Crown of a Prince (Finn Shelby)

54.

Ailbhe spotted Arthur easily, the peaky cap among the rest of the crowd standing out and the blades shining in the morning sun. She directed the dock worker with her luggage to the car, passing him a tip and saying thank you as Arthur turned around and saw her coming.

"Well, fucking hell look at you" He laughed, throwing away his cigarette and being more than glad to see her. He hadn't expected to miss her but they all had. She had grown up a lot since she had left. He forgot sometimes that she wasn't a little kid anymore, she was twenty one.

"Tommy didn't tell me who I was picking up, he just told me to come and wait here. He said they'd find me" He exclaimed.

Ailbhe didn't know Tommy was keeping her return quiet but it made sense. They didn't want to draw any more attention to them than necessary. Tommy had gotten Ailbhe excused, her little brush with the law would be forgiven but definitely not forgotten. He made Scotland Yard understand she had nothing to do with the murder, that her interest in Ireland days were behind her and she was just a kid who had been forced to help a friend. Ailbhe wasn't told the details but when she had telephoned Tommy to tell him Michael was doing the exact opposite of what she told him, he had relayed to her that it was time for her to come home straight away.

Ailbhe grinned, approaching him and forgot about the mess she had left in New York for a moment. She climbed into the front seat with him, passing him the newspaper.

"Have you seen this?" She asked him, her smile faltering.

The way he looked back at her, she knew he had.

"How bad is it?" he asked her, knowing that everyone said it was bad but maybe Shelby Company Ltd were smart enough to escape.

"It's bad" she replied, shaking her head.

Ailbhe was usually quite positive, a bit more than the rest of her family but she had no doubt in her mind that the Wall St crash was bad and it could have the potential to ruin her entire family and everything they had worked so hard far.

"Where are we going?" She asked him as they pulled out of the ship yard.

"We get the fucking joy of telling Tommy" Arthur replied, knowing that he wouldn't be able to tell him on his own.

Tommy and his family had been camping out with Johnny Dogs while the Peaky Blinders dealt with the so-called Angels of retribution. Arthur was quiet as they drove and Ailbhe didn't fill the silence. She pulled out the accounts she had brought with her, checking them against the names listed in the newspaper. Billions was lost in the crash and a chunk of that money was the Shelby Kennedy family's she realised as she worked.

Ailbhe didn't recognise the area but saw Lizzie standing among the wagons and tents. She stood out from the wild and rural surroundings.

Lizzie thought her eyes were playing tricks on her but it really was Ailbhe with Arthur in the front seat. Tommy hadn't breathed a word about Ailbhe coming back but she was glad she had. Things were a mess and maybe Ailbhe could somehow help.

Arthur jumped out of the car, Ailbhe following him close behind.

"I've called the house, the office but if I tell you, you won't believe it Tom" Arthur exclaimed coming up to his brother's side.

Tommy's eyes narrowed, looking between Ailbhe and Arthur. Something wasn't right. It couldn't be otherwise Ailbhe would have gone straight back to Birmingham. There was worry and anger in her eyes, a frustration that was bubbling up.

Arthur didn't have the words to explain, he didn't understand it but Ailbhe did.

She stepped forward, pushing the newspaper into Tommy's hands.

"The New York Stock exchange Tom... it crashed this morning" she explained, looking him in the eyes as he realised.

"I told Michael on Friday this was gonna happen" Tommy explained, looking up at Ailbhe.

She nodded slowly, wide eyes and furrowed brow.

"I told Michael over a month ago, I was warning him all Summer about this" She explained.

"Fucking Michael" Arthur grimaced "Said he was advised by the broker that the prices would rebound, everybody was told the same thing."

Ailbhe shook her head, feeling her anger at Michael grow and grow.

"I fucking told him not to listen to those brokers, can't trust a single one of them as far as you can throw them Tom" She snapped, running her hands up over her face in frustration.

"He held on" Arthur said it quietly, as if by saying it softer it wouldn't be so serious.

Tommy's face fell. He went paler and she saw his patience melt away like snow under the sun.

"Michael held on" he stated, as if to let it resonate with him.

"I tried to stop him Tom, I got some of the money out but Michael had nearly all of it tied up in investment banks and start up investments" She explained, feeling her own temper start to get lost too.

Tommy turned away from them, repeating it over and over again as he paced a few steps.

"Michael held on and carried on dancing and playing and fucking in the snow" Tommy muttered, knowing from what Ailbhe told him that Michael didn't listen to a word Ailbhe or Tommy told him.

Tommy shouted for Charlie to come out and join them.

"Never listens" Tommy snapped, turning and shouting at the top of his lungs "What do I have to do to make people fucking listen to me?"

Arthur asked him what would they do, what was the plan and what was next but even Tommy didn't have a plan for this. He had hoped to bring Ailbhe home, go to New York himself with Lizzie and sort out the Shelby Company deals that Michael kept fucking up. Ailbhe was going to come back and help Liam and Polly run the company while he fired Michael from his position in New York. And now that was all fucked up.

"Lizzie, go with Arthur and Ailbhe. Take the kids and go back to Birmingham" Tommy spun and told Lizzie who held Ruby's hand in hers.

"Arthur, call a full meeting for the board of directors for tomorrow at noon. A full fucking meeting" he snapped at his brother, storming past them.

"Ailbhe, go to London and get Ada, Finn, Isiah and Aberama Gold back to Birmingham for tomorrow." He ordered her, not even looking at them.

"What's wrong with today Tom?" Arthur snapped, losing his own patience now too.

"I need to do some thinking" Tommy answered, climbing up onto the back of a big black horse and grabbing the reins.

Ailbhe turned to Lizzie and Ruby. Johnny Dogs threw Ailbhe a wink.

"You're back then?" He stated, that deadly smile on his face as always.

"It would seem so Johnny" She sighed still not having adjusted to English weather and feeling the chill in her bones.

"I heard you got that officer shot, that you're a real Fenian now" Johnny joked, making sure to make Ailbhe crack a smile.

"When will you learn not to believe everything you hear Johnny?" She shook her head at him incredulously.

"You're still that wild girl who wouldn't wear shoes and wouldn't speak English for love nor money Ailbhe" He laughed, shaking his head and turning away to finish his work.

Ailbhe remembered being that girl but that was a long time ago.

Lizzie turned back to face Ailbhe, glad to see her but not under the circumstances. She had missed having her around and the adjustment to life as Tommy's wife, as a mother to Charles and Ruby was not as easy as she thought. Leaving behind who she used to be, becoming someone else was exhausting.

"How bad is it?" Lizzie asked Ailbhe, knowing she would tell the truth.

It felt like the tenth time she had answered that question already.

Ailbhe just shook her head. Lizzie understood.

"Tom and I told Michael to pull out and he didn't listen to us" She sighed.

Lizzie scoffed, shaking her head.

"If Shelby men knew how to pull out in time, I wouldn't be a mother today Ailbhe" Lizzie sighed, looking down at the beautiful little girl beside her.

Ailbhe squatted down to Ruby's level and held out her hands.

"Hello gorgeous, you remember me?" she asked, having missed her goddaughter.

Ailbhe had sent presents from New York and was glad to see that they had kept Ruby sweet with her. The little girl ran into her arms as her mother whispered a bad word, she hoped Ruby wouldn't ever learn. But it was true.

They were fucked.