@ZoeWhiteside5 thank you for being my first comment! This chapter is dedicated to you!
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Dance training was exhausting. It would last for hours and in order to be a great dancer, you had to do it everyday. Elsie was getting up at six in the morning, training until ten, having to be at the bar at eleven until last call.
And she was exhausted when she walked through the town in hopes not to be late for her work hours. She was rushing towards the Garrison when she noticed the commotion around her.
It was manic. Women, children and men all being roughly tugged around by the police, "Miss, could you step by the wall?" A officer walked up to her.
"May I ask why?" She questioned, only to be shoved against the wall. Her face was scratched by the roughness of the brick as the man searched her. His roaming hands wandered everywhere, groping places that should not have been groped. Tears sprung to Elsie's eyes as she was handled by the male.
He moved on quickly, "You can go."
She rushed off quicker than ever. Elsie was approaching the pub, before she was nearly plowed down by a moving car. It stopped just in time, a squeal escaping her, her wide eyes focused on the driver. Thomas Shelby.
His eyes roamed her dishevelled appearance, already knowing that she'd obviously been stopped by someone. Tiny streaks of blood washed down the left side of her face and he physically frowned at the rough treatment she'd experienced.
"That's the new barmaid, innit?" John questioned, all the Shelby clan focused on the tiny woman that stood shell shocked in front of them all, "A bit young for you, ain't she Tommy?"
"Shut up." Tommy deadpanned. Elsie shook herself out of her state and stared at the floor as she carried on walking down the path to the Garrison, not wanting to attract anymore attention to herself.
She reached the pub in no time at all. Her normally, perfectly pinned locks where all over the place when Grace laid her eyes on Elsie. Grace sighed, "Let's get you cleaned up, ay?"
It was later in the day when the Shelby's walked into the reserved room and Elsie had no idea until Harry approached her, "You're requested in the back room, Elsie."
To say Elsie was fearful was an understatement. To say the least, she pretty much shat herself as she walked towards the door. Her face was now cleaned of any blood, and that meant the little makeup she owned was washed away too. She opened the door and nearly choked at the smoke clogged air, "Mr. Shelby. I was requested?"
"Ay, it's the barmaid from the street!" Called out the eldest Shelby, "What's your name, Angel?" Elsie blushed at the attention she was receiving, "It's Elsie, Mr. Shelby."
He waved a hand dismissively at her, "Please, it's Arthur."
"With all due respect Mr. Shelby, you all practically own everything I walk on. So you all are the boss of me, so I'd prefer to keep it professional." Elsie smiled politely at the family. The youngest laughed heartily, "Wow, you picked a great one here, Tommy." He teased his brother, causing Elsie to frown.
