Consequences.

“Lucy? Lucy, whatever’s the matter?” Nellie Lovett looked up as Lucy Barker came into her pie shop, tears streaming down her face and baby Johanna in her arms.

“It’s Benjamin.” Was all the woman could manage between sobs. Nellie walked quickly around the counter, put an arm around Lucy and guided her into the parlour.

“Now, what’s ‘appened to him?”

“T-The Judge…” Lucy tried to compose herself. Nellie narrowed her eyes. Neither her, her husband, Lucy or Benjamin had a very high opinion of Judge Turpin - or Beadle Bamford for that matter.

“What did ‘e do?”

“The police came… they took Benjamin away.” She told her through her tears. “Arrested him and… oh, Nellie, they’re going to send him away!” Lucy broke down again, which prompted little Johanna to look up quizzically at her mother.

“Hush now, love.” Nellie hugged Lucy, stroking her hair. She was trying to be calm, but inside she was fuming. Benjamin Barker was a good and honest man, and probably one of the most honourable she had met! How dare they deport him on what were probably false charges, simply because Judge Turpin wanted Lucy for himself - which was a thinly veiled secret at best.

“I don’t know, no one would tell me.” Lucy admitted. “But… if Benjamin is gone…”

“I know, love. I know.” She whispered. “Listen to me, your Benjamin is a good man, a much better man than my Albert, right?” That got a small smile out of her - the two of them often talked about their husbands, and Lucy always agreed when Nellie complained about hers, who was always ‘working‘. “Exactly. Even if they do send ‘im away, they’ll have to send him back sooner or later.”

“I… I suppose you could be right.”

“An’ while he’s gone, I’ll look after you, and help you look after Johanna, alright?”

*

A few weeks later, after Benjamin had been wrongly convicted and sent to a prison in Australia, Nellie saw Beadle Bamford walking up the stairs to where Lucy and Johanna were. After a few minutes, Lucy came downstairs with Johanna.

“What does ‘e want?” Nellie glowered.

“Judge Turpin wants to see me - he’s insistent, apparently. Blames himself for this.” Lucy sighed.

“An’ so do I!” Her tone was uncharacteristically sharp. Since Benjamin had gone, Lucy had become a shadow of herself, and it worried Nellie. On top of that, Johanna now had no father, and Nellie had lost a good friend.

“I know. Look, could you look after Johanna? I shouldn’t be long.”

“Alright, dearie. But promise me you’ll be careful?”

“I promise, don’t worry. And thank you.” Lucy left the pie shop, and the Beadle took her arm.

“Dirty bugger.” Nellie muttered darkly. She took baby Johanna in her arms. “You poor thing, Johanna.”


As the night passed, Nellie Lovett began to worry. Lucy had been gone for hours, which made her question what the Judge was doing. Her thoughts turned to poor Benjamin - such a good, sweet man. He certainly lived for his wife and daughter. She wished her husband could have been more like him. She heard the door upstairs bang, and left little Johanna sleeping in her pram in the parlour as she went to check on what was going on.

Lucy sat in the dark, hugging her knees to her chest, tears cascading down her pale cheeks.

“Lucy?” Nellie asked softly, worriedly.

“I’m an idiot…” Lucy murmured.

“What did he do, Lucy? What did he do?” She crouched down next to her.

“He was having a ball, and when he saw me he… he raped me. In front of everyone.” The two of them were silent after that.


The next day, Lucy was gone by the time Nellie woke up. When she came back, she went straight upstairs without a word, leaving Johanna with the baker once again. When Nellie went upstairs with some food for Lucy, she got a terrible shock. An empty bottle of arsenic was on the dresser, and Lucy was slumped in a chair. She’d poisoned herself.

“Oh, oh God.” Nellie gasped. She ran over and checked Lucy’s pulse. She was still alive, but would have lost her mind thanks to the amount of poison she had taken. Almost as soon as she had decided to run down the road and fetch the doctor, the Beadle appeared at the door.

“I’m here for the baby, ma’am. And the woman.”

“Well, you can’t ‘ave ‘em! Haven’t you and Turpin done enough to them already?” Nellie shouted. In reply, the Beadle hit her with so much force that, because she was unprepared for the blow, sent her to the floor and she hit her head. By the time she had regained consciousness, he had disappeared with both Johanna and Lucy. She cursed Albert for being in the pub at that hour - he of all people probably could’ve helped her if he’d gotten off his arse. “Oh, Benjamin…” She murmured quietly as she walked back to her shop. “You fool. Things will never be the same now.”