In Small Heath | Peaky Blinders

five; kiss the bride

The sound of bells echoed through the almost silent village within the Cotswolds closest to the waters edge.

It was only three days before the beginning of summer, not that anyone would have noticed due to how cold the Cotswolds had been to them, and today was the way that Sebastian Shelby was tied down to a girl who's name he didn't even remember.

He couldn't even recall if she had ever told him- in actual fact, he couldn't remember the last time the two had held a conversation that was more than a polite head nod and hesitant wave.

He knew, Sebastian and every other damn member of the family, that regret would follow suit but he was helping her out as well as being slightly selfish in helping his family out too. Crawford Longley had promised an investment into the betting shop, but he received no percentage in the company, for him it was a lose lose but for the Shelbys?

Free money was free money.

"Bash, are you ready?" Arthur asked, straightening his little brothers tie for the fourth time in ten minutes.

His response was hesitant, delayed due to the thoughts running through his mind but he was ready.

Charlotte, or so he had hoped, wasn't yet noticeably pregnant but she was- the patriarch of the Longley's had confirmed it during the weird party that had been held a few weeks prior. They had come to the quick conclusion that the child wouldn't hate Bash's familial name was to the Shelby's, it held weight and meaning.

It wasn't just given to any Tom, Dick or Harry.

"S'pose I've gotta be, really."

John had been stood at the door for a while, watching as people sat in their seats on either side of the chapel.

The look on the Longley relations faces- it was something not even a comic could've written about. The look of disgust, intrigue and disbelief were all too common but the ones that had the look of envy were surprising.

The vagabond family dressed in what they liked, what they could afford, they didn't care for the status-quo - most of them didn't even care they they were sat in a church. In fact, most of them were only there for the party afterwords, the free food and drink.

"Oi John, you're supposed to be is' best man. What're you playing at?" Arthur grumbled out, breaking the silence that the boys had fallen into.

A vague 'huh' came from the door as John span on his position to face the eldest brother.

"Non of you even know that Bash doesn't remember her name." Thomas called out, jabbing a pointed finger towards the middle child in the room.

Sometimes Bash wished he could quite literally bash his own head against the wall whenever Tommy decided to be a wise-ass and add a comment which made Bash's stomach churn into pieces.

Ada, who hadn't been in the room for long, gasped. She should've laughed, knowing exactly the type of person her big brother was but at that moment- she found it rather surprising. Bash always said he was the better person for remembering names, but hers was easy! Why he couldn't remember it was probably something to do with the semi-forced marriage (despite him agreeing to it like an idiot), and the want to run away and through the big wooden doors at the front of the church.

"Her names Theodora. Theodora Edith Longley, but she goes by Edie sometimes."

What the boys would do without their sister, they'd never want to find out. She was too invaluable, especially when it came to other women that were about to join their little tight-knit unit.

The five of them continued in their talking; normal people would've called it bickering, for a little while after Ada's revelation. Despite them all being in the same room, none of them noticed the man and woman looming in the doorway, the very same door that John had been guarding for the last hour.