You really think I would leave you for today with such a cliffhanger? Hahaha no way! :D

Chapter 5: The Market Meeting

Mrs. Lovett was scrubbing the blood off of the bake house floor; right in front of the oven where the ashes of Lucy remained. She looked up at the oven and sighed. What have I done? She thought to herself. She never thought this lie would get to her as much as it had. I have to tell him the truth. No, she couldn't, at least not yet. He would kill her.

Her thoughts drifted back to Toby and Anthony. Were they back yet? She finished scrubbing the blood quickly, dropped the wash cloth in the pail of water, and went back up to the pie shop. Nope. Not there. She walked up the stairs to Sweeney Todd's barber shop. He was in there; sharpening one of the razors he called his 'friends'.

"Good evening, Mr. T." she said, out of breath from walking up the stairs.

"Mmm." He replied.

"'ave ye seen Anthony and Toby?" she asked.

"Not since you sent 'em out." he replied. She nodded.

He heard a customer coming up the stairs. For him, another throat to slit.

"Get out." He muttered. Mrs. Lovett didn't hear him clearly.

"Get out!" he growled.

She quickly turned and left. Looking somewhat hurt as she did so.

Why did he just do that? He practically yelled at her. From the look on her face, he could tell that he had hurt her feelings. He loved her. Sweeney Todd finally admitted it to himself. Soon, when he got up the courage, he would admit it to her as well.

Anthony and Toby stood amongst the crowd, getting bumped and squashed. Anthony was holding onto to Toby's arm, trying not to lose him.

"Toby, Anthony! Where are you?" They heard a female voice calling that they would recognize anywhere. They ran toward it, Mrs. Lovett was amongst the crowd, trying to get to them. As soon as they found her, Toby ran into her arms, and she grabbed both of their arms, and they got to the front where they were safe.

"Thank God, you two is alright, didn't know what 'appened t' ye. What's goin' on 'ere?" she asked.

"Mum, they figured ye out!" Toby said. "They're 'ere about the disappearances."

Mrs. Lovett cursed under her breath. She was very afraid of what would happen if they figured out her and Sweeney's secret. They would both be hung! The kids would get in trouble for keeping the secret, and she knew how cruel the law was on children. But she kept calm, as a man's voice hushed the roaring crowd.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Officer Robert Dunling, sheriff of the London police academy, and I'm here on regard of the disappearances of many, including the barber, Adolfo Pirelli, and the honorable Judge Turpin and Beadle Bamford, and Turpin's young ward Johanna, many claiming the last place they've seen these people is at a barbershop run by a Mr. Sweeney Todd, if you are here, Mr. Todd please speak up. Also a smell coming from the chimney of his neighbor, that smells an awful lot like rotting flesh, has been rather peculiar, Mrs. Nellie Lovett, if either of you are here, please speak up now and explain yourselves, or we'll have to come to your establishment and check it out. So if either of you are present, speak up now, or regret it later." The officer spoke. He looked about mid-forties, long dark brown hair, with a slight grey tinge, his eyes were a shocking blue, and were filled with anger, and patience at the same time. He was riding a beautiful bay horse, and wore the familiar sheriff's badge on his uniform.

"C'mon boys, let's get out o' this hell before we're recognized." Mrs. Lovett grabbed the boys by the arms and pulled her hat and some lose strands of hair over her eyes, making her harder to recognize. She weaved them through the crowd, down the streets, and finally back to the shop, thankfully not recognized by anyone.

"What 'appened?" Sweeney asked.

"Are you alright?" Johanna asked, running over to Anthony and hugging him.

"Mr. T, they've figured us out, they'll be 'ere tomorrow to search the shop. What d' we do?" Mrs. Lovett practically shrieked, which is very unusual for her. She was afraid, both her and Sweeney were good at hiding this, but they would be there searching the whole establishment, every floor, every room, every nook and cranny.

"We'll think o' somethin'" Sweeney replied. Why was it that he hated to see her upset? He supposed it was because he had accepted his feelings for her, and before he refused them, and kept them all down. "I've got it. Clean out the grinder, make sure the bake house is clean and nothing suspicious is left, and we'll take the bodies to a secret place and bury 'em." Mrs. Lovett thought the idea was good enough, and agreed. "When 'e gets 'ere, tomorrow, I'll distract 'im." An evil grin spread on Sweeney's face.

Mrs. Lovett went down to the bake house with a pair of plastic gloves, and a couple of boxes.

She dropped bones, organs, disembodied parts, and flesh in the boxes.

"May I 'elp you, mum?" Toby came up behind her and asked.

Mrs. Lovett turned to look at him. "Of course, darling, if you're sure ye can 'andle it."

"Yes, mum." He answered her. He began to search the bake house for body parts, and dropped them in the boxes. He scrubbed the floor; soon you would never guess it was more than just your average cold, dark bake house.

"Looks nice, dear." Mrs. Lovett complimented on Toby's work.

X X X X X

It was after midnight, last time Mrs. Lovett checked her pocket watch. She and Sweeney were hauling the boxes full of body parts to the woods; they had to walk, of course. It wasn't too far from home, luckily. They finally dropped the boxes where the hole Sweeney came and dug earlier was. They threw them in, covered them up and started back home.

"Ye know, we could 'ave a life, down by the sea, a family, the five o' us. Maybe not like either o' us dreamed, but we could get by, better than bein' 'ere, with all these bad memories this place brings you." Mrs. Lovett looked up at him. She liked the way the darkness shadowed his pale face, and made the striking white streak in his raven black hair stand out.

He continued walking. Should he tell her now? Or should he ignore her like what she's used to? He would change the subject, he decided.

"Mrs. Lovett?" he asked her, quietly.

"Yes, pet?" she was surprised that he hadn't ignored her. She still recalled the incident earlier, where he almost kissed her. She assumed it was one of his weird trances, and he thought she was Lucy or something. She blushed thinking about it.

"What is your first name?" he asked her.

She looked at him, a little confused. "It's Nellie." She answered.

He said her name to himself. "Nellie." He whispered. He liked it, thought it fit her well. She was a bloody wonder to him, after all.

"Why?" she asked him. Why did he want to know her name? When he first tried to kiss her, she thought it meant something, but once she thought about it, she figured it was something else.

"I just thought it was odd that I have been livin' with ye, and didn't even know your first name." he answered.

She nodded, "Suppose you're right."

They continued on their way home.

Wow, that was long!(didn't sound right xD) Hopefully the chapters will be longer from now on.

Fairfarren for now, tomorrow I think there will be more.