Darmody Beach House

Leander moved carefully. The last weeks had taken their toll on him. Once more he damned Nucky Thompson to the depths of hell, damned former Sheriff Peter Lindsay for ever introducing Thompson to Louis back when Thompson was a child, and damned Louis for seeing Thompson as the replacement for the son he never thought he'd have.

"Miss Campbell, you have our gratitude for informing us where Nucky hid Clara. Please know we will make sure you are well compensated for your bravery."

"I'd also like a job," Katy said. "I can't stay at the Thompsons."

Jimmy smiled at her. "Neither Richard nor I are brave enough to hire someone for the house without Clara's okay. But I'm sure she'll like the idea."

"For now, though, we must ask you to return to the Thompsons," Leander continued, not having the mental wherewithal to consider the complicated domestic arrangements of the Darmody-Harrows.

After more reassurance Katy finally left, promising to let them know immediately if she learned anything else.

"Nucky committed her as Clara Thompson, spinster," Leander continued. "James, while perhaps this isn't the opportune moment to bring this up, this sort of behavior is exactly why I told you not to end the conspiracy against him. You were within inches of ridding us of the scourge of Thompson."

Jimmy ran his tongue along his bottom teeth. Fuck it all to hell. He had loved Nucky, he needed to fix what was broken, make amends. He looked at Richard, who stood at perfect attention, a soldier once more. Richard had told him Nucky wouldn't forgive him, and Jimmy had been prepared to endure the consequences of his action.

But Nuck had taken Clara's money and then done this? Leander was right, and that pissed Jimmy off even more.

"The good news is since Clara's married, Nucky doesn't have any standing to have her committed. Only Mr. Harrow has that sort of power over her, or if the court decides she's mentally deficient. At one o'clock there's a hearing in probate court.You'll need to prove the..." Leander took a deep breath. "Completeness of the marriage. You should be prepared for questions. I assume that will not be an issue?"

No one answered. "Gather up her correspondence, anything to prove Clara's soundness of mind. Other than you two, would anyone else testify on her behalf?"

Jimmy smiled at Leander. "Lady Rose Malley, daughter of the Earl of Danby. She's Clara's best friend, she's keeping Tommy in Cape May."

Of course the Thompson girl's friend was a member of the aristocracy, Leander thought with a half-smile. Jeffries would be proud of his odd little grandchild.

Richard looked down, barely hearing Leander and Jimmy's exchange. "He did this. He put her there because. She married me."

"Mr. Harrow, Nucky did this because he's been robbing his daughter blind for years," Leander said.

"He did this to punish Clara for choosing me," Jimmy said at the same time.

A very loud knock sounded at the door. Leander watched as the hands of both younger men went to their waistbands. He suddenly thought of Clara sitting in his drawing room, asking did anyone think Prohibition made the world safer.

It certainly hadn't made her world safer, Leander thought. James let in a young man in a suit so flashy and of such dubious taste, although of obviously high quality, that Leander reflected it would make Nucky jealous.

"Any word?" the man asked as he walked in.

Once more, James and Harrow shared an intense glance. "Nucky took her," Harrow finally said.

"He's locked her in an insane asylum," Jimmy added.

Leander made his excuses and left to go prepare for court.

"Fucking Thompson." Charlie said.

"Leander will get her out," Jimmy said.

Charlie was struck by Darmody's belief that the elderly man could help.He wouldn't of pegged Darmody as a man who believed in Santa Clause.

"We got a problem, though." Jimmy continued.

"What's it?' Charlie asked.

Darmody walked him to the Ford, where Mickey Doyle still lay hog-tied in the backseat. "Can you do something with him? We can't let him talk to Nucky until all of this is done."

"You want me to watch Mickey fucking Doyle? Jesus Christ, he smells like a fucking outhouse. Darmody, you are a pain in the ass."

Doyle's big blue eyes were filled with fear above the rough gag made of his own, less than pristine, handkerchiefs.

Although, Charlie reflected as he swung into the driver's seat, Doyle bound and gagged was the best version of Doyle he had yet encountered. Did AR still have a half-million buck life insurance policy on the jerk? He should call Meyer and find out, he thought as the clutch caught. Jesus Christ, this car was a piece of shit. He'd also tell Meyer about Clara. After their meeting with Rothstein he had made it known they were to share everything they learned about Atlantic City.

Federal Court House/Thompson Mansion

Nucky walked out of court a free man. He stopped and took a deep breath. Fresh air, he thought, smelled a lot like freedom. As the humidity of the day settled over him like a blanket he allowed a moment to bask in the great pride in the way he had arranged the pieces like dominoes, and watched everything fall perfectly into place. James had taken care of Neary, and although Esther Randolph had tried to discount the signed confession it had held. Margaret marrying him removed the threat of her testimony. Eli, well, he had made a deal with his dear brother. When Eli realized exactly what Nucky was asking there had been tears in his eyes. Like those tears were going to change Nucky's plans.

And who would have guessed that it was his shoe shine man, Harlan, who held the key to neutralizing Van Alden, the relentless Prohibition agent? Who would have fucking dreamed the man had drowned another Prohibition agent in some sort of fit of religious mania in front of an entire congregation?

Ah, yes, Agent Van Alden, a man so convinced of his religious superiority that he had knocked up Lucy. Nucky spared barely a thought for his ex-mistress, nor one for Lucy's daughter, who was now in the wind with her fugitive father.

As to his own daughter, he considered? Well, the first item on his agenda was dealing with James and his little henchman. Once they were dispatched, he'd take Clara from the sanitarium and send her to Europe. A few more days in Windcliff might actually teach his intractable daughter that no one was immune from the consequences of their actions.

Margaret smiled and put her arms around him when he arrived home. Sure, he thought, he might have married her to keep her off the witness stand, but that didn't mean he wasn't looking forward to having a wife, a family. A real family, this time. And Margaret was young, they could have more children. It had been the right decision to sign his fortune, which at this point mostly consisted of land carefully collected to benefit from the upcoming road project, over to her for safe keeping while the trial loomed. But now the danger had passed. Soon he'd reap the rewards of his planning.

He'd have to replace Clara's trust fund, of course. Even after he took care of this foolish mésalliance with Harrow, she'd be twenty-five in two more years and he would, actually, like to see her married and settled. Just to someone he approved of. But after he cashed in on the land deal he'd never again have need of the money Jeffries left Clara.

Hell, he thought he'd never have need of it again after 1918 with the money he made off the war, and certainly not after he'd made a million dollars off of Rothstein in 1920. It was Clara's precious Jimmy who cut off his cash flow and made using her money a necessity. It turned out for the best that Clara had thrown over Darcy Blaine, because of course he had been forced to disclose the trust fund to the Blaine family when they were hashing out the terms of the financial arrangements for the marriage. If Clara had married Blaine, then Jeffries' money wouldn't have been available when he needed it.

For a moment he realized that Harrow had married Clara not knowing about the trust fund. No other man he dangled Clara in front of would marry her without the knowledge that they were marrying a rich woman. Harrow, he thought, must actually love her. It gave him a moment of pause before he turned back to Margaret to tell her he'd need her to sign the papers turning his fortune back over to him as soon as possible.

Eddie knocked on the door, and came inside. Nucky could see he was nervous.

"Pour the champagne! This is a day to celebrate!" Nucky instructed.

Eddie kept his hand on the doorknob, like he was ensuring a smooth escape route. "That was Mr. Fallon on the telephone. He said he just saw your name on another court docket. Atlantic County Probate Court this afternoon. For Clara's commitment hearing."

Margaret turned. Nucky looked away, not wanting to see the look on her face.

"Enoch? Please tell me you didn't?" she asked, and he could hear the pleading tone in her voice.

"I did what I had to," he said before nodding at Eddie to take Margaret out of the room.

Court

Rose Malley adjusted her hat as she made her way across the lobby of the Reading Termnal towards Jimmy Darmody.

"Did he really have her committed?" Rose asked breathlessly.

Jimmy nodded his answer.

Rose's mouth twisted and her own fury started to rise in her chest. Clara, condemned to an institution. She shuddered as she thought of the horrors she had heard went on inside their walls. What was Clara enduring?

Clara, whose biggest fear was that she would lose control of her mind the way her mother did..

"My own father certainly wasn't thrilled when I married Dennis, and did his share of raging and making threats, but he would have never..."

"Yeah, Nuck is truly one of a kind," Jimmy said, and Rose heard the despair and anger in his voice.

"Did everything work out the way you wanted?" Jimmy asked suddenly.

Rose stared straight ahead. "I love Dennis. I'm not sorry we married. But life, and marriage, is complicated."

"That it is."

Taking a deep breath, Rose asked the question that had been on her mind. "When did you meet Mr. Harrow?"

Jimmy looked over at her, surprised. "Chicago, last spring."

Now it was Rose's turn to look surprised. "You didn't meet during the war?"

"Didn't know he existed until last spring," Jimmy said again as he opened the door to Richard's Ford.

"Thank you. For coming to help," Richard said, and Rose could hear the effort it took.

She placed her hand on Richard's forearm. "Clara is my dearest friend. We've been to hell and back together, in the war. We survived boarding school together. She was there for my fight to be with Dennis. I'll always be there for her."

Jimmy lit another cigarette in the backseat. He could hear Clara's voice saying, I wasn't sitting around pouring tea and smiling at soldiers. Now Rose saying, we've been to hell and back. Had he ever once really asked Clara about her experience in Europe, other than to mock her little affair? What exactly had Clara done, other than some officer?

"How is.Tommy?" Richard asked.

Rose smiled, deciding to forgo telling the poor man that the child had screamed half the night and had been found this morning sleeping under his bed. "He'll be fine as soon as we get him and Clara home."

At the courthouse, Leander stood in the corridor waiting. "Judge Nelson Johnson is overseeing the hearing. First, though, he wants to meet with all of us in chambers. He's hoping, as am I, that we can resolve this quickly."

"And Clara can come home?" Richard asked.

"Of course that's our hope," Leander replied.

Bill Fallon always tried to hold onto his cosmopolitan, blasé exterior, even though his clients had a way of trying him. Certainly none more so than Nucky fucking Thompson.

"You do realize, Nucky," Fallon said, purposefully maintaining a steady voice, "that double jeopardy did not apply this morning. Miss Randolph can refile the charges at any time. Especially, say, if your daughter or her husband or James Darmody, all of whom have knowledge of the inner workings of your affairs, decided to meet with her and share fresh details about your undertakings."

"This is a family matter, Fallon."

Tonight, Fallon thought, he'd be back in New York with a showgirl in his lap and a cold drink in his hand. He just had to see Thompson through his latest debacle, as a favor to Rothstein.

"You've materially misrepresented your daughter's life. I'm fairly certain Leander Whitlock is more than capable of proving that she is married, and therefore it was not in your power to have her committed."

The foursome who entered Judge Johnson's chambers didn't calm Fallon's nerves. An accomplished old man, two gangsters, and one society lady. God damn was Arnold going to owe him.

"Mrs. Harrow is supposed to be here," Leander began.

"We don't concede that this marriage is valid," the sniveling little lawyer for the Windcliffe said.

"Here is the marriage certificate," Leander continued, pulling the document from his attache case. "Lady Rose Malley has letters Clara wrote her after the wedding. The Harrows have been residing with Mr. Darmody. He can attest that they've been living as husband and wife. Mr. Harrow will answer any questions Your Honor may have. But where is Clara?"

"A good question." The judge turned to look at Mr. Price.

"She is being brought here now."

The judge looked at Leander's paperwork. "Everything seems to be in order. Mr. Thompson, why do you think the marriage isn't valid?"

"This is one of my daughter's silly little stunts," Nucky began.

"Clara," Rose said with inflection on the name, "does not pull silly little stunts."

The judge decided to ignore the woman's outburst. "Mr. Harrow, on the record, will you state that your marriage is valid?"

"Yes. Your Honor."

"Mr. Darmody, you will state on the record that they are residing with you, and living as a married couple?"

"Absolutely, they..."

Jimmy never finished the thought, because right then the door opened and the creaky sound of a wheeled chair being pushed across the wooden floor filled the room.

Johnson saw immediately that he was going to lose control of his chambers.

Jimmy jumped to his feet and managed to grab Richard before he got to Clara. "Wait," he directed in his friend's ear. "You gotta wait.. She's going to be okay."

Jesus Fucking Christ, what had Nucky let them do to her? She was wearing the same green skirt and striped blouse she was wearing that morning-yesterday morning, he realized-but she looked like a different person. She was strapped into the chair, which forced her legs into an odd angle. Her head lolled against her shoulder. The worst though was her neck. It looked she had been strangled.

No one caught Rose, and she was kneeling in front of Clara before anyone could stop her.

"I must insist," Price started feebly.

"Lady Malley is a nurse, and Mrs. Harrow is obviously in need of attention!" Whitlock responded.

The judge nodded.

Rose put her hands on either side of her friend's face. "Clara," she said softly.

Clara slowly opened her eyes, the light from the windows blinding her. "Rose," she said softly, relief in her voice, but the Rose saw her tense up again. "Are you real?"

"Yes, Clara. I'm real. I'm here. Richard's here, Jimmy's..."

"They said Richard, Jimmy, that they're..." Clara's voice broke. "That they were killed," she finally managed to say.

"No, Clara, no, they are here. Who said that?"

"My father, the doctors. They said Richard was in a ditch..."

"No, no he's here, darling. Take a deep breath, he'll be with you in just a moment."

Rose turned away, her hands busy unbuckling the restraints tying Clara to the chair, and took her own deep breath. How could Clara's father do such a thing?.

"Mr. Whitlock, Mr. Thompson and the doctors told her that Richard and Jimmy were dead!" Rose's dulcet tone and cultivated accent cut through the other chaos in the room and everyone else fell silent.

Bill Fallon put his hand over his face and decided he was going to need many, many drinks and many, many showgirls when he returned to New York.

He leaned over and hissed in his client's ear. "You haven't listened to me yet, Nucky, but you need to now. This has the capacity to turn into an utter disaster for you. I'm not sure why you have persisted, but you need to put an end to it. Now."

Thompson didn't say anything, he just kept staring at his daughter, but finally he nodded.

Fallon stood. "Your Honor, this is a disagreement between father and daughter that got out of hand. My client understands now that Clara is indeed married, and will withdraw the papers he signed with the court's consent."

"She is still delusional...." Price interjected.

"What's her delusion?" Leander snapped. "That she's married and her husband is alive?"

"She says she writes books but her name...."

"God's Nightgown! The girl does write books, she says it's called ghostwriting. I helped her negotiate her contract with the publisher, Your Honor," Leander rebutted.

"Mr. Whitlock, that sort of language won't be used in this court! But I agree nonetheless, and Clara Harrow will be released immediately."

There was so much going on, so many people shouting, so much movement around her that Clara wasn't sure what was happening. But she knew that it was Rose's hands finishing unbuckling the leather straps around her ankles, that Rose said that Richard and Jimmy were fine. Rose, in all the years they had known each other, had never lied to her. Her father lied all the time.

At first she thought she was dreaming, because she heard Richard's footfall, but as it got closer she tried to force her eyes open in the light and realized he was standing in front of her. She tried to take a deep breath but it felt like she had been swimming and her chest was filled with water, but her hands still reached out and ran lightly over the tweed of jacket.

His green tweed jacket, because he was real and he was here. Clara tried to stand up and felt his arms go around her as her feet refused to face the right direction. Somewhere she heard Rose giving out to some poor soul in her very best nurse voice. Clara shuddered, remembering other nurse voices and felt Richard's grasp tighten and his breath against her face.

"Clara," he whispered and she sagged against him.

"Take me away," Clara whispered, shaking from the feeling of cold that wouldn't go away.

Suddenly Jimmy was on her other side. "You look like hell," he told her with a smirk.

It was Clara's attempt to smile that reignited Jimmy's fury. Clara had looked bad when she found him at Walter Reed, but not like this. She looked destroyed.

Richard wanted to pick her up and take her away from all of these people. But he knew Clara wouldn't want more of a scene than necessary, so he got his arm around and tried walking with her.

"My legs aren't listening," Clara said.

Jimmy got on her other side and between the two of them they half-carried her from the courthouse.