C h a p t e r T w o
"Please stop looking around like that," Harry pleaded as he took another draw of his cigarette.
The Garrison had sat deserted excluding the owner and his barmaid, since the stunt with Danny Wizz-bang an hour previously. The duo had spent the time in silence as they worked together to clean up the mess. Much to their relief, most of the tables and chairs remained intact, however many glasses had been broken during the brawl that would need replaced.
Lynette looked up from the floor boards, pausing from sweeping glass as she looked up at the man in confusion. She removed the lit cigarette from her mouth before speaking to him with a crease between her brows. "Like what?" she questioned.
"Like you're about to stab someone with that broomstick," Harry responded in disbelief as he witnessed the glare she had presented while working vanish within the blink of an eye.
The redhead laughed lightly from her place across the room. "It's not directed at you. I'm just imagining ripping Freddie Thorne's head of his fucking shoulders for what he said earlier."
"To Mr Shelby?"
"No, 'bout Danny," she clarified as she returned to brushing up the debris into piles after letting the cigarette hang from her lip.
Harry also continued to tidy up as he passed on words of wisdom. "You should try stay away from Thomas Shelby, he's a dangerous man. You don't want to be getting tied up into the wrong business."
"Don't you worry about me, Harry. I'm not interested in the gangster life style or the man who runs it."
She was being completely honest with him, but Harry was still hesitant that she was not taking his warning seriously. The Shelby clan had a reputation to uphold in Small Heath, because of this it was easy to get on the wrong side of them. Trouble always followed wherever the Shelby's went.
Any further conversation or warnings were interrupted as the door opened. Lynette looked up in confusion as she wondered who would be visiting the pub, considering all the regulars knew to stay clear for a while after seeing the aftermath of earlier's incident.
She was taken aback by the sight of the small woman who entered, her appearance alone telling her that she did not fit in with the area. The woman was a pretty blonde, wearing a green jacket and skirt which didn't appear cheap. Lynette tried not to be too obvious as she attempted to get a proper look at the woman's face under her hat.
"I'm here about the job as a barmaid," she announced allowing the two workers to identify her as an Irish woman.
Lynette knew that Harry had put out another job advertisement after hiring her, because he wanted someone that could cover if either of them were absent from a shift. She had encouraged him to do this, because she thought it would allow her boss to spent more time with his wife and children.
"Are you mad?" Harry barked after he too had taken in the appearance of the blonde woman. Lynette stayed back and allowed him to handle the situation as the owner.
"Am I what?" the Irish woman asked.
"Do you know about this place?"
"I saw it in an advertisement."
Lynette shrugged to Harry when he looked at her expectedly, clearly hoping that she would step in and help.
"Job's been filled," Harry stated sharply, his tone final as he picked up his broom again.
"It was in yesterday's paper," the woman argued as she stepped forward.
Lynette sighed as she put out her cigarette in as ashtray on the counter before turning to the woman who looked over at her in surprise. "Listen sweetheart, he's probably doing you a favour. This is a rough place if you haven't noticed," she spoke politely as she gestured to the state of the pub.
"I'm not asking for favours, I'm asking for employment."
"You're too nice," Lynette pointed out once the woman continued to insist. "And too pretty. The men in here would have you against a wall as soon as they got the chance."
"And you're not?" the blonde questioned the taller woman.
Lynette shook her head with a fake smile, now starting to become annoyed. "I don't take any bullshit from men, comes with the heritage."
She watched as the woman turned back to Harry, now pulling sheets of paper from her bag as she approached him. "I have experience and references," she offered as she handed them to the owner.
Harry read over the reference sheets for a moment. "What part of Ireland are you from?"
"Galway. I worked in Dublin."
A smile had now appeared on The Garrison owner's face. "Me mother was from Galway." There was another pause before he shook his head, with an apologetic expression. "You're too pretty."
"Watch. And listen," The woman instructed as she placed her bag down, and rested her hat on a table allowing Lynette to get a proper look at her face. She had quite a thin face and her features were quite sharp, yet she was still a beautiful woman.
They watched intrigued as she picked up a bucket on the floor and made her way along the bar, where she started to empty the spittoons, doing so while she started to sing.
"I wish I was in Carrickfergus. Only for nights in Ballygrand. I would swim over the deepest ocean, the deepest ocean my love to find. My boyhood friends and my own relations. Have all passed on now like the melting snow."
She finished her song by placing the bucket on the table in front of Harry, who had laughed through his shock at her performance. Even Lynette was impressed as she watched on with a smile, knowing that the woman had just earned herself the job.
"In Ireland, my singing made them cry and stopped them fighting."
"Well, I hope you know a lot of songs," Harry commented causing the blonde woman to finally smile.
Lynette approached the blonde with an amused smile, offering out her hand to shake. "Welcome to The Garrison. I'm Lynn Reid."
The shorter woman smiled at her as she accepted the handshake. "I'm Grace."
..............................
Grace picked up how things worked in The Garrison much quicker than Harry and Lynnette had anticipated. Her previous experience was a great advantage to the pair as they were able to call her in to work the very next day. All three stood behind the bar, the extra pair of hands making the shift easier as the worked together to serve the growing crowd.
"Is it always this busy in the daytime?" Grace asked her colleagues as she carried pint glasses to a group of men at the counter.
"No, these boys are on their way to St Andrews," Harry answered her as he placed money in the cash box.
"To pray?" she inquired.
Lynette laughed as she switched places with Grace to reach the taps. "That'll be the day," she commented. "St Andrews is a football ground."
"The Blues are playing," Harry explained before he started to point out individuals to his new worker. "That's the forward line there. And that's the goalie, believe it or not."
"Hello!" someone called from the private room window.
Lynette glanced over to see Tommy there on his own. As she picked up the three pint glasses she had just poured, she turned to look at the woman beside her. "Grace, can you get that?"
Grace nodded before approaching the window, allowing Lynette to continue serving more punters. She did not pay attention to the window, and only noticed that Grace had served the Shelby man when she came over to mutter to Harry and herself.
"He's one of them you warned me about?"
"Look, Grace, you're a friendly girl but be careful." Harry warmed her, while the other barmaid simply nodded in response. "If I say something's on the house, then say nothing to whoever you're serving. If they decide that they want you, then there's nothing anybody could do about it. Lucky for you, since he got back from France, Tommy doesn't want anybody at all."
Harry had turned back to serve more men before their impatience caused them to become rowdy. Lynette noticed the look of annoyance that remained on Grace's face, realising that the second Shelby brother must have upset her.
"Ignore whatever Shelby said," the Scottish woman advised as she leaned over to whisper to Grace. "He can definitely be an arse at times, but he's just sizing you up 'cause you're new. Just keep your head down when he's in here, yeah? Trust me you'll get used to it."
Grace nodded at the woman, muttering a 'thank you' before they returned to serving the busy crowd that surrounded the bar.
..............................
Later that night, Lynette walked home alone with a smile on her face as she thought about the amusing scene that she had witnessed during her shift. She had witnessed all sorts in The Garrison, but never did she imagine she would watch the burly men sing a song about a woman waiting on her lover. Grace had really brought out a new side to the visitors with her singing, a side that Lynette enjoyed to watch but not participate in.
The fun had ended quite abruptly with the arrival of the Shelby brothers and other members of the Peaky Blinders. Shortly after their appearance, Harry had sent her home as a thank you for the extra work she had done the day previously when she helped to clear up after Danny's breakdown. Lynette had accepted the offer, waving to Grace as she left, who seemed quite gloom after her singing was interrupted.
The cold aid nipped at her neck as she left the local pub, heading down the long street in the direction of Watery Lane. Her peaceful stroll home was interrupted as she noticed the sound of footsteps not far behind her. Her instincts told her to be wavy, because of this she purposely took the wrong turn from her destination.
Lynette kept her breath steady as she reached up to find the golden hair piece that held up her edges of her hair in a twirled knot. She calmly removed the item to avoid suspicion, which allowed the boldly coloured hair to cascade down her back.
Lynette brought the item in front of her, removing the cap of the metallic item to reveal a razor blade concealed inside. Growing up in Glasgow had taught her how to defend herself, and she wasn't about to go down like a defenceless woman.
By judging the footsteps, she concluded that he/she was far too close for comfort. Spinning around to face the person, she held up the weapon in front of her so that they could see it. She saw that it was a man following her, who took a small step back with his hands raised as he saw the blade.
Lynette dropped her arm to her side at the sight of the individual, a scoff of disbelief escaping her. Her behaviour switched from determined to pissed off as she took in the smirking face of Thomas Shelby.
"For fuck sake," she snarled furiously.
"How creative," he teased dropping his hands. He returned them to his pockets as he watched the woman place the two pieces of the accessory back together before she hid it in the pocket of her coat.
"What the hell are you playing at?" The redhead demanded as she watched the smirk disappear, his face returning to its usual impassive state.
"I thought I could walk you home, we need to talk."
"Yeah?" she questioned, before bringing her face close to his. "Well, you can fuck off."
Lynette stormed around the man, returning to the main street she had been walking along previously. She was furious that he had sneaked up on her like that, she temporarily lost some of her mutual respect for the man. His footsteps followed until he was eventually at the same pace beside her.
"So where does a lady like yourself learn to hide a weapon like that?" he asked as he pulled out his cigarettes and matches from his pocket.
"I'm not a lady, and it's none of your business," she answered as she accepted the cigarette he passed her. Just because she was angry at him didn't mean she was going to miss up on the chance to try his fancy, most likely expensive imported cigarettes. And she could tell that he would not be leaving her alone.
He leaned over with a match to light it for her as they continued to walk. Very few people passed them, and those who did ensured that they tipped their hats to the Shelby man as a sign of respect.
After a few quiet moments, Lynnette watched in the corner of her eye as Tommy blew the nicotine smoke from his mouth, staring straight ahead as he began to talk again.
"You know Lynette, I don't think in the time you've been here you've learned that it's impossible to hide anything from me."
Lynette scoffed aloud as she refused to look at him. She didn't fall for the bait, knowing that his words were most likely bluff as he tried to find something to blackmail her with. Relief came over her as they made it onto Watery Lane, her house being the very end door on the far right.
"Is that supposed to scare me?" she asked, glancing over at him as she continued to smoke. She looked back again as she noticed the blood splatter painted across the white shirt he wore. "What's with the blood?"
"Danny..." he trailed off as they approached her door. "He killed a man today, and it had to be dealt with."
Lynette stooped abruptly as she turned to look at him. She searched for any hint that he was lying but instead only saw seriousness as those cold blue eyes returned the stare. She started to shake her head in disgust as she dropped the cigarette to the ground, fishing out her door key so she could get inside and be far away from the Shelby brother.
"So you actually listened to what Freddie said yesterday? And here I thought you didn't take orders from anyone," she explained as she opened the door, but was stopped as Tommy's hand wrapped around her bicep.
"I don't, but you are going to listen to this one. Wait for me in The Garrison at Midnight tomorrow. Trust me, you'll want to here what I have to say."
Lynette didn't response to his order, instead glaring down at the hand on her arm as she debated whether she should do as he said. "I'm going to advise you to let go of me before I kick you in the nuts. I don't care who you are," she warned as averted her eyes to glare at him.
The man smirked at her words as he took a step back. Lynette watched him like a hawk as he placed one hand in his pocket, while the other reached up to tip his cap at her.
"I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Miss Paterson."
Lynette froze at the name, but did not allow any emotions to show on her face as she watched him walk down the street towards his own home. She rushed inside, slamming the door closed behind her and locking it frantically.
Her breathing became erratic as she attempted to control her scrambled thoughts. Shrugging off her bag and jacket, she dumped them on the couch before making her way into the small kitchen at the rear of the house.
She quickly took a glass off the shelf with shaking hands, before grabbing the bottle of Scotch whiskey in one of the lower cupboards. She poured herself a dram, knocking it back without hesitation. She hoped that the slight burn would help calm her nerves, however the second and the third dram did not help either.
Without warning, the glass shattered as it made impact with the wall as she threw it in a fit of rage. "How? How? How?!" she rambled to herself as her hands made their way into her hair, the locks pulled tightly between her whitening fingers.
How did he find out? How did he know about that name? Who the fuck told him? You didn't give him any clues, you only said you were from Glasgow. This is impossible!
"Fuck!" Lynette screamed as she slammed her hands on the small dining table.
She had blown it, it was over.