The Darkness Within (Peaky Blinders) Thomas Shelby

16. On The House

I thought I saw the devil

This morning

Looking in the mirror, drop of rum on my tongue

With the warning

- I'll Be Good, by Jaymes Young

The new bar maid rushed behind the bar, trying to keep up with the endless orders of beer. The Garrison was completely packed with men, all on their way to a football game at St Andrews. Thomas Shelby was in the back room waiting for his wife, having headed straight there to their usual reserved placing that no one else stepped foot in. There was no business being discussed, it was just them sitting together. A "date" if you will.

Tommy had seen his wife's mood beginning to drop again lately, the "darkness," as she calls it beginning to take over once again and he thought he'd try and get a jump on it this time. He left to do business in the morning and now she was to meet him for lunch.

Kiara came in through the back door. She had told Harry she wouldn't be working anymore the day before last and the young blonde woman who was about her age, maybe a year older, had jumped at the opportunity and been hired yesterday, but today was her first day working.

Kiara walked behind the bar, no care in the world with a lit cigarette between her fingers. She placed it between her lips so she could grab a glass and a bottle of dark rum.

The new girl stared at the raven-haired woman, who had completely ignored her, in shock.

"Umm... excuse me."

"Grace, it's alright." Harry quickly jumped in as Kiara finally glanced over to the blonde, removing the cigarette from her mouth and exhaling a breath of smoke as she placed the bottle cap back on. "This is Mrs Shelby." He introduced her without her first name, knowing Tommy liked strangers to call her by Mrs Shelby. "It's her position you're taking over. You can just let her help herself. She drinks on the house." He explained before turning to grab a few more drinks for the other customers as Kiara placed the bottle back on the shelf.

"Grace is it?" Kiara asked with another intake of smoke.

"Yes. I just started today."

"You're Irish." Kiara stated, picking up on her accent immediately.

"Yes. I just moved here from Galway. What part of Ireland are you from?" She then asked, also taking note of Kiara's accent.

Kiara didn't answer, only picked up her drink and took another smoke. "You best be careful in here, sweetheart. These men will eat you alive." She nodded at the large crowd before walking off.

Everyone parted ways as she walked through the crowd, recognising her as Thomas Shelby's wife and allowed her to walk past easily until she reached the back room and went inside to sit with her husband.

After she had finished her glass Tommy stood up to go to the window that opened up to the bar.

"Hello!" He called, grabbing the attention of the barmaid. "I need a bottle of rum and another glass." He said to the woman he hadn't seen before.

"Grace, whatever it is, it's on the house." Harry stated to her. Then she noticed Mrs Shelby sitting behind Tommy, another cigarette between her fingers, making the connection between the two.

"A whole bottle?" She asked Thomas.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"White or dark rum."

"Dark." He stated, knowing his wife's preferred drink. Grace turned and grabbed the bottle before placing it on the windowsill. "Harry said it's on the house." She stated.

Tommy had been expecting this and didn't say anything for a moment, looking over the girl who seemed too clean to be in a place like the Garrison.

"Are you a whore?" He asked out of the blue, she seemed taken aback by the abrupt question so Tommy continued. "'Cause if you're not, you're in the wrong place." He stated as Kiara smiled behind him, breathing out some more smoke as Tommy grabbed the bottle and left the barmaid, turning back to his wife as Grace slammed the window shut.

"He's one of them you warned me about." Grace said as she walked over to her new boss.

"Look, Grace, you're a friendly girl, but be careful. If I say something's on the house, then say nothing to who ever you're serving."

"You didn't want to hire me because I'm too pretty, but... that woman in there... she used to work here and she's gorgeous."

"That man you just served, he's Thomas Shelby and the woman is his wife, Kiara. The men around here... they know not to touch her. Tommy would gut them with the help of her brother and the rest of the gang. You... you're easy pickings. So be careful."

Kiara and Tommy were sat there talking for an hour or so and between the two of them they went through half a bottle until Finn came running in.

"It's Arthur." The boy said in a huff, out of breath from having run there. "That new copper in town got to him, beat him up."

Tommy leapt up immediately, grabbing the bottle as Kiara followed behind, ushering Finn out. They went straight to the Shelby household. Thomas had been driving the family car for the day so they made it back quickly.

Kiara was the first one inside, jumping out of the car with Finn before Tommy had turned off the engine.

"I'm a trained nurse." Ada was arguing as Kiara came into the room, stopping beside John.

A beaten and bloodied Arthur scoffed, "Don't make me laugh. It hurts my face." He said while John smiled.

"I bloody am." She stated.

"You went to one first aid class in the church hall and got thrown out for giggling." John stated.

"Not before I learned how to stop somebody from choking."

"I'm not bloody choking, am I?" Arthur shot back while Polly bandaged up his apparent broken thumb.

"You will be when I wrap this cloth round your neck."

"Let me see him." Tommy said as he then joined them, a fresh cigarette between his lips and the bottle of rum they had been drinking in his hand. "All right. Have this." Tommy handed it to his brother who took a swig of it.

"K, grab me a damp cloth." He asked of his wife who was handing it over to him in a matter of seconds. Tommy took it and tipped some of the rum on it before using the cloth to clean off Arthur's beaten face.

"He said Mr Churchill sent him to Birmingham." Arthur begun to explain. "National interest, he said. Something about a robbery." Tommy stood up, removing the cigarette from his mouth as he glanced over at Kiara who looked away, knowing it was about the guns. "He said he wants us to help him."

"We don't help coppers." John stated.

"He knew all about our war records. He said we're patriots; like him. Wants us to be his eyes and ears. I said..." Arthur was cut of by a pained groan from where Polly wrapped his thumb. "I said we'd have a family meeting, take a vote." Thomas looked at his brother for a moment before looking away, down at the cigarette in his hand. "Well, why not? Hmm? We've no truck with Fenians or communists. What's wrong with ya?" Arthur asked when Tommy remained quiet. "What the fuck is wrong with him lately?" Arthur turned to face Kiara, wanting an answer, but it was Polly who answered.

"If I knew, I'd buy the cure from Compton's chemists."