Criminal Royalty

The Races

Thomas had struck a deal with Billy Kimber, convincing him of the police's inefficiency.

This is what led to him bringing not only the delightful Rose to the races but the rest of the Peaky Blinders as well. They were hired muscle for the race, to fight back against the Lee boys who were harassing the bookies.

Or as John was so politely saying during Arthur's pep talk, they were there to:
"Stick it to the Lee family Arthur!"

It is probably for the best that Rose wasn't privy to that conversation, or she never would have agreed to sneak Tommy into the races by pretending to be Lady Sarah of Connemara. Unbeknownst to Tommy and co, it was her blood they were going against today. She found it ironic that he had her pretend to be some Lady to get in when the mere mention of her brother's name would have given her more respect amongst this crowd of wannabe criminals; even as far north from London as Birmingham, Alfie Solomons maintained a reputation. Nevertheless, she played along showing herself to be quite the actress.

When they entered the room, it was less obvious than the upper classes would like to believe that Thomas and Rose didn't actually belong at the races. In fact, they blended in quite seamlessly and made their way to the bar without so much as a batted eyelid at their presence. Of course, people looked at them but that was more so a result of being an attractive couple rather than being incongruous to their surroundings. Her dark features contrasted with the light of his eyes, a further clash of their auras: one dark and one light.

It isn't long before they were spotted by Billy Kimber.

"I thought I told you to bring the blonde," he commented rudely, not giving Tommy time to respond before continuing. "This one's prettier so I'll let it slide."

Rose did not know if she should be insulted or happy at his comments on her appearance. In the end, she decided to be appreciative because it was easier. Tommy on the other hand, whilst relieved that his date swap had gone down okay, felt a strange sense of annoyance at Kimber's words. This annoyance only grew when he asked Rose for a dance to give Thomas and Robert, the accountant, an opportunity to discuss the deal.

He watched as his charming date was whisked off by another man, feeling a gnawing sensation in his stomach at her dancing with the disgusting man. Never one to get caught up in emotion, he turned to Robert and began outlining his deal.

Meanwhile, Rose was doing her best to be polite to her employers' potential colleague, but the man made it exceedingly difficult. His hand kept slipping far below what was proper and she did not like it one bit. Having Kimber's hands on her, even for an innocent dance, made her feel dirty and she wished for Tommy to speed up the deal as she made idle chit-chat with Kimber.

"You look lovely in red."

A forced thanks at another compliment that made her feel more uncomfortable than pleased. Her eyes caught Kimber's handkerchief and she had the sudden realisation of why Thomas had requested she wore red. It was admittedly a clever move on his part but that did not stop the irritation Rose felt.

"What's your name then sweetheart?"

The endearment felt sickly rolling off his tongue and she hated it. He managed to ruin even her favourite of endearments, one she used personally with those she cared for. Knowing better than to insult a man before a deal was cut, she swallowed back her disgust.

"Oh, everyone calls me Rose ".

He feigned interest as he groped at her bottom again, "Is that so?"

She kept reminding herself that she had to be pleasant to him, rather than kicking him where the sun doesn't shine as she dearly wanted to. Smiling sweetly, she moved his hands up higher, where they should have been all along.

"Yes, well, my name's actually Rosemary," she revealed, waffling on in an attempt to distract from her discomfort. "But I've always been more of a Rose really."

Luckily, the song ended shortly after that, and she could take a break from the small talk as they traipsed back to the table where Thomas and Robert were finishing up their own conversation. Deciding to give them some room to discuss the deal, he moved to stand but Kimber caught his ear first.

"How about a bet, leave me alone with the lady for two hours and I'll have her fucked within one"

Men like Kimber made him sick. He made himself sick knowing he would have to go along with it, for the deal. Hopefully, Rose would understand. Nodding, he escorted her back to the dance floor so Kimber could talk with his employee.

Unlike Kimber, Tommy's hands did not make her feel dirty when they positioned themselves at the small of her back for a dance. As a matter of fact, his presence made her feel safe and warm like nothing could hurt her whilst he was around. She was wrong. The very second, he mentioned Kimber's proposition, she felt her heart break that he was entertaining the idea of leaving her alone with such a troglodyte. His carelessness at using her as a bargaining chip made her feel like a whore but she would not tell him that. Rose didn't want to reveal the true extent of her hurt, so she focused on business.

"I'm a clause in a contract?"

He let out a breath, "If you want to be part of my organisation, you have to make sacrifices."

Rose simply scoffed, how foolish to believe a man like him was a beckon of safety. He was just as bad as Kimber in some ways. Yet, against her better judgment, she agreed to his plan. Holding onto the hope that maybe her gut was right, and Tommy wouldn't let her be hurt.