CHAPTER TWO | you're not in france
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Lucie was back at The Garrison by noon, she had a long shift. Noon until when everyone left, once again. Before she arrive she had tried her best to cover the bags that sat under her eyes. Lucie never slept last night. Instead she thought of Thomas, and his piercing blue eyes. She knew she was falling for the gangster.
It was around one in the afternoon, when the pub doors flew open. Lucie was too busy trying not to fall asleep to even bother looking at what was happening, instead she listened to the shouting and walked round the bar towards the front. Leaving Thomas and Freddie Throne.
Danny Whiz-Bang had come into the pub, in the mist of one of his delusions. Lucie was placing two glasses of dark mild into a table when it was suddenly flipped it, glass heading straight for Lucie. Cutting different sections of her.
Danny flipped more tables, rambling and shouting about France whilst Lucie was sat on the pub floor, next to a bar stool, in pain.
Freddie and Thomas has a strong grip on Danny and took him down onto the floor after a count of three from Freddie.
"They're gonna' get me! They're gonna' get me!" Danny repeatedly shouted as he fell to the ground with the two men holding him.
"Breathe, Danny, breathe." Freddie tried to calm the man who was writhing underneath him.
"You're home, Danny, were all home in England. You're not in France no more." Tommy successful pulled Danny back to reality.
The two men let go of him, helping him stand up. Brushing themselves off. Thomas has told everyone to leave, now just Thomas, Danny, Freddie and Lucie were left. Lucie was gripping her arm in pain. Half a broken pint glass had lodged itself above her elbow. It had torn the arm of her dress, leaving a painted trail of red to colour the fabric. Her only nice dress.
"Ah! Hell! I did it again, Tommy didn't I? Did I do it again?" You could hear the pain in Danny's voice from a mile away.
"Yes, Danny, Freddie take him back to his wife. Make sure he gets there." Tommy gave both men a pat on the back, sending them on their way and latching the door closed afterwards.
Tommy went straight towards Lucie, bending down to her level and inspecting her arm. It was nothing Polly's needle and thread couldn't fix.
"Come on Lucie, lets get you to Pol, eh? She'll stitch you up." Tommy helped the poor girl up and walked towards Polly's with her.
Tommy relentless hammered on Polly's door until she opened up. Lucie stood beside him, the multiple cuts on her body stinging.
"What in the bloody hell's happened. Get her inside." Polly ushered the girl inside, sitting her on a kitchen chair. Tommy and Ada, who was already at Polly's, we're running around getting everything they needed.
Polly eased out the large chunk of glass from Lucie's arm. Which prompted pained groans from the girl. Ada sat next to Lucie, holding her free hand.
"Right love, this'll hurt." Polly warner her before pouring alcohol on to Lucie's arm. She gritted her teeth and screamed through them. Polly stitched up Lucie's arm, since it was the only cut deep enough, Ada cleaned Lucie's cuts on her leg, leaving the odd cuts on her face.
"Right, Ada, Love, come help me make cups of tea, Tommy clean her face." Polly knew what she was doing.
Tommy pulled up a chair next to Lucie, grasping a clean cloth from the table, dousing it in rum. Tommy used one hand to hold on to the lower half of Lucie's face, whilst the other dragged the rag over her cuts. Lucie wanted to look strong in front of Tommy, so she tried her best not to wince or gasp at the pain.
Although staring into Tommy's eyes made her feel better. She watched the concentration on his face as he wiped down the scratches. Tommy's eyes glanced towards Lucie's, making eye contact. Lucie's breath was caught in her throat. The stare was intense and unbreaking. Tommy cleared his throat after a while.
"Sorry about Danny, still thinks he's in France." Tommy's voice was low and quite.
"Fuck France." Lucie mumbled.
"You what?" Tommy said in disbelief, he thought she was insulting the soldiers who fought, however, it was the opposite.
"I do not mean offence, Mr. Shelby. My brothers died in France, all 5 of them. 3 of them died in the Battle of the Somme. Shot dead. One was a tunneller, but didn't dig himself out in time, and the cavalry never came. And the last one, died with the Birmingham mates battalion. He were 15, my twin brother. Telegrams all came at different times. Man called Fredrick Thorne tried to save my twin brother, he knew he were young, but couldn't do it."
Lucie let one tear slip down her cheek as Tommy listened to her story. He knew her brothers during the war, well two of them. Daniel, James and Will were in a trench next to them, Accrington lads. That's the trench they stayed in. Johnny was a tunneller with Tommy, one of the many who died the night Tommy should've.
And Matthew, all the men loved him at war, little boy gave them hope, that was until he got shot. Freddie tried so hard to save the lad. He just couldn't.
"I knew them, well Johnny and Matthew. They were good men, brave soldiers." Tommy gave Lucie a smile, filled with pain.
"I just wanted to thank the man who tried to save Matthew, but got told he died, God rest their soles." Lucie drew an invisible cross on herself, however Tommy broke her moment of silence.
"Freddie's not dead. He was here today Lucie, pinned Danny down with me."
"What? I got told he died." Lucie was in shock, all her life she'd wanted to thank the man who helped her brother in his last hours.
"You'll see him soon Lucie, you can thank him then, I promise."
He promised.
☆
Tommy said he had business to attend to and left Lucie with Ada and Polly, drinking tea and talking. At first it was silent but Polly broke it rather swiftly.
"Right then Luce, we've known you ages, but how'd you end up in Small Heath, alls we know is your name." Polly asked, smoking a cigarette.
"Long story." Lucie chuckled.
"We've got time." Ada smiled and grasped Lucie's hand which rested in the table.
"Lived in a village just outside Manchester with my mum, dad and 5 brothers. Daniel was the oldest, would be 28 now, James would be 27 and Will would be 26. My other two brothers were a bit younger Johnny would be around 24 something like that, and my twin brother Matthew would be 22 now." Lucie could feel a dull ache in her chest at the mention of her brothers.
"I'm sorry Lucie, may they rest in peace." Polly said solemnly.
"Thank you, they all left for war, all died. Was just telling Thomas about it, he knew Johnny and Matthew. Him and Johnny were tunnellers together. And Matthew, well I got told the man who tried to save him died, turns out he didn't and Tommy knows him." Ada interrupt the girls tale.
"Who?"
"Freddie Thorne."
Ada became visibly red in the face and sipped her cup of tea, hoping her aunt wouldn't notice. But she did.
"Ada Shelby care to explain yourself."
"Fine, Freddie's my ——— boyfriend." Ada put her cup down and both Lucie and Polly's eyes bulged in shock. " You can't tell Tommy, you can't. Please Aunt Pol."
"Won't do, but take Lucie to see him, let her say thank you."
"I will Lucie, promise you. Anyways as you were saying."
Lucie took a sip of her tea and carried on with her tale.
"Alright well, my dads called John Scott, he's a tailor, couldn't fight in the war 'cause of his brain problem, mum never explain it to me. But he's a great dad. My mum owns a shop now down London way next to my dads tailors, you might have heard of her, Marie Scott. Makes wedding dresses and baby clothes. Anyways, they live close to London now, in a village but I wanted to live in a city. So moved to Small heath in 1918. I were only 21 but needed a get away. Worked with Mrs Moore in the florists, now I'm an underpaid barmaid who can barley afford food and doesn't sleep." Lucie ended with a pained laugh.
Polly looked at the girl cautiously, as though she wanted to speak but thought better of it.
"Lucie—Dear." She began tentatively. "You ever heard of an Inspector Campbell?"
She stiffened at the mention of his name. A name she wished to never hear again. Just a year into the war, himself and a lady named Grace spent some time in her village. A young boy and his friends had stolen a large supply of opium.
Grace broke her family and drove her brothers towards the war. Campbell almost broke Lucie, a nineteen year old young girl who oozed naivety.
"Yes, he spent some time in my village in 1915." Lucie swallowed thickly, "I hate him. And the girl who follows him like a dog. Grace."
"The barmaid?" Polly questioned, making Lucie choke on her tea.
"She's here?" Lucie asked in disbelief, "I'm gonna kill her."
"Let's talk to Tommy, Dear." Polly said reassuringly, "See what he thinks."