Chapter 8

Alice's first sight of Tommy when she entered his room near broke her heart. He was even thinner than he had been two days before and his bones stood out even more prominently in his face than usual, but what was worse was the look in his eyes – desperation so intense that it was almost fear, mingled with an awful kind of resignation. He looked like a mistreated dog that yearned for kindness but expected only another beating. For a moment they stared at one another then Tommy dropped his head. He clasped his hands together so tightly that she should see his knuckles turn white.

Focussing intently on his hands he said wretchedly. 'I know I have no right to ask but Alice please… would you hold me one more time? If you don't want to I'll understand. I'll leave you alone, I promise.' He looked utterly desolate.

It was only then that she fully understood what Polly had been trying to tell her - Tommy Shelby truly thought that he was the worthless creature that his father had always told him he was. She remembered all those times over the years when she had caught him looking at her uncertainly as if he was unsure as to why she was there, how defeated he had seemed when she had refused to marry him, the ease with which Eloise had led him to believe that he did not deserve the slightest love or kindness - it was all part and parcel of the damage that had been done by to him by his sorry excuse for a father. She had thought he was so strong, so confident. How had she never seen the truth before? She cursed her own blindness.

Eloise's cruelty had stripped away the protective shell that Tommy had built around his heart leaving it naked and vulnerable and by allowing herself to be driven away when he needed her the most Alice had confirmed Tommy's worst fears about himself. Alice felt a rush of anger - there was no way that she would let that twisted bitch destroy everything in him that was good. Slowly she walked towards him, kicking off her beaded slippers and discarding the silken dressing gown. He watched her approach, half hopeful and half wary.

When she reached his side she said roughly. 'Budge over then.' He looked at her confused until she made a little shooing motion with her hands. Once he had made room for her in the bed, she lifted the sheets and slid in next to him. Then, taking him in her arms, she allowed him to lay his head on her breast. At first he held himself rigid, as if afraid that any kind of movement would frighten her away. Then, as she softly stroked his hair, he began to relax and finally fell into a healing sleep.

The next morning Alice awoke with Tommy Shelby's erection pressed against her thigh. God that man truly was irrepressible! Smiling inwardly she recalled the first morning that she had woken up next to him in her little back-to-back in Balsall Heath and was unable to contain a small gasp of desire at the memory of what had followed. The soft noise woke Tommy and his eyes instantly sought out her face, anxious to gauge her feelings. When their eyes met Alice knew two things: Firstly, she needed Tommy as much as he needed her; and secondly, when he looked deep in to her eyes and asked if he could kiss her it was only ever going to end one way.

Sometime later, as they lay nestled together sated and relaxed, they finally began to open their hearts to one another - each new confession acting as a soothing balm on the wounds that they had inflicted and received in recent months. It was a conversation that they should have had many years before but pride, stubbornness, and genuine crossed wires had always got in the way. It was only now, since they had come so close to losing each other for ever, that they were able to be totally open with one another. They knew that it would take time to rebuild trust between them but it was time that they would both consider to have been well spent.

It took an Act of Parliament for Tommy to finally become free of Eloise but where a peer of the realm might have been humiliated by a public debate about the failure of his marriage, Tommy Shelby truly did not care. All that mattered to him now was his family and the life that he was going to build with Alice. It was a life that would be played out in full view of the rest of the world. This time it was Alice who did the proposing.

'How about it, Tommy', she said with a grin. 'What say I make an honest man of you?'

'About fucking time!' Arthur yelled from the next room, only to be elbowed into silence by Polly who was straining to hear Tommy's reply.

When it finally took place, Tommy and Alice's wedding was a quiet affair – just a low key service in the registry office in Birmingham city centre with only close family present. Charlie and Jack were both rather confused by the turn of events but with the resilience of youth they quickly adapted to the new set up and both seemed delighted by the move from friendship to brotherhood. But if the wedding was quiet, the party at Arrow House which followed it was destined to be a different matter entirely.

'Alright lads' Arthur said with a grin before downing half a pint of the Shelby family's finest whiskey. 'This is a respectable event and we will all behave accordingly.'

'Just remember', said Polly with a sigh, 'No fucking fighting!'

I think that I've taken the story of Tommy and Alice about as far as I can so this is it for them – I can never resist a nice happy ending!

If you've stuck with me this far then thank you! I hope that you've enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please do leave me a quick review to let me know what you thought worked (and what didn't). I'm working on something new now so it would be good to have your input before I get too far.