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Roguish Women Part 19

Summary: Kate Rosseau is an American who fled to Paris to escape her past life. Now she's dancing and playing the part of a courtesan at the Moulin Rouge. There she meets Tommy Shelby who thinks she can be useful in expanding his empire. But has he been blinded?

Part 19: It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.

Tommy was in a foul mood days after he fought with Kate. And on the day of Grace’s dinner, he came to find her office was empty. With a frown, he turned to seek out Polly.

“Where’s Kate?” He asked his aunt when he tracked her down.

“She called in.”

“Called in?” He raised an eyebrow. No one called in to say they wouldn’t be at work. Not unless they were a part of the family. Everyone was afraid to defy him. He’d had to send a man home because he came to work with the flu and on another occasion, he had to call for an ambulance to pick up a woman who had fainted in the middle of the day. “Did she give a fucking reason?”

“She said she didn’t want to deal with you today,” Polly replied exactly what Kate had told her over the phone.

“Didn’t want-her job is to deal with me.” He got agitated and his voice started to rise.

His aunt recognized the warning signs of a Shelby tantrum so she pointed at a chair near her desk. “Sit and talk.” She ordered.

Tommy didn’t appreciate being spoken to like a child but listened and sat down. “Talk about what?” Even without knowing the topic of conversation, he knew he would need a smoke. So, he grabbed his pack out of his pocket.

“You and Kate. You’ve been at each other’s throats for weeks. She looks at you like you killed her mother and you look at her like she’s broken your heart.” Polly perched on the edge of her desk, looking at her nephew expectantly. “Out with it.”

There weren’t many times Tommy didn’t trust Polly. In fact, many people in the world wouldn’t get the same level of respect he had for her. So, he trusted her not to go gossiping about anything he told her. He rubbed the heel of his hand into his eyes and let out a long sigh. “A few weeks ago, she got drunk on absinthe at the Garrison. John brought her to my place to sleep it off. She was talking about all sorts then she just…she said she loved me.”

Polly put a hand to her mouth. Not because she was very shocked, but because she had sensed something between the two. But she thought it was just some odd thought. She wasn’t willing to play childish games though so she lowered her hand and resumed a firm stance. “And? What did you say?”

“Polly, I’m married with a child on the way. What am I supposed to say?”

“Tommy.” She spoke slowly. “There’s no baby.” She was brave to say such a thing when she knew it was an instant trigger for him.

Her nephew stood up with a fury. His eyes narrowed. “No talk of the baby tonight.” He warned. “Be there on time, be respectful to Grace, and enough about doubting her. This is her night and I won’t have me family gossiping about her.”

Polly sighed. There wasn’t anything else she could say to him. So, she didn’t say a word, letting him leave when the silence continued.

~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a few days of struggling with a decision for Kate. That’s why she ended up not going to work the day of Grace’s dinner. She couldn’t handle the conflict she had in her head.

The day after her argument, flowers were sent to her flat. Kate panicked for a second, wondering if they were from Santo, the Changrettas, or anyone else looking to threaten her. But she was met with a brush of relief when she read the card. Which was strange because it was Grace’s name on the card. She wasn’t sure she would be relieved to see her name. But it was far better than any alternative.

Taking the flowers inside, Kate read the full card that was tucked between a lovely arrangement of yellow and white roses.

Kate,

Tommy said you were considering not attending the dinner this Friday. I would miss your absence, as would Tommy. We hope you change your mind and attend, there will always be a seat open for you.

Warmest Regards,

Grace Shelby.

Kate set the flowers down on her kitchen table and flipped the small card between her fingers. The words ran over and over in her head. In a twisted way, she wanted Grace to despise her. It would only make Kate’s life easier, at least that’s what she thought. If Grace hated her, then she had a reason to retaliate. But if Grace took the high road, then Kate looked the fool. Still, she was sure that Tommy didn’t indulge his wife in the information about their previous conversations. So why should Grace hate her?

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It wasn’t the life she wanted. Pining after a married man. Even if it turned out that Grace was lying about the pregnancy, Tommy was too in love with her. He would see her through it. Maybe later on they would have a child together. They’d be the family that Tommy wanted.

It was what Kate would never have. And she thought that she’d learned that lesson a long time ago.

Alfie’s words from weeks ago echoed in her head.

We’re creatures of the underground, we can’t afford to love.

She had nothing to give Tommy Shelby. That would never change.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kate arrived fashionably late. But that was only because she was still having doubts about whether she wanted to go. She could make her peace with the idea that she would never have Tommy. She could accept Grace’s gesture and leave it be. But that didn’t mean she had to go and socialize with everyone. In fact, her gut was telling her to stay inside. Don nothing but a dressing gown and drink her reserves of liquor.

But that damn dress kept calling her name. A beautiful beaded gown that she’d bought for the occasion, before the last argument with Tommy, when she fully intended on going to the function.

It was such a shame to waste a dress, although Kate was certain she would find another place to wear it if she somewhat stayed in Tommy’s good graces. But she realized to do that, she would have to go to the dinner.

So, she donned the gown and hitched a ride to the Midland Hotel. And even she was surprised to see the turnout. Well, surprised wasn’t the right word. She wasn’t blind to Tommy’s immense efforts of throwing his name in everyone’s faces and refusing to let them forget it. Now it seemed the hard work was really paying off. She bet he didn’t have to threaten anyone to go, well…except for her.

A man by the door took her coat as she walked in. The ballroom was stunning with a golden-white glow to everything. Chandeliers of glittering stones hung low in the room, sparkling over the jovial guests. Everyone was dressed to the nines as if they were in New York or London. But it was still Birmingham and everyone was doing their best to look the part for Grace and Tommy Shelby.

Grace caught sight of Kate entering from the front and came over to greet her. “I’m so glad you made it.” She smiled. “I was hoping you’d get my letter in time.”

It didn’t help Kate’s cause that Grace looked like a movie star in her pearl-colored dress and furs. The icing on the cake was an enormous sapphire necklace that she wore like a queen. All Kate could only swallow her pride and smile. “It was a kind gesture; the flowers were beautiful. I’m sorry if there was any misunderstanding with Tommy and me. I never wanted it to interrupt this night for you.”

“Not at all!” Grace touched her shoulder with a satin gloved hand. “I just knew Tommy wanted his closest people here.”

She exhaled slowly and bit her tongue before replying. “We work well together. I’ll always be here for him.”

Grace smiled and glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, Kate, I need to step away for a moment. Dinner will be starting soon, so please enjoy yourself.”

“Thanks.” She nodded and went to hunt down a flute of champagne.

~~~~~~~~~~

Kate found John to chat with while they waited for dinner. She wouldn’t associate with any of the rich donors, that was more than she could stomach in one night. But even as she spoke to Ada, she kept an eye on the room around them. It was a force of habit, and a smart one in her opinion.

During a subtle scan, she noticed Tommy for the first time. He was standing with Grace and another dark-haired woman in a beaded, taupe dress. Her suspicions raised when Tommy leaned forward to kiss this woman’s hand.

Tommy Shelby wouldn’t kiss anyone’s hand unless it was expected of him. Meaning, rank, royalty even.

“John, who is that talking to Tommy?” Kate directed his attention.

“Oh, that’s that fucking duchess. Heard she’s crazy.” He replied without much thought of the matter.

“Duchess?” She scoffed. “What on Earth is Tommy doing with a duchess?”

“Not just that, she’s Russian.”

“A Russian duchess, you’d think he would mention that earlier.” She muttered into her drink.

There wasn’t much time after that. Kate turned away from Tommy and the duchess. That was something they could address later; she was dealing with one thing at a time. Then, she heard a man call for a loyalty toast to the king.

Kate cleared her throat and rolled her eyes slightly as she raised her glass with the rest of the party-goers. She wasn’t loyal and she could bet a high percentage of the people weren’t loyal either. They were loyal to money.

As people were filing towards the dinner hall, there was a quick commotion before two words were shouted.

“For Angel!”

The gunshot made Kate duck before she realized what was going on. Most of the attendees were quick to run for the exit, screaming and shouting to add to the fray.

Kate and the rest of the Peaky Blinders rushed toward the scene. When enough people cleared, she finally understood what happened.

Grace had slumped to the ground in Tommy’s arms. Her face a frozen look of a daze as she loosely held onto her husband’s upper arm. Tommy was shouting for an ambulance, his hand over his wife’s heart, trying to contain the bleeding from the bullet wound.

There was a man on the ground, being swarmed by the Shelby brothers.

Polly rushed by Kate, in a rippling of blush pink satin.

Kate staggered forward and met Tommy’s eyes. They both had the same look of horror and disbelief. She went to Grace’s other side, just acting out of instinct. She had no idea what else to do. Her ears were ringing with the sound of Tommy’s screams and the sounds of the brother’s caving in the shooter’s head.

Her hands shook as she slipped off Grace’s fur and pushed Tommy’s hand away from the wound. Her heart was pounding as she pressed to try and stem the bleeding.

But it didn’t seem to be of much use. Grace was slipping away before their eyes. Her eyes were starting to glaze over. Her face turning an ashen shade.

Kate didn’t notice, but she started to rock back and forth as tears slipped down her cheeks. She continued holding the fur shawl to the wound, but the elegant garment wasn’t meant to soak up blood. Soon, dark red began to saturate the pale color and seeped through Kate’s gloves.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The entire Shelby family waited in the hospital. After consulting with the doctor, Polly came back with the news.

“She’s gone. They didn’t even have a pulse when she arrived.” She reported somberly.

“Where’s Tom?” Arthur asked.

“Out back. I think it’s a good idea for him to be alone right now.” She replied.

Kate felt like if she moved, it would just be proof that she wasn’t in a nightmare. Once she moved, it confirmed that she truly was living this unspeakable night. Even still, she stood up and moved to leave the hospital.

“Kate, I really wouldn’t...” Ada warned.

But she didn’t listen and kept walking out the door. She circled the building looking for where Tommy went.

Around the back, she found him sat on the steps leading to a door. It was dark, but she could see him hunched over his knees. Still dressed in his tuxedo, he looked out of place. But it was where he was. A broken man with his wife’s blood staining the cuffs of his crisp, white shirt. Both of his hands were gripping onto his hair as if he was trying to grab onto reality again.

“Tom.” Kate couldn’t muster more than a whisper.

He didn’t even move a muscle. His shoulders were heaving unevenly. And she knew why. Neither of them could breathe. Suddenly the air wasn’t suitable for them anymore, their lungs weren’t compatible. They couldn’t get enough air in. They were gasping for something. Something more.

“Tommy.” She stepped toward him.

“It was meant for me.” His voice was muffled but it was loud enough for her to hear. “That fucking bullet was meant for me.”

Kate knew it was. Sure, Grace had her past but it was Tommy who racked up the enemies. Maybe he didn’t kill Angel, but he was the orchestrator. And their enemies were smart enough to know that. “There wasn’t anything you could’ve done…”

“It was fucking meant for me!” Tommy lifted his head to shout at her. His eyes were red from crying and he looked two inches away from a complete breakdown.

Her lower lip quivered. Not because he was shouting at her, but because of the overwhelming feeling of guilt that blanketed over her like steel. Crippling her. “You know that if I had the chance…I would’ve taken it for her. I never wanted-I never wanted her-” She couldn’t get the word out. Saying it would make it so.

Tommy shook his head and violently ripped at his bow tie, tearing it from around his neck. “No, I should’ve been the one. I’m meant to be dead. I should be fucking dead, Kate!” He shouted.

“But you’re not!” She grabbed his wrist to keep him from hurting himself by tugging at the buttons of his shirt. “You’re alive and you have things that you need to do. You have a family you need to take care of now!”

He fought against her, trying to pull from her grip but she wrestled him back.

“Stop it!” She snapped. “She’s gone. We can assign blame or we can remedy this. We’ll get the bastards that did this and make them pay! That’s how we do things so that’s what we’ll do now!” Tears streamed down her face as Tommy went weak in her grip.

His blue eyes were filled with tears too. “It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.” His voice wasn’t more than a whisper. The strength had been siphoned out, there was nothing more than what Grace had left. Everything else of him, she’d taken with her.

“I know.” Kate swallowed and loosened her hold on him. “I know it wasn’t.”

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