The Shelby Princess

16

One pill that Grace struggled to swallow was the fact that she couldn't and would never be Charlotte, that no matter how hard she tried, no matter how high she jumped, she would never reach the pedestal everyone held Charlotte on. It was the type of pill that stung to swallow, that seared as it made its way down, churning in her stomach. It bothered her that she felt that way,that she couldn't fight 
the insane amount of jealousy that soared through her at just the slight mention of the girl.
Surprisingly it wasn't just the fact that she had Tommy whipped, to put it bluntly. Or the way she felt a bitter surge of distain when she watched the way tommy looked at charlotte, a certain way he had never looked at her, or anyone else on that matter. A part of her felt jealousy from a woman's perspective, she envied how Charlotte caught the attention of the entirety of any room she walked into, how her bubbly aura balanced perfectly with a certain level of class she held, even as a women she noticed the endearing vibe that charlotte carried naturally, how everyone's attention effortlessly gravitated towards her even if they were none the wiser to it.
It was also the way the Shelby's adored her like their own, watching as she held a different bond with every one of them, however they all loved her the same. Although, that jealousy did in-fact stem from tommy, the fact that she was well aware that no one would be good enough for their tommy other then Charlotte, but perhaps what really got to her, is that she knew they were right.

Black star day was approaching, and too quick for Charlotte's liking. Tommy had told her all he had planned one night as they layed in bed, it was when Tommy often found himself relaying most of the information to her, in the lightly dimmed room, the ambience warm and serene. A slight moment of weakness for him.
There was another person however, that was also aware of the monumental day that was approaching, i think you can calculate who that person may be.
As tommy lay in bed that same night after updating Charlotte with everything that was to come, he fought the urge to shut his eyes and heavily sigh in disapproval of his own actions, in the midst of a slight argument with Charlotte he had found himself caught up in conversation with grace, letting her in on sacred information that he knew should of stayed within family and family only.
In all honesty, he didn't know why he had told her and why he felt like he could in the first place. It was only now when he thought back to his initial intention's to get closer to the girl, he mentally scowled himself. He was aware that the first assumption would be because he trusts her, perhaps feelings slightly stronger then that. However when he thought about it he didn't, he definitely didn't. Especially when he had his girl under his arm sound asleep, his mind didn't even trace to the blonde.
He was confused and conflicted, one thing Tommy Shelby rarely was, but here he was, confused and conflicted indeed.

The next morning, Charlotte sat with Arthur helping him with the adding up, that she had to say was shockingly bad.
Laughing and joking, their heads popped up as grace strolled into the pub, taking her hat off and walking towards the bar. "Hello Grace" charlotte nodded, clearly unbothered about her presence.
Oh, and that's another thing that got to grace, Charlotte was always so evidently unbothered whenever grace was around ,significantly contrasting from her own state of irritation and jealousy. It displayed another one of Charlotte's untarnished traits, maturity.
"Hiya Charlotte" she nodded, smiling to Arthur.
Arthur was never too fond of grace, to be honest he didn't have much of an opinion on her at all really, he didn't see her as a threat to the business at all however it irritated him how competitive she was with charlotte, because he knew full well amongst all the other Shelby's, that she wasn't competition in the slightest.
"Right, i'll go change the barrels" she rose from her seat, straightening up her dress. "don't touch em again arth, leave it to me next time" she chuckled, in reference to the books.
"yeah alright Lottie" he laughed, also rising from his seat. "whiskey please Grace" he nodded, as charlotte descended into the back room.
Taking note that the brunette had dispersed for a short while, she cleared her throat turning her full attention to Arthur. "Do you want me to check that for you, Arthur?" making her way round to the front of the bar.
"if you like, lottie's sorted it though" he shrugged, not taking much notice of the blonde.
Feigning concentration, she scanned her eyes over the book,although what she was really contemplating was how she about to receive her new batch of information.
Much to her delight, her eyes pricked up at a payment that was marked in the book, to a Danny whizzbang. Clearing her throat she lifted her head "Arthur it say's here, you pay a danny whizzbang every Thursday" she perplexed, under the illusion he was dead. "yeah that's alright" he shrugged once again. "but i thought he was dead?" she tried her luck once more, praying he wasn't reading into her. "yeah well that was just a show to satisfy the wops, he's working for us in London now" he carried on, much to charlottes dismay as she left the back room, wincing slightly at what he assumed to be,meaningless oversharing.
At the presence of Charlotte, Grace rose from the seat, simply nodding. A smug sensation consuming her as she couldn't help but sing with happiness inside, jackpot.