A Shelby Mistress

Promise

Aurora was running late back to the office and pulling out her pocket watch she sighed with a shrug. It was already past three but there was something she needed to do first and rather than head straight to the office, she drove home. Aurora knew Tommy wouldn't mind and even if he did, her gift to him would make up for her tardiness. She would be lying if she didn't admit the fact she was enjoying driving Tommy's car. It drove so smoothly and felt nice, not like her car which threw her up and down constantly. Her car was incredibly weak yet the engine was strong so being within Tommy's car, well it was a nice change.
Not wanting to take longer than what was necessary, Aurora jumped out the car and rushed towards her door. Once inside, she ran up the stairs and into her bedroom before throwing open the top draw of her dressing table. Reaching into her pocket, Aurora pulled out the box containing Maddison's brooch and smiling softly, she placed it gently in the back of the draw. It would be safe there and guarded heavily until the day she married.

"Me? Married?" Aurora laughed to herself, it was a strange notion to think of.
Sure, Aurora would like to be married sometime in the future but who would be the brave man to do it?
Who on earth would go through the suffering of being married to her?
He would have to be strong enough to deal with her family too otherwise they would rip him apart and spit pieces of him back at her. To Aurora, marriage was good yet what she wanted more than anything was a baby. Having a baby out of wedlock was heavily frowned upon especially if there was no man around. When Aurora had been younger she witnessed herself the torture a young woman went through after fallen pregnant to a man who didn't want her child. The people in town had been ruthless and the woman had ran to the countryside to raise her baby away from the judgment and ridicule.

Breaking free from her thoughts, Aurora closed the draw and headed into the hall. Walking up to the painting, she turned her head to the side and bit her lip as she came to a decision.
"How would you like to have a new home?" Aurora wondered out loud, speaking to the horse within the painting.
Aurora wanted to do this for Tommy and if he had liked it so much, she knew he would take care of the piece and not leave it to collect dust somewhere. Reaching up, Aurora pulled down the painting and running her fingers along it, she smiled. Remembering she still had some left over brown paper in the kitchen, Aurora made her way down the stairs, painting under her arms and a feeling of excitement coursing through her. Though Tommy already knew what it would be, Aurora couldn't help but feel giddy, this would be her first gift to him. Upon entering the kitchen, the usually messy woman wrapped Tommy's present with care, marvelling at just how well she could fold paper when she tried. Bringing the gift up to her face, Aurora suddenly felt vulnerable. In her eyes she was giving a bit of herself away to Tommy and while it was only a painting, it was still important that Tommy got the message.
She wanted to be his.

The gift now rested in the back of the car as Aurora drove to the office, now extremely late and hoping the men had taken more time to discuss business. At the beginning there had been tension between her Dad and Tommy. Aurora thought there would be more tension now that Tommy had took over but her Dad seemed relieved at the idea and almost happy to see Tommy. The Peaky Blinders were going to be around a lot more now and in Aurora's eyes it was beneficial that both families formed a bond whether they liked each other or not.

Aurora arrived at the office quickly and without any incidents, she of course drove more carefully than these men. She could see her parents house from where she had parked and began to wonder if her Mam was alright. Aurora hadn't seen her since she had stepped into the office and tried to soothe her upset child. Aurora knew her Mam would be still worried so as she got out the car, Aurora made a mental note to go visit once Tommy had headed back home. Perhaps this time she could make a cake without destroying it.
Walking into the office, Aurora saw her Dad and Tommy engaging in light talk over whiskey. The both looked at peace and seemed to be enjoying the company. Aurora felt reluctant to interrupt them but just as she was about to turn to walk to her office, her Dad looked up and smiled. Noticing this Tommy turned his head and stared directly at her, a light smirk gracing his face. Beaming widely, Aurora headed back their way and entered the office.