III. To a fresh start.

Two days later, Maude was called into Tommy's office once again, and the men in the shop started growing suspicious of the pair and their constant private meetings in Tommy's office. When Maude came into the shop that morning, Tommy's eyes were immediately caught on her. She wore a black dress with a red belt and red collar, with matching red heels. Her makeup was natural and light, her hair neatly curled and pinned to her head.

She was busy with a few of the shops' books when Tommy stepped out of his office and called out to her. "Maude, come in here for a second." He called as he beckoned her to him with a wave of his hand before entering his office again.

She got up from her chair, abandoning her work as she made her way into Tommy's office. He waited for her behind his desk, hands clasped together on the table as his eyes followed her, watching as she entered his office, closing the door before turning to him "Yes, Tommy." She muttered, staying standing by his door.

"Have you met the barmaid at the Garrison?"He asked as he raised his eyebrows at her, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it with a match, taking a long drag before offering it to her.

"The new one?" She asked as she sat down in front of his desk, taking the cigarette from him and placing it between her lips. Tommy nodded as he pulled out another cigarette. "Yes, her name is Grace." She muttered as she took a drag of the cigarette.

"I need you to do me a favor, without the knowledge of your brothers." He informed her as he blew out a puff of smoke into the air before his tongue darting his tongue out to wet his lips. Maude's eyes followed his movement, her cheeks growing a soft tint of red as her face heated up.

She softly cleared her throat as she diverted her gaze down to the cigarette between her fingers. "What is the favor?" She asked softly as her gaze flicked back up to him, staring at him through her thick lashes.

He silently stared at her for a second as he debated getting her even more involved in his business, in the Peaky Blinders. He sighs, ashing his cigarette before speaking up."I need you to befriend Grace, find out anything you can about her." He instructed.

Maude's eyebrows furrowed and she tilted her head to the side, the cigarette loosely hanging over the ashtray that sat between her and Tommy. "May I ask why?" She questioned.

"Because I don't trust her and I want to know what she's doing in my city." He explained before taking another drag of his cigarette, his eyes drifting towards the men in the shop. Some of his most trusted men were out there, even his brothers. But he didn't trust to share his suspicion of the barmaid with any of them. No, instead he was sharing them with the girl he's barely known for a week.

"Why not ask her yourself?" She asked as she quirked an eyebrow at Tommy.

"Because I don't think she trusts me either." He muttered with a shake of his head, clearing his throat before turning back to Maude.

"Is this Peaky Blinder related?" She asked as both her eyebrows shot up with question.

"I'm not sure yet." He admitted softly as he stubbed out his cigarette. "All you have to do is gather information from her." He explained.

Maude was silent for a second, her gaze diverting from Tommy. Her eyes skimmed across the room, getting caught on the whiskey tray in the corner. Amongst the four crystal whiskey glasses, was one glass with a faint lipstick mark on it. Her lipstick mark. Her gaze flicked back to Tommy, and she had to fight against the smile that desperately wanted to tug at her lips."I can do that." She nodded.

"If you have anything, come to me immediately." He instructed her firmly as he stared her dead in the eyes, his face blank and his eyes cold as always. He truly was a mystery to Maude, and she so desperately wanted to figure him out.

"Of course." She agreed with a nod of her head, taking one last drag of her cigarette before stubbing it out in the ashtray, her tongue darting out to wet her lips.

Tommy observed her for a second, clearing his throat before he spoke up. "Maude, you like horses right?" He asked as he raised his eyebrows at her, clasping his hands together in front of him.

"Yes." She confirmed with a nod of her head as the smallest smile tugged at the corners of her lips, the mention of horsed sending a gleaming spark into her eyes. A spark that quickly grew a fond sight for Tommy.

"And dancing?" He asked and he felt a flutter in his chest when Maude's smile grew in response to his question. If his brothers could sense of he felt right now, they'd never let him hear the end of it ever again.

"Who doesn't like dancing?" She asked with a soft chuckle, and again Tommy felt something warm in his chest flutter. The beautiful sound had the corners of his lips almost tugging upwards, a barely there smile that Maude noticed before it was gone again.

"I have business I will be conducting at the Cheltenham races, I want you to come with me." He revealed to her as he got up to his feet and approached the window to his office, shoving his hands into his pockets as he observed his men.

"To dance or do business?" She asked as she stared at the back of his head with raised eyebrows, her hands resting in her lap as she crossed one leg over the other.

"Both." He muttered a reply as he blankly stared out the window. Again Tommy was playing a dangerous game, having Maude involved in his business, but again he was intrigued with the girl, and he didn't know how else to get her closer to him, to get closer to her. Besides, Tommy truly did feel a sense of trust in the kindhearted woman sitting by his desk.

"Business with who?" She asked as she continued to stare at the back of his head, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and curiosity.

"I can't tell you yet." He replied as he finally turned around to face her, shaking his head as he returned to his chair.

"As long as I get to dance." She insisted as she got up to her feet, running her hand down her skirt to smooth it out, a small smile returning to her lips as she nodded her head at Tommy. "I will go with you." She agreed.

"Very good." He replied with a firm nod of his head as he stared up at her. She took that as he queue to leave and made her way to her work. Tommy remained in his office, silently watching her through the window.

After work, Maude immediately made her way over to the Garrison. It was still early in the afternoon. Tommy had let her leave earlier than usual so that she could carry out her task right around the time Grace would be ending her shift.

When Maude stepped into the pub, a few men respectfully greeted her and moved out the way as she approached the bar, her gaze dead set on the blonde barmaid. "A whiskey, please." She called out as she sat down by the bar, laying her purse on the countertop. She eyed the blonde who worked in front of her. "You're Grace, correct?" She asked.

"Yes." The blonde replied as she eyes Maude, wearily. Grace placed a glass of whiskey in front of Maude, her eyebrows furrowing as she stared at the dark haired woman. "I'm sorry I didn't catch your name."

"Maude." She replied as she gave the blonde a forced kind smile, her head tilting to the side. "You are new to town?" She asked as she quirked an eyebrow.

"I am, "Grace confirmed with a nod of her head, staring at Maude with a hostile and alert look in her eyes.

"So am I." Maude revealed with a slow shrug of her shoulders, glancing down at her glass of whiskey as she pursed her lips." This is my third week here." She said as her gaze flicked back up to Grace.

Grace slowly nodded her head as she observed the woman a second longer, deeming her harmless as the hostile and alerted look in her eyes slipped away. "From where are you?" She asked as she raised her eyebrows, busying herself with cleaning glasses behind the bar.

"London and you?" Maude asked as she sipped on her whiskey, looking around the pub with an uninterested look in her deep blue eyes.

"Dublin," Grace replied, refilling Maude's glass when it was left empty.

Maude hummed in surprise as her gaze returned to the blonde. "What brought you all the way here?" She asked as she pulled herself a cigarette out and lit it with a match, inhaling the burning smoke deeply as it scratched her throat.

"A fresh start," Grace replied as she placed a gold-plated ashtray in front of Maude, raising her eyebrows at the dark haired woman again. "What about you?" She asked.

"My brothers came here after the war and I decided to follow after them a year later," Maude replied as she finished her second glass of whiskey, and Grace quickly went to refill it again while Maude smoked her cigarette.

"Do you work?" Grace asked the dark-haired woman as she moved to the left to serve a few men who had arrived

"Yes, at the betting shop on Watery Lane," Maude replied, watching as Grace's head snapped towards her, the blonde's eyes sparking with curiosity and her ears perking with interest. Maude had to fight herself not to let her face slip, to let her eyes squint or her eyebrows furrowed. No doubt Grace had an interest in Thomas Shelby, and now the dark-haired woman was intrigued to know what it was.

"You work for Tommy?" Grace asked as she returned to Maude, her eyebrows raised. She was silent for a second when Maude nonchalantly nodded in response. "How about after, my shift me and you go drink some tea. We could both use a friend in our new surroundings, don't you think?" She asked as she passed a friendly smile onto her face, staring intensely at Maude.

A grin tugged at Maude's lips as she slowly nodded her head. "Indeed I do." She agreed.

Grace's shift ended twenty minutes later and the two women found a nice and quiet cafe to drink a cup of tea while they chatted. Grace was only interested in topics that included Thomas Shelby and Maude could have sworn she felt a pang of jealousy deep inside her chest.

"What do you do for Mr. Shelby?" Grace asked, eyeing Maude with burning curiosity as she sipped on her warm tea.

"I work with his books, make the sums," Maude replied vaguely as she sipped on her own tea, offering Grace another forced smile of kindness.

"And your brothers?" Grace asked as she raised her eyebrows at Maude, tilting her head to the side as she set her teacup down, turning her full attention to the woman in front of her.

Maude was silent for a second, her gaze diverting to the window next to their table, observing the people passing by. "They take bets." She replied as her gaze returned to Grace.

Grace hummed in response, visibly unsatisfied by Maude's lack of information. She was silent as she made the decision to amp up her attempts of coaxing answers out of Maude. "You know, your brothers are one of the men Harry warned me against." She informed Maude, observing her for a reaction that never came. "He says they're dangerous." She continued to push.

Maude stared at Grace, a small and intimidating smile tugging at her lips. "Anyone can be dangerous if pushed far enough." She muttered as she maintained eye contact with Grace. Maude was a kind and sweet woman, but she knew how to be intimidating, and she knew how to get what she want. And it made her much more dangerous than people perceived her to be.

"They say Tommy is the worst of them all," Grace said as she finished her tea, raising her eyebrows at Maude once again. "What is your relationship with him?" She asked softly as her head tilted to the side again.

"He is my employer," Maude muttered with a stoic look on her face as she stared at Grace.

"He is a handsome man, even you can see it." The blonde insisted with a soft chuckle in an attempt to lighten the heavy atmosphere she had managed to create. "There is nothing more?" She asked as her grin remained on her lips, trying to perceive the conversation as light gossip between friends.

"No," Maude replied as she pouted out her bottom lip and shook her head. She took a deep breath, leaning back in her seat as she crossed one leg over the other. "Tell me, of all the places you could go, why Birmingham?" She asked as she sat a little forward and crossed her arms on top of the table.

"Because people come here to disappear," Grace replied with a small shrug of her shoulders as her eyes diverted down to the table and her fingers began picking at her teacup.

"Is that why you came here?" Maude asked as she raised her eyebrows, and Grace feigned a sad look in her eyes as she slowly shook her head while meeting Maude's gaze. "From who are you hiding?" Maude asked as her eyebrows knitted together.

"From everyone who knew me back home," Grace replied, wiping at her dry eyes as she diverted her gaze down to the table, sniffing softly a few times.

Maude observed her with a quirked eyebrow, remaining silent for a second before deciding to bite into the sob story. "Why?" She asked, forcing herself to sound interested and concerned.

Grace glanced back up at Maude, sniffing again as her eyebrows slowly knitted together. "Can I trust you?" She asked softly. Grace knew people would ask for her backstory, and she needed one that could be believable. She also needed one that would be too heartbreaking for people to push and pride for questions.

She knew Maude was as close to Tommy as she would get because he avoided her at every turn. Grace took Maude for a simple girl that cared more about makeup, heels, and fancy clothes, than anything else. She thought she'd get sympathy from the girl and it would get her closer to her real target if she befriended Maude.

Maude gave her half a smile as she slowly nodded her head, reaching a hand across the table to gently pat Grace's hand. "Of course, you can, we are the new girls, we should support each other, no?"

"Of course." Grace agreed with a soft chuckle as she nodded her head. She was silent for a second as she forced a solemn look on her face. "A year ago, I got pregnant. I...I didn't know who my baby's father is. I gave it up for adoption without even knowing if it was a girl or boy."She explained, her voice soft and her eyes cast down on the table. "After that, it was hard to show my face to the people I knew." She added before taking a deep breath. "My family was upset and they abandoned me."

Maude was silent for a second as she stared at Grace, observing the blonde who didn't have a single tear or sadness in her eyes. She quickly did the sums in her head and came to the conclusion that Grace would only be a few months postpartum. And most women didn't have her body only three months after giving birth. She clenched her jaw and bit on her tongue before giving a sincere reply.

"I am so sorry you had to go through that." She said softly.

"Hopefully Birmingham can be my fresh start." Grace said as she inhaled sharply before looking at Maude with a small smile.

"To a fresh start," Maude said as she lifted her tea cup in the air and Grace followed her lead, clinking the two tea cups together.

For the next twenty minutes that Maude forced herself to stay in the cafe, Grace was only interested in Thomas Shelby. She asked how close he and Maude was and then how close he was to her brothers. Asked how involved Maude was in the business and what went on within the shop, her questions were masked with innocent curiosity but Maude could see the annoyance and frustration in Grace's eyes every time she gave a vague and uninformative answer. In the end, Graze wasn't as interested in friendship anymore and left in quite a huff.

After leaving the cafe, Maude made her way back to the betting shop. Tommy was still in his office, reading through a few documents when she knocked on the door and pushed it open, poking her head inside. "Tommy, can I come in?" She asked him as his head lifted and his eyes met hers.

"Yes, of course." He nodded as he set aside his work and waved Maude into the office before pointing towards the chair she had been frequenting the past few days. "Sit down." He insisted before standing up and wandering towards his whiskey tray. "Whiskey?"

"It's poor taste to drink on the job." She teased as she looked up at Tommy with a sweet smile. He hummed in amusement as he poured two glasses of whiskey.

"Don't worry, I won't tell the boss." He teased back as he handed her one of the glasses before sitting down by his desk with his own glass.

"I had tea with Grace today." She informed him as she crossed one leg over the other, resting her whiskey glass on her lap.

"Tea?" He repeated as he quirked an eyebrow, before letting out a soft grunt. "In my experience, you get more information from someone with whiskey." He insisted.

A smile tugged at Maude's lips as she raised her whiskey glass and looked at Tommy with raised eyebrows. "What information do you want from me then?" She asked as her head tilted to the side, and she took a sip of the whiskey.

"Still trying to figure you out myself." He muttered softly as he stared at her, intensely observing her like always. He cleared his throat as he swiftly finished his whiskey and got up to pour himself another glass. "What did you find out about Grace?" He asked.

"Not much." She admitted as she looked at his back, studying his broad shoulders and muscular back. "She worked in a pub in Dublin, got pregnant with a man she didn't know and ran away after putting her baby up for adoption." She informed him, eyes quickly diverting to the table when Tommy turned around.

"Do you believe her story?" He asked as he stood standing, looking down at her with a quirked eyebrow. He shoved one hand into his pocket as he silently drank his whiskey and waited for an answer.

"I'm not sure." She admitted as she let out a huff of air, shaking her head as her eyebrows furrowed. "She didn't seem upset when speaking about her baby. Most women show at least some kind of emotion when talking about such matters. She also doesn't look like a woman who recently gave birth." She said as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, eyebrows furrowing together even more. "And her accent, it's not from Dublin."

"So her story has holes." He muttered as his gaze diverted to the wall in front of him, staring blankly ahead as his mind raced with questions and suspicions.

"Also...she didn't seem that interested in talking to me until I mentioned your name." She informed him hesitantly, cautiously eyeing his reaction as she finished her glass of whiskey.

Tommy's eyebrows furrowed as his cold gaze pointedly shot towards Maude. "What did you tell her?" He asked as he stared intensely into her eyes, sending yet another shiver down her back.

"Only that I work for you in the betting shop." She assured him as she slowly shook her head. "She asked about what I did here, about what Henry and Daniel did here. She said people were scared of you lot." She explained as she sat her empty whiskey glass down on the table before getting up to her feet.

"Seems like she knows more of us than we know of her," Tommy muttered as his gaze blankly returned to the wall, a deep sigh leaving from the depth of his chest.

"Do you want me to get more information?" Maude asked as she raised her eyebrows, crossing her arms over her chest as she stayed standing behind Tommy's desk.

"She won't tell you any truth." He said as he shook his head and dismissively waved a hand to her. "I will have my men ask around Dublin about her." He said as he set his glass of whiskey down on the table with a loud thud. He gripped onto the edge of the table with both hands and bend over with a sigh.

"Let me know what you find?" She asked as she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Sure." He replied as he lifted his head to watch her leave the office, staring at her until she was out of sight. Then he plopped himself down on his chair with a sigh and another glass of whiskey. His mind wasn't on Grace and what she could be up to, but on Maude, and what she was doing to him.

The following day, the Shelby brothers and Felton brothers were off to the fair. Maude was given the day off and decided to spend her morning cleaning around the house before heading out to the shops. She was in a soft pink satin nightgown and a white silk robe, with a silky scarf wrapped around her hair to protect her curls. She was completely indecent when someone furiously pounded on the front door, screaming at her to open up.

As Maude approached the door, fear struck her fast and hard. She could hear screaming up and down the road and the screaming at her front door grew more persistent as the knocking grew louder. "Don't break down my fucking door!" She screamed, her eyebrows tightly knitted together as she stomped towards the door, pulling her robe tightly around herself as she unlocked the door. Before she had a chance to open it, the door was slammed open as coppers stormed in. "Hey, you can't come in here!" She yelled at them, a gasp slipping from her lips when one of the coppers grabbed her by the waist and dragged her outside. "Let go of me!" She screamed at the man as she trashed in his arms, hitting his arms. "Let go." She demanded, gasping again when she was roughly pushed to the ground.

She hissed when she made contact with the rough gravel of the sidewalk. Tiny rocks dug into her palms and knees and she let out a soft whimper as the rocks cut at her wounded palm, splitting it open enough for drops of blood to seep through here and there between the stitches. Rocks dug into her knees as well and both her dress and robe were dirtied by the ground.

"Search the house!" An Irish accent called out and Maude looked up to see an older man approach her house. With the authority he held, she quickly made the connection that he was the inspector from Belfast that everyone was talking about.

She glanced back at her house, gasping when she saw furniture being thrown around and drawered being searched through. "You can't do that!" She screamed at them, eyebrows furrowed and jaw clenched tightly. "What the fuck?"She snapped as her eyes shot up to the inspector.

"We found two guns, sir." One of the coppers called out as he walked out of the house with two guns in his hands, Maude's brother's guns.

"Big guns for a little girl." Inspector Campbell mused as he glanced between Maude and the guns with a quirked eyebrow.

"Well, they let you carry one." She spat at him with a shrug of her shoulders as she tilted her head to the side, raising her eyebrows when the man inhaled sharply and clenched his fists by his side. She scoffed and rolled her eyes at him. "Those aren't mine." She insisted as she nodded her head at the guns.

"Whose are they?"He asked as he crouched down in front of her, lips pulling back into a snarl as he glared at her, observing her indecent form with dark eyes.

"Must be my brothers." She muttered as she lowered her head, pulling her robe tightly around herself, staining the white silk with specks of blood from her wounded palm. She clenched on her teeth as she stared down at the ground, feeling disgusted underneath the man's stare, feeling irritated when she felt his breath fan over her, so unnecessarily close was he.

"Check the numbers, see if they're stolen." Inspector Campbell demanded as he got up to his feet and turned to the copper with the gun and the man rushed off towards another copper. Maude watched them as they checked the gun's serial numbers against a list of serial numbers.

Her gaze drifted over the street and she felt her skin crawl. Men, women, and children were roughly handled and thrown onto the street. Furniture and personal belonging were thrown out of homes and trashed around. Men were getting beaten and arrested. Her gaze flicked up to the smug-looking Inspector. "You can't treat people like this." She muttered through gritted teeth.

"Oh, I can treat them any way I want." He muttered in amusement as he looked down at Maude with a smug smirk on his lips.

"You think you're going to get away with it?" She asked as she quirked an eyebrow, knowing people would push back against this kind of abuse. Knowing the Peaky Blinders and Tommy Shelby would not stand for this.

"As a matter of fact, I do think so." He replied with a nod of his head as his smirk grew bigger.

"They're clean sir." A copper called out as he made his way over with the two guns in his hands.

"Help the lady up to her feet." The inspector insisted as he pointed towards Maude.

One of the copper reached down to grab her but she swatted his hands away. "Don't fucking touch me!" She yelled as she got up onto her feet on her own, harshly grabbing the guns from the copper and spitting at the inspector's feet before storming back into her home and slamming the door.

The house was a mess. Everything was thrown around, and even the underwear drawers in the house were thrown out. Maude could only shiver in disgust as she threw her delicate silk underwear back into the drawers. She was in the process of putting everything in the kitchen back in their places, cleaning the glass shards off glasses and cups that the coppers had broken when Polly rushed into the house.

"Maude?" The older woman called out as she stepped through the front door, eyeing the messy living room with wide eyes.

Maude's eyebrows furrowed and she abandoned her cleaning as she went to meet the older woman in the living room ."Polly, what are you doing here?" She asked, running a hand over the dark maroon dress she had thrown on before getting to cleaning.

"They got you too," Polly said softly with a sigh as her eyes continued to scan over the room before turning to Maude, catching sight of the bloody bandage wrapped around her palm.

"I think they got everyone, have you seen the streets? It's a bloody shit show." She muttered with a huff before sitting down on the armrest of the couch, running a hand through her curls as she looked over all the work she still had to do.

"The boys should be returning from the fair soon, come I will make you some tea." Polly insisted as she grabbed Maude's arm and walked her out of the house, closing the door to the messy house behind her.

"I think I need something stronger, Polly." She replied as she took a deep breath, glancing over at the older woman as they walked down the street. "Is it always like this?" She asked softly.

"No," Polly replied with a shake of her head as she pursed her lips. "There was a time it wasn't when Arthur was still in charge, but then Tommy took over." She explained as she lead the girl into her home, taking her to the kitchen and sitting her down by the table. "I'll put some bourbon in, you'll need it for when your brothers show up." She said as she prepared two cups of tea. "Did those coppers hurt you?" She asked as she glanced at Maude over her shoulder.

"Just bruised my knees, cut my palms," Maude replied as she laid her injured hand on the table, cautiously and slowly peeling off the dirty and bloody bandage around her palm, hissing as the fabric tugged at her irritated stitches.

"What did they do?" Polly asked as she approached Maude and took hold of her hand, gently assessing the damage to her wound before grabbing a bowl of water and a cloth.

"Pushed me to the ground," Maude replied, hissing as Polly carefully washed the cut, and cleaned the stitches and scrapes on her palms. "They were searching for guns. Stolen guns." Maude muttered as she carefully looked up at Polly with furrowed eyebrows.

"I know," Polly replied as she grabbed a new and clean bandage, gently wrapping Maude's hand back up.

"You know?" Maude repeated as she raised her eyebrows and tilted her head to the side, and Polly swore she could see something in Maude's eyes click together. Like a puzzle coming together.

"It's Thomas's business." Polly insisted as she returned to the kettle and finished preparing the tea, pouring a bit of bourbon into Maude's cup as she promised, just to calm the girl's nerves as they waited for the men to return.