Hi guys! :) This chapter is quite long, so I hope you find time to still read this.
Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter and followed this story. You guys are very much appreciated. :D
Enjoy!
The most anticipated day of the people of Fleet Street has come.
Mrs. Lovett is in her bedroom, putting on the final touches of her makeup. She has put on some decent amount of kohl over her eyes; she also smears some rouge on her cheeks, enough just to put color on her ashen looking face. To finish the deed, she uses a red tint on her thin lips, perfectly giving her a sultry look. For once, she has exchanged her usual do of two ponytails into a neat bun, opting for a more elegant look. Though there are some short ringlets of stubborn hair escaping, yet they still perfectly frame her face.
The purple dress- that has a matching black corset and gloves- that she is wearing today is given to her by none other than, David. The color of the dress compliments her pale skin, giving her a glowing look. It also accentuates her figure, slightly hiding her barely noticeable swollen belly. She really must thank David for giving her such a fancy gown. If it wasn't for him, then she will not have anything to wear that will be appropriate for the ball.
Mrs. Lovett pouts her lips and makes a kissing sound, feeling contented now with how her makeup goes. She walks over in the corner of her room and stands in front of the full body mirror. She checks herself one last time to see if there's anything that needs fixing. Seeing that she's all set, she happily twirls around, spreading out her arms. She can say that she looks marvelous. With a smile plastered on her face, she is ready to face her escort.
Walking out of her bedroom, she goes over to her parlour. She has left David there with some biscuits and tea, just so he will not get bored while waiting for her to get dressed. She spots him reading one of her books when she arrives at her living room. His back is turned into her, so he cannot see her yet. She is quite nervous about how he will react upon seeing her. Will he like what he will see, or not? Making her presence known, the baker clears her throat rather loudly to gain the man's attention.
When David turns around to face her, his eyes slowly widen and his mouth hangs open. Mrs. Lovett does not know what to think of this. Why is he looking at her like that? She shyly ducks her head down, looking embarrassed. She feels disappointed, for she thinks that she actually looks good. Oh! How wrong is she?
"What?" she murmurs, not meeting his eyes.
David doesn't answer right away; he is just staring dumbly at Mrs. Lovett. The lack of reply causes the baker to look up at the man. Moments later, after regaining his composure from his awe, he stammers a reply. "Nellie, you- you look, you look perfect."
Mrs. Lovett breaks into a big smile, relief suddenly washing over her. She feels blood rising to her cheeks at David's compliment; biting her lip, she ambles towards him, and when she is just a foot away from him, she smoothen out his suit and pats him on the shoulder. "You're not bad yourself.
David grins; He takes a step back, bows and tips his hat, holding his hand out to the baker. "Shall we go now, my lady?"
Mrs. Lovett takes David's hand in hers; together they walk out of her shop and into the waiting carriage outside.
Nellie knows that The Barkers are going to attend the ball, too. Her last encounter with Ben, he has told her that he's going to tell his wife that he has changed his mind and wants to go, now. Though she is not very sure if he will push through, she is not able to talk to him after that little incident in her parlor. She often wonders if Ben really meant what he has said back then. She is sure, though, that he doesn't.
Well, she should not really be thinking about Ben. David is with her tonight, and she shall focus her attention to him. She is glad though that David and she are able to talk and work things out about- again- that little incident in her parlor.
Taking a deep breath, she squeezes David's hand, and they both walk out of her shop. It is most unfortunate of her though, for The Barkers have also just come out of their apartment and are on their way to the event. She freezes, seeing Lucy. Luckily for Mrs. Lovett, the woman has not seen her yet, for she cannot take her gaze away from her. Mrs. Barker is like an angel that has fallen down from heaven. Her beauty is something that will capture everyone's attention in a room full of people.
Before Lucy even notices her, the baker averts her gaze from her and settles to the one beside the woman- her husband. The baker is mesmerized upon seeing Benjamin. He looks like a proper gentleman- not that he doesn't before- and is as handsome as ever. Lucy and he is truly a perfect match.
Just before Mrs. Lovett focuses her attention to her own partner- and tries to go to their waiting carriage across the street, without being noticed by The Barkers- Ben looks up, as if sensing that someone is staring at him. In embarrassment of being caught, she quickly turns her head to David, who seems to be rather busy with brushing off some dirt that has landed on his coat upon going out of her shop. Thank goodness they are not yet noticed by the Barkers, or rather, Lucy.
"David, come, we'll be late." She urges the man, interrupting him of his attempts to remove the white stain on his clothe, but David just waves his hand at her, gesturing for her to wait.
Mrs. Lovett huffs and crosses her arms. It seems like David will not leave as long as he is not able to get rid of that blasted stain. She looks back at the couple and sees that they just reached the bottom of the stairs. Not wanting Lucy to see her, she grabs David by the elbow and drags him across the street; the man, not knowing of what's happening, just follows the baker. They both climb in the carriage; inside, Mrs. Lovett orders the driver to go.
It is to her great annoyance that the driver seems to have fallen asleep, for he has not followed her order. They are not moving. She is all ready to berate him, but the door suddenly opens, startling her. The driver is glaring at her. "Ma'am, I need you to get out of the carriage, now."
Mrs. Lovett gasps audibly in disbelief. She puts her arms on her waist, and holds her head high. "And why would I do that?" she hisses.
Before the driver can answer, someone comes behind him and replies for him. "Because we rented this carriage, and you didn't."
Both the driver and the baker turn to the owner of the voice. Mrs. Lovett would have also castigated the person who butted in, had she not seen who it is. She turns beet red as she sees the face of Lucy emerging from behind the driver. Blinking rapidly, she stutters: "I- I uh- I'm sorry. I have mistaken this as ours."
With that, she quickly grabs David's hand and stumbles out of the coach. Without looking at the Barkers, she- again- crosses the street. When she's back in front of her pie shop, she turns to the man beside her and snaps at him "Why didn't you tell me that it isn't the one that you rented?"
"But Nellie, you just grabbed me. I've no time to stop you; you were in such a hurry." He defends, telling the truth. When Mrs. Lovett just pouts at him in response, he lets out a chuckle. He takes her by the arm and brings her to the real coach that he has rented.
Mrs. Lovett can hear ruckus outside of the carriage as they near their destination. Being essentially curious, she looks out the window. There are a lot of people- mostly women- who are outside the judge's house. They appear to be waiting for any arriving guests, then yell out praises- or profanities if they do not like the person, or their look. She has even seen someone tries to grab one of the high-class women, she does not know why, though. Well, It's a good thing that there are guards outside, to prevent whoever attempts to do anything stupid.
This makes her nervous. She hopes that they will not yell at her, or make a big deal out of seeing a commoner like her attending that ball; for she knows how women act, especially those who are always on the market- which greatly make up the mob. When they are jealous- and she knows they will be; they'd kill just to attend this event- they tend to say degrading things about you. Sometimes, these women will make things up, gossip about you and spread it until you have no face to show.
David may have noticed her anxiousness, for he moves closer to her and wraps his arm around her. She turns to him and nods, as she gives him a small smile. In all fairness, she feels a little less nervous now.
Moments later, the carriage stops. Mrs. Lovett already knows that they have arrived. As the driver opens the door, David gets out first. He then holds out his hand to her- it's her turn. She is reluctant to go down the ride. She does not know if she's ready to face the people, or rather, their reaction. She can already hear them shouting, and it's making her dizzy. Sooner or later, she needs to get out of the coach.
Gathering all her courage, she puts on her best smile, takes David's hand and goes down. As what she is expecting, people start to yell. From the gate of the house to the door, it will only take about ten steps. Mrs. Lovett sighs in relief upon realizing this. She hooks her arm around David's elbow and they start to walk towards the entrance. For her, it seems like it is the longest thirty seconds of her life. As much as she tries to tune out the people, she can't help but over hear their rude comments about her.
"Oi wench! How much did he pay you!?"
"Look at that cheap whore!"
"Trollop!"
"You'll look even more beautiful naked!"
Mrs. Lovett is really glad when they finally able to enter the house. A guard is waiting at the door, alongside with two usherettes. One of the ushers immediately leads them into a room where the party is being held. The room is filled with decorations. The tables are set at the back, giving enough space in front for those who would like to dance. To the right is the food corner, though there are waiters that are going around serving them. To the left is the band, which is currently playing a very cheerful song. Everything looks amazing.
Nellie and David looks for any available seats that they could occupy. The baker finds free seats and hurriedly goes over to it, dragging along David with her. There are only three people at the table: a couple and an elderly man. As they sit down, the old man- which is at the right side of Nellie- immediately starts talking to her.
"There are still two people in here: a couple. They asked me to save the seats for them while they go dancing." He says, leaning to the baker and whispering, as if what he is saying is top secret.
Mrs. Lovett just smiles and nods out of politeness. She feels sorry for the old man; how will he enjoy the party if he needs to stand guard to the seats that the couple asked him to save for them? What an inconsiderate human beings!
"Look, they're coming back." The man points out to the direction of the dance floor. When Mrs. Lovett turns to see the couple- that she already hates- her eyes widen. She gasps, covering her mouth and turns back around. It's the Barkers! How unlucky can she be?
Not knowing what to do and panicking, she- again- hauls David from his chair and goes to the direction of the dance floor. "I want to dance."
David laughs, stopping her. "Alright, alright, no need to be in a hurry; we've got all night."
He leads her to a place where they have enough space to dance. When they are on the perfect spot, David puts his hands on the baker's waist and takes a step closer to her. In return, she places her hands on her shoulder. They slowly rock from side to side, following the slow beat of the music.
Benjamin has been stuck with the old man that has been telling him quite boring stories in their table, while his wife is in the powder room. He is just nodding to what the man is saying, not really paying attention. His focus is on a certain woman who is at the dance floor, dancing with her partner, who he hates with every fiber of his being. They look like they are really enjoying themselves; they never stop, even just to take a break.
Ever since that little incident in Nellie's parlor, he has slowly learned to accept that he likes her. The weird feelings that he always tries to ignore, he has already know what it is: jealousy. Yes, he must admit, he is jealous of David. That man is taking his best friend away from him. David is making sure that Nellie spends all of her time with him, so she does not have enough for her best friend, Ben. Also, he dies a little inside when he sees the two being sweet together. He wishes it was him in David's position.
But, the most he is jealous about is that mystery man that Nellie told him about, in which she is apparently in love with. Although he cannot say yet that he loves Nellie not in a best friend way, he still don't like it that her heart belongs to another man.
"Ah! Young man, you do like that girl, don't you?" the man says, startling Ben. The old man- Jerry- has caught his attention.
He shakes his head in negative, chuckling. He still has not taken his eyes off of his best friend. "No, sir. I have a wife, you see."
"You've not been listening to anything that I was saying; you were busy staring at her since your wife left." Jerry says in accusation. He taps Ben on the shoulder to earn his attention, in which he is successful. "Go on, then, go to her. She's waiting for you, trust me. Go, I'll cover for you when your wife returns."
As much as he wants to dance with Nellie, he knows how dangerous it can be. His wife is here, and he does now want to risk getting caught. He'll just have to accept that all he can do is look. Sighing dejectedly, he watches as his best friend laughs at something that David is telling her. Oh, how he wants to march up there and punch the man in the face- repeatedly. But alas! He can't do that.
Time goes by, and still, the two- Nellie and David- are dancing. Ben has not even noticed that his wife has not come back yet, for he is too busy with breaking his heart by looking at his best friend with David.
The music stops; Instead of dancing again, Mrs. Lovett and David halt. Ben can see David approaching their table, while the baker is on her way to the doors that leads to the balcony. Seeing his opportunity, he stands up and follows his best friend, without being too obvious. He lets her go outside first, then follows suit a little later. He can hear Jerry Behind her cheering for him.
Silently opening the door, he sees her. She is looking up, staring at the sky. Ben's breathe hitches as he comes closer to her. He can see her beautiful face, illuminated by the moonlight, emphasizing her features. When he is just a foot away from her, he extends his hand, tapping Mrs. Lovett on the shoulder, startling her.
"Wha- Oh! Ben! What are you doing here?" she says in a hushed tone.
He puts his finger on her soft lips to silence her. Then, he slowly removes it, as he smirks at her. He bows down, one hand on his back and the other extended. Just as the music newly changes, he asks her: "May I have this dance?"
Although Mrs. Lovett seems reluctant at first, in the end she gives in. Curtsying, she puts her hand on Ben's shoulder, while he puts his on her waist. Their other hand is intertwined together. Tonight, the two of them only matters. No Lucy or David. As long as they're hidden behind closed doors, they are free to do whatever it is that they want, and that is to dance endlessly.
After a few songs, Mrs. Lovett head is already resting on Ben's shoulder, her eyes closed. Meanwhile, the barber's head is on top of the baker's. They look so happy and contented to be in each other's arm. It's like they are sewn together, cannot be separated. Both may not notice it, but upon looking at them, people can immediately tell, they are a perfect match.
"Pretend I'm him, that man you love." Ben says in a whisper. Although it pains him that her best friend have to pretend to love him, at least for tonight, he can also pretend that he is that man.
As he says it to Nellie, he swears he heard her say: "I don't have to."
So, what do you think guys? :D
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