Under the Cloak
There was a barber and his wife
And he was beautiful
A proper artist with a knife
But they transported him for life
And he was beautiful
"Barker, his name was. Benjamin Barker," Mrs. Lovett whispered to the stranger in her living room.
"What was his crime?" the stranger asked, lost in his own memories.
"Foolishness."
He had this wife, you see
Pretty little thing, silly little nit
Had her chance for the moon on a string
Poor thing
Poor thing
There was this judge, you see
Wanted her like mad
Everyday he sent her a flower
But did she come down from her tower?
Sat up there and sobbed by the hour
Poor fool
But there was worse yet to come, poor thing
Well, Beadle calls on her all polite
Poor thing
Poor thing
The judge, he tells her is all contrite
He blames himself for her dreadful plight
He must come straight to his house tonight
Poor thing, poor thing
Of course, when she gets there
Poor thing, poor thing
They're having this ball all in masks
There's no one she knows there
Poor dear, poor thing
She wonders tormented and drinks
Poor thing
The Judge has repented, she thinks
Poor thing
"Oh, where is Judge Turpin?" she asks
He was there alright
Only not so contrite
She wasn't no match for such craft you see
And everyone thought it so droll
They figured she had to be daft you see
So all of them stood there and laughed you see
Poor soul
Poor thing…
"And that's when he raped her," Mrs. Lovett finished.
"NO! Would no one have mercy on her?" the stranger roared.
"So, it is you, Benjamin Barker" Mrs. Lovett mused.
"No, that man is dead. It's Todd now, Sweeney Todd," the stranger finally revealed himself.
"To answer your question, no, no one would have mercy on her. The Judge is too powerful a man around here."
"Where is she now? Where is my Lucy?"
"She poisoned herself. Arsenic, from the apothecary around the corner. I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen to me."
Mrs. Lovett led Mr. Todd up to his old home, telling him he could set up shop there.
When she came back down, she was completely lost in her own memories.
"Nessie, please, help me!" Lucy begged of her friend.
"What is it, love?"
"I don't want it!" Lucy screamed, placing a hand over her gently swelled stomach.
"You're not...it isn't...Mr. Barker?"
"No! It's that bastard Judge! He did this to me!"
"We'll take care of this. Come. Does he know?"
"No, and I'd prefer it be kept that way."
"No problem, dearie."
"Mr. T, you didn't?"
"He recognized me from the old days. Tried to blackmail me. Half me earnings."
"Oh, well, that's different then. For a moment there, I thought you'd lost your marbles. What should we do about the boy?"
"Send him up."
"Now, now, don't you think one's enough for today?"
"Send him up!"
"Besides, I was thinking of hiring the lad to help me run the shop. You're poor knees aren't what they used to be."
"Alright."
Mrs. Lovett went back downstairs, lost again again in her thoughts.
"Nessie, it's time." Lucy cried, clutching her stomach.
"Just let me get the doctor-" Nessie moved for the door.
"NO! There's not time!"
And so Nessie delivered the darling baby boy. She handed him to Lucy, then started to leave. "Wait," Lucy called.
"What, dearie?"
"Take him to the workhouse. Tell them his name is Toby. Tell them I died during the birth and his father is no where to be found, but don't give our names."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, he looks to much like the Judge. And everytime I'd look at him, he would remind me of how I was unfaithful to my Benjamin. Go, now, please."
So Nessie left, leaving Lucy alone.
When she returned, all that was left of Lucy was a note.
I'm sorry, my dear friend, but I just can't live without my Benjamin. I'm going to the apothecary around the corner. If Benjamin ever comes back, tell him I love him and that I'm sorry. But I'm begging you, please don't tell him of Toby. It would kill him.
Your dearest friend,
Lucy
At the bottom of the note was the number of Lucy's bank account. She was giving Nessie her life's saving.
There was nothing left that Nessie could do.
Seeing Toby again, after all these years, brought the memories flooding back.
She never told Toby that Mr. Todd's wife was his mother, or that Judge Turpin was his father. She never told him that he had a sister.
And she never told anyone, until Mr. Todd showed up again, about what happened that night, under Judge Turpin's cloak.