the princess and the pauper ♕ tommy shelby

chapter fifteen

The recent reunion had been exactly what Tommy Shelby needed, it's what they both needed. It was like they could finally breathe again. She quickly fell asleep after him and in the early morning her alarm clock went off. She got out of bed and got dressed for work. "Can't persuade you to stay here with me?" Tommy said sitting up. "No, I have people to see" she said. "If you want you can come back tonight again, I won't mind" Ophelia said and looked at him. "Only at night. I'm living too dangerously right now to have you involved." Tommy said, lighting his cigarette.

"Okay, I will see you then, there is a spare key in the kitchen" Ophelia said and kissed him before she left. When she was near her work Polly came running over. "We need you" Polly said. "Of course," Ophelia said and left with Polly. She arrived at the Shelby house and saw Arthur all banged up, "No questions" Polly said. "Wasn't planning to" Ophelia said. She opened her back and grabbed a suture kit and started to work on the bigger gashes.

"Has anyone seen Tommy?" Arthur asked, and Ophelia kept quiet, pretending not to be there. "Probably left in the early morning" John said. "Horse was lame, Lee's cursed it" Arthur said, and Ophelia wondered what that meant. She knew the Shelby's came from Romani blood, perhaps the Lee's were too. "Alright, your hand needs multiple stitches unlike the one on your forehead." Ophelia said. "Do you have any alcohol?" Ophelia asked. "Here" Tommy said walking in and giving her a bottle of scotch. She quickly poured some on the wound and then gave Arthur the bottle.

"Warning would have been nice, Princess" Arthur said. "A warning would have hurt more, because then you'd have imagined pain before there was one" Ophelia said. "Smart" Arthur said. "Drink, it will help" she said and started on the stitches. "You're very good at this" Polly said. "This is not my first time stitching up Arthur" Ophelia smiled. "She was our units head nurse for a while" John said looking at Polly. "You worked in France?" Polly asked. "Yes, practically followed behind their unit" Ophelia said.

After helping the Shelby's, she went to work, saying she would work longer given she was late helping Arthur Shelby. The moment she said she helped Arthur Shelby; the Doctor was fine with her being late. She wondered how big of a name the Shelby's had around here, and if it had anything to do with the Peaky Blinders and the danger Tommy was talking about.

After work, when she was on her way home, she saw a man running around. He looked out of place and was almost talking nonsense. "Danny?" Ophelia said when she recognised the man. "Nurse Crawley, they are coming!" Danny said. "No, Danny, you are home, in England." Ophelia said. "He's going on about baronet's" the grocery man said. "Danny, listen to my voice. You are home" Ophelia said. From the corner of her eye, she saw the man pull a nice. "No!" She yelled but Danny already attacked the man.

Before Ophelia could do something to stop Danny she was knocked over. She saw Danny run away and quickly tried to help the man. But he was bleeding out too fast. "What happened?!" a man yelled walking over. "I'm sorry, there was man and he got attacked. I tried everything" Ophelia said. The man grabbed her arm and dragged her to the Garrison, her hands still bloody. He knocked on the door she had once seen the Shelby brothers go into.

She saw Harry and Grace look at them, and she saw Harry take away Grace. The door opened and it showed Tommy, whose face immediately turned dark at the sight of the man manhandling Ophelia while she was covered in blood. The man pushed Ophelia and himself passed Tommy. "What's the meaning of this" Tommy asked, sitting down, trying it to not affect his cold exterior. "Tell him" the man said as he pushed Ophelia on the booth bench. "Danny. He had a reaction to his shellshock and when the man from the grocery pulled a knife, Danny panicked and stabbed him. I tried to stop the bleeding, but major arteries were hit" Ophelia explained.

"And what do you need from me?" Tommy asked the man. "That man was my brother, and I know that man was working for you" he said. "I want him dead" the man said, and Ophelia looked shocked. Danny didn't mean too; he was like many soldiers suffering from shellshock. "I will do it. I will meet you tomorrow" Tommy said. "You can handle the girl" the man said and left.

The moment the man left Tommy almost flew over the table to check on Ophelia. "You alright?" he asked, checking for injuries. "I'm fine. Are you really going to kill Danny?" Ophelia asked. "I'll have too" Tommy said. Ophelia nodded. "I need to go home, and wash this away" Ophelia said. "Let me take you" Tommy said, and they left the Garrison with the eyes of everyone inside on them.

Just before they reached Ophelia's place Tommy stopped and tried to hide her behind him to protect her when he saw a figure stand at her door. "No, that's my father" Ophelia said and kept walking. "Good god" Lord Grantham said when he saw the state his daughter was in. "What are you doing here, Papa?" she asked as she opened the door. Tommy couldn't bring it to himself to leave yet, not when she was still slightly shaking. "I came to see if you were alright, Murray sent a telegram" Lord Grantham said.

"I'm fine" she said. "You don't look fine; you are covered in blood" he said as they all walked into her place. "I'm fine, fine enough for you both to let me" Ophelia said. "Are you sure?" Tommy asked and she nodded, she knew this meant he couldn't come to her tonight, and she hoped he'd be alright. "I'm going to clean my hands" Ophelia said and left to her small bathroom. She cleaned up and walked back. "I know I shouldn't come uninvited. But you are the youngest and with you and Sybil out of the house now" Lord Grantham said. "I understand" she said. "Will you come to the wedding this weekend?" she asked, looking at her father. "I—" he started but didn't continue.

"I understand it's difficult but remember this is for Sybil's happiness" Ophelia said. "And one day, hopefully soon, I would love for you to be there at my wedding to the man I love and who makes me happy" Ophelia said. "I suppose a bookmaker is not as bad as chauffeur" Lord Grantham said. Ophelia smiled. "Do you have a place to stay? I only have one extra nearly broken twin bed and a sofa" Ophelia said. "No, I will go to the nearest hotel, I leave early in the morning anyways. I do hope I can take you for dinner." Lord Grantham said. "They say the Garrison is good" he said. "It's a public house Papa, not many go for the food" she said. "Humour me" he said.

The two of them went to the Garrison and she almost laughed at her father's face. "Can we have some things to eat?" he asked when he walked to the bar. "I offer some meals" Harry said. "Anything is fine" Lord Grantham said, and Harry gave them some chicken. They went to the first floor to sit quietly. After dinner her father got something to drink when Arthur, John, and Tommy walk into the Garrison. "Little princess!" Arthur joyfully said. Her father gave her a look, of disproof. "Arthur, this is my father" she said, not remembering if they had met before.

"Welcome to Small Heath. Harry, make sure they get everything they need" Arthur said, and they went into the booth. "Do they own this pub?" Lord Grantham asked looking at Harry. "No, sir, the Peaky Blinders protect the people around here" Harry said. "That's nice" Lord Grantham said, and Ophelia mouthed a thank you to Harry.

After some drinks and Lord Grantham actually talking to other people, he decided it was best if he went to his hotel. "Do you want me to walk you back?" he asked. "I got it from here, my lord" Tommy said appearing and Grace noted down how Ophelia's father was a lord. "Thank you, Mr. Shelby" Lord Grantham said and left. Tommy nodded his head and walked Ophelia back to her place. "Is he here long?" Tommy asked. "No, he leaves early in the morning. He doesn't know what to do with two children out of the house." She said. "I wouldn't know how to give advice on that" Tommy said.

"Neither do I, but I can't imagine it" she said. "You want children?" Tommy asked. "I do. And I want enough so they would never be lonely. I grew up with 3 sisters, I couldn't imagine it being just me" Ophelia said, as she walked into her place with Tommy following her. "I have three brothers and a sister; I wouldn't know either" Tommy said. "Do you want children?" she asked, looking at him, hoping he would say yes. "I do" Tommy said. "But ever since the war, I thought it wouldn't be possible for me to think of such a life" he said honestly. "The war is over" she said and placed her hands on either side of his face.

"Not all wars are over, darling" he said, closing his eyes. "You and me, remember" she said.