Devil | A Solomons

TWENTY SEVEN - THE RACES

Irina knew that Thomas Shelby was somewhat of a household name in most parts of the country, though she had naively underestimated his popularity amongst the everyday people.

She had woken up early the following morning, allowing herself extra time to get ready. Irina let her skin breathe freely most days, keeping her olive toned face free from product and colour, though she decided that attending the races was a good a reason as any to glam herself up.

Irina was a confident woman. The way she walked and talked reflected that, whether she wore makeup and a pretty dress or not. She oozed self-assurance, one look at her told you everything a stranger would need to know about her, and the rest was left to mystery, just the way she liked it.

Irina shaded her eyes with dark colours, adding black into her waterline and using shape to pull and lift her face, enhancing the natural Russian sleekness her bones held. Her cheeks were bronzed heavier than they were blushed and her lips were, of course, red. She rarely curled her hair like the other women did, feeling much more like herself when she left her dark locks in their pin-straight natural state.

She pulled on her dress once she was satisfied with her makeup, choosing a red number just like she'd told Thomas. It was looser fitting than she was used to, longer, too, with a hem that floated elegantly at her ankles, the perfect length when paired with her black sandal heels.

Irina filled a black leather clutch bag with a diamond studded strap with her lipstick and a thin roll of cash, throwing in a few other small things she thought she might need that day. She wasn't really a betting woman, but she woke up open to the idea that Tommy could change that for her.

Waiting patiently in her kitchen, she was startled by the broken silence when the knock at the front door came.

Sure enough, Thomas Shelby was stood outside with a red tie hanging from his neck, almost perfectly matching the shade of her dress.

His face held a breathless smile as he looked at her, the type of grin that Irina had never seen him give before. It was calm, his eyes looking like they'd seen peace for the first time in his life, like watching the sun finally set over the horizon or the first flower bloom after a cold winter.

"You look beautiful, Irina. Are you ready to go?"

She smiled and followed him out to the car, letting him carefully lift the hem of her dress as she climbed into the passenger seat so the material didn't catch on the car, the same smile still glowing in his rare eyes as he did so.

They drove to the racecourse while the early morning sun hung low in the sky, slowly creeping towards the peak. The air was mild and the sky was bright blue, free of clouds. Irina couldn't remember the last time she'd taken a day off work for leisure purposes, and the more she thought about it, the sooner she realised it was because she simply never had.

Irina had never imagined her life to look the way it did in that moment. She would've laughed if a year ago someone proposed to her that her life would take the twists and turns that it had done over the following 12 months, but she wasn't angry, she was excited by it all.

It was only when Irina and Thomas walked into the grand stand arm in arm that she finally realised the position of power than Tommy was in. Irina was used to being stared at by men and women, but she had never felt as many pairs of eyes on her as she did then.

People were calling to Tommy as they walked through the crowd, men shaking his hand with a cheerful 'Good morning Mr Shelby', accompanying the gesture. Irina felt overwhelmed, but still unafraid.

"Champagne, I presume?" He turned to her once they reached the bar, his hand resting on her lower back as the men and women returned to their conversations.