Destruction of the Mind / [Thomas Shelby | Peaky Blinders]

chapter / two

After her scrumptious slice of pie, Florence returned to her room and decided to rest from her long journey from London to Birmingham. It was now her official full first day of being in Small Heath, and she was going to spend it searching for a job.

She filled a bucket with water and gently gave her body a quick wash, before getting dressed into a simple light green blouse covered with a sweet flowery pattern, with a brown skirt which finished just below her knees. She finished the look with her small brown heels, and kept her blonde hair in it's natural stance, which hung just under her shoulders. She twirled around her room, seemingly happy with how she looked, before leaving for breakfast.

"Don't yer' look lovely today?" Cora winked at Florence, sliding a cooked breakfast of sausage, bacon and egg in front of her guest.

"Thank you very much!" Florence beamed, grabbing a knife and fork and tucking into her food, "Do you by any chance know where I might be able to get a job from?"

"Honestly, when ya' look like you, love, I think you'll get a job in no time," The woman smiled warmly, "Though ol' 'Arry Fenton would probably give you a job in his bar. 'E's got the finest pub on the whole street."

"Is it the Garrison by any chance?" Florence asked, eating a forkful of bacon after she spoke.

"Yes, that's it! It's always busy, so I'm sure he could hire ya'," Cora grinned, "He's a proud ol' sod, he runs that damn bar on his own. God knows how."

Florence laughed and finished off her last mouthful of breakfast, then taking her empty plate and cutlery to the sink to clean but Cora made a fuss and pushed her out the way.

"You're the guest, now go and get yourself a job missy."

And with that, Florence left the house and immediately visited the Garrison pub.

The outside of the pub was as black as coal, but the special blurred windows had the name of the pub written on them so you couldn't mistake it for any other building down the street. She took a deep breath in as she pushed the door open, expecting the bar to be void of life (apart from Harry Fenton) but there were in fact a few men sat at various tables, enjoying a pint or two at 11am in the morning. She smiled to herself and stood at the bar, waiting for Harry to turn around and spot her. Which he did, and he seemed very shocked to see her.

"Ello, miss. What can I do for ya'?" He asked, quizzically.

"I was wondering if you could so kindly tell me if you have any job offers on at the moment?" Florence asked, suddenly feeling very nervous, "I've just moved to the area from London and am currently staying with Cora down the end of the street, she actually told me about your pub, she's very fond of it. My name is Florence Porter."

"I'm not looking to hire, I have run this pub on my own for a good couple o' years now and nothing has ever gotten too bad." He said proudly, banging his fist on the counter.

"Oh, I'm sorry for bothering you Mr. Fenton," Florence said, trying to sound undefeated, "I guess my ability to mix spirits can be used in another pub."

"Now you wait there a second, miss," He said, sternly, "The Garrison is the best darn pub in the whole o' Birmingham, you will not get anywhere better than this."

"So you'll give me a job?" She beamed at him, "I promise you now Harry Fenton, I will be the best damn barmaid in the whole of Birmingham, to suit your just as fine pub!"

"Fine, fine. I'll bring ya' on, we can discuss yer' pay on yer' first shift." He sighed, but there was a hint of amusement in his dark blue eyes, "I expect yer' fine ass here tonight, you got that?"

"Yes, sir." She winked, before waling towards the exit, "See ya' tonight, Mr. Fenton!"

To treat herself to her success (and for Cora's amazing cooking), she went and bought some iced buns from the local bakery for a *halfpenny. Upon her return, she found Cora humming a tune in the living room whilst washing her dirty sheets.

"Guess what, Cora?" Florence grinned as she walked in.

"Ya' didn't- he actually gave you a job? You lucky sonovabitch!" Cora smiled, delightfully.

Florence held the buns up, smiling and added; "I got these from the bakery, I'll leave yours in the kitchen for later, alright?"

She turned to go to the kitchen, but stopped and looked at Cora with a grin.

"Oh, and I start tonight!"

After finishing her iced bun, she laid in her bed reading a novel she had brought with her. She kept her eye on the clock, deciding she'd turn up around 6:30pm as that was around the time the sky darkened in Spring. She didn't change her clothes, as she guessed she'd probably be wearing an apron anyway which meant that it ultimately didn't matter what she was wearing beneath it. She bid farewell to Cora before walking to the pub, the cool air refreshing her as she knew the pub will be hot and full of overly drunk men.

As soon as she got one foot in the door, there were wolf whistles being made at her. She just smiled sweetly at the men before ducking under the bar to see her new boss.

"Good to see ya', so most of these guys just get a pint of ale which is in this barrel over 'ere, but if anyone comes to that window, it's prolly' the Shelby's, and they almost always get a bottle o' whiskey which is often 'on the house', aight?" Harry said, demonstrating how to pour an ale from the keg on the back counter. "Also, I'll pay yer' a **crown a week, is that okay with ya'?"

"That's more than okay, thank you very much Mr. Fenton." She smiled, tugging on an apron she found under the counter. "Let's get going shall we,"

As soon as she said that, someone shouted from the other end of the bar to which she answered the call and was soon handing out tankards of ale to men every other 5 minutes. Harry Fenton watched, shocked that she could handle the situation so well but who knows how well she'll handle one of the Shelby boys.

//

*a halfpenny = is literally half a penny

**a crown = 5 shillings/bob

So basically, Florence will be earning £1 a month, which is lucky because women didn't usually work at all back then. The average wage of a man was £1.40 a month, so she's doing well for herself.