"Mista T! You got 'em shirts?" Mrs Lovett said cheerfully. She had closed the shop, done the cleaning and prepared the next days pies. It was only 6 o'clock, so she decided to visit her beloved Mr T.
"Over there." He said curtly, nodding his head in the direction of the bloody shirts. He went back to his brooding immediatly and Mrs Lovett sighed.
"Mista T, you need to stop this. She's gone, she won't come back. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is. I'm here though, why can't you see that. We can have a life us two. Maybe not like how you remember, maybe not how I dreamed, but we could get by." She said. Upon getting no response, she picked up his shirts and left the room, with one last longing glance at him, that he ignored.
After she left Sweeney let out a sigh. The bloody woman was messing with his head. He loved his Lucy and Johanna, no one else. But there was something about Mrs Lovett that made him feel funny.
He thought of her pale skin and her perfect lips. He imagined what it would feel like to hold her, to kiss her, to-
"NO!" Sweeney yelled, standing up and kicking his chair.
He began pacing, stopping in front of the mirror to scowl at himself. He was furious that he had allowed himself to think such things when his Lucy was in ashes.
He felt in his top pocket for the letter. A few hours ago, Mrs Lovett had wondered into his thoughts and he couldn't banish her, so he wrote down all his feelings for her, hoping she would then leave his mind, but of course, it only made her appear more often.
Instead of burning the paper, he had folded it and placed it in his pocket, hoping that all his feelings would stay there and that would be the end of that. He didn't want the feelings to go, but he just didn't want such powerful ones for her.
"That bloody man, s'pecting me to do all this fur 'im and do I getta worda thanks? 'Course I bloody don't!"Mrs Lovett muttered to herself.
She was alone in the bakehouse, sorting through his shirts. The dirty ones were waiting beside a large bucket of soapy water and she was placing the damp ones near the oven, hoping they would dry soon.
She tested the bucket and found the water hot enough to work with.
She picked up the bundle of shirts and tossed them into the water, causing her dress to get splashed.
One shirt missed the bucket and she sighed, picking it up to throw into the water, but stopped when she felt something poking out of the pocket.
"Wot on eart-" She stopped when she removed it. She saw it was a piece of perfectly folded parchementt with his perfect writing etched upon it.
Mrs Lovett held her breath as she opened it.
Dear Nellie,
I don't know what to write. You have been invading my thoughts for too long. Causing me to think bad things, causing me to betray my wife. I tell myself I must stop. I must stop thinking of you, but I can't. Whenever I see you, my heart jumps, I forced myself to ingore it at first, but it's too hard to ignore now. This is why I don't cooperate, this is why I brood on my own, because when I'm near you, I can't control myself. You are married, like myself. Although your partner is dead, like mine, I still don't think you'd want me. I know that this is stupid, but it is helping me calm down and stop these thoughts of you, because Nellie, I think- I think I do love you.
I know it seems a preposterous idea, but it's the truth. The way you are always smiling, even when I threaten to kill you (although I know that I would never do that), the way you do everything, whether you want to or not. I love the way you walk, talk and the way you wear your hair.
I think I love you more then I love Lucy. I never thought about it before, but you were always there, even if I didn't notice. When I left you still stayed strong and cared for Johanna, when Lucy didn't. You helped look after her when we were out, you helped us with our money troubles and you helped me when I returned.
I don't now how to thank you, but I hope that this letter clears my head.
I'm sorry for everything that I have done to you and I am sorry for this, as you would never love a monster like me, but I just wanted to let you know about my feelings.
It wasn't signed, but Nellie knew it was from him.
She wasn't aware that she was crying until now.
She finally knew the truth and it was an incredible feeling.
She forgot everything and ran up to his shop. She threw open the door and ran into his arms.
"MRS LOVETT WH-" She silenced him by kissing him. Kissing him like she had never kissed anyone before.
He stood there, shocked. Then he kissed her back.
They kissed for several moments before Nellie pulled back, and placed her hand to his cheek.
"Mista T, how could you think I wouldn't love a man like you. You are-" He silenced her, pressing a finger to her lips.
"Shh, I thought, well, I guess I never really did think did I?" He chuckled.
"Mista T, how have you not noticed. I love you Mista T- Sweeney, I do." She said and he kissed her again.
"Mrs Lovett, you're a bloody wonder."