Celia felt sad when she woke up the next morning to an empty bed. The previous night was blissful. Tommy made love to her like his life depended on it, the two of them getting so caught up in the emotions they were feeling about the day that was finally coming. Now, her heart hurt as she held onto his pillow, trying to breathe in whatever was left of his scent.
She knew he had to go. Knew that he was needed by the group of men that he'd be taking to the races in order to take charge of Sabini's posts. She knew that she'd be arriving at the derby with Polly, but that still didn't make her not want to see him one last time. To kiss him and tell him that she loved him...to wish him luck. But she knew he didn't need it. He was Tommy Shelby. He'd get through this.
So she got out of bed, finding some clothes for herself to wear before she took off to the hospital. She had a check-up appointment for her and the baby today, and despite the major events that would be happening later, she knew that she couldn't put this off. She was pleased to hear that things were ok all around, and that everything was going swimmingly with her pregnancy. She even got to learn some more details about her baby that made her even more excited to tell the news to Tommy when she first saw him. Because she couldn't keep it to herself for one moment longer.
The next order of business was for her to go to Polly's home. She thanked the driver who brought her there before she grabbed the garment bag that held her dress and accessories. She let herself into the woman's home and found her sitting on one of the chairs with a cigarette between her fingers. "Something wrong, Pol?" Celia questioned hesitantly.
"He didn't listen to me," she said with a sigh, putting out the cigarette in the ashtray in front of her.
Celia furrowed her eyebrows, "who?" She immediately thought about Tommy, and wondered what he could be up to.
"Michael. He won't leave. He wants to stay...with the company," she answered, making the younger woman breathe a sigh of relief.
"Maybe it'll pan out well for him," Celia tried to look on the brighter side of things.
Polly laughed slightly while shaking her head, "he'll never understand. He's just blinded by the novelty of it all," she stated matter-of-factly.
"Most men are like that," Celia commented, both women laughing before Polly stood.
"We should get ready now. I've hired a man to take us to the derby and it's not a short ride," she stated, making Celia nod before she grabbed her garment bag and moved to the same room Polly was heading into.
Once she was dressed in her rose-colored dress and overcoat of the same color, she put the white hat she intended on wearing with it on her head. She felt extremely regal, and it made her forget about the real reason why she was attending the races for a moment. The outfit gave her the look and appeal that she was attending this event for the horses. Polly smiled at her as they met up again, the both women grabbing their purses before they stepped outside and greeted the man that would be driving them to Epsom.
——
The first thing Celia saw as they approached the derby grounds was the crowd. It was enormous and not like one she'd ever seen before. Polly walked her into the event like it was exactly where they were supposed to be...like they were two women there to enjoy the fan fair of the day. They locked their arms together before they moved to where they would be sitting for the event.
"This is amazing," Celia stated as she took in the controlled chaos that was happening around her.
"It gets pretty crazy once the races begin," Polly commented, a smile on her face as she watched the younger woman take in her surroundings. It was obvious that this was her first time at one of these events. "People can hardly contain their excitement."
Then a familiar face walked into view, making Celia's eyes light up. "Thomas!" she exclaimed, standing from her seat as the man approached her.
"Why so serious?" he questioned lightheartedly, a smile on his face as he came to a stop in front of her. She couldn't resist, leaning forward to kiss his lips quickly before she pulled away to smile at him.
"Because today is a serious matter," she told him, absentmindedly adjusting the red tie that he had around his neck.
He looked rather dashing, his black suit that had gray pinstripes contrasting starkly with the white button down he wore underneath and the red tie wrapped around his neck. She could also see his peaked cap of the same material sticking out from the pocket of the overcoat he was wearing. Mr. Robinson sure outdid himself with this one.
He just grinned, moving his head down to the left side of her face to kiss her cheek before he brought his lips to her ear, "you look beautiful," he told her, pulling back to watch her cheeks tint a darker shade of pink.
"Thanks, Tommy," she said, wanting to look away to hide her blush, but his eyes were just calling for her. Her gaze wouldn't leave them. "I wore the necklace," she told him, referring to the necklace he had given her the day before. It had a gold chain and a small diamond that was encased in gold. The diamond was surrounded by smaller, blue gems. Celia was hesitant to accept it at first, but Tommy insisted, telling her that he was going to spoil her with more things like this when he succeeded today. She knew that she needed to get used to it, because he wasn't going to accept 'no' for an answer.
"Now I know today's going to go well," he said, his eyes full of confidence. "You look rather nice as well, Pol," Tommy then peered over Celia's shoulder to see his aunt, sending a nod her way.
"Is everything squared away, Thomas?" she questioned, her eyebrows raised as she waited intently for the answer.
"Yes, it is. The boys are in their places, with specific instructions to go to work on my cue. I've briefed Lizzie on what needs to be done, and now we just need to wait for things to be started," Tommy nodded in her direction, his airtight plan (or what seemed to be one in his head) had been set up, and now all that had to happen was the races needed to begin.
"I hope you will be able to pull it off," Polly stated, a knowing glint in her eye.
"And Michael?" Tommy asked her with raised eyebrows then.
"Decided to stay. Doesn't know what's good for him," she responded with a defeated shake of her head.
"He'll only be part of this company's financial side. I'll see to it that it goes that way," he assured her before looking at Celia, who was just kind of standing in the middle of their conversation. "Do you want to come down with me to see the horse before she goes? May's waiting down with her," Tommy asked Celia then, who almost immediately nodded her head. But then she remembered Polly, realizing that she'd be left alone if she went with him.
As if she knew Celia's thoughts, Polly spoke before the younger woman had a chance to, "I'll be fine up here, love. Things won't be getting started for some time yet. Besides, it's not every day you get a chance to go behind the scenes at the races."
Celia then turned to look at the grinning woman, sending her a smile of her own before she responded, "thanks, Pol." Polly just nodded her head towards Tommy, her non verbal way of signaling for Celia to follow him.
So she did, taking Tommy's hand and letting him lead her to wherever the horses were being stabled. Celia's smile only widened as her eyes fell on May, who was currently waving at them. Tommy let go of her hand then, letting her go forward to greet the horse trainer while he stayed back to smoke a cigarette, desperately needing one at this point.
"It's so good to see that you came!" May smiled at Celia when the women were finally in front of each other.
"Yes! I wanted to cheer on Tommy's horse. Show my support for everything," Celia responded, being very vague on the 'support' because she didn't know how much May had been clued into.
"Hello, Thomas," May then looked past Celia to Tommy, who was approaching them now.
"Is she ready for today?" he asked, nodding his head towards the horse before he went over to pet the animal.
"I think so. My training team seems pretty confident," May nodded her head, both women watching as Tommy kept his eyes fixated on the horse. He spoke to it in a low voice for a moment before running his hand over its nose once more.
"I need to go see Lizzie. Make sure she knows what needs to be done," he told the women then, each of them nodding before he stepped away from the conversation.
"Is he ok?" May asked Celia once Tommy was out of earshot, her eyebrows furrowed as she watched him walk away.
"Yeah," Celia nodded with a smile sigh, "he's just got a lot riding on today," she told her the abridged version of what would be happening, not wanting to give away too much.
"Fair enough," May nodded, deciding to end the conversation at that. "Do you want to go up to the bar and get a drink? It'll be a good way to calm the nerves," she suggested then.
"I'll come up with you, but I won't drink," Celia answered, making May furrow her eyebrows.
"Why?" she asked, voicing her curiosity as the women worked their way to the event's bar. The barkeep, knowing who May was, allowed for her to order without questions being asked.
"I'm pregnant," she responded, wondering at the moment how she could be so blatant about it with everyone except Tommy. Why couldn't she just come out and say it to him? Why did she feel the need to tell him in a memorable way?
Celia watched as a myriad of expressions flashed across May's face before she ended on a mildly shocked one, "oh," was all the woman said, and Celia couldn't discern if it was a good 'oh' or a bad 'oh', or a somewhere in the middle 'oh'. "Well congrats on that," she added, a smile forming on her features.
"Thank you," Celia took it for what it was, deciding not to read too far into her facial expressions.
"My husband and I couldn't get pregnant," the older woman then confessed. Celia saw this to be ok, as it was a family member talking to a family member at the moment. That still didn't mean that she wasn't shocked when she heard the sentence.
"Oh," it was Celia's turn to give the one word response.
"Yeah..." she trailed off, nodding as she took a sip of her drink, "we so desperately wanted kids, but it just never happened," she looked sad as she reflected on past memories.
"I'm sorry to hear that, May, I..."
"It's in the past now," May brushed her off, her fingers tapping against her glass as she looked to where the clock was hung on the wall. "Final checks should be happening soon. I need to be down with the rest of my team," she stated then, putting money down for her drink before she stood from the stool she was occupying.
Celia followed her, a smile forming on her face, "best of luck, May. I know she'll do good," she offered the older woman some encouraging words, to which she got a smile in response.
"Wish Tommy luck for me if you see him," were her parting words before they separated at the steps, May going down and Celia starting to walk up.
Her eyes fell on the very person that was on her mind when she got to the landing. His eyes were currently darting in every direction, and he seemed to be coming towards her at a quickened pace. She wondered if his plan had been put into action. Her heart dropped immediately. "Tommy," she called out to him, making his frantic eyes fall on her. For a second, he felt grounded.
"Celia..." he started, trying to slow down his panting, "shouldn't you be with Polly at the seats? The race's about to begin," he said, eyes flickering elsewhere to see who was surrounding him. He needed to get where Lizzie surely was with the Field Marshal before anything went too far wrong.
"I'm heading back now. May just left to go with the horse," Celia responded, her brows furrowing. "What's wrong, Tommy?" she questioned, noticing his frantic state hadn't dissipated yet.
"Nothing, love. I just need to go have that conversation now," he told her, using the slightly less gruesome wording for the scenario he was about to carry out. He couldn't flat out say he was going to go kill someone with people walking this close to him.
"Please be careful, Thomas," she told him, using his full name to show the amount of sincerity that was held in her words.
"I will love. I...I've gotta go now," he was looking around once more, starting to get fidgety where he stood.
"Tommy. Tommy, I'm..." Celia started off then, finally getting up the confidence to tell him. To just blurt it out like she did with May.
"I have to go, C. Whatever it is can wait 'till I come back, eh?" he stopped her before she was able to get the word out, both of his hands grabbing hold of her shoulders so that he could lean in and press his lips to her forehead. "I love you. I will be ok," he promised her once he pulled away, locking his eyes with hers to show his sincerity.
She didn't know why, but she had tears brimming her eyes now, and all she could do was nod her head and let him go, watching him practically run down the steps and out of sight to get to where he needed to go. She tried to collect herself, his final statement replaying over again in her head as she found her way back to her seat.
"You ok, love?" Polly questioned with confusion once Celia sat down beside her.
"Yes," Celia nodded, wiping her eyes with the handkerchief she had in her purse before she put it away and looked straight down at the race track. She could feel Polly's eyes on her as she held her gaze, but she decided not to comment on it, hoping that she would let her go and turn her attention back to what it had been on prior to her showing up. "Tommy's going to have that conversation now," her voice came out broken and in a whisper, and it made Polly give her a knowing look. She sat and listened to the announcers begin to call out the horses that would be racing first, while silently praying that Tommy would be ok.
—
Tommy wasn't doing so good. He was rushing to get back to where Lizzie had taken the Field Marshal. The first way he tried was blocked by a group of three coppers who refused to let him through despite his attempts. He then ran around to the other entrance, his gun out and ready as he made his way closer to where he knew she would be. After hitting the copper blocking the way with the butt-end of his revolver, he continued back to where the two were, calling out to the soldier while pointing his weapon at him. When a click sounded instead of a shot, he knew he was in trouble.
Meanwhile, Celia was sitting and watching as the opening introductions and speeches dragged on longer than she expected. Ok, maybe it just felt like that because she was waiting on bated breath for the sound of a gunshot, that would signify that Tommy had put the plan into place.
She only released the breath when she finally heard it, the first initial one being followed by three more. People around her started to panic slightly, but she and Polly stayed still. They knew what was going on. Word got through the crowd rather quickly of there being suspected IRA members at the event, and that they had just killed Field Marshal Russell. Celia sighed in relief again, knowing that (so far) Tommy hadn't been caught. She hoped that soon enough, he'd show up at her seat and everything would be alright.
Tommy had one more thing to deal with before he returned to where he knew Celia was sitting. He made his way to one of the banquet rooms that held several tables in it. He knew that Darby Sabini would be in there, and that this would be his time to explain to his enemy how things would be working from here on out. He found the man he was looking for and sat down with him, casually smoking a cigarette as he told him that his men were currently rounding up Sabini's licenses with intent to burn them, and that he was once again working with Alfie Solomons since he found out that Sabini had betrayed him by speaking lies about Epsom. He thought he had it. Thought that this plan of his would work out, that he would get away without a trace. That was until Sabini broke a bottle of wine, making the glass shatter everywhere and the coppers standing outside barge in through the door the second it occurred. Tommy didn't plan for this, so he tried to talk his way out of it.
Things clearly didn't pan out for him when the coppers immediately took him into their hold, not listening to a single word he was saying. He tried to fight them as they started pulling him in the opposite direction of Sabini, who was currently yelling that 'he had fucking lost'...whatever that meant. He wished he would have put a bullet between that man's eyes when he got the chance.
This was not part of the plan. He wasn't supposed to be captured, and all he could think of as he was being dragged to wherever the hell these men were taking him was: what is going through Celia's mind right now?
———
This one's a bit shorter in length cuz it otherwise would have been 5000 words if I didn't split it up. So I've left you with a bit of a cliff-hanger.
Thanks so much for reading! :)