A Twist In Time

Reveal Your Secrets

"Your intention of marrying me?" I asked, raising my brow as I rose from my seat. I rested my hands on the table and leaned towards him. "I'm sorry, Thomas Shelby, but if you think you can marry me as simply as that then you are mistaken, darling. If you want this." I gestured to my body with my hand. "Then you're going to have to work for it."

I may have admitted my love for him but he wasn't getting me that easily. I wasn't just going to let him have me because we were practically already together. His love for Thomas-J was true, I could see that in the way he held the boy, but I just needed that effort from him.

I knew he said he loved me but I wanted him to show it too.

"I knew you'd be hard work," he muttered, a small smile on his face. I rolled my eyes as I pushed off the table and went over to the pram getting it ready for Thomas-J.

"If anyone's going to be hard work, it's you," I said, pushing the pram over to him and indicating that he should set Thomas-J down into it. "We should head back. I bet Ada's been wanting to see you."

"Ada can wait."

"Well, maybe Ada can wait but my stew can't." I took hold of the pram as led the way out of the kitchen. "Come along, Mr Shelby."

As I had said, Ada flung herself at Tommy when we entered the house. He was surprisingly quiet when we arrived but I could see that this is what Polly had expected from him.

She'd told me he'd gone like this after Greta had died.

I suppose it was hard trying to move on after your first love passed away and then you went to war.

"Tommy," I muttered, catching his arm before he could go off and talk to John and Arthur. "John doesn't know about the whole time-travel thing. I wanted to tell you first. I don't know if it's wise if everyone knows, but I trust your judgement."

"Alright." He gave me a kiss on the cheek before following his brothers into the betting den. I could already see that there were a lot of things running around in Tommy's head. Ways to move the family up even at the end of the war.

"Do you think I'm too eccentric?" I asked, turning to Polly, ignoring the smile she had on her face.

"What?"

"What's eccentric?" Ada asked, moving over to Thomas-J's pram and looking down at him.

"John said that I'm too out there for some of the muggles in Small Heath. I know I'm not from around here so I struggle to act the way women do, but I've tried. I stay quiet when I'm out with the children, I respect the baker's wife and smile at everyone when I pass, but John said I'm still too eccentric." I don't know why it was frustrating me. He'd said it weeks ago, but Tommy's words about not hiding my magic also got to me.

"You stand out is all, but between you and Newt running in and out of the house it kind of looks a little strange. Especially when Newt wears his robes," Polly said, giving a shrug of her shoulders. "I wouldn't worry, love. No one will talk now that the boys are back."

"People spoke about me?" Why did that seem to hurt more than I thought it would?

"Nothing bad, love."

Polly's words weren't that assuring when Ada snorted and turned to face her aunt.

"They call you a gypsy witch," Ada said, giving Polly a pointed look. "Someone saw you scurrying through the streets that night you saved Pol from the dementor. You're not too careful about your magic, Romy. People say things about you."

"I don't use magic in front of people!" I snapped, feeling myself growing angry at Ada. Why was she telling lies?

"You don't know?"