- PATIENCE RENEWED -
February 17th, 1920
Rose could hear the running footsteps before they even reached he door of her small flat. A fist pounded on the door as Rose threw off her covers and ran down the stairs. The evening air was frozen as she opened the door, squinting in the fading light.
"Ms. Grey?" she exclaimed, trying not to sound too shocked at the woman standing on her doorstep.
"Nurse King, you need to come with me; it's an emergency."
The woman proceeded to turn on her heels, not even waiting for Rose's answer.
"What?" Rose exclaimed, grabbing a coat and running after Polly Grey down the dark, streets.
"It's Ada," Polly said, finally conceding some information.
Rose's heart sunk in her chest. "Is it the baby? Is she alright? Has she-"
"No time for question, girl! Just follow me!"
Rose continued to follow, keeping her eyes trained on the back of Polly's head.
"Wait," she wondered aloud, "how did you know where I live?"
"No time for questions," Polly hissed, whipping her head around at Rose. "Here- just through here."
Polly practically shoved Rose through the door of a tall, black-bricked, house.
Ada was sitting on a small couch in the front room, her face visibly shining from sweat and tears.
"Ada!" Rose exclaimed, her heart racing for her new friend.
"Listen to me, Rose-" Ada said quickly, "We don't-"
"Have time for question- yes, yes, I know," Rose muttered, sitting on the floor in front of Ada.
"Have you seen Tommy?" Ada said, out of breath.
"What?" Rose exclaimed, still scanning Ada's face. "No, I haven't seen him since the other night. Ada that's the least of our concerns right now. Your stress levels-"
"He's going to kill my husband!" she cried, tears falling freely down her rosy cheeks.
Rose almost thought she was kidding, but the pure fear in Ada's eyes knocked any doubt far away.
"What's his address?" Rose asked, suddenly steeling with anger. "Where's his house?"
Ada must have seen the anger in Rose's eyes; the tears stopped falling and with a small sniffle, she took a deep breath.
"It's the next house down from here. He might be in the Shop; you can get to it from the kitchen."
"I'll be right back," Rose nodded quickly. Without another word, she ran out the door. Not bothering to knock, she burst in to the kitchen and shoved open a set of green doors.
She froze as she saw what Ada must have been referring to as "the Shop". Men were queued up to the door, waving their hats in the air and shouting names that Rose could not understand.
Squinting through the smoke-filled room, she saw John at a chalkboard, a grin plastered on his face.
"Alright, lads!" a voice called over the commotion. Rose turned to see Arthur, his peaky cap pulled low over his brows. "Betting is closed for the day! So piss off, by order of the Peaky Blinders!"
He started laughing, but Rose could barely hear him over the rush of blood in her ears.
The injuries, the secrecy- it all made sense. Rose's mind turned back to what her landlady had said all those months ago: that the Peaky Blinders were Birmingham's biggest and deadliest gang.
Rose's eyes flicked from John and then to Arthur. As they shut the doors and gathered the money off the table, the pieces began to fall in to place. She remembered somebody saying that the gang was run by brothers, but they had not said which ones.
It had to be them- the Shelby brothers.
They had been so kind. And it was all a facade.
Finally, John looked towards the door where Rose stood and his eyes widened.
"Hello, Rosie," Arthur said, following his brother's gaze.
"It's you," she said. It was not a question. "You're the Peaky Blinders."
A crimson blush spread on to John's cheeks.
"Well- um, we-"
"Save your breath," Rose hissed, folding her arms against her chest.
"You were bound to find out eventually, love," Arthur said, his voice gentle as he looked at her from under the brim of his cap.
"It's fine," she lied, her anger threatening to boil over. "Where's Tommy?"
"He's-" Arthur stuttered.
She groaned. "I'll find him myself."
Practically shoving past them, Rose pushed through a door at the far end of the Shop.
Tommy did not look up as Rose stormed in to what must have been his office. It was simple and dark, only a few candles and a gas lamp illuminating the small room. Shutting the door behind herself, Rose sat in the chair on the opposite side. Tommy's chin rested in his hand as he poured over what looked like records and receipts. He did not even bother to look at her when he finally spoke.
"Are you going to tell me what you're doing here?"
Rose took a deep breath before speaking.
"Why did Ada think that you were going to kill her husband?"
Finally, he turned his eyes away from his papers and on to Rose.
"Because I was," he said, lifting a match to light the cigarette that was dangling from his lips.
Rose opened her mouth to say something, but shut it quickly, looking up at the ceiling and taking another deep breath.
"I'm having trouble," he drawled, his voice low as he stood up and walked around the desk, "understanding how you have yourself so wrapped up in my family's business."
Suddenly Rose was standing, too. Tommy's face was void of expression as Rose searched for anything in it that might calm her.
"Because, Mr. Shelby, I was just brought to your sister's house under the impression that she was about to miscarry her child. The stress you caused her almost made her lose the baby!"
Finally, his mask cracked; his eyes widened as he slowly leaned back, sitting on his desk.
"So I don't know what you thought was going to happen, but-"
"But what? She's fine, Rose," he sighed, bringing his hand to his forehead. "So before you-"
"Don't you tell me what to do, Mr. Shelby," she hissed. "The last thing I need is to take orders from a man who has no idea what goes on outside of his own bloody world."
He was silent for a moment. He stared, his eyes piercing in to her's- as sharp as the anger she felt boiling in her veins.
"Tommy," he said quietly.
"What?" she breathed, her brows furrowing.
"My name. It's Tommy. You don't need to call me Mr.-"
"Oh for God's sake!" she yelled, the anger that had been bubbling under the surface now finally exploding out of her and dancing red in her vision.
"That is all you have to say to me? You almost killed your brother-in-law and gave your pregnant sister enough stress miscarry and that is all you have to say to me?"
He only continued to stare, everything about him perfectly still.
"What is going on?" she asked, silently begging him to speak. He only continued to stare.
"I had just started to trust you, too!" she laughed, letting her arms fall to her sides. "And then I find out that you're the head of Birmingham's biggest gang and run an illegal betting shop!"
"And the races."
"What?" she asked again.
"Don't forget that we also fix the horse races."
"Bloody hell, Tommy" she sighed, her anger only falling to disappointment.
There was another long silence.
"This is all I have to offer you," he said, finally.
"I'm not asking for anything, Thomas! I just want honesty. I want-"
She paused, thinking for a moment. It had been a long time since she had thought about what she wanted; there had been no time for wanting during the war.
"I just want something real, Tommy."
"I have been nothing but real with you, Rose," he said, his voice frustratingly calm and level.
She knew he was telling the truth. That night at the Garrison, he had shed that outer layer of himself. She had seen a glimpse of the man behind his well-performed act. Her anger slowly melted away and she shook her head slowly.
"I know," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Just promise me one thing."
"I don't make prom-" he began.
"Promise me one thing," she insisted, taking another step closer to him.
He nodded, bracing his hands in his pockets.
"That you will not keep things like this from me again."
He didn't speak, but Rose's heart was beating so loudly that she swore he was listening for it over the din of the city noise.
"If I'm going to stay here," she said, "then I can't be kept in the dark. You once asked if I would help you and I said yes; but I will not do it behind closed doors, Thomas."
"But you can't have both, Rose!" he said, rubbing his eyes. "You said you wouldn't work me, and now you can't seem to say no!"
"I don't want both, don't you get it? Why can't they be the same thing! Why can't you being honest with me and me helping you happen at the same time?"
Suddenly, Rose had the urge to step closer- to touch him. Tommy watched her hand with an unreadable expression as she raised it up to his face. She could feel the warmth of his skin as her fingers brushed his rough cheek. Gently, she ran a finger across his jaw, back and forth.
"Just let me in, Tommy," she whispered, her breath hitching as he leaned his head in to her hand.
"Then help me, Rose."
The candles flickered in his eyes, dancing across the expanse of blue.
"Help me."
"Okay," she whispered, looking up at him, more sure of than she had been in years. She had no reason to trust him- no reason to believe anything he said; but there they were, masks off and hearts bared.
"Okay."