rose and thorn

xix.

xix.
9th June 1922
~

Thomas' knee bounced rapidly as he sat at the bar in the Garrison, facing away from the party which was in full swing.

Music blared, bodies danced and booze was flying off the shelves quicker than ever.

But none of that mattered - the guest of honour was late.

Each time the door opened, Tommy's head would snap towards it only to be greeted by the same old faces.

"Get me a whiskey, Harry." He called to the barman. While he had planned to not drink until she had arrived, each time the door opened, his frustration grew and grew.

The next time that the door opened, Tommy's head spun to see John and Arthur.

"You're late." Tommy stood from his seat at the bar as the men approached, leaning against it instead so that he now faced the crowd.

"Things with the Italians are worse than we thought." John spoke in a hushed tone. "We had to make sure our guest was well protected."

"Good." Tommy dismissed, not wanting his mind to wander on a day of celebration.

When he heard the Italian business had followed them home, he left it in the capable hands of his brothers. The last thing he wanted was Rose finding out or god forbid getting hurt again.

"Let's not worry about that today, eh Tom." Arthur spoke in much higher spirits, moving around the bar to help himself as usual.

"Your lady friend not here yet?" John teased.

"No, she's late too." Tommy responded with raised eyebrows. "Oi, Finn." He stopped his youngest brother as he passed in a hurry.

"What is it, Tom?"

"Where are the girls? Polly, Ada... Rose?"

"How would I know?" Finn shrugged his brother off, turning to walk away just as the doors opened once again.

Jolly laughter and vibrant conversation turned into low whispers and looks of awe as the woman who had been the talk of the town presented herself before them.

Polly and Ada walked in at either side of her but the attention was no doubt on Rose. Her eyes fixed on Tommy as the other two women went into a room to the right of the door.

The tension instantly evaporated from Tommy's body as he saw her again for the first time in over a week. She was by far the most beautiful woman in the room to him, and many others agreed.

It amused Tommy to watch her in his pub. She seemed so at home everywhere she went, but not here. Here she seemed nervous.

Rose felt the complete opposite as she watched Tommy. He never seemed to fit in anywhere, everywhere either being too grand or not grand enough. But this dazzling pub at the end of Garrison lane was the perfect fit. This was where he belonged and she enjoyed seeing him where he was comfortable.

"Good evening Mr Shelby." She smirked as the pair finally reached eachother.

"You're late, Rosie." He teased, well aware of all the eyes on them.

"You should always turn up late to a party, Mr Shelby." Rose smirked. "Especially when you're the guest of honour." The confidence was her coping mechanism for new and awkward situations, something she developed from being thrusted into the limelight by her parents at such a young age.

"Well, I've got a lot to learn, haven't I?" With a hand resting on her lower back, the couple approached the bar where everyone was already giving Rose the once over.

"Hello love, I'm John." The younger brother smiled flirtatiously at Rose, obviously as a way to try and wind his brother up but to no avail; Tommy was so encompassed by her being in his pub he barely even noticed.

"And I'm Arthur, the oldest." He called from behind the bar. "What can I get for you?"

"It's lovely to meet you both, I'll have er..."

"There's a bottle of champagne under there, Arthur." Tommy interrupted, his hand now firmly resting on Rose's hip as he leaned next to her at the bar.

"Champagne in this fucking pub?" John laughed, taking a swig of what looked to be mild.

"It's Rose's favourite." Tommy beamed.

"You remembered?" Her head snapped in his direction, a warmth filling her chest at the small but meaningful gesture.

"Of course. There's a glass under there too, Arthur." He called as his brother struggled to find what Tommy had clearly hidden well.

"Ah yes, here we go." He projected proudly. Rose was enjoying the boys' company already and while they had heard from Ada how Tommy acted differently around Rose, they were shocked to see the extent of it for themselves.

"Here, let me do it Arthur." She giggled as the man in front of her struggled to open the bottle.

Yeah, alright." He placed the bottle on the bar, a confused expression painted on his face. "Bloody hard work that."

Taking the bottle from the bar, Rose demonstrated to the three brothers how to do it. "So you put your writing hand at the base and rest your thumb in the raised part. Then put your other hand over the cork and twist."

As she demonstrated, the cork flew into the ceiling with a bang, earning cheers from most and screams from those who feared being in its path.

At that moment, Tommy realised how much she could teach him. He was knew to the lavish life of luxury and with her upbringing, her vast knowledge of the finer things in life could certainly be of use to him.

With the champagne popped, they joined the rest of the Shelbys in the room Rose had seen Polly and Ada go into.

Rose was introduced to those who she hadn't yet met, all of whom all looked at her as though she were a movie star.

Before they could indulge further in any conversation, Tommy stood to make a speech.

"Oh here we go." Arthur joked.

"I'll keep it quick brother." Tommy smiled. "It's been a tough few years building up this company to what it is today. Everyone in this room has come a long way since it started. We've had our fair share of trouble but I'm confident in saying that's all behind us. Today marks a new beginning for all of us and I'm proud to be going into this next chapter with the people in this room."

"To new beginnings." Polly rose her glass, smiling up at her nephew.

"To new beginnings." Everyone else joined, raising their own glasses.

Tommy sat next to Rose, loosely draping his arm over the back of her seat as the chatter and games began among the Shelbys.

Everyone had noticed Tommy's small acts of affection and his loose insinuation that Rose was part of these 'new beginnings' but no one commented. He knew they all noticed but quite frankly, he didn't care.

He was doing what felt right and although they hadn't spoken about it, he was confident that his new beginning would involve Rose in one way or another.