The day had hardly begun before Mrs. Lovett heard the shop bell ring. Turning away from the basement, she went to see who had come so early. Standing in the doorway, looking a bit nervous and uncomfortable, was a young girl with yellow hair. She only looked nineteen, but she was dressed nicely and seemed to have a sensibility about her.
"Hello, there deary," she said as she walked into the kitchen, "How can I help you? Pie?" She held out one of the many pies sitting on the counter. The girl shook her head. As young as she appeared, her eyes spoke volumes about her past. Probably a rough one, Mrs. Lovett thought to herself.
"It's fine, miss," the girl said, taking off her hat, "My name is Bridgett. I have been out of luck recently, and I was hoping I could perhaps get a job here." She winced, expecting to be rejected and kicked out of the shop. Mrs. Lovett couldn't stand seeing any person in such a pitiful state, so she agreed with no hesitation. She showed Bridgett how to clean the tables and keep the customers happy. Deciding it a wise choice, she kept the pie-making affairs out of the conversation.
It was nearly noon when Mr. Todd came down from his shop. "Mrs. Lovett," he said smiling, "We have another delive-" He stopped in the doorway as he saw Bridgett. Squinting his eyes and pointing, he said, "Who're you?"
"Oh, not to worry bout 'er, love." Mrs. Lovett had just come up from the basement, "She's the new hand I hired this mornin'." The barber nodded and walked up the stairs, keeping one eye on Bridgett.
"Who was that?" she inquired. She knew that there was a shop upstairs, but she had never seen the person who ran it. Mrs. Lovett looked up at the ceiling as she answered, "That's Mr. Todd. He's my partner in this shop."
"He looked so….sad," Bridgett said. Despite his smile, something in his eyes seemed very distant, almost as if he had been trying to convince himself of some truth that could not be real.
"Poor dear, he always looks like that. He's had a hard life, he has. Just don't go asking 'im bout it, alright?" For the rest of the day, Bridgett could think of nothing else but the strange, sad man who performed his business upstairs.
That night found Bridgett sitting by the window, staring out over London, as usual. No matter where she was, she always seemed unable to sleep through an entire night. Tonight was different, though. Instead of the betrayal and scars of her past, her thoughts were filled by the barber, Sweeney Todd.