𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝗉𝖾𝖺𝗄𝗒 𝖻𝗅𝗂𝗇𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌

iii. f a m i l y

t h e   w o m e n   o f   w h i t e
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act one — three
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1918

birmingham was scary

it was loud, dirty and full to the brim with criminals. nevertheless their was one thing within birmingham which was much, much scarier and that was polly gray. if there was ever a thing not to have on your bucket list it was to be lectured by the women herself.

arthur shelby was quickly wishing he'd kept that in mind set as polly whacked the back of his head. her scowl was harsh making john chuckle and arthur wince. "how many times! no bloody guns in the house." her accent was thicker as her voice became louder making edith slightly wince as well.

after their exchange at the garrison polly had quickly taken the pair home. it was then when arthur had barged in, with his usual rowdy antics, and nearly blown edith's head off. the brunette held no grudge to the eldest shelby as to give him defence she was a stranger within his own home. "alright, fucking hell." arthur cursed as he quickly dodged another one of his aunts hits. once polly had ceased her assault and her tense shoulders dropped both boys turned their gaze onto edith. john squinted slightly, a stick twiddling between his teeth. her face was almost familiar to him, same could be said for arthur, but it wasn't vivid.

placing a steaming mug before edith polly gently brushed a hand along the girls hair. "gentlemen, this here is edith." still their faces stayed blank making the older women scoff before taking a seat herself. "she's family, so i expect you to all behave just as with our ada." polly instructed her eyebrows raised slightly. the look was simple but was quick to make the boys nod with slight fear. "where's thomas? i called this as a family meeting." her question came unanswered as everyone shared unknowing looks.

edith frowned her brows, them knitting in the middle. the name was unfamiliar to her ears but strangely it fell upon them rather pleasingly. just as polly went to open her mouth the doubled green doors creaked open. turning slightly edith took a sharp in take of breath. there stood the same man from the night before. his cap was gone, leaving a slight mess of hair atop of his head, his eyes seemed bluer in this light and edith couldn't help but shuffle under his solid stare. "business overran at the garrison." he spoke and immediately edith felt her heart thump harder. thomas had a rough voice but it was one that held so many stories. she wanted to hear it again.

"what business?" arthur sneered.

thomas spared a glance to his brother whilst dropping his hat onto the table. it was then she noticed the glisten of snow. a small smile pulled to her lips as she realised it had once again snowed as she returned to small heath. "none of your concern, brother." thomas mocked slightly causing a silence giggle to escape edith's lips. he caught the noise however and once again his icy-eyes were trailing the girl. "who's this." he questioned with a nod and surprisingly it was an honest question. for the first time in a long time thomas shelby didn't know what was going on.

polly watched as her troubled nephew, arguably the most, watched edith. even without her gypsy blood polly could see the interest dancing within thomas' eyes as he looked at the petite brunette. it was known that the gray women loved her boys like they were her own but she also loved edith as if she were and polly knew that thomas would only cause trouble for the young women. she noted to clarify this to all her boys when edith wasn't present. "if you were here on time you'd know." polly snapped but not gaining a reaction from the man. "clare dawson's daughter, edith. she's staying here." polly informed and almost immediately there was an abrupt protest from the three men in the room.

edith felt slight anger build at the pit of her stomach as she watched the family argue. raising from her chair, the petite girl cleared her throat. "enough!" the volume seemed to shock everyone into silence. "don't fight with family; before you know it they're gone." there was no tremble to her voice as it rung out confidently.

three sets of blue eyes stared to her figure as she fumed angrily. arthur was the first to break with a huff before slamming the door behind him, then was john as he let a slight laugh slip, patting her back before following his brother. lastly was thomas, his eyes narrowed slightly at the stranger. despite the stubborn nature he'd grown with apart of him tickled with amusement for the girl who dared shout at him. "give 'er john's old room." were his last words before once again grabbing his cap from the table and following the rest of the shelby clan.

as she watched his figure disappear edith released a breath she didn't realise she was holding. polly walked closer to the girl with a proud smile tugging at her lips. "i think they'll warm up to you just fine." the elder women spoke quietly with a small laugh. the outburst was very unladylike but that is exactly what a good birmingham girl was; unladylike.

as edith lifted her eyes to meet polly's she smiled too. the house was warm and to be surrounded by this many people once more felt safe. after four years of running it felt as if her heart was ready to heal. "have they a choice." her small voice asked an edge of cheekiness running through it.

polly laughed heartily at her statement before looking into edith's dark eyes once more. this girl was the daughter that polly couldn't get back; it was her second chance to be a mother. "no, they don't." she returned rubbing a few stay hairs from her god-daughters forehead. "you may not be a shelby by blood, but, you are apart of this family." polly condemned strictly as if engraving those words into edith's head. you are apart of this family.