes, please," said Lottie with a smile as she joined her at the table. Polly pulled out another cigarette and handed it over before she then offered a match.
Lottie took a deep breath in of the smoke, letting it fill her lungs. She sighed happily and lent back in her chair. She looked around. "Where are the boys?"
"Who knows," Polly muttered turning a page of her newspaper. Her eyes flicked back to the girl. "Have you told him yet?"
"Michael?" asked Lottie.
"Mmhm," she nodded.
Lottie smiled. "Not yet. I was going to tell him at the wedding, but I didn't find the right time."
"Why are you nervous?" Polly questioned. "He'll be so happy to hear the news."
She shrugged. "He's been so preoccupied with business lately, I'm not sure he'd be willing to, or, I mean, I'm not sure the timing is right."
"But you're happy?"
Lottie beamed. "I am."
Polly reached her hand towards Lottie's belly. "Another angel will be joining us."
"I've always wanted a big family, a big wild, free family," she said happily.
"You're another child closer to that dream," said Polly smiling.
The door banged open and John and Arthur entered, Arthur with a serious expression on his face. Lottie sighed. "I swear, part of this job is just managing tempers," she muttered.
"I need to talk to John," Polly said her smile dropping.
"What is it?"
Polly put out her cigarette. "The Changretta's. We don't need swabbles to lead to rebellions."
"Is this about Lizzie's man?"
"She shouldn't have starting this in the first place, but now we have to clean up the mess," she explained.
Lottie nodded and the two of them entered the betting room. Arthur had retreated to his corner of the room while John shut himself in his office where Polly followed. Lottie made her way over to her corner where she organised the papers and did the math for the betting, but it wasn't long before John's voice echoed through the room.
"I'll take his fucking face!" John snapped before slamming his office door on Polly.
Lottie jumped up and grabbed his arms. "John, what is it?"
"Compromise?" he snarled. "We're the Peaky fucking Blinders, we don't compromise."
"Compromise on what?" she asked still struggling to hold him in place. "With the Changretta's?"
"Yes, the Changretta's! Polly says apologise, Tommy says compromise, this is fucking ridiculous!"
"John, maybe it's the best-" she begun.
His eyes snapped onto her, full of anger. "For the best? Michael's softened you. Before, you'd be right by my side ready to do the cutting."
"John-"
He broke free of her grip. "I need some air," he muttered before storming out of the room.
Lottie ran after him, her heels clicking on the stones. "John!" She grabbed his arm again. "Don't do anything stupid."
"Oh, yes, I'm John, the idiot, always doing something stupid." He tried to break out of her nail induced grip but failed. "Let go of me!" He shouted, using his other hand and pushed her away. Tripping on the cobblestone, she fell onto her back, her head slamming against the ground. Gasping, pain erupting from the back of her head, she looked back at him. Guilt spread across his expression but he said nothing. Instead, he turned on his heel and disappeared into the smog and smoke.
Tentatively, she reached the back of her head, flinching at the sharp pain. "Fuck," she murmured as she pushed herself up. Her clothes were damp from the ground and she knew she should get her head checked. "Fuck," she said again. Hurt and angry tears filled her eyes but she wiped them fiercely away. Wrapping her coat tighter around her body, she set off down the street to her doctors. Why did he have to be so angry? She hated it when John got like this, it wasn't him, not really. She knew the real him, she'd loved the real him. She wondered if he was right, if she had softened. None of them were the same anymore, and how could they be? After everything each of them had been through, it was a wonder that none of them had lost their minds. Or perhaps they had. Insanity perhaps was running strife through the lot of them.
She had been lucky, the doctor had said, she hadn't cracked her skull, she'd taken most of the force on her back. Just a bruise that would heal, he had assured. Relieved, Lottie made her way back to the betting house in a new change of clothes. She hoped John hadn't returned, she wasn't sure what she would say. Oh, don't worry about it, you only pushed me down injuring me. No big fucking deal. She scolded herself for her bitterness. Nothing would ever be fair, she had to remember that.
As soon as she entered the house, she wished she had stayed away. Polly and Arthur were sitting at the table, waiting. "I should go," she said, turning to leave.
Polly frowned. "You're wearing different clothes."
"I-" But she didn't get a chance to say anything else as John and Finn entered. John's face was controlled, but he avoided looking at her.
"Alright, Finn, thanks for coming," said Arthur. "Fuck off."
"I should go," she said again, about to follow Finn out.
"Finn, you can stay." Tommy walked towards the kitchen from the betting room. Lottie hadn't even noticed him standing there. She'd make an awful fucking spy, she thought to herself, clenching her jaw. "Lottie, you, too."
"But-"
"Stay," he said firmly, pulling out a chair for her to sit. He looked to his brother. "Sit down, John." The only spare seat was next to Lottie. Now, he looked at her and a flash of guilt appeared. Sighing to herself, she shuffled her seat along so she was closer to Polly. John sat next to her, but turned his body away. Once again, Lottie wished she had just stayed home. She was too tired to deal with this tenseness, or maybe too sober.
Tommy leaned against the door frame clenching and unclenching his jaw. "John," he said finally, "you cut Angel Changretta."
Her head snapped towards John. That's what he had done this afternoon?
"Even though Arthur told you to apologise," Tommy continued.
John nodded.
"Polly told you to compromise. You chose not to listen to Mr Apologise or Mrs Compromise. And now, I have got an Italian walking around my backyard saying he's going to kill my brother. So, what do we do, John? Do we apologise or do we compromise?"
John bowed his head as if trying to figure out what best to say.
Arthur opened his mouth. "Oh, It was just something John said as a joke."
"Yeah, but he's your brother as well, Arthur," said Tommy.
"Yeah," said Arthur looking away, avoiding Tommy's piercing blue eyes. "I know I didn't want to start a war over something John said without meaning it."
Tommy frowned. "So, should he apologise in Italian or in English?" He asked, his voice dripping with condescension. "Or should we ask them which fucking language they prefer? I'm not clear."
Polly lowered her tea. "You said while this business was going on in London, you wanted peace at home."
"And the only way to guarantee peace is by making the prospect of war seem hopeless," he countered. "If you apologise once, you do it again and again and again. Like taking bricks out of the wall of your fucking house. Do you want to bring the house down, Arthur?"
Lottie reached out her hand to touch his arm. "Tommy, they get it."
Arthur grunted in frustration.
"If you're soft on rebellion, it'll grow," Tommy went on.
"Bloody soft on rebellion," muttered Arthur, standing from his chair.
"You did the right thing, John," said Tommy. "Now, we go on the offensive. We take two of the Changretta pubs, and we take them tonight. That's it."
"Oh!" exclaimed Polly. "Right. For Christ's sake, why?"
"Hey!"
"Why?" she repeated.
"Why? Because we fucking can!" He shouting losing the control on his composure. "Because we fucking can and if we can, we do. And if we lift our heel off their necks now, they'll come at us." He sighed. "Remember these are the bastards that wanted Danny Whizz-Bang dead." He looked at Arthur who paced in front of the fire place. "You're getting soft, brother," he said quietly. "Soft and weak. Save the Bible for Sundays, eh? Finn?" He said, not looking away from Arthur. "I need to get to Hockley and then home. It's been a long day."
Finn nodded and left.
Tommy pointed at his brother. "You take the Wrexham, you take the Five Bells. You get them signed over to us in the morning. You make sure the coppers stay away. And don't use the fucking phones, alright? There's someone listening." He turned to leave. "Lottie, I want to talk to you."
"What, am I your pet now?" She muttered, but she stood. After sending a sympathetic look towards Arthur, she followed Tommy out. The air was cold around them as they stood by the road. "What is it, Tommy?" She asked.
"You went to the hospital," he said. It wasn't a question.
She frowned. "How do you know?"
"If any of us go to the hospital, I know," he replied bluntly. "What happened?"
"Nothing happened," she shrugged, looking away.
"Lottie."
Sighing, she bowed her head. "Me and John got in a fight earlier, he pushed, I fell," she said. "The doctor said it's only bruising, no damage done."
"A fight," he said clenching his jaw.
"I'm fine, Tommy, it's alright."
Tommy rested his hands on her cheeks and forced her eyes to meet his. "You come to me, whenever there's an issue, a problem, a fight, you come to me. I don't like hearing from other people that you've gotten hurt."
Lottie smirked. "You sound as if you care."
"I care," he said in all seriousness.
"You do?" She breathed.
Nodding, he stepped closer. Then he cleared his throat. "Don't be getting into any more fights, alright."
"Yes, sir," she smiled.
He pulled her into his arms and the two of the stayed there, she wasn't sure for how long, but she didn't want to leave. He was a stability in her life, always had been. She could rely on him no matter what from when she had a stupid crush on him as a child to her loyal companion as an adult. He helped her when her mother died, when Freddie died. She was sure she'd be in an asylum if it wasn't for him. She didn't know who she'd be without him, and she wasn't planning on finding out.
a/n:
Another chapter! A bit shorter but I hope you enjoyed - things are about to kick off in the next chapter so a little bit of warning.
There is a character who may need a trigger warning as he's abusive, manipulative, and controlling and so please beware before the next chapter comes out.
I also hope you enjoyed the little drop of news for Lottie! Another baby on the way!
Please do leave any comments, votes and thoughts!
I hope you enjoyed :))
published:: 06.09.2022