The colour white is meant to symbolise a lot of things. People often think of it as the first sign of winter when snow settles on the ground. It is also often used to symbolise cleanliness and perfection, much like a new baby. But what it is most often associated with is the purity and virtue of a bride, something that Florence struggled to believe that she possessed as she stared at her reflection in the mirror.

A month had passed since Florence and Elijah had  announced their 'engagement', only the two of them and Tommy Shelby remained aware of the true nature of the arrangement, even though Elijah still had no idea of the baby's father's true identity. With each day Florence grew more tired and her bump began to show, it was only a slight change, but she was convinced that people would notice.

It was the day of her wedding and all that Florence could think about was everything that had led her to that moment. Tommy was the reason she was marrying another man, he was also the reason that a life was growing inside of her.

As she stared at her reflection she felt unsettled by the way the white dress hung on her body. There hadn't been enough time for Imelda to fashion her a brand new dress, given the urgency of the wedding and how busy Imelda had been with Diana's wedding dress. So the dress that Florence wore was a simple white dress that flowed effortlessly over her body, perfectly concealing her petite baby bump.

"Flossie," Imelda said from the other side of the bedroom door, "It's just me and Pol, can we come in?"

"Yeah," Florence answered as the door opened, looking in the mirror to see her mother and Polly entering the room that she had been assigned by Margaret.

"Oh, my love," Imelda smiled as Polly closed the door, both women equally as proud of the young lady who stood before them, "You look so beautiful."

"Elijah Harrington is a lucky man," Polly grinned, even though deep down she knew there was more to the union than Florence had let on.

Polly had seen a shift in Tommy's behaviour since Florence announced her engagement, he was spending less time at home and more time up at Charlie's yard or working with the horses. But Polly had also noted that unlike everyone else in the room that day, Tommy didn't seem surprised or shocked by the announcement, almost as though he knew it were coming.

But Polly knew that love could be complicated, she knew that if her suspicions were correct then there were deep rooted reasons for the decisions that followed. Polly knew better than to pry, she knew that in time when either Florence or Tommy needed guidance she would be there for them.

"Can you see the bump?" Florence asked, turning to the side, "I feel like people might notice."

"Flossie," Polly sighed, "You look absolutely radiant and that baby inside you isn't even the size of an apple yet, so no one will notice."

"But they'll work it out in several months," Florence replied, resting a hand on her stomach, "All of the Harringtons' rich friends will be asking questions, they already think that Elijah taking me as a wife is questionable, I heard Margaret telling one of her maids the other day."

"Florence, look at me," Polly quipped as she approached the girl, "Fuck the lot of them, you don't need those rich bastards with their fancy titles and massive houses, I mean who needs a house as big as this?"

"She's right," Imelda added with a smile.

"Of course I'm right, I'm always right," Polly smirked at her best friend.

"Now, do you have your something old, new, borrowed and blue?" Imelda asked her daughters, aware that as they spoke guests were filling the garden.

"Old would be the dress," Florence answered.

"The little baby is new," Polly smiled.

"Blue?" Imelda asked.

"My engagement ring," Florence held out her hand to show the ring that Elijah had given her which had originally belonged to his grandmother. Margaret wasn't keen on the idea but Richard insisted.

"Oh that's marvellous," Polly exclaimed as she admired the gold ring with a sapphire set amongst small diamonds.

"Now we just need something borrowed," Imelda muttered, wondering whether any of her own jewellery might be appropriate.

"Actually, I have something," Polly smiled, holding up a headpiece made from delicate white and yellow flowers, "I noticed that you don't have a veil, and when our gypsy girls get married the other women in the family make them one of these, and I know you're not gypsy, but you've always been one us."

"Polly, it's beautiful," Florence smiled, blinking away the tears that threatened to escape her eyes at the kindness of the gesture, "Would you help me put it on?"

"Of course, sweet girl," Polly smiled as Florence sat at the dressing table, watching in the mirror as she placed the headpiece on her head, and of course it was a perfect fit.

"Are all of the boys here?" Florence asked, wondering whether Tommy might have made an excuse not to attend.

"They are," Polly nodded as Imelda joined them, "I warned them what would happen if they cause trouble, you just wait till you see little Finn dressed all smart."

"And still nothing from Ada?" Florence asked, having hoped that she might have made it to the wedding.

"Nothing since they left Small Heath," Polly answered.

"Right," Imelda clapped her hands together, "There's only so long that we can keep your soon to be husband waiting, come on."

"I'll head down and tell them that you're on your way," Polly told both the women before leaving the room.

"Florence," Imelda smiled as the door closed, "I am so proud of you."

"Why?" Florence sighed as she stood up, "I'm just getting married and having a baby, what's there to be proud of?"

"I might have been young when you were born, but when your father left me in the lurch to grow, birth and raise you, I vowed that I would do everything in my power to bring you the world, but you did that all by yourself," Imelda beamed as she stared at her daughter in awe, delighted by the woman she had become.

"Thank you, Ma," Florence whispered as she wrapped her arms around her mother, "And I know that after today I won't be living in Small Heath, but I'll come back as much as I can, and when the baby arrives I'll need you there."

"Hey, one step at a time," Imelda soothed, knowing that in families like the Harringtons there would be nannies and servants tending to Florence's every need.

"I love you so much, Ma," Florence muttered.

"I love you too my love," Imelda grinned as she stepped back, "Now let's get you wed."

Once the two women made their way through the overwhelmingly large house they reached the terrace overlooking the garden. They were lucky that the sun was shining on them that afternoon as all forty guests were seated on wooden chairs facing the intricately well kept garden that Richard's gardeners had been diligently working on since the wedding was announced.

Of course the only people who knew about the baby were the Harringtons and the Shelbys, which was part of the reason they kept the wedding so intimate. But Florence didn't mind, she didn't know most of the people there, at her own wedding.

At the front of all the seats where the guests awaited her arrival stood Elijah, accompanied by his best man and brother, George. George wore a navy blue three piece suit while Elijah wore the same in grey.

Once Florence and Imelda reached the start of the aisle the music began, a woman playing a violin and a man playing a harp, something she hadn't expected but assumed Margaret must have planned. All the guests stood up, turning their attention to Florence, getting their first glimpse of the bride.

Without a present father there was only one person who would walk Florence down the aisle, her mother. The two women made their way slowly towards the front of the guests, George looking over his shoulder with his usual coy grin while his brother waited for his bride to reach his side before looking at her.

The Shelby family were sat three rows from the front, Polly on the end of the row beside Finn, followed by Tommy, John and Arthur. Florence couldn't dare look at them, fearing what seeing Tommy might do to her when she had been doing such a good job at avoiding him over the past month.

At last Florence reached the front, Imelda leaving her side to take her seat beside Margaret as Elijah turned to look at Florence, the biggest grin on his face, as though the weight of their façade marriage were non-existent.

"You look beautiful," Elijah smiled as the priest who was a friend of Margaret and Richard took his place in front of them.

"Not too bad yourself, Harrington," Florence beamed as the guests took their seats, taking note of the flower pinned to his suit jacket that matched the flowers in the headpiece that Polly had fashioned for her.

"Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us to celebrate the union of Florence Elizabeth Dawson and Elijah Albert Harrington in the company of their closest friends and family," The priest announced, "I am Reverend Francis, a good friend of the Harrington family so I have witnessed Elijah grow from the tiny baby in his christening gown into the man he is today."

"I'm quite used to being restricted by the confines of the church building, so it is delightful to gather with you all here in the gardens of this estate that holds so much history," Reverend Francis told the guests, "And we hope today that the blessing of this new union bestows a new generation of Harringtons to continue to make history on this land."

"Now, before we begin," Reverend Francis continued, "Does anyone here today know of any reason why these two people may not marry?"

Even though she had managed to convince herself that she had nothing to hide, Florence still felt panicked as she stood beside Elijah, knowing that Tommy held the power to expose the entire charade at any moment.

"Very good," The reverend smiled, "Let's proceed with the vows. Elijah, do you take Florence Dawson to be your lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold for this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer?"

"I do," Elijah grinned, glancing at Florence.

"And Florence, do you take Elijah Harrington to be your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold for this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer?"

Florence inhaled heavily, trying not to imagine Tommy's eyes on her, "I do."

"Elijah, do you promise to love, honour and protect Florence as your wife?" The Reverend continued.

"I do."

"Florence, do you promise to love, honour and obey Elijah as your husband?"

"I do." Florence answered, even though she hated the archaic choice of the word 'obey'.

"Now for the rings," The Reverend declared as George approached the pair, handing them each a gold wedding band as they turned to face each other, "Elijah, if you'd like to go first."

"Florence," Elijah smiled, taking Florence's left hand and slipping the ring onto her finger, ready to relay the words the reverend had helped them with a week prior, "I give you this ring as a sign of my love, respect and devotion for you."

"And Florence?" The Reverend glanced at her as she took ahold of Elijah's hand.

"Elijah," Florence grinned, as though she had forgotten all her troubles, "I give you this ring as a sign of my love, affection and admiration for you."

"Well, all that leaves is to say that I now pronounce the new Mr and Mrs Harrington as man and wife," Reverend Francis declared, "You may kiss the bride."

That was the moment that Florence had dreaded, not that she was worried about kissing Elijah, but rather she feared what Tommy would think of it. But when he accepted the invitation he would've known what to expect, of course he did.

As the guests watched on in anticipation Florence rested her hands on Elijah's shoulders as he rested his on her waist pulling her in close as they shared their first kiss in front of forty wedding guests. The kiss was more tender than any kiss she had shared with Tommy, the pair being too nervous and unfamiliar with each other's bodies to explore the kiss further as the wedding guests all stood up to applaud the newlyweds as they stepped back from the kiss.

Elijah took Florence's hand in his, kissing the back of it before leading her back down the aisle, the guests that surrounded them tossing confetti over them as they made their way past each of their guests.

"So, Mrs Harrington," Elijah grinned as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "How do you suppose we celebrate this marriage?"

"Food," Florence laughed, glancing over her shoulder to see the rest of the guests, led by Margaret, Richard and Imelda trailing behind them, "Eating for two, remember?"

"How could I forget?" Elijah smiled, kissing the side of her head as Florence presumed it was all part of the hopelessly devoted newlyweds act.

☆ ☆ ☆

By the time the almost formal dinner in the Harringtons' large dining room had come to an end the sun was beginning to set and the wedding reception had moved out to the garden. There was a folk band on a small wooden stage, requested by Florence to make the Shelby boys feel more at ease.

Half of the guests were dancing on the grass, while the others who were mainly gentry and Richard's business associates mingled on the side lines. Drinks continued to flow as they did at any good Harrington party, just the way the rich liked it. Florence had spent most of her time being introduced to the guests she hadn't met by Elijah. They were all heavy on the congratulations, as though they had been pre-warned by Elijah and George to make an effort.

"Are you okay?" Elijah asked Florence as he joined her on the terrace, overlooking the people who stood on the grass below, his sleeves rolled up and his jacket discarded.

"You don't have to keep asking me that, I'm fine," Florence sighed as she laid eyes on the three Shelby brothers, each with a glass of whiskey in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

"You'll tell me if today feels like too much, won't you, Flo?" Elijah replied, leaning against the small wall.

"Oh, it's definitely too much," Florence smiled understandingly, "But that's your parents' way of doing things, how they managed to organise all this in a month amazes me."

"You wait until you see the house they're giving us," Elijah laughed, having had a conversation with his parents a week beforehand when they told him that they would be happy to give him and Florence one of the smaller properties on their land.

"Bigger than my house in Small Heath?" Florence smirked, recalling the lady's maids who had arrived at her house that morning to take her belongings to the new house.

"I'd argue it's close to being bigger than all of Small Heath," Elijah sighed.

"And what do they expect us to do with all those rooms?" Florence smiled.

"They'll probably be anticipating that we'll fill them all with grandchildren," Elijah remarked before instantly regretting it, "I don't mean that we-"

"I know what you meant, and it's fine," Florence assured him, "And I know that they'll all be hoping for a boy to inherit the family empire."

"Flossie!" George's drunken voice startled the girl as he appeared beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder as Diana lingered beside him, "My new sister in law, if anyone was going to make an honest man of my brother it'd be you, I mean he's always-"

"George," Elijah cut his brother off, "Take a breath."

"Well, our parents have definitely changed their opinion on golden boy," Elijah rambled, smiling at the girl who stood beside him, "Besides, who would've thought I'd end up being the favourite son?"

"I think you've had enough to drink, brother," Elijah sighed, "If you'd free my wife from your embrace we'll see about getting you some of that lovely wedding cake."

"Alrighty then," George mumbled as Elijah led him inside.

"It's a lovely wedding," Diana smiled, as the two women gazed down at the dance floor, "I can't wait for mine."

"Have you set a date yet?" Florence asked.

"First week of October," Diana told her, "Margaret and Richard are paying for us to travel across Europe for a month long honeymoon once we've wed."

"That sounds lovely," Florence smiled halfheartedly, knowing that she wouldn't be receiving the same treatment.

"Will you and Elijah be honeymooning?" Diana asked, "I hear that the South of France is lovely this time of year."

"We won't be honeymooning," Florence answered, "And if we were it wouldn't be France, given that the last time Elijah was there he was in the trenches."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No, I'm sorry," Florence sighed, regretting her short tempered reply, "Would you excuse me, I'll just get myself a drink."

Florence passed the girl making her way down the steps and along the path towards the stables, feeling the restraints of the day's events beginning to suffocate her. She wasn't used to such sophisticated events, despite how laid back the wedding had been for that part of society. She knew that she was never going to be one of them, no matter how hard she tried. The baby growing inside her would have a complete opposite childhood to her own, and it dawned on her that she was trapped inside a cage of her own making.

She reached the stables and opened the door, knowing that the only horse that the Harringtons had was Dakota she made her way to the paddock, greeting the beauty with a stroke on her muzzle, "We're quite alike, you and I, all eyes on us while we perform, everyone waiting for us to make a mistake."

"Curly would like her," The familiar sound of Tommy's voice startled the girl as she leant against the paddock, keeping her eyes on Dakota.

"Curly likes all horses," Florence answered as Tommy stood beside her, gently stroking the horse.

"Not entirely," Tommy shook his head, " I had to shoot a horse for him a month ago."

"You shot a horse?" Florence replied, glancing at the man, "Why would you do that?"

"He looked at me the wrong way," Tommy told her, "Only a fool looks at Tommy Shelby the wrong way."

"I've got guests to get back to," Florence sighed, lacking the energy for Tommy's metaphors as she stepped away from the paddock, but before she could leave the stables Tommy grabbed onto her wrist, pulling her back to him.

"You have no idea how hard it's been seeing you today," He whispered, brushing his thumb back and forth over her wrist, "And knowing that I can't kiss you."

"Yeah, well you made your choice, didn't you?" Florence reminded him as she looked down at her wrist in his grasp, "Why did you even come? I wouldn't have blamed you if you'd found a reason not to."

"It would have looked suspicious if I hadn't," Tommy explained, stepping closer to her, "And I had to see it to know that it had really happened, that you were no longer mine."

"Well, it'll be easier now that Elijah and I will be living on the Harrington estate, you won't have to see me, and you won't have to see our child," Florence assured him, even though it hurt.

"When you say 'our child' who are you referring to as the father?" Tommy asked, feeling a need for closure.

"Elijah," Florence stated, "Because you've made it abundantly clear that you'll have nothing to do with it."

"Floss," Tommy soothed, pulling her closer until there was little space between them, "One last time, before I lose you."

Florence thought about it, and she hated that she even pondered the idea, drowning in his blue eyes the way she always had, but then she remembered everything that Tommy's actions had caused her to sacrifice, "You lost me the day you abandoned our baby."

Without another word she freed her hand from his grip and walked back outside into the cool evening air in search of Elijah. All she needed was to say her goodbyes to her mother and Polly and then she could face her new life in her new home alongside her new husband. She could feel herself overrun with emotion at being so close to Tommy, her body needing him like some sort of antidote, even though she knew that the side effects could be fatal.

The second Florence set eyes on her husband in conversation with two men that she had never seen before she rushed over to him, panicked and flustered as she lingered beside the men.

"Is everything okay?" He asked, noticing her anxious disposition.

"Mmhmm," She nodded, glancing at the two strangers beside him.

"Would you excuse us?" Elijah smiled, taking Florence's hand and leading her to the edge of the garden.

"I need to leave," Florence told him, knowing she couldn't tell him that once again Tommy Shelby was under her skin, "I know it's not even that late yet, but I'm tired, my feet are aching in these shoes and I'm just fed up with people asking questions."

"Alright," Elijah replied, "I'll have them ready the car, why don't you let your mother know?"

"I will, thank you for being so good about all of this, I know that today probably wasn't the sort of wedding you would've imagined for yourself," Florence answered, glancing over her shoulder to see her mother and Polly sitting on a bench, each with a glass of wine in hand.

"Anytime," Elijah nodded before departing in search of a footman.

Florence approached the two women with a hesitant smile, "We're leaving for the new house shortly, I just wanted to see you both before we leave."

"Oh, my Flossie," Imelda grinned, clearly drunk as she stood, stumbling slightly while she wrapped her arms around her daughter, "I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you, Ma," Florence whispered, letting go of her mother, "You'll visit when you can, won't you?"

"Of course," Imelda smiled as Polly stood up to join them, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"I can't wait to hear all about this new life of yours," Polly sighed as she embraced the girl.

"I'll be visiting you all in Small Heath before you know it," Florence answered, clinging on to Polly.

"I don't doubt it," Polly replied, "He better treat you like the angel you are."

"I'm sure he will." Florence muttered.

"And we all know that he'll have three angry Shelby men to answer to otherwise," Polly whispered, "One in particular."

Florence hadn't known a life away from Tommy and the other Shelby brothers apart from the four years they spent at war in France. She didn't know how exactly she would manage, but she knew that in time she would learn how to. Naturally, it was losing Tommy that she dreaded most, but that couldn't be helped, given that the distance between them was a creation of Tommy's doing.

author's note: the best is yet to come...

Also, this is how I imagine the house that Elijah and Florence will be living in!