Hey guys! are you still there reading this? I hope so.
can I just say sorry again for being such a lazy arse and not updating quickly? I hope i'm forgiven.
anyways, thank you for the reviews :)))
enjoy this chapter!
The ray of the sun passes through the small window of Mrs. Lovett's bedroom, directly hitting the center of the room- where the old canopy bed lays, and also the baker. She groans as the light hits her face- effectively waking her- then covers her eyes from the blinding glare of the sun. She can feel her head pounding- like it is going to explode. She rubs her forehead, hoping that- somehow- it will alleviate the pain.
Recounting her whereabouts last night, she must admit that she has no recollection of what has happened. Only that, she danced with one handsome gentleman- what his name was, she cannot remember anymore. She cannot even remember how she manages to go home. Everything is a blur to her.
A sudden urge to vomit overcomes her; she tosses the sheets that is entangled on her body, to the side of the bed, and hurries to the bathroom. She immediately empties the contents of her stomach- mostly containing of the alcohol she consumed last night. She leans on the sink to regain her normal breathing. Although thankful to get the alcohol out of her system, she is still suffering from headache.
Once the baker is able to get her bearings, she exits the bathroom and heads towards the kitchen so she can prepare some tea, and also to start with baking the pies. While heating the water that will be used for the tea, she allows herself to sit at one of the tables of her shop.
She focuses her thoughts on what needs to be doing on her shop, instead of thinking about last night. Even as she forces her mind to recall the things that has happened, she cannot really remember. It is only making her headache worse. Besides, she thinks that she has not done anything stupid- she knows herself.
Lucy and Benjamin are having their breakfast; but not their usual breakfast where they talk happily and tease each other. No, this time, they are both eating in silence while avoiding meeting each other's eyes. The tension between them is so thick that you can cut it with a knife. Apparently, their problem is taking its toll on them; and Even if they want to, it will not be solved overnight- it will take time.
Lucy stands up and grabs her half-finished plate of food and places it on the sink. She stays there for a while, leaning on the sink- seeming to think about something. After a moment, she speaks from behind Benjamin. Her voice is firm, though soft. "I accepted Judge Turpin's offer to work for him. I'll be starting today."
Lucy looks up to her husband to gauge his reaction. Just like as she expected, he is shaking his head on the negative- clearly not allowing her. But she is not one bit worried, because she has no intention of listening to him. She has made her decision and he cannot change her mind anymore. She wants to go to work for a different reason now, and that is to stay away from him.
Ben turns around to face his wife; his eyes shining with anger. He is barely controlling himself to calm down- the mere mention of The Judge is making his blood boil. "No, Lucy. You will not work for him. I do earn enough money for the both of us. There's no sense for you to tire yourself to work." He replies, with his voice cold and full of contempt.
"I'm not asking for your permission, Benjamin. I am just telling you this so you'll not worry when I'm gone the whole afternoon, every day. Besides, aren't you happy? You'll be able to spend more time with your mistress now." Lucy says in response, her voice in a mocking tone.
Ben opens his mouth to answer, but he thinks it is better to not say anything else- his wife will not believe him anyway. Also, it might lead them to another fight if he tries to defend himself. He just has to acquiesce with Lucy to avoid further arguments; after all, it is him who has made a big mistake, so it is him who has to adjust.
Lucy walks away and heads to the door, shaking her head with a smirk on her face. Apparently, she thinks that Ben's silence means that she assumes right. She knows that once she's gone, he will go downstairs and talk to Mrs. Lovett. She also knows that their conversation will only be to end their affair, or to continue it and find better ways to hide it. She's giving Ben a chance; she hopes that he'll make the right decision.
As she nears the door, she suddenly hears her husband softly call to her. She stops on her tracks and slowly turns around to look at him.
Ben walks towards her, looking uncertain. He leans in and places a lingering kiss on the corner of her mouth. "Be careful."
Her only response is to nod and walk away.
It is the lunch rush and Mrs. Lovett is having a very busy afternoon. People are rather demanding today and rude. They are all very tetchy and impatient- not understanding that she is alone in running the shop. Also, the fact that she is pregnant is not helping at all, because she gets tired easily. If only she has someone to help her, then maybe the customer will not complain about her tedious serving.
The baker whips her head up as she hears the bell jingles from the door, announcing that a new customer has entered the shop. She immediately approaches the person from the door, grabbing him by the crook of his elbow and dragging him to an empty table at the back of the shop- the man just follows him obediently.
When they reach the spot, she immediately asks for his order. The man says that he'll have a shepherd's pie and a tot of ale. With that in mind, Mrs. Lovett scampers off away to attend to the man's order. As she makes her way towards the counter, she cannot help but feel that she knows this man- though she cannot actually tell, because he is wearing something- a piece of cloth, that covers half of his face- clearly hiding something. His eyes look vaguely familiar to her. She does not know where she has seen those pair of eyes, but she can tell that this is not the first time she is able to look at those pair beautiful blue orbs. Maybe he is one of her regular customer.
Shaking her head to rid of these thoughts, she puts the man's food and drink to the tray and carries it towards the table where the man is seated. She almost drops the tray when one of her customers accidentally elbows her, fortunately she is firmly holding the tray, or else it would have fallen. As she reaches the man, she smiles at him at lays down the plate on the table. Even though the man's face is covered, she knows that he is also smiling by the way his eyes wrinkles at the side.
She is about to leave but then the man halts her by grabbing her hand. Then, he asks. "Excuse me, madam, but do you not remember me?"
The baker smiles inwardly as she hears the man's question- well, that is exactly what she is asking herself a while ago. "You are quite familiar, sir, yes. Though I cannot point from where I have seen you. Also, the fact that your face is covered with that… cloth does not help. Do enlighten me, please."
The man, in answer, lifts his hands and unclasps the piece of cloth- that looks like a handkerchief- from the back of his head and removes it slowly. The baker gasps, covering her mouth with her hand. The shocked expression of the baker is not from recognition, but from the state of his face- or rather his nose. His nose seems to be broken; it is skewed, and there is a big bruise at the center- colors black and blue. There are even dried bloods coming out of his nostrils. The baker is sure that it must hurt like hell.
"What happened to you?" she asks, genuinely concerned.
The man's brows furrow in confusion, if only he can crinkle his nose, the he must have done so. "You mean… you don't remember?"
The baker racks her brain, thinking from where she has seen the man. She does not want to offend him by not knowing him; he seems to know her pretty much. But, try as she might, she cannot really remember. She shakes her head, embarrassed. "I'm sorry sir, but I do not remember." then suddenly, a thought occurs to her "Am I... Am I the reason why you're hurt?"
The man heaves a sigh and looks down. Mrs. Lovett grows worried as she sees his reaction. Biting her lower lip, she averts her gaze away from him and looks over her shoulder, checking her customers. It is a good thing that they seem to have mellow down from their demands and are happily eating. She still has time to talk to the man- who she does not know, not even his name.
"I may understand why you may have no recollection of me. Because frankly Dear, I am very sure you had plenty of drinks last night- you were quite drunk." The man says; his voice in a teasing tone. He is wearing a lopsided smirk, which Mrs. Lovett finds a little charming.
The baker blushes as she hears the man's statement. She ducks her head down to hide her blush, but it is too late. Her eyes widen suddenly as realization hits her. If this man knows that she is drunk last night, then he must be the man that she is with- the one she remembers as the handsome man who is her dance partner.
"You- we danced together, last night!" she beams up at him and he smiles back at her, clearly thankful that she somehow still remembers.
"But… what happened to you? To your face, I mean." She asks, curiosity getting the best of her.
"Well, I do not wish to speak about the incident, but if you want to know, then I will tell you."
The baker has an inkling that what he is about to tell is good. So, she braces himself for whatever he is about to say. Glancing once more to her customers, just to make sure that they do not need her, she takes a seat across from the man, when she knows that her customers are getting by without her. "Please, do tell. I've been working my brain out from the moment I woke up, trying to recall of what had happened last night."
The man smiles at her sympathetically and then launches with his story. "Well, after hours of dancing and drinking, you told me that you needed to go home. I accompanied you, seeing that it's very dangerous for a lady to be walking around the streets of London, in the middle of the night. When we reached your house, someone was already there, clearly waiting for you. He was blocking the door but you waved him off, then you continued to get inside- I was behind you. We got a little…" the man falters, contemplating if he should say it or not. Not wanting to be blunt and embarrassed the baker- as well as himself- he just looks at her, telling with his eyes what he means.
Then, he continues. "Then, he saw us. We are in there- on the counter. i didn't see him, nor did I see that he followed us, but the last thing I know was he already punched me in the face- directly hitting my nose. I stumbled to the floor, and he was already there straddling me and pointing something sharp at my neck. He then threatened me that if I wanted to see another day, that I should get out of his sight."
Mrs. Lovett cannot believe what the man just says. She can only assume that the man in his story is Benjamin- who else would be in her shop late at night? But the question is why he acted like that. She does not want to be hopeful but she thinks he's rather jealous. Why else would he prevent them from doing something? On the other hand, maybe he is just concerned- as a friend- to her. He might be thinking that she's being taken advantage of.
"I'm very sorry for what had happened to you." She says softly, smiling apologetically at the man.
The man nods in response. He averts his gaze from her to the food in front of him- he's quite famished. He takes the pie, and looking at her, he lifts it up and takes a cautious bite. His expression is thoughtful as he chews the food, and when he swallows it, he breaks out into a big smile. "The best pie I ever had. You are a very good cook, Nellie."
The baker's eyes widen as he says her name. It does not even occur to her to ask his name. Looking down at her hands, as she wrings them, she asks sheepishly. "Uhm… May I know you name, sir?"
"I'm hurt!" the man says, clutching his hand to his chest. "You didn't even remember my name."
The baker looks down in embarrassment, but then quickly whips her head up when she hears the man chuckles. "Don't worry; I do understand your situation. It seems to me that you are suffering from memory loss due to excessive drinking. Should I call a doctor, Madame, or maybe I can bring some more alcohol?"
Mrs. Lovett slaps his hand playfully and sticks her tongue out to him. The man just shakes his head, and remembering her questions, he answers. "Anyway, Madame, I am David. David Harris." He holds his hand out for her to shake; it's as if it is their first time to meet each other.
Mrs. Lovett grins then shakes his hand. She cannot help but notice that Mr. Harris's thumb skims her when she let go. This leads to ask her the question that has been nagging her when she hears his story. "Mr. Harris, I would to ask, why did you come back? It's not that I didn't want you here, but you just told me that you've been threatened by a man who will kill you if he ever sees you again."
Mr. Harris's cheeks turn red, and he ducks his head down, avoiding the baker's inquisitive gaze. He gives himself a moment to answer, when he's ready, he clears his throat and looks at her. "Well, I am going to be honest with you, Nellie. From the moment I saw you, I was smitten. Nothing can keep me away from seeing you."
It is Mrs. Lovett's turn to blush as she hears the man speaks of his interest in her. It has been quite a long time when she experiences a man taking a liking at her, and frankly, it is very flattering.
An awkward silence falls over them, both desperate to break it. They are fidgeting in their seats, unsure of what to say to each other. Thankfully, the ring of the bell saves them from an ongoing uncomfortable silence. Mrs. Lovett turns around to take a look at the newly arrived customer. She gasps as she sees who just enters.
Benjamin.
Did i disappoint you with this chapter? I hope not.
It seems that it ended far too quickly, eh? don't worry, i'll try to make the future chapters better, that's if you're still interested in reading this. :)
Well, I have a question: how was Mr. Harris? did you guys like him?
Reviews are L.O.V.E. :))