Sweeney Todd was never outside in public after June. The baby bump was growing by the second, and became very noticeable. He became very aware and self-conscious of it, so he vowed to never go out until after the infant was born. Johanna, however, had no idea what was happening to her body. She was getting terribly fat and she felt very nauseous and dizzy. She was frightened of telling anyone, so she kept it a secret. But of course, how does one keep a growing belly a secret?
One morning, after struggling to fit into her dress, Johanna sat at the breakfast table, telling herself not to eat a thing. Judge Turpin, who sat across from her, observed her strange behaviour closely. He had had an eye on her behaviour for a while now.
" Johanna," he began. His glare was as cold as Sweeney's. " Why do you not eat?" he asked.
The young girl gulped and her gaze averted from her guardian's. She sighed heavily. " I am afraid that my dress does not fit me around the belly, even with the corset."
It all fell into place. " GET OUT!" Judge Turpin roared.
" But, sir I-"
" OUT!"
Johanna was sent to her bedroom. The judge locked her in, so she would have no means of escape. Beadle Bamford stood guard as Turpin went out. Hours later, he returned with Anthony. The poor boy was being dangled by his collar like a stray, flea-bitten, rabid mongrel.
" He is responsible, is he not?"
Frightened for Anthony's life, Johanna gave a nod of her head but it wasn't enough.
" IS HE NOT!" Anthony flinched at the sound of the judge's shouts.
" Yes, sir," she squeaked.
Judge Turpin roared in anger like a lion. He threw Anthony against the doorframe and slapped him hard. He strangled him until he fell unconscious. Then his lustful eyes turned on to Johanna. He pulled by the hair, which caused her great pain. From his coat, he took out an old photograph of Lucy, from the days of her prime.
" Do you know who this is?" he spat.
" No, sir! No!" She wanted so much to run away but his grasp was too tight.
" Your mother. Do you know what I did to her?"
" No, sir! No!" The little girl began to cry.
" I raped her! That's going to happen to YOU, if you EVER disobey me like this again!" The judge threw her onto the bed. " I don't want to see your face in this house ever again! And take that thing with you!" He pointed at Anthony, who was just coming to, and he left the room, slamming the door behind him.
Sweeney was helping Mrs. Lovett and Toby clean the oven. It was a terrible job that needed a good pair of a strong man's hands. Despite his aching back and exhaustion, he scrubbed hard, simply because he had nothing else better to do. Suddenly, Anthony burst in.
He looked dreadful. His eyebrow was clotted with dirt and blood. His long dark hair was straggly and tangled and damp from sweat on his forehead. Behind him cowered Johanna. Sweeney could see she had been struck, and the rage shivered down his body. Her hair of wheat had been tousled where Turpin had grabbed her. A tear trickled down her cheek and she masked her pain with a shy smile.
" Morning, sir. Ma'am," he said to his friends. " Johanna has been banished by the judge. Is it all right if we stay here? It's just until the baby is born," he asked.
Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett exchanged smiles. " Which one?" and he revealed the bump.
They all burst out laughing as Sweeney told them all about the curse. Johanna smiled nervously again when he kept staring at her with the oddest look. He smiled too, as he remembered what Lucy looked like. She had it all; the hair, the eyes, the nose, the lips.
" Johanna," he whispered sadly. Mrs. Lovett gave his shoulder a kind squeeze. The tears flooded his eyes as he outstretched his arms. He embraced his daughter warmly. Both Anthony and Toby were bewildered, so Mrs. Lovett promised she would tell them later on.
Later, when the sun had disappeared, Sweeney was brooding away in the barber shop, daydreaming of Turpin's brutal death. Although he didn't know it, Johanna was sitting in the chair, listening intensely to her father's mutterings.
" Father?" she said in a high-pitched whisper. Startled, her father whirled around. " I understand how you feel."
" You do?" Sweeney replied, astonished. His eyes darted to the photograph of Lucy hugging the infant girl. It came on all too much for him. " I need a quail!" he mumbled. He went to the loose floorboard where Mrs. Lovett had stashed his razors. There was almost an entire flock hidden there.
" That is what I crave, but the judge refused to give them to me."
Sweeney observed the dead quail. Its head flopped over his index finger. The feathers were so soft that they felt fuzzy against his skin. He opened his mouth to eat it but noticed his daughter eyeing it. Trying to be kind, he gave her the bird. Johanna took it and grinned. Sweeney grinned too. For the first time in years, he felt empathy quiver in his heart.