Not while I'm around

Pretty women!
Blowing out their candles,
Or combing out their hair,
Even when they leave,
They still are there,
They`re there…

For several days Lovett had passed the locked doors of the now abandoned tonsorial parlour,wondering when exactly the room would be cleared.She had repeatedly been reminded she was not allowed to rent it out again before all the convict`s belongings had been confiscated.It seemed no one understood that she really needed the money now.And of course it always reminded her of what had happened to the room`s unlucky last tenant.You could really think it was cursed,first tenant dies,the second gets deported.Considering how superstitious many people were,Lovett wouldn`t have been surprised if she wouldn`t be able to find a new tenant at all.

Worriedly frowning to herself at that prospect,she was so deep in thought,that at first she almost failed to notice the broken glass on the steps that lead up to the entrance of the parlour.

Someone had smashed the little window right next to the door to be able to reach for the doorknob and open it from the inside.A few thin ribbons of blood had dried on the broken glass.It seemed more like the work of a drunken vandal than a burglar,but of course you never knew.

For a moment Lovett mentally debated with herself whether or not to call the Bow Street Runners.Having her neighbours witness them escorting a shackled man out of her house had already harmed the reputation of her pie shop almost as much as the rapid decline in quality of her pies after the passing of Mr.Lovett.So,armed with one of her butcher knives from the shop,she instead made her way up the narrow staircase,straining her ears for any possible noises that might indicate the intruder was still in the room at the end of the stairs.

Although she`d heard nothing suspicious,she cautiously peeked through the slightly open door,tightening her grip on the knife.The little room was as neat and tidy as ever,towels,razors and soap in their usual places,as far as she could tell.Everything looked completely undisturbed,and so she didn`t immediately notice the figure that was slumped in the barber`s chair in the middle of the room.

A black-clad woman,her head lolling to one side,seemingly asleep,her face hidden by a cascade of tangled,blonde hair.What the hell?Had some lice-ridden vagrant dared to break into the parlour to sleep it off?Lovett had half a mind to wake the sleeping woman with a good stab to the leg.

Instead she gave her a forceful push,making sure to yank her hair in the process.All that came as a reaction was a gagging cough.Disgusted Lovett took a quick step back,that was all she needed now,some homeless slag carrying the plague into her house.

“Now you wake up!I `ave a knife an` if you don`t move your arse out of my house right now I´m gonna pin you to that chair,you hear?”

The woman sat up with a startling jolt,her body shaking violently,almost as if she was having some kind of seizure.For a few moments she seemed to be making an effort to actually rise,her hands grappling at the armrests,her breath coming in laboured,short gasps,but then she just bonelessly flopped back into the chair,as if she had fainted from sheer exhaustion.

Her hair had fallen back from her face now,and for a moment Lovett could only stare at it incredulously.Although she was considerably thinner than she remembered her,her hair far from clean and her clothes looked as if they had been slept in for several nights,it was undoubtedly Lucy Barker.What had that foolish woman done?It was obvious there was something wrong with her.Her eyes showed neither iris nor pupil but only bloodshot white,and there was a thin trickle of blood running from a corner of her mouth as if she had bitten her lip.

The little idiot hadn`t followed through with her threat and actually taken poison?Angry and a little frightened,Lovett grasped the other woman`s wrist to feel for a pulse.Well,at least she wasn`t dead yet,and she certainly wasn`t going to let her expire in the parlour where everybody would be able to see it if the undertaker came to collect the corpse.So she half carried,half dragged the woman`s limp body to the late Mr.Lovett`s now unused bed,hoping she would either get well or at least die as quickly as possible.

As it turned out neither wish would be granted.