The room was silent as Cliona sat in the empty kitchen at the table with Charles in the seat opposite her. Her hands lifted a graphite soldier placing it in front of him as he played pretend with her, willingly. But even the small boy, couldn't help but hear the raised voices from the room beside them.
"When we made this arrangement, Thomas, I did not ask you to bring the girl along! She's pregnant. Even if she may have been capable. It was up to you" So, they were talking about her. On reflection, Cliona had been extremely reckless on that day. She could have died, she didn't, but she could have.
"Y'know how she is, Pol. She's stubborn, worse than Grace. Telling her no, is the same as telling me no. That woman is safer with a gun in her hand, pregnant or not. Do you think, Luca Changretta is going to care about that unborn child?" He had a point. But maybe it was better if she did stand back from things, but would she watch her loved ones die? "I got three. That deduces our enemy to eight." He spoke whilst opening the door making Cliona and the child look up.
"You got three what, dad?" The little boy asked, that only made Cliona let out a small laugh.
"He got three shillings for a two shilling horse, Charl" Her eyes rose to his as he gave her a small reserved smile. Polly and Arthur took the boy from the room, leaving the man and woman alone. He made his way to the counter lifting the whisky bottle from the shelf and one glass, setting it upon the table, slowly sitting down. Whilst pouring the liquid his hand shook, and he violently slammed the glass on the table, making the woman blink.
"Fuck, now my hand shakes" He scoffed, as Cliona reached over taking his hand.
"Hey, it's going to be okay, Tommy. Us all? we get through everything. You know that" He hung his head, heaving out a ragged sigh, shaking his head.
"All this death, Clee. Fuck, let's have some life, eh? I got three." Her heart panged for half a second, on the reminiscence of John calling her Clee. She'd told him it was stupid, but it didn't sound stupid now.
"I know" Was all she could do as he sat holding her hand, whilst drinking his whiskey.
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Two woman sat at the kitchen table, one smoking a cigarette one not. They were both dressed in beads of expense ready to go out to the boxing match
"Since when did he bargain with the British army?" Cliona Burgess asked Ada Shelby, glad to be in the woman's presence, having not seen her for awhile.
"All he said was, that they came to him and he said why not" She rolled her eyes, placing her cigarette back between her lips.
"They'll put that on his grave. Thomas Shelby.."
"Why not?" Both woman spoke at the same time before letting out a chorus of laughter.
"I bumped into Jessie Eden the other day" Cliona spoke after awhile making Ada sit up slowly "Told her, who I was. I hope Tommy doesn't leave her with nothing. She doesn't deserve it." Jessie Eden, whom she'd heard quite a lot abut, had the same stubborn nature of Cliona, and a part of Thomas grand plan of power. The idea could only make her sigh.
"You'd give the politicians a run for their money, Clee" Ada choked out a chuckle growing her head back slightly.
"Why's that?" Cliona queried pulling at the hem of her skirt, a habit she'd always been guilty of.
"You've got this fire about you. And I don't mean that gun of yours. You speak, and people listen. You speak until what needs doing is done" Cliona could only shake her head with another laugh.
"He wants to talk to you?" Thomas Shelby questioned more than stated later that night as he left walking down the hallway of the centre. Cliona frowned slowly walking into the changing room sitting down opposite the man, whom she had not seen for a while.
"Alfie" She heaved out a sigh, raising her eyes to the bearded man in front of her.
"Do you know what Margate looks like, eh?" This only confused her more.
"No, I don't" He leaned forward shifting his feet below the bench.
"Fucking paradise. That's what. Asked myself what the hell I was doing. What was I doing?" He let out a laugh that went on longer than it should have.
"I don't understand why your telling me" She couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
"That's where I'm going innit"
"Margate?"
"Exactly. Heaven. Blue skies. Now, my mate Tommy Shelby has been a right pain in my arse, but I'm gonna miss the skinny bastard all the same. And you. Cliona, Cliona. Little miss I'll cut your balls off" He let out another chuckle. "Take care of that mad man. And them Americans are still here ain't they? There is a fight going on out there between big and small. Big will fuck small." Alfie then heaved himself up, and Cliona rose with him. Alfie had always been an annoyance to the woman, a man who she couldn't trust to the end of the world. She still didn't trust him, but she couldn't help but respect him. Maybe she'd miss him too.
"Not staying for the fight?" She asked as he made his way to the open door, before looking back at the woman, shaking his head.
"Already know who wins, don't I?" And with that he left the room, and Cliona would never see the man again.
Half way through the match, Cliona met Polly in the bathroom of the complex. They both powdered their faces silently before the older woman spoke.
"How did he react when you told him?" She asked, as Cliona took the powder puff away from her face, placing it in her bag.
"He said, that it only added to why he wanted to kill Luca Changretta." A silver lipstick covering emerged a red colour that filled in the younger woman's lips.
"He can be so romantic" Polly stated and they both let out a laugh shaking their heads. Just then, the door swung open and Lizzie and Ada walked in. The four women leaned against the bathroom countertop.
"Cliona has some news." Polly addressed them, making the Burgess frown at her
"Polly!"
"Now! While the men are screaming for blood." The other women looked at Cliona expectantly. She never wanted to tell them. Not all at once, for she was still conscious of how people may perceive it.
"I'm up the duff." Her breath bore heavy upon her announcement. A silence now filled the tiled walls of the bathroom. "And it's Tommy's." Even more silence entered through the door, before Ada let out a laugh.
"That is not news. How far gone are you?" Cliona's knot in her stomach released itself, at this acceptance. She wondered why everyone expected it, and she wondered that for a very long time.
"If I were going to London I'd be in Coventry."
"And are you carrying on past Coventry?" Ada asked which only made Cliona laugh placing her lipstick away.
"All the way to fucking Piccadilly Circus." Another blonde woman walked in with a shuffle joining the line of woman leaning against the sinks.
"Go on, then. Pol. Tell us if its a boy or girl" Ada asked, before Cliona felt Polly's hands place on her stomach and she let her, amused at the whole situation.
"It's a girl. Call her Roisin (pronounced ro-sheen) It means little rose. Roses are beautiful, but they have thorns." Cliona met the woman's eyes warmly with a nod, her heart giving a burst of new life within her chest. At long last, Cliona Burgess was happy.
