Dance of Darkness
Chapter 7: Horses
Series: Love Me Where I'm Most Ruined
Warnings: Sexual content and violence.
Word Count: 3,625
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Tommy leaned against a stack of crates, watching the boys work to load and unload the boat docked at Charlie’s yard. He was in a good mood. The kind that not even the hazy air or Charlie’s grumblings could puncture. Behind him, someone jostled a box and Charlie barked at them irritably. Tommy smiled, fighting back a laugh.
“Wipe that smile off your face. I want another pound a boat.”
“Done.”
Charlie’s face cracked with a disbelieving smile. “You don’t even fight me anymore. Jesus. The fuck is wrong with you? Lily put you in a good mood or something?”
Something like that. His eyes trailed lazily over to her mop of auburn hair where she was busy helping with the boat. There was still the remnants of a pleasant, satisfied ache in his muscles from the things she’d done to him the night before. And this morning.
Charlie huffed, shaking his head at whatever he saw in Tommy’s eyes, still complaining.
Tommy straightened as Lily came over, stooping to press a kiss to her temple. She smiled and took his hand, letting him begin to lead her away.
“And all these fucking cars. When did you last ride a horse, Tom?” Charlie shouted after him.
“What’s his problem?” Lily asked, snagging his cigarette from him.
“He’s just bored,” Tommy huffed, though Charlie had a point about the horses. Perhaps this weekend he should take Lily riding. Out to the nice little meadow just outside of town. They could bring booze and sandwiches to make a picnic out of it. Let the horses graze in the field while he fucked her under a tree by the lake.
* * *
She held the telegram tightly between her fingers, the paper crinkling slightly.
“What’s that you’ve got there?” Tommy asked, footsteps thudding across the floorboards. Lily sighed, wishing that she could just toss the damned paper in the fire and forget all about it. Things had started to actually look up, for once. And Tommy was in considerably higher spirits as of late.
They’d stopped by Campbell’s lodgings earlier to inform him of the little joke that the police department had played on him by putting him up in a hostel run by a prostitute. Campbell had gotten all huffy and stormed away, but Lily and Tommy snickered to each other the entire way back to the office.
Petty? Maybe. But hilarious and utterly worth it? Absolutely.
This was going to ruin his whole damn mood.
No use in trying to keep it from him. It was important, and that had never been their way of doing things. They always told each other everything.
Silently, gravely, she held out the telegram to him. He took it from her fingers with furrowed brows.
“The Digbeth Kid is dead,” she reported. “Sabini’s men slit his throat in his cell last night.”
“Fuck,” he lowered the telegram, wiping a hand down his face. Lily nodded. Tommy rested a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“He was just a sweet kid, Tom.”
“I know.”
Her fingers fumbled together. “If you still want to go get that racehorse at the auction, you’re going to need to bring more than me for protection.” She eyed the taunting telegram from Sabini that not only confirmed his involvement with the Digbeth Kid’s death, but contained a rather graphic threat to Tommy as well.
“I’m calling a family meeting now,” he decided. “I need Polly’s permission to spend the money to buy the horse anyway.”
“Okay,” she went to get her coat and followed him outside towards the betting shop.
“I’ll have a fund set up for his family,” Tommy added, hands shoved deep into his pockets.
“Yes, I think that would be good.”
They had to send John to go get Polly, but other than that it was easy to get everyone else gathered in the shop. Lily leaned against the railing in front of the chalkboards next to Tommy, rubbing at her neck while he clasped his hands in front of him.
Polly and John finally came in, and Tommy began to relay the contents of the telegram to everyone. He ordered a few of their men to get themselves arrested so they could track down and take care of whoever it was in Winson Green that killed the Digbeth Kid. Polly agreed to the setting up a fund for the family, then glanced around.
“So, is that it? Can I go now?”
Lily rolled her eyes. Sometimes she wondered why the woman didn’t just pack up her things and leave, considering how consistently she treated her duties to the company like a burden.
Next on the agenda, Tommy launched into negotiating with Polly about buying the race horse. At first she bristled at the suggestion, but Tommy actually seemed to be getting somewhere with his argument–until John spoke up.
“The Epsom Derby, Pol. We’ll be drinking with the bloody king,” he grinned.
“Goddammit, John,” Lily muttered. She dropped into the seat at the same table as Arthur and pressed her face into her hand. This fight could be a long one. Might as well get comfortable.
“The Derby? Did he say the Derby?” Polly’s voice was rising. Tommy shot John a look. This is why so often, she was the only one he told things too. She actually knew when to keep her fucking mouth closed.
As Polly and Tommy went back and forth, Arthur poured himself a drink, then nudged a second one to Lily. She shot him a grateful smile.
“So when is this sale?” Polly tilted her head.
“Tomorrow.”
“Tommy’s had a death threat, so we’ll have to go with him for protection,” Arthur chimed in. Over his shoulder, Lily spotted the door that led into the kitchen opening just a crack, Michael peering in, his expression curious.
“So, you’re going to close up the shop, go out on a piss up, and blow a thousand guineas on a horse that’s not even whole Arab,” Polly summarized.
“It’s a really pretty horse,” Lily mumbled into her whiskey. Michael crept further into the room. When Polly finally caught sight of him, her face fell and voice strained with panic, snarling at John for not locking the door.
“He did. I used the key on the nail,” Michael said. “Look, I’ve been listening. I want to go with them.”
“You see?” Polly screeched. Lily winced at the noise and made a face, honestly not entirely sure what she was supposed to be seeing. Other than Polly attempting to lock her son out of a very prominent part of her life. Not exactly the best strategy, if she wanted to encourage the boy to stick around.
But even as Michael pleaded his case, Lily could see in Polly’s face that it was hopeless. She had already made up her mind.
“Let him come, Polly. We’ll go there, buy a horse, come back,” Arthur urged.
“He’ll be safe,” Lily chimed in.
“I’ll drop him back at the house in Sutton before it gets dark,” John added.
“No,” Polly shook her head. Michael’s face fell. “Fucking no!”
Michael looked up at her with eyes that were more angry than disappointed, spinning on his heel and storming out, slamming the door behind him. Polly snapped her head around to Tommy, glowering at him as if this was all somehow his fault.
“All right, that’s it. Back to work. Come on,” Tommy announced, and the group began to disperse. Polly remained motionless with her arms crossed over her chest. John approached her, saying something to her in a lowered voice. Whatever it was, it made Polly’s face change, arms tightening around herself as she frowned. Lily blinked slowly, watching her before Tommy’s hand on her shoulder drew away her attention. He jerked his head in the direction of the door and she nodded, standing and stretching her arms.
“Tommy,” Polly stopped him before he could walk past her. “You don’t let anything happen to him. You hear me?”
He looked down at Polly carefully. “I won’t.”
She nodded. “All right, then. He can go.”
* * *
“Are we early?” Lily asked after they rolled up in the truck, idling outside of Polly’s house. Tommy pulled out his pocket watch.
“No, right on time.”
“Oh, good. Then I have an excuse to do this, then,” she leaned across John in the driver’s seat and rested her elbow on the horn, letting it blare a few times before Polly came bursting out the front door.
“This is a respectable fucking neighborhood!” she shouted. Lily cackled. John snickered while Tommy grinned around his cigarette. Michael stepped out a moment later, carrying a bag Polly had given him, allowing his mother to kiss and fuss over him before he climbed into the back with the rest of the boys.
The ride to the auction was bumpy and uninteresting. Lily leaned her head against Tommy’s shoulder, curling in closer to his side and allowing herself to doze. They were on a narrow road lined with trees, the air clear of smoke and smelling of damp. The truck suddenly jerked, then made a hissing sound of complaint. John mumbled a curse and pulled off to the side of the road. The front hood of the car was smoking slightly. Tommy gave her a gentle tap until she raised her head from his shoulder, then jumped from his seat to go around and talk to the boys in the back. Yawning and stretching, she followed him. Curly came rushing around to the front of the car to look it over.
Joining Tommy at the back of the truck, she found Michael fumbling with the bag he’d brought with him, pulling out a bundle of cloth that he unfolded to reveal several sandwiches.
Lily let out a disbelieving laugh. In all the years she’d been around, this was probably the most motherly thing Polly had ever done.
“Gimme one of the ham ones,” she requested. Michael handed her one, and she bit into it gratefully, retreating to follow Tommy back to the front of the truck.
“John! Come on!” he called over his shoulder.
“You don’t want one?” Lily asked around a mouthful. Tommy turned, one hand on the handle to the door, and before she could react, bent down and took a sizable bite out of her sandwich. “Oi!” she squawked, pulling away and holding it protectively to her chest. “Oh, you asshole!”
Tommy grinned and opened the door, stepping aside to let her get in first. She climbed in, taking another bite and laughing when he accepted her offer of more.
* * *
Leaning against the railing, Lily looked down into the pit below to watch the horses while the auctioneer made announcements.
“They’re all so pretty,” she said, quiet enough for only Tommy to hear. He sighed.
“If only we could bring them all home with us, eh?”
She smiled over at him. “We’d need a bigger stable.”
“All right, Tommy, this is her,” Charlie whispered after another announcement from the auctioneer.
Lily watched them walk the gray filly out, a stripe of white running along her snout. She was gorgeous.
The auctioneer was calling for bids, but Lily ignored him, letting Tommy handle the actual bidding. Eyes scanning the crowd, they landed on a woman across the way. A rich woman, dressed in fine clothes and carrying herself with all the poshness of someone who knew money and knew it well. Her hair was styled in stiff brown curls, eyes brown and…sad.
She was also one of the people bidding on their horse.
Lily elbowed Tommy to get his attention, nodding at the woman. His brow quirked as he set his gaze on her, clearly just as intrigued as she was. With every nod to the auctioneer, he shot a glance back over to the woman. Lily grinned, keeping her eyes trained on her. When her brown eyes moved from Tommy to fix on Lily, Lily cocked her head, watching her with amusement and interest. The counter bids stopped.
Finally, the auctioneer banged the table. “Sold to mister…?”
“Thomas Shelby,” Tommy announced in a voice that boomed throughout the entire room. He glanced at the woman across the way, nodding as if to say good game, before they headed towards the exit. Lily smiled at her as warmly as she could manage before following him.
“She was pretty,” she whispered into his ear as they descended the stairs. Tommy shot her a knowing look.
“Yes, she was.”
* * *
She was waiting for Tommy just outside the auctioneer’s office when she was startled by a rich, posh accent.
“I’m not used to being outbid.”
Lily looked up to find the woman from the auction staring at her, approaching with the gentle click of heels.
“Sorry,” Lily said with a smile.
“May Carleton,” the woman held out a hand. Lily shook it.
“Lillian Callaghan.”
“Are you Mr. Shelby’s wife?”
She let out a tiny laugh, shaking her head. “No. I’m his assistant.”
“His assistant?” May seemed taken aback.
“We weren’t expecting for anyone else to take such interest in the horse.” She leaned back against the wall.
“I train racehorses,” May explained. Lily grinned.
“Really?”
May nodded.
“All I wanted to do when I was a kid was to work with horses,” she said, wistfully. “You come to these sorts of things often, then?”
“Oh, yes. Sometimes I don’t even bid on anything. I just like to come watch them.”
“Well, if you train racehorses then you should stick around. Talk to Tommy when he’s done with the auctioneer.”
“Have you been working with Mr. Shelby for long?”
“A few years now, yes.”
May nodded, looking thoughtful. The door opened and Tommy walked out, heading towards where the boys were gathered.
“Tommy,” Lily called before he could get very far, “come say hello.”
He turned around and cocked an eyebrow curiously, approaching them.
“You beat us to it,” May said.
“Did I?”
“I was trying to nab a filly for my stud.”
Tommy looked surprised that she knew the lingo regarding horses. Lily shot him a mischievous grin. She liked this girl. He shrugged.
“Sorry.”
“Thomas Shelby from where?”
He hesitated, as he often did whenever anyone asked questions even bordering on personal. Lily shot him a look. Do not blow this for us.
“From Birmingham,” he finally answered.
Lily watched anxiously as May introduced herself, trying to fight the urge to fiddle with her rings.
“I breed racehorses and train them,” May explained as they shook hands. “What is it you do?”
“I rarely answer questions, is what I do.”
Ugh, Tommy. He could be so charming when he wanted to. But May didn’t seem entirely put off. Lily raised an eyebrow. Maybe she had a thing for bad boys.
From a ways away, Arthur and John had grown impatient, heckling them to hurry up. They ignored them. Tommy and May continued discussing the horse. May pulled out a card, holding it out to him. Tommy took it and tucked it into his inner pocket. May didn’t look perturbed by the boys’ shouting. If anything she looked like she was trying not to laugh.
“My father knows Mick Hancock. He trained three Ascot winners.”
“So that was your father?”
Thomas, I swear to God I will kick you, she thought at him, shooting him a look and pouting. Tommy’s eyes danced with amusement when they briefly met hers before snapping back to May. As if he knew that his more standoffish approach to the beautiful woman was making Lily nervous that he would scare her off.
“Yes. We’re joint owners of the stud. He took the majority share when my husband was killed,” May explained.
Oh. Well, shit. Lily looked back at Tommy with wide eyes. Well, she supposed that explained the melancholic aura May carried with her, then.
“Tommy! We got to get back to the caravans!” Arthur suddenly yelled. “The chickens, they’re hungry!”
Lily groaned, dropping her head down. She was going to throw Arthur out of a window the first chance she got. But May just chuckled at the antics.
“So will you consider me?” she asked. Tommy stared at her, then nodded.
“I will consider you.”
Lily had to fight back the urge to do a celebratory fist pump.
“You still didn’t tell me what you do.”
“Oh, I do bad things. But you already know that.” Tommy flashed May a tiny smile before bidding her goodbye. Ah, there was the charmer Lily knew so well.
“It was good to meet you, Mrs. Carleton,” she told her. May smiled.
“You too, Miss. Callaghan.”
She hurried to follow Tommy.
“Right, about bloody time,” Arthur grumbled, he and John continuing to snicker on the way to the exit.
“She seemed nice.” Lily shot Tommy a knowing look that he returned, smile smug.
“Yes, she did.”
Arthur and John were blabbering on behind them.
They entered the pit where the horses were walked out during the auction, the sand covering the floor shifting under the weight of her shoes. The desk where the auctioneer was seated was still there, a man in a gray suit and hat sitting at it. Was there another auction, following the one they’d just been to? It hadn’t seemed like it. Looking up, she spotted two figures on the balcony above.
Hm. She kept an eye on them. Arthur and John were still talking. Tommy pulled out the keys from his pocket and tossed them to Michael.
“Here, Michael, you drive.”
“Thomas Shelby?” the man at the table spoke. A mistake, in hindsight. He should have just fired the gun he held in his hand. Thanks to the verbal warning, Arthur had more than enough time to react.
The would-be assassin’s gun went off, the bullet firing up into the ceiling thanks to Arthur’s intervention. Tommy dove back in surprise. Arthur headbutted the man to the ground.
Lily had her pistol out of her coat in a flash, eyes trained on the men above them. Men pulling guns from their coats. But not fast enough. She fired upwards twice. Each of the men dropped dead. Tommy scooped up one of the assassin’s guns, raising it and joining her in scanning over the balcony above them for any other attackers.
Arthur was still bellowing, each shouted word punctuated with a punch to the first assassin’s face.
“Get him off him!” Tommy shouted, still watching the balcony with her.
Charlie and Curly rushed forward to try to haul Arthur away, struggling. The squelch of blood echoed which every second Arthur was allowed to keep pummeling.
“Go help them. I’ll cover the upstairs,” Lily said, keeping her gun raised and eyes scanning the upper balcony. Tommy rushed over to help with Arthur. He had to put him in a headlock in order to drag him back and off of what was left of the assassin.
Finally, Arthur settled, bloodied knuckles relaxing at his sides while he panted. Tommy let him go, bending over the unconscious, bloody man.
“He’s still breathing.”
“Then he’s lucky.” Lily still did not take her eyes off the upstairs.
“Don’t get blood on the kid!” Tommy barked suddenly, as if he had just realized that Michael was still standing there, staring at the whole scene as it unfolded before him. Tommy ushered him back a few steps, away from Arthur. “Michael, you didn’t see a thing. This didn’t happen. All right?” He held out a hand. “Give me the keys.”
Michael didn’t move.
“Michael, give me the keys.”
The kid took a step forward, his eyes steady. “I’m alright to drive.”
Tommy looked at him, then nodded. “Alright,” he shoved him lightly by one arm, ushering him to the door.
“Right, let’s get out of here, sharpish!” John came barreling back in from where he’d been dealing with the other assassins on the ground floor.
“Lils!”
“I’m right behind you.” She brought up the rear, keeping them covered until they were jogging outside and to the car. She squeezed in between Tommy and Michael in the front seat, holstering her gun and running a hand through her hair, breathing hard. The engine roared, truck pulling out onto the road.
“You alright?” Tommy asked, finger curling under her chin so she was looking at him, checking her over for any injuries.
“Yeah. Are you?”
He nodded. She grasped his hand in hers tightly. In the back, she could hear Arthur groaning softly while John, Curly, and Charlie all tried to bring him back to himself. It was probably for the best that Michael was up in the front with them, rather than back there with a man still half mad with bloodlust.
The hand holding tightly onto Tommy’s squeezed.
* * *
It was fully dark outside by the time they got back to the office. No one else was there. Lizzie had already gone home for the day. Tommy didn’t even bother taking off his hat or coat, going to the chair behind his desk and collapsing into it. Lily poured them both generous glasses of whiskey. She set one down in front of him, balancing the other in her hand and settling in his lap, an arm sliding around his shoulders.
“Today was interesting.”
He huffed. She took a gulp of her drink and set it down.
“May seemed nice.”
“Mhm. She did.”
“Can I see her card?”
Reaching into his pocket, Tommy pulled it out, holding it up in the light for them both to see. Humming, Lily let her head drop more firmly against his neck, both of them eyeing the card with lazy interest.
At the same time, their gazes shifted to the phone on the corner of the desk.
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