As the youngest Shelby child and twin to Finn Shelby, Kezia has spent the last 4 of her 10 years locked away for her mental defectiveness.
She returns to Small Heath under the legal guardianship of her brother, Thomas Shelby. Despite knowing she's s...
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CHAPTER TEN
The family called an emergency meeting.
John wanted absolute privacy, so the Garrison it was. He got in his head to marry Lizzie Stark, a local whore. He knew that if his little sister were here, she'd be a better buffer in his case. Tommy couldn't ever say no when she was around.
"Where's Kizzie?" he asked after the laughter died down.
"She's out with Finn," Polly said. "They have no business talking about you wanting to marry Lizzie Stark."
"She'd agree with me. Lizzie has always been kind to her when passin' in the street. You know that, Tommy! She'd be a good mum."
Finn sprinted as fast as he could down the street toward the Garrison. Delivering bad news was always awful, but this...this was downright terrifying. None of the men've seen his twin all day. And she wasn't home—Finn checked.
He barreled through the closed door. "Tommy! We've been done over!"
Arthur's smile disappeared. "What?"
"And I can't find Kizzie! No one's seen her since this morning!"
Tommy's soul fell through the floor. He tripped over the chairs and barstools and knocked into patrons.
Finn was wrong. He needed to be.
But the state of the house had Tommy fall to his knees. "Kizzie!"
"I'll go check her room," Polly told them. "She sometimes hides under her bed and draws when it's too loud down here."
Arthur stood beside Tommy's collapsed form. The family felt his anger, his pain and anguish. It suffocated their very lungs like the gasses in France. "On your feet, Tommy," Arthur whispered. "She's a strong girl. Anyone who took her knows she's too valuable. You came back to her from the war. Took her from the hospital. You'll get her back now."
Polly returned from upstairs with thin lips and pale skin. In her hands was a folded letter. "Found this on her bed."
Tommy stood quickly and almost fell forward as he snatched the letter. Arthur steadied him as John came up to Tommy's other shoulder to read.
She wants Willy.
☻
The Lees were good people.
Kizzie had never been around so many who spoke Shelta. She worried she'd forget English when Tommy came to get her. Which would be soon. The trouble at home died down and he was probably coming within the hour.
That's what Zilpha Lee said. She ran the family and she reminded Kizzie of her mother. They had the same hair.
Kizzie and a woman by the name of Esme sat in her caravan making jewelry.
