𝔹𝕠𝕣𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕃𝕠𝕤𝕖 | Tommy Shelby

𝕏𝕀𝕏. ʙʀɪᴄᴋ ʜᴏᴜsᴇ

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As I unlocked the door to Thomas' office, I never imagined who I would find in my secretariat, sitting at my desk, drinking a cup of tea she had made herself.

I would have expected Lizzie, with her killer instinct on and ready to attack me; I would have expected Ada, pissed off and aware of what had happened in the office, but I found Polly Gray. She brought her black eyes to me and analyzed me from head to toe, noticing every detail that loudly confessed what her nephew and I had been doing, although she decided not to say anything at all.

Thomas's gasps and groans had been too loud and for a moment, I had the urge to ask Polly how long she had been there but I held back. After all, there was no need to inquire: the steaming tea and the neat, stocked tray on my desk suggested that she had been hanging around my secretariat for quite a while.

"Good morning, Elizabeth", I greeted her but she didn't answer me. "If you need to talk to Thomas, you can come in. He's unoccupied".

"No, my dear. I didn't come to talk to my nephew. I came to talk to you", Polly blurted out and I couldn't help but be surprised. "If I wanted to talk to Thomas, I would just walk into his office and, although I tried to do so when I saw that you weren't here, I noticed that he was busy with something", she added, using sarcasm.

I decided to ignore the attack and, in agitation, I sat down opposite her. Trying not to disturb her tray of tea and biscuits, I set up the typewriter and prepared to pretend I was working.

"What did you want to tell me?" I asked, realizing that Polly wasn't going to speak if I didn't goad her on. She kept looking at me like the dialogue was a silent conversation with my face.

Suddenly Polly took the kettle and poured another cup. Placing it in front of me, I saw her force a smile and in the thick blackness of the hot drink, I watched the tea grounds float.

"We have to talk about what happened the other day at my nephew's house", Polly finally said.

"There's nothing to talk about", I hastened to say. At the time, I was sure where she wanted to lead the conversation and now I see how stupid I was. "I fully understand the resolution you made regarding Gina", I tried to show integrity, although I still hadn't fully assumed what I had witnessed at the Shelby family meeting.

"You're wrong, Olivia. No one is going to talk about Gina because that's a settled issue and no one, except for Thomas, cares about your opinion on it". Polly grabbed a biscuit and bit it. She simulated calm but in her gestures I noticed that she was tense. "I want you to understand why I know you weren't the one who tried to kill Tom".

"I thought my explanation had been enough". I looked back at the tea in the cup. It seemed so charged that I could almost feel the metallic taste on my tongue.

"No, it wasn't enough. For the Shelbys, the words of an intruder are never enough", Polly continued. "And, if it's any consolation, let me tell you that even Grace wasn't very accepted in this family".

To be honest, that surprised me. Until then, I believed that Grace had been the most adored member of the Shelbys, the most benevolent woman, the most faithful follower in Thomas's cause. I knew nothing about her past or the bond she had had with the Peaky Blinders, except that she had been murdered, I believed, because of the intrinsic danger that came from being the wife of a mob leader. I still hadn't gotten the courage to ask Thomas about her, and I didn't want Ada to be the one who tell me, since I knew that her words would be accompanied by a warning.

"Aren't you going to drink your tea?", Polly asked with narrowed eyes. My silence and stillness seemed to make her nervous.

"I'm not thirsty".