When The Boys Are Away

Part 33

After a reasonably chilled meal within Thomas Shelby's large dining hall, the grateful Wentworth's were showed to their rooms. Fortunately, the grandeur of the household allowed for them to have a room each, and there were still plenty to spare. Ester and the rest of the staff had been more than happy to arrange the guest bedrooms, not at all phased by the short notice.

Harlow had been mildly anxious throughout the evening, but as the merciless veil of night fell, she knew that she had to talk with Tommy, and it wasn't going to be good. They hadn't so much as locked eyes since the meeting. It was the calm before the storm, and this was about to be one big hurricane in Harlow's eyes.

Cautiously, the nervous brunette weaved her way through the empty corridors with one destination in her mind; Tommy's office. That's where she'd always find him in the house, whether it was day or night, dusk or dawn.

Her soft tapping alerted the staff, who hurriedly gathered in the stairway, awaiting instruction from their boss. Although Harlow was soft, the old scars that Billy Kimber had imprinted on them would never leave.

When she turned the corner, Harlow sent them all a slight smile and nodded her head politely in their direction, "Thank you for preparing the rooms, you're all welcome to go to bed now."

One by one, they dismissed her obediently, trailing off to their comfortable chambers for some well-earned rest. The only one who remained was Ester, who had her tender eyes set on the Winters girl.

"Are you sure you won't need anything, Miss?" Ester had Polly's instinct, but Lizzie's kind nature, and perhaps that's what Harlow needed. Or perhaps she needed Ada to take her by the shoulders and tell her to toughen up. All she was going to do was have a conversation with Tommy, he wasn't that scary. Not really...

"I'll be fine, thank you Ester. Have a good rest." With that, the kind woman was gone, and the cold air embellished the room eerily. It was now or never.

******

If the tension had been any thicker inside the office, it would be certain that Harlow would have suffocated and died right there on the leather chair. Her dark eyes flickered over Tommy's neutral expression as he gazed eerily into the roaring flames of the fireplace.

Harlow knew deep down that she should have told him about the Wentworth's, but it never seemed like the right time. If it wasn't John's kids getting into trouble, then it was Polly worrying about Michael or Ada stressing about bridesmaid dresses. It all seemed so immature when you looked at the big picture.

If there was one thing Thomas Shelby hated more than anything, it was a liar.

Usually, he could remove anyone who crossed him – send the boys round to sort it out and that'd be the end of it. But this wasn't just anyone, this was Harlow Winters. The brown haired, chestnut eyed girl he'd been in love with since he was ten years old. The one person he trusted with his life.

"Tom," A small amount of courage had somehow built up within Harlow's chest as she crossed her leg over the other nervously. His lack of reaction sent a pang of guilt down her spine, and she couldn't help but look down to her dress downheartedly.

Softly, Harlow coughed before she spoke once again, "Tommy, I'm not going to talk until you look at me." Although she was sorry, she wasn't going to beg for forgiveness. Furthermore, he'd hidden things from Harlow before, such as the stolen guns, so he shouldn't be hypocritical.

As his eyeline didn't waver from the fireplace, Tommy lifted the whiskey to his lips and took a small sip, "I guess we will sit in silence for a while then."

It was a good ten minutes before any more words were uttered, and surprisingly they came from Tommy himself, "Why didn't you just tell me?"

For once, Harlow was speechless. She had no real explanation, and that's what annoyed him the most. Usually, Tommy acted with precise reasoning, and Harlow followed the same line of thinking. Although he understood why she made her disappearing act all those months ago, he never could work out where she had gone.