A Time and Place for Us

A Wedding of Dreams and Nightmares

Eleanor Lovett was staring at herself in the dusty mirror of her room in a decadent seaside inn. A vision in white.

This was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. The day she finally married the man she's loved for 16 years, but as she looked at her own reflection, she couldn't help the sinking feeling that she was making a mistake. This was just what she wanted for so long, but somehow it didn't feel right.

Just a week ago he tried to kill her and her baby by tossing them into the blazing furnace where his previous victims had become nothing but ashes. That was the end he intended not just for her but their baby as well! And here she was, about to marry her almost murderer. But he seemed to have changed... He slipped and hit his head before he could push her inside and when Sweeney Todd woke up, he was almost like a different man altogether. The man she'd always dreamed would come back to her.

"Please, resist. I can't live without you" Nellie whispered into Sweeney's ear, but he didn't seem to hear her. She did not know how long she had spent like that, cradling the unconscious barber's head, hoping beyond hope for a miracle. Was it still night? He must have offered the Judge around midnight. Was dawn breaking outside? Nellie Lovett had completely lost track of time.

It didn't matter that he almost killed her before he passed out, she hadn't been able to leave him. That had always been Eleanor Lovett, loyal and devoted to a fault and she would gladly go down with the man she loved. She, who prided herself in her individuality and rationalism, could do nothing but watch as they took a back seat when it came to the demon barber. And where had that taken her? That bloody infuriating man never appreciated any of it, never loved her and never will.

And now... it wasn't just Nellie to consider, she acknowledged as she moved her hand to her still flat tummy. If only for the baby... she had to leave Sweeney behind and make her escape now. It wouldn't be long until the bobbies traced the Judge and the Beadle to her establishment, considering a complaint against the pie shop was one of the latter's tasks of the day and that must have been documented somewhere. Besides, if Sweeney woke up... could she be sure he wouldn't finish what he started? She needed to leave him, she needed to save her baby, their baby. Even if it broke her heart.

With uttermost care, she lifted his head and held it closer to her chest. Hot tears fell down her cheeks as she leant down to kiss him one last time. "I still love you, you bastard". But just before she gently moved his head off her lap, his obsidian eyes fluttered open and they immediately locked onto hers. "Nellie" he muttered softly, his face breaking into a small relieved smile. She had a hard time thinking this man would have been happy to see her burn to death just mere hours ago. His eyes were no longer cold and murderous but serene and he reminded her of a tortured hero who'd been starved off the company of his lover for far too long as he dealt with the tribulations of life. Perhaps she'd just read too many romantic novels and was confusing everything again. And then he said "I thought I lost you" and Nellie broke down crying, tightly hugging him.

He sounded so sincere, remorseful even, and she wanted with all her heart to believe him. Could there be a future for them? For the three of them? Could a family with the man she loved leave the realm of her dreams and become a reality? Sweeney pushed her softly so he could sit up, his eyes never leaving hers, and she could never resist their pull. Next thing she knew he was kissing her, of his own volition. Tenderly, sweetly... Was she dreaming? It simply was too good to be true.

Yet to both the barber and the baker, that kiss felt like sealing an unspoken promise. That they were going to be together forever. In sickness and in health. Till death does them part.

But that didn't change the fact that he'd tried to kill her, and their baby, and... Johanna as well. They'd ran into Johanna and her sailor at the harbour, as both couples were preparing to leave London. The lad was filled to the brim with gratitude for Mr. T. for helping him save his beloved and offered to take them to Bristol on the small but sturdy ship he'd rented. From there they could travel to almost anywhere in the world, he'd said. He and Johanna were to settle in Plymouth with his family.