Unquiet Intervention

II : Roots

Settling down in the town of Blackpool had been far easier than either barber or baker could have imagined.

To their surprise, there were a hefty number of new developments that had been built on the curve of the coastline... the town itself was upcoming, but appeared to be fairly deserted now that it was early February. Given that the winter months brought shivering winds and icy showers, no person in their right mind would brave the seaside.

Just a few unhappy sleeps after hurriedly arriving there, they'd ended up with a terrace house which was only a short walk away from the loud bustle of the bay. Eleanor had been slightly disappointed that there hadn't been any houses on the sea-front... but in the end, was grateful that their new home was set back and thankfully out of the way of any prying eyes.

The paperwork for their finances and rent would still be processing at the bank for a while, considering that their new landlord was currently 'Away On Business'. That fact alone, would have appeared suspicious to any bystander, but both Mrs Lovett and Mr Todd were thankful for the landlord's absence. After all, they could write any old thing down on their forms... so there was no harm in pretending that they were already married - they wouldn't even have to face their proprietor or put up a mask of deviance, it was considerably easier than they had expected.

As soon as they both found themselves at the foot of their new doorstep, with a doe-eyed Toby (who was still contently using Eleanor's coat as a safety blanket by wrapping it around him) reluctantly on their trail, the curtains of every other house on the street seemed to twitch. While Sweeney had been oblivious to the spying neighbours, it was Eleanor that felt the urge to look back over her shoulder - she could sense beady eyes on her, and couldn't wait to get inside their new home just to get away from them.

In London she would have just rolled her eyes at her nosy neighbours, but this place was completely new to her, as were the snooping strangers. Already, Eleanor Lovett felt that she was silently being alienated.

Luckily, once she turned her attention back to their shiny front door, she could only smile at the sight of Sweeney now ardently hurrying through it, their make-do bags slung over his shoulder. She knew he was keen on settling down somewhere. Or perhaps, keen to find somewhere to hide... in his mind they were still on the run, so having a reliable place to stay made it a lot simpler.

Once she was inside, she felt like she'd entered some kind of twisted mirage. The house, at first, seemed a lot more cramped than she was used to... but she realised that in some ways, it might have ended up being a lot more cosy. The walls were papered with various faded patterns of tainted silvers and greys - it couldn't quite be described as inspiring, but she certainly thought that it was better than that half-burnt stuff she'd had on her walls back on Fleet Street.

It was like walking into an uninspiring monochrome world, where everything from the bedrooms upstairs, to the parlour, kitchen and dining room downstairs, was designed for nothing but practicality. She couldn't help being reminded of someone...

The fireplace was yet to be blackened with soot, the stove yet to be lit, the bookshelf yet to be filled, the bed-covers yet to be rumpled. In short, the place screamed that it was dying for occupants, and to know that they were the first to occupy this particular house, made her smile slightly. Not many people had the chance to live in a completely new build.

Having said that, it was a house that wasn't quite home just yet. But she could sense potential, and little did she know, that so could Mr Todd.

Having said that, over that first week of settling in, he'd been an absolute nightmare... paranoid, some might say.