The door of the office opened a few minutes later, and Shay did his best not to pay much mind. It didn’t help to give anyone the impression that you were too curious about affairs of others, and he’d already played enough of a hand in the events that were surely being discussed by the bosses, Sam, and Vera. He had moved to a table off in a quiet corner, away from the more rowdy patrons, and he was nursing his whiskey slowly, not wishing to feel intoxicated but welcoming its warmth and curious burn. When the siblings approached, Shay offered the pair a polite nod and wordlessly watched as they sat across from him.
Shay was afforded time to do little more than offer Vera a slight smile when Sam jumped in, blunt and straight to business as always. At first, Shay had found it off putting and somewhat disrespectful, but he’d come to learn the brother Addley was just not a man who indulged in small talk often and took things very seriously. It made him high strung, but also dependable. The fact he came right to Shay to ask him to do a sensitive job was pretty much as high respect as you could expect out of the man; it meant he trusted you to get things done, and competently.
What Shay wasn’t prepared for was Sam asking him to harbour Vera in his place for the time being. Most men would sooner beat you for looking at their sister wrong, and here Sam was asking Shay to be a gentleman and look after Vera in about a personal, private situation as one could imagine. Wordlessly, it was saying ‘I trust you not to touch my sister, as well as make sure she feels secure and comfortable’. This certainly was one turn of events Shay had not anticipated, and the first thing through his mind was how inappropriate his flat was for a lady. He barely had any furniture, a twin bed, a three seater couch, and a few assorted tables and chairs. It was about all he could afford on his meager earnings.
As Shay mulled over this proposition, Sam presented him, and Vera, a job. The Irishman crooked his head, as he often did while listening, as he took in the information in stride. It was so outside his realm of experience, he had his reservations, but it didn’t sound like it was entirely outside of what he was capable of. He’d need to buy himself a decent suit, that much was certain. He’d never expected he’d be stepping foot in somewhere as high-class as the White Star in his life. Shay drank, a much heavier pull this time, and set his glass down with unhurried care. He took the offered bundle of pounds, and without counting or regarding it for more than an instant, slipped it inside of his coat pocket. “Aye, Sam. I can do that, on both counts. Seventeen hundred at the White Star, try to look and act the part.” Turning to Vera, he said, “And I will do right by you, miss Vera. Apologies in advance for my humble accommodations, but I’ll make sure you’re kept comfortable and safe. Just let me know when you want to take off, sounds like we’re in for quite the day tomorrow.”
Looking back towards Sam, he nodded his head a couple times, gaze downward. “A bit outside my comfort zone, let’s home the highborn Londoners don’t take offense to my potato farming ways, if you catch my meaning. Anything else you think I should know or be aware of, you know how to get a hold of me. You and the Wallis brothers won’t have to worry about a damn thing; we’ll see that Mr. Tindall made the right choice at propositioning the Roughers.”
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