This ain't the Place for Good Girls - (inspired by The Peaky Blinders)

Impressions

The party was going on as expected. Acquaintances to Tony and their wives walked around in the big rooms drinking and talking to one another. I walked beside Tony with my arm around his, smiling at every couples we passed.

"What a lovely wife you have Mr Blyth" they would say and smile at me. Someone called that the dinner was ready, and we took our seats by the table. The gentlemen were discussing the current situations in the factories.

"It is not right of the workers to strike. Do they not understand that we can find new workers within seconds if they do not return to their positions? If they cared about their families, they would not do this" One man close to Tony said and the men all mumbled in agreement.

"I had to let five workers go last week because they went to strike instead of doing what they were paid to do" Tony said, and the men all shook their heads. I sat quietly and ate the potatoes on my plate, but for some reason I could not hold my tongue.

"Maybe they strike for a fair reason?" I said and noticed every man looking towards me. Tony gave me an angry glare. I looked down on my plate and took a breath.

"No man wishes to put their work in jeopardy, and if they go on strike, it should be because what they experience is not fair. No man should work twelve hours with a thirty-minute break for example." I said and took a new bite from the food. It was quiet around the table, and I could hear myself shewing.

"You have quite an interesting wife, Mr Blyth. Maybe she should join the suffragettes" one of the men said and they all laughed at what he intended as a joke.

As the guest had left the house, Tony closed the front door and gave out a loud sigh. Then he turned towards me. I stood quietly by the stairs.

"You," He said and raised a finger towards me while walking up to me. "Never do that again." He raised his voice.

"Do you understand what your words did to my career, to my character?" he shouted and pointed his finger in front of my face. I looked into his eyes that had turned a darker colour. "I'm a gentleman, and you are the wife of a gentleman!" His words beat in my ears, and I closed my eyes as he almost spitted in my face.

"I expected you to learn how to treat gentlemen, but it shows that you can never be part of this world. I should never have married you, your bastard." His hand touched the side of my face and his hand grasped around my hair.

"Now, you go upstairs and wait for me. When I get up, I expect you to do exactly as I say, because what you did at the dinner is not how you treat gentlemen" He said and pulled my hair before pushing my head towards the stair. I felt myself get smaller and I walked with slow and heavy steps up towards our room, waiting for whatever Tony expected a gentleman would do when his wife disobeys him.

......

At 7 O'clock, I heard a loud knock on the door downstairs. I looked in the mirror and put on the broader green hat. I had worn it at me and Tony's anniversary last year. We had been to the Ritz with his family. I grabbed my purse and went down the stairs.

"I hope you know what you're doing Clara." I heard Ruby's voice from the kitchen.

I took a deep breath and walked up to the door to open it. Outside stood Will smoking a cigarette. I stepped outside and he nodded in a direction for me to walk with him.

The streets began to wake up and the morning fog almost opened like the red ocean as we walked along the streets. After a few minutes of walking, the fog got thicker indicating that we got closer to the water.