Y O U R C R U C I B L E
"May you be in heaven a full half hour before the devil knows you're dead."
Lottie Thorne, sister of the notorious Freddie Thorne, is counted as part of the Shelby family. And her loyalty is...
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"You fell for Tommy for real, didn't you?"
Lottie was over the moon. She joined the men who were making their way to the Garrison. She wasn't nervous now, either, as she had made up with Grace.
"All right lads, listen up!" Tommy called out to the other Blinders once they had all piled inside. "You can have a pint and a chaser - no more. On the house." He then went behind the counter to help Grace pour all the drinks. Lottie watched them with bemused eyes, reading them so easily. The small glances, the hidden smiles. They were in love. And it was as clear as day.
Arthur put his arm around Lottie's shoulder as he laughed at his own joke. Unable to help herself, she joined in, too. But when Grace walked into the walk-in cupboard, Lottie's smile faded, as did Tommy's. Arthur noticed, too. "Go on, Tommy," he said. "Go out the back and give her a good seeing to before we go." But he suddenly groaned in pain due to Lottie elbowing his harshly in in the ribs. The two made eye contact. Lottie nodded and raised her eyebrows seriously, urging him to follow, but for different reasons than Arthur. Clenching his jaw, he followed and disappeared from sight.
She turned to Arthur. "You're unbelievable," she muttered, smirking, taking a sip from her drink.
"Nah," he denied.
She scoffed, shaking her head. Lottie did wonder what they were discussing, but she soon was distracted again by Arthur and his appalling jokes. John downed his drink and called out, "Tommy, we need more mild!"
Tommy called back a muffled reply. "Just help yourselves!"
The doors suddenly opened and Jeremiah entered, his eyes wide and worried. Lottie, Arthur and John stood up immediately. "What is it?" She asked.
He looked at the three of them. "I just heard there's two vans driving up the Stratford Road," he began. "An old corporal of mine said he recognised some of the men. He says it's the Kimber boys and they're heading this way."
"We need to tell Tommy," said John, seriously.
"In here," said Arthur, leading him round the back of the counter.
Arthur opened the door and the two of them entered. Lottie and John looked at each other. "Who tipped them off?" She wondered in a lowered voice.
"No one could have," said John. "Only Tommy knew about it - the rest of us found out only today. That's not enough time to warn Kimber."
