𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐀𝐘 peaky blinders

i: HOME, SWEET HOLE

ACT: ONE
CHAPTER i: ' home, sweet hole. '

There was one thing Eli hated about Small Heath and it wasn't the fume polluted air. Nor was it the lively gang activity that occupied her city. Instead, Eli Montgomery simply hated the lack of respect men seemed to have for her. The twenty-four year old was a proud businesswoman who had built her name up from the dirt, just like all the men that found a miraculous way to go from the scum of the earth to handing their wives double number cheques to go buy themselves something pretty.

But it seemed most of the male population of Birmingham were still ignorant to the fact woman were their equals, not their inferiors. They choose to remain oblivious to the fact she had simply done what many men had done before her and gained a name for herself in the world of business. Perhaps, they didn't want to acknowledge that she hadn't actually done anything out of the ordinary. It seemed to her, they wanted to label her an outcast; a sinner for becoming a well-earned and 'shamefully' unmarried businesswoman.

Not many in Small Heath understood why the eldest Montgomery girl had opened her dress shop on the corner of Linenhill Lane, or why her parents would ever allow her to dare do such a thing. Most thought it was absurd that a woman should run a business all on her own, and even a small fraction of women chose to look down their noses at her for breaking tradition of allowing the husband to get all the income.

In their sheltered eyes, it was a disgrace.

But Eli was single and far from wanting a husband, only for him to boss her around and take all the money she had earned for herself. Of course, there were the majority of the female population of the district that were gladdened by the opening of her shop. It not only proved a woman can survive without a man, but it also meant they'd have less to travel in order to get their clothes and accessories.

Though, her customers were normally women looking for a new dress or scarf to keep in touch with the new trends, Eli did get the occasional man wander in off the street. Be it them buying something brand new for their wives or children, or someone getting a quick stitch on a ripped hem because he didn't have a woman at home to do it for him. Either way, Eli's business soared high and far in the neighbourhood.

But her favourite part of the job was when Polly Gray came to visit. The woman had been her very first customer; the others too skeptical in the beginning about buying from the first female owned business in their small part of the world.

The older woman had stepped in from the bitter cold one morning, and looked around the shop with a small smirk playing on her face before buying a new coat for the upcoming winter. After that, Polly had became her most regular customer and so, it was no shock to see the woman return on a Friday afternoon on her lunch break before heading back to the betting shop.