#thegangster'sdaughter

[ithebookhoarder]

Chapter 21: The Point Of No Return (The Gangster’s Daughter)

Description: Life for Tommy Shelby was pretty ordinary; all he ever had to worry about were his family, their business and the Blinders. Nothing more, nothing less. Well, that was until his ‘daughter’, a twelve-year-old girl called Evelyn Westmore, was thrown into his life, dredging up feelings and things from the past he’d done very well to forget.

Also available on AO3:

A/N: Happy belated Christmas - or whatever holiday you may, or may not, have been celebrating this year. Sending all my love to you all and I hope you're having the best time possible. Hopefully this small update will also help bring a smile to your faces. Thank you, as always, for all the love, reblogs etc. They truly are the best gift I could ask for.

Masterlist:

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As predicted, her Grandfather didn’t return to Watery Lane that day. He clearly knew better than to test his luck after the warning he’d already received.

Evie was glad. She didn’t need to talk to him, to know he was trouble. Her father, regardless of the Freddie mess, was an excellent judge of character. If he despised the man then Evie knew she should too. Polly also rarely got so bitter towards people. If she loathed the man then yet again, that was enough for Evie.

Still, it was hard when there was an undeniable hunger inside to know yet another of her mysterious relatives. He was family after all and she’d grown up thinking she had none other than her mother. To think of her tree expanding so greatly was… well… exciting if not terrifying. Yet, her talk with her father in the yard had settled things well enough to quell such interest for now.

Whereas, on the other hand, the whole affair had only served to ignite both Arthur and Finn’s interest. Hence, why Evie was sitting in the kitchen, eyeing the door impatiently.

Finn was late. He was supposed to join her at six, like normal, after dinner for their lesson. He had confessed recently to struggling when it came to reading and writing, so Evie had volunteered her assistance to help encourage him along. Up until now, it had been working rather well. She actually enjoyed spending time with him and watching as he managed to read a page aloud with no mistakes.

Yet, he hadn’t shown tonight. Not for dinner and not for his lesson either. Several hours on, Evie was mad more than she was worried. After all, she had a suspicion where he’d gone.

So, she waited. And waited. And waited. Until, finally the door opened, and in strolled Finn and Arthur, swaying and smelling to high heaven.

“Where have you been?”

“Boxing!” Finn grinned excitedly, explaining their state of dress. Evie would have gasped at such a sight, especially as she noticed Arthur’s bloodied face and knuckles. “We went with Dad. He and Arthur had a match!”

Normally, Evie wouldn’t have said anything given it wasn’t her place. Arthur was a grown man and if he wanted his father to beat him to a pulp then so be it. However, there was more afoot here. That, and the stench of alcohol wafting off of her younger uncle made her nose crease.

“What the hell, Arthur?” she warned. “Finn’s a child!”

“He’s a Shelby,” he countered gruffly, staggering about. “What’s wrong with a boy having a drink with his old man?”

“Where do I even start?”

“How about you don’t.” Arthur chuckled to himself, although Finn had the sense to look sheepish. He knew Evie was beyond furious at Arthur and he wasn’t about to offer himself up for the slaughter. In many ways, Evie had become like Aunt Pol, sharing responsibility for the youngest Shelby’s welfare. And like Aunt Pol, she could become fierce when she needed to be.

“Evie, I-”

“Save it, Finn,” Evie snapped, barely even looking him in the eye. She could feel the pain it caused him to be ignored in favour of Arthur. “You missed our lesson, and yet you’ll moan about feeling slow or falling behind… It’s fine. I see. You don’t care about anything other than being a Blinder.”

“But-”

“I don’t care.”

Arthur did, however. “Hey!” he warned. “Watch it.”

“No, you watch it, Arthur,” Evie roared, rounding on him and standing to the fullest her height had to offer. She actually startled him, making him trip backwards into the table as he tried to retreat. Any other night, Evie would have savoured the historic moment but her rage was too strong to halt her tirade. “I get it. I really do. Your absentee father comes walking into town and you want to spend time with him. Fine. You can fall for his bullshit but don’t drag Finn with you as, the way I hear it, that man hasn’t been much of a father to anyone. You can’t trust him.”

“Says you?”

“No, says everyone. Everyone but you, Arthur.”

Evie had had time to think that afternoon. It made sense now. After all, Arthur was the eldest of the Shelby siblings. He had had the closest to a relationship with his father out of all of them, before he’d walked out on them all. He had the most memories. He’d spent the most time with the man. Was it any wonder he held onto the little boy he had been?

His devotion seemed to blind him in a way Evie hadn’t thought possible before now. After all, no one could control him except for Tommy on a good day. It was painful to witness in many ways and Evie wished she could do something to spare him it.

He may have been reckless. He may have been violent and a gangster and every bit a true Shelby. But he was still a child in some ways. He had a soft heart beneath his tough skin, a heart he tried to protect, no matter the cost.

If only he could see the heart break Evie sensed was coming. She didn’t have to get Polly to read her tea leaves to know that.

“Finn. Bed,” she ordered, taking no excuses as she pushed him up the stairs. She didn’t let Arthur’s comments bother her as he cursed her for meddling, for mothering. Well, someone had to and with her father occupied with whatever was happening and Polly fussing over Ada, it fell to Evie.

“You’re just saying that! You don’t know the first thing about my father! Your own blood father didn’t acknowledge you existed until you were twelve! It was only the law that made him take you in the first place otherwise he would have left you to rot in some orphanage-“

Evie wiped the tears off her cheeks as she ignored Arthur’s drunken rage. She simply pushed Finn into his room and bid him a goodnight. She then ran to hers, bolting the door and burying herself under the covers, blocking out the sound of drunken destruction downstairs and the rage she knew Arthur was directing at her instead of his father… her grandfather…

Tommy had been right.

The man was a walking time bomb who left devastation in his wake.

If only being right felt better.

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Things had been tense since the argument but Evie was used to it. When were things ever not tense in this household? As fas as she was concerned, she’d chalked that night up to an emotional response fuelled by panic and whiskey.

Don’t get her wrong, part of her was still mad at Arthur for his comments, but she wasn’t about to rat him out for them. He was hurting and had been since his father had strolled back into town. He was also different to his brothers; he processed his feelings differently - often in destructive and violent means, but Evie knew it wasn’t personal.

If anything, she pitied him and the blind faith he had in the man who had clearly left his mark on his son. Even now, he looked like a lapdog, running out of the house like hell was after him, most likely going to meet his father.

Evie wanted to say something, but didn’t get the chance. Instead, she was shocked to hear him yelling as he went.

“Arthur?”

“That bastard,” he swore as he passed her, leaping into the car. “That fucking manipulative traitorous bastard.”

She had a feeling he wasn’t talking about her father, although for a second she thought it possible. She’d heard him called worse. But that wouldn’t explain Arthur’s deepest rage. Rage her father couldn’t have provoked alone.

No, this was bigger than him… and older.

Arthur Shelby Senior.

Whatever had happened, it wasn’t good. However, she wasn’t in the mood to bolt after him and demand answers. Arthur would be back soon enough and with him, an explanation.

So, she carried on walking and hurried back inside the house. She then began to put away the items she’d gathered from the market that morning and waited, pouring out a cup of tea and joining Polly, who was reading by the fire.

They often sat like this, with neither one of them saying anything. They simply respected the rare silence and one another’s company, and today was no different - even if Evie suspected they had a shared purpose. Still, they were only waiting an hour before he re-appeared; almost instantly, Evie could see the change within him.

Arthur was by no means a proud man, yet he’d always carried himself with dignity and confidence, standing tall as he swaggered his way about Birmingham. He knew who he was and what the cap upon his head symbolised to anyone who saw it. As such, he rarely had a reason to look down or scurry from one place to the next as if he was hiding.

Yet, as he shuffled in the door, hands in pockets, head bowed, shoulders hunched, Evie hardly recognised him. It was as if a physical weight had taken root on his shoulders, one only added to by his return home. In fact, Polly hadn’t even waited for the door to close before she started in on him about the fact he’d taken money - £200 to be exact - for his father’s business schemes…

It was news to Evie; up until this point, she’d thought Arthur Shelby Senior’s influence had been merely emotional, rather than monetary. “Shit.”

Shit was right, especially as Arthur confirmed what she’d suspected: Arthur Shelby Senior had just left town, money in tow, with no promise of return any time in the near future.

“How dare you do something like that without talking to Thomas or me!”

Polly’s tone was like ice. Ice that froze the man to the core as he stood there and took it. It was a whole two minutes before he finally spoke. “Does Tommy know?”

“No, but you’re gonna tell him.” With that, she resumed reading, taking the paper and leaving the parlour.

The door slammed.

“I’m sorry, Arthur,” Evie whispered.

She was almost afraid to speak, unsure how he would react. Thankfully, he simply remained seated, simply listening.  

Evie calmly drifted towards the sideboard and retrieved what she knew he needed most right then. Between his father and Polly, he’d had enough battering for one day. There was only so much a person could take, especially Arthur.

She let him take the glass of whiskey and down it before pouring another, slipping her hand into his as she resumed her seat at the table.

“I’m sorry,” he croaked, barely glancing up from the table. The shame was a visible weight on his shoulders. “What I said the other night… I shouldn’t have-”

“It’s forgotten,” Evie sighed. “I won’t tell Dad or the others. You lashed out - and you shouldn’t have - but it wasn’t personal. I know that.”

“But still, what I said was unforgivable.”

“Arthur. Family is our strength and our weakness. You and I… we’d do anything for our family. So, you don’t have to say anything.”

So he didn’t. Instead, he squeezed her hand tight, taking the comfort she offered as he bit back his tears and his rage. Evie only wished she could have gone with him that morning, to punch the asshole herself if nothing else.

They had enough enemies in the world without finding ones in their own home; enemies that were quickly surrounding them, even if the Shelbys didn’t know it yet.

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It was mere days later that it happened. The vultures that had been circling decided to make their move. One clean sweep in the hope of finishing them off.

Of course, Evie wasn’t aware of that. Not as she calmly helped Esme right the shop, now that it was closed for the day. Polly and the other workers had long since left, leaving a few final tasks to be done before they could call it a night. So, she’d helped count the final takings, watching as Esme locked them in the vault before making her way out into the night.

“See you tomorrow,” she cheered after her.

She then turned back, tucking the last chair back in to its rightful place before bolting the shop door tightly.

There. All done. Now, she could go up to bed and finish the last pages of her book with a good cup of tea, the best way to end a long day like this one.

It was with this goal in mind Evie made her way towards the kitchen, ready to put the kettle on to boil. However, she’d hardly made it one step before the kitchen door flung open, her father hurrying in, coat tails billowing behind him.

He was out of breath.

“Dad? What-?”

“The guns,” he choked, cutting her off. “They’re gone.”

Silence. Evie stared at him as he bent over, hands on knees, trying to regain some composure despite the bomb he’d just dropped.

“What?”

“The guns,” he repeated. “Campbell found them. They’re gone.”

“H…how?” Evie stammered, trying to make it all make sense. It was if her brain and her heart refused to co-operate, struggling to process the shock of it all.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“No, I don’t,” her father snapped bitterly, straightening up and looking directly at her. Evie felt frozen to the spot. She didn’t know whether to hug him, hit him, or simply run in the other direction as fast as she possibly could.

This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all.

“When I went to check on them, the grave was empty. They were gone and we all know only he could have taken them.”

“So, now what do we do?”

“We, do nothing,” he corrected, pointing at her. “I’m the one who needs to fix this. You and others need to get the hell away from here.”

Had he seriously just said that? Had he seriously suggested that they run and leave him to it? Was he mad? There wasn’t a single force on earth that would make Evie comply to such a stupid demand. Not when there was still time. Not when they were more than family; they were a team and they had defended one another through thick and thin time and time again. Why did this have to be so different?

“Well, fuck that plan,” Evie growled. “Is there no other way to end this? Please. Before someone else suffers.”

“It isn’t that simple,” Tommy sighed, reaching into his pocket to light a cigarette. It was always a good sign he was stressed or thinking. Most of the time, both at once. “Too much has happened between Campbell and this family. This is personal.”

“Then don’t make it personal! Make it simple!” Evie begged, snatching the unlit cigarette from his lips and tossing it to the ground. She stomped down on it, grinding it into the floor with her heel. His eyes widened instantly at her brazen action. “Don’t do this.”

“But I have to,” Tommy snapped. “This is who I am. This is what I have to do, to end this.”

Was it though? How could he be so certain of that? It was was if he’d already written the story in his head, casting everyone into their roles, assigning their parts, regardless if they’d agreed or not.

“Is that why Mum left?” Evie choked, almost afraid to finally say the words aloud. The words she’d been wilfully suppressing. “Because she realised who you are? What you think you are anyway, as I know you Dad and there’s more to you than this. You’re more than the criminal Campbell paints you as.”

“You sound bloody certain of that,” he mumbled.

“Because I am.”

“Well, you’re wrong,” Tommy continued, turning to face her properly. “If you want to finally know the truth, then here it is, eh? Your mother left because she saw me. She saw me, John, Arthur and our father fight some men. Men who had been trying to poach our business, our turf. She watched as we cut them and threw them in the river. That’s why she ran, Evie. Because she realised what a monster I am inside. She told you I was dead as she thought that was better than having me around as your father.”

It now made perfect sense.

All these years… all her wondering… she’d suspected something similar, having witnessed what she had. But, she’d always had hope. A lingering doubt that it was something so severe, that her mother had simply been young and panicked. That, it had just been an honest mix up and that she could have one day changed her mind.

After all, with every good deed or loving word she’d heard, she’d cared less and less about her mother’s leaving, about her lying. She was happy and content to savour what was, not what could have been. It was a problem for another day, another time, when her father finally deemed her old enough for the exact story.

But now that it was here, and she’d heard it aloud, Evie wanted nothing more than to unhear it.

“You’re not a monster,” Evie repeated firmly once more, even if her trembling hands proved otherwise. She wasn’t sure how to feel right now, even if she meant that. He wasn’t a monster. He just wasn’t. She’d seen too much good in Tommy Shelby and the others to think differently. True, to hear such a cold, brutal fact confirmed made the hairs on her neck stand. But it didn’t change who he was. How she felt about him. All that they’d been through together. “I’ve seen multiple sides to you, Dad and I’m still here. I still love you and so does the rest of the family.”

“Well, maybe they shouldn’t.”

“Shouldn’t what?”

“Love me,” he warned. “It would be safer. Clearly your mother thought so.”

But she hadn’t. That had been the problem. She’d loved Tommy more than she could say, she just had to let him go for Evie’s sake. Or, so she’d thought. Who knew how it would have ended had she stayed, but one thing was for sure, Rebecca Westmore had never stopped loving Tommy. She’d wished for Evie to love him too, so much so she’d told her stories even before this began… She’d even stated so in her letter, all those years ago.

Evie wasn’t about to just ignore the wishes of her dead mother, whether her father liked it or not.

“That’s not true-”

“Look, now isn’t the time for this,” he pleaded, cupping her cheeks as he tried to make her understand. “They’ll be coming tonight.”

“Who? Campbell?”

“Yes. Now he has the guns, my advantage is gone.” Tommy had seldom sounded scared in his life. The panic and alarm in his voice that night would haunt Evie for some time to come. The grip he had on her alone made her heart race as she thought he would collapse if she didn’t hold him up. “We need to scatter, ok? Lie low, until the morning. It’s safer for you not to be with me, not when I’m the one Campbell wants.”

“I can go to Lara’s,” she rambled, quick to reassure him, “and Finn’s already at John’s… but what about you?”

Tommy smiled briefly in a hasty attempt to comfort her. “I’ll be fine, eh? Just be careful. I love you.”

With one last kiss to her head, he was gone.

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Evie ran faster and harder than she ever had before.  

She ran, jumping over loose cobbles and debris as she manoeuvred out of the back of the house. She then tore her way through the alleyways, and back streets of Small Heath.

She didn’t dare use the main street or routes, not when she knew the police were more than likely watching them. Instead, she’d chosen her route carefully, making her way instead through the brick labyrinth she called home.

Her lungs began to burn with the exertion and she stopped just long enough to catch her breath and listen for any footsteps nearby.

The faint whinny of a horse sounded to her left, followed by voices.  

Evie took that as her cue to hide. Ducking into the darkened alleyway, she pulled up the collar of her coat, grateful for her jet black hair. Between the darkness of night and the dark colour of her clothes, she blended in with the shadows and she knew there was very little chance the passing coppers would see her. Not unless they came right at her, torches lit.

To her relief, the voices passed, as did the footsteps. “This way,” one of the two men ordered, ushering his colleague along.

She sighed in relief and started to move again.

Evie didn’t exactly know where she was headed, but she had a pretty good idea. All she needed was to take them on a merry dance first, to make the coppers on her trail lose any possible trace of her or where she could be going. After all, their home, the yard, The Garrison and her friends were more than likely to be their first points of call. It would take them a while to give up waiting. Luckily, Evie was good at being patient.

So, she darted in and out of the shadows, over walls and under fences. It was working well enough for her to relax ever so slightly, which was probably her first mistake. Otherwise, she may have heard the footsteps approaching sooner.

Even if they were keeping their distance, she knew she was being followed. There was no other way to describe it; the hairs on her neck stood tall and proud as a shiver ran down her spine.

“Fuck.”

After a moment she heard shouts coming from the street ahead of her, forcing her to stop; she went to turn back to face the way she'd come, but remembered immediately she couldn’t go that way.

She was trapped.

The realisation hit her like a tonne of bricks, causing panic to flood her brain; Someone else was in the alley with her. She could just make out the form of a man as he entered, his figure vanishing in and out of the darkness with every step towards her. The light glistened off of his police badge, pinned

Shit, shit, shit.

What had Arthur always told her? And Esme? And John? It was one thing to square up against a school yard bully, but as the other day had proven, there were bigger wolves in these woods who ate people like her for breakfast.

Evie took a breath, trying to stop her hand from shaking as she went to grab the pistol in her pocket. She then lifted it up, finger poised on the trigger, before aiming it at her assailant. To her amazement, he didn’t falter.

“Stop right there!” she called, pleading internally he would do as she wanted. That way, he could turn around and they could both walk out of this place without a drop of blood being spilt. “I’ll shoot! I mean it!”

But did she? Every second that passed, he strolled ever closer… and Evie had yet to fire.

What the hell? It didn’t make any sense. It was if, faced with the actual prospect of shooting another human being, her body suddenly became paralysed.

That was all the window the copper needed; he pounced.

He knew what he was doing as his hand grasped at her wrist, throwing her arm in the air and the pistol away from him. By then, it was too late to use it. Instead, it was wrenched from her grasp, sent skidding down the cobbles as they began to wrestle for control.

“Got you now, you Shelby bitch,” he snarled, his breath hitting her cheek. His face was so close to hers, she swore she could see the rage glistening in his grey eyes.

“What do you want?”

The man didn’t answer, twisting and shoving her off balance. Evie yelped as her foot twisted on a cobble, sending her staggering backward.

The brick wall was hard against her back, scraping her as she slammed against it. All the air vanished from her lungs as she tried to recover from the impact. “Get off me!”

The fear began to rise. Evie had never felt anything close to it before, the way the world seemed to dissolve into a haze, a whirring noise ringing in her ears.

Then she breathed.

She focused.

As she’d been shown, she stomped on his foot. Hard. She then used his flash of pain to drive her knee up between his legs, before smashing his face into her knee. He cried out instantly, agony ripping through him from his now crushed groin and broken nose.

Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.

Had she really just done that? Assaulted a police officer?

Evie would have liked to linger a moment to celebrate her first success with said manoeuvres, but knew better than to risk it. Instead, she pushed him aside.

She smirked through her adrenaline fuelled haze and bolted away, reclaiming her pistol as she left the copper groaning in the street.

Thankfully, he was the only obstacle that night; Evie was able to finish her journey as she rounded the corner of the street ahead and hurried to her destination.

Her fist knocked against the door loudly, not caring who it awoke.

Fortunately, the person she was looking for answered.

“What time you call this?” Lara groaned, still dressed in her nightgown as she ripped open the door and glared at her friend. Normally, one of them had the decency to call ahead with a warning if either girl needed to sneak in late and spend the night. Typically, it was Lara sleeping at Evie’s - a fact the family had become oddly used to, as Lara would hurry down early morning, grinning and waving as she ran home before her father could catch her.

However, the roles were reversed tonight and for far less amusing reasons.

“I need to stay,” Evie gasped, still struggling to catch her breath. “The coppers… they… they’re coming to raid the house.”

“Again?”

Evie nodded.

“Quickly then, come on in,” Lara urged, hauling her friend inside and bolting the door behind her. “You Shelbys. And they have the cheek to call me ‘troublesome’.”

Evie laughed. It was hard not to as the irony hit her, along with the residual relief, panic and adrenaline that had been fuelling her ever since her father had returned with the warning.

It was going to be a long night for everyone.

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[ithebookhoarder]

Chapter 18: Take a shot (The Gangster’s Daughter)

Description: Life for Tommy Shelby was pretty ordinary; all he ever had to worry about were his family, their business and the Blinders. Nothing more, nothing less. Well, that was until his ‘daughter’, a twelve-year-old girl called Evelyn Westmore, was thrown into his life, dredging up feelings and things from the past he’d done very well to forget.

Also available on AO3:

Series masterlist:

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For all their encouragement of Evie’s academic pursuits, it was ironic how often her family got in the way of them. Watery Lane wasn’t an ideal environment for homework or reading or anything other than Blinders business. Evie had learned that long ago. She’d also learned where else to hide out if she actually wanted to get anything academically inclined done.

From the Garrison, to Lara’s, to the Yard - she’d used them all. Which was why it was always such a rare treat when the others went out and left Evie in peace. Peace to spread her books over the kitchen table or quietly sip her tea as she muddled her way through the work sheets.

Whilst they’d been at the races, Evie had been able to take full advantage of it. In fact, she’d almost finished an entire essay that had been driving her mad all week. Who on earth thought writing 5000 words on Britain’s continued relationship with the commonwealth was a decent idea?

Her teachers called it educational. She called it torture.

Still, for all her groaning, Evie had done her best and was finally able to start editing her way through the entire thing without one of the Shelby gang distracting her. Or, knowing John, knocking whiskey all over it.

She still cringed at the reminder of having to hand that assignment in, stinking of whiskey and with the ink running down the page. Her teacher at the time, Mr Renolds, had not been best pleased. And after the lecture she’d received as a result, neither had Evie.

At least this assignment was safe from drowning.

However, it needed a few final touches, which was why she decided to leave the following morning. She took her books, her essay and headed over to Polly’s, next door. It was always available to her when she needed somewhere to escape to, so knew she wouldn’t mind. Not when Polly was more than familiar with the strain of being around the Shelby men.

Her home was always quieter, with none of the customers of Blinders about to disturb. Evie knew there was some sort of meeting scheduled after the races yesterday, and didn’t fancy being in the shop when it happened. So, she’d made her camp at Polly’s and got to studying.

A few hours later, and Evie was done. She nodded proudly to herself, neatly tucking the pages together and slotting them into her bag ready for school the next day. That officially qualified her for a break; The rest of her books weren’t going anywhere and there would be time to finish later, after she’d had a snack - ideally a slice of the large chocolate cake Polly had left in a tin in the bottom cupboard.

She turned, wandering over to said cupboard and opened the door. However, it wasn’t cake she found waiting for her.

“Finn?” she blinked, staring at her youngest uncle as he grinned up at her. How he’d got himself into the cupboard was a mystery, let alone how he’d managed to stay in there so long without her noticing, or getting cramp. She thought he’d gone outside to play with Isiah or was back next door, upstairs in his room. “What are you doing here? And why are you in there?”

“Hiding,” he whispered, trying to pull the cupboard door shut only for Evie to open it again.

“From who?”

“Arthur.”

Then Evie understood. The little boy had been at something of odds with Arthur after he apparently lost his football during a game only a week or so ago.

She stepped back and dropped onto her chair. “You didn’t.”

Finn gulped, looking almighty guilty. “I may have swapped the sugar for salt when he was making tea this morning…”

“Oh, Finn,” Evie scoffed, trying not to laugh at the fear in the boy’s eyes. “You idiot. He’ll know it was you. You’re the only one who’s been swearing revenge against him.”

“I know. I wanted to do what you suggested and dye his cap yellow but I got scared,” he explained helplessly. “Will you help me escape before he comes back and kills me?”

“Finn, I’m trying to study - which you should be doing. Besides, he’s busy with Dad. He won’t be back home for hours yet.”

“Come onnnn,” he whined, crawling out of the cupboard and tugging on her arm. He always had a way of wrapping her around his little finger. He had done since the day she met him. One look from his big baby eyes and she was gone. It made trying to make him finish school work or do chores a nightmare. “He can’t kill us both, and if I’m not there when he gets back he can’t kill me either.”

Was this what having a little brother felt like?

“Fine,” she relented, rolling her eyes. “I was planning on walking over to Lara’s anyway. You can come with me?”

“Thank you! Thank you, Evie. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Evie silenced him by clapping a hand over his mouth and laughing. She then steered him towards the door and into the street before he could drive her mad.

Even young, the Shelby boys were a handful. A loving handful, but a handful none the less.

She wouldn’t change them for the world.

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She’d spoken too soon.

Evie had forgotten that, despite being only a child, Finn was every bit a Shelby. He attracted trouble like bees to honey. Today was one of those days, the pair of them walking as planned down the street and past the river towards Lara’s.

They’d only been out of the house for five minutes and that was all the time it had taken for him to find trouble.

True, the dock workers had started it, heckling them as they passed with a cry of, “Look at the legs on that one boys! A right looker.”

“Yeah! Give us a smile love!”

Evie had rolled her eyes and thought nothing of it. Frankly, it was irritating but nothing she wasn’t used to as a young woman in Small Heath. They were only words and words couldn’t hurt anyone unless you chose to let them.

Finn, however, had never been taught such a lesson. A fact he demonstrated instantly, rounding on the men and puffing out his chest. Out of nowhere, he decided to square off to them, glaring and pointing his pen knife, curtesy of Arthur.

“The fuck did you say to her?”

“Finn!” Evie snapped, eyes widening at his language. “This is what I get for leaving you with Arthur.”

“They need to apologise! You’re a Shelby! They can’t talk to you like that.” Finn protested angrily, ignoring Evie’s attempts to drag him away.

At least the men had heard the conversation as well as who they were messing with. To their credit, they hastily spluttered apologies and scrabbled back to work. The fear was crystal clear… and kind of intoxicating to Evie as she laughed, escorting Finn back to the road ahead.

“You’re insane,” she scoffed, ruffling his hair. “First picking fights with Arthur and now those workers? Finn Shelby. What will the others say? Polly would have you scrubbing pans for a month.”

“She’d have to catch me first!”

“Finn!” Evie cried, rolling her eyes as he disappeared around the opposite corner, as if trying to prove his speed and elusive nature.

Typical Shelby.

There was no stopping him when he had his mind set on something. That thing, in this instance, was exploring the normally bustling garage ahead. It was one of the many places they had been banned from visiting, as per their family’s instructions - and by that, she meant her father, who thought a working garage too dangerous for them to visit.  

She laughed, watching as Finn ran ahead and around the odd cars inside. He looked on with awe and excitement. It was like witnessing a child in a sweet shop.

No workers made to protest or stop them as Evie hurried after Finn. They probably knew better, choosing to carry on with their work outside the main doors.

That was why Finn chose his moment to bravely clamber up the side of one of the cars, perching smugly behind the wheel.

Evie almost had a heart attack as she realised which one he’d chosen.

“Get out of Dad’s car. He’ll kill you and then me for letting you!”

“I’m already in trouble,” Finn shrugged, settling into the driver’s seat and laying his hands on the wheel. “What does it matter? Look. I’m Tommy Shelby. Broom broom.”

“You’ll never live long enough to become like Tommy if you don’t focus on your school work and stop pissing the others off,” Evie sniggered. It was hard to be mad when he always looked so damned cute and innocent. All he had to do was flash his eyes at her and she was putty.

“Come on. Get in!”

“No way.”

“Come on, Evie. We’re going on an adventure!”

Evie chuckled. “Oh? Where to?”

“India, Peru - whenever you want. Even the moon!”

The moon, eh? Now that sounded like an adventure and a half. “And you think you can drive us all the way up to the moon?” Evie grinned, playing along as she hurried around to the passenger seat beside him. She had only just reached out to grab the door handle when she was stopped.

“EVIE!”

She froze.

“Dad?” she gasped, staring at him in surprise. What on earth was he doing here? What happened to the meeting? And why did he look like he’d seen a ghost? “I’m sorry. Finn ran in and I didn’t think you’d mind that we were just-”

“Evie,” her father interrupted sharply, holding his hands up in warning. “Step away from the car. Slowly. Now.”

“Why?”

“Do it!”

Evie shuddered but did as she was told, her eyes locking with Finn’s. He looked even more confused than she did.

“Finn?” her father continued, slowly approaching the car. “Stay exactly where you are.”

Finn smirked. “I was pretending I was you.”

“Which door did you open to get in, Finn?”

“I didn’t. I climbed in through the window,” he confessed sheepishly, looking between them both. “What’s going on? I didn’t break anything. I promise. I just wanted to sit in it.”

“I know. You’re not in trouble.”

Finn grinned. Apparently that was all he wanted to hear.

“I need you to get out, though. Can you do that for me? Through the window, exactly the same way you got in.”

That was when it started to make sense to Evie. Her heart began to race as she watched the hesitant nature with which her father was handling the situation. He was scared and now she had a pretty good idea why.

Oh god.

Something was wrong with the car. Something dangerous and more than likely related to whatever had happened either at the races or as a result of his war with the Lees. Evie couldn’t be sure which was responsible but she didn’t care. Not when Finn was still inside said car, oblivious to whatever threat it posed to him.

Finn grinned.

Evie gasped.

“No, no Finn!”

Her father was too slow to stop him as Finn giggled, opening the door and jumping out. He could only watch as the door swung open, a wire pulling with it and dropping something heavy to the floor. Something metal.

Her father lunged. “CLEAR!” he bellowed, grabbing the object and hurling it out into the street.

Evie didn’t need to see it to know what it was. What had been so close to them. What had almost killed them.

She flinched, startled as her father dragged both her and Finn away. They dropped to the floor, covering their heads as her father tried to shield them with his body.

A large explosion filled the air.

Evie cried out in panic. She held deathly tight to both her father and Finn as it tore through the air with an almighty bang. She didn’t dare let go until she felt them begin to move, the danger passed.

Her ears rang. Her world was tilting as she looked up from the concrete, debris raining down on the street. She couldn’t even stand, she was shaking so badly with fear. Instead, she sat up, watching as her father gripped Finn’s tear stained face in his hands.

“That is why you should never pretend to be me. Ok?”

Finn nodded, his lip wobbling before throwing his arms around his big brother.

Tommy held him back, turning and looking down at Evie as he did. His expression said it all. That had been too close.

----------

Nobody had said a word. Not since they’d left the garage. They’d simply walked back home together, hand in hand, visibly shaken.

Evie didn’t know what to say. She was still trying to process what had just happened. What had almost happened, all because she’d let Finn out of her sight… oh god. She’d almost got him killed. Him and her father. Fuck.

“Evie? Did you hear what I said?”

Her father stopped walking, turning to face her expectantly. It was then Evie realised he must have just said something.

“What?”

“Did you hear what I said?” he repeated, waiting for her acknowledgement.

“That… that the Lees did this?” she stammered, watching as he nodded solemnly.

“Yes, so be careful,” he warned, pushing open the front door and letting them walk inside. “Watch yourself. It’s a bit of a mess. They were pretty fucking thorough with their raid.”

Well, that was an understatement.  

Raided?

Again?

Evie couldn’t bear to look at it. Not when her mind flashed back to the last time she’d seen the place so damaged.

Her breathing stopped and her eyes widened. She froze, her hand resting on the wall as she fought to keep her legs from buckling beneath her. Had Finn not pressed into her side, still shaken from earlier, she probably would have.

“What the bloody hell happened here?”

The crunch of glass under foot was all that was heard as everyone took it all in.

“The Lees,” Scudboat explained, hissing as he pressed a cloth to his bleeding head. Clearly, he’d earned such a wound from trying to defend their home. Well, he and Evie now matched in that regard. “All of them. Cousins, nephews, even their bastards.”

Polly huffed, staring straight at Thomas as he entered the room. “They’ve taken everything they could get their hands on, Tommy. What are we going to do?”

“I’m going to handle this.”

“How?” Polly demanded sharply, as if knowing the emptiness behind his threat. “We had the coppers and now the Lees. Fucking hell, Tommy.”

Evie gulped. She wanted to say something, to do something other than just stand there like a useless statue, watching everything unfolding around her. But she couldn’t. She couldn’t even open her mouth to stop her father as stormed past her and into the street.

“Let him go,” Polly warned, knowing exactly what Evie had been thinking. They both knew wherever he was headed, danger would be sure to follow. “Let him go… we’ve had enough trouble for one day.”  

-----------

Sleep had been near impossible. Then again, a home invasion and near death experience tended to rattle a person, even a Shelby like herself. Evie no longer had Ada to crawl into bed with when things got too tough, as had been their routine.

Part of her didn’t want to feel scared. She hated the fact no one else appeared as scarred by the experiences. Even Finn had bounced back remarkably quickly, as if nothing had happened. Who knew if it was his youthful naivety or false optimism? Whatever it was, she wished he’d share his secret.

In the mean time, her own method consisted of now carrying a gun in the pocket of her coat. She’d managed to convince Charley to give her one, when she’d been down at the yard the next morning. She knew no one else in the family would even entertain the idea, but Charley had always been more practical. More cold and realistic about the perils of the world and the people in it.

As soon as he’d handed her the small pistol, showing her how to load, unload and fire it, Evie had felt better. Safer. Stronger. It was comforting, even now to feel the cold steel against her fingertips. To know she wasn’t defenceless.

However, it was not comforting enough to allow her to sleep more than an hour or so at a time. Still, she did her best, tossing and turning in the sheets as she tried to silence her agitated mind. She even rose early, choosing to hurry through her chores before school as a way of relieving the pent up tension inside. If only putting herself right was as easy as it was to tidy the last remnants of the Lees visit.

If only she could unpack and organise her family and their thoughts as easily as she could the books, papers and ruined furniture. Maybe then she could understand the darkened look in her father’s eyes as he passed by her that morning.

She hated the fact that, since watching her father walk out into the night, it was as if the air had thickened between them all over again. It didn’t take a genius to know something had changed. That things were afoot. Things even Evie couldn’t begin to guess at.

“All sorted?” she’d asked softly, as if afraid to tempt him.

He’d simply huffed and poured a glass of whiskey from the abandoned bottle on Arthur’s desk, even though it wasn’t even opening time yet. She took that to mean no.

Evie didn’t dare push her luck any further, so turned and hurried off to school. After all, her problems would still be waiting for her when she got back.

-------

One such problem, was Billy Kimber. After all, if it wasn’t one it was always another person trying to cause trouble. First Campbell, then the Less and now him.

Evie wanted to smash her head into the wall. When did it ever stop? Would it ever stop? Or was this how things were to be from now on? A never ending stream of chaos and trouble and conflict.

Such thoughts made her feel sick.

Even if her family promised her otherwise, she knew they were just as scared as she was. They were even more tense than normal, with shorter tempers and no idea how they were going to get through this.

Well, almost all of them.

“I have a plan,” her father had stated calmly, as if that was the answer to all of their prayers. He’d called the family together for another meeting, deciding to inform them that there was a way out of this mess. “I’ve invited Kimber to visit us.”

“What? Here?” Arthur had cried, slamming his hand on the table in outrage. “No, Tom! No way. We don’t need that asshole coming around here and causing more shit for us to shovel.”

“There won’t be any shit or any shovelling.”

“Says you?” Polly had griped, disapproval oozing out of every pore.

“Yes. Me,” Tommy had snapped back, sighing and lighting another cigarette from his pocket. He took a slow drag to calm himself before he continued explaining.

Fast forward two days, and they were now here: running around the shop floor, handling customers on one of their busy race days, and waiting for the devil himself to arrive.

Evie hated it.

She hated every part of this plan, no matter the possible benefits it would offer them. They had no idea what the cost would be or even if he would offer what her father wanted.

Still, what else could she do but play her part and let the scheme unfold? It was that, or wait next door. Either way, this would still be happening with or without her there to assist. If they were to dance with the devil, then she was going to learn her part. There was no way she’d leave her family to face this alone.

So, she tidied the loose strands of hair off of her face and looked back down at the books in front of her. She let Arthur continue yelling odds and takings in her ear as she scribbled them down as fast as she could. She’d wisely taken a seat between him and Polly, ensuring she was comfortably surrounded and protected.

Her position also meant she didn’t have to watch as her father escorted Kimber himself inside.

“This way gentleman,” her father stated, hurrying Kimber and his man past and towards his office. She could hear their voices disappear with them as they discussed the specifics of the business. From their tone, she could guess it was all positive things so far.

Who knew how long that would last?

Evie hated Kimber. In fact, she’d hated the man ever since she’d first laid eyes on him years ago. The man resembled a pug, with his scrunched up face and whiney voice. How a man like that had as much fear and respect as he did was beyond her. Sure, he had money. Sure, he knew how to make people give him what he wanted. But he was a coward.  

A coward, who had used said money and influence to manipulate the officials he had in his pocket, forcing them to accommodate his whims. After all, how else had he avoided being drafted to the front lines when so many others had perished?

The man was a coward. That was the truth. A coward who hid behind his large bodyguards and loud facade. If her father wanted to overthrow him, to release her family from his control and remove the threat he posed, then she was all for it… As long as it didn’t get them all killed in the process.

Still, five minutes passed and no gunshots had sounded. In fact, Kimber and his accomplice marched out of her father’s office, looking almost content as they made their way back to their car parked outside.

Evie began to feel the first hint of hope flicker inside her. A flicker that erupted into a flame as her father emerged moments later, a piece of paper in his hands.  

“Gentleman,” he began, standing at the front of the shop. His voice didn’t even need to raise to earn their attention. Every single person in there was silent immediately. Well, almost everyone. Polly was quick to cough as a clear signal he’d forgotten someone. “And ladies, apologies Pol and Evie.”

Both women smirked and stood together in the corner, watching. “Forgiven.”

“I have in my hand a legal betting license, issued by the Board of control.”

The anticipation could have been cut with a knife.

“The Shelby family has its first legal racetrack pitch!”

The cheer was immediate, everyone erupting into euphoric chaos. Polly was jumping for joy, John and Arthur rushing to their brother’s side to look at the license for themselves.

Evie just grinned.

It was as if a weight had lifted. Legitimate gambling? A legal pitch? It was too good to be true, regardless of the few slightly less legal elements of their work. They deserved a good moment given everything that had happened.

Arthur was quick to agree. “Break out the good stuff lads!” he ordered. “We’re celebrating.”

The entire room erupted into yet another cheer. It was how, several hours later, they’d now ended up here: A house full of drunkards, drinking, singing and gambling on games of dice. Someone had even broken out the gramophone and started playing their way through the few records that accompanied it.

Just like the music, excitement lingered in the air, visible on each person’s face as they celebrated the company’s biggest victory to date. It never took much to encourage this lot to find a reason to celebrate, but tonight was different.

There was something electric about the excitement. As if the realisation of what they’d achieved, of how close they were to achieving everything they’d ever wanted, had hit them like lightening bolts.

“Next round!” a shout rang.

Evie sniggered, accepting the refilled shot glass and tossing it back.

“Seven!” John boomed, mimicking his niece and slamming his own glass down on the table victoriously. “Go on, Evie. Give in. You know you want to. I bet you ain’t even seeing straight anymore.”

“And surrender to you? Never!” Evie sounded far more composed than she actually felt. After all, he was right. The world had started spinning two glasses of whiskey ago but she wasn’t about to let him know that. Not when he had just challenged her to a competition - a competition she normally would have declined in a heartbeat. It took the liver of an ox to even come close to keeping up with a Shelby. Yet, somehow, that sensible part of her had disappeared that night. She had disappeared in a puff of smoke after hearing Tommy’s announcement.

In her place, relief and optimism had flooded through her, as if believing her father’s promises whole heartedly. That, and an insatiable competitiveness that came naturally to a Shelby.

All it had taken was one glib comment from John about the Shelby men’s new found glory for Evie to bite.

“What about the Shelby women?” she’d heckled, earning a scoff from her uncle. “This is as much our victory as yours. We’re the ones keeping you lot from doing idiotic things, letting your big heads and egos ruin what we’ve got here.”

“Oh? Is that right?”

“It is!”

John rolled his eyes, earning laughter from the men beside him as they watched the scene unfolding. Had it been Polly saying such things, he wouldn’t have dared been so cocky and they knew it. However, he appeared to underestimate his niece’s stubborn nature - and her sobriety.

“Come off it, Evie. We’re out there doing the hard work. We’re the ones putting their necks on the chopping block so you lot can stay here, doing yoyr knitting or whatever, living in the luxury we pay for. It takes balls to be a Blinder.”

“Really?” Evie grinned smugly. “Because, from what I’ve heard from Lizzie Stark, your bride to be, I’m surprised you’re a Blinder at all then.”

“Oi!”

John couldn’t have looked more indignant if he tried. However, Evie couldn’t help but laugh. She hadn’t even realised Polly had drifted toward them until she heard her laughter behind her. She looked as if she was enjoying every moment. If anything, she looked prepared to join in.

She’d trained her well.

“You cheeky little-”

“What, John?” Polly teased, crossing her arms over her chest. Her eyebrow rose in a clear challenge. “What were you gonna say?”

He at least had the sense to bite his lip and look mildly sheepish as he failed to meet his aunt’s eye. “Nothing.”

“I thought so.”

They’d barely even turned before John issued one last challenge. “You think you're so tough, ey?” he heckled. “You wouldn’t last one day as a Blinder.”

Evie paused.

She turned.

She smiled deviously.

And that was how they’d ended up here. Seven shots in with no sign of either competitor giving in anytime soon, giving the room a hell of a show.

At least they’d now learned what type of drunk she was. A confident one, much to Tommy’s surprise and chagrin. He’d almost have preferred her to be a weepy one, or a happy one, as annoying as they were. They were far less dangerous. Who knew what kind of trouble she’d get herself into if this was how she behaved when it was just them?

Then again, he’d found the entire afternoon too much fun to care about lecturing anyone. Victories were to be celebrated and today was definitely a victory. A big one at that.

So, he’d let them have their fun. It was only as it grew late and Evie somehow ended up on the floor, that he decided to call it a night.

“Ok. I think someone’s had enough,” he mumbled, offering his daughter a hand. “Show’s over. You gave it a good go, but we have a winner.”

“Nuh uh,” Evie whined, giggling as she batted his hand away. “I have him… I can win.”

“Oh, really?”

“You can’t even stand up,” John sniggered, grinning drunkenly down at her. Evie simply poked her tongue out in reply.

“Maybe, but at least I’ve almost finished school, John Shelby.”

“I left.”

“Not what Ada told me,” Evie sang, grinning deviously as her father tried to defuse the rising tension. He did not need a repeat of the wars that had occurred before between the pair of them. If he had to risk getting caught up in tirade of pranks, he was going to have a heart attack. He still had nightmares about the time he’d used John’s brill cream and almost lost all of his hair as a result. “She said they kicked you out for calling your teacher a dumb cu-”

“And that’s my cue to put you to bed,” Tommy interrupted hastily, reaching down and hauling his daughter upright. He’d be having a separate conversation with John tomorrow about allowing his niece to get so inebriated, as well as where she’d learned that word. “Come on. Party’s over.”

“But Dad-”

“Nope.”

“This isn’t over, John Shelby!” Evie warned, wriggling in her father’s grip to look back over his shoulder and point at her uncle. He at least had the decency to look almost nervous she meant it. “You and me… we’ll settle this … tomorrow!”

Tommy rolled his eyes. “You’ve officially spent too much time around the others.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she sniggered, swaying dangerously in his arms as he began to guide her towards the stairs. “You’re so tall.”

“Thanks.”

“No, you are,” Evie giggled. “Has anyone ever told you that? And… and your eyes… are sooooo blue.”

“Right.”

“They are! All four of them.”

Tommy laughed, taking that as the universal sign his daughter needed to lie down. Seeing double was never good. He only prayed she would pass out, rather than suffer the alternative. Just because he loved her didn’t mean he wanted to spend the night holding her hair back.

“You need sleep and some water.”

Evie giggled. “Yes, Sir. I mean, Dad.”

Tommy rolled her eyes as she caught her foot on the steps, knocking her off balance. It was then he stopped, allowing her to clamber on his back instead with a groan of, “Come on then.”

Apparently a piggy back was the only sure way he could get her to bed and make sure she didn’t break her neck or a limb in the process. Fatherhood was sometimes a burden and a joy. Especially when his daughter was now fully grown and no longer small and weightless.

This had once been much easier to do.

Now, Tommy had to concentrate on making it to her room without dropping Evie or tripping himself.

“You… you are amazing sometimes,” Evie mumbled, her voice loud as she spoke almost directly into his ear. “You did it… you actually did it.”

“Only sometimes, eh?”

“Well, most of the time.”

“That’s not exactly better,” Tommy scoffed. He was grateful the door was open to his daughter’s bedroom as he marched them inside. “I will drop you, madame.”

Evie screamed with laughter, clinging tightly to him as he released his hold and began to tip backwards threateningly. “Stop! I didn’t mean it, don’t drop me! You’re amazing. The most amazing, amazingest man ever.”

“Amazingest isn’t a word.”

“Is too!”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I just made it up,” Evie sniggered. She was finally released back to her unsteady feet as her father lowered her down properly. “Thank you… but I meant it, Dad. I am proud of you.”

“Thanks.”

“And for the record, I could have taken John.”

Tommy rolled his eyes. “Fucking hell. You’re lucky I stopped you two when I did, ok? I do not need a repeat of the time I had to stop you jumping in the Cut just because he dared you to.”

“But it was truth or dare,” she whined drunkenly, as if that should have been obvious. What was she supposed to do? Bow out? Yes, it had been winter, and yes it would have been cold enough to give her pneumonia but she’d have done it anyway.

“Yes, well, I’m daring you to go to sleep.”

“That’s not a dare.”

“Isn’t it?” Tommy challenged, raising an eyebrow as he peeled back her covers and pushed her down to sit on the mattress. “Now, I’m going to go get you some water. When I get back, I want you in bed, got it?”

Evie simply grinned, saluting him. “Sir, yes, sir.”

With that, Tommy rolled his eyes and went to fetch said water. Lord knew she was going to need it if she wanted a modicum of coherency the next morning, given the amount of whiskey she’d consumed. Then again, that was why he wasn’t surprised, upon returning to her room, to see her passed out, sprawled on the bed and snoring softly.

It seemed the night had finally caught up with her.

“Sweet dreams, bane of my existence,” he chuckled, kissing her brow and pulling the covers up around her. He then left the water on her night stand and closed the door behind him. “Lord have mercy on you tomorrow.”

#thegangster'sdaughter #thesilentmage #ithebookhoarder #masterlist #Tommy Shelby #Peaky Blinders #PeakyBlinders #peaky blinder #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinder imagine #the peaky blinders #peaky blinders x reader #finn shelby #john shelby #arthur shelby #polly gray #ada shelby

[ithebookhoarder]

Chapter 17: Brides, Baby's Breath, and Business (The Gangster’s Daughter)

Description: Life for Tommy Shelby was pretty ordinary; all he ever had to worry about were his family, their business and the Blinders. Nothing more, nothing less. Well, that was until his ‘daughter’, a twelve-year-old girl called Evelyn Westmore, was thrown into his life, dredging up feelings and things from the past he’d done very well to forget.

Also available on AO3:

Warnings: Original Character(s), Canon-Typical Violence, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Explicit Language, Gangsters, Period Typical Attitudes, Parent Tommy Shelby, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent.

Masterlist:

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Evie would have had to have been blind not to notice the way her family lingered around her like a moth to a flame.

The following weeks saw someone remaining home with Evie at all times, or at least being close by. Whether it was because they were worried about yet another threat on the family or just to make her feel less vulnerable, she wasn’t sure.

There were certainly enough reasons for every member of the Shelby gang to have been busy - after all, the world and their current chaos didn’t take time off - but Thomas Shelby had his priorities sorted out and Evie was at the top of his list. No matter what anyone told him, he wanted to make sure she was well and safe enough, before removing his attention back to the streets beyond.

One thing that had changed during that time seemed to be for the better was Evie’s relationship with her father. The wounds had mended slightly since Ada’s departure - despite Evie’s regret at being unable to say goodbye. How she was going to survive without her aunt in the house was a mystery to her. Of course, she wanted Ada to be happy.

It just didn’t make saying goodbye any easier.

The only solace she’d had came in the form of a letter from Ada. It had arrived a day or so after her departure, with a time and location stamped on it along with the instruction to come alone wearing something nice. So, she’d done just that.

It was the next morning that she awoke and slid out of the house into the misty streets. If anyone noticed her out and about alone they didn’t stop her or say anything. They probably knew better than to challenge a Shelby. This was their territory after all.

It was only as she turned the corner and stepped out of Shelby land that she felt her heart racing, the thrill and nerves coursing through her in equal waves. She was disobeying her father - not for the first time and probably not for the last either. However, it wasn’t as if she was going to miss this. Her aunt’s wedding.

The fact she had been instructed to come to a church had given that detail away; she doubted Ada had suddenly found religion and was joining a convent. Ada’s silk white dress only made it clearer as Evie caught sight of her and Freddie, waiting by the entrance up ahead.

“Evie! You came,” Ada beamed, rushing to embrace the girl tightly.

“Of course I did… you look incredible. I’m so happy for you.” And she was. She really was considering everything Ada had been through to get to this moment. She deserved some happiness, even if Tommy didn’t agree. Maybe if he could have seen her then, a vision of bridal bliss, he might have reconsidered his behaviour. “But what am I doing here?”

“We need a witness,” Freddie explained, nodding at her in greeting. He wasn’t a man of many words unless he was speaking about his cause. Still, he’d always been courteous to Evie, knowing how much she meant to Ada. “I’ve got mine, my friend Samuel. He’s inside.”

“And you’re mine,” Ada said.

“W… why not ask Polly?”

“I’d have asked Pol but Tommy would have noticed if she’d come. Besides, you’re like the sister I never had. It felt right you be here.”

“I’m honoured.”

“You should be. Here.” Ada slid one of the bundles of Baby’s Breath from her modest bouquet and passed it to Evie. “For my Maid of Honour.”

Evie didn’t care if her presence was supposed to be another insult to her father. She was too happy to care. She suspected Freddie could see that as he took the flower from her and winked, slipping it into Evie’s hair instead. “There, perfect.”

It really was. It was no big white wedding full of pomp and ceremony. Instead, as they made their way inside the church, Evie could see the beauty in the simplicity of it all. The floral wreaths located around the place from previous ceremonies, the light pouring in from the stain glass window casting the whole place in a kaleidoscope of colour.

Would this be how her wedding was one day? Well, that was if she ever got married. Who knew what life held for her or if her father would have the poor guy murdered first. Still, if she found someone special enough, she hoped the day would be like this, with love at the centre.

----------------

As soon as the ceremony had ended, they’d gone. They simply disappeared off into the horizon, leaving Evie to watch and wave as she tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her gut. The feeling that hadn’t left in the days since.

However, she wasn’t the only one finding it hard in her aunt’s absence. It was as if the whole of Watery Lane felt her loss. The usually chaotic atmosphere would sour immediately at any reference to her. Even finding one of her earrings in the kitchen had been enough to make Arthur burst out into a rage that had lasted the rest of the day.          

Neither Evie or Polly dared say a word about the part they’d played in Ada’s decision and subsequent disappearance. It was their secret and theirs alone, shared in their sly glances or odd nods between them. It had been late one night, that the two of them had discussed it in Polly’s parlour over tea.

It was agreed that Polly would be the one to deliver food to the newly weds and check up on them. Evie contented herself by agreeing to pass along letters and receive reports from her aunt, rather than risk seeing them in person. If more one of them visited them it would more than likely lead to word getting back to the Shelby brothers about their younger sister’s hiding place.

Who knew what they’d do then. Probably kill Freddie as they’d promised all those weeks ago when this had first been discovered.

Thankfully, they were otherwise occupied at the moment, what with their upcoming plans. They were too busy with the shop to worry about hunting Ada down right there and then. They’d been bought a window of time, but a small one. Then again, Tommy’s current preoccupation could have something to do with the amount of time he’d been spending at the Garrison lately and whatever it was that lured him there - or who it was, Evie should say. Part of her had a suspicion based off of the reports Arthur and John had given about the new member of staff there. They could hardly shut up about her and her shiny blonde hair.

Evie had only seen her once or twice the past few weeks. She’d seemed nice enough. Grace? Wasn’t it?

Then again, she wasn’t sure how to feel at the possibility the rumour was true. Her father had never really shown interest in women, not around her anyway. If he had had affairs or possible dates then he’d done a stellar job at concealing any trace or mention of them to Evie. For that, she’d always been grateful. It was only Arthur who seemed unable to keep quiet about his conquests, boasting about whichever beauty he’d seduced recently. However, Polly and Tommy had always been quick to shut him up with a look or threat.

It wasn’t like he wasn’t human, or so Evie reminded herself as she considered the possibility her father was interested in Grace. Was that why the others had mentioned it? To warn Evie? Or was it merely a joke, a passing fancy they wanted to torture him over?

Either way, Evie had become intrigued. It took someone special for her father to notice, even briefly.

Such were her thoughts as she walked in to the Garrison that afternoon. It was the last stop of the day, Evie having been around most of the local businesses. She often ran donations to people nearby, especially when John or the others on duty were feeling too lazy. She liked to help and the chance to see the smile on people’s faces as they saw the donation. It was a feeling like no other. It was probably the only part of her father’s business she didn’t hate these days. At least some good could still come from whatever mess he was dragging them in to.

“Miss Shelby. Can I help you?”

Evie looked up at the sound of her name. She knew instantly who had spoken. Her Irish accent was clear and strong, echoing across the quiet room from her perch behind the bar.

“This is for Harry,” Evie smiled, handing over the envelope she’d been given. She hadn’t needed to open it to know it had money inside, their usual contribution as Arthur called it. “My father said to drop it in. It’s for the window repairs.”

“I’ll give it to him right away,” Grace nodded, her eyes sparkling in the sunlight as she smiled at the girl. “It’s Evelyn, right?”

“Evie. That’s what everyone else calls me.”

“Evie, then,” she said, slipping the envelope in her apron before turning back to the bar she’d been in the process of wiping down. “Can I interest you in a drink?”

“Just a water, thanks. It’s not even the middle of the afternoon.”

“Tell that to them.” She gestured at the only other customers in the place, slumped over their tables and empty glasses. It made Evie smirk.

Arthur had said she was funny. Witty, even, handing out jibes and banter as easily as it was thrown at her by drunken patrons. It was part of the reason the Shelby men had warmed to her so much.

They respected her.

“Here,” Grace offered, hastily filling a glass with water and placing it on the bar in front of her. Evie took it with a smile in return, hopping up on to the stool. She’d earned a small break. “How have you been?”

“Pardon?”

“I meant how has the family been?” Grace clarified. She reached under the bar, continuing to tend to her duties as she wiped at the glasses waiting there. Apparently she didn’t mind company to distract her whilst she worked. Then again, Evie doubted that it was often she had female company around to talk to. “I haven’t seen all that much of them since the other day.”

Evie shrugged. “Same old Shelbys. I love them to pieces but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to tear them to pieces now and then.”

“Family can be like that,” Grace chuckled.

What did she know of family? To the best of her knowledge, Evie didn’t believe Grace had family here with her. She actually knew very little about the woman or where she’d come from. The little gossip she had she had thanks to Arthur, Polly and John. Needless to say, they weren’t the most reliable of sources.

“I feel bad I haven’t spoken to you much before,” Evie continued, “according to Dad you’ve been a real help.”

“I’m just happy to have such a good job. Mr Shelby - Tommy,” she added hastily, smiling as she did so, “he’s been rather kind to me.”

That warmed Evie’s heart. She didn’t doubt it. For all his bravado, her father had a tender heart underneath it all. She was living proof of that. She’d seen it time and time again. He must have seen something in Grace worth trusting, worth helping.

“Do you have any family here? Or in Ireland?”

“No,” Grace answered softly. For a moment, Evie swore she saw the woman’s smile flicker. “I don’t. I lost my mother when I was small and my father passed recently.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

Evie sighed, staring down at the glass in her hands. “I know how that feels. It doesn’t matter how long ago someone’s passing is, it can still hurt like a bitch. I lost my mother when I was younger.”

“So I hear.”

Evie paused, raising an eyebrow in a signal to continue.

“Your father’s mentioned her once or twice,” Grace continued by way of an explanation. It was as if she could suddenly sense the defensiveness flooding through her at so personal a topic. It was probably why she was so gentle with her next words. “She sounded like a wonderful person. She must have been to create someone as wonderful as you. Your father’s proud as punch whenever anyone even mentions you. Says you’re gonna change the world one day.”

Evie laughed, relief flooding through her. “It’s nice to hear he thinks so. You wouldn’t know it the way he loses his temper whenever I forget to do the dishes or wind him up by staying out late.”

“But that’s your job as his daughter,” Grace grinned, leaning close as if sharing some sordid secret. “We give our father’s grey hairs until they’re old enough to grow their own. Gives them a purpose. Men like to feel needed.”

“Amen to that.”

The two of them laughed, sharing a grin at their own joke. Evie had to give it to her. She could see why her father was enamoured. Grace had a way of putting people at ease. Everything about her was inviting and comforting, like talking to an older sister or even mother. No wonder she was such a hit with the drunks in the bar too. A sympathetic ear was sometimes more valuable than the booze they sold, according to Polly anyway.

Still, the moment of unexpected joy was rather severely shattered as the doors to the Garrison slammed open. Both Evie and Grace turned, a startled cry of surprise on their lips but they were cut off by their newest guest before either had the chance to voice them.

“Have you seen Freddie Thorne?”

Of all the people Evie had expected to come through the doors, Ada had not been it. She felt like she could have been knocked down by a single breath as she stared at her aunt with wide eyes.

What the hell was she doing here?

“Ada?”

“No, I’m sorry,” Grace stammered, regaining some composure as she answered the question. Still, her eyes were glued to the distressed, heavily pregnant woman stood shaking before them. She looked as shocked as Evie. “I haven’t seen a Freddie Thorne.”

“Or Tommy?”

“You need to sit down,” Evie begged, leaping off her stool and hurrying to her side. She took her hands, trying to get her aunt to stop moving and join them for a moment so that she could explain what had her so worked up. Why else had she come all the way here, alone, during the day? She wouldn’t have risked it if it wasn’t urgent. “Please.”

She sounded so scared. “I have to find Freddie.”

Thankfully, Grace seemed to be on the same page as Evie. There was something tender in the way she eyed Ada’s swollen stomach and tried to calm her. She passed her a glass of water and gestured to the stool beside Evie’s. “Drink this first.”

“No. I have to find them. I think they’re going to kill each other.”

“Wait, who is going to kill who?”

Ada opened her mouth to respond but promptly clamped it shut. Her hand flew to her lips as she swayed a little. “I feel… I’m going to be sick.”

“Here,” Grace pleaded, jumping into action. She was swift to redirect the women into the private booth and close the doors behind them. Ada looked grateful to be sat, even if she still looked horrifically green around the edges. “I’ll fetch a bucket.”

“Thank you,” Evie nodded, trying to keep her nerves under control. It was easier said than done, especially as Ada began to weep. Her head dropped into her hands.

“I… I can’t… they’ll tear each other to pieces.”

“Who? Dad and Freddie?” Evie asked. Panic was quick to flood through her. “They won’t. They’re not that stupid.”

“They’re men. Of course they’re stupid! They all think with their pricks and not their heads!”

She had a point. Evie couldn’t exactly argue, despite her gut churning.

Something was wrong. Very wrong. She didn’t need to ask Ada for any more information to know she needed to leave. She needed to find one, if not both men, and stop them from doing something insanely rash and foolish.

She’d thought her father had promised to try and accept Ada and Freddie… unless - did he know about their wedding? Shit. That would explain his sudden rage and possible murder threat towards Freddie.

Evie was already out of her seat as the door re-opened and Grace appeared, bearing a bucket and water, as promised.

Ada could sense what she was thinking as she grasped at her hand, holding on tightly.

“Don’t go, please.”

It felt like someone had stabbed Evie in the heart as she heard her aunt plead with her. It took every ounce of her restraint not to give in and cradle the shaken woman. Instead, she locked eyes with Grace in a silent conversation. “Look after her,” Evie ordered, watching as Grace agreed. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Promise.”

She squeezed her aunt’s hand once more, buttoning up her coat and hurrying out into the streets. She didn’t stop running, knowing he could only be in one of a few places. She knew that man better than she knew herself.

It was why she ran down the street, passing by the river, the yard, the docks and finally the back of the loading bays by the garages. She didn’t know where else to look, but thankfully her destination was her final one.

Evie had only just rounded the corner as she noticed Freddie running away, off into the distance, leaving her father stood, watching by the river’s edge. Her eyes landed immediately on the gun in his grip and gulped.

Maybe Ada’s suspicions hadn’t been too far off after all, even if it appeared to have ended peacefully.

“Dad!” she bellowed.

He looked like he’d been shocked as he whipped around to face her, thankfully taking his eyes off of Freddie’s retreating form. It was clear he hadn’t expected to see her here.

“Evie?”

Evie bolted towards him. Her heart was in her mouth as the adrenaline that had been pumping through her began to wane. “Are you ok?”

He nodded, pulling her close as he noticed her trembling. He didn’t even ask how she knew what had almost happened, choosing instead to wrap her in his arms. After all, he had his suspicions.

“Ssh. I’m ok… It’s going to be ok.”

If only either of them could believe that.

--------------------

It was a while later that Evie returned to the Garrison.

After walking back, arm in arm, Evie had told her father she needed to get a book she’d left behind on her rounds in all the chaos. Of course, she really wanted to check on Ada, who she prayed was still inside with Grace.

If anyone was able to convince her to stay a while and listen to Tommy, it would be Grace. She was a tough woman beneath her delicate smile and soft eyes. Evie knew that much. She had to be to survive night after night in the Garrison with the rough crowd of Small Heath.

However, Evie had hardly made it through the door when her eyes clapped on the now empty seat Ada had been in last she checked.

“Shit.”

She turned, hurrying to the bar just as Grace emerged from the store room behind.

“Where is she?”

“Gone,” Grace sighed, sympathy lining her expression as she hauled the crate in her hand up onto the bar. The bottles inside jangled together, the amber liquid inside sloshing up against the glass. “I’m sorry. She left almost as soon as you did. She said she didn’t want to push her luck by being here too long.”

“I bet she didn’t. It’s not your fault. No one can keep a Shelby any place they don’t want to be,” Evie sighed, trying to contain her disappointment. Her grip tightened on the bar until her knuckles were white. Part of her felt like taking the bottles and hurling them into the wall. Maybe then she’d feel better. At least she’d sent her father on ahead of her back home. “Thank you, anyway, for your help earlier.”

“Anytime,” Grace smiled, wiping her hands on her apron. “I liked her.”

“Good. I think she liked you too, else she’d have told you to piss off.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you Shelbys.”

“Too right.” Evie smirked with her, before straightening up and hardening her expression. There was something far more serious about her as she spoke again. “But I meant it, Grace. If there’s anything I can do to thank you, let me know. We women need to stick together around here. There’s too many men and not enough brains between them.”

If she didn’t know better, she’d have said Grace looked touched by such a statement. She also looked a little guilty for some reason, as if she didn’t think herself worthy of such an offer. Either way, she now had it. She’d come through for the Blinders multiple times and now they had her back too. Evie would see to it personally.

“Thank you,” Grace stammered, dropping her gaze back to the task at hand and the watch on her wrist. “Now, shouldn’t you be getting back? I doubt your father will be pleased if he finds you here. The pub’s about to get busy and rowdy now that the factories have shut for the day.”

Evie nodded. By now the finishing whistle would have blown across the city, marking another day as done. It wouldn’t be long before people found their way here to unwind after a hard day’s work.

“You’re right,” she sighed, stepping back towards the door. “I should escape whilst I still can. Have a good night, Grace.”

“You too,” she echoed with a hasty wave. “Get home safe.”

She didn’t have to tell her twice.

--------------

For the last day or so, Evie had been ignoring the rising headache she felt brewing in her head. If truth be told, she knew it was probably due to the stress of everything that had been happening lately. That, or it was simply a weak summer cold - or so Polly had suggested, handing the girl some herbal remedy that smelt awful.

Evie had groaned, pinching her nose and downing it in its entirety. She knew better than to challenge her aunt when it came to Gypsy culture; Aunt Pol took great pride in her knowledge. That, and Evie knew appeasing her family was the best option. All she had to do was smile and nod and they’d leave her to it, scattering off for the day on their big mission over at Cheltnam. After all, they hadn’t stopped going on about it all week.

Her father and Arthur had been up till god knew when last night, hashing out the final details in the kitchen over whiskey. Honestly, she couldn’t wait until this was all over. She couldn’t wait for the anxiety to disappear from its semi permanent home in the pit of her stomach.

What if it went wrong? What if someone got hurt? What if Billy Kimber knew her father was out to betray him?

Evie banished the thoughts hastily, choosing to focus instead on finishing the breakfast she had on the stove. “Don’t think, just do,” she reminded herself, her mother’s cure for stress echoing in her mind. It was hard to be nervous if you didn’t have time to think about what was making you nervous. Therefore, her entire day was filled with idle plans to ensure she didn’t have time to worry about her family.

She’d just finished serving breakfast out on the table when the door opened and the first of the Shelbys appeared. Finn was quick to run towards the spread, jumping into his seat as he helped himself to whatever he could grab. Arthur was quick behind him.

“Morning,” Evie grinned.

“Morning,” they both echoed back, although Arthur actually took the chance to squeeze her shoulder before helping himself to the food. Finn was too occupied with filling his stomach whilst he had the chance, to give her any attention. “What time you leaving?”

“In the next half hour or so,” Arthur grunted, swiping a large piece of bacon on to his plate. “Gotta get there early so we can line the troops up.”

The mere mention of it made Evie’s stomach lurch once again as she hastily returned to brewing a pot of tea. For the next few minutes that was all she did, boiling the kettle and pouring it out into the fine mugs she had lined up.

“Here,” she offered, placing one down in front of her uncle.

“Ta.”

“And for you, John,” Evie grinned, one step ahead of her uncle as he appeared in the doorway, newspaper in one hand, his cap in the other. She’d already put it next to his place before he’d even sat down.

“Thanks,” he chuckled, joining the others as they scoffed their way through the lot. Evie had to actually plate a portion for her father and keep it aside if she wanted him to have any. He was taking his time this morning, apparently. Otherwise, he was normally the first down. “What are your plans for the day?”

Evie smiled. “Oh, I don’t know. Finish some homework, read a book, and generally enjoy you lot not being here driving me mad.”

“You won’t miss us, eh?"

“With a house to myself?” Evie teased, “hell no. It sounds like utter bliss.”

Arthur laughed loudly, swiping a final piece of toast as he stood and reached for his coat. “Just mind you look after yourselves and we’ll see you tonight,” he warned, winking once before hurrying out the door.

“Old fuss pot,” John scoffed, ruffling Finn’s hair - much to his annoyance. “As if there’s anything to worry about."

“Hey!”

“What?”

Finn poked his tongue out, making John laugh even harder than before as he wrestled him into a headlock before finally letting him go.

“Just do whatever Evie says, yeah? She’s in charge,” John warned, winking at Evie.

Evie tried not to roll her eyes. Honestly. No matter how old they were, the Shelbys still acted like a bunch of toddlers. That didn’t mean she worried about them any less whenever they left the house and went out into the world. If anything, she knew she was cursed to be worried about those boys until the day she died.

Now she knew how her father felt.

“Morning.”

Speaking of, that was the moment her father finally chose to appear, hurrying through the doorway. The sight of him in one of his finer suits was enough to make Evie falter as she turned and took him in fully.

Seeing him so neat and presentable was odd - not that he didn’t usually look smart. But there was something unusual that day that made even Evie stop as she tried to work out what it was.

Was it something he’d done to his hair, maybe?

“Wow,” she managed dumbly. “You clean up nicely, Mr Shelby.”

He smirked, brushing aside the compliment as he normally did. Things like that made him embarrassed, or so the slight red tinge to his ears suggested. “Thank you.”

“Tea?”

Her father nodded. “We won’t be back till this afternoon, so just mind yourselves. Polly’s down the road if you need her.”

“Not you too.”

“What?”

“Arthur already gave them the ‘behave yourself’ speech,” John grinned mockingly. “Finn and Evie ain’t babies anymore, Tom. They’ll be fine without us for a few hours.”

Tommy’s blank stare at his brother suggested he didn’t quite believe him. After all, he knew what Finn was like. He even knew what Evie could be like, on the odd occasion. They were Shelbys. He was worried for them even when they were in his sight. “Hm.”

Evie rolled her eyes but wisely chose not to argue. Even Finn followed her lead, smiling to himself as he ate.

“What time you meeting Grace, Tom?”

Tommy gulped the remainder of his tea before answering John. “In a minute.”

It was now Evie’s turn to look suspicious. “Grace is coming?”

“I’m paying her to come along, yes. She’s coming as a distraction for Kimber,” Tommy explained, ignoring John’s laughter from behind. The grin on his face was enough to peak Evie’s interest.

He was taking Grace with him? For business? He trusted her that much?

She’d apparently missed more than she’d realised. “Is it a date?”

Her father shook her head hastily, even if there was something about his expression that told Evie otherwise. “No. Only business.”

“Yeah,” John scoffed, even if he lifted up his paper to hide it. “Getting all up in her business, alright.”

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing, Tom,” John smirked, hastily getting to his feet. “I said nothing.”

“Too right. Keep it that way, eh?” He shoved his brother a little harder than necessary, urging him towards the door. “Now get gone. Arthur’s waiting on you.”

John didn’t need to be told twice. “Aye, aye, Captain,” he grinned, saluting him once before hurrying out the door to find where the others had assembled.

Tommy was only a moment behind him until Evie reached for his hand, making him pause.

“Dad… are you sure this is a good idea?”

His face softened immediately. It was as if he knew what tension existed inside her as he cupped her cheeks and kissed her forehead, as was his usual gesture of affection. “It’s gonna be alright.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Here,” Evie cooed, gently straightening his collar and brushing any strays pieces of dust off of his jacket. “Perfect.”

“Thanks.”

“Have fun on your ‘not-date’.”

Tommy merely waved once more at her, choosing not to rise to her taunt and leapt into the car, disappearing down the lane and into the smog beyond. It was only after she closed the door that Evie realised he’d been holding up his middle finger.

She smirked.

“Asshole.”

#thesilentmage #thegangster'sdaughter #Peaky Blinders #peaky blinder #PeakyBlinders #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinder imagine #masterlist #Tommy Shelby #Ada Shelby #polly gray #Arthur Shelby #John Shelby

[ithebookhoarder]

Chapter 16: A Woman’s World (The Gangster’s Daughter)

Description: Life for Tommy Shelby was pretty ordinary; all he ever had to worry about were his family, their business and the Blinders. Nothing more, nothing less. Well, that was until his ‘daughter’, a twelve-year-old girl called Evelyn Westmore, was thrown into his life, dredging up feelings and things from the past he’d done very well to forget.

A/N: Soooo I know it’s been a hot minute since I last posted an update for this series on here. I apologise. It’s been hectic lately and I’ve been posting to AO3 and not here like an idiot. Hopefully, this makes up for it as I’m going to try and stick to a posting schedule again! Thanks to all of you for the love and support you’ve shown me, my blog, and this story. It truly means the world. 

Also available on AO3:

Warnings: Original Character(s), Canon-Typical Violence, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Explicit Language, Gangsters, Period Typical Attitudes, Parent Tommy Shelby, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent.

Masterlist:

--------

The next morning went like any other in Watery Lane. It was as if the night before had never even happened, despite the smouldering remains outside in the street.

Life went on and so too did the Shelbys. Hence why, as usual, the shop opened on time and people still flocked inside to place their bets on the day’s upcoming races. The place was heaving, even as Evie hurried down the stairs and tried to eat her breakfast in the kitchen. The noise from the rooms beyond was deafening, accompanied by the tell-tale sound of coins and boisterous shouts.

Nothing got between men and their sport. She’d learned that long ago and last night had made it all too clear in more ways than one.

“Morning.”

“Morning Ada,” Evie smiled, helping herself to the already made stack of toast awaiting on the table. It was unusual to see her aunt downstairs so early. Normally she remained in bed until at least noon - and that was on a good day. “You’re up early. Considering I didn’t see you come in last night I thought you’d be asleep for a while yet. You off somewhere?”

“Come to the pictures with me?”

That was not what’d she been expecting to hear.

“What?” Evie paused, mouth full.

“I said, will you come to the pictures with me?”

“But… Now? I have school.”

“So?”

“So, Dad will kill me if I bunked off.”

“Please,” Ada begged, her voice wobbling enough to make Evie know better than to ask any more questions. Something had been off with Ada ever since the meeting several days ago. It was like she was waiting for something to happen, looking constantly on edge and oddly pale. That, and she never normally shared any of her problems, or at least not to Evie. No. That was normally Polly’s area of expertise. If she wanted to now, then Evie knew better than to turn her away.

Did it have something to do with her aunt’s absence from the bonfire last night?

“I just need to get out of here for a while, ok?” Ada continued, unable to hide the tremor in her hands as she toyed with her necklace. “I don’t want to be alone but I can’t stay in this house, today. I just can’t.”

“Ok,” Evie agreed. “I’ll grab my coat.”

Her father could forgive her if he ever found out. After everything that had happened, surely he could understand? They were all rattled. They’d been attacked. Now, they were closing ranks. Of course she’d rather spend the day with her family than stuck alone in a classroom.

The gratitude that filled her aunt’s face was also enough of a reward.

“Thank you,” Ada breathed, hurrying over to kiss her niece’s cheek much to her amusement. “Meet me out front. I’ll handle John.”

Ah.

John.

Evie had forgotten him in all the excitement along with the fact it was his turn to walk her to school. Still, this wasn’t their first rodeo with the Shelby clan. By the time she’d made it back outside, John was already on his way back in to the shop.

Clearly whatever her aunt had told him had convinced him. He didn’t even think twice as he shrugged and went back inside, letting the two girls disappear off into the city together. He merely nodded at them both and bid them goodbye.

“John just gets easier to handle. All he wants it to get back so he can get his ass off to the Garrison early,” Ada tutted, taking Evie’s arm.

“I don’t blame him.”

“Wait, what about your friend?”

“Lara?” Evie paused. “She’ll know if I’m not there in a minute to go on to school without me.”

“Good.”

Was it? Nothing about this felt good to Evie, but then again, she’d lived at Watery Lane long enough to know when trouble was in the air. Just because they’d put John off of their scent for a while didn’t mean he wouldn’t figure out something was amiss when Ada didn’t return anytime soon.

Lara would also have suspicions, even if she could be trusted not to out Evie to her family any time soon. If anything, she would be upset she didn’t get an invite to ditch school with them. Still, Evie knew this wasn’t just a fun outing between her and her aunt. There was clearly something else afoot here.

They only ever went to the picture house for special occasions. It had always been their thing - Ada and Evie. They loved watching whatever the latest film was and admiring the glamorous actors and actresses on screen. They could simply let the world fade away for a while and live a life of pretend, whether as pirates, princesses or some fair damsel.

Clearly, such fantasy and indulgence were the reason for Ada’s urgent visit. Even if the rest of their family thought such things were nonsense or rubbish, they were a comfort for Evie and Ada.

It was why Evie offered to pay the fee for their tickets, and whatever snacks the girls could desire. They’d earned this. Besides, it wasn’t as if she couldn’t afford it what with all her extra shifts lately, working in the betting shop and down at the yard.

Hence, five minutes later, the two girls had taken their seats and were happily making their way through the bags of popcorn and sweets spread across their laps. Neither said a word for quite some time, choosing instead to focus on the flickering black and white images projected on the screen.

In fact, they’d been there long enough Evie had almost forgotten the whole point of their visit. Well, that was until Ada finally sighed and blurted out, “I’m pregnant.”

Evie choked. “Pardon?”

“I’m pregnant.”

"I… I heard that,” she stammered, whipping her eyes off the screen to stare at her Aunt. That was not what she’d thought she’d say, nor the reason she’d been so upset lately. “You’re… Is it Freddie’s?”

Ada simply nodded, piling more popcorn into her mouth as the movie continued to play. No wonder she’d wanted some space. How long had she known?

Wait.

“Does Dad know?”

She shook her head. “Not yet. Pol does, though and now you do too.”

“Does Freddie know?”

“I don’t know where he is.”

And there was the truth of it. The reason her Aunt looked so pained right now. Scared even and rightly so. There was no way her father was going to be ok with this development. He was never alright with any development he hadn’t meticulously calculated for himself. Evie could only imagine what he’d say if he knew.

She could only imagine what Ada must have said when she found out herself. The whole thing scared her senseless and she wasn’t even the one who was pregnant.

So, she did the only thing she could. Evie squeezed her hand. “It’s going to be ok.”

“You don’t know that.”

“No, but you’ll have me and Pol. No matter what you choose.”

“But what if-”

She stopped as the doors to the cinema burst open. They didn’t even need to look to know who was storming his way down the aisle, his footsteps all too familiar. “Shit.”

That felt like an understatement given the murderous look on her father’s face. Even Ada recognised it as she groaned under her breath. So much for their day of freedom. Apparently it was impossible to escape the Shelbys.

“Tell me the man’s name, Ada.” Her father didn’t even bother with niceties as he dropped into the empty seat beside them. He was after one thing and one thing alone.

Ada sighed again but didn’t flinch. “Rudolf Valentino.”

Tommy nodded, turning and storming away now that he had what he’d come for.

Of course, Evie couldn’t help but snigger a little as she waited for the penny to drop. Needless to say, Tommy was back only seconds later and angrier than before - if that was possible. Her amusement died instantly along with the film as it flickered to a halt.

“Get out!” he bellowed, startling the other occupants of the cinema. “All of you! Get out! Now!”

They didn’t need to be told twice. Evie herself rose as if to slip out but was stopped by her father’s glare. “You and I will talk later. Sit down.”

It was a promise. One that made her drop back into her seat in resignation. “Shit.” So, he was here for both of them then.

“I said, tell me his fucking name.”

“Freddie fucking Thorne!” Ada snarled, her temper snapping. She was a Shelby too and had just as bad a temper as the rest of them. She just knew how to control it better but given the circumstances, she had earned the right to a little rage. “Yeah. Your best mate since school. The one who saved your life in France. So go on! Go on! Cut him. Cut him and chuck him in the Cut.”

The look on her father’s face said that was exactly what he was planning to do. Evie was almost scared to let him out of her sight, but there was nothing she could do to stop him as he turned and marched out of the cinema hall with fury in his wake.

There was rage and then there was Shelby rage.

She still wasn’t used to it. Even now.

“Oi! I’m a Shelby too, you know,” Ada bellowed a moment later. Apparently the matter was closed. Whatever punishment awaited them wasn’t going anywhere. They aught to at least enjoy their last hours of freedom. “Put my fucking film back on!”

-----------------

Evie had always hated arguing. She hated doing it as much as she hated watching it or even hearing it. She didn’t even have to be involved to feel her skin crawl and insides twist uncomfortably.

Unfortunately for her, living in the Shelby household meant that arguments tended to be a common occurrence. At least this time, she’d been expecting it ever since her father had stormed his way into the cinema house earlier that morning.

All throughout the film, she’d felt her palms turn clammy and her heart race in anticipation and dread. She wasn’t as used to ignoring Tommy as Ada appeared to be. That, or scoffing as many sweets as possible was a good enough way to distract her. Evie was half tempted to try it.  

However, she knew deep down that nothing would prepare her for the argument brewing, nor would it lessen its severity. Much to her disappointment she was right. They’d hardly even stepped in the door before Tommy and Polly began to scream at one another.

Ada had the right idea, scampering off upstairs and leaving the two of them to their feud on her behalf. It was clear neither cared what she had to say, nor did they care how she felt. Why should she stick around to hear whatever abuse they had to throw at one another?

They’d do what they wanted anyway, whether or not that involved honouring her wishes and allowing Polly to pass along a letter to wherever Freddie was staying - a detail her father apparently knew.

Evie, however, chose to stay. She perched out of sight on the bottom stair and listened to the war raging in the room beyond. After all, she knew her father would want to speak to her eventually and making him come and haul her from her room wouldn’t help her case.

“Damn you, Thomas Shelby!” Polly raged, slamming her hand against the table.

“You’d hit me with that thing if it weren’t for the fact you know I’m right! I am right, Pol!”

Polly didn’t say anything else. Instead, she dropped whatever had been in her hand, letting it clang to the floor in a heap of metal. Apparently she’d said enough. Enough to know she had no hope of getting through to him, of making him see this from any other perspective than his own.

Polly wasn’t the only one whose temper began to burn white hot.

Evie knew she’d heard enough. She barely had time to move as Polly stormed out of the room and past her up the stairs.

That was clearly her cue, her chance to try and get some sense to filter through that thick skull Tommy wore on his shoulders.

“How could you!”

Her father jumped as she barged into the room. That enraged look was one more thing she’d inherited from him and he knew it. It was why his blood boiled, his previous spat still fuelling him. “I’m not about to start this with you. You don’t know anything about the world and what it’s like. I’m doing what’s best for her.”

“By controlling her life?” Evie hissed, pointing to the burner. The smouldering remains of the letter were all too clear. “What do you know about the world anyway, Dad? When did you ever spend a day in it as a woman? Our world isn’t your world. Only an idiot would suggest it is!”  

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” Evie snapped, “That we don’t have the same choices as men. Ada is the one who’s pregnant. Not you! You don’t have the right to pretend you know how she feels or what’s best for her. You didn’t even know about her and Freddie until today!”

Part of her enjoyed the satisfaction of lording that fact over her father. It was a rare day when someone surprised Tommy Shelby and Evie wanted to savour every moment of it - of forcing him to realise he wasn’t some omniscient being. True. He may have controlled the streets. He may have had the power to send men running in terror of his seemingly endless web of informants and gang members. However, he was just a man. A man. Nothing more, nothing less. Somehow he never seemed to recognise that fact, or if he did, he hid it beneath his ice cold exterior.

It was enough to make her blood boil. How dare he treat them like that? His own family.

“No wonder Mum ran away,” Evie continued, her rage as strong as his as she squared up to her father. “She probably knew if she stayed she’d have no choices anymore. That you’d just control us both like pawns the way you have Ada and Freddie. How could you? What gives you the right?

His voice was as heated as the burner. “I”m her brother.”

“And?”

“And, I know best,” Tommy roared. It was clear it was taking all his will power not to throw something or flip the table over. “I know how to keep our family safe from the world out there. A world you don’t even know the first thing about. I’m only doing what’s best for her, like I do for everyone in this family.”

“I don’t trust that anymore,” she sobbed, the truth pouring out of her with no way to stop. “Just look what happened the other day. You said nothing was going on with that Inspector. You said there was nothing to worry about. That you’d tell me the truth if we were in danger-”

“We’re not!”

“Didn’t feel that way when he stormed in here and gave me this!” Her black eye was still all too visible, even without her pointing at it, refusing to let him look away. “You pretend to know what’s best, bullying anyone who dares oppose you. Well, I’d say you’re doing a poor job so far. You can’t keep us safe. Not when what you really want is control. Control over all of us and whatever the hell it is you’re doing with the business. Otherwise, you’d stop. Stop whatever it is that’s got a target marked on all our backs!”

“You don’t get to speak to me like that.”

“Well someone needs to! Before you do any more damage. You already cost me my family, robbed me of time I won’t get back. It’s one thing to try control my life, but I won’t let you do the same to Ada and Freddie.”  

Tommy froze.

Evie trembled.

Their talk after the Commons incident had been enlightening in more ways than one; they’d made progress. They’d understood one another. However, just because Evie had understood his need to try and control his daughter, didn’t rationalise what was happening here. It didn’t excuse it either. He couldn’t seriously expect to extend his behaviour to his fully grown sister? What right had he?

Her father didn’t have the right to control anyone’s life, and that had been the crux of his rage when he’d heard about Evie. He’d felt powerless, just as she did when she saw her father act so carelessly. They’d told each other as much and had resolved to be accommodating whilst they adjusted to this new reality.

But now? Now she didn’t recognise the man. She couldn’t rationalise such tyrannical behaviour. Evie had only promised on her behalf. Not Ada’s and not the baby’s either.

She’d meant what she’d said: things had changed and she wasn’t about to let her father appoint himself king anymore. They were not his subjects and they didn’t deserve to be treated as such.

“Sometimes, I’m ashamed to be your daughter.”

With that, Evie had pulled the metaphorical pin from the grenade, and tossed it behind her without a care. She didn’t even stay to witness the fallout, her goal having been met. Instead, she turned and marched her way towards the stairs and away from his presence.

Once again she didn’t stop, not even as he began to hurl his threats after her.     “Evelyn Shelby. We’re not done with this!”

But Evie was. A fact she made clear as she slammed her door again - it was becoming a habit by now.

She was done with all of it. Polly was right. He was too stubborn to see what he was doing.

It was why she pulled the bolt across her door and curled up on her bed, biting back the tears that stung her eyes.

-------------

Tommy knew he had a temper. He was a Shelby after all. He’d have been more concerned if he didn’t have one.

However, there were times were he cursed his short, curt nature. Yesterday had been one of those moments. Perhaps if he hadn’t been so enraged he wouldn’t have handled the whole situation so poorly. He wouldn’t have pissed all the Shelby women off in the span of less than twenty four hours.

None had forgiven him yet. In fact, he hadn’t seen any of them all day. They’d been avoiding him and with good reason. He was still wound as tight as a spring. All day he’d caught himself snapping at people or yelling when inconvenienced even slightly. He felt like he was losing control of everything and it showed.

It was why he eyed his pocket watch with relief as he made his way back inside Watery Lane. It was now officially past the end of the school day, meaning Evie would be home. Probably studying in her room if he knew her. That girl was an anomaly; Her passion for books and school was borderline troubling. Still, he loved her for it as much as he enjoyed teasing her about it. He was the first to push her to study and keep surpassing the expectations put to her.

He may not have said it often, but he was proud of her. Proud, and grateful to have her as a daughter. It was why he hated being at odds with her so much. Family was all that mattered in the end, as life had proven once too often. You couldn’t take it for granted. It was why he knew he had to make peace with the girls, one by one if necessary.

Evie was probably the easiest to start with.

So, he hurried inside and up the stairs towards her room. However, a single knock proved she wasn’t inside. The door had swung open under his touch, revealing an empty room with no sign of his daughter insight.

Shit.

“Where is she?”

John paused, looking up from his position at the table nearest, bets in hand and customers yelling their orders at him. “Who?”

“Evie,” Tommy thundered, hurrying downstairs in to the shop. He made it sound as if it should have been obvious. Great. All he needed was for another Shelby girl to start running off around town.

Then he noticed the boots missing from the corner of the room; the riding boots she always wore when she went to the yard. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he replaced the cap on his head and turned to the door.

“Tom?”

“I’ll be back later,” he called. With that, he closed the door and thus ended the conversation. His brothers were more than used to his moods. They knew he’d be back and that it was just better to let him cool off alone, else risk provoking his wrath for themselves.

--------------------

Evie loved riding.

She had, ever since she’d first got on the back of a horse.

It was always during times like these, she took to the yard and escaped the city, looking for some space to think without her family staring over her shoulder. After her fight earlier, she’d ridden out of the city and towards the surrounding fields her father had taken her through before. There was always something about being on a horse, the wind whipping in her hair as she felt the animal pounding its way across the grass.

Something soothed her soul as she let her worries fly away behind her with every mile. Polly had said it was the gypsy blood in her, the echoes of ancestors past… Evie liked to think it was.

Just as she liked to think her family were different - or so she’d been telling herself. After all, being a Shelby was no small thing. Early on, Evie had learned that their world was large and sometimes even dangerous. Being a Shelby meant having one another’s backs, looking out for each other and doing whatever it took to make their family happy and safe. Neither of which, were unreasonable aims. They were the same for any family in the world.

However, their world was darker and more dangerous than most. Ever since she’d arrived, Evie had been wilfully ignorant of as much of the seedier side to the family business as possible. After all, their business wasn’t even legally registered despite their continued profits and the fact that their customers could be relied upon to come back again and again and again, no matter what.

Ignoring such a fact had been easy before. Until all this had started. Until her father had dragged them into a war they hadn’t needed, fighting both Campbell and now the Lees. Then there was also Billy Kimber, who was in charge of their patch and yet, her father had been provoking him too… Fixing races and taking bets when they didn’t have Kimber’s approval.

It blew her mind. She felt every bit as enraged and confused as her aunt Pol had. She didn’t need to overhear their almost daily spats now to know her aunt loathed Tommy’s behaviour. Yet, he was family. He was her family and Evie’s. Just as Ada was family too. Or had been, until he decided to push her away.

First Ada and now Polly… how long would it be until he pushed them all away? Was that what he wanted? Success and no one to share it with?

Did he really think no one would challenge him, that they’d simply sit by and let him plunge them all head first into the fray?

After all, Evie had never been very good at following the Shelby mantra, of keeping her feelings locked away behind composed nods and smiles. It was why she and her father clashed so much these days. She was no longer the small child she’d once been, adoring and willing to do whatever her father asked of her.

No. She meant what she’d said those weeks ago after the night at the Commons. She had changed just as much as he had during the war. She was a strong, independent person with feelings and thoughts of her own. It was his choice whether he acknowledged that or fought with her every step of the way, trying to keep things as they were.

If only that was possible …

Evie sighed. She fought back the urge to cry as the wind stung her eyes.

At least her ride had helped calm her down and clear her mind, even if it hadn’t given her any real answers about what to do next.

She finally trotted her way back onto the cobbled streets, making her way back toward the yard to stable her horse. Of course, she should have guessed her father would have been waiting at the gates. He was never one to leave an argument unresolved. She’d learned that after the Commons incident.

It didn’t mean she wasn’t anxious to see him waiting there, cigarette between his lips as he bent his head against the slight breeze. The razor he had stitched in his cap was more visible than ever, catching the sunlight at that angle.

Evie ignored him. She didn’t say a word as she made her way to the stalls, dismounted and began to remove the saddle.

Instead, she let him make the first move. He had come to her, strolling forward as he clearly grappled with the words to say.

“I knew I’d find you here.”

Evie scoffed. “Well done, Sherlock.”

Tommy didn’t rise to her comment. Instead, he moved to the side of the stall, watching her work with silent approval. It still felt like yesterday when she’d been too scared to even touch a horse, let alone ride one. In some ways, time had flown so fast these past years, and in others it had felt like a lifetime ago.

“What do you want?”

“Eh?”

“You came all the way down here,” Evie continued sharply, undoing the last straps and buckles before hauling the saddle to one side. Her horse made a soft noise, as if trying to warn them both to behave whilst in her stall. “Clearly you want something, so get on with it. Unless it’s to yell at me some more, then I’d rather you saved both of us the effort and just didn’t.”

Tommy sighed. “I didn’t come here to fight with you.”

“Oh?”

“No. I just think we need to talk.” Well, he’d got that right. It didn’t take a genius to work that out. It was merely whether or not they were both ready to listen that was the real question. “I need you to know, that everything I do and have ever done, is with the intention of looking after this family. Of doing what needs to be done to keep everyone safe. I know I don’t always get it right or go about it the right way, but I only ever want the best for you.”

“And you think the best thing for Ada is to be kept from the man she loves? The father of her child.”

Tommy sighed again. Evie turned, finally daring to make eye contact as he spoke. She could see the conflict inside of them, the pain this whole thing was causing him. “Freddie is a stubborn man. One who will always put his politics before anything else. Ada deserves more than that."

“What if she doesn’t want more than that?”

“Then she needs to realise that, as her brother, I can’t just let her throw her life away. I won’t. Not when I swore to our mother protect this family, no matter what.”

“Then you soon won’t have any family left to protect, Dad,” Evie stated simply. All patience evaporated as she confronted him with the truth. Part of her simply wanted to shake him until it sunk into that thick skull of his. “Keeping secrets, shutting people out and trying to control them like pawns is never going to work. How long do you think we’d be willing to sit by and let you do that to us?”

“I’m not pushing her away. She’s choosing to walk away-”

“Then what about the guns?”

Tommy blinked. “What?”

“Don’t lie to me,” Evie warned, eyes narrowing dangerously. “I know you and Pol have been keeping something. I saw it in your eyes when Arthur was attacked. The Inspector wouldn’t have mentioned it if there wasn’t something there. He broke into our home wanted to know about guns so, so do I.”

If she didn’t say this now, she knew she’d never get the nerve to try again. Weeks now, she’d been holding onto this burden, waiting for a chance to unload it. Whatever her father was up to, it stopped now. If he truly didn’t want to push them all away, then now was his chance to prove it.

Hopefully, he realised that as he rubbed a hand down his face and chucked his cigarette stub to the ground. Evie could almost see the cogs whirring inside his brain, yet again, trying to calculate and evaluate the situation.

“That’s a long story.”

“I have nowhere else to be.” She shrugged in a clear challenge before perching on a nearby crate. Her arms and legs crossed as she leant back against the wall. “Prove to me you meant what you said, that you’re capable of letting someone in. That you know what you’re doing and that it’s worth it and the trouble it’s causing this family.”

Evie could see his jaw tense. She could see the way his hand flexed as he tried to control his temper.

He sighed deeply.

“Fine.” Like that, Tommy marched over and dropped onto the crate beside Evie. His coat flapped out behind him as he sat, as if he were in some grand meeting room and not the back of the stables. In fact, his entire mannerism changed to something calmer, something more clinical as if she were a colleague or employee - not his daughter. “It was an accident. It was meant to be routine. I had a buyer in London for some motorcycles - easy money considering the works factory has piss poor security and most of them are willing to do favours for us now and then. I asked my men to steal me four bikes with petrol engines. I’m guessing my men were drunk. There’s a still inside the factory makes tram line gin... They picked up the wrong fucking crate.”

Evie could see where the story was heading. “And let me guess, they grabbed one with guns inside?”

Tommy nodded. “I don’t know how they thought it could possibly be the right one. I should have gone myself. They must’ve taken it from the proofing bay instead of the export bay. A crate full of guns, ammunition and rifles. All bound for Libya.”

Evie’s heart dropped. Now it was all starting to make sense. Her father had never been one to make a hasty decision. Intentionally bringing down the full force of the police and government would never have been on his agenda. Small sides jobs to make extra cash, however? That was entirely plausible.

“And you didn’t dump the guns somewhere?” she continued sharply, trying to piece it all together. “Try and shift the blame in case something like this happened? After all, they were never gonna let that amount of weapons go missing without batting an eyelid.”

Tommy shook his head. “I know.”

“So?”

“So,” he snapped, turning to face her with a warning glare. Evie knew not to push her luck. Not now, and not when he was finally giving her answers. “I thought I could use them for collateral. Use the situation to our advantage. Polly didn’t like the idea, tried to convince me to dump them in the Cut but I didn’t.”

Once again, Evie was reminded of her aunt’s wisdom. Hell would freeze over though, before the others chose to listen to her without questioning her or her supernatural methods. There was a reason she’d survived so long and accumulated the reputation she had.

“And that’s why the Inspector’s here? He thinks you have the guns.”

“Oh, he knows,” Tommy confirmed bitterly. He then chose that moment to reach over and take her hand before she could pull away. He needed her to understand. “I used them to barter with him. To get him to back off in exchange for the location of the guns, except he’s now outplayed me. Somehow.”

Evie didn’t know what to say. Just because it all now made sense didn’t mean she liked it or approved.

She froze. “Do the others know yet?”

“They do now.”

“Thanks for telling me - doesn’t mean I don’t want to smash your head in but at least I know now; I understand why you’ve been acting so weird. Why you’ve been more of a control freak than normal, trying to keep us all together and lashing out when we don’t listen to you.”

“He won’t stop, Evie,” Tommy warned. “He wants us all behind bars and he’ll do whatever it takes to get us there. He’s also after Freddie and the communists. He thinks we’re all in it together. Trying to start a revolution here or over in Ireland.”

“If he’s after Freddie then he’s also after…”

Then the penny dropped.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I should have told Ada from the start. Maybe then she’d have listened and we wouldn’t be in this mess. She’d be home and not out there without us. I also shouldn’t have lashed out at you for trying to defend her.”

“If I’d known-”

“It’s alright,” Tommy soothed, cupping her cheek in his hand. The leather glove was soft as it held her, brushing against her in a comforting gesture. “What’s done is done. I owe you an apology for all this. I should have realised the similarities to your mother. I didn’t mean for this to bring up doubts or bad memories.”

“It didn’t,” Evie whispered. “I just… what if she’d stayed? What if, I’d been raised with both parents and not that mystery hanging over me? That wondering who you were and what you were like… I just want to spare Ada’s baby the same. They deserve a chance to be a family. Like we could have been.” “I’ll think about it.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “Only if you promise not to fight me on it anymore, ey?”

“I’ll try.”

“I’ll take that. You’ll also be cleaning this place for the next two weeks. Hopefully it’ll clean your language up in the process and remind you about routine. That way you won’t forget to go to school again.”

That seemed fair, all things considered.

“I won’t forget. I promise,” Evie soothed, even though Tommy already knew she wouldn’t. She loved school too much to ignore it for anything other than an apocalyptic event or family crisis. As a Shelby, most of the time, those two things weren’t mutually exclusive. “And Dad?”

“Yes?”

“I… can we talk, one day? About… about Mum and why she did leave?”

Tommy felt as if he could have been pushed over by a feather. Those were not the words he’d expected to come out of her mouth, even if he knew they should have been. After all, they’d made it to this point without the topic ever arising. Evie had garnered enough through her own deductions over the years to satiate her curiosity. But now she was older, more mature, it was only logical she’d want answers. Real answers. Answers Rebecca had promised Tommy would provide, in time.

“Yes,” he answered calmly. A nod was all he had to elaborate upon his statement, as well as a hug. “We will. When this is sorted, which will be soon. I promise.”

“Alright.”

Evie gratefully took both the hug and his oath. That was all she wanted for now, all she needed, to be able to look him in the eye. To trust they would be able to work through this difficult period they found themselves in.

They’d survived a war, for heaven’s sake. What was one bent copper, a business expansion and a wild aunt?

Tommy was right when he’d said the only way through this was to stick together. They needed one another, now more than ever, and Evie knew better than to push away the olive branch he’d offered today.

“I love you,” she whispered, pressing her cheek firmly against his chest.

Tommy’s arm tightened around her in reply. “I love you too, Evie. More than anything.”

“Also, I didn’t mean what I said about being ashamed to be your daughter… I could never be ashamed of you.”

“It’s already forgotten, don’t worry about it.”

Evie knew him well enough to know if he said it aloud then he probably meant it. She wasn’t the first Shelby to lose her temper, and she was certainly not going to be the last. If they took everything said in the heat of the moment seriously, they’d never speak to one another again.

Life was too short for that.

Family was too important for that.

The real question was, had her father realised that?

#thesilentmage #thegangster'sdaughter #Peaky Blinders #peaky blinder #PeakyBlinders #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinder imagine #peaky blinder headcanon #Tommy Shelby #Ada Shelby #John Shelby #polly gray #masterlist

[ithebookhoarder]

Chapter 19: In Sickness and in Health (The Gangster’s Daughter)

Description: Life for Tommy Shelby was pretty ordinary; all he ever had to worry about were his family, their business and the Blinders. Nothing more, nothing less. Well, that was until his ‘daughter’, a twelve-year-old girl called Evelyn Westmore, was thrown into his life, dredging up feelings and things from the past he’d done very well to forget.

Also available on AO3:

Warnings: Original Character(s), Canon-Typical Violence, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Explicit Language, Gangsters, Period Typical Attitudes, Parent Tommy Shelby, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent.

Masterlist:

----

The next morning was when Evie finally learned the definition of a hangover. A real hangover. Like, Arthur after a night at the Garrison hangover.

She had barely been conscious a minute before she realised her head was pounding. It was as if someone was driving a hammer into her skull over and over again.

She didn’t dare open her eyes, knowing instantly the pain was going to be too much.

“Fuck,” she whined, pushing her face into her pillow, wondering if by some miracle she could go back to sleep. Of course, it was clear that wasn’t going to happen. Not when she also currently felt like she was suffering from the worst case of sea sickness known to human kind. It made her stomach churn uneasily, and she could feel her whole body shaking.

Evie groaned, weakly turning over to try and sit up in bed. She knew for a fact that her hair was most likely a hell of mess, and the fact her breath felt like acid left her heavily confused.

She honestly had no idea what the hell had happened to her, or why the hell she felt the way she did. It was as if someone had scrubbed her mind so clean it was raw. There was a huge chunk of time missing from her mind from the night before.

What the hell happened?

With a sigh, she peeled back the covers and began to brave her way down to the kitchen below.

Tommy, needless to say, was waiting in the main room, a paper spread out in front of him and a cup of tea in hand. John was also in the kitchen, Arthur beside him as they scoffed their way through the food in front of them - courtesy of Polly.

The woman truly was an angel.

Her father glanced up as he heard Evie enter, only to start laughing at her miserable face. He was enjoying this; she could tell. If she’d had any strength she’d probably have tried to wipe that smile off his face. But she didn’t. She merely shuffled in, sat in the nearest chair and let out a small moan at the fresh smell of food in the air.

“Why do I have bulls stamping on my brain?”

“Because you thought it was a smart idea to challenge Johnny boy here, to a pissing contest,” Tommy remarked calmly, hiding his grin behind his paper. It was clear from his windswept hair and the smell of soot about him he’d been up sometime, already venturing out into the city. How he got the resilience, Evie could never explain.

“What?”

“Which I won, by the way,” John protested, looking unfairly healthy as he helped himself to his breakfast. The smell alone was enough to make Evie want to empty her stomach everywhere.

“But she gave an admirable attempt,” Arthur heckled. “Worthy of the Shelby name I’d say. Almost drank a bottle of her own before she keeled over. Not bad for a slip of a thing.”

Evie groaned, dropping her face down into her hands. “I hate you all.”

“So you don’t want some hot coffee then?” Polly chuckled, placing the cup down in front of her. “Drink that. It’ll help.”

Evie took her at her word, all but downing the steaming drink, praying it helped in some way. “Why do you all drink so much if this how you feel afterwards?”

“You learn your limits,” her father chided. “You build up an immunity too.”

“Clearly I didn’t inherit your Shelby skill.”

“No, but you have determination,” Tommy chuckled. “Clearly you’ve had good teachers.”

“Or bad influences,” Polly countered, turning to glare at her nephews.

“One day, she’ll look back on this and laugh.”

“Not anytime soon, by the looks of her.”

Evie groaned all over again. “I’m right here. You don’t have to talk about me like I’m not - actually, better yet, why doesn’t everyone whisper?”

“PARDON?”

Evie was half way out of her seat and ready to murder Arthur in a heartbeat. It was only Polly’s warning glare that stopped her. That, and the sudden nausea caused by moving so fast.

“Sit down,” her aunt scoffed, placing a plain piece of buttered toast in front of her. “Eat that and then go back to bed. You’ll feel better. I promise. This lot will be gone soon.”

“Sooner the better,” Evie grumbled half heartedly, even though she didn’t mean it. Still, John clearly got the hint and took that as his cue to excuse himself from the meal.

“Right,” John grinned, donning his cap. “I’m off to the garage. Be back in a bit, yeah? Meeting Lizzie so she can cook.” The others nodded, murmuring various acknowledgements as he slipped out into the street.

“I have business too,” Arthur grinned, rising from his seat and patting Evie’s shoulder as he did so. “Just sleep it off, ey? And don’t drink anything Polly gives you. You’d rather die on your own terms than have one of her miracle cures.”

“Oi!”

Arthur sniggered, leaping out of the doorway as Polly rose to slap the smile off of his face. Still, Evie took his word for it. She loved her aunt but she had a suspicion Arthur knew what he was on about. Especially judging by the slightly queazy look on her father’s face.

“The bloody cheek.”

“Leave him, Pol,” Tommy soothed. “He isn’t worth it."

“I wish I’d let Evie rip his throat out now.”

“Oh, there’s still time. Maybe later.”

Evie chuckled under breath. She’d hold him to that. For now, though, she was content to simply make her way through the plate of buttered toast and endless mugs of coffee Polly put before her. “Thank you,” she beamed, watching as Polly kissed her head before helping herself to her own breakfast.

That was how they stayed for the next half hour or so. Once they’d finished, Evie took the plates and went to wash up as a gesture of her gratitude. It also left her father and Polly alone, both of whom had been shooting odd looks at one another to the point where Evie almost wanted to call them out on it.

If they had something to say, they should just say it… unless they didn’t want her to hear?

So, she gave them space, washing dishes and listening to their soft voices echoing through the open doorway.

Evie didn’t need to hear more than the words ‘talk’ and ‘Lizzie’ to know what this was about. It had only been days since John had told her he was thinking of asking Lizzie to marry him. Evie still didn’t know how she felt about it, even though she wanted John happy and she liked Lizzie well enough. However, by the sounds of it, she didn’t have to worry about it any longer.

“Fuck,” Pol muttered. “You gonna tell him? Or am I?”

“I will.”

“Tell him what?” Evie asked slowly.

She couldn’t help it any longer. Her curiosity was greater than her fear of being scolded for eavesdropping. Besides, it was hardly like this conversation was that private. Else, they’d have taken it to the offices on the other side of the shop floor if they hadn’t want to be overheard.

She simply stepped into the doorway and waited for an answer.

Tommy sighed. He blew out a thin stream of smoke and looked at Pol. The look between them was enough for them to understand one another.

Polly blinked. “That leopards never change their spots.”

Just like that, Evie felt even sicker - something she hadn’t thought possible. It didn’t take a genius to work out what Polly was referring to. Part of her hoped she was wrong though, that her father and aunt hadn’t conspired to break John’s heart.

She watched her father go and turned back towards the stairs. All she wanted now was to crawl into bed and sleep the remainder of the headache away. “Fuck.”

It appeared she wasn’t the only one who would be suffering that day.

--------

Thankfully, after a hot bath, plenty of coffee and a long sleep, Evie felt almost as good as new. She didn’t even mind the fact her father decided to wake her the following morning, ripping open the curtains and letting the morning sunshine burst into the room.

“Rise and shine, Evelyn.”

Evie groaned, pulling the pillow over her head in a vain attempt to block his voice out. “What’s the smile for?”

“Get dressed and you’ll find out.”

As if the shock of seeing her father in her room wasn’t enough to peak her interest, his proposition definitely did the trick. Evie was alert instantly. She couldn’t actually remember the last time he’d woken her up, let alone in such an odd mood.

She tried not to laugh as he tugged the covers off of her, doing his best as she clung on for dear life. Playful Tommy was rare. She half expected a cold bucket of water over the head or for him to be banging pans together instead.

“Dad,” Evie whined, surrendering and sitting upright. “What the hell is going on?”

“As I say, get dressed and come downstairs. We’ve got somewhere to be,” her father explained, gesturing to the dresser in the corner of the room.

To her utter surprise, a dress was already laid out and waiting for her - a beautiful sky blue dress, but one she’d never seen before.

Had he bought it for her?

“Polly picked it our for you so don’t keep her waiting,” he continued, as if sensing her questions. However, he gave her no more opportunities to ask them as he turned and left her to get ready for the absurd day ahead of them.

Evie couldn’t even begin to process it all. What had just happened? Was she still dreaming?

She managed to pry herself from her bed and wander over towards the dress. A single touch of the silky fabric was enough to prove this wasn’t a dream. This was very very real… and very expensive.

“Damn it, Pol,” she sniggered, reminding herself to talk to her aunt about wasting money on her like this. Whilst she absolutely adored the garment in front of her, she also knew they couldn’t really afford it.

Nevertheless, she’d learned a long time ago when to pick a battle with the Shelby family and when to simply go along with their wishes. This was definitely one of those times to go with the latter option. So, she stripped herself of her nightclothes and began to get ready for the day, washing away the sleep from her eyes in the washbasin and tidying her hair as best she could.

A few minutes more and she was ready. One final look in the mirror confirmed as much.

She slipped on her shoes and grabbed her coat, hurrying downstairs as fast as she was able. If her father was as excited as he’d seemed about today then she knew better than to keep him waiting. Even if she was nervous about what lay ahead, Evie couldn’t help but be a little excited too. However, as she hurried into the parlour, she was surprised to see it empty.

Her father was no where to be seen.

“What the hell?” she whispered.

That was when the door opened. That was when the last two people she’d expected to come strolling through together, did just that, grinning ear to ear.

“Polly what on earth is going o-” Evie began. She stopped, however, the moment she laid eyes on the woman next to her. “Ada?”

Like that, she was upon her, hurling herself at her aunt in disbelief. The heavily pregnant woman didn’t mind though, laughing as she cradled her back, peppering kisses to her cheeks.

“Oh my god. I’m glad to see you.”

“I missed you too,” Ada whispered. “It’s been too long.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Tommy invited her,” Polly smirked, visibly touched by the scene. “Family should be together on days like this one. We have a one day truce, thank god. I love a good wedding.”

“A wedding?”

She wasn’t the only one confused. Ada looked as bewildered as she felt. However, Evie finally took a moment to properly examine the moment. It was then she realised they were all dressed impeccably, with fine dresses and coats. Polly even had a hat on, something she saved for church or special occasions. How Evie had missed it was beyond her. Clearly, she was getting rusty.

“Apparently.”

“Whose?”

“I thought it was obvious,” Polly chuckled. “So, shall we go? Otherwise we’ll miss the bloody thing… I never thought I’d see the day John Shelby re-married. To a Lee of all things.”

Wait.

John.

This was John’s wedding?

To a Lee girl?

Not Lizzie?

Evie blinked. She froze and stared at the woman in disbelief. “You’re fucking joking? Right?”

Both Ada and Polly shook their heads. “It was your father’s idea,” Polly explained, adjusting her hat in the mirror before opening the door and ushering them towards the car. “It was a deal proposed by the Lees. Tommy agreed on John’s behalf. Kill two birds with one stone.”

Evie had a suspicion someone would be killed if that really was the case. “Does John know?”

“They’ll have told him by now.”

“Fuck. Now I see why they all left together.”

It took an army to make a Shelby do something they didn’t want to do. John especially. Evie felt bad at the thought. What if he didn’t want this? Why was her family forcing him into this? Was it too late to stop it?

Then again, her father loved his family more than life itself. He wouldn’t do it if he didn’t have John’s approval or hadn’t meticulously thought this whole thing out. Had he even met the bride to be?

Evie sighed. Why were Shelby weddings always so complicated? At least this one wasn’t in secret, a fact she was grateful for as she turned to her aunt and took her hand. The fact she was here beside her already made her feel ten times better.

“Freddie not with you?”

Ada shook her head. “No, but it’s alright. I’m… I’m glad to see everyone.”

“We’re glad to see you too,” Polly hummed, kissing both Ada and Evie’s cheeks. “Now. Stop nattering and get in. We have a wedding to get to and I don’t want to miss this for the world.”

The girls didn’t need to be told twice. They knew an order when they heard it. They had a wedding to get to after all. John’s wedding… God help them all.

---------

The ceremony was brief but pleasant. Even her father and Ada seemed to be getting on, grinning and teasing one another as Jonny completed the ritual, standing in front of the crowd gathered in the shipping yard the Lees currently called home.

Evie had never been to a gypsy wedding before. Not one like this, with so much colour and excitement for what was usually quite a somber ceremony according to the church she was used to. Yes, Esme - her newest relative - was wearing white as she made her way down the aisle, but that was pretty much where the resemblance ended. After all, when had church ever involved the use of a knife before? … or real blood?

Evie had clearly been going to the wrong services.

“That’s the mingling of the two bloods. Where two families become one family,” Jonny explained, grinning ear to ear as Esme and John clasped hands together. The look on their faces said it all. “I now pronounce you, man and wife! Go on John, kiss the bride, will you?”

The cheer was instantaneous, as were the celebrations that followed.

Evie was quick to hug and congratulate John and his new bride. To her relief, he seemed happy - excited even, and who could blame him? Esme was gorgeous. After a few moments of talking, Evie had also deduced that she was wild and almost as much of a true gypsy as Polly. She was also kind, witty and clever - she had to be if Tommy had accepted her to join their family, their side of this now resolved conflict. He wouldn’t have accepted just anyone and yet again, they were all forced to have faith he knew what he was doing.

That didn’t mean Evie had to hold it against Esme. No matter how she’d joined the Shelby clan, she was a Shelby nonetheless and Evie knew better than most how daunting it was to join such a clan as this.

“Congratulations,” she smiled once more, kissing John’s cheek and nodding at his bride. “Be good to one another.”

“We will be.”

“And welcome to the family, Esme.”

“Thank you,” she nodded, grinning as John slid his arm about her waist and held her close.

Evie took that as her cue to leave the newly weds to it. As it was, one of the younger Lee boys had decided to take advantage of the fact she was currently by herself, lingering by the now raging dance floor.  

He was quick to stand beside her, taking her hand and shoot her a teasing grin. “Fancy a dance?”

Evie automatically went to decline, but changed her mind. He was handsome and the night was young. “Why not?” she shrugged. It was a night of peace and celebration after all. “Just don’t blame me if I stand on your toes.”

With that, she let him grab her other hand and spin her into the crowd. She didn’t know the steps, if there even were any, nor did she know the song the band were singing. All she knew, was that she felt weightless, skipping about with her partner.

“I’m Antony,” he grinned, bellowing to be heard over the violin and drumbeats.

“Evelyn!”

“Pleasure to meet you, Evelyn Shelby!”

Give it five more minutes, and several broken toes, and she’d see if he still felt that way after all.

------

Just because the light soon disappeared, didn’t mean the celebrations did. In fact, as candles and lanterns were lit, so too were everyones spirits; There were drinks being poured, games of cards being won, and at one point - gunshots and fireworks.

It was official, Evie loved weddings. Particularly, Shelby weddings.

She also liked dancing and was not looking to stop anytime soon. She’d danced with multiple partners, making her way around the floor before finally ending up beside her aunt. For a pregnant woman, Ada was doing rather well at keeping up.

To be honest, if Evie was having fun, then Ada was on a whole other level. It was almost hysterical watching as her aunt spun and cheered and staggered about the place. After weeks, months even, without her, she was glad to have her back and making mischief with her.

“Fuck. I missed dancing!”

“That’s not dancing!”

“It is!” she protested, snagging Evie’s arm and spinning her around and around. “I should know. I taught you, didn’t I?”

Evie erupted into laughter at the memory. “I think we broke Polly’s vase when you tried to dip me!”

“And her clock with that lift!”

Both girls erupted into further laughter, tears trickling down their cheeks. All Evie could see was the memory of her aunt Polly’s face as she’d come into the kitchen to find Ada lifting Evie over her head, surrounded by broken china and glass.

“God! I’ve missed you,” Evie whined, hugging Ada close as her emotions over took her for a second. Her aunt didn’t seem to mind though as she hugged her back tightly.

“I’ve missed you too. We should never go this long without speaking ever again.”

“Fine by me. After the baby’s born, we should go dancing together.”

“Fuck yes!”

As if proving her enthusiasm for the idea, Ada began to twirl all over again, faster and more manically than before. Apparently it was enough to worry her family. Arthur was by their side in an instant.

“Come on, Ada. Enough now. Enough,” he tried, to no avail. He went to reach for her, only for her to spin away faster. “Ada.”

Even Tommy was coming over from his seat, sighing as he approached. That was enough to knock the smile from Evie’s face, especially as she noticed Polly’s concerned expression. What did they expect? Ada had always enjoyed living vicariously and she’d been locked away for weeks.

“Ada,” her father coaxed, addressing her like some spooked animal. “Come on, have a rest. Sit down now.”

“Come and look, Esme! Look at the family you’ve joined!” Ada bellowed in reply. “Come look at the man who runs it, who picks his brother’s wives for them!”

Evie turned, an apology already on her lips as John and Esme were startled from their own celebrations. She could see John was about to say something less than nice to his drunk, pregnant sister.  

“He hunts his own sister down like a rat, and tried to kill his own brother-in-law!”

“Ada, that’s enough!” Arthur urged, as both Polly and Tommy closed in.

“Now, he won’t even let me have a fucking dance!-”

“Ada!”

“-Not even at a fucking wedding,” she seethed, glaring at Tommy whilst Polly tried to wrap her arms around her niece and guide her to a chair.

“Sit her down,” John pleaded.

Jesus. Every Shelby was involved now. Only Finn appeared to be missing and he was too busy playing with the Lee children to care. Else, he’d have found it hilarious.

“Calm down, Ada. Calm down.”

However, Ada’s face was anything but calm. In fact, it looked horrified. Polly only had to glance down to know why.

“Holy shit.” She sighed. “Water. Right.”

“Bloody hell Ada,” Arthur groaned. “You do pick your times.”

“Her water’s broke!”

“I didn’t plan this!”

“Right we need to move.”

“Get off me, Tom.”

Everyone erupted into chaos. Evie lost track of who was talking or even in charge of the scene. She simply followed, excitement and panic coursing through her as she took Ada’s hand and squeezed.

“Evie?”

“I’m right here,” she promised, helping towards the waiting car. “I swore it at the beginning and I meant it. You’ll always have me. I’m not going anywhere. Not until we have a screaming baby in your arms.”

-----------

Screaming.

So much screaming.

It was official - Evie was never having a baby.

“It hurts!”

“I know,” Polly cooed, manoeuvring the sheets about as she peered up from her position between Ada’s parted legs. “If it didn’t it wouldn’t be called labour.”

“I want Freddie!”

“Ada-”

“Please!” she sobbed, laying her sweaty head back against Evie’s chest. Despite Polly’s warning Evie had chosen to stay. She wasn’t going anywhere. Even if she knew nothing about delivering a baby, she knew all about loving and supporting her family. She and Ada had been there for each other time and time again.

Nothing had changed, just because Ada was married.

“You can do this,” Evie whispered, kissing her aunt’s damp brow. “Freddie’s on his way. You heard Polly. Dad’s given his word. Freddie can come. He’ll be here any second.”

“So will this little one,” Polly urged as Ada yelped again, a contraction cutting off the conversation.  “Keep going. That’s right. Push.”

And to her credit, she did. Ada pushed, screaming and crushing Evie’s hand in the process. Yet, Evie wouldn’t have had it any other way. Her heart was racing as within the span of mere minutes she heard the soft cries of a baby.

Ada’s baby.

“Oh my god,” she whimpered, hugging Ada tightly as she tried to catch her breath. Polly and Esme were doing their part, cleaning and tidying everything below before presenting the baby to its mother. “You did it, Ada. You did it.” “I did,” she giggled, almost deliriously. She looked like she could have slept for weeks.

“Ada. Congratulations, darling. It’s a boy.” Polly’s voice broke them from their celebration as they turned their eyes downward to the cloth wrapped bundle now being passed their way. Soft, tiny fingers poking out were all Evie could see as she gaped at her new cousin.

She wanted to cry. Damn it, Ada and Polly actually were crying, as was the baby. It was a room of crying people. All shedding happy tears though.

“A baby boy,” Ada whispered, staring at the bundle in her arms.

Then they heard it.

The door banging below.

“Ada! Come on! Open up!”

“Freddie,” Ada whimpered, exhausted eyes turning to the hall. She didn’t even have to ask. Polly was already half way down the stairs. The already perfect moment would now be complete, as would their family now that the father had arrived. Just in time too.

He would get to meet his son.

Evie couldn’t have been happier for Ada, grinning as she heard Freddie’s frantic footsteps approaching. The look on his face as he burst into the room was awestruck.

Then again, seeing his wife, beaming ear to ear, cradling their newborn in her arms tended to have that affect on a person.

“It’s a boy, Freddie,” Ada whispered.

Freddie simply blinked. His smile grew as he took the invitation, approaching slowly before perching on the stool next to them. Evie was quick to move aside, allowing him to take her place as he reached over and took the bundle for himself.

One look was all it took.

He was in love.

“It’s a beautiful baby boy,” he gaped, much to everyone’s amusement. Polly even wiped her eyes hastily, as if trying to hide her tears of joy. “There you go. Welcome to the world, son. Welcome to the world.”

His tone was of wonder and of euphoria as he stared down at the boy in his arms. Who knew what he was thinking.

Was that how her father would have looked, had he been there for her birth? Would he have stared at her like she was his entire world? Evie gulped at the thought. It was stupid to think of such things, but she couldn’t help it. A small part was jealous as she witnessed the tender tableau before her.

The truth was, her mother had probably been alone. Who had she had as a friend to hold her hand or assist with the birth? Maybe their neighbours? They were always kind to them, looking out for the small family. Still, it wouldn’t have been like this, that much Evie was sure of. Not full of love and support.

Her mother had had her reasons, Evie knew that. It just didn’t make witnessing what they could have had any less painful.

“What are you going to call him?”

“Karl,” Ada grinned, answering Esme’s question. “After Karl Marx.”

“Who?”

“Bloody hell,” Polly sniggered. “Karl’s a lovely name, Ada.”

A lovely name for a lovely boy. Evie was about to say as much when there was yet another knock at the door. Well, knock probably wasn’t the right word, not when the door rattled under the weight of their visitor’s fist.

“Police! Open up!”

Everyone froze. No one knew what to do.

The Police? The Police were here? Why? How?

“Oh god,” Evie choked, reaching instinctively for Ada and taking her hand. She also watched as Polly was quick to snatch Karl out of his father’s arms and placed him securely back with his mother.

That was all they had time for as the door burst open down below. Everything that followed for the next five minutes was pure pandemonium. Evie didn’t even know where to look. She lost track with the sudden surge of bodies in the house, all arguing and brawling, dragging Freddie outside with them.

Esme was vicious in her attempts to defend her new family. Polly too, was screaming blue murder as she tried and failed to stop them. She was also gone, storming out mere moments after the Police had left.

No one needed to ask to know where she was headed, or whom she intended to see. “I’m gonna set this right,” she’d rambled, kissing a now hysterical Ada as she left.

How? How could anyone make this right? Evie didn’t know how it could have gone wrong. No one knew Freddie was here. Her father had given his word. He wouldn’t have lied to them… not today… not even he was that callous.

Right?

Evie wished she could be sure. However, she had bigger concerns than her father’s integrity to worry about; Ada was already pushing herself up, onto her feet, and trying to reach for her forgotten coat and shoes.

“I need to go home.”

“No,” Esme pleaded, trying to force her to sit back down by the fire. “You just gave birth. You need to rest.”

“What I need is my husband,” Ada sobbed. “I need to be out of this house!”

Evie took that as her cue to intervene, before her aunt did any damage to herself or anyone else in the room. “I’ll take you home, ok?” she offered, reaching for her arm. “We’ll take the car. Save you walking.”

“But-”

Whilst well intentioned, the look Evie passed Esme told her it was hopeless. She’d soon learn Shelby women did only what they wanted, when they wanted. Everyone else could be damned. Right now, Ada cared about one thing and one thing only: keeping herself and her baby safe. That meant getting as far from Shelby territory as possible.

“Tell Polly where we’ve gone if she comes back, ok?” Evie stated, nodding at Esme.

To her credit, Esme didn’t argue. She hurried to gather Ada’s things, helping Evie to assist her aunt and new-born cousin into the back of the waiting car. She even offered to accompany them.

“I know about babies and what needs doing now,” she explained, hopping into the passenger’s seat. “I’ll be more use to you there than sitting on my ass here.”

Evie and Ada were visibly grateful for her company; They were going to need all the help they could get.

-------------

It was hours before either Evie or Esme returned. In fact, the sun was already beginning to rise as Evie rounded the corner of Watery Lane, the engine humming as it bounced across the cobbles. Whilst she much preferred riding to driving, she’d learned all the same during the war. When there hadn’t been any men to drive anywhere.

Like riding, she loved the solitude and freedom driving offered. She only wished she could turn the car around and drive away from it all… anywhere else… anywhere but here would have been good enough for her.

Her rage had been steadily building with every moment that had passed since Freddie had been taken. By now, she was shaking as she controlled the urge to march inside her house and shoot the lot of them.

Instead, she ground to a halt, slamming the car door harder than necessary and barging her way into Watery Lane.

She’d hardly made it in the door before Polly was upon her, wide eyed and panicked.

“Is she-?”

“She’s alright, Pol,” Evie soothed, glad to see the immediate relief in Polly’s eyes. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t be hurrying back to Ada the moment she could, to check on her for herself. “She’s sleeping. I made sure she ate and kept an eye on her. Esme did too. She’s there to help with feeding and stuff when the baby wakes. Ada just needs sleep.”

Her aunt’s face relaxed at the news, but her skin was still too pale. “She shouldn’t be alone. Not now.”

“She didn’t have much choice,” Evie spat, her eyes following to the guilty party. The one who had made this divide. “Isn’t that right, Dad?”

She hadn’t even acknowledged the others in the room until that point, but now her stare was ice cold as she focused on them.

She snapped.

She grabbed the nearest item - a teapot of all things - and hurled it at his head. Luckily, Tommy dodged, meaning it shattered harmlessly against the wall. But the look of disbelief on his face was accurate enough.

“Oi!” he warned, hurrying to reach her before she could throw something else. Had John not wrapped his arms around her, she probably would have. There were several teacups she had always hated in particular, lying within reach in an open invitation. “Listen to me! I didn’t do this.”

“Then who did?” Evie bellowed.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t-? Bullshit.”

Evie spat at him, breaking free of John and pushing him off of her.

“Pack it in!” he begged, rolling his eyes. “Tommy wouldn’t do this.”

Whether they believed him or not didn’t matter. Evie knew in her heart they’d been betrayed. If not by her father then who was it? Who was she supposed to believe had this kind of information, other than family?

“First you dictated John’s life. Now theirs? Is there anyone you won’t control?”

“Evie-”

“Don’t,” she seethed, panting from the exertion. “Don’t touch me. If you had anything to do with this,” she warned, “then I’ll never speak to you again. Ever.”

“It wasn’t me!”

“Promise?”

“Promise! On your mother’s life.”

A stray tear escaped Evie’s eye as she turned and stormed back across to Polly. Such an oath had to be honoured until it was proven otherwise. But that didn’t mean Evie had to like it. So, she choose to leave her father where he stood: on shaky ground.

#Peaky Blinders #peaky blinder #PeakyBlinders #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinder imagine #Tommy Shelby #ada shelby #ada thorne #polly gray #john shelby #arthur shelby #esme shelby #esme lee #finn shelby #masterlist #thegangster'sdaughter #ithebookhoarder #thesilentmage

[ithebookhoarder]

Hey! I love your story the gangsters daughter SO much and I was wondering if I could request something based on it?

Where it’s the night before Evie’s wedding and she goes to Tommy’s office to talk as she’s nervous and they have a fluffy moment where he doesn’t think he’s ready for her to get married! ☺️

Cold Feet (Parent!Tommy Shelby x Evie)

A/N: Ok ok ok. First of all anon, how dare you be so fluffing cute?! And second, OF COURSE YOU CAN! I love Evie and I’m always looking for excuses to write for my baby. Also, I’m totally not crying at the thought of Tommy having to let his little girl go and get married and just wanting her to be happy... I just have something in my eye. 

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of alcohol, mentions of smoking. Let me know if I missed anything. 

Masterlist:

Tommy had always known this day would come. 

It was as inevitable as death was for every single living thing on this planet. 

No matter how hard he’d prayed that he’d have just a little more time left, his luck had finally run out. There was no delaying it any longer now that the day was almost upon him when his life would change in a way that would alter his world forever. 

It was tomorrow, in fact, that Tommy would see Evie shed the Shelby name for another. 

True, he could not have chosen a more worthy candidate, and knew Toby would love Evie as she deserved to be loved. That didn't lessen the sting it caused though, to know his days as the only male in her life were now over. Soon, she would no longer be his, no longer living in the same house as him. She would be a married woman, and that filled Tommy with incredible joy, and incredible sorrow at the same time.

This was the curse of fathers. 

It seemed only yesterday that she was small enough to not even care about boys, let alone marriage. He remembered a particular conversation with fondness, when Evie had only been with them a few months or so. 

It had been in the wake of a row over Ada’s most recent conquest at the time. An annoying boy, Liam had only lasted three dates before being scared off by Arthur, John, and Tommy.  Despite being nothing particularly special, Ada had been incredibly enraged, yelling about how she wanted to marry him and that she’d never find love again. 

Of course, Evie had found the whole thing hilarious, if not a little confusing. Hence, when she’d sat up in bed that night, as Tommy passed by her room one final time, he couldn’t help but smile at her quizzical expression. 

“But, Dad. If she loves him what’s wrong with that? Besides, Mum had a baby on her own… if Ada did end up pregnant would it really be so horrible? She’d have a child, like me, and you all warmed up to me pretty quickly.”

“Well,” Tommy had begun, trying not to laugh at the absurdity of this discussion with his only recently recovered twelve-year old daughter. Polly was always far better at talking about this kind of stuff. “It’s… you see… people tend to only have children when they’re married.”

“Why?”

“It’s just how things are done.”

“Well, that’s stupid.”

Tommy smirked. “Most people would agree with you, but a lot don’t. They can be horrible and cruel, even to women who were in love but weren’t married when they had a kid. So, we’re trying to spare Ada from that. It’s fucking complicated, but at the end of the day, she deserves to be happy, doesn’t she?” 

“Yes,” Evie sighed, suddenly staring down at her bedsheets nervously. “But… does that mean Auntie Martha was right? That I have to get married when I grow up? But Dad, the only boys I like are you… and my uncles… I don’t suppose I could marry one of them?”

Tommy immediately bit back his laughter as he shook his head and held her close. “I’m afraid Martha would object to you marrying our John. Besides, you don’t want one of us old men when you can find someone young and handsome who you love very much.”

“But how will I know who that is? Or if they’re good or not?” she asked innocently. 

“I’ll help you,” Tommy offered, not without a little hesitation. To even think such a time would exist, when he would have to part with his daughter, when he’d only just found her again… “You can depend on it. Any unworthy bastards will be driven away by me, and the hounds.”

At that Evie spluttered into laughter, before pressing a kiss to her father’s cheek. “Now that, I would pay to see.”

Well, that day had come and gone and Tommy hadn’t released any hounds. No. The only hound in sight was Cyril, and he’d warmed incredibly quickly to the new member of the family. 

He hadn’t been the only one either. In fact, Tommy had rolled out the red fucking carpet, welcoming the man into the family. Sure, it hadn’t been without its challenges along the way, but as much as Tommy hated to admit it, Toby was a good man. More than that, he’d proved his loyalty to the family, and to Evie, over and over again. 

If he had to part with Evie to anyone, then at least it was to someone as decent as Toby. It made the whole ordeal hurt just a little less as he sipped his whiskey and stared out of the study window. 

Despite the late hour, there were still faint laughs and shrieks of delight echoing from upstairs. Ada, Lara, Polly and Lizzie were most likely to blame, having taken charge of Evie’s so called ‘last night of freedom’. Tommy didn’t know what that entailed exactly and he didn’t even want to try and guess. Not given how much champagne they’d lugged upstairs with them earlier, having returned from a busy evening dancing at a local club. 

If they weren’t all hungover as hell in the morning it would be a minor miracle. 

Still, as long as they got their asses to church on time and didn’t throw up on the minister, then everything would be fine. No. It would be perfect. Tommy had promised Evie that much and he’d be damned before he failed to deliver a promise as solemn as this one. 

She’d done the same for him, twice in fact, even if his union to Lizzie had been a far simpler affair than his first marriage to Grace. 

At least Evie hadn’t insisted on there being a ‘father of the bride’ toast - even if Ada had… Somehow, Tommy knew his would never be anywhere as good as the ones his daughter had given. 

She always had had a way with words.  

“Dad?”

Tommy froze. 

Speak of the devil and she shall appear. 

He was startled by the sound of her voice, echoing from the open doorway, as if summoned by his worry. He’d almost thought he’d imagined it until he turned and saw her standing there, looking a little worse for wear in her finery. 

Apparently he’d been right; she’d had a very fun evening.  

“Evie?” he blinked, clearing his throat as he tried to compose himself. “What are you doing down here? It’s late and I thought you’d be upstairs celebrating a bit longer. Big day tomorrow.”

Evie smiled, shrugging as she stepped into the office and closed the door behind her. She knew she never needed an invitation, having given up knocking long ago. 

“I was but… I don’t know. I just wanted to come and see you, if that’s alright?”

It would always be alright. Tommy hoped she knew that, even if the anxiety in her eyes said otherwise. Then again, he suspected the nervous energy wasn’t directly aimed at him.  

Over a decade later, he knew his daughter better than he knew himself. It was why he nodded, gesturing to the seat next to him in a clear invitation. “Of course it is, but won’t the others miss you?” 

“Oh, they’re all too busy finishing the last of the wine to miss me right away and… I don’t know why but I needed a minute away from everything. It was all a bit… much.”

“Yeah, well, welcome to my world. This family has always been a bit much,” Tommy teased. That was why they both loved them though. The Shelby spirit was strong and made them who they were. They wouldn’t change it for the world, even if it did drive them nuts on occasion. 

And Toby was willingly entering this family, why? 

“I’m almost scared to ask what’s being going on up there.”

“Probably wise, Dad. No one should see thing things I have tonight.” 

“I thought so.”

A laugh escaped Evie’s lips as she sat beside him, accepting the glass of whiskey he handed her without a second thought. It was simply routine by this point, the two of them caught in a silent routine on nights like this when they needed to simply clear their heads and think. 

It was an unwritten agreement between the pair of them. As was the somewhat confessional nature this room had taken on in its time under the Shelby household. So much had happened since they’d first moved in to Arrow House, from Charles and Ruby being born, to losing Grace, to Evie falling in love, Tommy’s ascension to Parliament, losing John and Esme, Lizzie and Tommy’s wedding… 

Only a decade or so, and yet Evie felt like a whole novel would never be enough to capture her family’s history or the almost surreal events that had taken place.

“Besides, it’s been a while since we had a talk like this, Dad,” Evie continued, shrugging as she sipped her drink and stared at the room. “Everything’s been happening so fast since Toby proposed. It feels like we haven’t had a moment to breathe, really. You’ve been so helpful, agreeing to everything and allowing us to turn this place upside down. I can’t thank you enough for that, by the way. I half expected you to be like Arthur yelling at the florist earlier.”

“It’s the least I can do, Evie. It’s not every day my daughter gets married - and he yelled so I didn’t have to. Fucking trying to sneak carnations in when the order clearly said Clematis with the centrepieces.”

Evie snorted, failing to hide the fact hearing Tommy Shelby raging about flowers was possibly the funniest thing to have ever happened. Ever. Good thing he hadn’t been there when someone had accidentally delivered the wrong amount of chairs for the tent erected out on the lawn. She could only imagine the carnage that would have occurred.  

“My knight in shining armour.” 

“Always. No ring changes that, Evie. I’ll always be there for you, whether it be to fend off blind florists or worse.” 

Despite the fact he acted as if he was merely joking, Evie knew her father meant each and every word. He always had. Even with their ups and downs, he had never abandoned her, always trying to do what was best for her, even if he went about it the wrong way from time to time. 

When she thought back now, to the day she’d first met him in that graveyard, on what had been one of the darkest days of her life, she wished she could tell her younger self not to be afraid. To not be angry or scared of the future before her and the wondrous people that would be in it, thanks to the wonderful man she got to call her father. 

“Dad, can… can I ask you a question? About tomorrow?” 

Tommy hummed softly. “I don’t know what I can tell you about weddings, but fine. Of course.”

“It’s not about the wedding per say, more the bit after. I just… I’m scared, Dad. I don’t know why but I am.”

The words made Tommy’s heart plummet before he’d even realised what she’d said. It took everything in him not to panic or try and express the pain he felt at the idea his daughter was scared about what was supposed to be a happy day - a happy and expensive one, even if Tobias had money enough to cover a lot of the costs. 

“Of what?” 

“I don’t know,” Evie whispered, almost as if ashamed to confess it. “I’m so happy and excited to start the life together Toby and I have talked about for years but, now that it’s here? I don’t know. I just … I feel like I’m going to throw up or pass out and I don’t know why. Is something wrong with me? Who gets terrified of their own wedding?”

“Every fucking sane person on the planet,” Tommy countered swiftly, a hand reaching out to take hers. “As someone with experience here, you can trust me when I say everyone gets scared, Evie. Everyone. No matter how certain you are that you love the person or that this is the right next step.”  

“But why?” 

“Because it’s a big commitment,” Tommy continued, “and it’s a new chapter in your life. That’s exciting but also terrifying. To know you have a chance to start a family of your own? To choose your own path? That’s nothing to take lightly, and if I didn’t think you wanted this, or that you weren’t ready, I would have said something before now. You can count on that.” 

He had a point.  

“And I know you, Evelyn Shelby. You have never let anything or anyone stop you from going after what you want, even if it’s scary or someone says no. If being with Tobias is what you want, then so be it. You’re a grown woman, as much as I fucking hate to admit it. I think you’ve proven over and over again that you’re the bravest one out of the lot of us, and I’m so proud of you. Your Mother would be too. She’d want you to be happy and to enjoy tomorrow for what it is: the start of another chapter in your incredible life.” 

The thought of her absence was enough to make Evie’s eyes sting with tears, as was the conviction with which her father spoke about her. The pride was clear, even if he looked a little scared himself at what tomorrow would bring for them all. 

“Thank you.”

Tommy nodded, knowing better than to argue as she threw herself at him, coiling herself around him as she often did. Ever since the first time she’d done it, he’d been unable to resist it. So what? His daughter’s embrace was one of the few in the world that made him feel loved. It was as if her presence alone was enough to restore him, to banish whatever was troubling him. 

The thought he wouldn’t just be able to have such hugs so frequently made his heart ache even more. 

He didn’t want her to go. 

In his eyes, she was still the twelve-year-old girl he’d first met. She always would be, no matter how much she insisted on growing up and being a so called ‘adult’. It was why he planned on keeping her room upstairs exactly as it was now, just in the case she ever needed or even wanted it. 

That, and because he physically couldn’t bear to erase any remaining traces of her from his home. Of course, Lizzie had teased him rotten about it, even if she understood. Still young, Lizzie hated the thought of Ruby ever growing up and leaving her for anyone - let alone a husband. 

At least they had some time left before that would be happening. Tommy didn’t know if he could survive anymore heartache so soon.

“I love you, so much, Evie,” Tommy whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and holding her close. “You’ll always be my little girl, and you’ll always be welcome here. Anytime, day or night. This will still be your home, and we’ll still be your family. If anything, we’re simply gaining more members, not losing any. Understand?”

“Yes,” Evie nodded, wiping her eyes as she shot him a watery smile. “I love you too, Dad, even if I swear I’m supposed to be the one telling you all this. Isn’t it normally the father of the bride who’s supposed to get all teary eyed and jittery the night before?”

“We’ve never been conventional, Evie. In case you forgot, we have politicians, the Lee branch of the family, and Alfie fucking Solomons all coming tomorrow, for fucks sake. Why should we start worrying about tradition now?” 

Evie’s laughter was infectious at the picture of the eclectic scene awaiting them, especially considering how excited Alfie had been at the prospect of attending a Shelby wedding. Oh, Arthur was going to explode at the sight of the Jewish gangster sat in all his finery. That, and when he saw the huge gift he had been promising her for weeks now.  

She couldn’t wait.  

“True. Well, traditional or not, I’m so grateful for the life we have, Dad. I’ll never be able to tell you how grateful I am that you were the person who showed up at that graveyard,” she confessed. “There’s no one else in the whole world I want to be my side tomorrow. You’ll still walk me down the aisle, right?”

Tommy beamed. “How can you ask that, Evelyn Shelby? I’ve always been right beside you and tomorrow is no different. Wild horses couldn’t stop me.” 

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me,” Tommy whispered, “simply enjoy yourself and let me and the others take care of the rest. That’s all the thanks we need… and maybe call once in a while, just so I know you’re alright.”

Evie laughed, knowing she would probably still end up here most of the time anyway after she was married. But she agreed, pleased to put his mind at rest as well as he’d put her own. “I really do love you, Dad.” 

“And I love you too, Evie. Always.” 

#ithebookhoarder #Tommy Shelby #Peaky Blinders #peaky blinder #PeakyBlinders #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinder imagine #peaky blinder headcanon #tommy #parent tommy shelby #thegangster'sdaughter #masterlist #request #prompt #answered #Arthur Shelby #alfie solomons #lizzie stark

[ithebookhoarder]

Chapter 1:  A Twist of Fate.  (The Gangster’s Daughter)

Description: Life for Tommy Shelby was pretty ordinary; all he ever had to worry about were his family, their business and the Blinders. Nothing more, nothing less. Well, that was until his 'daughter', a twelve-year-old girl called Evelyn Westmore, was thrown into his life, dredging up feelings and things from the past he'd done very well to forget.  Also available on AO3:

Warnings: Original Character(s), Canon-Typical Violence, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Explicit Language, Gangsters, Period Typical Attitudes, Parent Tommy Shelby, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent. 

Words: 2248 

---

1913.

---

Evelyn Westmore had never had an easy life. Being the daughter of a single mother, living in the west end of London had its challenges.

Then again, who didn’t have challenges these days? Just because they weren’t the richest and Evie didn’t have a father, didn’t mean Evie was any more special than the people who lived next door. No. In fact, she and her mother were rather ordinary. Anyone who was to notice both Evie and her mother in the street would never have blinked twice. After all, they were just two faces out of the thousands that inhabited London.

They lived in a perfectly ordinary house, in a perfectly ordinary street. Granted, the faded brickwork and soot stained streets were a far cry from somewhere fancy where rich people lived like Kensington, but it was home. It was their home and Evie was proud of it.

Who needed marble pillars or acres of land? They had all they needed in the world - and that was more than most. Four walls, a roof overhead and the two of them to love and support one another.

Evie had never known any different and she had no interest in ever doing so. She was content with being ordinary.

Her mother, however, was extraordinary. In Evie’s eyes, her mother -Rebecca Westmore - was the most special person in the world … and the most beautiful. Her flowing auburn hair was mesmerising and her features delicate, like the ladies she had seen on the back of cigarette packets or on pictures in shop windows.

“I wish my hair was like yours,” Evie had lamented once. She had only been about five at the time, and her mother had been bathing her, as was their ritual, by the fire in the living room.

Her black hair had always been untameable, unlike her mother’s fine locks. Apparently she had her deceased father to thank for that, but still, she did her best with a comb and ribbon, tying it off into a loose plait that ran down her spine most of the time.

“But yours is so lovely,” her mother had chuckled, splashing water in to her infant daughter’s face.  The laughter was immediate as were the kisses she peppered about her daughter’s brow. “It’s so soft… like your father’s was.”

Was.

There was that word again.

Evie’s father was dead. Or so her mother had told her when Evie had asked her once.

They’d been children when they’d first met and barely adults when they’d started courting. Unfortunately, he’d died of consumption, just after they’d been married. He hadn’t even got to hear the news that his wife was pregnant with what would soon be their daughter. He’d never known she’d existed, let alone had the chance to meet her in person.

“Do you miss Dada?”

Rebecca sighed. Her soft expression dropped for a moment as she paused bathing her daughter. “Every day… it broke my heart to say goodbye to Thomas… but I was relieved when I found out I was having you only a few weeks later.”

“Oh?” Evie blinked curiously. “Why?” “Because, Silly, it meant I had a piece of your father with me.” Rebecca always looked sad when she spoke about him. Sure, she smiled as prettily as ever, but there was a sadness in her eyes Evie could see clear as day. “He was gone but… I had a piece of our love to cherish and hold on to. You’re half him and half of me.”

Evie blinked again. “Like a sponge cake?”

Needless to say, biology was not a concept the five year old had grasped yet. Rebecca giggled. “Just like that, yes.”

There had been many times since, that Rebecca would reminisce with her daughter about her old life, her old home and what could have been.

They’d come from Birmingham originally. Evie didn’t have to be a detective to know that considering the thick accent her mum sported, even if it had diluted now to a slightly more London-esque tone. Then again, she’d been living here twelve years now. She didn’t speak of Birmingham often but her mother’s past was hard to forget, as her memories and old tales proved.

Still, both Rebecca and Evelyn were content with their lives in London.

Her mother would come home every day, bone weary but smiling as she placed whatever she’d brought for dinner onto the table. Together, they’d sit there, her mother prepping and cooking, whilst Evie finished any school work she had.

School was also by no means anything exceptional. The rundown public school was a good thirty minutes walk away, located behind the factories that formed the industrial district. However, Evie didn’t mind. As long as she had a book to bury herself in to, and a pen in her hand she felt like she could take on the world. The dim grey classroom, and soot stained playing field would fade away as her world became replaced by by-gone eras, fantasy realms, or even other galaxies.

Her confidence wasn’t arrogance. It was well deserved considering her repeatedly impressive grades and scores. That, and her teacher, Miss Aisly was mostly to blame. She frequently encouraged Evie to push herself, to even possibly consider a scholarship to the local college when she was older.

Of course, her mother had been all for such a suggestion. But that was her mother; a perpetually optimistic human being. Where others saw rain clouds, she saw rainbows.

“I ain’t ever made much of my life, but that doesn’t mean it has to apply to you too,” she’d state firmly, staring at her daughter with sadness in her eyes. Sadness, and a glimmer of determination. Hope, even, that she could envision a better life than this one for her daughter. “You stick to your books, Evie and you’ll reach the stars one day. I know it.”

And like everything her mother had ever told her, Evie believed her whole heartedly.

That was until that fateful day.

The day her life had changed for ever.

-----

The day hadn’t seemed very extraordinary to Evie, as she awoke that morning. There was a thin mist in the air, and sure, it was slightly warmer than normal for this time of year, but that was hardly anything to bat an eyelid at as she eased out of bed. Winter in London could be temperamental, changing as often as the city allowed.

Her hands made their way into the dish of now lukewarm water her mother had laid out by the fire. Using the cloth, she washed herself and prepared for the day, pulling on a thick jumper over her faded blue dress and boots. A final glance into the cracked mirror on the wall confirmed her suspicions.

It would have to do.

From there, she then made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen beyond. Twelve years old may have seemed young, but she knew how to fend for herself. Like most mornings, she filled the kettle and placed it on the stove to boil. She then began to heat the porridge on the stove, knowing her mother would be down any moment, ready for breakfast too before hurrying off to work.

Evie had heard her mother up and about until the early hours of the morning, finishing her sewing. Working at a milliners was a good job as jobs in these parts went, and the pay was fair. However, her boss, a grumpy old woman, had been piling the orders in recently and it was taking its toll. Hence, Evie was more than happy to prepare breakfast for the pair of them and let her mother have a few moments extra in bed.  

“Mum, breakfast is ready!” she called a moment later, placing the two steaming bowls on the table.

“Coming!”

Her mother’s voice was melodic as it echoed down the stairs, followed swiftly by the heels of her boots clacking against the wood.

“You should have woken me sooner. You didn’t need to sort breakfast.”

“I don’t mind,” Evie smiled, squirming as her mother kissed her cheek and hurried to grab her serving. “You needed a few more minutes in bed. Besides, it’s just porridge. I can’t mess that up too badly. Not compared to the egg incident.”

“Good point - I didn’t even know you could mess up boiled eggs.”

“It was an accident!” Evie protested again, knowing it was pointless. She was not destined to have culinary talents as she had found out on multiple occasions. Instead, she was content to simply re-heat and serve dishes her mother had already made. This morning was no exception.

“It was sweet,” her mother teased, hurrying to finish her portion.

“Didn’t taste sweet.”

“True, but you’re sweet for trying. That’s all that counts.”

Evie laughed, rolling her eyes at her mother. She was officially a sap and she knew it. She’d have eaten burnt toast if she thought it would make her daughter happy. But that was who she was as a person; all she wanted was to make people happy, to make the world a little brighter.

It was just another reason Evie loved her mother.

If only she’d known that this was the last morning she would get to spend with her, she would have spent longer in her arms. She would have tried to commit that last kiss to memory, along with the soft scent of her perfume drifting off her in waves as she finished her breakfast and hurried out the door.

But no. Like everything in life, the moment was fleeting. There one second and gone the next. Of course, Evie wasn’t aware of that detail. Not until later that evening when she returned from school to find a strange man waiting for her.

She could tell by his clothing he was a policeman. She’d seen enough around the streets before to recognise his uniform. However, what he was doing outside of their house was unclear. Neither she nor her mother had done anything illegal… that she knew of.

“Excuse me, sir?” Evie croaked, gesturing to the doorway he was clearly blocking. “This is my house.”

At the sound of her voice, he’d turned. He looked down at the child before him and coughed anxiously. “Miss Westmore, I presume?”

“Yes? Can I help you?”

Then he said it.

The words Evie had never thought she’d hear.

The words that sent her world crashing down into a million little pieces.

She had stood there, a ringing echoing in her ears. All she could hear was that word over and over again… dead. Her mother was dead?

A stupid car accident of all things. Some drunken idiot pulling around the corner too fast, who hadn’t even seen her until it was too late.

Evie choked. Tears began to prick the corners of her eyes.

“No… No, you’re wrong,” she protested, shaking her head as she reached for the door. “She’s not. She’s inside, waiting for me.”

“Miss-”

“You’ll see. She wouldn’t leave me. She wouldn’t!”

Her tone was forceful as she struggled to push her way into the house, ignoring the pleas of the officer as he tried to make her listen, to understand. He must have realised it was hopeless as she soon heard her neighbour, Mrs Dunthorpe, enter the house. She could hear the kind woman trying to make her see reason, to listen to what the officer had to say.

“No, no, no,” Evie whimpered, shaking her head as tears began to appear.

It was useless. Mrs Dunthorpe was kind but firm as she pulled the girl into her arms, shushing her and stroking her hair. “It’s going to be alright, dear,” she cooed, turning her attention back to the uncomfortable man in the doorway. “Thank you for letting us know. I’ll watch her tonight, officer.”

“Good,” he nodded, visibly grateful to have been relieved from the situation. “I’m sure someone will be in touch with the deceased’s wishes tomorrow.”

Her name was Rebecca! Evie wanted to scream in protest. She wasn’t just ‘the deceased’. She wasn’t just a statistic or a face or name. She was a person… a wonderful person who would never be coming home.

The thought made her sob harder, clinging to Mrs Dunthorpe’s dress as she struggled to breathe. To focus on anything other than the chasm that had opened inside of her.

This wasn’t happening.

“It’s going to be alright, Evie. I’ve got you.”

But it wasn’t going to be alright.

Not when, true to the officer’s word, news did arrive the following day. Her mother’s will was delivered, handed over formally and gravelly to her by the postboy. The boy who had always waved at her and her mother whenever they’d seen each other in the street.

“I’m sorry,” he’d mumbled awkwardly. “She was a kind woman.”

With that, he’d hurried back to his round, clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation.

“Thank you,” Evie whispered, knowing he hadn’t heard. It didn’t matter anyway. No well wishes in the world could bring her mother back. It couldn’t change whatever was inside of the envelope. She’d stared at the letter till her eyes watered. Till her world was nothing but the splotches of ink on that paper.

It was her mother’s will, stating what she wanted to happen next.

She was to be charged into the custody of -

Of her father?

Thomas Shelby.

Evie was going to faint. “Oh, fu-”

#thegangster'sdaughter #peaky blinders #peaky blinder fanfic #tommy shelby

[ithebookhoarder]

Chapter 13:  Compromises and Communists.  (The Gangster’s Daughter)

Description: Life for Tommy Shelby was pretty ordinary; all he ever had to worry about were his family, their business and the Blinders. Nothing more, nothing less. Well, that was until his ‘daughter’, a twelve-year-old girl called Evelyn Westmore, was thrown into his life, dredging up feelings and things from the past he’d done very well to forget. 

Also available on AO3:

Warnings: Original Character(s), Canon-Typical Violence, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Explicit Language, Gangsters, Period Typical Attitudes, Parent Tommy Shelby, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent.

Masterlist:

It was the first time Evie had ever gone without speaking to her father for a whole week.

It was hard enough for someone to ignore Tommy Shelby at the best of times, let alone when he was as angry or volatile as he had been ever since their argument. Still, Evie did more than a commendable job of it, choosing to always leave the room or be needed elsewhere whenever he appeared. There were enough places around Birmingham to hide other than in the Shelby shop.

Tommy, to his credit, looked as if he knew better than to force the issue. If she didn’t want to speak to him, then so be it. He had more pressing things to worry about than his daughter’s first attempts at rebellion - even if the others didn’t see it that way.

Polly had tried and failed to coax the pair into resolving the issue. Even Ada had tried.

“I did worse when I was her age, Tom, and you know it,” she’d pleaded, cornering him in the shop one afternoon. He’d simply rolled his eyes and turned away in a huff. He didn’t want to hear it.

Even Evie had let their pleas for a resolution fall on deaf ears. Ada had been sympathetic, as had Pol, but even they knew there was only so much of Tommy’s temper they could bear. Things had to change and soon. The question was which one of them would be brave enough to be the first to let their guard down.

It was just over a week later that it finally happened.

Lara knew how to sneak around the back of the fence and into their yard. Her father was too busy to notice and even if he did, Evie didn’t care. She’d just say she was dropping off a school book she’d forgotten.

Until then, she was just glad to see a friendly face that didn’t belong to a Shelby or a Blinder. Considering her life consisted only of the house or school, she didn’t have a wide social pool to distract herself with. Not one that was also accepting and accommodating to her status as a Shelby. Lara had never cared, though. She saw Evie as nothing other than her best friend and sister. It took more than Blinders to scare her off.

“So, you two still not talking?”

Evie sighed. “He doesn’t see what the problem is, Lara. He just thinks he’s always bloody right. That it’s one rule for him and one for everyone else.”

“And Jack?”

Evie shrugged, leaning back against the yard wall. “He apologised over the phone. Went on and on about getting the wrong idea and that he should have known better, drunk or not. Still, I forgave him - warned him if he ever tries that again with someone I’ll cut his eyes out myself - but I forgave him. It’s up to him if he ever speaks to me again.”

Lara sighed, offering a cigarette toward her. Evie declined, instead watching as she lit hers up in a soft puff of smoke and perched on the crate opposite. “He’ll come round. He’s just scared of your family, surprise surprise. Says he doubts he’ll ever have kids after what you did to him, but that’s actually a blessing for the world if you ask me.”

Evie couldn’t help but laugh. Only Lara could always find the silver lining in a situation like this.

“I had it under control,” Evie continued, trying to hide her smile as she replayed the moment over in her head. “He’s a friend. He just got carried away. It doesn’t excuse his behaviour but I can understand it … if only I could understand my father as easily. It’s alright for him and the others to prance around the city, getting in scrapes and scraps but god forbid I try and exercise a little independence.”

“Well, you’re his daughter.”

“So?”

“So,” Lara scoffed, blowing out a thin tendril of smoke, “fathers always get over protective when it comes to their kids - especially daughters. Think with their dicks, not their heads as my mum used to say. I don’t know why. Must be something primal in them, you know? Wanting to protect their princesses from the big bad world. A world that’s bigger and badder here, especially for someone like you.”

“Me?”

“A Shelby,” Lara explained. “This should be obvious. How has that not sunk in yet? All this time…” A groan of exasperation escaped her lips as she stared at the sky. It was then she turned, slapping Evie around the back of her head, ignoring her cry of pain and surprise.

“Oi!”

“Look. Things were different before the war and when the men were gone. But now they’re back. They’re back and your family are well known here. Respected and feared in equal measure. Not everyone out there wishes them well, Evie. Some of them would even do horrible things if they thought it would hurt your family.”

“Like hurt me,” Evie finished for her, putting the pieces together.

“Exactly.”

“So you’re saying that’s why they’re acting like pricks?”

“Unfortunately.”

That was the word. Unfortunately. After all, on one hand, it was comforting for Evie to think this whole mess had started because of the love and concern her family bore for her. However, she knew it was more than that. It wasn’t as simple as familial love. There was pride in there too. Shelby pride, male arrogance and a sense of cold hard logic.

Was that how they saw her? A piece in this business of theirs. A weakness for others to exploit. A weak damsel that needed protecting from herself and all the big bad wolves of Birmingham?

“I had it under control,” she protested sharply. And she had. Even after she’d got home, she had dissuaded her family from hunting the kid down. One mention of his parents and their position on Birmingham’s city council and they decided it wasn’t worth the attention. Not when Evie considered the matter handled.

“This time,” Lara conceded, her tone sympathetic as she reached over and squeezed her friend’s hand. “I think they just worry about a next time. You’re not a kid anymore.”

“Well, at this rate there won’t be a bloody next time. I’ll always be a kid to them. I’ll be locked up here until I’m forty!”

“A forty year old virgin? With those tits? Oh, what a waste.” Lara couldn’t help it as she started to giggle. Her laugh was infectious, or so Evie found out as she joined in, their laughter growing louder with every second at the insanity of it all. It was one of those moments where neither could speak, tears and gasps the only thing to escape either of them for a solid five minutes.

“You’re mad. You know that, right?”

“Duh. Why else do you think I drive the boys of Small Heath wild?”

“It’s all the fancy perfume - makes their heads dizzy.”

Lara winked. “Exactly. It works like a charm. Drives my Dad mental, having so many boys knocking on the door and lingering about the place. Still, it could be worse. Some people would give their right arm to have a Dad to drive them mad right now. Not everyone got so lucky with the war.”

“I know,” Evie whispered quietly.

“He loves you, you know, and even if you say you don’t, you love him too. Life’s too short for hate. Just think about it, eh?” And think about it she did.

In fact, Evie couldn’t stop thinking about it.

The feeling didn’t ease. Not even as the day dwindled on and night fell over Birmingham. Instead, it grew steadily worse, brewing away in the pit of her stomach.

By the time she’d crawled into bed, she felt positively sick with the amount of guilt inside. She’d stared up at the ceiling, repeating her conversation with Lara over and over and over. Yet, try as she might, she couldn’t un-hear what she’d said.

Nor, could she ignore the impact this feud was having on everyone. It wasn’t just her and her father that were being affected by this. Was it really fair to carry on, even if Evie was still hurt?

“Fuck it,” she grumbled, crawling out of bed.

Whenever she was hungry or couldn’t sleep she’d make her way down into the kitchen. Sitting by the fire with a cocoa or a sandwich normally did the trick. She hoped it would again tonight. Maybe it would replace the guilt that was occupying her stomach instead.

So, she crept her way out of her room and back downstairs into the parlour. The fire in the grate had been left to dwindle some time ago but was easy to revive with some tending to. Some more wood and a couple of pokes later, a steady blaze once again ignited and bathed the room in a gentle glow.

Evie liked the warmth. Her mother had always joked she must have been part cat, the way she’d always curl up in front of the burner as a child. She’d never got too hot, no matter how long she’d sat in front of it. Tonight was no different as Evie fixed herself a snack and perched herself on the table in front of it.

For a few moments she simply sat and watched and ate.

Then she heard him. “Don’t let Polly catch you up there. She’ll have your hide.”

Evie paused.

She hadn’t heard him come downstairs. Had he been in the shop then? At this hour? Then again, her father must have been part cat too. He had an uncanny ability to make himself seen and heard when he wanted. Other times, he could be stealthy, slinking in and out of places without a soul noticing.

Tonight was one of those nights.

Evie ignored him, choosing instead to carry on eating her sandwich, letting her legs swing off the table back and forth.

“Still not speaking to me, eh? Fine. I get it.” Did he though? If Evie thought for a moment he could see this whole mess from her perspective she’d have opened her mouth and said so.

“You don’t have to talk to me, but do you mind if I grab a drink? I couldn’t sleep.”

That made two of them then, however Evie doubted it was remorse that kept him awake.  Her silence was taken as confirmation as her father made his way over toward the sink.

The only noise that could be heard for the next minute or so was the running water as he filled a glass and sipped it calmly. Everything was always so calculated when it came to him. Evie could almost feel the cogs in his mind whirring away as he tried to find whatever words he was looking for.

“Do you remember when I told you I wasn’t any good at being a parent?”

Evie snorted. It felt like yesterday. “Of course.”

“Well, I meant it,” Tommy continued, slowly turning towards her. “I’m not what you’d call the fatherly type. I’m coarse and hot headed and proud. I always have been and my father was before me. It’s a family trait, you could say. Yet, I always swore that I’d never be like that; I’d never repeat the sins of my father before me, if I ever did have a child. I know what living with someone like that does to a person and I couldn’t bear to do that to someone else. Someone innocent who had no say over who their father was. When I met you, I… all I could think was ‘what has this poor girl done to deserve a bastard like me for a father?’. Now, don’t get me wrong - I’m not saying this to earn your pity. I don’t want it and I don’t need it. I’m saying this so you’ll understand.”

“Understand what?” Evie mumbled, turning her eyes from the fire towards him. It was hard to resist his voice, luring her in with his candour and empathy. Two rare traits in a Shelby.

“Who I am. Or, who I was anyway,” Tommy sighed. “But you surprised me in every possible way, Evie. You were so different to me and yet, so open and caring. We found our way of living, didn’t we though? We actually got along. We made a good go of it and then… then I messed it all up. I went and squandered that for what I believed to be the better cause - the more urgent one. I thought this war was about honour and protecting those we loved, however the minute we got there, into that shit pit in France… well, let’s just say there was nothing honourable about it. What we found was blood, mud and shit. And posh bastards using poor bastards as pawns. There was no humanity there. Nothing about unity and patriotism and all I wanted to do, was come home. Come home and tell you how sorry I was. How wrong I was for going and leaving you.”

Evie didn’t dare say a word. She didn’t even dare breath too loud for fear of stopping what had clearly been bottled up inside of him for so long. Her father had never been the talkative type, let alone the emotionally open type.

To see such a side of him was mind blowing.

She almost felt unsure as to whether or not she was dreaming this whole moment.

What had triggered this reaction?

“There were so many nights where I would lay in that fuckin’ trench and dream about you on that holiday we took in the country. You probably don’t even remember it but you were so happy and carefree. I clung to that over and over again, telling myself I had to make it back. To you.”

“I… I remember that holiday,” Evie whispered softly. “I still have that photo upstairs. The one Curly took of everyone with his new camera. He got so excited about it and made us pose for almost an hour, trying to get that shot. I thought I’d never be able to smile again my cheeks hurt so bad.”

“I couldn’t feel my cheeks for the rest of the day.”

“And then he knocked the whole thing over and thought he’d lost the film, while Finn fell over in that cow pat.”

Both Evie and Tommy laughed at the memory. The stench had stuck to his clothes for days, no matter how hard they’d tried scrubbing them in the river. Ada had almost made him sleep outside he stunk so badly.

For a moment, the shared laughter managed to distract them from the bitterness that had existed between them. It felt familiar and simple - the way things had used to be.

But things had changed.

That was the whole reason they were in this mess in the first place. No one could go back and turn things around to perfectly mimic how things had used to be. Too much had changed. Too many years had gone by.

“That holiday, how happy I was, how happy we were… it was the kind of thing men held onto. Clung to, just like this little fella I found in my bag when I got there.” Tommy trailed off, daring to finally move closer toward her. He then reached into his pocket and removed something Evie had never thought she’d see again; a small stuffed bear, no bigger than her thumb.

“You still have it?”

Tommy nodded. “Kept it as a good luck token. Something to hold onto, remind me what I was fighting for.”

Evie couldn’t help but laugh to herself, remembering how she’d slid it in there the morning he’d left, hoping it would keep him safe. A stupid ritual but one that somehow seemed to have worked. A talisman, Polly had called it, explaining the idea to Evie as she’d done it.

It was as if every word further fanned whatever confidence he had inside. As if opening himself up to her somehow made him stronger. Able to continue this confession.

Evie didn’t push him away. Instead, she allowed him to perch on the table next to her and stare down at the fire.

“So, to come home and find so much changed… Well, I reacted poorly-”

“You can say that again,” Evie scoffed under her breath. The elbow to her side said he’d heard. “Ow.”

“I’m trying to apologise here,” he warned, narrowing his eyes at her as if daring her to interrupt again. “Less of the sass, please. Ok?”

“Alright.”

“Good. As I was saying, I haven’t been behaving the best. I know, and the other night, when you came home like that I just panicked. It doesn’t make it right but I just couldn’t think. I couldn’t rationalise that you weren’t the same child I’d been holding on to. It scared me, ok? And, like I normally do, that meant I lashed out. I said things that were wrong-”

“Like, despite the fact I was the one who was assaulted, I’m the whore?” “I shouldn’t have said that,” her father conceded, draping his arm about her shoulders and pulling her close. Evie didn’t mind, letting her head rest against him as she inhaled the scent that was so distinctly his. Tobacco, Whiskey, coal and the washing powder he used on his suits. “I think we both said some thing we shouldn’t have.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok.” Tommy sighed. “You were right to say how you felt. I could have done without the language but I should have listened to you. About some of it anyway. You are growing up, but you’ll always be my kid, eh? I don’t want you running off around this city without me knowing. It ain’t safe, no matter how tough you think you are.”

“I was so angry… I still am… Four years was a long time, Gather.”

“Don’t I know it,” Tommy hummed. “But I’m back, eh? I’m here to stay. We made it work once before. We just need time to make it work again. We’re family, Evie. You’re the most important thing. You’ve been nothing but loving and supportive and understanding since I got back. You’ve given me space when I needed it and … well, you’re the only reason I haven’t lost my bloody mind. I should have told you that.”

“Then why do you do it?”

“What?”

“Pretend you don’t care. That you’re invincible.”

“I…” He paused, wiping a hand down his face as the horrors washed over him once more. The guilt in his eyes was overwhelming. “I wish I could explain it. Actually no, I don’t. No one should experience what we did over there. Not even my worst enemy and yet, I’m stuck with it on repeat in my head… every night. Like some bloody gramophone.”

“Hence the opium,” Evie whispered, even though she knew he heard her. If he was mad she’d been in his room he didn’t say it. “You don’t have to bear that alone, though. Dad. Listen to me. You have us. We care about you.”

“I know.”

“You promise?”

He nodded, turning the conversation back away from him and his own demons. It was an art that he’d mastered long ago. “Cross my heart. So, I don’t need you running me into an early grave, giving me scares like that.”

“Then I promise, too. I promise not to try and drive you into an early grave.” Her hand reached out, laying on top of his. At the feeling of her touch, he slowly reached out, squeezing his eyes shut and arms wrapping around her waist.

“Well, thanks very much.”

--------

Things had begun to ease as winter melted into spring, the cold and miserable weather fading into patches of sunlight and the occasional bud on the trees. Evie could only hope the season spread its influence into Watery Lane as she strolled down the street, smiling at the crisp but bright morning.

It was a Saturday and all felt right in the world. After all, Saturdays were her favourite day of the week as they were usually spent down at the yard.

Evie didn’t mind spending her Saturdays helping her Uncle Charley and Curly at the stables. She’d been doing it since the day she stepped foot in Birmingham and she appreciated their company. The decent wage they also gave her as a thanks didn’t hurt either.

If she was being truly honest, the solitude and chance to be with the horses was her biggest incentive. Both were rare in her everyday life, full of Shelbys, the shop and school. Needless to say, there had been many a time when such an opportunity was a luxury - a much needed one as well.

Thankfully, the week hadn’t been too busy. Business had been steady and there had been minimal tension in the house. It was why there was a small skip in Evie’s step as she arrived at the yard that morning, waving at the people she knew and hurrying to begin her chores.

The rest of the day was spent tidying stalls, feeding the horses as well as grooming those that needed it. The work was enjoyable, even if time consuming. As it was, Evie had often lost track of time, much to her family’s annoyance. As a result, someone would always have to come and fetch her if it got too late, else her Aunt Pol would throw a fit. She always hated it when Evie came home from the stables, reeking of manure and with strands of hay in her hair.

She’d force the girl to bathe and tidy herself up before she was allowed in the house properly or to join them for dinner. “Just because most of this city see us as filthy savages doesn’t mean we have to behave like it,” she’d proclaim proudly before sending Evie to the awaiting tub with a bar of soap.

Evie could only imagine the lecture she’d be getting later on considering her dirt stained trousers and boots. However, she smiled as a soft whinny caught her attention, distracting her from her impending doom. It had come from the stall behind her, and the rather beautiful black creature inside it. Slightly larger than the others, she knew it was the latest addition to the Shelby stables.

Earlier that morning, she’d watched someone trot into the yard, stabling the horse into its stable with a soft pat on the nose.

“Who’s a good boy?” she smirked, beaming as it nestled into her hand.

“I’d be careful with that one.” Her father’s voice suddenly chuckled, echoing from the open doorway. “He’ll have your fingers off, got a right temper.”

“Just like you then,” Evie teased.

Despite his warning, she watched the way her father now made his way toward the horse, doing the same for himself.

“How did it go?”

“Worked like a charm,” he smirked, wiping off what looked like red dust from the horse’s nose. Evie knew better than to ask the specifics of his business that morning, but considering he’d said it was to do with the races she trusted he knew what he was doing. “This horse here is about to make us a lot of money.”

“Well, congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Tommy grinned. “But I didn’t come here to talk about a horse. I actually came to say you’re done for the day. Polly’s making dinner and Arthur wants the whole family together. They sent me to fetch you.”

Evie didn’t think anyone in the world could send Tommy on such an errand unless he’d wanted to go. He wasn’t a messenger boy. They could have sent anyone to tell her that.

“Why?”

Tommy shrugged. “As if I ever know what’s going on in that brain of his. But I meant it. You’re done for the day.”

Evie was glad for the excuse to finish and hastily tidied the last of her equipment away before hurrying after him. Sometimes, she loved being a Shelby and today was one of those days.

“I hope dinner’s ready when we get back. I’m starving!”

“You’re always starving.”

“So?”

Tommy’s laughter was all the response she needed.

--------

Dinner was a quick affair. No food ever lasted long when put in front of the Shelbys. It was there one minute, gone the next.

If you wanted to be fed, you knew to get in and grab what you wanted. Fast. Otherwise, it could turn into a bit of a free-for-all as arguments erupted over last servings or portions. That night was no exception as the whole family wolfed down their helpings.

Once the dishes were cleared, Evie had then spent her time finishing her homework at the table, as was her usual evening routine. Finn often sat beside her, letting her assist and tutor him with his.

Evie had taken responsibility for her youngest uncle’s education ever since she’d arrived. He was slower than the others and tried hard to be as smart as they were in his eyes. Evie had no doubt he would be one day, with enough practise and dedication. He just needed to stop getting distracted or bored when he couldn’t be bothered or found something hard. Part of her also suspected the only reason he allowed her to tutor him was as an excuse to avoid washing dishes most nights.

Still, whatever his reason, it was working. Evie had seen rapid improvement with every day. In no time at all, he wouldn’t need her help.

“And that makes ten?”

Evie nodded, finishing marking his sheet of sums. “See? Simple really. You’ll be able to add up the racing odds quicker than John if you keep this up.”

Finn beamed, slamming his book shut and hugging her tight. “Thanks, Evie. You’re the best.”

“Anytime.”

With that, he ran off, relieved to be done for the day. To be fair, Evie was too. She could finally finish her own problems that had been troubling her the last hour.

“Family meeting in ten.”

Evie didn’t even glance up from her books, choosing to chew the end of her pencil rather than get her hopes up she’d be included in the so called ‘family’ meeting. That was normally code for whenever the Shelby brothers and Polly had something they wanted to discuss privately. Hence, why she was so surprised when she felt her father’s hand on her shoulder. She hadn’t even seen him come in the parlour.

“Evie, that includes you.”

“Me?”

Tommy sighed. “I said your name, didn’t I?”

Evie rolled her eyes but chose to take this sudden change in fortune, following as her father made his way through the kitchen and towards the slowly emptying shop.

She was more than surprised to see her Aunt Ada had chosen to attend the meeting, perching herself on the seat nearest the door. Maybe it was the sudden need for some kind of support, but Evie drifted over to sit beside her. It never hurt to have another female around when it came to the Shelby family. There was more than enough testosterone.

"Right," Arthur began, his voice loud enough to catch everybody’s attention as the door shut. The last customer was gone and the meeting could officially begin. “Tommy and I called this family meeting because I've got some very important news. Scudboat and Lovelock got back from Belfast last night where they were buying a stallion to cover their mares. They were in a pub on Shank Hill Road yesterday and in that pub, there was a copper, handing out these.”

It was then he extended his hand toward Tommy, allowing him to hand out the sheets of paper to every member of the family. Evie took her copy, frowning as she stared down at what appeared to be printed text on some poster of some kind.

"If you're over five feet and can fight, come to Birmingham?" John read, his confusion mirrored on everyone’s faces.

"They're recruiting Protestant Irishmen to come over here as Specials."

"To do what?" Ada questioned, voicing aloud the exact thought that was going through Evie’s mind. What on earth did their family have to do with possible Irish Specials?

"To clean up the city, Ada," Tommy sighed, finally spelling it out. "He's the chief inspector. The last four years, he's been clearing the IRA out of Belfast.”

"How do you know so bloody much?" Arthur growled.

"Because I asked the coppers on our payroll."

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

“I am telling you," Tommy said lightly.

"Why send him to Birmingham?" Polly asked.

"There's been strikes at the BSA. And the Austin works lately."

It was then Evie felt her heart stop. She heard the soft gasp behind her as she glanced at Ada. Even in the light she looked suddenly very pale at the sound of that. It didn’t take a genius for Evie to know exactly what troubled her. Freddie Thorne.

"Now the papers are talking about sedition," Tommy continued. "And revolution. I reckon it's communists he's after."

"So this copper's gonna leave us alone, right?" Polly asked.

Wasn’t that the question of the hour?

"There are Irishmen in Green Lanes who left Belfast to get away from him. Catholic men who crossed him used to disappear."

"But we ain't IRA. We bloody fought for the King. And anyway, we're Peaky Blinders," John grinned. "We're not scared of coppers!"

"He's right," Arthur said. "If they come for us, we'll cut them a smile each."

Evie felt herself shudder at the thought, suspecting her uncle meant that more than just metaphorically. She’d seen the glint of the razors sewn into every man’s cap in the shop. They may not have ever said it aloud, but she knew her family were not quite as lawful and innocent as they pretended to be. What kind of bookmakers needed razor blades? What kind of book makers commanded as much fear and respect as they did from the local community?

“Or we could always knee ‘em where it hurts. Ain’t that right, Evie?”

If looks could kill, Arthur would have been dead there and then with the daggers Evie shot his way. Apparently he wasn’t going to let her forget the Commons incident till the day he died. He and everybody else that was.

“Shut up,” she snapped, only to be met with a chorus of laughter from John as well.

"So Arthur, is that it?" Tommy asked. It was clear by his frown he was unamused at Arthur’s suggestion. Whether or not it was because he’d noticed the effect it’d had on her, Evie couldn’t be sure. Either way, violence was clearly not on Tommy Shelby’s radar.

"What do you think, Aunt Pol?" Arthur asked.

"This family does everything open. You have nothing more to say to this meeting, Thomas?"

Evie looked up, watching him closely as he shrugged. He seemed to be doing a good job of avoiding her gaze. Good thing too, else he’d have seen the outrage on her face as he said the next words, "No. Nothing that's women's business."

Irritation flared in Evie’s gut. It took all her control not to burst out laughing in disbelief. As it was, Ada’s sudden outraged gasp made it clear how the women of the room felt about that particular comment. “Excuse me? What’s that supposed to mean?”

"This whole bloody enterprise was women's business when you boys were away at war," Polly snapped. "What's changed?"

Tommy shrugged. "We came back.”

"Oh right," Polly said. She nodded quietly to herself as she reached into her pocket and withdrew a cigarette. “And we should all thank God Tommy fucking Shelby has returned. Praise be.”

It was now the girls turn to laugh as Polly lit the cigarette and took a slow drag. She did have a point after all, behind her sarcasm. Birmingham had stood in the boys absence and it would continue to do so now, regardless who was in control. They needed every person in that room, even if the boys weren’t willing to say so themselves.

“Everybody just needs to be careful,” Tommy carried on, ignoring his Aunt’s mockery. Instead, he turned his attention back to Arthur. “That’s all. Avoid the police and getting anywhere near the strikes. Other than that, we should be good.”

Great, Evie sighed. Apparently her sentence as a prisoner of the house had just got extended. There was no way in hell any of them would let her leave for anything other than school if some copper was on the loose and scaring them enough to call a family meeting.

However, it was clear she wasn’t going to get any more answers tonight. Before anyone could say anything else, chairs were pushed back and people began to file out the room, off to their own assignments and business. Of course, Polly, Arthur, John and her father were the last to move. Ada had run the moment she’d been allowed and if Evie had any sense she knew where to.

“Dad, wait,” she whispered, hurrying to his side as he began to head toward the offices. “What’s going on? All this talk of police and communists and the Irish-”

“It’s nothing to worry about, Evie, as I said.” His voice was soft, calming almost as if he were talking to one of the horses. He even reached down long enough to cup her face and press a kiss to her forehead, as if trying to dismiss her concerns. “Just keep out of trouble and it’ll be ok.”

“You’d tell me though, if something were happening. Right?”

Tommy nodded again. “Course I would.”

Evie didn’t believe him. Not for a moment. She may have finally been allowed to attend her first family meeting but it would be a long time until she was permitted to know every detail of what occurred under this roof.

Trouble was in the air and it was clear it wouldn’t be long before it hit Birmingham, and Watery Lane, with all it had to offer.

#ithebookhoarder #thesilentmage #peaky blinders #peakyblinders #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinder imagine #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinder headcanon #tommy shelby #tommy #john shelby #arthur shelby #finn shelby #polly gray #ada shelby #thegangster'sdaughter

[ithebookhoarder]

Chapter 11:  A New Equilibrium.  (The Gangster’s Daughter)

Masterlist:

Also available on AO3:

Warnings: Original Character(s), Canon-Typical Violence, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Explicit Language, Gangsters, Period Typical Attitudes, Parent Tommy Shelby, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent.

----------

Life adopted an unusual but steady rhythm the following weeks after the mens return home both in and out of Watery Lane. 

Business was booming again, with the Shelbys at the helm. Men, all eager to enjoy the spoils of life back home in the city, eagerly filled the shop day after day, money in hand and bets ready to be placed. 

There was something celebratory about it all. About seeing the hope in mens eyes as they’d handed over their bets. About hoping their luck had changed, even in most cases it hadn’t. Still, every win was significant as the staff handed over the winnings with a happy grin and handshake. 

The staff in the shop felt similarly. Many hadn’t seen one another since the start of the war, having been assigned to various regiments. For those men, to be reunited again was something they’d been dreaming of. There were cheers and hugs as they’d arrived their first day back, laying eyes on the lucky souls who’d returned. 

Not everyone had been so lucky, as the vacant desks reminded them. Of course, there were plans to find people to replace their positions but it was obvious it would be no small feat. There may have been hundreds of men desperate for work, but none of them would be those brave souls who had perished in France, all in the name of king and country. 

Still, everyone did their best not to dwell, as was the way of life in Birmingham. 

The Shelbys, in particular, had had a lot to catch up on. Four years worth of stories and news was quite a lot, even with the letters they’d been writing back and forth. 

For example, Evie told them all about her schooling, and the fact she’d managed to secure a prefect badge for the final year. She couldn’t help but beam as she saw the pride swell in her father’s face - even if John and Arthur laughed themselves sick at the thought. 

“A Shelby prefect? Ha! Now I have heard it all.”

She paid them no mind, finding it a little funny herself. At least she gave them something to laugh about, considering the bleak stories they’d shared. Granted, they made a valiant effort to try to liven them up, with the odd joke or two but even that couldn’t mask the death and horror of war, written all over their faces. Finally, something the Shelby smile couldn’t hide. 

It was the same look Evie saw in John’s eyes when she went with him to visit Martha’s grave. They’d chosen to bury her in the cemetery just outside of the city, knowing she would have liked the fresh air, and rolling green fields around them, full of flowers. Evie had been to visit many times during the war, using it as a chance to escape when the house and the people in it had become too much. 

She’d often sit and speak to Martha, telling her about what John had written in his latest letter, or even bringing her newborn child to see her. Evie knew Martha would have liked that, to see for herself that they were alright. She also knew Martha was probably happy to see John here as well, to know he was back in the city and safe. 

So, she pointed him to the grave and left him to talk privately, knowing he probably had a lot to say. Four years was a long time after all. 

There were other small changes too, since John, Arthur and Tommy had returned. The fact people tipped their caps at Evie when they saw her in the street - police included - was enough to make her falter. She’d hadn’t noticed it these past years, or if she had it had never been repeated enough to spark her attention. 

It was as if the whole city knew the Shelby men were back. As if, the whole city was watching. Waiting. 

Waiting for what?

It was an odd feeling. One Evie was quick to bury. No matter what Polly may have said had she known, there was too much to be happy about to let something as trivial as a premonition ruin it. 

What good was superstition anyway? It was all rubbish. 

Wasn’t it?

——

Evie should have learned a long time ago not to dismiss the idea of the supernatural, or that her aunt had a scary habit of being right. 

She should have listened to her aunt’s warnings of premonitions. Maybe if she had, she wouldn’t have been so startled when she awoke one night. 

It had been weeks now, since her father and uncles had returned to Small Heath. 

Evie bolted upright, panting as she tried to work out what had woken her. Normally, she was a deep sleeper. It took saucepans or someone jumping on her to wake her from a good night’s sleep. However, tonight, something had yanked her from unconsciousness. 

Then she heard it again: the muffled screams from down the hall. 

Evie felt her blood run cold. Never before had she heard a sound so full of pain and fear. It rattled her enough that she gasped, feeling a tremor run down her spine. 

It wasn’t a ghost or some demon in the night. This wasn’t one of her books, after all. The sound was painstakingly real and loud, echoing through the wall behind her. Wait. That was her father’s wall? Did that mean-?

Evie was already out of bed. 

She didn’t even think as she bolted for the door and towards her father’s room. Her trembling hand reached for the doorknob and threw it open, preparing herself to see some horrific scene or someone attacking him. 

But that wasn’t what she saw. 

Evie gasped at the sight. 

“Dad?” 

She assumed it was her father, but it was hard to tell in the darkness. All she could see was a pale figure thrashing about on the bed before her, illuminated by the thin strips of moonlight pouring in through the window. 

Tangled up in his sheets, a thin sheen of sweat plastering his body, Tommy Shelby almost looked possessed. Sobs and half formed shouts escaped him as his limbs thrashed about, reaching for something Evie couldn’t see. Some invisible demon.

It terrified her. 

What did she do? Her instinct was to rush to his side, to try and gently shake him awake. 

“Dad?” she encouraged, trying and failing to release him from the mental torment he was trapped in. How had he done it, all those times before, when she’d been small and similarly afflicted?

Evie couldn’t remember. Her panic was too strong as it rang in her ears, muting out anything that wasn’t her father. 

“Dad! Wake up! It’s ok,” she pleaded. “You’re home. You’re safe. Wake up.”

His eyes snapped open. A sudden cry escaped his lips, sending her staggering backwards in a panicked daze. 

“Dad. Stop. It’s me,” Evie began. 

However, her words clearly had no impact on him. He was a man in a trance, still gripped by whatever terror was still inside him as he flung out a hand onto the bedside cabinet and bolted upright. 

His eyes whirled to her. 

She then noticed what was in his hand… The gun was pointing directly at her. 

She screamed.

 It fired. 

Her legs gave way as she dropped to the floor, covering her head as she felt herself go numb. The sound was deafening, the shot ringing in her ears as she stifled a sob of panic. 

Plaster showered down on her head from the bullet hole above her. 

The sound apparently woke her father from his terror induced haze as she heard the gun clatter to the ground. She felt it as he hurried to her side, cursing and trying to get a look at her trembling body. “Where are you hit?” 

He repeated it again and again as he tried to get her to respond. It took a minute before Evie could even look at him, let alone move her tongue. “I’m fine… you didn’t hit me,” she stammered, pushing his hands off of her. 

“Thank God,” he croaked, his tone suddenly sharp. “What the hell were you thinking?”

What had she been thinking? Better yet, what had he been thinking? Or feeling? 

“You tried to shoot me?” Evie gasped. The moment finally seemed to reveal itself to her in painstaking detail. She didn’t know what to say. All she could do was repeat the statement over and over again. “You tried to shoot me. With a gun. A real gun.”

“I didn’t know it was you. I wouldn’t have fired if I’d known,” her father pleaded, his voice trembling as relief and remorse flooded through him. “Listen to me, Evie. Never come in here again if you hear me like that. Understood?”

Evie nodded dumbly. “But… I thought… I thought you were in trouble.”

By then, she heard footsteps and knew they were no longer alone. The gunshot would have been enough to wake the whole house. If any were brave enough to investigate it was different. 

“Tommy?” That was Arthur’s voice, bellowing from the doorway. He looked almost comical in his pyjamas, gun in his hand, ready to fight. He would have been more menacing if his hair wasn’t poking up in all directions. “You alright?”

“Fine, Arthur. Go back to sleep.”

“I heard shots.” That was Ada, accompanied by a frantic looking Finn. 

“It was a mistake. An accident, but it’s all good now, eh?” 

Was it? Was it all good? Evie knew no one better at saving face than her father. She’d learned that a long time ago even if she had yet to perfect the art. 

Somehow, he managed to settle everyone and send them back to the rooms in the time it took Evie to calm her breathing. She had only just regained control of her limbs when he re-appeared, slowly easing her up off of the cold floor. 

This wasn’t right. She was supposed to be the one comforting him? Not the other way around.

Yet, despite shaking still and panting as if he’d been running a marathon, Tommy began to escort her over toward his bed. 

“Evie. Look at me,” he soothed, brushing his hand through her hair and gripping her chin so that she couldn’t hide from him. “I’m… I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened but it was like I was floating, looking down at my body. I didn’t even feel the gun in my hand. You know I’d never hurt you, eh? Never.”

“I know,” Evie whispered. A small nod was the best she could offer as proof. 

“It won’t happen again, alright? You have to stay out if I have another nightmare like that. I… I can’t control myself or my actions.”

“But-”

“Promise me,” he begged.

She’d never heard him so scared before in her life. His grip was tight on her, but not painful as he held her, held until she gave her word. 

It was clearly all she could do to calm him. 

“Y-Yes,” Evie gulped. “I promise.”

Thankfully, she saw the relief her answer gave to him. It was as if a literal weight had rolled off of his shoulders. 

Finally, he finally seemed calmer. Able to let go of her and resume something of normalcy. It was why he switched back to his paternal nature, reaching past her to light the the lamp beside them a moment later. He then leant back, pulling the covers aside so that they could both clamber into the bed.  

Evie wanted to laugh. The last time they’d done this, she’d been much smaller. 

“Are you sure?” 

Tommy nodded. “Would I offer it otherwise? We could both use some sleep and maybe with each other to protect us we’ll have no more interruptions.”

Evie hoped so. 

“Alright then,” she shrugged, nestling her way under the covers and curling up beside him. If only the others could have seen it. Tommy Shelby. Sleeping with his daughter curled in his arms. It was enough to make even the hardest of men melt. “Just don’t hog the covers.”

“It’s my bed, thank you very much miss. Should I read you a story?”

“Don’t push it,” Evie sniggered, even if a small part of her was tempted to say yes. She was curious which one he’d have chosen. 

However, as it turned out, it would have been pointless even if she had asked him. She’d only been in bed a moment before her eyes drooped closed. Apparently, coming off of such an adrenaline high was exhausting. 

So it was, Evie fell asleep that night, nestled in her father’s arms. Even asleep, her grip was deathly tight as she clung to him, as if trying to prove he was safe beside her.

She only hoped when she opened her eyes in the morning, it remained true. 

This was one dream she didn’t want to wake from. 

——

Tommy was gone when she woke. 

The empty space in the bed beside her told Evie that fact immediately as soon as she’d opened her eyes. However, her heart stopped racing as she noticed that along with her father, his boots were also gone - the boots her father normally wore when heading down to the muddy stable yards. His cap and coat was also missing. 

He must have risen early and decided to go for a ride. It was the usual Shelby tonic for most troubles, after all. No war could change that. If anything, he’d probably missed the horses and the chance to ride them for fun, not as part of a cavalry charge or supply chain.

Evie calmed down immediately. 

If Tommy had ever needed a ride, it was probably that morning. Evie wouldn’t forget the look of horror she’d seen on his face the night before. The ghosts that appeared to be weighing on his soul as he’d pulled that trigger and sent them plummeting into chaos. 

It would take a while for all of them to adjust. Evie was under no illusions of that and last night had made it all too clear. 

She sighed. She peeled back the covers, padding over toward the window and pulling the curtains back to let in the sunlight. 

Everything looked pale and starker in the sunlight than it had during the night. Then again, she’d never been in her father’s room enough to notice. It was his space. His sanctuary. One, she had always been eager to respect. He’d done the same. It was only right and fair. 

Well, until last night. 

It felt uncomfortable to be there without him. It had been one thing to intrude last night when she’d thought he needed her. But now… now she felt like she was somewhere she didn’t belong. Like she was about to be caught and scolded. 

Her uneasiness only grew as she turned back towards the door; the bullet hole directly in her eye-line. 

There was no way to avoid it. 

The hole in the wall was obvious. It was hard to miss, with the ripped wallpaper and plaster powder marking it for all to see. 

Evie couldn’t bear to look. Then again, at least it could be filled and mended, hidden away beneath plaster and paint. If only all such scars could be fixed as easily. 

With a soft sigh, she hurried out of the room and back to her own to dress, ready to face the day as best as possible. 

——

“Morning.”

“Morning, Pol,” Evie mumbled, skipping her way down into the kitchen. She wasn’t surprised to see her aunt there, pottering about as if she owned the place. She was there most mornings, choosing to come early before the shop opened. Then again, she only lived a few doors away. It wasn’t as if she had far to travel. 

“Breakfast’s on the table if you want it.”

Evie smiled gratefully, perching in a chair and beginning to fill her plate with toast and jam. It was her go-to in the mornings, and after last night, she didn’t know if she could stomach a fry up. 

 By now, Evie knew someone would have filled Polly in on what had happened last night. Even then, Evie wouldn’t put it past the woman for her to have found out through some supernatural means. She had an uncanny habit of doing that, always knowing what Evie was going to say before she even said it. 

This morning was no exception as Polly made her way towards the now cooling pot of tea on the side and began to pour herself a cup. “I heard it was an exciting night last night.”

Evie chose not to say anything. She didn’t know where to begin and honestly, she was too tired to start what was sure to be a long conversation. All she wanted was to get to school and pretend like the night had never happened. 

“You could say that.”

“I could. I could also say that, from what Ada told me, it sounds like your father gave you quite the fright.”

“I don’t know if nearly being shot by your father counts as simply ‘quite a fright’,” Evie grumbled, aggressively biting the edge off of her toast. “I didn’t… It’s not his fault, I know. It was stupid of me to think he could go off to war and come back the same person but I did. Alright? I did and now I don’t know what to do, Pol.”

Her aunt sighed. She gently perched herself next to Evie as she listened to her confession. She then pushed forward a bowl of porridge as an offering and made sure Evie ate some before talking. 

“You’re not stupid, Evelyn Shelby. You’re a lot of things and stupid isn’t one of them, alright?” she began calmly. “Secondly, I think you were being hopeful before, when you thought about your father coming home. You were just a child, Evie. What did you expect? There was nothing wrong with hope. God knows we needed as much of it as we could get with everything happening over in that Hell Hole. Your father did an admirable job hiding any details from you in his letters, but I’ve heard people talk. I know the horrors he must have seen.”

Horrors that now continued to plague him, or so Evie suspected. Why else did he sleep with a gun so close by? 

“You both did what you needed to survive, Evie. Now that everything’s changed, the war’s over and we’re trying to pick up the pieces of our lives,” Polly continued firmly, making it clear she didn’t want to hear her niece berating herself again any time soon. “There is no right or wrong way to feel. There isn’t a guide book on how we’re supposed to behave and act. It’s down to us to listen to one another. To protect each other and support our family."

She made it sound so easy. Evie didn’t even know where to start with such a request. Wasn’t it her need to make sure her father was ok that had got her into that mess last night? How was she supposed to support a man who wouldn’t even tell her the first thing about what he’d been through or how he felt?

Then again, it wasn’t exactly as if she was going to win an award anytime soon for her emotional honesty. She’d inherited that much from him. 

Evie sighed. She bit her lip as she tried to control the urge to cry. “Will we ever get back to how we used to be, before all this?”

“I could read your leaves but even then it isn’t a guaranteed thing,” Polly exhaled, letting loose a plume of smoke from her lips. “There are somethings even the spirits can’t help with or answer. This is one of those things… There’s a darkness in men, Evie. They each have their own demons to fight, just as we women do too.”

“Demons?”

Was that was she was calling the nightmares plaguing her father and uncles? It wasn’t fair. Hadn’t they all done enough fighting for a lifetime. They didn’t deserve to come home and have to continue fighting for their sanity as a result of a stupid war they hadn’t even started in the first place. To have their choices on the battle field haunting them. To have their sins linger…

“Does - does that mean,” Evie stammered, “being a soldier, he must have killed. They all must have. Dad almost did last night… Is he a good man?” 

It was the first time she’d ever uttered those words aloud, the first time she’d been brave enough to truly want an answer. Even after all she’d seen since she’d entered Watery Lane. 

“War changes men. I don’t think there is a set definition of ‘good’ but I know he loves you. He loves you so much he was willing to go off to war and be shot at for you,” Polly sighed, squeezing the girl’s shoulder comfortingly. “That’s all I care about and all you need to know right now. Your father needs to handle all of this, his own way. Give him time.”

“I gave him four years, Pol,” Evie sighed. “How much more time am I supposed to give?”

Nevertheless, she knew better than to argue any further, so merely looked back down at her porridge and ate silently. It was only as she went to place the dish in the sink that she finally saw the man in question. 

Her father was always a composed man, no matter how rushed he was. This morning was no exception. Despite the fact he was already running late, and hadn’t even done up his waistcoat yet, Tommy Shelby strolled about with utter composure. 

“Morning all,” he greeted, reaching for the teapot and a cup. His chipper tone was completely at odds with his exhausted appearance. The bags alone under his eyes alone made him look almost ill, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. 

“It lives,” Pol remarked, even if living was a bit optimistic for the state he was in. “Some of us have been up for hours, you know. John and Arthur are outside waiting to open. It was payday yesterday and half the town are banging on the doors.”

“What are you keeping the good people waiting for then?”

Polly rolled her eyes, murmuring something under her breath about Shelby men and curses as she stubbed out her cigarette and marched out of the room. It was time to unleash the masses and like a tidal wave, they would come, money in hand, bets ready to be placed. 

Hence why Evie was more than eager to make her escape. The last thing she needed was to be trampled to death in a stampede of factory workers and drunkards. So she hastily grabbed her bag and coat off the hook by the door, slipping both on as she made her way past her father and toward the rear exit. 

“See you later,” she gasped.  

However, she hadn’t even made it to the door before she heard her name called. She paused, looking back over her shoulder. 

“Yes?”

“I want you home straight after school tonight,” Tommy began, his tone oddly calm. “Alright?”

Evie paused. “But I was going to go by the yard-”

“Well, change of plans,” Tommy interrupted, smiling as he tried to soothe the sting in his words. “Look, these streets have changed since the men came back. I don’t feel comfortable with you wandering out there on your own.”

“But I wouldn’t be alone, I’d be with Uncle Charley-”

“It’s not up for debate, Evie.” His tone was starting to grate on her nerves, as was his distance. It was like when she’d first joined them all over again, barely seeing him except when he needed something or wanted to check she was still breathing. “I mean it,” he repeated, watching her for her acceptance. “For the time being I want you to come home straight after school. If you want to go by the yard then one of us can take you, but I don’t want you out there alone.”

Maybe it was last night that had rattled him. Evie couldn’t be sure, but if coming home meant he would relax for even a moment then it was the least she could do. “Fine,” she conceded, rolling her eyes and stealing a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you later,” he echoed, a smile cracking his otherwise cool expression. “Now go and show them other kids what Shelby brains are capable of, ey?"

“On it.”

——-

Ever since that night she’d avoided his room or even discussing anything related to their nighttime conflict. Of course, she still heard the odd moan, thud or cry. Only the odd night or so passed without a sound coming from her father’s room, but Evie wasn’t blind. She knew nothing had improved, even if he had found a temporary relief.

Evie, however, had found no such relief. 

She was starting to go stir crazy in this house. It was now so loud, so crowded. Even though she wouldn’t have changed having them home for the world, she could have done without the noise and interruptions her father and uncles brought with them. Especially when she had work of her own to do that didn’t involve horses, betting or being a Blinder. 

She’d resorted to studying at Polly’s sometimes after school. She’d also resorted to utilising the Garrison during the quieter periods, when she knew almost no patrons would be inside. Harry never minded, in fact he was rather supportive, letting her and Lara (when her brothers drove her mad) utilise the private room for her study sessions. 

At least they both understood the struggle of a busy, testosterone fuelled house. They also understood the necessity of having female allies to get through it all.

Like now, Evie had strategically placed herself in the parlour where Polly just happened to be sprawled out by the fire, a book in one hand, a cigarette in the other. She felt somewhat bad, utilising Polly as a human shield like this, but considering it was that or failing her maths test, Evie would take her chances. 

“All done, Pol!” 

Her aunt was quick to appear over her shoulder, glancing over at the girl’s work for herself. It was only after she’d given her nod of approval that Evie closed the book and put it back in her satchel by the door. 

“Lord only knows where you get yer brains from because it certainly isn’t your father.”

“What can I say?” Evie grinned, trying not to let the praise make her too giddy. It wasn’t often anyone ever received it in this house, let alone from someone so important - or at least in Evie’s eyes. Her Aunt was one of the people she most admired in the world, and one day she’d have the confidence to say it to her face. “I’m a natural. Must be the Shelby luck.” 

“It’s something alright,” Polly smirked, lighting the cigarette she’d had perched between her lips. “At this rate you’ll sail right out of Birmingham and to the stars one day. There’ll be no stopping a smart woman like you, not in today’s world.”

Evie secretly hoped she was right, even if she felt guilty at the thought of sailing beyond the smoky horizons of Birmingham one day. “If we can now have a woman in Parliament then who knows what’s waiting for me out there?”

“Amen to that - but don’t let the others hear you saying it.” Polly smirked again before shaking her head as her name was bellowed from somewhere else in the house. “Now go on. Get out of here, I don’t need anymore Shelbys under my feet.”

Evie didn’t need to be told twice. 

She was quick to gather her things and run them back upstairs, to her room. As usual, she placed them back by her bed, spreading the rest on her makeshift desk by the window. She loved that spot. It always managed to catch any sunshine the city offered, as well as offering a decent view of the houses nearby. 

It was a great spot to think in. To write. To dream of a world beyond the smoky streets of Birmingham such as the one Polly had just described. As she argued, there was nothing wrong with her dreams and she knew it. It was more the guilt at thinking of needing anything other than what Evie had here that kept her quiet. 

She knew her family would never see her desire for more as anything other than insulting. Or nonsense. So, she was content to keep such dreams to herself, mere scribbles in a journal. Mere stories she wrote by candlelight and stored in her desk, under lock and key. 

Maybe one day she’d do more with them. Publishing them had always been a possibility, as had living them to the best of her abilities. 

Why couldn’t she have daring adventures?

She was a women. Yes. She was young. Yes. But why should that stop her from doing anything?

Evie chuckled at the thought, hurrying back out onto the landing. She couldn’t see her family sharing her opinions, other than maybe Polly and Ada. She knew giving them her copy of Mary Wollenstonecraft had been a dangerous idea. 

Speaking of dangerous, Evie couldn’t help but pause as she reached her father’s doorway, staring inside. She hadn’t dared step over the threshold since the other night and the ordeal she’d experienced inside. It wasn’t one either of them had been willing to repeat. Even now, she knew she should have turned away and kept walking. 

However, curiosity had always been a weakness of hers. 

Her eyes flickered toward the nightstand. 

It was as if a siren’s call echoed from it, coaxing her in, coaxing her closer. 

Before she knew it, she had strolled over, opening the drawer and staring inside. Just as she’d suspected, her father had left the gun tucked away, wrapped in a cloth and out of sight. He would never agree to throw it out entirely but at least they’d found a compromise. The bullets loose in the drawer were all the proof she needed that the previous threat had been eliminated. If he now woke up and tried to fire, the worst he’d be capable of was giving someone a fright. 

The wall, and the family’s sanity, were most grateful not to be at risk anymore. Despite that realisation though, Evie felt a sudden urge ran through her to hold the gun. 

She knew better than to touch it, even if a part longed to. To examine the item that had almost ended her life. To know what it felt like to hold one, to know what damage she could inflict upon an other if she so chose. 

She shook her head. 

She’d stayed long enough as it was. 

Yet, as she went to close the draw, something caught her attention. Something she hadn’t expected to see. 

A pipe? 

Since when had her father moved from cigarettes to a pipe? 

Evie paused, checking the coast was clear before she picked up said pipe and held it up to the light. Almost immediately her face dropped. She didn’t have to be an idiot to know what was inside wasn’t tobacco. In fact, it was a smell she knew uncomfortably well from the streets of her old home in London. 

Opium. 

It had almost been a pandemic in London. She’d heard enough talk of dens that had opened and of the roaring trade being run through the docks of the stuff. Her neighbours had always been ones for gossip and there had been more than enough of it to go around regarding the filthy stuff that appeared to be flooding the streets. 

She’d heard what it did to those consumed by its enticing grip. She heard of their decay, physically and mentally - if they escaped being caught taking it and sentenced to prison. 

She’d even witnessed it first hand. The amount of times she’d seen addicts, penniless and lining the streets as they begged for money to fund their habit, was heart breaking. But such was London. It was a place for both the elite and the tormented souls that comprised the lowest rungs of society. 

Evie’s blood ran cold to think of such a substance in her house. To think of someone she loved taking it. 

Anger flooded through her, followed by disappointment. 

She didn’t know what to say or think. Instead, she chose the safest option for now, which was putting the pipe back inside the drawer and closing it shut. Out of sight, out of mind, or so she told herself, hurrying out of the room. 

Confused was an understatement for how she felt right then. Did she say anything, even though that would prove she’d gone into his room? 

Did she not mention what she’d seen and simply hope her father would confide in her? 

Or, maybe he’d simply stop taking it?

It was official. Being a Shelby was too complicated. When had this become their life? Where had the care free, simpler version of their family gone? The family who had spent summers cloud watching, and made each other laugh so hard they peed. They were never perfect, but no family was. 

But nightmares and opium? It was a world away from what Evie was used to.

She didn’t care what Polly had said. Giving it time wasn’t something she believed she could do. Not when it made her heart race and her palms sweat. First, she had been shot at and now her father was an opium addict…

She had to get out of the house - preferably before she lost her sanity. 

——

She wasn’t the first Shelby to escape the house by covert means. 

Evie had discovered that fact for herself some time ago, after catching her Aunt Ada doing just that one night. 

Ada had often been off by herself, enjoying the higher sides of life in the city - or so she said after being caught by Evie one night, shimmying in the bathroom window. Apparently her window had jammed shut, leaving her caught off guard. 

Of course, Evie hadn’t said anything to anyone, finding the whole thing rather hilarious as Ada tried to gracefully sneak in, her fancy dress and mud stained heels doing their best to give her away.

In exchange for mutual silence, they’d agreed a plan. From then on, Ada had been all too willing, assisting Evie in selecting something appropriate to wear. She’d also been the one to give her the first pair of proper heels she’d worn too. 

“Here,” she’d smiled, offering a slightly worn navy pair of t-strap shoes. “They’re your size but I haven’t worn them in ages. They deserve to see some fun again.”

And, boy - had they seen some fun since then. It was that same fun Evie longed for then, staring out the window and sighing. Another night of house arrest was akin to torture, especially if there wouldn’t be anyone home with her anyway. Polly would be at her home, Arthur and the men would be down the Garrison, and she suspected Ada was going to be out herself. That only left her, and her father, if he didn’t have some last minute business to attend to. That, or if John and Arthur tag teamed him.

It was Saturday night. Was it truly so bad for her just to want to have some normality in her life, some excitement? Most people she knew would be out on the town… and now, so would she. 

Her plan made, it had almost been too simple to get away with it. After all, Lara had been begging her for a night out on the town for weeks now. She’d called her friends when it had been quiet, and agreed the details as per their usual routine.  

All she had to do now was sit back and wait - a task she didn’t realise would be quite so challenging. Not when every moment that passed made her all the more tense and itch with a need to escape the house and the chaos within it. 

For example, the meeting that had been happening across the house was making Evie’s mood steadily worse. Even sat with Finn by the fire in the parlour, it was hard to miss a word being said. 

They had been discussing business for the last hour, debating races coming up, issues with the office and staff, as well as a few skirmishes here and there. Apparently the Shelbys weren’t the only ones interested in expanding their business and takings now that the war was over. 

“We’ll need their support if we want to keep that side of the territory,” her father explained, watching a very irate John and Arthur rile themselves up at the prospect of a fight. “We need to offer an alliance to the mill workers. They know what’s going on in that part of the city, as well as the fact they sit dangerously close to the Lees.”

“We can’t let those bastards snatch their support,” Arthur roared. “We need man power. Tom’s right. We need to send over an offer of peace.”

“I can do it.”

“You, Tom?” Arthur blinked. “It’s dangerous territory over by the Mill. Let one of the other lads deliver the message. It ain’t worth the trouble.”

“Then it shouldn’t be a problem, eh?”

“Tom-”

Tommy shook his head, chuckling as he patted his older brother’s shoulder. “Come on, Arthur. I can take care of myself. Besides, there’s three Shelby brothers. Mum had her heir and John can be the spare if anything happens to me. What’s one less Shelby?"

The laughter from the group was instantaneous. Except for Evie. In fact, she could feel her blood boil as she turned and stormed from the doorway. Any guilt that had been lingering in her gut about her nocturnal plan had evaporated at the comment. 

How dare he? How dare he prance about like some king of the castle? He’d swanned off for four years, leaving everyone and everything behind as if they had been a pair of old socks. 

He could risk his life in the trenches? 

He could disrespect the miracle of his survival, something so many had been deprived, by risking his life again now? 

He could take opium whilst ordering her about? Lecturing her about self preservation?

The hypocrisy was nauseating. 

Evie swallowed, her fists clenching as she ignored the urge to say something stupid and start a fight she knew she would never win. There was stubbornness and then there was Shelby stubbornness. Instead, she stormed down the hallway, heading towards the parlour. 

It was official. If Tommy Shelby could do whatever the hell he wanted, then so could she. 

#ithebookhoarder #peaky blinders #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinder imagine #peaky blinders imagine #tommy shelby #john shelby #arthur shelby #thegangster'sdaughter

[ithebookhoarder]

Chapter 12: A Little Party Never Killed Nobody.  (The Gangster’s Daughter)

Masterlist:

Also available on AO3:

Warnings: Original Character(s), Canon-Typical Violence, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Explicit Language, Gangsters, Period Typical Attitudes, Parent Tommy Shelby, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent.

-------

A few hours later Evie made her escape.

In fact, it was just after dinner when the others dissipated to wherever the hell they’d planned to spend their evenings. Evie had watched them all go calmly, bidding them good night or good bye as she watched them disappear out the door one by one into the night air.

“I think I’ll turn in early and finish my book,” she had smiled a moment later, pressing a kiss to Pol’s cheek as she hurried to the stairs.

Pol hadn’t even questioned it. Instead, she let her go with a smile and hasty gulp from the now empty whiskey glass she had in front of her. “I think I’ll turn in too. Enjoy my night of peace without them Shelby men around to drive me mad.”

“Sounds like a plan. Night, Pol.”

“Night to you too, sweet heart.”

A hasty kiss on the cheek and ten minutes later, Evie had hastily swapped her pyjamas for her finery, bolting the bedroom door shut from the inside. That ought to guarantee her tracks were covered along with the darkened lamp. To anyone passing by in the hall it would appear as if she were fast asleep in her bed, where she should be.

No one would be any the wiser.

From there, it had been almost too easy to get out of the house, then again, she’d had four years to perfect the method shown to her by Ada. It was easy by now to shimmy down the drain and onto the roof of the back shed. She only then had to avoid slipping on the slate roof as she dropped into the courtyard below. She would then meet the others around the corner off of the street.

“Oi! Shelby,” Lara teased, her voice loud enough Evie knew she’d started her party early. “Hurry up! I’m freezing out here.”

With her shortened hemline it wasn’t a surprise, especially considering the threadbare coat Lara had thrown on top. Still, the girl wouldn’t be convinced otherwise. Beauty over practicality every time, was her motto.

“Keep it down will you,” Evie laughed, trying and failing to corral the rowdy group out of earshot of the house. She could easily make out the faces of their usual gang, a mix of schoolmates and friends from around Watery Lane. “You’ll bring the Peaky Blinders down on us.”

“Well, they’re welcome to come too. Especially John-”

Evie rolled her eyes as the group erupted into laughter, thankfully drowning out whatever Lara had been about to say. Some things were better left unheard and this was definitely one of those things. “Ew.”

Luckily for their party, the Commons wasn’t too far a walk and their party made good time, the five of them waltzing through the doors as they opened at ten thirty.

No one blinked twice at them, despite the fact it was clear they were only seventeen. Then again, dressed so fancily, no one seemed in a rush to discard good business. That, and the Shelby name seemed to open doors Evie had never even considered before. Something about saying it made her uncomfortable, but if it allowed her and her friends a night off then it was worth it.

Besides, her doubts were more than completely obliterated as she helped herself to several drinks and took to the dance floor. Now, she could feel the buzz kicking in, her third champagne pouring through her veins along with the steady beat of the jazz band.

Her dress rattled as her beaded body spun, the world dissolving into a wondrous blur. The darkened drapes and crystal chandeliers blurred into some sort of baroque painting, an odd contrast to the dark and smoky Birmingham streets outside.

As was their usual habit, her partner for the evening tended to be Jack Everett. Jack Everett was a kind soul and one of the few people at school she considered a close friend, hence they’d partner off as the evening drew on, dancing together in time to the beat. The rest of their party followed suit, breaking off into their own groups, dispersing across the floor.

As it was, Lara had disappeared some time ago, like she always did. She’d find several partners to dance with for the evening, but always made sure to find Evie before closing. Besides, one desperate glance across the dance floor and they knew to send in the cavalry if someone got too handsy.

They may have been small, but they were more than a match for the men of Birmingham. Evie was scared to piss Lara off at the best of times, let alone once she had a few drinks in her. She’d give Arthur a run for his money. Very few people could threaten someone with a broken bottle and still look cute doing so.

Thankfully, that night, she was dancing with a polite looking partner. Lara looked at least another drink away from hitting a potentially violent streak. As long as the guy kept his hands to himself he’d be fine.

As for Evie, she and Jack were busy dancing their way toward exhaustion.

“You make a fine partner,” she teased, liking how embarrassed it made him. His ears always turned pink when she ever said something complimentary. However, he smiled nonetheless, choosing to exact his revenge by spinning her around and around fast enough to make her wobble.

“You ain’t so bad yourself, Shelby,” he replied, twirling her in time to the trumpet and laughing as he did.

“I swear to God-”

“I don’t think God visits Jazz clubs, let alone ones in Small Heath.”

“You have a point.”

Any further conversation was swallowed up as the band began to play louder and faster as the song changed. It was all the invitation they needed to carry on dancing, letting their troubles and woes melt away.

It must have been hours they spent like that, dancing back and forth, drinking and laughing at anything and everything. Evie couldn’t be sure. She’d lost track of time long ago. The only way she knew it had been any time at all was via the growing ache in her feet and the ever increasing heat of the dance floor as more and more bodies piled in to join the roaring band.

Eventually, even she needed a break. Part of her was just about to suggest returning to the table, when Jack beat her to it.

“Shall we step outside a minute?”

Evie nodded, grateful for an excuse to leave the sweltering dance floor. She didn’t protest as she turned, following his gaze to a side door that led out the back of the club, to an area commonly used for smoking. It was a great place to catch your breath or hear yourself think, especially when cut off from your table by hoards of dancing, drunk people.

It was there they headed, hand in hand. Evie allowed Jack to guide them out, manoeuvring their way through the hoards of people. He always had a talent for making people move aside. It was most likely due to his height and build. A rugby player was always a good body guard for nights like these, even if was a soft person beneath.

Evie had once seen him get so drunk he’d started crying at the sight of a stray dog in the alleyway outside. He’d later named it ‘Rover’ and had kidnapped the poor dog back to his house, much to his parents disapproval.

Ah, good times.

“That’s better,” he grinned, loosening his tie as they stepped out into the night air. “There were too many people in there for my liking.”

“Says the man who tried to beat them all at dancing?”

Jack laughed. He leaned back against the brick wall, running a hand through his slightly fluffed hair. “I didn’t have to try very hard, did I? Not when I had the best partner in the room.”

Evie rolled her eyes. It was her turn to laugh as she stood next to him. “Liar. Someone’s clearly had one drink too many. Whereas, I need another one. Maybe then I won’t be able to feel my poor feet.”

“Wuss.”

“You try keeping up in heels,” Evie scoffed, trying and failing to ease the cramp she felt in her feet. That would teach her. Next time, she was wearing flats or boots if she planned on dancing longer than an hour at a time. Although beautiful to look at, heels were a bitch to actually move around in for too long. “I don’t know how Ada does it.”

“Well, you’ve got me to lean on if you get tired.”

“Thanks,” Evie smirked.

As if to prove his point, he slid arm up, resting a hand on her shoulder as he pulled her into his side. Evie instinctively nestled into him, not thinking anything of it. After all, he was warm against the sudden night chill that whipped down the alley.

“We should probably head back inside,” Evie murmured. “The others will be wondering where we’ve got to.”

“Are you sure? Why not stay out here a little longer? You look like you need a minute.”

“Jack, I'm okay. I've got this.” Evie tried to free herself with no success. His arm stayed securely around her, ignoring her feeble attempt to push it off.

“Evie, please,” he whispered. His arms tightened their grip, holding her in his arms, pulling her close so that his face was next to hers.

“Jack, what you doing?-”

“You know I like you Evie, please.” He had one hand at the small of her back holding her against him, the other at her chin tipping back her head. Evie knew before it even happened what he was about to do.

Her hand went to stop him, but his hand has slipped into her hair, holding her head in place as he hastily pressed his lips to hers.

“Jack,” she protested, gently trying to pry him off of her. “No, wait… you’re drunk.”

“And?”

He sniggered, cupping her cheek and leaning in again for another kiss. That was enough to set the alarm bells in her mind ringing with panic.

“Jack. I mean it. Stop!” she ordered sharply, struggling against him. It was no use though as he held her tight. That was the only thought in her mind as Evie panicked, driving her knee up sharply into his groin.

The effect was immediate as he cried out, doubling over in pain. However, before she even had the chance to blink he was being pulled off of her and thrown to the floor in an undignified heap.

“Get your fucking hands off my niece!”

Arthur Shelby had well and truly arrived. And in true Arthur style, his rage was at a high, most likely fuelled by whatever was in the flask in his hand.

So, Evie hadn’t been the only one with plans for fun tonight.

“Stop!” she ordered, throwing herself into his path before he could continue his threatened assault. “Leave it, Uncle Arthur. Please.”

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Joining a convent, what does it look like?”

Arthur growled at her sarcasm. He then turned his rage back towards the boy on the ground who had moments ago, had his hand on his niece. “I should cut his eyes out!”

“Don’t you dare,” Evie hissed dangerously. However, she could tell anger would do no good when it came to quelling her uncle’s temper. Instead, she changed tact, softening her tone and locking her eyes with his in a way she knew he couldn’t resist. “Please… for me, Arthur? I’m begging you… Just leave him.”

She couldn’t bear the thought of living with that guilt. Knowing what would be done to Jack on her behalf. True, he deserved more than a knee to the groin for his behaviour but that was down to her. Down to a means of justice that didn’t involve razor blades and flat caps.

He was just a kid. A drunken kid who had wanted to try his luck. Unfortunately he had chosen the worst possible girl in the world as his target.

“We’re going home, now,” Arthur barked, leaving no room for discussion.

All Evie could do was shoot Jack a slightly apologetic look, even if there was something satisfying about watching him cradle his balls in agony. He’d earned it, even if this wasn’t how she’d wanted to end the evening.

However, she knew better than to mess with a drunk Arthur, especially like this. She could argue her case when they were in a safer environment, and when he didn’t look like a swinging pendulum. Last thing she needed was for him to make even more of a scene.

“Someone’s had a fun night,” she snarked under her breath. Unfortunately she wasn’t as quiet as she’d thought.

Arthur glared. “I’m not the only one. Except, my night isn’t going to see me under fucking house arrest till I’m grey.”

Evie gulped.

Thankfully, she was spared any more arguing as the roar of a car engine cut them off. Instead, she leaped inside and huffed as she stared out the window. She knew Jack would tell the others where she’d gone without so much as a goodbye.

The night was officially over.

-------------

“What the hell were you thinking?”

Evie winced at her father’s voice. Only he knew how to make every word feel like a dagger being hurled at her exhausted brain. All she wanted right then was to run upstairs and curl up in bed, to allow the world to stop spinning drunkenly, before she had to face this inquisition.

However, there was to be no such reprieve. Arthur had seen to that, hauling her inside as he had, marching her into her father’s office to face their tribunal. It didn’t take long for Tommy to work out what had gone on.

“I had it under control!”

“Course you did,” he scoffed, shaking his head and throwing his cigarette stub to the floor. The act was so casual, almost bored even, that it made her anger worse. It was like being a child again, standing there in front of them both, begging for their attention and forgiveness. Well, no more. She wasn’t a child and she wasn’t about to stand for it.

“I didn’t ask for your fucking interference, did I?”

“Oi!”

“You what?”

Her father and Arthur chorused their outrage in perfect harmony as Arthur turned a little more red - which she hadn’t even thought possible.

“You gonna let her talk to me like that, Tom?” he snapped, gesturing wildly at her.

Tommy shook his head. “Evie, apologise. Now.”

“For what?” she snapped again coldly. It was then her temper broke, the leash giving way to a drunken tidal wave of rage she didn’t know she’d even been suppressing. “I went out with my friends like I do all the time. It was no big deal. I was just having fun - something you know nothing about. I’m almost eighteen. I didn’t need any help from Arthur, so don’t expect me to start grovelling like some bloody damsel in distress. I’ve managed just fine without you all, thank you very much, whilst you’ve all been off playing soldier. For four years we women have managed just fine without you, so don’t you dare swan back in here and pretend you can just pick up where you left off. That you can still wear the crown around here, because thing’s have changed, in case you didn’t fucking realise. You left and it changed. I changed. So suck it up. I had to.”

Silence. Utter silence. It was like nothing Evie had ever heard before.

She stood there, panting as a single tear slid from her eye.

“Right.” Tommy finally broke the silence a moment later, remaining deathly still as he stood upright off of the desk he’d been perching on. “So that’s how you honestly feel… thanks for sharing your thoughts. That was quite a speech.”

More like her final words, or so Evie thought darkly, watching the emptiness behind her father’s eyes as he seemed to stare right through her.

“It appears I need to have a word with Polly about the fact she’s been letting you swan off every night whilst we were away.”

“She didn’t know anything about it,” Evie protested hastily. “You can’t punish her.”

“Says who?” Arthur warned dangerously, even if they both knew he was only doing it for show. He wasn’t suicidal nor did he need a curse on him for the rest of his days. “So, you’re saying you lied to her too?”

“What was I supposed to do? Sit at home and knit, just waiting for you lot to come back?” she bellowed. “I did everything you asked, including keeping up my studies, working in the shop and looking out for this family whilst you all went off to play soldier. So, forgive me for trying to forget… to pretend you weren’t out in France, unsure if I’d ever speak to you again.”

“That doesn’t excuse-”

“What? The fact that I’m a girl?” Evie retorted. “That it’s alright for you and Dad and John to go and do whatever you want, damn the consequences, but I can’t even go out with my friends?”

Tommy groaned. It was clear this was getting out of hand and fast. Arthur’s rage was only inflaming Evie’s and his own. He couldn’t even hear himself think.

“Evie,” he sighed, taking a step towards her. He tried not to take it personally that she stepped back and out of his reach. “This isn’t you, eh? You’re not like this. You never used to be.”

“I used to be a child, Dad. Now, I’m old enough to get married, if I wanted. To drink, drive, and be considered an adult in the eyes of everyone - including the law. Who are you anymore? You’ve changed, since France. Since the war. The man I knew hasn’t come back. You were never like this before, so don’t lecture me about changing.”

“Like what?” Tommy snapped defensively. “Go on. Tell me then. What am I?”

“Reckless!”

“Really?”

“Yes! You’re reckless. You keep everything inside, no matter how much it’s eating you alive. No. Instead, you patronise us all, lecture us about being safe and obeying you. Yet, you can do what you like, getting high every night to forget but god forbid I go dancing.”

“That’s enough!” Tommy roared, his fist slamming hard against the desk and making them all jump. She could tell she’d gone too far, but it was too late to go back now. Her rage was blinding. “You are grounded until I decide, and considering your behaviour tonight that won’t be for a very very long time - do you hear me? You will be staying here, where I can keep an eye on you, not running around like some whore in clubs-”

Evie turned. She marched out and slammed the door so hard she heard the glass panes rattle. She didn’t care how her father bellowed her name behind her, demanding she come back and finish her tribunal. She didn’t even care when she heard the distinct sound of something being thrown across the room.

She didn’t give a shit about any of it.

Instead, she marched into her room and bolted the door behind her.

#ithebookhoarder #thegangster'sdaughter #peaky blinders #peaky blinder fanfic #peakyblinders #peaky blinder imagine #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders imagine #tommy shelby #arthur shelby #john shelby #ada shelby #polly gray

[ithebookhoarder]

Chapter 15: Bruises and Bonfires (The Gangster’s Daughter)

Description: Life for Tommy Shelby was pretty ordinary; all he ever had to worry about were his family, their business and the Blinders. Nothing more, nothing less. Well, that was until his ‘daughter’, a twelve-year-old girl called Evelyn Westmore, was thrown into his life, dredging up feelings and things from the past he’d done very well to forget.

Also available on AO3:

Warnings: Original Character(s), Canon-Typical Violence, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Explicit Language, Gangsters, Period Typical Attitudes, Parent Tommy Shelby, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent.

Masterlist:

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Evie had done her best to clean up. First, she had recovered a shaken Finn from the attic, assuring him all was well. The police were gone. Then, they had both grabbed a broom, beginning to try and contain the debris. It was easier to block out any thoughts and focus on the task instead, righting tables and chairs. Scooping up scattered papers. Sweeping away broken glass and bottles.

All thoughts of going to school had vanished. Evie wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon - not that she wanted to.

Evie had built such a rhythm that she didn’t even notice time passing until she heard the door open once more and panicked. Yet, relief instantly filled her at the sight of Polly stood in the doorway, not another policeman or Detective.

Polly was the first to arrive, barging into the shop. “What the fuck happened here?”

“What do you think, Polly? The coppers came here for a chat,” Evie immediately replied, not even looking up at her Aunt. “They visited every house on the streets round here.”

“So I saw on me way in. I came as soon as I heard.”

“Where were you?”

“At the church. Were you both here?”

Her eyes flickered from Evie to Finn as he immediately drew close to her for comfort. She patted his head and hugged him close.

“Yes,” Evie answered. “Finn was hidden in the attic though. I kept him out of sight.”

“Good,” Polly sighed, relief evident for the youngest Shelby. “And you?”

The expression of concern was clear as was her fury when she realised the answer for herself. Evie didn’t even have to answer for her to work it out.

“Finn,” Polly barked, “be a good lad and go find the others. Tell them to send word to Tommy and Arthur, eh?”

Finn just nodded and ran off without another word. He was smart enough to know something was going on. He also knew better than to disobey Aunt Polly, so was eager to bolt his way down Watery Lane as fast as his legs could carry him.

Evie wished she could do the same. She wished she could just run as fast as she possibly could away from here. It would have been better than watching as rage began to simmer beneath Polly’s stern expression as she took in the damaged shop floor, and the evidence on Evie’s face.

Polly swallowed, shaking as she tried to suppress whatever murderous thoughts were now running through her head. Who would have guessed a split lip and bruised forehead would have been enough to tip the infamous Polly Shelby over the edge?

“Who did this?”

Evie sighed. “Who do you fucking think?”

“Language,” Polly scolded, tightening her grip on her chin as she turned Evie’s face into the light. Her eyes roamed the damage with a critical gaze. Thankfully, she didn’t deem the situation too dire as she released her. “I meant a name, Evie.”

“The Inspector.”

“Campbell?”

“Yes.”

The very sound of his name was enough to make Evie’s heart race, her breath short and sharp as she tried not to picture the brute of a man towering over her again.

“He paid me a visit too. At the church.”

“Pol, are you ok-?”

She nodded, quick to dispel the girl’s panic. He’d only thrown words, not punches. Only an animal chose that to be the case with a child and not a fully grown woman. “I’m fine. He wanted a chat. That’s all.”

“That’s all?”

“Here,” Pol offered, swiftly distracting her by pulling out a chair and placing her grand-niece into it. “I think we both need a drink, don’t you?”

Evie watched as Polly pulled out two glasses from the cupboard and placed them on the table, along with a bottle of whiskey.

“Have a nip of this and get yourself upstairs and dressed. Hopefully, if we clean you up your father won’t explode like a grenade when he gets here.”

“Shit,” Evie whispered under her breath, the thought enough to make her shudder. It was why she hastily turned her wide eyes to her aunt and gripped her arms in a vice like grip. “Polly, please. You have to tell him - I didn’t say anything. I didn’t know anything about what the police wanted, but I didn’t say anything. I wouldn’t anyway even I did-”

“I know,” Polly soothed, instantly drawing the rambling girl close to her chest. She didn’t say anything as Evie shuddered in her arms, her soft sobs finally escaping her as the morning caught up with her in a terrifying blur. Instead, she gently rubbed the girl’s back and whispered soft noises of comfort to her until she’d calmed long enough to drink her whiskey in one deep gulp. “There. Better?”

Evie nodded. “I should go. Get dressed.”

“Good girl,” Polly cooed. “I’ll be right here when you get back.”

Evie didn’t realise how much she’d needed to hear that as she rose to her shaking feet and did her best to make her legs cooperate with her.

She hurried up the stairs and into her room, bolting the door behind her. She took a deep breath, the adrenaline fizzing out of her system now that it was over. Suddenly, she could feel the stinging in her lip, and hastily grabbed the wash cloth by the basin to try and wipe away the blood she knew was still on it.

It hurt to drag the cloth across it, but she winced and did it anyway knowing it was for the best. When she was done, she looked in the mirror placed on her dresser and sighed. The cut on her lip and cheek still looked pretty bad but not enough to warrant stitches, thank god. The bruising around it wasn’t great either. At least pulling her hair loose meant it was mostly covered.

Still, she’d done her best. It would have to do. As it was, she didn’t have any time left. A bang followed by raised voices downstairs told her the men were back, probably bursting with questions about what had been happening in their absence. By the sounds of it, Polly was doing her best to explain and contain the fire she knew was now raging inside of them.

It took Evie a couple of minutes to muster the strength to make it out of her room and back downstairs. Even then, she couldn’t help the urge to hide her face as she entered the room, but she knew it was pointless. She knew Polly would have told them the moment they entered the house.

“So go on,” the woman in question ordered, looking at the men who had sat around the parlour and grabbed a drink from the bucket placed in the middle. She wasn’t dumb, Polly Gray. She knew how to make these people stop and listen. “Drink your beers. Get out and you better show people that you’re still the cocks of the walk.”

“And give some cash to the landlords of the pubs and pay some veterans to fix the places up,” her father added, sending the majority of the men in the room scattering up and out the door. However, he, Arthur and Polly remained as if they were waiting. Waiting for her.

It would only make it worse to keep them waiting. As it was, Evie’s foot creaked against one of the old floorboards, giving her away. “You’re back early,” she squeaked, panicked. Every word hurt and she knew her voice sounded different. She wanted to kick herself. “What happened to the fair?”

Every eye turned. They locked onto her in a mere second, widening as they took in the damage written across her battered face. Arthur rose from his seat and after a few moments Tommy’s expression turned to anger.

“He’s dead.” It wasn’t a question. It was a promise.

“Dad, no,” Evie pleaded. “It’s fine. We don’t need any more trouble-”

“Well he can’t cause trouble when he’s dead,” Tommy stated coldly, hurrying over to examine her more closely. He was oddly gentle as he turned her head to get a better look.

Arthur, who had stormed around the table too, took one look at her and began cursing. “I swear when I see that fucker-”

“Arthur, not you too,” Evie whined as he joined her father’s rage. Her eyes leapt to Polly’s as she begged for help. Thankfully, she knew just how to control the now rabid men.

“We have bigger problems right now to worry about.”

“Like what, Pol? What’s bigger than some jumped up copper coming here and attacking our home? Especially when he knew we wouldn't be here. This was a direct attack, a provocation.”

“Like," Polly warned, "trying to reclaim the favour of the people out there who think we were in on this!”

“In on what? Why was he even here?”

“He wanted to know about some guns,” Evie interjected, head beginning to pound at all the raised voices. She wished she’d never come down. Things were always much simpler when she stayed in her bed.

“Guns?” Arthur barked, shaking his head in confusion. “What the fuck?”

Polly was oddly quick to squash the conversation as she handed him another beer. “Who knows what that man’s after. He’s playing a game. A smart one.”

“A bloody smart one,” Tommy agreed darkly, accepting his beer from Polly. He then downed it in one gulp, before hugging Evie once more. Clearly he knew words were no use right now. There was nothing he could say to make this ok.

“So much for your promise there was nothing to worry about,” Evie muttered.

“There isn’t,” he corrected sternly, eyes refusing to leave hers. Evie sighed, letting him kiss her head and whisper in her ear. “For now, this discussion is over, eh?” She nodded, knowing that was most likely to be the case. Still, if it meant he could let it go for now she’d take it gladly. “Go on. Get some rest. We’ll talk later.”

“I love you.”

“And I you.”

Evie smiled, allowing the smallest slither of relief to make its way back inside of her as she squeezed his hand once more and began to make her way upstairs to her room. Polly’s voice was echoing from below as she went, rallying the troops to their retaliation.

“Let them see your faces!”

Birmingham would be lucky if that was all it saw at this rate. This had only been the beginning and she knew it. This morning had been a lucky escape in more ways than one. Soon enough, the Inspector would be back to finish what he started.

Whatever was going on here was bigger than her father was going to admit. Some how, Evie’s gut knew it was going to get a lot worse before they were through with this business.

--------

They’d been running door to door all afternoon.

One minute, Evie had been asleep on top of her bed. The next, she had awoken to find the parlour full of pictures. Not just any pictures but ones of the King himself in all his finery. Any suspicions her father was suddenly a devout monarchist were swiftly crushed as she watched Finn and John beginning to haul said pictures outside into the street.

“Uh, what’s going on?”

“We’re having a bonfire!” Finn beamed, excitement written all over his face.

“A bonfire?”

“Yeah. Your father’s idea,” Arthur added, winking as he grabbed another few. “Grab some and help would ya?”

“Grab what?”

She didn’t know why she’d asked when it was obvious. She just didn’t know why. They were going to burn pictures of the king? Wasn’t that technically some kind of treason? Then again, when had that ever stopped the Shelbys from doing what they liked?

With a sigh, she hurried on over and begun to do as instructed. She grabbed as many frames as she could manage and carried them out into the street, hurling them onto the already growing pile. It was surprisingly impressive.

“How many did you get?”

“Every portrait from the next four streets,” Finn boasted. “I only had to pay for a few. People practically gave it to me.”

“I’m sure they did.” Evie couldn’t imagine many saying no to the Blinders, especially not in these parts. Everyone who lived nearby was loyal, either in their organisation or a supporter. It would also explain why so many people had already gathered nearby, cheering and watching the spectacle.

“Less talking, more carrying!” Arthur ordered, ushering them both back inside to gather the rest. “This bonfire won’t build itself!”

He was right, hence why the next half hour was spent running to and fro, lugging portraits onto the rather substantial pyre. They even managed to rope in some of the local children, looking to earn a few pennies, as they helped.

It gave Evie enough time to put the kettle on and make a well needed cuppa. She made ones for the workers too, handing them out as they passed. Each earned a mumbled, “thanks” or “ta”, which was comforting. Part of her was still reeling from the morning and struggled with having so many people around her. People she didn’t necessarily know.

At least they were on their best behaviour. Then again, that could be a result of her father standing in the doorway.

“Tea?” she smiled, offering a cup towards him. He was quick to take it, chucking under his breath. Not many people reacted in such a way when seeing him stood nearby. Most ran screaming or stopped breathing altogether. Only she knew more existed beneath the tough exterior. “One sugar, don’t worry. I remembered.”

“I wouldn’t dream of suggesting otherwise,” Tommy teased.

“Good. Glad to hear it.”

Then, the door knocked.

Evie couldn’t help it as she jumped, her eyes wide as panic flooded through her. She would have dropped the teapot in her hands had Tommy not caught it in time.

“Easy,” her father whispered, his hand on her shoulder as he tried to ground her in the moment. “It’s just Finn.”

Evie tried to hear him. Thankfully, as the door opened, she realised he was right and took a deep breath of relief.

“We’re ready, Tommy,” Finn grinned.

“Good to hear, Finn. We light the fire in ten minutes, eh?”

Everyone nodded. With that, they dispersed back from where they’d came, most heading out into the crowd already gathered in the street outside. It was impossible to miss the racket they were making.

Evie was quick to follow, planning on running around the corner to see if Lara was alright. As it was, she felt awful at her neglect of her friend all day, too consumed with her own business to give her a second thought.

Had the coppers hit their place too?

Thankfully, she found the answer soon enough. Evie had only just stepped out of the front door when she located Lara, who was stood by the soon to be pyre, her brothers cheering around her at the idea of burning stuff. Thankfully, no one had been hurt too badly by their morning visitors.

“My Dad got a couple blows in, sent the coppers running before they had a chance to check the place over,” she explained, rubbing her hands together for warmth. Her expression was hollow though, as if there was a fear inside she was too afraid to express. Perhaps it was Evie’s darkened eye socket that sealed her lips. As it was, she held her friend’s arm tighter than normal. Evie would also have to have been blind to miss the slight tremble in her friend’s grip as they linked arms and watched the crowd assemble. “Good thing too considering how much whiskey he’s got stashed in the basement. They’d think he was running a pub in there.” Evie sniggered. “Probably cheaper than the Garrison, mind you.”

“Probably, but less fun.”

They sniggered, resting their heads against each other and watched the excitement unfold.

The night passed in an odd blur for Evie as she watched the flames growing higher, a plume of smoke vanishing up into the air. A beacon for all to see. Would the right people see it, she wondered, or would the wrong?

She wished she knew what was going on inside her father’s head. It felt like she knew him less and less these days. Part of him remained, that much was clear. Even now, after the tumultuous morning he kept her close, not letting her out of the sight of the family. It was why she stood next to Arthur, chuckling at some joke he’d just made. Her eyes never left her father though.  

No. She simply watched. Observed. Tried to understand the face illuminated in the flames.

Did he think her daft? Did he not realise she knew he was keeping something massive and dangerous secret? Was it only Polly he had chosen not to keep in the dark?

It was so obvious after this morning, and she was more than slightly offended that they seemed to think she was dumb enough not to notice. But she did.

She wasn’t an idiot. She knew that the Inspector had targeted her because of something her father had got tangled up in - he had all but told her that. He had mentioned something about guns, but he hadn’t made a lot of sense after that. The blow to her face hadn’t helped that. Still, her father and Polly’s agitation upon hearing that told Evie enough that she was right. There was something larger afoot here. She just didn’t know what.

Why else was he now doing this mad bonfire stunt?

She would have come right out and asked them about it, but she didn’t want to take a step backwards with all the progress she’d been making with them since their return. Not to mention, whatever it was they were dealing with clearly worried them enough without her becoming a part of it. She knew her father had been distraught that the Inspector had made that decision for himself.

For now though, Evie was content with holding out on learning the truth but she still hated not knowing. It seemed to be the barrier left to be broken down before they could finally live the most normal life they could.

That was what this all boiled down to. What Evie wanted more than anything: a chance at a life with her family that wasn’t clouded by secrets and lies.

But she was starting to wonder… did such a life even exist for people like them?

#ithebookhoarder #thegangster'sdaughter #masterlist #Tommy Shelby #Peaky Blinders #peaky blinder #PeakyBlinders #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinder imagine #peaky blinder headcanon #john shelby #Arthur Shelby #polly gray #series

[ithebookhoarder]

Chapter 14: The First Strike.  (The Gangster’s Daughter)

Description: Life for Tommy Shelby was pretty ordinary; all he ever had to worry about were his family, their business and the Blinders. Nothing more, nothing less. Well, that was until his ‘daughter’, a twelve-year-old girl called Evelyn Westmore, was thrown into his life, dredging up feelings and things from the past he’d done very well to forget.

Also available on AO3:

Warnings: Original Character(s), Canon-Typical Violence, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Explicit Language, Gangsters, Period Typical Attitudes, Parent Tommy Shelby, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent.

Masterlist:

-----

In fact, it was only the very next day that trouble appeared in the shape of the Inspector himself - or so Arthur claimed as he staggered into the house the next afternoon.

Up until then, it had been a rather ordinary day in many ways. Or so Evie had thought.  

Despite the meeting the day before, nothing seemed to have changed very much as she awoke and got herself ready. Whether or not there had been more said once she’d gone to sleep the night before, she wasn’t certain. However, everyone appeared their normal selves as she greeted them, snatching breakfast as she ran out of the door to school.

From there, the day had passed like any other: The lessons were interesting, if a little long; Teachers were strict and disapproving of anything they considered unsuitable in their classrooms; and Lara had been her usual comedic and sarcastic self.

All in all, there nothing unusual to report.

The trend continued as Evie arrived back home that afternoon and dumped her bags. She said a quick ‘hello’ to the shop staff still working on the floor, and made her way out towards the back of the house.

The yard was only small outback, a cobbled square with an outhouse and discarded shed. Still, it was one of the only places that offered some quiet and privacy in the otherwise packed house. It was where she knew the person she was looking for would be.

As soon as she pushed open the door, Evie noticed Ada leaning against the wall. She had a cigarette perched between her teeth as she sighed, looking upward at the grey sky.

“Mind if I join?”

Ada paused, glancing over at her niece. A small smile tugged at her lips as she nodded. “Why not? Free country, isn’t it and I could do with the company. I’ve been stuck with the boys all day. I need a good girl chat.”

“Girl chat?” Evie scoffed, not entirely sure how good she’d be at that. Instead, she extended a hand in an obvious request. Ada sighed but surrendered one of the cigarettes from her packet in what was obviously payment. “I can be a sympathetic ear if you’d like?”

“That’s good enough - even if you’re gonna get us killed if one of the boys found out I let you smoke.”

“What they don’t know can’t hurt them,” Evie replied casually, leaning over so her aunt could light it for her. In truth, she hardly ever smoked. On the whole she thought it a filthy habit and hated the smell, however there was something calming about it. She made the odd exception every now and then. Today had been one of those days where she felt she’d warranted just one.

Ada, too, looked as if something was stressing her out. Her otherwise normally cheerful exterior looked concerned, her manicured nails picking at each other.

“So, how was you-know-who?” Evie whispered, doing her best to distract her. Ada was more than practised by now at keeping her face neutral, even if they were apparently alone in the back yard. It was always possible someone was watching. “I assume that’s where you went after last night’s meeting.”

“He was alright,” Ada smiled, taking another drag and letting the smoke curl out the side of her mouth. “Didn’t make it to the pictures though, or the pub.”

Evie rolled her eyes, refraining from being surprised by this point. She may have been her aunt, but Ada was only older than her by six years or so. Something Evie was reminded of every time Ada treated her more like a sister than a niece. “Did you tell him what Dad said?”

Ada nodded, taking another slow drag. Her expression always drooped when the family were mentioned. “I did,” she murmured. “I warned him but I have no idea if he’ll listen to me.”

“At least you tried, Ada.”

Evie had only been stood there a mere handful of minutes when she heard the almighty slam of the front door.

“What the bloody hell was that?” Ada cried.

Arthur’s voice was the answer, hollering and swearing as he crashed his way around inside. Both girls needed no more invitation as Ada hurried on inside. Evie paused only long enough to drop her cigarette, stubbing it out with her toe and hurling after Ada. Last thing she needed was one of the boys catching her smoking.

“What the hell happened to you?”

That was an understatement. As soon as Evie appeared in the doorway she felt her heart sink.

“Arthur?”

It was hard to tell if it was Arthur for a moment.

The blood was enough to make her ground to a halt. Seeing anybody hurt was enough to hurt her, but her own family… Evie almost couldn’t stomach the sudden wave of panic that flooded through her.

“Finn,” Evie bellowed, looking at her startled uncle as he hurried into the room.

“Yeah?”

“Go to the Garrison. Find Dad, tell him to come — quick.”

Finn nodded without another word. One look at Arthur and the blood on his face was enough for him. He scarpered out the door and off to find Tommy as fast as he could, leaving the girls to handle the situation. “Polly!”

As if summoned, Polly appeared with a basin and water as quick as she could, bringing a cloth and bandages too. All the girls couldn’t seem to act quick enough as they each took a task to focus on.

“Alright, alright. Let a man breathe, eh?” Arthur groaned, pulling away from the attention. It was only when Polly grabbed his clearly damaged hand that he shut up, hissing in pain. “Oi!”

“Watch it,” Pol warned, narrowing her eyes at him. “I tended enough wounds with you lot over the years. So shut up and sit still, Arthur Shelby, else I’ll whip you one.”

Thankfully, Arthur was saved such whipping as the front door opened again. Immediate relief filled the room as they all realised who it was.

“John, wipe the blood out of his eyes.”

John groaned. “Since when did you give orders?”

“Since I’m a trained nurse!”

Arthur couldn’t help it. Neither could the rest of them as they chuckled under their breath. However, Arthur’s laughter soon turned to a grimace as he winced in pain.

“Don’t make me laugh, it hurts my face,” he groaned, holding his ribs.

“I bloody am!”

All Ada received for her protest was a unimpressed glare from John. “You went to one first-aid meeting at the church and got thrown out for giggling.”

“But not before I learned how to stop someone choking.”

Evie blinked. “But no one’s choking?”

“John will be in a minute when I wrap this cloth around his fucking throat-”

Thankfully, the impending argument was halted before it could even begin. The sound of the front door slamming open was enough of a distraction, as was the sight of Tommy Shelby, standing wide eyed in the doorway as he took in the chaotic scene.

“It’s alright, Ada. Let me see him," Tommy said as he strode into the parlour. He handed his brother the bottle he had perched in his grip - the bottle Finn had requested on their behalf. "Alright, have this."

Arthur bit the lid off and took a swig while Tommy rung out a cloth from the warm water basin. It was hard to watch as Arthur winced in preparation of what was to come.

"Give me that," Tommy ordered, taking the bottle in hand and pouring the rum onto the cloth. He then gently pressed the cloth to the wound making Arthur hiss loudly. It was enough to make Evie bite her lip in worry. "You're alright.”

Arthur grabbed his arm. "He said Mr Churchill sent him to Birmingham. National interest, he said. Something about a robbery.”

Evie had to be blind to miss the subtle glance between her Aunt Pol and father. She knew something else was going on here, something even Arthur didn’t know about. She was almost terrified to find out what.

"He said he wants us to help him."

"We don't help coppers," John said.

"Especially not ones who hurt our family," Evie hissed, gesturing to her uncle like it should have been obvious. It was the first time she’d ever said something so harsh or unangelic. Not helping the police? She almost didn’t recognise herself, and considering all that she’d seen since she came to Birmingham, that was saying something. This time was different. Even she knew it.  

However, her attention was stolen back to the present as Arthur groaned. Tommy had pressed down on his face a little too firmly.

“What can I do to help?”

“Don’t worry about it, Evie,” Arthur said, looking at her and giving her a pained grin. “I’ve had worse.”

“Don’t be stupid,” she snapped quickly. “Dad, what can I do?”

“Go grab some towels from the cupboards and soak them. Grab some more thread too on your way back, would ya?” Tommy said. “I’ll need them for stitching him up.”

“No, Tom. C’mon,” Arthur argued, “keep her out of it.”

Tommy rolled his eyes. “There’s only so much we can keep her out of.”

Evie put her hands on her hips, ignoring the way Polly sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’m right here. Talking about me like I’m not here is totally uncalled for.”

“Towels,” Tommy warned sharply.

Evie narrowed her eyes and turned, disappearing into the bathroom and re-emerging with her supplies. Silently, she handed them to both Polly and her father, then stepped back to let them work. It was clear they’d continued their debate without her.

At least her father seemed to be honouring their previous discussion and didn’t banish her like he once would have. Instead, he let her linger as she observed the scene.

"He knew about all our war records," Arthur continued bitterly. "He said we're patriots like him. And he knew about our family. Finn, Polly, Ada, Evie. He wants us to be his eyes and ears. I said we'd have a family meeting and take a vote."

Tommy stared down at his cigarette.

"Well why not?" Arthur said. "We have no truck with Fenians or communists."

Tommy still remained quiet.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Polly, what is wrong with him lately?"

"If I knew, I'd buy the cure from Compton's Chemist."

Evie glanced up at Tommy as she and Ada took over cleaning Arthur's wounds. She didn’t know the answer either. She only prayed it didn’t cost them more than it had already. There was something bigger going on here, even if Arthur seemed oblivious to the signs. Evie, however, had spent too long around her family to miss the signs.

She had a bad feeling about this.

--------

Again she heard him that night, her father moaning in his sleep. It was hard to miss as it echoed through the walls.

Having learned her lesson before, Evie didn’t dare go in to the room. Not in person. Instead, she hummed under her breath, hoping somehow that he could hear her, even in his sleep.

The walls were thin enough that you could often hear someone talking on the other side. Normally, it wasn’t one of the benefits of the house, but tonight Evie was oddly grateful for it, pressing her fingers against the wallpaper, humming softly.

A few moments later he began to quiet. Whether it was working or not, Evie carried on humming, any old tune she could remember until she herself dropped back to sleep.

--------

Thankfully, it went peaceful again for a day or so after the incident with Arthur and the new Inspector. However, like all things in Small Heath, things never stayed the same for long. New dangers and changes blew in and out of the city with the wind.

Of course, of all the times for something troubling to happen it had to be the one time the others had chosen to leave the city for business. There was a horse fair of some kind just outside of the city and as such, the Shelby men had decided to attend, leaving the house and shop defenceless.

None of them were aware of that fact when they’d left, though. In fact, as they’d piled into the car, they’d been all smiles and making jokes with one another - normally at each other’s expense.

Since then, the house had been rather quiet. In many ways, Evie didn’t mind at first. Not when it gave her a chance to bask in the silence and freedom of having the house to herself. After all, Polly lived next door and Ada’s plans for the day meant she wasn’t at home.

Evie had heard her leave last night and had no issue with the idea of sleeping in the house alone, with only Finn for company, till the following morning. The shop was always open as soon as the sun was up so she’d hardly be alone for long. That, and she was seventeen now. She’d spent many a night during the war alone whilst Ada was off and about town, and Polly had been running around like a headless goose trying to run the family business.

But that was before she heard the sudden crashing in the streets outside, followed by the sound of shouting. Yelling to be more precise, followed by screams.

Evie bolted upright. Her eyes wide. “What on earth?”

She threw back the covers and hurried across the room. She hardly wasted a second as she threw on her jumper over her pyjamas and bolted toward the room opposite. Her father wouldn’t mind, and he did have the best view onto the street anyway.

What she saw sent her heart racing. Policemen, everywhere, hauling men, women and children out into the streets. Bashing down doors. Attacking any who protested and smashing whatever they could find in their wake. Already the streets had glass and debris coating them.

And they were headed this way…

“Shit.”

That felt like an understatement as she suddenly tried to make a plan. Did she run? Try and bolt out the back of the house and to somewhere safe? But where would be safe? She hadn’t the foggiest how many police there were or how far they’d spread their troops for this surprise raid.

Evie grit her teeth and instead hurried to her father’s bedside table. She prayed this was unnecessary but she felt instantly better for holding the loaded pistol, slotting it into the waistband of her pyjama trousers. Her jumper easily hid it as it tucked over her waist. Just in time too considering the earth shattering thuds coming from the front parlour downstairs.  

“Finn!” she bellowed desperately until she heard the patter of footsteps in the hallway. “Finn!”

“Evie?” he gasped, appearing out of no where, his eyes wide in panic. “What’s happening? Who are they? What’s going on?”

“You need to hide. Upstairs in the attic, ok? Where we played explorers last week.”

“Why?”

“You need to stay up there no matter what you hear. Don’t come down, Finn. Not unless I or the others come get you. Promise me!”

“But-”

“Now Finn!”

To his credit, Finn didn’t argue anymore. Not as a thud rang out from below. Instead, he stared at her and nodded. He ran, his dressing gown flapping behind him as he bolted for the hideaway above.

At least Evie wouldn’t have to worry about him too. She could keep him safe whilst she saw off their unexpected visitors. After all, they had to know someone was home. It would be too suspicious to find an empty house. Better it be her to greet the police than her ten year old uncle.

Besides, the others would be here soon… right?

Evie gulped. She waited until she heard the roof panel closing overhead, the signal Finn was safe as she hurried back towards the stairs and toward the parlour below.

However, she was saved a trip as an almighty crash rang out. The door gave way, revealing several officers as they burst inside with no warning or invitation.

Evie didn’t care about them though. She hardly gave them a second glance. No. It was the man following behind them, dressed in too fine a suit for a police man that caught her attention.

This was the real reason for this… for this chaos…  

“Inspector. What a surprise,” Evie greeted icily, pausing just before the final step. He paused, looking over immediately. If he was surprised to see her then he gave no sign of it. If anything, he looked amused as he took in the humble abode around him and the teenage girl stood before him like she was the King himself. “It’s a tad early for a social call, don’t you think? I would have put the kettle on if I’d known you would be visiting.”

A laugh filled the air, muffled by the footsteps clattering past her on the stairs and in the shop behind her. Evie didn’t flinch however as she heard tables being flipped and chairs smashed. She knew that was what the Inspector wanted to see.

“My my, Miss Shelby. I’m flattered you know who I am,” he chuckled, removing his hat and dropping it on the table. “Clearly your family told you about me and why I’m here.”

“Actually no, they didn’t.”

He blinked. “Oh?”

“They didn’t say anything explicit other than you were in town. It doesn’t take a genius to work out you’re not one of the constables, given your suit and I haven’t the foggiest why you’re here,  Inspector - even though I can guess.”

“Can you?” he smirked, looking as if it was adorable she’d even tried to say such a thing. Evie didn’t rise to it, however, moving over to the kettle and filling it instead. She placed it straight on to boil and fetched the nearest two clean cups she could find. “Oh, you don’t have to go to any trouble on my behalf, Miss Shelby.”

“Really? I thought trouble was a close friend of someone like you.” Her tone was sharp as she kept her gaze from him, instead choosing to turn and focus on brewing herself a strong cup of tea. God knew she was going to need it.

Polly had always said, be smart. Again and again she’d said it to Arthur, John and anyone else who’d listen. You didn’t fight someone with your fists if you knew they’d win. There were other ways.

It was obvious she was outnumbered and it wasn’t as if she had the same physique as the others. Shovelling horse shit didn’t build the same kind of muscle mass.

She simply had to buy herself some time. Time for the others to get back. Time for help to arrive. Time for the Inspector to get bored and leave.

“I think we’ve got off on the wrong foot, Miss Shelby,” the Inspector continued, taking a clear step towards her. “I’m only here to ask your father a question. I was told by my colleagues he was the best person in the area to assist with my enquiries. Unfortunately, he isn’t here at the moment, so perhaps you could assist me instead?”

“I can try,” Evie smile sweetly, continuing to ignore him. She kept her nervous gaze solely on the teapot as she poured herself a cup and went to add a dash of milk. “Tea, Inspector?”

“I don’t think I’ll be here long enough for a cup,” he chuckled, moving ever closer.

“Pity.”

“Indeed, it is a shame. I was so looking forward to meeting your father. You’ll have to give him my regards.”

Evie gulped, sensing a threat hidden in his sickly sweet tone. She could also sense his presence as he all but towered over her, pinning her into the corner of the kitchen with no escape. Shit.

“You’ll also have to ask him if he knows anything about my missing guns.”

“Guns?” Evie blinked innocently.  

“Indeed.”

“What guns?”

She cried out, landing on the floor heavily. There was an immediate taste of blood in her mouth as she tried to realise what had happened.

He’d hit her.

Actually, hit her.

Hard.

“I don’t like liars, Miss Shelby.”

“Well, I wasn’t lying,” Evie spat, watching as the bloody saliva landed on the otherwise clean kitchen floor. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and ignored the aching throb in her cheek. “The only guns I know about is the one in my hand, which I will use if you don’t get the hell out of my house, now.”

Her threat was clear as she finally reached into her waistband and aimed it directly at the Inspector. His expression was unreadable as his snarl dropped. Was that fear, confusion or anger? She couldn’t tell. Either way, she knew she’d finally got his attention enough for him to realise he wasn’t getting anything from her.

If this visit had been about intimidating her, then he’d failed. It took more to rattle the Shelbys into submission. He clearly hadn’t done his research.

“So be it,” the Inspector chuckled, hands held mockingly in surrender. He wasn’t scared. Not of her. “I’ll be back, Miss Shelby. Tell your family that, and next time I'll want to speak to someone who can give me answers!”

Evie didn’t move. Instead, she did her best to hold herself together as she lay there, hearing the door slam shut behind him. Even then, it took her a long five minutes to make her brain realise they were gone… all of them… it was just her, laying in the ruins of the home - a space that, until this invasion, had been entirely hers.

It was then she let a tear slip down her cheek.

#ithebookhoarder #thegangster'sdaughter #thesilentmage #peaky blinders #peakyblinders #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinder imagine #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinder headcanon #peaky blinder #tommy shelby #tommy #arthur shelby #john shelby #finn shelby #ada shelby #polly gray #fanfic

[ithebookhoarder]

okay so i’ve just spent the last god knows how long reading your gangsters daughter series and it was so so so amazing , i’m a sucker for peaky/shelby family fics so idk how i’ve only just found yours but i’m glad i’ve found it now because it was one of the most fun things to read i loved it so much

Holy crap. *gasps* Thank you so much, hon xxx it means the world to know people are reading / enjoying my work, even more so when it’s something I love writing as much as this fic. I hope you continue to enjoy it, as there’s plenty more to come ❤️❤️❤️ I’m such a sucker for peaky/Shelby family fics too.

#peaky blinders imagine #i am screaming #this made my week #peaky blinders fanfic #peakyblinders #peaky blinders #peaky blinder imagine #answered #ithebookhoarder #thesilentmage #thegangster'sdaughter #tommy shelby #review

[ithebookhoarder]

I’ve just found your story gangsters daughter omg i love it!! I can’t wait to read more!

You’re so sweet xxx thank you hon! It’s honestly been so nice how much love I’ve been getting for it. It’s so touching, especially given how crappy things are at the moment  - sending love, and hope you enjoy the rest of it! 

Masterlist:

#answered #thegangster'sdaughter #ithebookhoarder #peaky blinders #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinder imagine

[ithebookhoarder]

just reread the gangsters daughter again and i’m here to reiterate how much i love that fic , i swear it’s like a comfort fic now i absolutely adore it

This has honestly made my day. Thanks Anon, for telling me this. I can't stop smiling now xxx ❤️

#thegangster'sdaughter #ithebookhoarder