Annie could feel the muscles of her chin tremble like a small child, There's static in her head once more, the side effect of the constant fear, constant stress she lived with.
"Anna?" At the sound of her mother's trembling voice, It takes somethin...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
~•~ "The wedding." ~•~
Part Five:
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
A punch is landed on John's face. A ring, of sorts, has been set up in the half lit courtyard near to the stables. A fire burns in a steel brazier and two barrels of beer have been set up in a stable shelf.
It is just getting dark and the lights from the house twinkle on the snow in the distance. John, Isiah, Finn and some of the Lee boys are all stripped to the waist and the cavalry officers are stripped to the waist too.
It's the Peaky Blinders Yeomanry versus the King's Irish Dragoons.
John is fighting one particular officer and the rest yell encouragement. The flames of the fire flicker and icicles melt. Some of our boys are cut and bloodied already and some of the cavalry boys are cut too from previous bouts. Finn is washing his cut mouth in the horse trough. A cavalry officer is crushing a handful of snow against an eye wound. Then we find Tommy at a respectable distance, presiding. General Curran joins him. After a moment
"Very sensible idea, Mr Shelby. Clear the air away from the ladies." Curran says.
"I was more concerned about it being away from my furniture." Tommy is dead pan. Curran wants to break the ice.
"We are rather like Generals here, aren't we? Watching our men do battle."
"Oh, we're not far enough away from the fighting to be Generals..."
Curran is half amused but controls it. Tommy lights a cigarette. In the ring there is a relay of fighters who replace each other as they are knocked down in the tradition of Gypsy bare-knuckle boxing. Curran and Tommy watch. John and the officer fight for a while then John lands a blow and the officer goes down. The rules of engagement become apparent.
