Chapter 9: The Tailor's Place

...

Jeffery bustled about his little home, whistling a happy tune. He picked pieces of clothing up off of various pieces of furniture and put them in a make-shift hamper-like device by the door to his room. He went through the sofa and removed the various pin-cushions from the inner lining, throwing them at Grayson when the old bloodhound tried to sit on the sofa. He put a pot of water on to boil and finally flopped down on the now clean sofa. Grayson jumped in his lap and lay down, panting.

"So, when do you think they'll be here?" The man asked his dog. He heard footsteps outside and smiled. "That would be them, then, I bet."

"'Ello, dearie!" Mrs. Lovett opened the door, dressed in her usual attire as Bethany and Toby came behind her.

"Good afternoon!" Jeffery shoved his dog off his lap and greeted Mrs. Lovett warmly. Bethany rushed in and hugged her father around the neck. He put her back on the floor and she was immediately tackled by Grayson, the dog's tail wagging like no tomorrow. Bethany laughed her face getting covered in licks.

"Wot a sweet dog you've got there," Mrs. Lovett remarked with a chuckle.

"Can I pet 'im?!" Toby inquired excitedly to Mrs. Lovett.

"Why don'tcha ask our 'ost," Mrs. Lovett winked at Jeffery. "'An say please."

"Mr. Balker? May I please pet Grayson?" Toby asked politely.

"Go ahead." Jeffery chuckled, helping Bethany to her feet. Grayson gave Toby a huge lick on the face, making Jeffery and Bethany laugh. "Apparently, he says you can too." Jeffery quickly turned and walked over to the teapot as it started to whistle.

"So, how was the beach?" He asked, scowling good-naturedly at Grayson when he jumped on the couch and rolled over.

"Well..." Mrs. Lovett bit her lip. "We di'nt go today. But...we will tomorrow."

"Oh, that's sad." Jeffery offered Mrs. Lovett a seat and a cup of tea. Bethany pulled Toby down onto the sofa next to her and Grayson. Jeffery gave the girl a cup of tea and offered a cup to Toby as well.

"I'd like that, thank ya, sir." Toby grinned at the man happily, taking the cup.



"Mr. Balker?" Mrs. Lovett looked at him pointedly after taking a sip. "Are ya doin' alright? I mean...from this mornin'."

Jeffery pulled up another chair and sat in it, his hands holding his cup of tea so tightly his knuckles were turning white. "I'm fine." He said, though he was lying through his teeth. "Just fine." His eyes flicked over to Bethany, who was looking worried, and then back to Mrs. Lovett, like he was telling her to not talk about it in front of his daughter.

"Sorry, love," Mrs. Lovett took a sip of the scalding tea, sheepishly putting her hand to her neck, wiping off a bit of the powder she used to cover the hickeys.

"'E's a downright sweet dog," Toby commented, rubbing Grayson's head as the dog's wet nose nuzzled his hand.

"Grayson likes you, Toby," Jeffery commented with a smile before turning back to Mrs. Lovett. "So, why didn't you go to the beach?"

"Um..." Mrs. Lovett flushed. "L-L-Long...st-story."

"We've got a while, really." Jeffery sat back in his chair, waiting.

"Mr. Todd went crazy." Bethany spoke up after a long moment of silence. "He threw Toby against the wall."

Mrs. Lovett's face was scorching hot as she buried her face in her hands.

"It 'urt like the dickens too," Toby added. "An' 'e almost killed mum."

"He took her away to another room and she came back with spots on her neck. He's a menace, he is." Bethany said forward, upsetting the dog and earning a giant lick to the face.

"An' she's got a cut on 'er neck," Toby pointed out a cut on her neck that she'd attempted to conceal with powder.

"Mrs. Lovett, can we talk alone? I think this is a matter for adult discussion." Jeffery stood, motioning to his bedroom with his free hand.

"B-Bedroom?" Mrs. Lovett was cherry red now.

"Part bedroom, part office, part workspace, part everything else, really." Jeffery reassured her, smiling. "It's the only offset room with a door so we can talk about this without interference. I'd send the children in there but Grayson would follow and I'm trying to make him understand that he can't go in there without me. It isn't working too well."

Mrs. Lovett saw she didn't have much of a choice with the matter and she followed him into the room, feeling as helpless and embarrassed as hell.

Jeffery closed the door quietly and went over to open the window, letting the breezy afternoon air ruffle the curtains. He turned around to face Mrs. Lovett, curious. "So... what happened between you?" He asked, clearing several pairs of pants off the bed.

"B-Between who?" Mrs. Lovett stammered.

"Mrs. Lovett." Jeffery leaned back against the window sill, face a mask of stoic curiosity. "Don't avoid this like last time. Please. Just tell me."

"He-He..." a smile crept across her face. "He loves me."

"He said that?" Jeffery bounced forward on his hands, startled. "Are you sure he was in his right mind when he said this?"

"No," Mrs. Lovett sighed. "I'm not sure really. You see..." Mrs. Lovett was blushing again. "At first 'e wos threatenin' me an' accusin' me o' seducin' you o' somethin' an' the 'e wos kinda..." she coughed in her hand. "...lookin' like 'e wos 'bout to rape me in front o' the children, then 'e brought me in the room an'...'e said 'e loved me an' then we...we...did it." Mrs. Lovett couldn't believe how blunt and honest she was being, but she felt like she trusted the man now with her secrets.

Jeffery flushed a deep red. "You... You really did it?" Jeffery gulped. "I think I want to add that bit of information to the things I did not want to know."

"Wot do ya think? Wos 'e jos tryin' to make it look like 'e wosn't rapin' me by sayin' 'e loved me or did 'e really mean it?" Mrs. Lovett asked his opinion with her wide, brown eyes.

"I... I really don't know." Jeffery felt his shoulders tense at the concept of trying to understand Sweeney Todd. "He's a hard man to figure out. For all I know you really broke the man and got him to express himself, but then there's the whole thing with that look you women get when we say something disappointing..." Jeffery paused, thinking. "It's hard to face that down with more hate... like a puppy with an illness. You can't kick it when it's down."

"I ain't no pup," Mrs. Lovett huffed at his comment. "I'm not too good at the pitying effect."

"It's a metaphor." Jeffery shrugged, smiling. "My wife came up with that metaphor

"Ah, I see," Mrs. Lovett patted him on the back. "Ya miss 'er, don'tcha, love?"

Jeffery smiled sadly. "Not as much as I used to. You remind me of her, you know? The way you try and shower Mr. Todd with love and all." Jeffery let out a sad little laugh, staring off into space as he thought. "You know, when I married my wife, I didn't love her. She was head over heels for me... she had been since we first met. It was an arranged marriage. We were good friends but I didn't like her that way. But...after Martin was born...I had no doubts. I was head over heels for her too. I just wished we could do it all over again...The wedding and all. It wasn't 

as happy as I always dreamed a wedding should be and I just wished we had waited until I fell in love with her to get married..." He stopped, looking at a picture frame on the dresser table. A smiling, dark haired woman who was almost a clone of Bethany smiled back from behind the glass.

"She's beautiful," Mrs. Lovett remarked in a breathy voice. "I'm so sorry 'bout everythin', love. That's 'appened to lots o' people I know. Why, Mrs. Mooney 'ated 'er 'usband until a year before 'e died. That's why she's gone senile." She managed a weak grin.

"It's alright. I'm tryin' to say... I have hope for you two." Jeffery said, smiling. "You two would be good together."

"I think so too," Mrs. Lovett sighed. "If only 'e could see." Mrs. Lovett touched one of the purple marks on her neck. "An' it'd be better if we both were married. Folks are gonna talk now."

"If they start talking I'll let you know. I get all kinds of talk around here." Jeffery chuckled to himself. "This place is the hub of talk."

"Thank ya, love," Mrs. Lovett said sarcastically. "'E doesn't seem very keen on the idea o' marriage. Will I 'ave to propose to 'im?"

"You can propose like a lady. Hint at it vigorously until it gets through his thick skull." Jeffery tapped his temple, laughing. His face hid a wince when his finger struck a still slightly purple bruise.

"You poor thing," Mrs. Lovett clucked, touching his shoulder. "Ya din't deserve that from 'im. 'E wos jos bein'...Mr. T, I guess."

"No, no. I'm alright. Just some bruising." Jeffery smiled, hiding his pain. "I'm just fine."

"I can relate, love," Mrs. Lovett showed the large slice across her neck. "I guess 'e's jos a lil'...rough."

Jeffery suddenly looked concerned. "When'd he do that to you?"

"Oh, it wos' when 'e wos blamin' me for "tantalizin'" you o' somethin'. 'E 'ad a knife to me throat and cut a li'le bit."

"You need to be careful with cuts like that." Jeffery pressed a finger to the torn skin, wincing when it started to bleed a little bit. "Any deeper and you might've died."

"Twas prob'ly 'is goal," Mrs. Lovett frowned a bit. "But...though I wos so scared an' in pain...I 'ad this amazin' feelin' of excitement. Maybe...Maybe that's wot I love about 'em. 'E's a dangerous man."

"It's a deadly game, loving a dangerous man." Jeffery led Mrs. Lovett to sit down on the bed. "If you don't start being careful you're going to get seriously hurt."

"But...'ow'm I 'sposed to be careful?" Mrs. Lovett crinkled her nose with confusion.

"Take control of things once in a while. Don't let your guard down and expect everything he could do to you. Just don't let him completely overpower you." Jeffery sat down beside Mrs. Lovett and put his arm around her shoulders in a fatherly manner.

"Ooh, 'e'd get real mad if I tried to take control." Mrs. Lovett shuddered a bit. "I try to tell 'im to do things sometimes an' 'e gets irr'tated real fast. An' when 'e tells me to do things, I 'ardly ever refuse. I tried to once in awhile...refusin', I mean...an' 'e always persists o' else I feel so bad that I us'lly end up doin' it for 'im."

"I meant take control as in don't let him order you around when your life is concerned." Jeffery flushed a bit, embarrassed. "And... there are other times when he might want you to take control."

Mrs. Lovett's eyes lit up for a moment and then they soon dulled. A disappointed look flashed across her pale visage.

"'E's so much stronger than me physically," she wrung her hands, frowning. "An' bigger...wit' weapons. How'm I supposed to...ya know...?"

"He might be strong but he's a man." Jeffery stood up and crossed to the picture of his wife. "We can be easily tricked, especially if we have centered minds. Like, if you said my wife was waiting outside for me I'd go running out there even though I know she's dead."

"Like..." a smirk crossed across her lips. "Ah..." she nodded with satisfaction. "Do ya think 'e'd get mad afterwards, though? For trickin' 'em an' whatnot?"

"Depends on how happy you make him." Jeffery was beginning to turn a bright red. He was almost enjoying helping Mrs. Lovett plot.

"'E comes across to me as kinda territorial an' controllin', so it might degrade 'im." Mrs. Lovett grimaced slightly.

"Or it could show him what you're capable of." Jeffery shrugged."I know my wife could do a lot of things I never dreamed."

"Mr. Balker?" Mrs. Lovett bit her lip. "Do you...by any chance...'ave some 'andcuffs?"

Jeffery spun around, startled. "H-Handcuffs?" He managed a weak laugh. "N-No. Wait... I have some pants I had to hem that belonged to someone of the law. He passed on before I got them back... I think he left the handcuffs with them." Jeffery started tossing through piles of cloths. 

"Got them!" He pulled out a pair of handcuffs and a key. He handed them to Mrs. Lovett with a smile.

"I've got a pair at 'ome too," Mrs. Lovett giggled a bit. "Mr. T 'ad a bobby as a cus-..." Mrs. Lovett blushed. "I jos 'ave some at 'ome."

"So." Jeffery felt rather awkward plotting about Mr. Todd. "Just make sure you're not going to get killed, alight? Now, I think we need to go talk with the children lest they start thinking things about us." Jeffery set the handcuffs down on the bed and crossed to the door.

"Alright then," Mrs. Lovett and Jeffery walked out of the bedroom to see Bethany and Toby chattering, petting Grayson still.

Bethany tried to get up but Grayson put his head in her lap, stopping her. "Hi Mrs. Lovett! Hi Daddy!"

"Mum, you're lookin' lots better," Toby remarked. "Did Mr. Balker 'elp you?"

"Yes, darlin'," Mrs. Lovett went over to him, patting the dog on the head. "'E sure did."

Bethany gave Mrs. Lovett a hug. "Glad you're feelin' better." She said. Jeffery hung back, watching them with sad eyes.

Toby, sensing something wrong, stood up and walked over to Jeffery.

"Mr. Balker?" Toby looked up at the man. "Are ya alright, sir?"

Jeffery gave Toby a pat on the head. "I'm just suffering from severe nostalgia." He said, forcing a laugh.

"Wont me to 'elp ya make dinner?" Toby asked him. "I like workin' in the kitchen...or anythin' 'avin to do wit' a kitchen."

Jeffery looked down at the boy and nodded. "It's not much of a kitchen but it'll have to do." Jeffery gestured to the two mini counters and oven behind him.

"Alright," Toby beamed. "Wots fer dinner?"

"Whatever we can manage from what have." Jeffery said with a sad smile. "Not exactly well off so I don't have much, but I bet a smart lad like you can figure out something." He ruffled Toby's hair lovingly.

"Wot bout some chicken soup?" Toby suggested as he saw a jar of chicken broth in the counter.

"Sure." Jeffery opened the jar of broth. "Though I've never made chicken soup before."

"Then chicken soup it is!" Toby exclaimed happily. However he didn't notice Mrs. Lovett muttering quietly to herself,

"Tonight control will be mine."