33

'Tell them' was hurriedly followed by 'don't tell them' in Mrs. Lovett's mind. She wearily plopped herself down into a chair as Toby and Johanna kept staring at her. The order of her thoughts made things even more difficult. A great part of the woman wanted everything off of her chest, but another part warned her the story wasn't strictly hers to tell; though the fact Johanna was in fact Sweeney's daughter did give her a right to hear about it. Though Mrs. Lovett had, not too long ago, been attempting to hide the full story from the girl.

Would Sweeney be angry if she told his daughter? Or would he be glad it wasn't him saying it?

"Mrs. Lovett." The sharpness in Toby's voice, the cold indifference in his tone, dragged Mrs. Lovett fully into the harshness of her reality.

She grasped her skirts tightly, knuckles turning white as she took a deep breath. "Johanna.. Ya remember what I told ya about Benjamin Barker?"

The girl nodded, trying to understand what Sweeney Todd had to do with her father. Toby was not so patient.

"Wot's this ta do with Mr. Todd?"

"Hush." Mrs. Lovett snapped, though in a strangely gentle tone. "Benjamin Barker.. Johanna's real father.." She added that for Toby's benefit. The less I 'ave ta repeat the better. "Is Mr. Todd."


"Awake already?"

The glum, rather unenergetic question confused Sweeney. He squinted his eyes and examined the man leaning over him, trying to understand where the bastard murderer of his wife was. The apothecary grimaced slightly and turned away from the barber.

"Generally people are out for a great deal longer."

"You drugged me."

"You took it."

"Was that your excuse with Lucy?" He spat, part of him simply hoping to rekindle the flame the man had previously carried in his words.

"If the comparison of this to what your wife did finally lets you understand she did it herself, yes." The sudden violence in the man's words made a tiny smile curl onto Sweeney's face.

Whatever made the apothecary angry was probably also what made him sad. The barber's mind didn't take too long to form a conclusion. "Where's Mrs. Lovett?"

"Went to check on the others." James waved his hand vaguely to the door, still keeping his back to the barber.

Sweeney wasn't sure what it was, but something definitely hurt when he realized the baker wasn't watching over him as he slept. He warily lifted a hand touched a bandage on his chest. Who had done that? A hand suddenly grabbed his wrist, and his eyes darted up to the apothecary's.

"Don't play with your bandages.'

"I wasn't playing." Sweeney growled, yanking his hand away. He felt the movement jar his side but ignored the pain.

"Regardless, you should be sleeping anyway."

"Why?" The barber challenged, annoyed at being ordered around.

"You'll heal faster. And all of your moving around will probably rub off some of the ointment I just got on you."

Sweeney attempted to raise his head but was pushed back down by three cool fingers on his forehead.

"If you aren't going back to sleep, at least try not to move around."

The barber narrowed his eyes, feeling his blood boil.

"Eleanor will probably kill me if she sees you moving around." James grumbled, once again turning away.

To his bitter disappointed Sweeney felt his rage slip away. "What did she say?"

"When?"

"I was asleep."

"You have no business in our affairs."

"When it involves my wife, it most certainly does!"

The man whirled around, angry once more. "Not everything Eleanor and I did revolved around that nit! And not everything she talks about has to do with you! The sooner you realize you aren't in charge of the world, the better."


The possibility of Mr. Todd having a family had been a strange thing to entertain, but being told the young blonde sitting next to him was in fact that man's daughter did not fully process with Toby's brain.

"They don' even look the same!" Was all the boy could say.

Johanna had gone stone silent.

"A lot 'as 'appened ta Mr. Todd." Mrs. Lovett continued. "'E's changed since.. really bein' 'er father."

"What.. what did he do?" The girl whispered. What had changed her father from the sweet man Mrs. Lovett had told her about, to the enigmatic murderous one she had just seen?

"Nuthin'."

"Wot do ya mean wot de 'e do?" Toby groused, he disliked being in the middle of a conversation where he didn't know everything.

"How could he have done nothing Mrs. Lovett?" Johanna asked.

"The judge was after your mother." The baker sniffed. "Shipped 'im off. 'E was gone fifteen years 'fore 'e made it back. So don' neither of you judge 'im for wot 'e is now!"

The boy fidgeted nervously. Mr. Todd being a convict was not a strange thought, but a faultless Mr. Todd being sent away brought a new perspective. Something was definitely off about the man, but Toby had never even thought of him as any other way. Having always assumed the barber had been 'bad' suddenly made him feel guilty.

"I'm not going to judge him." Johanna managed to smile at the baker. Mrs. Lovett really was in love with Mr. Todd. Her father. It was such a strange thought, and one she would have to slowly get accustomed to. "But… what happened to my mother?"

That was something Mrs. Lovett wasn't going to reveal. It had just barely come out to Mr. Todd, and she doubted the message had sunk in. Telling a girl that her father was murderer was one thing, but then going around and informing her her mother was an insane beggar on the streets seemed a low blow. And, as selfish as it sounded, Mrs. Lovett was rather hoping Johanna could view her as a mother instead.

"She's gone."

Johanna recognized the tone in the baker's voice, she had used it before when she withheld information and intended to keep it. But she had broken down and told her all the previous times she attempted to conceal something. All she needed was to wait, the truth was bound to come out eventually.

The parlor door creaked open, and the room's attention went to who opened it.

James looked coldly at the room's occupants. "Eleanor, may I speak with you a moment?"


A/N Something else was going to come up in this chapter- than I went nah, I'll leave the new plot momentum to the next chapter. :) I hope Johanna and Toby don't seem too calm about the whole 'Sweeney Todd is actually someone else' thing.. but the message hasn't quite sunk in, I believe. (should I know what my characters are thinking...?) OH! Almost forgot to mention.. PASSED 200 REVIEWS THE LAST CHAPTER! WOOO! -throws party-