When Sweeney woke in the grey light of the rainy morning, he was aware of soft hair tickling his nose. He opened his eyes with a start and was surprised to see the sleeping form of the baker until he remembered just what exactly they had got up to the night before. They had been intimate more than once during the night and it had been the wildest, most passionate sex he had ever had. He felt like he was a teenager again.

Sniffing, he stared down at Eleanore for a little while to catch his thoughts. Her legs had moved to the side of the bed, but her head was on his abdomen - her crimson ringlets were spread out and her one arm thrown around him in an embrace. Sweeney studied her face for quite some time, knowing that he needed to get up soon and dress and open his shop in hopes that finally, today of all days the Judge would come in and he would have his revenge. But right now he didn't think about revenge, right now he took a solid minute to just look at Eleanore Lovett and he realised he'd chosen a very beautiful woman to lay with.

That first night he'd slept with her felt far away now, but despite its pleasure, he had felt it was a mistake and she was more of a conquest and a toy than one would say a lover. Now it felt all wrong. Confusing. She was like something else entirely now, and it frightened him a little.

Sweeney gulped and wondered if it would be the worst thing in the world to have a little companionship after so long without Lucy. Immediately when he thought of his late wife a sense of guilt and sadness washed over him but he pushed it away hard and it was gone as soon as it came. Lucy was Benjamin's. What's dead was dead. Lucy had died with Benjamin fifteen long years ago. But Eleanore wasn't Sweeneys, yet she felt like his. Despite how much he could deny it, he enjoyed having some claim over her and the very idea of claiming her completely was something that wasn't nearly as unappealing as it used to be. She would neither be a girlfriend or a lover, she could merely be his to have.

"Eleanore," he whispered, and when that wasn't enough to wake her, he stroked a few stray curls off her face and murmured a little louder, "Nellie."

She blinked her eyes open with a start and for a second she thought she was dreaming. The body and arms around her were not that of Toby's, but that of Sweeney's and he was holding her - actually holding her and she couldn't believe that this was real, yet. When she did, her chocolate eyes filled with emotion, sheer joy, and there was a sharp tug in Sweeney's chest that made him extremely uncomfortable.

Panicking at the sensation he cleared his throat and snapped "Get off me. We have to open our shops, we're late."

"Oh. I'm sorry, Sweeney." That beautiful glimmer of happiness faded and at once from her eyes and she scrambled up and back away from him. She held the sheet to her chest and tucked a curl behind her ear as she sat back against the pillows, a little deflated.

Sweeney found himself regretting the way he'd spoken to her. He licked his bottom lip and spoke gently this time "Did you... sleep well?"

A small smile curved at the corner of her lips and she nodded "I did love, 'ope you did too."

"I did." He responded, standing up in his nude form and reaching for his trousers on the floor. Eleanore tried not to stare but she simply couldn't help it. He was such a handsome man and she loved him more than anything. Far more than she could ever love herself.

Sweeney buckled his trousers and glanced over to Eleanore still upon the bed. Her hair was a little messy but she still looked exquisite despite just waking up. The thin duvet of her bed did little to hide her body and he felt the familiar sense of want course through him. He craved her again. Even though they had been at it like rabbits the other night he still craved her body. Her eyes were upon him, the same look she had given him that first night in front of the fire when she'd told him she loved him. Again he felt that uncomfortable tightness in his stomach and he looked away, afraid to go where those eyes of hers would take him.

"You 'ad any luck with the Judge yet?" She asked after a while, diffusing the tension as she too reached for her clothes.

"No." He snapped, buttoning his shirt and struggling a little with his injured hand. "But Anthony came into my shop the other day, said he saw Joanna from a window, claims he's madly in love with her and wants to take her away..."

Eleanore gasped "Well that's fantastic news love! You'll 'ave ye daughter back before the week is out!"

"What about him though? The boy?" He muttered, turning to the buttons on his cuffs.

"Well wot about him?" Eleanore dropped the sheet and stood as she pulled her dress over her head. This time it was Sweeney who stared, his eyes transfixed on her body despite himself. "I think it's all very romantic, a knight in shinin' armour comin' take ye away from the beast's castle? Like somethin' of a fairytale..."

"It's just another man taking her away to another tower." He grumbled, "Away from me."

Eleanore paused whilst tending to the strings of her dress. She sensed growing unrest from the barber and her heart broke for him at the tarnished relationship he could have shared with his daughter. When the judge died, she could rest easy knowing that the love of her life had been avenged. And she had a feeling that Sweeney would rest easy too and the last ties of Lucy would be severed from his past. She just hoped that he wouldn't sever all ties with Benjamin and that just a little piece of him would remain, no matter how small.

"Well...since ye are quite 'andy for a lil," she made a slicing motion across her neck with her thumb "If worst comes ta worst, there's always plenty of throats ta slit my dear."

Sweeney snorted but didn't respond, aware that she wasn't being serious. Eleanore shuffled forward and stood so she was close to him "By the way love, the Judge ain't the only person ya should worry about in gettin' yer revenge."

Sweeney turned to frown at her "What do you mean?"

"Amelia's Sykes husband - his names Charles, and 'e was a lawyer on ye case fifteen years ago. He recognised me on the stand, I dunno if he'd recognise you since you've changed quite a bit but it's probably best ya didn't cross paths in case he goes to the law. Ye can't trust anyone out there." She added, shuddering at the thought of the many corrupt policemen in London.

Sweeney started at her impassively, his face giving nothing away. Then he laughed, giving her quite a fright. "Mrs Lovett, I fear no man. Not even the devil himself. If he gets in the way of me revenge, I'll just give him a shave."

"Mista T ye can't!" She protested, not missing the way he formally addressed her "That's my friend's husband and while I wanna see 'im get the chop just as much as you do, I believe in wot goes around comes around. Plus I'd never forgive ya if ye did something like that ta me, friend. She'd be devastated and her kids would lose a father."

"You said yourself he was a bad man." Sweeney shot at her. Wasn't this the same man that had insulted her and upset her when she got home from their family dinner? Why on earth would she stand there and defend him after all he'd done?

"Not bad enough ta be killed!" She argued "Unlike wot ye may think, not all men deserve ta die. Sometimes ya gotta remember that killin' one soul can kill another dozen, it's not just the victim that dies."

Sweeney glared at her. There were times and there were moments like these where he simply did not understand her. The two of them were wired differently in every sense. They were a tricky balance of the scales of good and evil. Sometimes they clashed, other times they were a good balance. This time he would compromise and grant her wish in sparing her friends husband, no matter how much he wanted to cut his throat.

"Fine," He grumbled "I won't touch the bastard. But if he does recognise me, I will have to kill him. You understand?"

His tone left little room for disagreement and so she nodded, knowing that it was the right thing to do if Sweeney's identity was discovered. She nodded "I understand, love."

"Good." He snapped, his mood souring at once by how placating he was being. They were not some married couple and he was not a man who compromised for anyone. Not even this woman. He needed to get his head together and separate himself from her for a while, she was consuming him day and night these days and she had seen far too much of him in a vulnerable state. He had to be rid of her before he became too dependent on her. "I'm going upstairs to open up."

"Okay, do ye want some breakfast first love?"

"I'm not hungry." He uttered, then he turned, grabbed his waistcoat and strutted out the bedroom. Eleanore followed and was disappointed to see him hike up the steps to his shop without another word. She didn't have the highest expectations when she woke up, but seeing him hold her, stroke her hair and say her pet name that he'd called her ever since they were children made her wonder...

Maybe they were something more than bed partners? But that fantasy had been kicked aside when he made his swift exit from the room. His mood swings were exhausting, and she struggled to keep up. But she appreciated that he was relatively calm and didn't outright reject her this morning, even if he did want to be left alone for a while. She would respect his space.

Sighing she made her way back into her parlour and sat down in her armchair, careful to not wake a sleeping Toby on the couch. She supposed she would just have to make the most of her day and leave him to his own devices until he decided to come out and talk to her.

oOo

The day went relatively smoothly. People came and left, as usual, some tipped her, some not. She had quite a few chats with the regulars and was a little disappointed to see that George had not appeared as he often did in the mornings before going to work or while he was out on patrol. She had intended to confront him about the other day when he kissed her and make it clear how she truly felt about him.

She would do so kindly, of course, rejection hurt and she bloody well knew it. But it was crueller to play with his heart when the man was smitten with her. But alas, the dashing young man did not pop into her shop and so she was glad for the time it gave her to work on her explanation properly. She hoped he would understand and not be too hurt, he was a good man after all.

The highlight of her day came midday when a customer walked through her shop door in a black suit and velvet hat, grinning happily at her. "Good afternoon, Eleanore."

"Arthur!" She cried with a smile "Wot are ye doin' here I thought ya were still restin' at home?!"

"Well, the doctor gave me the all-clear so I'm heading back to work and doing what I love most - trying to fix this bloody country!" He laughed and embraced her, returning her kiss on the cheek "How are you, my dear?"

"Oh jus' fine. Carryin' on as usual." She brushed her hands on her dress and hoped she hadn't got flour stains all over his lovely suit. "I see a lot of yer children in me shop and I'm always askin' about how yer doing. But it's great ta see ya back on yer feet and going back to work!"

"Thank you, that means a great deal to me. I'm very excited to be back out and I think you'll be putting up with my visits for quite some time now, Maud and I have quite the sweet tooth. She asked for you too and she told me to bring back the best chocolate cake you had in your shop for tonight's dessert."

"Well, I can most certainly do that." She smiled and showed him to the glass counter where all her freshly baked cakes and pies lay organised in scrumptious rows. "Hm let's see, I could give the two of ya some of me chocolate fudge? Or there's me brownies, I've been told many times that they're the best of the bunch."

"Two brownies it is."

She grinned, reaching in with her cloth to take the two squares of cake and place them in a paper bag. "That'll be five pounds please."

Arthur shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out ten which he pushed over to her. She automatically bent down to rummage for some change when he stopped her by raising his hand "No, no keep the change."

"Oh no Arthur," she protested "That's really not necessary-"

"It's perfectly necessary." He said gently "Please take it, I would be insulted if you didn't."

Sheepishly she nodded and thanked him.

"Oh I almost forgot." He announced, reaching into his other pocket and pulling out an envelope. "I popped in to see Richard at the bank earlier and he planned on sending someone to give you this, but since I told him I planned to see you on the way home he asked me if I would deliver it."

Eleanore took the note with her name on it, wondering if this perhaps had something to do with the gang that had assaulted his father. She tensed a little but relaxed after a moment, hoping Arthur didn't see it. She forced a smile and placed it to the side to read for later. "Oh thanks Arthur."

"I'd best be off now,I have a lot of meetings and paperwork to get through. We'll catch up properly sometime soon though, yes?" He asked hopefully "Sometime when you aren't too busy in your shop."

"Absolutely. I'd love that."

Arthur smiled and tipped his hat with a gloved hand as he backed toward the door "See you later, Eleanore. Enjoy the rest of your evening!"

"You too Arthur, enjoy those brownies!" She waved him off "And give my best ta Maud!"

"I will, goodbye!"

"Bye," she called as the door shut. Turning to the envelope on the side she ripped it open and reached for the piece of paper inside. Glancing around her she made sure that nobody seemed to be coming inside the shop to interrupt her, Toby was doing a good job attending to the relatively small amount of customers eating lunch outside so it seemed like she wouldn't be disturbed. She opened the letter and began to read the neatly scrawled ink:

Dear Eleanore,

I trust you are in good health and your customers are treating you well. I would have asked you in person but I have unfortunately been very busy at work lately so I have opted to write to you and ask you a favour. It is Beth's eleventh birthday this coming Saturday and when I asked her where she would like to go for her birthday meal she said straight away that she wanted to have dinner in your shop with the family. Naturally, it's hard for a father to say no to his daughter but I am aware of how busy your establishment has been lately and only yourself and Toby manage it. However, if it is not too much of an inconvenience or hassle, I would greatly appreciate it if you could somehow manage to host us Saturday night? Feel free to say no if this is too much to ask, you have already done a great deal for my family and I can always find an alternative place to eat should this not work for you.

Sincerely,

Richard Sykes

Eleanore felt herself breathe a sigh in relief a little. She had thought the letter may have carried some bad news, but no it was merely Richard being a very attentive father as usual. Of course, she wasn't going to say no to him! The very thought of Beth wanting to have her birthday dinner in her shop was enough to make her melt, she was so precious.

Trouble was she would need an extra pair of hands whilst attending to everyone, her and Toby would struggle to serve the whole family all at once. Sweeney probably wouldn't be a good help, and she wanted to keep him away from Charles. Ha, bet he'll be thrilled ta eat in such a lower-class place like me shop! I'm definitely gonna spit in his pie...

With enough time on her hands to spare she quickly grabbed her quill and ink to scribble a letter in reply. While the customers were happily eating away she called Toby over. "Toby, do ya mind runnin' on a couple o' errands for me?"

He shook his head "Course not mum."

"Go to the bank on Floyd street an' deliver this letter for me. It's for Richard." She passed him the envelope. "Also, do ye reckon ye could get some of your friends from the workhouse or the orphanage an ask em if they wanna do a quick evening shift for a lil money this weekend? We've got the Sykes family coming in to celebrate Beth's birthday, an' I'll need quite a bit of help."

Toby's eyes seemed to glitter a little and she was surprised to see that he seemed pretty happy. She didn't think that he and Beth got along particularly well. Perhaps the pair of them had become friends.

"Sure mum, I'll go do it now for ya, my friends will love that." He smiled, taking the letter and leaving the shop with a spring in his step.

"Thanks love!" She called, watching him go lovingly. She made her way back out to her customers to take away their plates and snuck a glance up to Sweeney's barbershop. Stood by the window, looming over the shop like a dark shadow was Sweeney. When their eyes met, he turned away and walked from the window.

Eleanore bit her lip and felt anger course through her body, she very nearly broke the plates she was holding - her grip was that tight. So the bastard wanted to play games with her? Fine, she could bloody well play too. If he didn't come down once today to see her she was done, he had no right to play with her body then wake up and give her the cold shoulder like it meant nothing. She was no tool for him to use and she certainly wasn't his whore, there was a brothel down the street where he could get plenty of those.

Dropping the dishes rather violently in the sink she was aware of the tears stinging her eyes, but she bit her tongue to keep them at bay. She'd wasted far too many tears on the soul of Benjamin Barker, she would waste no more for Sweeney Todd.

oOo

The rest of the day, Eleanore was very quiet compared to her bubbly and overly chatty attitude. She knew her regulars would certainly be able to pick up on it but quite frankly she didn't care, she simply didn't have the energy. A few times when she'd rushed inside the shop to get more things she thought she heard Sweeney's footsteps approaching the apartment door as if he was about to come out and down the stairs to see her. But then the footsteps would stop and simply turn back to pacing back and forth and her hope would fall.

By the evening Toby had returned from his errands and assured Eleanore that one of his close friends from the orphanage Fredrick and his sister Annabelle were more than happy to help in the shop and were very thankful to be employed for a night. After running about for the entirety of the evening, she could tell Toby was tired and so she sent him to bed early with a cake while she tended to the little customers that were now in her shop before she too would retire for bed.

Glancing to the clock she read 9.45 pm and her stomach clenched, still no sign of Sweeney...

Through the frosted glass of her shop door, she could see a new customer had entered and sat at one of the outside tables, wanting to be served. Internally groaning, Eleanore grabbed her jug of ale and a glass as she dutifully made her way over with a forced smile. When she finally reached the customer she froze when she realised just who it was;

"Judge Turpin?"

A/N: I know I know! It took me a lot longer than usual to update but I've just been absolutely swamped at work lol, bad me. Glad I finally got it done and sorry to leave it on another cliffhanger but the chapter was far too long so I needed to split it and you know I can't resist annoying you guys with cliffhangers haha! let me know your thoughts x