rose and thorn

v.

v.
5th May 1922
~

On the mornings that she wasn't working, Rose enjoyed sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other. It was a practice she adopted in her early teens and always found that it set her up for the day.

One Saturday morning, she was just coming to the end of her cup of tea when Ada marched into the room looking rushed and frustrated.

Placing a bookmark on the page she was up to, Rose turned her full attention to the distressed woman pacing around the kitchen.

"I have to go to Birmingham." She stated bluntly.

"Right, okay." Rose began pouring the woman a cup of tea. "Can I ask why?" She was always wary of prying into Ada's life.

"Everything's gone to shit again." Ada sat beside her at the table, one hand rested on her forehead as the other nursed the china cup.

"Do you want to talk abou-"

"It's fucking Tommy." Rose didn't even get to finish her sentence before Ada started rambling. "He had to come down here and start taking sides and now Arthur has ended up in prison. Not to mention he pissed off a copper in Birmingham who's arrested Michael so Aunt Polly's gonna be in bits and it's just a huge mess."

"Sounds it." Rose was unsure what to say. Several questions popped into her head and desperately wanted to be asked but she couldn't. This was the first time Ada had gone into this much detail regarding her family issues. "So what's your plan?"

"I'm going to take Karl and go stay with Polly for a few days. Hopefully they let Michael out soon but she needs someone with her until then." Ada seemed to relax somewhat after her rant and began sipping her tea. "Are you going to be alright on your own? You can come, I'm sure Polly wouldn't mind."

"No, no. Of course I'll be fine, why wouldn't I be?"

"Just being in a big house alone at night."

"I'm a big girl, Ada." Rose smiled at her friend. "I can look after myself."

"Good. Well, my car will be here soon so I'd better go pack." Ada glanced to her watch as she finished up her tea.

Standing up from the table, she leaned over to hug Rose goodbye.

There was an undeniable nervousness in the pit of Rose's stomach. As she learned more and more about Ada and her family, she contemplated whether being involved with them would lead to trouble.

Nevertheless, Rose felt a loyalty to Ada stronger than her apprehension and so she shook off the feelings of doubt and returned to her daily rituals.

~

Tommy's daily rituals were far different from Rose's. His mainly involved smoking, drinking and pissing people off.

Today's victim was Polly. Since Michael had been locked up, their only interactions had been her shouting at him but with two family members in prison, he knew it was best to make amends.

Waltzing into Polly's house without knocking, he was surprised to find more than one Shelby lady in the living room.

"Hello Ada." He stood with his hands firmly in his pockets, looking more as though he were at a business meeting than visiting family.

"Do you not know how to knock anymore?" Polly snapped at him, Ada throwing him a sympathetic glance.

"If I'd knocked you wouldn't have let me in."

"And there's a reason for that."

"Polly." Ada attempted to act as the middle ground between the pair as tensions rose.

"Did you come alone Ada?" Tommy asked, eyes darting around room. "Is Karl with you? Or Rose?"

"Karl, yes. Rose, no." She hid the smirk behind her teacup as he asked about her housemate.

"Who's Rose?" Polly questioned.

"My friend who's living with me." Pol and Ada shared a look that told Polly everything she needed to know.

"So Rosie is in that house alone?" Tommy's voice grew harsher as he questioned his sister's decisions.

"A woman can be capable of looking after herself, Thomas. Besides, you have men watching at all hours anyway." Ada matched Tommy's tone, once again causing tensions to rise.

"I'm aware of that, Ada. Only we now have Sabinini and Solomons after us in London and Campbell has already made it clear that he knows your address." Tommy began pacing, lighting a cigarette as he contemplated whether Rose was in fact in danger or if he was just overreacting.

"But she's not one of us, Tom. She's not our concern." Polly spoke up, confused at why he was so agitated at the thought of a woman being alone.

"I know that but they'll use anyone."

"Thomas." Pol snapped. "Can we please focus on our family before we start worrying about strangers?" She shot back at him, once again becoming infuriated at her nephew.

Remembering the reason he had visited, he did as she asked and over the following twenty minutes they somewhat made amends. However, as he got up to leave, his mind went back to the woman alone in a large house in London.

Shortly after he said his goodbyes, Ada rushed after him. As he reached his car, he spun back around to his sister as she called his name.

"Tommy, promise me you won't do anything."

"What do you mean?"

"Rose doesn't want this life. Please, just leave her alone, don't do anything stupid. She deserves better than us."

"You think I don't know that?" Ada could see genuine hurt in his eyes from her words. He knew all of this but he needed to hear someone else say it.

"Exactly so please just drop whatever plan is in your head and let her live, Tommy. Let her be normal."

A deep sigh escaped Tommy's lips as Ada pleaded with him. She was right, he knew that. But when did Tommy Shelby ever do what was right?

"Goodbye Ada."

"Where are you going?" She called to him desperately as he stepped into the car.

"To return a book." He dismissed her, leaving her stood on the path knowing full well what he was about to go do.