VICES AND VIRTUES | Thomas Shelby

SIX

this is a double update! read five first!

It was the date of the first Harrington fitting, while Imelda was yet to start making the dress, she had finished her initial designs, collated fabric samples and all that was to do was take Diana Carmichael's measurements for her dress. Florence had been preoccupied, in a fatigued haze caused by her continued sleepless nights, she struggled to get through the day without the need to nap.

"So, have you set a date for the wedding yet?" Imelda smiled at Diana and Margaret standing in her living room as she retrieved her tape measure.

"Not just yet," Diana shook her head, glancing no at Florence who stood in the kitchen, staring out of the back window, "If we make it too soon then people will think that it's some sort of shotgun wedding, won't they?"

"Surely not," Imelda remarked, realising that Diana had probably assumed that Imelda's husband had died in some sort of military tragedy, rather than the truth, which is that she was a teenage single mother, "How many guests are you expecting?"

"We're already at two hundred," Diana grinned, which bemused Imelda as she wasn't even sure that she knew more than twenty people, "And that's just my side of the family."

"Right," Imelda nodded, glancing at her daughter as she wrapped her tape measure around Diana's waist, taking note of the measurement, "Floss, would you offer our guests a drink, please?"

Florence remained standing in the kitchen, caught up in a flurry of daydreams and worry that whirled around inside her mind.

"Florence." Her mother repeated, in a stern voice, startling the girl as she turned to face her mother, Diana and Margaret.

"Is everything alright?" Florence smiled, hoping to mask her fatigue.

"Could you offer our guests a drink please?" Imelda asked with a clenched jaw.

"Would you ladies like a drink?" Florence asked, "We've got tea in the pot."

"Tea would be lovely," Diana smiled, not wanting to appear rude by turning the offer down.

"No tea for me, Florence," Margaret answered blankly.

"Alright," Florence nodded, retrieving a teacup and filling it with fresh tea before heading towards the living area, handing Diana the tea as her mother continued to take measurements.

"Thank you," Diana smiled graciously, the intense scent of her perfume itching Florence's throat.

"What perfume are you wearing?" Florence muttered, having never experienced such an adverse reaction to a perfume.

"It's lavender," Diana answered.

"It's nice," Florence smiled, stepping away from the three women as the scent lingered in her nose, urging her for fresh air.

She escaped into the yard of home, which wasn't much of a relief, given the smoke and dust that lingered in the Small Heath air, but it was a better relief than being cooped up inside the house. The girl couldn't quite put her finger on what was causing her to be so sensitive to such a gentle smell.

"Pull yourself together," She muttered to herself, knowing that people would think she was going mad if they saw her talking to herself in the confined space of that yard.

"Florence?" She looked up to see Diana lingering by the back door, an uncertain yet reassuring smile on her face, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," She nodded, resting her hands on her hips, "It just gets quite stuffy in there and I needed some air."

"Right," Diana answered, unsure whether to believe the girl, "Do you smoke?"

"Do you?" Florence raised her eyebrows, knowing that girls like Diana weren't supposed to be smokers.