Morning broke revealing a still but misty sky. Amelia loved her quiet walk to work, it was the perfect time to reflect and just breathe. Dressed in dark blue dress and matching coat Amelia had made more of an effort to her appearance in order to boost her morale. A lady that was dressed for the day was a lady who would conquer- her mother would say.
A small sigh fell from her lips as she remembered her dearest mother, a sweet but firm lady who believed that a woman should always dress to impress. Gina Crostwell, Amelia's mother was a astute lady to had taken great care in raising her, ensuring she had the best education and options. When Amelia decided to become a nurse Gina stood by her, chin held high and took on her father in a battle of words.
Amelia smiled to herself remembering her mother. It was pretty obvious who Amelia took after.
---
Amelia was just opening up when a hand grabbed at the back of her coat, spinning around to face her attacker she was faced with a severely battered woman. A busted lip, a bruised jaw, severely swollen eye and disheveled clothes and no coat.
"Help me" she whispered.
"Oh my, come on get inside. Quickly!" and she grabbed at the woman and pulled her as quickly as she could out of the street view. Trying to spare the woman's pride she instantly pulled her to her office. "What's your name?" she breathed.
"Jessica Harth" she croaked, tears falling down her bloody face.
"Okay Jessica, you're safe here okay? I'm going to get you fixed up" Amelia gently placed her down on her chair and began to open up her kit. Jessica began to shake behind her so she began to prepare a strong tea. Jessica had started to shiver as she took the warm cup of tea. Amelia ripped off her coat and placed it on the woman's shoulders.
"I'm sorry-I shouldn't of come!" Jessica cried as she tried to stand up. Amelia gently pushed her down and assured her she wasn't going to let her walk out until she had taken a look at her.
"What happened?" Amelia asked as she began to clean the ladies face. No judgment.
"My-my husband" she breathed "he gets like this sometimes. It was my fault, I had dropped his dinner, I'm so clumsy" and she began to sob, her chest heaving up and down.
"This is not your fault" Amelia soothed, patting the ladies back in a circular motion "You don't deserve this okay? Believe me when I say that Jessica" and she noticed the cut above her right cheek was still bleeding so she would have to stitch it.
Jessica had let her begin the stitches and Amelia was suddenly grateful for having something to do with her hands. Amelia wanted to run out that place, find this brute of a man and kill him with her bare hands.
"Do you have somewhere to go?" Amelia asked breaking the silence.
Jessica's eyes suddenly went wide with terror and she tried to stand up "I can't leave him, he'll find me or he will hurt my children"
Amelia began to feel panic and tried her best to soothe her "Okay okay just stay until we've got you all fixed up okay?" and she offered the woman a gentle smile. "You can always come here Jessica, whenever you need to. I'll always be here" she offered meekly.
Jessica tried to smile but Amelia could see that it pained her to do so, she decided to quickly get her fixed up and offered her some pain killers. Jessica took two but refused to take the bottle in case her husband found them.
---
All day Amelia was unsettled by her morning and couldn't get the woman out of her head. Amelia tried to imagine turning a blind eye and that didn't sit well, she tried to imagine going to their house and getting them but that would be worse. Frustration rose in her chest and she started to feel as if at any moment she would suffocate.
It was 'normal' to turn a blind eye to abuse, society accepted this and moved on. Imagining herself in that situation with no control made her stomach flip.
Later that night when she was finished with her dinner she began to pace up and down her kitchen until she remembered Thomas Shelby had sat at her table. Had demanded something from her.
Amelia grabbed her coat and was out the door, not caring that it was late. Quickly knocking on the Shelby's door she waited with bated breath.
Polly opened the door surprised "Ada's not in love-"
"Sorry" Amelia pushed her way into the house "Sorry to barge in like this Polly but I need to speak to Mr Shelby urgently"
Polly took her in and decided now wasn't the time to ask. Pulling her through to the betting den situated next door she left her in the middle of the room. Amelia began to feel sick, she was certain she was making a big mistake but she couldn't get her feet to move. Polly entered the room then with a glass of whiskey with Thomas Shelby following behind.
Thomas took one look at Amelia and eye'd Polly to go back home, Polly nodded quickly and left the room.
"It's late" he said.
Amelia sighed and walked straight past him to an office she believed would be at the back of the betting den. Thomas followed behind, keeping his distance and assessing her. It was obvious to him that she required something, a woman like that wouldn't show up on a gangsters door step in the middle of night for nothing.
Amelia soon found his room and sat down in font of his desk, her legs crossed with her bag on her lap. Thomas would of smirked at the subtle show of dominance if she wasn't now looking at him.
He coughed to break the silence "What can I do for you Miss Crostwell?" and he took a seat at his desk and began to light a cigarette.
"You owe me" she stated as she looked up at him "You owe me for letting your brute smack me into a wall" and there was no anger there, just calm facts.
Thomas smirked "that wasn't on my orders love" and he started to pour himself a drink, he offered her one but she declined.
Amelia pushed her hair off her shoulders in a aggravated way but was openly trying to avoid an argument. Thomas didn't push but he made a mentalnote and pushed it to the back of his head.
"Do you know of a Jessica Harth?" she asked, her big doe eyes waiting for him to answer.
"I know of her. I know that her husband works in the Marquis pub" and he puffed out a large cloud of smoke. To say he was intrigued was an understatement. Thomas could feel his heart thumping loudly in his chest waiting for her to continue.
"Is he of any value to you?"
"None" and he was being honest.
Amelia tilted her head back and took in a deep breath before meeting his eyes again. There was a small silence before she spoke, her beautiful lips curving "Can you take care of him?"
Thomas almost laughed out loud for the first time in years. The woman in front of him wanted a man 'taken care of' he knew exactly what she meant but could never have seen this coming. Amelia was a mystery and he wanted to figure it out.
"You'll have to fill me in- you want me to take-"
"I require your services Mr Shelby" she hissed, her temper suddenly flaring "You do offer these services correct?" she blazed.
A twitch of his lips gave him away but Amelia decided to pick her battle.
"They are"
"Well I need him taking care of. I do not need him dead so please understand that. I need him to simply feel....vulnerable" and she sat back, relieved but also disgusted with herself.
Before Thomas could reply she opened up her back and threw down a hundred pounds in notes. Thomas didn't even bother to look at the money, he was too busy watching the good woman that she was unravel in front of him. Like a Christmas present.
"What's the man done?" he asked suddenly, leaning forward and roughly stubbing out his cigarette.
Amelia rolled his eyes at his question as if it wasn't obvious "The man beats his wife"
Thomas scoffed "A lot of men beat their wives Miss Crostwell- it's society we live in" and he shrugged causing her fists to twitch.
"I don't care what a lot of men do Mr Shelby. Do we have a deal?"
Thomas clasped his hands in front of his face and pretended to think about her offer.
"We have a deal Miss Crostwell but the money isn't required" he picked it up and gently placed it into her lap "Let's say you owe me one?" and he reached out to shake her hand.
Amelia thought about it and was certain the favor would include patching up one of his men and quickly grabbed his warm hand. Amelia quickly let go as if she had been electrocuted and stood up, shoving the money into her purse.
"You shouldn't be walking the streets with that kinda money- let me walk you home" and he started to walk around the table but she stopped him.
"Give this to a local charity Mr Shelby it's no use to me" and she slapped the cash back down on his desk "I can walk home alone" and before he could argue with her she was out the door as quickly as she came.
The smell of her perfume hit him like a slap to the face and he wondered why it was suddenly affecting him. Sitting back down he took a big gulp of his whiskey and pressed his thumbs into the corners of his eyes.
"Fucking women" he hissed.