HIDING away in London hadn't been all fun and games, but it was what Elizabeth had to do to make good of her promise to the Shelby's.

After spending the night sleeping underneath the stars, Tommy had fulfilled his promise to Elizabeth. He marched her straight to Ms. Winters' house and used his velvety smooth charm, coupled with the rough tone of an underlying threat, and secured Elizabeth her lodgings back.

Ms. Winters had looked appalled, and Elizabeth couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with the elderly woman, knowing full well she had just lost her respect. Elizabeth didn't have many relationships in Small Heath, but her relationships with Ms. Winters and Mr. Brown were treasured. Now she felt they had been ruined, and the guilt that swirled in her stomach was almost sickening.

After Elizabeth had returned her belongings to her room, Tommy stood in the doorway watching with guarded eyes, he escorted her back to Watery Lane.

"There's going to be a family meeting," he explained through a puff of smoke. "and you are going to be the focus of it."

Elizabeth gulped, twisting the fabric of her dress between her sweaty hands. "Do you think it's wise that I go with you? Surely John will want to have me shot against a post."

Tommy chuckled dryly. "You leave my brother to me. Besides, he's more likely to cut you than shoot you."

Tommy's dry humour did nothing to settle Elizabeth's anxiety, only stirring it up and making it excruciatingly worse.

As expected, the family meeting had been a whirlwind of chaos. Tommy and Polly, until that point, were the only two who knew of Elizabeth's indiscretions. As Tommy had told his family that Elizabeth had been working for Campbell, Arthur roared with fury. "Then why is she with you Tom? You know what we do to copper's nark's around here." He slammed his fist on the table, jolting it with a fever that had Elizabeth quaking in her boots.

"I say we cut her a smile, Tom. Send her back to the Inspector with a warning." John had commented, slowly twisting the toothpick in his mouth. Esmé agreed with her husband from the background, unflinching when Polly told her to shut up.

"No, Arthur, John," Tommy sighed, tired of his family's interruptions. "She's now, as far as I'm concerned, working on behalf of the Blinders. If you let me finish, you'd hear that she changed her mind and helped us, in the end anyway."

The news that she was now expected to work for them was a shock, but she held down the temptation to refuse while tensions were high. This was a conversation for her and Tommy to have privately, without the additional audience of the entire Shelby family.

"And what will you have her do, Tom?" Polly asked, lighting a cigarette. The icy glaze in her eyes, the slow-burning distrust, told Elizabeth that despite her efforts to help, all was not forgiven.

"She's going to London."

Elizabeth choked on her saliva, though it thankfully went unnoticed due to the commotion Tommy had started.

"What?"

"Tommy to do what? We've got no business in London." John asked, standing from his seat.

"We have no business in London yet, John."

"So you've told her your plans but not us? Do you really think that's a smart move Tommy?" Arthur asked, standing from his seat to join John in his resistance.

"I'm not telling Elizabeth anything. She's going to London, she's going to find another job in another little sweet shop, she's going to drink in Sabini's clubs like the other Londoners and she's going to stay put until she hears further instruction. She can't stay here anyway, not after shooting Campbell."

"You shot him?" Polly asked, finally turning her attention to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth stood straighter, trying to appear braver than she felt. "Yes." Polly's shapely brow rose, either in surprise or approval, Elizabeth wasn't sure.

"Does anybody else feel like questioning my judgement?" Tommy asked, surveying the room. As the atmosphere turned silent, he stubbed out his cigarette. "Right then, meeting dismissed."

It wasn't even a full twenty-four hours before Elizabeth was placed on a train headed to London with very little instruction or conversation from Tommy in-between. He wasn't in the mood for chit chat, that much was clear, so Elizabeth stayed silent mostly. Countless cigarettes were smoked down to stubs and glasses of whiskey were knocked back in succession, but still no words were exchanged.

He had passed her a piece of paper with the address of her new lodgings written in his poor handwriting, offering her little comfort as she boarded. "Don't worry, I'll continue paying for your room with Ms. Winters, you'll be staying there once you come back."

Elizabeth gulped down the lump in her throat. Despite his statement, it most certainly felt like a goodbye. "And I will be coming back, Tommy?"

"That's the plan."

Cold and clinical, Tommy stepped away from the train and left the platform without so much as looking back.

A year and a half of the busy city had been more than enough, but Elizabeth had resisted the urge to run back to Birmingham, determined to make up for her indiscretions in the way Tommy had decided was best.

London was a whirlwind of every kind; her evenings at the Eden Club were lively and exciting, but her evenings at home were lonely and sad. She had managed to pick up a receptionist role for a company, working a couple of hours every day Monday to Friday. It was a stark contrast to Mr. Brown's sweet shop, but she was grateful for the challenge. Her fingers could fly across a typewriter at lightning speed and the work was somewhat stimulating. The interesting work helped to lessen the amount of hours she spent wallowing in nothingness, wondering what Tommy was up to, longing to return home.

Home was a funny word.

For so long she felt as though she didn't have a home, yet her short time in Birmingham had been more homely than anything she'd ever known. Just as quickly as she had come to love Birmingham, however, it was ripped from her bare hands.

Her love for Tommy was still there, simmering under the surface, but it had been dulled by the lack of communication and the sense of rejection that being alone in London had caused her. It was no surprise then that she had begun to have a gentleman friend, by the name of Angel.

Angel Changretta reminded her of Tommy in a lot of ways; a little rough, secretive about his work and devilishly handsome. He was an Italian man with an air of confidence that was uncommon. After the war, the English seemed to rally against the Italians, even the ones they had lived amongst and got along with once upon a time. The Italians who lived in England were treated as foreign enemies, and that often resulted in a lack of confidence, their fear of being targeted in public often resulting in them shying away from the attention.

Angel was different. He was self-assured and relaxed, proud of his Italian heritage and he didn't seem to care who knew it. For Elizabeth, it was exhilarating.

He didn't divulge much about himself, but he was more than content listening to Elizabeth ramble on about everything and nothing, admiring her beauty as she spoke passionately. It was nice, for Elizabeth, to have a companion that she could resume a small amount of normality with, someone who didn't know about her involvement with the Shelby's, or her family history. Someone who didn't know that her head was being hunted by the newly titled Major Campbell.

Still, despite these niceties, when she received the letter to return home her heart fluttered with excitement and delight.

So, she took the first train straight back to Birmingham, hopping in the Unicab taxi to Small Heath. The letter didn't detail why she was wanted home, but she didn't mind. Whatever the reason, she was eternally grateful to know she would be back in the Shelby's presence soon enough.

Watery Lane looked exactly the same as it had when she left. The people were the same, shuffling along the street towards their shifts, children running riot in the streets, playing with their friends.

Raising a shaky hand to knock on the Shelby's door, the nervousness she hadn't felt for nearly a year and a half came flooding back. There was something about Tommy that made her knees shake and her heart thud, and she didn't think those feelings would ever go away no matter how long she knew him.

The door swung back, revealing Tommy in all of his tailored-suit glory.

He hadn't aged much at all, but his hair was slightly shorter. It suited him, Elizabeth thought. His eyes were as blue as ever, still shrouded in mystery.

"Elizabeth, glad you could join us," Tommy spoke, standing aside to let her in to the house. "Come in."

Elizabeth exhaled loudly. "There's no need to be so formal, Tommy." It was an icy reception that caused her heart to freeze over. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, certainly not hearts and flowers, but this hadn't quite been it either.

"Everyone will be here shortly. Drink?"

Elizabeth accepted gratefully, glad to have something to keep her hands busy. Fidgeting was one of her pet peeves yet she could never seem to help herself. "Where is everyone?" Her voice was small and quiet, as if afraid that the sound her voice would suddenly summon the Shelby's from their hiding places.

"Busy." Tommy answered, sipping his drink.

Elizabeth pursed her lips, stifling her cutting remarks. She didn't want her first meeting with Tommy to be soured, no matter how hard he tried to give her the brush off.

"London was wonderful, thank you for asking." It hadn't meant to slip out, but there it was.

Tommy nodded, lighting a cigarette pensively. "I know all about London, from the clubs you drank at, the job you had, even the men you courted."

Elizabeth spluttered on her drink. "Men I courted? Let's not make me sound like a city prostitute, Thomas. It was one man, and he was kind. I wasn't just sleeping my way around London."

Tommy exhaled a cloud of smoke. "It makes no odds to me who you wish to sleep with, Elizabeth."

Just as frustrated tears began to prick her eyes, the sound of all the Shelby's tumbling through the door broke up the silence. "Ah, the cavalry has arrived." Tommy stood, picking up his glass and gesturing for Elizabeth to join him.

What Tommy had in store, Elizabeth was unsure.

All she did know was that the heart she had attempted to get close to those two years ago had finally frozen over, and she was sure there was no way to thaw it out.