The Real Story of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Chapter 2: Albert, Husband or Enemy

  After a few years since Mr. Barker was transported, many other places has gotten almost the same idea as Mrs. Mooney. The price of meat was so high that everyone was happy to see poor animals dying in the street, so they used that instead of buying some from the shop. Mrs. Mooney's shop was the most popular, using fresh pussy cats that she has killed herself, taking all of my customers. I tried to join them in hopes of getting my business back up, but everyone beats me to the dead ones, and my bones is too weary to be chasing after the live ones. I'm not sure how Mrs. Mooney does it, since we are around the same age, and those pussy cats are quick.

   I did, however, have a frequent costumer, who loved my pies the first time he ate them, and he couldn't stop. His name was Albert Lovett. Everyday, he would come to my shop and order quite an amount of my pies and some ale, as we had small conversations. He was such a nice and respectable man, and we were soon after married. He was a working man and had money, which kept us alive. That was until after the dropsy, and he would sit all day on his chair eating my pies, which caused him to gain quite a bit of weight. We were heading for desperate times again, and he wasn't happy about it.

   "I've brought you some more pies, dear," I said, one evening, as I place down a tray of my meat pies next to him. "Maybe you shouldn't be eating so much. I mean, with the price of meat, wot it is, is making it hard to buy for us. We need to save a lot for the customers, when they come... if they come."

    He looks at me with a stern look. "And, what else do you expect me to eat?" He takes a bite out of me pies. "We can't buy anything else, because of our lack of money. You know, if we rent out that room upstairs, which you never use, we could have some more money coming in."

    I turn to look at him as he says that. He knows very well why I'm not renting it out. "What if Mr. Baker comes back? He might want his room back, and--"

    "If he does come back, I'll tell the Beadle about him," he interrupts me. "I'm not looking to get into any kind of trouble. If we know that he's here and not say a word about it, what do you think would happen to us?"

     I sigh. "He's been under a foolish charge and sent away from his home. Poor thing. He's been through alot, and it wasn't his fault. The least we can do is--"

    "Listen, I want no part of this. Because he is suffering, doesn't mean that we have to," he tells me, taking a sip from a bottle of ale.

      This made me think for a bit. If he is going to act like this, I most certainly cannot have him around much longer. Benjamin Baker is the most deared to my heart. As much as I like, Albert, he needs to go. On top of his carelessness of Mr. Baker, he is eating me out of my--

      "Can you get me some more ale, my love?" He asks, pulling me out of my thoughts. "This bottle is empty."

     I contemplated over this for many minutes, trying to decide if I should bring him another bottle of ale or not, because we'll run low on that too. What if we're out of business and Mr. Baker finds his wife in the streets and... Well, sometimes bright ideas just pop into me head. I look at my dear Albert with a slight smiles, "Of course I can, dearie."

    Now, he is eating and drinking me out of my house and home. He must go, and I already know of a way. Unfortunately, this my be my poor Albert's last meal. I quickly went to the apothecary to poison his drink. When I get back to him, I hand him the drink with a smile, "Here you are, love." I couldn't watch the death of him. As he takes a sip, I say, "I should check on my meat pies in the oven." There wasn't really any meat pies in the oven. I couldn't bare to see him die, but I know it's for the best. As time passes, the pain will lessen; I'm sure. 

    When I was ready to go back in, I found Albert still sitting on the chair, not moving-- lifeless.