Oceans [A.Shelby]

INTRODUCTION

Birmingham, 1912

LILLIAN MAY was a wonder to set eyes on, with her blonde hair and blue eyes, and her lips always a daring red. That was one word to describe Lillian; daring. A trait which didn't quite fit with her families reputation, her father being William May, a wealthy business man whose very much legal family business had dabbled in the liquor industry for decades. The finest, and could be found in every club you came across, in England and overseas.

But, Lillian didn't much care for that. She never had. She wanted to escape from the conventional route; this being her father betrothing her to another wealthy business man, likely 10 years her senior.

And so, she saw their short stay in her family's Warwickshire estate, as a way to do just that; escape. Perhaps for only a few hours, or for the rest of her life if luck was on her side.

"You've put your darker shade on today, what are you up to, Lilli?" A voice pulled her from her plans, Lillian looking to her older brother through her vanity mirror.

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, Theo" She smiled at him, sliding off the stool and placing her maroon hat on top of her circles which were carefully arranged on top of her head, along with her fur over her shoulders.

"And where are you off to? Father has guests for dinner" Theo raised his brow at her.

"You can tell father that I will be back in time for his precious guests, we're in Birmingham for only a short while. I just want to explore." She smiled at her older brother, who she admired endlessly. They had always been incredibley close, with just under 2 years between them. Where as, their younger brother Edward was 4 years younger than Lillian.

"Well don't go too far, Lilli. I know you'll never come back if you do." Theo's perfect smile turned upward into a slight smirk.

"You know me too well," She smiled up at him, before brushing past him as he laughed, down the grand staircase to the front hall, where her driver was awaiting her.

"Where to this time, Miss May?" He asked her politely, Lillian pretending to think before replying.

"The complete opposite to the countryside, the trees are boring me . I want to see how the other half live."

•••

Lillian most definitely didn't belong in the streets of dirty old Birmingham, that she knew. The smoke and ash stained her pristine clothing, the maids would be washing it out for days. The men of Small Heath, Birmingham had never seen anything like her, a London girl, a cockney. The daughter of a wealthy business man with an estate larger than 30 of Birmingham's streets side by side.

Her father and mother would both go into cardiac arrest if they found her mingling in the streets of Birmingham, the slightly naive young woman loved that.

She left her driver as soon as he pulled up alongside a row of shops, a florist, a chemist, and even a very small sweet shop. The driver shook his head at the young woman as she wandered into the streets by herself. His employer would definitely be giving him an earful should he find out about this spontaneous trip.

Lillian eventually found herself stumbling upon a small theatre, a place she hadn't been to in quite some time, the idea of watching a make-believe love affair unroll in front of her eyes was just what she needed on this day, and so she entered, taking her hat off her head, her heels clicking on the steps until she found a seat, the seat next to her occupied by a man, to which she didn't mind.

One would raise their brow at her choice of seating, when a majority of the other seats were still available.

The man next to her turned his head to the young woman, as the lighting hadn't already flickered out, he marvelled in her beauty. Her freckled face and red lips, and eyes which he was sure were blue. She was a stunner.

"Are you going to introduce yourself or are you going to continue to stare?" Lillian raised a brow, turning to the man with a slight smile on her face as she cleared her throat.

"Lillian May, and what shall I call you?" Lillian smiled at the man, he was different, he wasn't perfectly composed, with a tin of cigarretes hanging out of his pocket, a moustache which wasn't perfectly tweezed, a suit that cost much less than the hat she was wearing. His hat, a peculiar choice, she was sure she could see pieces of metal glinting in the brim. This man was everything her parents would hate. She liked that. Lillian liked different.

"You can call me trouble," Arthur replied, a laugh escaping Lillian's lips, the sound like a melody to the man's ears.

"Your real name, trouble?" Lillian mused.

"Arthur Shelby."