The afternoon grey streets had a certain luster to them, gleaming like marble worktops after a day of non stop rain that had only just ceased.
Hastily passing some cash into the cab driver's hand, Verity climbed out onto the fairly occupied street curb that stood directly opposite the Eden Club.
It looked like just another building fascia in the day time, especially on such a down trodden grey day as this. Verity could only imagine how it glimmered like a diamond in a cavern at night time.
Taking one last deep breath, she darted across the cobbled road - avoiding the path of any vehicles as she made her prompt steps look effortless in her striking black heels.
Standing under the slight canopy that the club's sign offered, Verity waited and watched as the crowds trundled by. She hadn't seen Tommy and it was nearing 3pm.
The psychologist found herself already having a mental battle and she hadn't even stepped foot in the club yet. She wondered whether she was doing the right thing ... clubs could be sordid places, and no doubt this would be one of the worst, considering it was run by the Shelby's!
"Verity." Tommy's voice plucked her from her fraught mind, and the psychologist pushed a smile as she greeted him politely.
"I'm surprised you came." He then followed up, hand pushing on the Art Deco style gold bar of one of the two main doors into the foyer.
"You didn't think I would?"
"It seemed to good to be true." Tommy replied, easing the door open as he held it back - allowing Verity to pass through.
Instantly, there was a lot to take in once inside the gilded walls of the extravagant club that screamed wealth on its deep reds and rich gold interior - but that all acted as a velvet curtain for the debauchery that settled there in the night time - the great foul beast that brought lust, greed and guilt into the undoing of so many naive people.
Beyond the visual side - Verity could hear the sounds of a live band, a little rough around the edges albeit - but she guessed they must have been practicing. In between a few random strings of music she could make out a voice, singing out.
Verity halted halfway down the foyer, waiting for Tommy to catch up to her as she lingered by a lush looking rockery of sorts.
"Through here." Tommy directed, reaching another set of double doors. As they opened, the band music became louder - the vivacity of the swinging jazz sound hitting her ear drums mercilessly.
Like an unsure child, she followed Tommy in her neat crimson puff sleeved dress and heels - entering the room and her hazel eyes instantly latching onto the space in front of her. A large dance floor was all but abandoned, multiple white clothed tables and fancy chairs adorned the outside of the space.
All but one table remained bare - for at the very front of the room right under the nose of the stage - sat a man alone - his gaze directly fixated on the person on stage rehearsing at that moment.
Standing with Tommy at the edge of the room, so as not to disturb the rehearsal - Verity watched on in awe as she too, was drawn into the performance going on.
Rehearsing, was a woman of vocal capacity like Verity had never heard. The girl was rather petite, platinum blonde hair fashioned in a half up half down style. She was wearing a rather tightly fitted leather-looking pinafore dress, her tanned legs seemingly never ending - yet your eyes could not miss those feet adorned in the most imposing stilettos ever seen. Suddenly Verity's ankles hurt thinking about wearing something like that.
Her voice had this natural fullness to it, it was inviting, sultry - yet powerful and imposing. This was making Verity wonder why Tommy even bothered to invite her here to sing.
"...So I want to warn you laddie, though I know that you're perfectly swell..." her voice crooned, as she swayed her way down the steps, a cat like gleam to her devilish smirk - her path evident as she headed for the one solely occupied table.
"That my heart belongs to daddy..." she sang, sauntering around the back of his chair, strolling confidently in those stilettos as if they were merely sandals.
"Because my daddy..." she stopped, and at this point Verity even wondered whether this angel-voiced woman even knew she and Tommy were in the room.
"He treats it..." her white painted fingertips danced teasingly along the back of the man's shirt.
"So..." she lowered herself into his lap, her smile as dazzling as the brightest sunlight. "... well."
Her rich lower tones were just as flourished as the higher ones, her musical voice concluding the song as the band rounded the song up to a perfect end.
"That, Scarlett," the man's voice exclaimed in obvious excitement, his brummie accent leading Verity to believe he was Tommy's brother. "That was fuckin' brilliant. You're gonna blow them all away tonight-"
The rehearsal done and dusted, Tommy began to make his way across the room - Verity in tow, although there was some slight hesitation.
Even without knowing the entire situation, it was plain to see there was some sort of chemistry between the singer and who Verity thought was Tommy's brother. The two of them were too busy staring at each other to even realise that Verity and Tommy were approaching - until the last minute, when the girl, apparently Scarlett, looked up.
Her eyes filled with a wondrous childlike excitement as she set eyes on the Shelby Company leader.
"Tommy!" Her talking voice was as sweet as her singing voice, American ... New York more specifically.
She climbed from her seat in Arthur Shelby's lap and flung her arms around Tommy as if they were long lost lovers. The gesture appeared rather unwelcome and it was unsolicited by Tommy, none the less he politely let her get on with it.
"Scarlett." Tommy greeted her, as the girl pulled away with a softened smirk.
"It's been so long since I've seen you here." She mentioned, her cute lips curving into a smile as she looked over his shoulder at Verity - who very much felt like a shrinking violet in the room.
"And now you've brought a girl?" Scarlett pouted, her long platinum hair pooling over her exposed shoulders and down to the middle of her back.
"Thomas Shelby... you know how to break my heart." She closed in tightly to the Shelby brother, a mischievous grin - clearly she liked to be pushy on her flirting. She seemed a real character, from what Verity gathered so far.
The singer's attention soon averted back to Verity, and she gave her an assessing look up and down - but none the less greeted her with a smile.
"I'm Scarlett Ebson." The singer announced, "I've been singing here at the Eden Club ever since Arthur took me in." She smiled, glancing over her shoulder at Arthur in a way that would suggest their relationship went far beyond the usual employer/employee relationship.
"And she's my star of the show." Arthur Shelby announced, standing from the table where he had been perched previously. The glass ash tray was overflowing with discarded cigarettes, and besides that the only other things on the table were a small whisky glass and a half empty bottle of the stuff.
Arthur glanced over at his sibling with a level of questioning. He saw the Eden Club as his escape, it had been his distraction after Linda had denounced him and wrote him out of their son's life for good. Scarlett had been his redemption in that rough time- sure, he'd slept with her on and off for years before and during his relationship with Linda - but it seemed the recent stressful breakup was enough to bring them closer.
"Since when did you start bringing your fuck buddies to the club?" Arthur remarked, taking a look at Verity and ignoring her evident uncomfortable presentation at his abrasive and crude statement.
"This is Verity Grant, Arthur." Tommy introduced the two as Verity looked up at Arthur, trying not to feel sheepish but he appeared so much more unhinged compared to his brother.
"She can really sing. She'll be a great new addition for this place." Tommy added, appearing like he was doing some kind of sales pitch. This gave Verity the clear indication that Tommy had not previously discussed this proposition with Arthur like he said he had. Another lie.
Pushing this aside for the moment, Verity was more worried about the piercing gaze of Arthur who seemed to be sizing her up for a kill.
"Is that true, love?" Arthur condescended, his voice not at all as nice as his word choices. "Can you sing?" He stepped closer, and the alcoholic smell about him was potent.
"I don't... I'm not sure..." Verity said, trying to hold eye contact at some attempt to feel she was holding her ground. It wasn't really working.
"Well I wanna hear it from you." Arthur pressed, his overly intrusive nature becoming a little too intense for Verity. She felt like running out of here and not looking back.
Sensing the tension, Scarlett stepped in between them and pressed her hand carefully to Arthur's chest. It was almost instant to see how he changed, how his alcohol infused state lessened and he seemed to soften immensely at the single touch of this woman.
"Don't be so hard on her, Arthur." Scarlett reprimanded in a gentle way, looking back at Verity who was quietly grateful of her intervention.
"She's clearly nervous." Scarlett then added, her dark brown eyes training down to the Shelby's shirt as she threaded through a few of the undone buttons to fix him up smart again.
She looked up at him once done, her chocolate brown eyes filled with a doe like innocence.
"How about I sing with her? Make it a little easier."
As sweet as an offer that was, Verity did not feel like that would do her any good. Her voice simply could not compare to the beauty and vivacity of Scarlett's. Perhaps, she did have a voice - but it was just in a totally different league and field compared to her.
"No, Scarlett." Verity chipped in, clearing her throat as she looked about the small group of people with a new defiance. All she had to do was sing, not even for long. Either she proved herself and went onwards - or she would walk away.
"I need to do this alone." The psychologist explained, offering a sweet and grateful smile to the already prevalent singer who instantly just sweetly took Arthur's nearly empty glass of whisky from the table, and reclined gently into a seat just by where she was stood.
"In that case, we're all ears." Her American voice called encouragingly, looking earnestly at the two Shelby brothers stood beside her.
Arthur's face still seemed sceptical - he was happy with the club the way it was and Tommy's suggestion of something new threatened to upset that balance if it went wrong.
Tommy however, remained rather expressionless as usual. Although despite this, Verity didn't miss the small etchings of a smile in the corner of his mouth, as she gingerly ascended the steps to the stage.