Chapter 4
Hey everybody! I'm sooo sorry for that ridiculous wait, school's just begun so it's been a little crazy. My apologies! Many thanks for all the reviews. I have to admit, every time I get one of those it makes my day! Haha. Anyways, here's chapter 4 for you, loves!
Mrs. Lovett awoke to the feeling of Mr. T breathing beneath her cheek. She opened her eyes, staring into his chest. Did last night really happen? She shook herself slightly, realizing with awe that it was not just another one of her dreams, but it was real this time. Mr. T had actually stayed the night with her. She could not resist letting a wide smile creep on to her face. She reached her arm over to lightly touch his face. The hard angles were so cold looking even in sleep. He snapped his eyes open suddenly, making her gasp in a slight fear. "Mrs. Lovett…" he said, looking around in what seemed like angered confusion. What the hell came over me last night?
"Morning, love," she answered, giving him a small smile. "Last night was wonderful, don't ya think?" Sweeney looked at her stunned for a moment before shaking his head in disbelief, abruptly sitting up, ripping the thin bedsheets off of him. Looking down, he realized he was not dressed, and harshly grabbed his trousers and shirt from the floor, thrusting them on, growing more infuriated by the second. "Mr. T…please," pleaded Mrs. Lovett, frantically reaching for her nightgown which lay in a heap at the foot of the bed. She looked up at him, laying a hand on his arm.
"NO!" he bellowed, slapping her hand off of him. "I don't know what came over me but it was most definitely a mistake that I will not be repeating," he said as he buttoned up his shirt. Mrs. Lovett pulled her nightgown over her as she got off the bed.
"I'm sorry, dear, really," she said, rushing behind him, trying to pull him back by his shirt fabric as he stalked across the room to turn around in front of the door and shove her off of him. Mrs. Lovett stared up at him, his dark eyes were flashing in anger. He was frightening like this. Times like these were when she remembered what kind of a person Sweeney Todd was.
"We won't speak of this, again, Mrs. Lovett," Sweeney fumed, his voice shaking in anger as looked down at her once more before striding out of the room, through the kitchen, and back upstairs nonetheless.
"Love, please!" Mrs. Lovett pleadingly shouted from the door, leaning against it as tears sprang to her eyes. She heard the sound of movement from the kitchen, and looked over to see a frightened looking Toby staring back at her.
"Mum?" he said, his voice quivering. "Is everything alright?"
"Course it is, love. N-nothing to worry about, really," she quietly stammered, hastily wiping tears off her cheeks as she turned her face from his.
"He stayed the night in your room, didn't he?" Toby demanded. "I saw him leave!" he nearly shouted, anger he didn't know he had creeping into his tone. Mrs. Lovett looked at him in alarm.
"Now listen, dear…that's not for you to-"
"He's made you cry, mum," Toby interrupted, walking over to where she stood in the doorframe. Mrs. Lovett smiled down at him. His eyes were so wide with compassion. She moved her arm around his shoulders, shutting her eyes and letting out a sigh
"S'nothing to worry about, love. S'only me…" she trailed off, her voice catching from the lump still in her throat.
"I can't just watch him hurt you, mum, I can't!" Toby exclaimed, burying his face against her. "You're in love with him but he does this you! I hate him!" he cried, his voice breaking with tears.
"Hush, love. It's not as bad as that, really. He…he doesn't mean it," she said, stroking his hair once more before taking him by the shoulders to look him squarely in the eye. "Now look, dear, why don't I make us some breakfast and we'll forget all about this, alright?" she said. Toby reluctantly nodded, looking down as he went to go sit at the table.
"Shall I go fetch Mr. Todd? Once breakfast is ready, I mean," Toby asked. Mrs. Lovett stopped from where she was behind the counter.
"S'alright, dear. I don't think Mr. T will be coming down today…" she trailed off, biting her lip as she went back to the pot of tea she was heating up. Toby's eyes followed her around the dimly lit kitchen. He stayed with her last night. In her room! The thought to him was near unbelievable, but he had seen him walk out her door this morning. In a rage, it had seemed. Toby had known all those sort of things, even from a young age. He had seen more than his fair share of strange relationships back at the workhouse. He had also always known that Mrs. Lovett fancied Mr. T, but he had always failed to understand what she saw in him. She deserves better. He had seen enough rotten people in his past to know a good heart when he saw one, and Mrs. Lovett was one of those. She was the closest thing he had ever had to a mother, and he loved her with all his heart. He could not deny himself, though, the tiny twinge of jealousy he felt whenever he saw the looks she gave him, or the glazed appearance her eyes took on whenever she heard his voice. Why him? Why Mr. Todd? There was so much that frightened him about the gloomy barber upstairs, so many things he was yet to understand.
Mrs. Lovett looked up from the toast she was frying, and over to the young boy that sat at the table. Poor lad. He had seemed genuinely troubled by the way Sweeney had shouted at her this morning. She felt the tears spring to her eyes again at the thought of Mr. T. What had I done wrong? She hated the way he had looked at her. Those dark eyes flashing with the menacing look that frightened her so much. She knew what kind of anger that man held beneath his solemn face, and it worried her at times. Through all of this though, she knew she was in love with him. It had been a long time since she had felt like this, and was not about to let it go anytime soon. She was startled from her thoughts by the whistling of the teapot, and she rushed back over to take it off the stove. "Ya want some tea, dear?" she asked, pouring a cup for herself, and at Toby's nod, a cup for him. She made him a plate of food and set it in front of him, which he began to eat in silence, only stopping to give her a look that said too much. She sighed heavily, resting her hand on his leg. "Don't be upset, Toby. It's not his fault," she said, looking him in the eye. He narrowed his eyes, then softened them again.
"I-I know it's just that…I can't just watch 'im makin' ya cry like that! You've done so much for me, mum, and I can't watch that!" he said, lowering his eyes down to his plate.
"Oh, love," Mrs. Lovett sighed, wrapping her arms around the boy. "S'alright, I can take care of meself fine. Not to worry," she said. "Now, finish up and we'll get the shop in order, eh?" she said. Toby nodded, quickly finishing and scurrying off to start cleaning up the shop for the day. Mrs. Lovett walked back over to the sink to finish the dishes. She could hear Mr. Todd's steady pacing above her. Probably broodin' away over the bloody judge, she thought. God, she hated that judge. He was the reason Sweeney was the way he was. He'd most likely be starting up his own shop of for the day. She could almost hear him sharpening his razors. Those "friends" of his that spilled so many men's blood. She almost snorted at that. They all do deserve to die. She thought she should probably go up and talk to him, apologize for what happened this morning. You're bein' stupid, Nellie, just go up and apologize to the bastard! Almost in spite of herself, she began to walk towards the door the led to the staircase. As she ascended the stairs, she felt the twinge of fear again as her thoughts races back to the murderous glint his eyes had taken on before. Pushing those thoughts out, she continued up the stairs, straightening up as she neared the door. She could hear his footsteps through the wood, pacing back and forth as they were before. She bit her lip and turned the doorknob, bracing herself as she creaked it open to reveal the room, and face the man inside.
…Alright, so I know it seems to be going a little slowly around these parts (I'm not too fond of this chapter myself), but I've seriously got some big plans for this…just need to develop and clear some things up about the plot up before we get to the real luscious stuff. ;)
I'm hoping to get another chapter up tomorrow if possible.
Anyways…question here. I'm a huge fan of Helena Bonham Carter (part of the reason behind my Sweeney obsession)…and was just wondering…..Has anyone seen the movie "The Heart of Me" that she is in? I just watched it on YouTube and absolutely loved it. Probably one of my favorite Helena movies. It's such a beautiful and sad movie. If you're a Helena fan and haven't seen it….go to youtube and watch it now! lol. It's amazing. )