"I'm more than just a pretty face darling" the woman purred seductively as smoke slipped past her cherry red lips "I'm full of scary little secrets that you don't want to see"
The raven haired man chuckled deeply and tilted his head "but secrets are...
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When Claud arrived at her warehouse, several men wearing peaky caps were dotted about outside while a group of construction workers were bustling around the windows and doors. Dean was quick to call up the local construction firm to set up an appointment for new window frames. They had been the worse for wear. Her eyes flickered over all the different people before her eyes settled on a pair of women standing on the path in front of the building. They had their backs turned to her but she could tell they were important by the way people dodged around them slightly and how the Blinders were keeping an eye on them. The pair were talking to each other, gesturing to the tall red brick building before them.
Claud sauntered towards them leisurely, grey great coat swaying behind her, and stopped beside the older woman. She was beautiful, tight brown curls dancing around her face, while the younger woman was stunning with a sharp jaw and short hair. The white haired woman looked out of place beside the two ladies in their dresses, herself wearing black trousers and a white blouse, but it took a moment for them to notice her.
Polly was the first to speak to the stranger "who are you?"
The Holmes woman turned her head to them and smile. She wasn't surprised that they didn't recognize her, her hair was tucked into a neat bun that sat at the nape of her neck while she wore a wide rimmed black hat, so she introduced herself "Claudia Holmes".
Ada's mouth dropped open "Holy shit".
Polly sent her a teasing look before realization hit as the woman's name rung out inside her head. She was the woman that Tommy was talking about. The Grey woman watched as the gangster fixed her glasses before strolling across the road confidently, head held high, her flat black boot clicking against the dark stone.
"Should we follow her?" The young Shelby woman hissed as she whipped around to stare at her aunt. Her voice was laced with excitement and nervousness.
"Unless you want to keep standing here like an idiot"
The pair jogged after Claud till they were walking in sync with her on either side of the woman. She smiled as she glanced at them out the corner of her eyes before she pushed the double doors to her warehouse open and strolled into the open room. With the new windows, the room was full of beautiful light. The floor was fixed and polished immediately while the bar and dance floor were set up. The polished dark wood bar was pushed against the long wall on the right of the door while the stage for the music was on the oposite wall facing them. Claud dropped down into one of the seats that surrounded a round table in front of the stage. She gestured to the empty ones. Ada dropped down into the seat closest to the artist while Polly sat opposite her on the other side of the table.
Claudia lit a cigarillo before bringing it up to take a deep calm drag. Thick plumes of grey cascaded past her cherry lips while a perfect lipstick mark was left on the tobacco wrap. "You must be Mr Shelby's sister" her eyes flickered to the older woman befor snapping back to the brunette as she shifted in her seat.
"I swear to god!" She hissed as she turned to the older blonde with a gentle blush "what ever he told you about me is all bullshit-!?". Ada's oncoming nervous and bashful rant was cut short by Claud and Polly's small chuckle.
"He didn't say anything bad, just that you were a fan of my work"
Polly smiled and took a cig from the younger woman when she offered it before she smiled cheekily "a fan!? When she was younger we thought she was in love"
"Pol!" The Shelby girls cheeks were a blazing rose that made the older woman smile and wink at her playfully. Claud took another drag before leaning over and offering her hand to shake.
"I'm afraid I don't know your name."
The beautiful woman smiled around the smoke "Polly Grey"
Claud stood and slipped of her grey coat and hat to drape them over the back of her chair, ignoring the way the pairs eyes zeroed in on the black leather underarm gun holster, before moving towards the newly furnished bar. She slipped off her glasses, fitting them snuggly in the pocket of her trousers, and smiled at the two women.
"Would you like anything to drink?" She pulled a bottle of whiskey from under the bar and held it up for them to see. Ada shook her head with a gentle 'no thank you' while Polly nodded before tipping off some cigarette ash into the tray beside her. Two glasses of the amber liquid were poured before the bottle was stashed away again. Claud dropped down into her seat once more as she sipped on her drink, savoring the sweet burn. Polly sipped leisurely on her glass and watched in amusement as Ada began to happily chat to the blonde.
During the exchange of stories and laughter the three women had milled through a packet of smokes and reopened the bottle of whiskey. They talked for what seemed like hours. Polly told Claud about how Ada admired her paintings while Claud told them about London, Benjiman and George. She liked them. They were confident and opinionated women, unique in so many ways, yet they were quick to adapt to the gangsters darker humor.
It was later then they expected when Claud checked her silver wrist watch. It was 4:30 and she had an appointment with a seamstress at 5. She stood quickly and opened her moth to tell them that she was leaving but the door creaked open and a young boy came running in. His head whipped around, eyes roaming the wall, before he stopped at the sight of the three peculiar women. By the look on his childish face, Claud could tell that he knew he was in trouble. Ada and Polly stared at the boy before the older woman spoke in belief.
"Finn!?" The Grey woman hissed "what are you doing here?"
Finn shuffled on his feet as he shrugged "there was a bunch of Blinders outside, I wanted to see what was going on. I thought it was abandoned or something". His blue eyes locked on to the blonde woman that stood behinde his family, tattooed hands writing on her hips, before they flickered to the gun holstered under her left arm.
"Is that a gun!?" His gentle voice was filled with child like wonder and amazement "are you like Tommy."
Ada spluttered around her glass of water while Polly threw her arms up in exasperation. Claud only smirked and pulled on her hat and coat on a swift and confident motion before striding around the table and towards the boy. She winked and ruffled his hair as she passed. Her slim fingers wrapped around the handle of the door as she pulled it open while she glanced at the Shelby's over her shoulder.
"Tommy's more like me, sweetheart" the brunette blushed at the nickname and smiled brightly before Claud locked eyes with Polly "you ladies can finish of the bottle. It was very nice meeting you but I need to go, I hope I'll see you around"
"Why don't you stop by for tea tomorrow, you know, around lunch time?" Ada's smile was gentle while Polly fussed over the youngest Shelby brother. Claud smiled and accepted the offer happily, now having the address dotted down on a napkin, and strode out of her building with a new happy skip in her step. It wasn't like herself to get involved with the families of her business parents but she definitely wasn't apposed to trying knew things.
The white haired woman ignored the whispers of the people, most of their gazes fixated on her eyes, as she walked through the dark streets with her head held high. She surprised herself with a smile. She was actually looking forward for tomorrow's tea.
