Kidney Pie – Part 9
"Can I ask you a question?"
Look! Sweeney Todd sat tense beneath his shop's window, his back pressed against the peeling wall of his shop. Look. At. Her. Now! Twisting, he craned his neck toward the window but wouldn't move to see out, to see Nellie. Instead, he cast a bitter glance at Lucy's silver-framed portrait as he slouched again.
He kicked sullenly at the dust on his floor. It was insane. He was moving on. He was feeling again. He was living. And the memories he had to let go of were squeezing him tighter than ever. Bloody women.
Finally, he forced himself to turn and rise to his knees, peering over the finely blood spattered windowsill. Mrs. Lovett was gone, leaving Toby to tidy up alone. Which meant that the baker herself was inside, cooking his dinner. Shit.
He scanned the courtyard for any hint of how long she had been gone. There was nothing, only the boy hurriedly wiping down the last of the long tables. His mind raced. Maybe if she hadn't been gone long, there was time to do something, think of anything, to be ready when she came to his door.
He couldn't think of any love songs.
A footstep below his window shattered his thoughts. Bloody hell. He listened to her boots crossing slowly to the stairs and climbing.
"Show her you care…" He scrambled to his feet and made for his shaving chair. Words ran through his head, trying to piece themselves together to please his landlady. I love you…
"I love you," Benjamin Barker whispered into the crook of Lucy's neck.
The footsteps climbed higher. Something twisted in Sweeney's chest, and he felt himself sag against the back of the chair. And then Mrs. Lovett appeared behind the little window of his door, filling the frame as it swung open.
She does this every day. It's no different now. But she hesitated, her eyes – her very soft, black-rimmed, troubled eyes – found his.
Her first step into the shop came slow, but she gained a little momentum as she moved toward the table with the tools of his trade, regaining a shadow of her usual bustle. At least she was quiet. Perhaps that was a side effect of love. Nellie set down the tray, turning to her tenant as the silverware rattled in the silence. "Brought you some supper, love…" Her voice was faint, her eyes fixed again on his own. Are they always so bright? "Mr. Todd, can I ask you something?"
"Just show her you care for her…" His fingers tightened blindly around the sides of the chair. "Yes."
She took half a step toward him, her white fingers twisting themselves into the black folds of her skirt. "I saw you…" She stopped, still staring. "You… Earlier…" She fell silent again, an unsteady breath welling up in her snowy, spilling chest. "Mr. T, what's going on?"
I love you. I need you. I want you to be my own for the rest of our lives. He stared at her, silent, not quite able to move. Say it! Looking back at him, Mrs. Lovett looked different. She hovered, hesitated; her strength seemed to soften in a heartbeat. She was not just a baker, not just his accomplice. She was a woman. Say it!
"Ben, why don't you close up early?" Lucy put her arms around Benjamin's neck, and he could see her need for him written subtly in every line of her face. "It'll be just the two of us, and little Johanna…"
Say it!
"Mr. Todd…?" She stepped weakly forward, watching, pleading.
I love you. Say it!!!
"Mr. –"
"NO!" Nellie froze. The room around him froze. Sweeney burned. Shit.
XXXXXXX
No? Slowly, Mrs. Lovett felt herself sinking. "No? Mr. T, what do you mean, no?"
Something awful crossed the barber's face as he turned suddenly to his window. She watched his back, watched the tension swell beneath the worn cloth of his vest. She faltered. Of course. He didn't care. He wouldn't ever, or couldn't. "But – then, why...?"
Sweeney's fingers clamped around the old wood of the windowsill, his face leaning close to the dingy glass. In the pale, transparent reflection, she saw his lips move. She read more than heard the faint word, "Leave."
What did you expect? Nellie suddenly wished she could shrink into the shadows of the barbershop. After all these years… How could you be so stupid? But he really had – It seemed like… Her vision started to melt into teary shadows. How could he do this to me? "Mr. Todd…"
"I said out!"
"Mr. Todd, what's the matter with you?" Her skin, cool from the chill of the barbershop, burned under that tears that rolled hot over her cheeks. So stupid… "You can't just… You don't-" She felt worthless, rejected, like the finger of one moldering hand tossed into the corner of her bakehouse. "I don't know what you're playing at since-"
Since you found me with Jack. Clinging to the counter beside her, Nellie let out a strangled sob. I've ruined it. I've lost him.
"Mrs. Lovett." Sweeney's voice was a growl. He came toward her, his face was unreadable behind her tears. No…
No. He wasn't hers to lose. She couldn't have…No. It's not over. He's… He's just toying with me.
She felt his cold fingers close around her wrist, realizing only after he held her still that she had been trembling. "Mrs. Lovett -" His breath seemed to stick, whatever words he meant to throw her out with not coming. She snatched her arms away, strangling a cry.
Toying… Nellie felt her tears flow harder. "Not good enough for you, but too useful to give away, is that it?" Her voice was weak and wild, barely understandable. "Is that it?" His hands gripped her upper arms, angrily, desperately. She felt him barely shake her, as if he wasn't sure whether to pull her to him or push her away. Fighting to escape, she swept the bowl of hot soup off the counter to spatter across Sweeney's clean vest. She ran as soon as he let go.
XXXXXXX
"Mum!" Toby shouted as soon as he saw Mrs. Lovett leave the Tonsorial Parlor, his waving hands trying to snatch her attention. "Mrs. Lovett, ma'am! Help!"
"Yes! Help, ma'am!" Toby shoved back hard as the baker's "friend" Jack tried to stagger past him, laughing drunkenly as he mimicked the boy's cries. "Mum! Eleanor!" She didn't seem to hear either of them. Half turning, the boy snapped his dishrag at the Ripper before calling again. He ignored the slapping cloth, as he had since he had stumbled into the little courtyard. "E-e-eleano-o-o-r!"
Trying to wave, Jack nearly fell over before Toby took the opportunity to give him a shove. "Mrs. Lovett, mum! Hurry!" He flung himself at his enemy's feet. If nothing else, Toby was determined to keep Jack, who Toby guessed was too ghoulish to be any Jack but one, from getting to Mrs. Lovett.
"Get off me, you!" Jack kicked and thrashed about as he tried to free himself, but Toby clung to his scuffed old shoes. "I'll mail your entrails to your grandma! Off! Stop it!" One worn sole struck the boy's jaw clumsily, just hard enough to throw him off. He sat back, putting a hand to his jaw, as the Ripper managed to get to his feet unsteadily. Bastard.
"Eleanor!" Out of the corner of his eye, Toby saw a stool fly past him to strike his unsteady opponent harmlessly on the shoulder. Jack had already ducked a second projectile before Toby saw the black skirts sweep furiously past him. He smiled as he backed away. It made him strangely happy to see his adoptive mother finally fighting back against the monsters of men she seemed to attract. Rushing around him, Nellie charged the Ripper as he tried to regain his balance after his dodge and, taking him by the collar, slapped him hard across the face. Toby stood, grinning.
Until he saw the tears streaming down her cheeks and dripping onto her white chest. What?
The jingle of little bells sounded out from the direction of the shops. Mrs. Lovett's face snapped toward their faint music, her hand raised still for another blow. Toby turned, too, bewildered. Mr. Todd looked uncertainly from the half-open door of his shop. For a moment it seemed as if he would come down to drive their unwelcome guest away. He turned back to the baker, feeling that for once he would be glad for their neighbor nearby. But her face, still fixed on the barber, was set with a strange new resolve.
Suddenly breaking the long stare, Mrs. Lovett's hovering hand flew to join the other at Jack's collar. With one last venomous glance at Sweeney Todd, at the man she loved, she dragged the stunned Ripper's face to hers and planted her lips on his.
XXXXXXX
I think this is the nearest I've come so far to writing straight-up Sweenett. And then I killed it. Bwahaha! Everybody's taking a beating! Anyway, the next chapter will bring a return to our scheduled program of killing people and lauging about it. In the meantime, thanks for reading, and reviews make me very happy. :]