In which a girl attempts to outrun her past only to catch the attention of the ruthless leader of the Peaky Blinders.
or
In which the arrival of the new brown-haired barmaid at the Garrison should have been the canary in the coal mine for the trou...
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Tommy:
Ada Shelby was going to be the death of Tommy. He loved his sister to pieces and all he was trying to do was protect her. Ada was an idealist thinking that no matter what happened she would be okay, Tommy figured she had never learned to be a realist from how sheltered she had been growing up. Tommy and his brothers had always protected her making sure to give a lesson to anyone that looked at her the wrong way.
But now she was pregnant by Freddie fucking Thorne. Tommy had grown up with Freddie, hell Freddie had taken a bullet for Tommy in France but Ada could not have Freddie's baby. Freddie was a dangerous man, the newfound leader of the communists. Ada would live her life on the run and never be safe, Tommy had to protect her from that even if broke her heart. Freddie was not meant to be a father, just like Tommy.
Tommy had just finished being yelled at by Polly for fixing Monaghan Boy's race without the permission of Billy Kimber, the man in charge of all the racetracks in the area. But Tommy wasn't stupid, he knew what he was doing. Billy Kimber was walking on fragile ground and Tommy planned to be there when he fell.
"John tells me you get eyes for the new barmaid" Polly interrupted his train of thought.
"John's a gossip" Tommy snapped back not wanting to talk about Elena.
"Did you do your research on her?" Polly probed again.
"Obviously; It was a dead end. She's a nobody from nowhere, insignificant to the world" Tommy responded taking a drag of his cigarette. Tommy wanted to know everything about Elena that he could learn. Her history, her interests, what made her tick. "Enough about Elena, talk to me about Ada". Tommy said finally shifting the conversation back to what he was really here to talk about.
"Ada wants you to give Freddie this letter. She wants Freddie to know she's having his baby. He deserves an opportunity to do the right thing. I say we give them a chance" Polly answered sliding a letter across the table.
"For a woman who's had a hard life with men, you're still full of romance, eh?" Tommy said weighing the letter in his hand. Ada deserved better than Freddie. She deserved a man to be safe with and grow a family with.
"He will ruin her, our Ada" Tommy continued. He was considering burning the letter and telling Freddie to leave and never return but he knew it would break Ada's heart.
"Everyone deserves love Tommy. Let them choose for themselves" Polly answered. Tommy knew she wasn't just talking about Ada at this point. His family members were a bunch of busybodies, sticking their noses where they didn't belong. Maybe he was going soft, but Tommy weighed Polly's words and decided to give Freddie a chance. Leave the city, marry Ada and keep them safe or leave Ada. Those would be Freddie Thorne's options because while he admired Freddie for his passion to the communists he would not have his sister in harm's way.
