Childhood Memory (Finn Shelby)

Part 6

Elsie woke up just before dinner, her headache was now gone but every so often when a loud noise sounded out she winced as a pain shot through her head.

She got up from where she was. She realised she was in her bedroom. Perhaps Finn and Isaiah carried her there. She rung her bell and her maid ran into the room. "Yes, Miss"

"Are our guests ready for dinner?" Elsie asked, turning to face the maid.

"I think so, they're currently wandering around the house. Shall I escort them to the dining hall?"

"Yes, please" the maid nodded and as she left the room she said "thank you"

Elsie got out of her dirty riding clothes and cleaned her arms and face with a washcloth. She felt her head and realised that there was blood in her hair. She sighed and wrapped a dressing gown around herself and rung the bell again. A different maid came in. "Can you please help me wash my hair?" She questioned, the maid nodded and went to get a bowl of clean, warm water.

The maid soon came back with the bowl and some hair oils. She got Elsie to sit down and she began cleaning her hair. When it was clean the maid dried it with as best she could with a towel, before pulling it into a plait. The maid also helped Elsie with her make up too.

"Thank you" Elsie said, the maid left Elsie alone and Elsie got into a new dress. Afterwards she made her way down the stairs and towards the dining hall. She opened the door and both boys stood up and looked at her, under their gaze she blushed and looked away. "You don't have to stand when I enter a room, I'm not royalty" Elsie said quietly.

"You look like it" Isaiah said and Elsie smiled shyly.

"Thanks" she said.

Elsie sat down next to Finn and opposite Isaiah. "I don't know what they prepared for lunch" she said, looking at both boys.

"I'm sure it'll be better than anything they serve in Small Heath" Finn said. Elsie giggled at Finn and he smiled slightly.

The food arrived and was placed in the middle of the table, both boys looked like they were in heaven. "Can we stay here forever?" Isaiah questioned as he started piling his plate up.

"I second that" Finn said, joining in.

As they were piling their plates up, Elsie would have thought that they were starving. As they were getting their food, Elsie got a better look at them, both of them were wearing expensive suits, Finn's more expensive than Isaiah's. She spotted Finn's long overcoat hung up on a coat rack and a hat, which had something glistening in the brim.

Elsie was snapped out of her daze when Finn gently tapped her shoulder. "Are you alright? Are you feeling ill again?" He asked with a worried expression.

"No, no I'm alright Finn" she reassured him with a comforting smile. "I was looking at your hat" she pointed to it, "does it have a metal brim? I've never seen anything like it before"

Finn got uncomfortable at the mention of the hat but Isaiah quickly diverted the attention to him as he asked Elsie is she wanted any cooked vegetables. Elsie accepted and dropped the conversation of the hat.

As the three ate, Elsie had asked what had happened while she was gone. "Our pub got blown up" Finn said, frowning a bit.

"How? Who did it?" She questioned, her fork clattered on the plate as she dropped it.

"We don't know, we just know someone bombed it. No one's hurt, Tommy's actually rebuilding the place, so it's not all bad"

"I guess that's alright" she pondered, "are there any places near Birmingham where there are lots of fields and room for stables?"