Lovely ∝ Thomas Shelby

Chapter 15; Far from dead.

I knocked lightly on the door to Polly's house in Sutton, holding Jessica's hand with my free hand. The door soon opened, revealing a worn-out-looking Polly as my heart slightly broke for her.

"Aunt Polly!" Jess cheered, joyfully, letting go of my hand to hug Polly's legs. She smiled down at Jess and ran a hand along her hair.

"Hello, love." Polly said, quietly as we stepped inside and I shut the front door behind us.

"Jess, can you give us a minute?" I asked, Jess looking back at me and nodding.

"I'll be in the spare room." She told us, running off down the hall as Polly turned to look at me. We held each other's eye contact for a moment as Polly then sighed, an underlying sadness to her tone and facial expression.

"I'm sorry, Effie. About what I said at the meeting-"

"Polly, you don't have to be sorry." I cut her off, slightly shaking my head at her. "I know you're under a lot of stress with Michael and everything. It's alright. It really is." I told her sincerely, taking her hand in mine in an attempt to comfort her. She sent me a sad smile in return as I saw a tear brim her waterline.

"You know you're like family. You and Jess. I don't need to tell you that." She stated as I nodded. "I know, Pol. The only reason I stormed out was because I was under a lot of stress myself, and I..." I trailed off, not able to find my words as I looked at the ground.

"You're worried about your baby." I snapped my head up at Polly as she spoke, my eyes widening slightly, but she only smiled in return.

"How did you..." I trailed off, again, confused as to how she even knew I was pregnant.

"Call it Gypsy witchcraft." She joked, turning to walk into the living room as I followed behind. "But seriously?" She continued, lifting up a pot and pouring tea into two cups. "I've given birth to two children, Effie. I know a growing stomach when I see one." She smirked, handing me a cup of tea as I smiled shyly.

"You can't tell Tommy. Not yet." I told her, causing her to rapidly shake her head and put down her cup.

"No, of course not. That's up to you, and I know whatever business you and Thomas have, you need to sort out first." She replied as I placed down the cup and took a step towards her.

"Polly," I began as I took a deep breath in. "I'm sorry for what Major. Campbell did to you." I told her, softly. Her expression immediately fell as she looked to the ground. "I want you to know that after tomorrow, he'll no longer be a problem."

"Oh, I know he won't." She lifted her head, a look of determination on her face as I furrowed my eyebrows slightly. "Because I plan to kill him." She stated as it fell silent between us.

I knew that I had been planning to kill him, but I also knew that Polly deserved to be the one to kill him more. This way, I could focus all of my attention of myself and Tommy.

"Alright." I nodded at her. "Just do me one favour?" I asked as she raised her eyebrow at me, waiting for me to continue.

"Make sure he dies as painfully as possible."

***

I looked over Tommy's shoulder as he wrote a letter, explaining the situation we were about to put ourselves in today. It would be sent to the New York Times if either one us failed to return home.