"The Widow" Bertha

His name was Tierna, which was taken from the first half of the word "Land of Youth" in the Celtic legend. It is rumored that this place located outside the world map has all the good things in the world, which is almost equal to the heaven in Catholicism.

The name was placed on the banks of the Thames along with his swaddling baby.

He didn't know if his biological parents chose this name for him, whether they intended to give him the last blessing.But that was all right, when he was dumped on the curb on the banks of the Thames, this fabled wonderland had nothing to do with him.

Fortunately, his luck was a little better than other orphans, and he was not sent to a correctional institution-there is no hell on earth like this.

If you go there, nine times out of ten you won't survive.Even if you survive, you may be disabled.

An old nun in a monastery found him. She was old and kind and believed that it was God's will to find him, so the old nun took him in and gave him a brand new name that was convenient for walking in London: Thomas Thames.

Thomas was raised by the old nun until she was 11, when she died.

After attending the funeral of the old nun, he was kicked out of the monastery.

The poor and pious 11 years gave Thomas a different life trajectory from other orphans.He is literate and has read books, and has an advantage over other gangsters who are in the slums. With his cleverness and ability to read, he has been in the gang for ten years, and then he has become a prominent figure in the Jesse gang.

Thomas also adopted many orphans, who were discarded by the River Thames just like him. Most of them should be illegitimate children who could not be supported by factory and wharf women.

Everything was supposed to go down to the end like this.

Until Connor Thames was critically ill because of the "drug" brought by Old Jesse.

At that time, Thomas had nowhere to go. He hadn't been in such a predicament for as long as he could remember.

No one dared to offend old Jesse, so Thomas had no work, and no work meant no income.

When the "can't catch" Jack Dawkins, the street thief found him, Thomas even considered taking a few younger siblings to the dock area to try his luck.

"Can't Catch" says a generous lady looking for a quick-witted man to run errands.

Thomas hadn't wanted to go. He hadn't run errands since he was 12, but after some thought he decided to take the chance.

——In the slums, you can't miss any opportunity. Once you miss it, you may be waiting for your whole family to starve to death.

It's just that Thomas Thames never expected that he had been taking in unrelated brothers and sisters all these years, and after running errands like this, he found a sister for himself.

At that time, Thomas thought that this "presumptuous" lady was quite ambitious, as long as she could avenge Connor, she would let him do any dirty work.

But in fact, he didn't do much dirty work for Bertha at all.

She wasn't from Whitechapel, and she didn't even hang out with gangs before. Therefore, although Bertha's acting style was aggressive and bold, she could always go around and give herself a pretty plausible motive.

The Jesse gang was brought down not because of black people, but because they captured the evidence of Jesse Byrne's participation in the "drug" case.

The annexation of the Bourne family has nothing to do with the Thames. People from Scotland Yard came to the slums to raid the slums to clear out refugees and illegal immigrants, and the Bourne family was involved. How could it be considered Bertha's plan?

Even the conflict with the Italian Esposito family eventually led to a sudden crisis in the political situation. The Italians finally lost their backing and launched an attack first. What they did was nothing more than revenge.

So many things happened in just two years, it was almost like a dream.

No, even if it was a dream, Thomas would never dare to think about it. He has changed from a young man who was kicked out of the gang to the second in command of Thames Office.

This is of course thanks to Bertha, his sister who fell from the sky.

However, although the two are siblings in name, Thomas feels that in most cases, he and Bertha are more like superiors and subordinates who have a good relationship at work and friends with a good distance.

Of course, this is most of the time.

In a small number of cases, it is when Bertha decides to fulfill her elder sister's obligations—for example, urging marriage.

God, is this life with a sister!

The point is that it's fine for her to urge herself, and she has to mobilize other little Thames!

Like now-

The weather was good today. Thomas finished his work in the morning as usual. After lunch, he picked up the coat on the chair and prepared to go out.

As soon as he walked down the stairs, the younger siblings upstairs who were taking a nap rushed down immediately.

Jacob was the oldest, followed by his four younger siblings. Alex, the youngest, with short arms and short legs, was left behind by his older siblings and had to stubbornly keep up.

Jacob said loudly, "Tommy, are you going to see Katie?"

Thomas: "..."

Jacob: "You gotta go with a present!"

Little Alex: "Yes, yes! Bring presents!"

Anna is more straightforward, holding a bouquet of flowers in her left hand, and a basket of bread, milk, and juicy fruits and vegetables in her right hand: "Hurry up, Katie's arm is inconvenient now, it's nothing better to send something to eat." It all makes sense."

Little Alex: "Yes, yes! Drink milk to grow taller!"

Thomas: "..."

He couldn't laugh or cry, and was stuffed with gifts and flowers: "Who told you that I'm going to visit Katie?"

Anna rolled her eyes greatly—the little girl was quiet and quiet, but she had learned Bertha's arrogant and exaggerated expressions and movements by [-]% or [-]%.

"Be fools of us," she said, "Charlie and Jack have said that you have been visiting Katie at this time every day lately!"

Okay, the co-author is still a traitor!

However, the Mrs. and Miss Thames did not give Thomas time to complain and justify. He was almost pushed out of the office by his younger siblings.

The door of the office closed behind him with a bang, and Thomas looked down at the flowers and gifts in his arms, feeling annoyed and amused.

For the sake of their consideration, Thomas weighed the heavy food basket, and decided to settle accounts with some girls and boys when he came back.

Mrs. Thames never treats her family badly. After several months of intensive care by professional doctors, Katie has basically recovered from her injuries.

But she fell from a high place into a deep pit at that time, and one arm was seriously injured. Even after recovering, she could not be as flexible as before.

——Katie also teased herself, Benjamin...or should be called Phoenix now, one injured his left hand and the other injured his right hand.

Fortunately, Katie is in a good mood, so she doesn't care much.

Thomas came to visit today and felt that she had recovered a bit more than yesterday.

Today, Katie has her own apartment, located near the red light district, simple and low-key, but very clean.She was sitting in a chair by the window when Thomas came in, having just lit a cigarette.

The young girl was as brilliant as a flower, her fair skin and long light flaxen hair showed a natural beauty even without lead.Katie likes to wear light "colored" clothes, and the ivory "colored" long skirt is only decorated with red "red" silk scarves. She holds a cigarette and says nothing.

Almost like a painting.

She still lives with her former roommate, Landa. Landa happily accepts the food from Thomas, but pushes away the flowers he handed over, and winks in Katie's direction, asking He delivered it himself.

"Katie," Landa said, "Thomas is visiting you."

The girl by the window gave a soft "um" and didn't say much.

Thomas walked forward in silence, and stopped when passing the table in the room, and then took off the slightly withered flowers in the vase, and replaced them with bright blooming bouquets in his hand.

"Hope this changes your mood," Thomas said. "Anna just took it off."

"Thank you."

Katie smiled politely: "I've always been in a good mood."

Then Katie turned to Thomas Thames when he was seated.

The beautiful girl put down the cigarette in her hand, and faced the young people who visited her one after another, she had a business-like attitude: "I'm fine now, I can walk freely now, and my body is fine. I should go see Mrs. Thames."

Thomas nodded.

"The doors of the office are always open for you," he said. "You can come and go as you please, Katie. No need to consult with me."

"It's better to explain to you in advance."

Katie turned her head and said, "Thank you for taking care of me these few days. I'm not very familiar with gang affairs, so I may still trouble you in the future."

She was a pretty smart girl indeed, Thomas thought inwardly.

In fact, just a few days ago, Bertha also mentioned to herself how to arrange Katie—Mrs. Thames thought that this girl was quick to respond and dared to seize opportunities. confidant.

Mrs. Thames said this to no one but Thomas, but Katie had expected it herself.

Sure enough, he will not miss any chance.

Thomas laughed out loud.

Katie was surprised: "What?"

Thomas couldn't help laughing: "It's nothing, it's just that I may have to leave the Whitechapel area to deal with the remaining Italian property."

Katie: "No time? That's okay, you have your tasks."

Thomas thought for a while, and said seriously: "But I still live in the office. If you really have a problem, maybe... you can wait until the office is closed, and I will always have time to help you when I get home."

Katie said nothing.

She just watched Thomas' face silently.

Both young men and women have straight faces, just looking at each other like this is like a romantic scene with charm.

——In fact, the process from recognition to familiarity is also the same, isn’t it?

At first, Katie wanted to plot against Thomas, but Thomas didn't care about her; when he cared and felt sorry, Katie walked away gracefully.Until a few months ago, in the underground laboratory of the Truth Society, facing the indescribable monster, they held hands without any precautions and distanced.

Months later, Thomas Thames still remembers those eyes so close to him.

However, the other party just touched his long curly flaxen hair, seemed gentle and embarrassed, and said softly: "Why should I wait for you, Thomas? There are so many people in the office, even if I can't find my wife, I can ask Ned or Phoenix."

Thomas just smiled the same.

The youth's ice-blue eyes were crystal clear, and there was a teasing smile in them.

"Do you know what Ma'am says of you, Katie?" he asked without answering.

"Ok?"

"Madam said, you are a person who will never let go of any opportunity," Thomas said. "A person like you is destined to climb up."

As he spoke, Thomas leaned forward.

The distance between the two narrowed accordingly, and Katie watched the young man's face approach inch by inch, until their knees touched and their breaths intertwined.

It's almost a repeat of the night in the sewer a few months ago.

With her eyes glued together, Katie could almost see the fine lines in Thomas' blue eyes and her own reflection.

"Coincidentally, I think I am also this kind of person."

"What kind of person?"

"A person who is good at seizing opportunities."

Thomas stared into Katie's eyes, lowered the decibel, and his clear voice lingered only around the young men and women.

"I've got you, Katie," he said sincerely, "and I won't let you go."