Polly tapped her fingers against the wooden table of her desk. She pursed her lips together and looked up at Mary who was knitting to calm her nerves. She seemed calm and truth be told, Polly thought she was radiant on that day. There was something relaxing about her, perhaps, the way she was carrying herself, the content smile on her lips. Polly chalked it up to the fact that Tommy finally claimed his feelings for her, she looked reassured. It took some years but finally, he put her worries away. Polly looked at Mary and then looked at the files before her. The older woman had already told Mary that they found her mother. After an intense investigation at Tommy's request, they managed to find Mary's mother, One Helen Bridge. Mary said she wasn't interested in knowing her mother or even knowing more about the circumstances of her birth and at the time, Polly respected her choice. Today, however, things are different. Mary's life had been threatened before she publicly became Tommy Shelby's new woman. With the focus on Tommy's ascension on the political landscape, there was a good chance that Mary would also be targeted.
"Mary, we have to talk." -The nurse looked up to Polly and curbed a brow- "Don't give me that look. You know I don't like it when you're worried. I would have spared you the trouble and the stress but...It has to be said."
"I understand. You're looking out for me, Polls." Mary said, stopping mid-knit just so she could have a good look at the older woman.
"I am love. Do you remember a while ago I told you that we've found your mother. " -Mary pinched her lips together but before she could say anything Polly kept talking- "Helen Bridge. That is her name. She...She is currently active in the political sphere and has been getting closer to the far right."
"Why should I care about that woman? She's getting closer to the far-right, so what? Should I feel concerned because she's my mother?"
"No. I would never bother you with the information if it was just it. Your mother has ambition and she wants to carve herself a place in the political landscape. She wants to marry the MP she's dating and she would want to cut all loose ties."
"Loose.... ties? Are you implying that I am..." -Polly nodded and Mary put her hands on her lap, now far more concerned by the conversation than she was before- "I see...So she wasn't just satisfied with abandoning me. She wants me dead so she can pretend she never had me."
"Or she can pretend that she could handle the scandal of your birth and take matters into her own hands."
Polly's tone was apologetic, but deep down a deep-seated hatred was boiling. How could this woman not be satisfied enough with giving up on her child? Mary had suffered enough at the hands of the nurses and her first husband, why was her life in danger because she had survived? Helen Bridge never wanted to take accountability for her actions and even now, instead of getting closer to her daughter, she wanted to kill her. There were women like Helen who were given the chance to keep their children and love them but Polly had her children taken away from her. Where was the justice?
"This is not good news...." -Mary started- "I thought that I had seen the worst of it already and had already made my peace with the knowledge that my mother abandoned me. Now... Now you're telling me that my own mother is trying to kill me because I might be a liability for her political ascension?" Polly nodded and outstretched her hand so she could hold onto Mary's hand. Mary welcomed her hand and gently held onto it while her eyes started to fill with unshed tears. "What am I supposed to do? I already have peaky protection."
"Doubled. We also have to make sure that the safe house is ready in case of emergency trips there. I have asked Tom to see to it. As for you, I know you don't like the idea of taking lives but you will have to learn how to use a gun."
"........." -Mary looked down at her hands. She still remembered the kind words Tom said her hands were supposed to save lives not take them and yet, she had to kill in order to protect herself. She sighed deeply and tucked some hair behind her ear.- "I will learn. I'll ask uncle Charlie. I'll make sure that we're ready just in case there is an attack carried out on me." She wiped out the tears that rolled down on her cheek before Polly sighed and gently squeezed Mary's hand.
"It's going to be alright. We'll deal with that woman. I'll talk to Tom about what we can do about her." -She sighed- "I'm sorry Mary."
"I know...."
-TBC-
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