Eye of the Storm | Thomas Shelby

II

1911

Despite living in Small Heath and knowing the Shelbys as neighbors, it is overwhelming meeting all of them as in-laws.

It doesn't help that she isn't meeting everyone. She knows Arthur Sr wasn't around. He hasn't been around the family since siring Finn. The streets are filled with many reasons as to why he is not a resident at Watery Lane. She is aware of the schemes he cooked up around Birmingham that left his wife and children hungry. She knows the only form of affection that was shown to his children came from a closed fist.

However, the family had been hit with another blow with the death of Alice Shelby, their mother. It left Ada and a two-year-old Finn without their mother.

Between the three older brothers, Thomas had set up and taken guardianship of his younger siblings.

Evelyn is very much aware that this situation that they found themselves in was not ideal. The family had welcomed her with a hug and an eagerness for a new Shelby to come in the limited space of their home.

Evelyn follows behind quietly as Thomas carries her meager belongings to their room.

The news of her pregnancy had been a surprise that she couldn't hide. She had known rather early the trouble she had gotten herself into. She felt it in her bones that her body didn't belong to her. She had debated terminating the pregnancy. She had been close to making an appointment. Yet, she didn't have it in her.

She had been prepared for Thomas to be adamant about terminating the pregnancy. She would have been forceful that she would keep the pregnancy. She even planned to threaten their child with the knowledge that Thomas had been the one to walk away. She wasn't going to ask or insist on marriage. She just wanted help.

Yet, Thomas had taken her by surprise as he laid a hand on her flat stomach and proposed marriage.

She wishes her family had been more receptive to the news. The sudden engagement fooled no one and she was promptly thrown out. Her step-father wanted to do with her or the baby.

"I know it's small," Thomas tells her as he lays her chest on the bed.

"It's more than what I have right now," she tells him as she walks further into the room. She stands by his night table where a vase has a lone flower in it. It was a simple room just with a bed and wardrobe. She could tell Thomas wasn't excessive in means. The room was just meant for sleep.

She stands next to him and opens her chest of clothes. They are meager belongings and for a moment she is hit with the fact she has given Thomas the responsibility of two more mouths to feed.

He shows her the space in the wardrobe that he made for her. She places her few dresses there next to his suits. She is going to have to get familiar with caring for them and starching his collars. She is about to become someone's wife. She is going to be someone's mother.

"I know it's a lot."

Evelyn looks at Thomas. His blue eyes stare at her intently.

"It must be nice not being alone." Before Henry, she was used to living in such a large group. Not having possession to own due to sharing with the community. Moving to Small Heath, Silas, her older brother, had taken to the street. He was never around.

Her mother was too focused on pleasing Henry. She had been left alone to navigate the new world they had moved into.

"You want a big family then?" He asks her.

Evelyn shrugs her shoulders as she turns her gaze to the window. The street is filled with kids from the neighborhood.

"I don't know," she tells him truthfully. "You?"