- UNBOUND SECRETS -
She startled awake as the boat hit the side of the dock with a low thump. Suddenly, as she opened her eyes, she could hear the growing noise of Camden Town. Machinery clanged and men yelled along the canal, their days still going even though the summer sun only barely rising in the smokey sky.
Tommy was soundly asleep. His face was calm and even his injuries didn't look as bad in the half darkness of the boat. She thought for just a moment of what his life could have been like- a gypsy, travelling and living off the land- and wondered if he might have been happier. If they both would have been. She watched his chest rise and fall for a few more breaths before she gently shook him awake.
He grunted as he sat up. She watched his weary eyes settle on her and he smiled, trying to lean forwards towards her. When he grimaced, pausing half way, she laughed and closed the distance, pressing a small kiss on his lips.
"We're here," she whispered, shuffling off the makeshift bed. He nodded, following her and standing with a ducked head to pull on his jacket and hat. They slowly made their way onto the top of the boat, squinting as rare London sun poured through the smog and reflected off the water.
Curly was already tying the boat the the dock, offering them both smiles as they stepped onto the cobblestone wharf.
"We'll be done by sunset tomorrow, Curly," Tommy said, handing him some cash and patting him once on the shoulder. "Stay safe- I'll find you if I need you."
Curly smiled, once at Tommy and then turning to Rose. He waved as they walked away, their footsteps muffled by the constant commotion and noise of the dock. She was glad for the busy workers and distraction, though, as she realized she was still wearing one of Tommy's jumpers loosely hanging over her skirt and her jacket haphazardly thrown over her shoulders.
Tommy looked down at her and smiled, only now seeming to recognize the jumper.
"It looks good," he said. She cursed the simplicity in his voice and how even the smallest compliment still managed to make nerves rise in her chest.
Before she could find the words to say, there was a honk from the end of the dock, and she looked up to see Arthur hanging out the driver's side window of Tommy's car.
"Can't stay away, can you, Brother?"
Tommy sent Arthur a scathing look before gingerly pulling himself in the car. Arthur just laughed, turning to Rose with a grin.
"Well I'm glad you can't stay away at least, Rosie."
"Do I have a choice?" she laughed as he pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. He patted her on the back with a smile that said "no, I guess you don't."
The three of them settled into the car and drove for a minute before Rose finally spoke up.
"So," she ventured, watching as Tommy's eyes flickered back and forth, noticing every detail of the city around them, "are either of you going to tell me what this new plan is?"
"Well," Arthur said, his eyes flicking from the road long enough to offer her a sheepish smile and peer at the backseat. She followed his gaze to see a black dress bag and a pair of neat, black shoes.
"What is that for?" she said, reaching to unzip the bag.
Arthur laughed. "Listen, please don't be mad at me, Rosie. You and Tommy gave me no fuckin' time to come up with a good plan, so this is all you're gonna get."
Her eyes widened as she unzipped the bag and pulled out a serving uniform- one that might be seen in a tea room or hotel. The white dress was starched, pressed and topped with a powder blue pinafore. She turned to Arthur, giving Tommy a small shove when she saw the small smile on his face.
"And what exactly did you plan?
He laughed again. "We found out that Mr. Sabini has a meeting today with some big man inside the police. It's in a little tea house just off the Strand, so we found a way to make them hire a new lady to help serve- just for the day."
The name sent a shiver down her spine. She hadn't head it since the night Tommy had almost been killed, and spent days wondering who the man was and what was going on.
"Sabini is dangerous, isn't he?" she ventured.
She saw both Tommy and Arthur still.
"Yes," Tommy replied simply. "He owns most of London- all the races below the Thames and every single club in the city. He's dangerous."
Part of her was glad they trusted her to spy on him. Part of her was mad that they were getting into another mess.
"Tommy, he tried to have you killed. Shouldn't we-"
She knew her argument was a lost cause.
"But he didn't kill me, Rose. He didn't kill me and we need to find out what his next move is going to be if we want to secure a place in London."
She hated that he was right. She wondered for a moment how long she could go on like this- worrying every waking moment for his safety. She grabbed his hand and squeezed once.
"And so I am to go in and, what, listen?"
"Sure- OH FUCK YOU!" he shouted at another car as they drove through a busy intersection. He was back to smiling as he looked over at her. "You go in there, listen to every fuckin' word that snake says, and report back to us."
"When is the meeting?"
Arthur turned a corner and then turned again into a small ally. With a jolt, he stopped the car and turned it off, looking back over to her with the smirk she had learned meant nothing good.
"Twenty minutes."
Her heart leapt into her throat. There was barely any time to prepare-
"Now before you freak out, just go in there and get changed." He pointed to the back entrance to what she assumed was the tea house. The alley was dark and damp, the door tilted on its hinges. "There's a woman in there- Madam Novak- who will help you and get you ready."
She nodded, steeling herself.
"And while I'm in there, what will you be doing?"
She watched Arthur's shoulder's tense once more.
"We have some business to attend to- stuff that's best done while Sabini is...distracted."
She nodded again, rolling her eyes.
"I'm a Blinder now, Arthur. One day you're going to have to let me in on your plans before they go wrong."
Tommy let out a huff of laughter and Arthur shoved him.
"We will, Rosie. This secret is for your safety- trust me."
"Okay fine," she grumbled, grabbing the dress bag and stepping onto the wet pavement. "When should I expect you to pick me up?"
"Our little outing might take a while, so you'll have to get a taxi home- you shouldn't have a problem getting one on the main road. Just make sure Sabini and his men are gone before you leave, okay?"
She muttered an 'okay' and turned to Tommy. His face was even in the way it often was, but she could still read the words on his lips.
Be safe. I love you.
So many times they had left each other in the face of danger and so many times she had wondered if they were going to be together again. But this was a simple meeting, she told herself. It would all be okay. She refused to feel the trembling in her hand as cars sped down the road next to the ally and machinery clanked from factories nearby.
She looked up at Tommy, grounding herself in the steel of his eyes.
Without another glance, she turned and pulled open the door, disappearing into the dark of the tea room. The dank hallway opened up into a kitchen, bustling with both men and women leaning over steaming pans and carrying various loafs and trays full of baked goods.
Just as she moved to leave the mess of people and dinging timers, a gentle hand grabbed her shoulder.
She turned to see a small woman- her head not even nearing Rose's chin- with fiery red hair and gold, cat-eye glasses, looking up at her.
"Madam?" she ventured.
"'Ello," the woman smiled, her voice thick with a French accent. "You must be Rose!"
"Yes," she smiled warily. She held up her dress bag. "Where can I-"
"Oh yes, yes," Madam Novak crooned with another smile that stretched her plum-painted lips. "Just down past the kitchen on the left. Go fast!"
The familiarity of her accent- the clipped 'th' sound and the lilting song of her voice- sent a pang though Rose's chest. She suddenly remembered the French head nurse that she had met when she had first arrived at the Somme. She suddenly remembered having to take head nurse position and a bomb strike that had been much too close.
Offering the small woman a final strained smile, she wrapped her hands tighter around the dress bag and found the bathroom.
After only minute, there was a panicked knock on the door.
"Sabini is 'ere!" Madam Novak hissed through the door. "You must come out now!"
"Shit," she hissed, taking one last look at herself in the mirror. She looked perfectly plain the the dress and cap. Flattening the skirt once more, she pulled open the door and Madam Novak pulled the dress bag and Rose's regular clothes from her hands.
"The other girls will offer him the tea," she said, walking as she led Rose back to the kitchen. "You just stand with them incase...I do not know. Just stand there and be silent. Yes?"
Rose nodded, all smiles gone from her face as she fell into line with the other girls- their outfits identical to hers- and walked into the dining room.
It was empty, save for three men. One was standing and two were sat. The one facing her had a look of poorly-hidden fear on his face and the other, who's face she could not see, was sat perfectly still with a newspaper in his hands and his jet-black hair slicked against his head.
The other girls offered the men tea with saccharine smiles and quiet words. The man with the newspaper waved them off, barely looking up. His face- she had to see his face.
Slowly, she moved towards the other side of the room. She could feel Madam Novak's eyes on her back as she walked. She finally made it to the other side of the rom, standing next to one of the servers, poised and ready.
The man finally looked up from his paper. His face was mousy and small. She tried to sneak another look as his gaze flicked in between the sitting man and the one standing next to him. He had dark eyes and a large moustache that covered his upper lip.
"Did you wipe your feet?" he said. The question was so odd that Rose wasn't sure she had heard him correctly.
"Pardon me, Mr. Sabini?" the sitting man asked, also confused.
Sabini just brushed him off with another wave of his hand, letting out a huff of air as he folded his newspaper.
"So why do I," Sabini said, his voice oily and thick with his London accent, "have to tell you coppers everything?"
"We can't search every train that comes into London," the officer replied, his voice dangerously incredulous.
"They don't use trains, they use boats," Sabini replied.
They. She tried to keep her heartbeat steady, taking a slow gulp of air. There was only one gang she knew of that trafficked things into London by boat.
He continued. "The boatmen are all gypsies. He's a fuckin' gypsy. Why do I have to tell you everything?"
She zeroed in on his words. They had to be talking about the Blinders- there was nobody else.
"We can't search every boat, either."
Sabini let out a long breath, looking down at the floor. Rose wished the copper would just shut up- for his own sake.
"Well," Sabini sighed, talking as if to a child, "lucky for me, I have a man in the Jew's rumhouse. The gypsy and his tramp went to see Solomons, they drank whisky and shook hands, and Alfie and him made peace.
"And what exactly do you want us to do about that. Mr Sabini?"
He was visibly frustrated now- she could see the anger welling in his beady, black eyes.
"Have you got photo evidence of this Tommy Shelby?"
The name sounded foul on his lips. She wanted to step forward and smack him for just saying it at all, but she pulled her anger close to her- swathing it back into her pounding chest.
"Ya," the copper sighed. "We've got military ID from his time with the Warwickshire Yeomanry. He's won medals."
Sabini muttered something in a language she didn't understand- Italian, maybe. She had healed enough Italians on the front to recognize a few key words. Soldiers. Bastards.
"So you've got his fucking photograph. What I need is for the next time he's in Camden Town, your coppers to lift him. Ya?"
The coppers eyes shifted, looking up like somebody might be able to save him from the agreement he was suddenly realizing had gone sour long ago.
"Mr. Sabini," the copper stuttered, fear finally creeping into his voice. "We will do everything we can to deal with this man, alright?"
Rose realized the mistake in his words before he did. Sabini leaned forward, his creaking chair the only noise in the silent room.
"Deal?" he whispered, his voice deadly quiet. "Did you say deal?"
She watched recognition finally cross the copper's pale face.
"No, no! I didn't mean that-"
Sabini was suddenly on his feet.
"The fucking gypsy has already got you!" he shouted, spit flying from his mouth in his anger. His features were contorted in such shocking and quick rage as the officer stumbled backwards. "You've made a fucking deal with that fucking gypsy!"
"No, Sir-"
She could see the words already pulling at Sabine's lips, but he paused as a young man ran into the tea shop, visibly disheveled and out of breath. With him, came a gust of fresh air and a wave of panic. Rose was suddenly on high alert. Everything could be wrong.
"What?" he yelled at the man, his anger still at the surface.
"They've taken it," the man heaved, helplessly out of breath. "They've just taken the club- shot up the walls, kicked out the guests, I think there's even a few dead- it's a bloody coup!"
Sabini was on the boy in a second.
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"The club on Samhurst," he gulped. "It's been taken over."
"By who?" he hissed.
"The Peaky Blinders."
Rose swore her heart fell from her chest to the floor. Sabini pulled his coat on and left out the front door, yelling something in Italian to the man that followed at his heels. The cop left as well, looking over his shoulder like a kicked puppy.
As soon as the door closed, Rose sprinted towards the back door. She didn't bother grabbing her clothing as she ran. Madam Novak shouted after her, but she didn't stop.
They had no idea Sabini was on his way and who knew how many men he was going to bring on his campaign to take back his club. Whether he had meant to or not, Tommy had just started a war with the biggest name in London, and she needed to find him before he did.
She burst into the back ally, her eyes adjusting to the darkness for only a second before she made her way to the main road and hailed a taxi. She had no money, but she would deal with that later. When one finally stopped, she spewed some nonsense about the big club on Samhurst and the driver just nodded and drove.
So caught up in the need to get to Tommy, she didn't even notice the large black car that also pulled away from the same side street, following close behind.
.....
Hey guys! Thanks so much for being patient and waiting for the new chapter- it has been a crazy and terrible month for me and I'm so sorry this took so long. That said, hopefully I will be more consistent in the coming weeks.
As always, and comments, votes, and feedback is SO appreciated.
Lots of love,
Brynn x