Shelby Brothers Ballerina

Chapter 4

Back at the house, Arthur was grunting and groaning at the pain he was in. Blood streaked across his face from the amount of times and force he'd been hit with. While Ada was trying to help clean his wounds up.

"John wipe the blood out of his eye." Ada ordered.

"Since when did you give orders?" John scoffed ,leaning up against the doorway, which separated the kitchen from the gambling den ,which a toothpick in his mouth.

"I'm a trained nurse"

Arthur chucked a little, quickly wincing when pain spread through his face. " Don't make me laugh, it hurts me' face." He said, while Polly wrapped a splint around his thumb.

"I bloody am." Ada defended.

"You went to one first-aid class in the church hall with Kasia and you both got thrown out for giggling." John teased.

"Not before I learned to stop somebody from chocking. Besides, Kasia was the one making me laugh. It's not my fault." Ada said.

Arthur replied in an aggravated tone. "I'm not bloody chocking, am I?"

"You will be when I wrap this cloth round your neck." Ada stated, done with the teasing from both of her brothers.

Suddenly the door banged shut and Tommy and Kasia came walking briskly into the kitchen. Tommy had a cig in his mouth and a bottle of rum in his hand.

"Let me see him." He said walking over to Arthur, telling him to have a swig of the rum he and Kasia just got.

While Thomas did that, Kasia went over to stand beside John. He gave her a smile when he saw her coming up to him. Even though they'd only been apart for about 15 minutes, he'd already missed her presence in the house.  She beamed up at him, giving him a quick hug, before standing side to side beside him.

Arthur turned around in his seat to see Kasia still there. "You can go now love, you don't have to stay." He was worried about her being there, she hadn't seen this side of the business and he didn't want her to start seeing it now. Not after they managed to keep her away for so long.

"I'm not going Arthur, you're hurt. I want to make sure you're okay." She said, her voice soft and delicate, but firm knowing she wasn't going to go anywhere.

Arthur just sighed and turned back to Tommy. Knowing that when the girl had made up her mind, nothing could change it.

While Tommy was cleaning Arthur off with the rum, Arthur started to talk. "He said Mr Churchill sent him to Birmingham. National interest, he said. Something about a robbery." Tommy just leaned back, taking a drag of his cigarette as Arthur continued to talk. "He said he wants us to help him."

Kasia couldn't believ what had happened to Arthur. She didn't think when the girls at ballet said a new copper was coming to town that he would be this cruel. They said he was here to clean the city, not destroy it more.

"We don't help coppers." John quickly added, pulling Kasia by the waist, moving her out of the way for Ada to get through. This made butterflies come alive in her stomach: a small heat spreading across her face as she ducked her head down, hoping nobody will notice.

"He knew all about our war records. He said we're patriots like him. He wants us to be his eyes and ears. I said-" Arthur ranted, but was a cut off by the pain in his hand when Polly pulled a bandage tighter. "-I said we'd have a family meeting. Take a vote."

There was silence for a few seconds as Arthur looked at Tommy waiting for an answer from him. "Well, why not? Mmm? We have not truck with Fenians or communists." Arthur spoke again. Still, Tommy didn't respond. "What's wrong with you? What the fuck is wrong with him lately?" Arthur questioned, looking around at Polly for some sort of answer.