"'Feh my will is as strong as yours, an' me kingdom is as grea—"

Three loud stomps sounded above their heads, and Nellie looked up to glare at the ceiling. It never failed; the moment she sat down, ready to read Toby her favorite book, Mista' Todd would pound and make a fuss. Man 'as a sixth sense 'bout that, 'e does. "Wha' is it, marm?"

She looked down and smiled at Toby, patting his head affectionately as she stood up, "Jus' need teh take Mista T 'is suppa', 's all. Be back in a tick."

The boy was behind her as she ladled soup (made with proper meat, reserved specifically for the three of them) into a bowl. "How come you 'ave teh take 'is food to 'im, marm? Why don' 'e eat wiv us?"

"Well, I certainly dunno, pet. I'll ask 'im," she smirked and gathered the rest of his meal onto a tray before sweeping out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the apartment he rented. There was no real need for Toby to ask why Sweeney never joined them, he despised the boy and loathed her, simple as that. This new family (for that was how Nellie liked to think of them) would never be anything to the one Benjamin Barker had once enjoyed. God forgive her if she was a bit bitter for that.

"Mista T, got ya dinna' here," she barely knocked, nudging the door open with her hip. He was facing away from her, leaning against the window frame, and she sighed silently, allowing her eyes to roam for a moment. Before her mind could wander too far, he was facing her again, giving her that look. The one that said he caught her looking, and that she disgusted him. "Brought ya food, love."

He nodded and took the tray from her, setting it on his small desk. She stood awkwardly in the doorway for a moment, trying not to think about the last time she was up here with him, when she realized she was talking. "…an' Toby an' I was jus' sittin' by the fire, I was readin' 'im me favorite book, an' we was jus' wonderin' why it was you neva' came down teh eat wiv us…"

He looked at her from the bowl, a spoon almost touching his perfect lips, an eyebrow raised halfway up his alabaster forehead. He stared for a moment, then continued to eat the soup, more or less dismissing Mrs. Lovett from the room. She turned with a huff, muttering something about not being appreciated, but the Barber ignored her.

As she stepped into the kitchen, something on the other side of the window caught her eye. A man, standing alone on the street corner opposite, wrapped in a thick coat, a top hat on his head and a cane in his hand. At first she thought it was the Beedle, and almost called for Sweeney, then realized that this man was far too slender to be the Judge's crony. Common sense told her to walk away from the window, to finish reading to Toby and go to bed. But something about this stranger attracted her, and pulled her to the door. She was halfway across the street before she realized he was gone. Shivering in the fresh snow, Nellie turned and ran back inside, locking the door to her shop behind her. She threw a glance back to the window before returning to her sette, and saw a single owl swoop by, its eyes glowing in the street lights.