The Sweetest of Hearts.1| T.S

•Mourning me.

XXXVIII. Mourning me.

The night of the charity dinner arrived and Maude spend the entire morning making sure everything was set up perfectly. The rest of her day was spent getting ready with the help of Mary. Her hair was curled and pinned into a low bun, her makeup was done lightly and she wore an off-shoulder white gown made of soft silk. All soft and neutral tones to work lightly against the sapphire around her neck.

As she slipped on her white gloves, she descended the stairs of their home, eyes on Tommy who waited for her in the foyer. He offered a hand to her as she reached the last step and she smiled softly at him as she took it. "You look beautiful, sweetheart." He complimented her as one hand reached out to cup her cheek.

"And you look handsome." She complimented, her hand pressing against his for a brief second before moving onto his chest "You always look handsome in a black suit."She insisted as she looked up at him with a big smile.

Tommy smiled back down at her, his thumb softly brushing over her cheek. "Come on, if you keep talking that way, we're going to be late." He teased her and she slapped his chest with a soft chuckle.

Upon arrival, both Tommy and Maude were immediately overwhelmed by everyone wanting to speak to them. Some wanted to speak about donations, others congratulated on their wedding, and some just wanted to make small talk. But after a while, the pair met up again and found their way to the leader of the Birmingham city council.

"Hello, Tommy." The man greeted politely as he flashed Tommy a smile.

"Hi, Danny." Tommy greeted as he stretched out his hand and shook the older man's hand, before moving his hand to rest on the small of Maude's back, keeping her close to his side.

Danny's eyes flicked towards Maude, bowing his head in greeting as he smiled at her as well. "Mrs. Shelby." He greeted.

Maude flashed him a bright smile as she shook her head. "Oh please, just Maude." She insisted and the man nodded in understanding as a small chuckle slipped from his lips.

"How's business?" Danny questioned as his gaze returned towards Tommy.

"All right, it's holding up, holding up," Tommy replied as he nodded his head at the older man. "How are you?" He questioned and Danny only mumbled something about being good before his gaze returned back to Maude again.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Shelby, on your wedding." He said as he flashed Maude another smile.

Maude smiled as well, her gaze briefly darting towards Tommy before returning to the older man. "Thank you, I'm surprised you weren't invited." She said before her gaze returned to Tommy again, who no longer had his focus on her but on someone else.

"Now, how would that look, eh?" Danny asked as a soft chuckle slipped from his lips and Maude only spared him a brief look as she forced a small smile before her gaze returned to Tommy again, her eyebrows furrowing before she followed his line of sight. Danny followed Tommy's gaze as well. "Oh, now, the party has really started." He commented.

Maude stared over at the two men, one had graying brown hair and the other bald, neither of the two she recognized. "Who are they?" She questioned as her eyebrows furrowed even more, her gaze flicking between Tommy and Danny.

"Father John Hughes from St Mary's Boys Reformatory," Danny informed her and Maude inhaled sharply at the name she knew well and her gaze darted towards Tommy, but he had his glare firmly set on the two men on the other side of the room. "And with him is Mr. Patrick Jarvis, MP," Danny added. "They are part of an organisation called the Economic League."