Esteemed Malevolence

XXXV: His Silent Infatuation

Sweeney paused outside her bedroom door, breaths shallow, hands clenching around the sides of the door-frame for support. He'd had a shot of gin to steady his nerves before he'd even made his way to her door...however it didn't seem to be doing much for him, given his sprightly demeanour.

The lack of vengeance-weaved strings made him feel a whole orchestra of emotions. Their waves of loud feeling flowed through him entirely, especially now that Eleanor Lovett was only just beyond that door.

Everything was suddenly much more visible. He had no memories of his late wife in the back of his mind, she was no longer lurking there to torment him. With the blood still staining his clothing, it was a physical reminder that both Barkers were finally laid to rest. It was time for Todd to do whatever he wanted to do now.

And in fact, at that very moment, he felt such excitement streaming through his entire being, that his breathing became faster and harsher. His body sweltered with anticipation and his heart hammered violently against his rib-cage.

All because of his unforeseen freedom.

All because of who was on the other side of that door.

He swallowed back his loud breaths, steadying out each one as he carefully grasped a hand around the doorknob, placing another one flat against the door. He slowly opened it in an overly-cautious manner.

He wanted to surprise her.

After all, they'd both been waiting for this moment ever since they'd thought up their little pie scheme. It was a victory he very much wanted to share with her.

He slid in through the smallest gap in the door that he could fit through, all in order to quicken the pace of what he intended to do. He leaned back into the door, pressing it shut gently, the quiet click of the closing mechanism causing a smirk to touch on his lips.

He was unaware of the time, but given the sound of Eleanor's soft snores and the pitch black of her room, it was likely that it was going on for the early hours of the morning by now.

Unlike her, he was completely wide-awake, black eyes gleaming through the darkness at her sleeping form. She had the covers tightly wrapped around her, like they were a cocoon trapping all the warmth around her body. He was quite disappointed that she was facing away from him. He would have loved to have been greeted by her peaceful, enchanting features the moment he'd walked in that door.

His honest feelings were finally breaking through, it seemed.

He didn't dwell on his thoughts - which was a good job, seeing as his feet were already carrying him across the floor towards her. He was surprised at how much of a buzz he was feeling as he sneaked up to the side of her bed, eyes lingering on the hair that was usually up in pins... instead, it was sprawled out in a squiggly mess of faded-red behind her head.

Even in the darkness, the woman was the most enticing thing he'd ever laid eyes upon - he could feel himself burning up now that he was so close to her, the anticipation of surprising her was beginning to get the best of him.

His bloodied fingers were shaky as he brought them up to tear at his top layer of waistcoat and neck ties, his teeth clenching to stop an impatient growl from being unleashed from his throat. He didn't think his lust for her would grow, but it seemed that now his feelings for her were finally consuming him completely, he was near animalistic.

Once he flung his top layers of clothing across the floor, he slipped off his shoes as silently as he could, fixated on the shapely curve of her spine now that his eyes had adjusted to the dark. He practically ripped his shirt off - which was stained with huge patches of burgundy, not that it was any surprise - and slung it to the carpet beneath his bare feet, already starting on his belt.