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For Better Or Worse	By : PiratesWench Category: S through Z > Sleepy Hollow Views: 2795 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Sleepy Hollow, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 4
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- 6
After retrieving
an officer to keep watch over Mr. Dearborne, I went home, foolishly thinking
that I could go out my evening routine.
I had taken Jonathan under my wing as best I could, which included
giving him a room in my home. It was
during dinner that he noticed that I was not my usual self.

�Thinking of
her, Ichabod?� he asked.

�Who?� I
asked, my voice cracking as though I were an adolescent.

�Mrs.
Wintergrace. I know that none of this
is my place, but she is married.�

�To a man who
treats her terribly, Jonathan!� I
practically slammed my fork onto the table.
�Sorry.�

Jonathan
raised an eyebrow at me. �So why not go
get her then?�

�What?�

�You are
obviously worried about her, so just go and get her.�

I shook my
head, dismissing the thought. �You must
be too young to realize that life is not that simple.�

�Why?�

�Well, you
see�� I stopped to think about it, weighing
every aspect of the situation in my mind.
I sighed deeply. �You are absolutely
right, Jonathan. It is that
simple.� I got up from the table and
rushed out of the front door. I had no
real plan, only the want to take Victoria away from any possible danger. I only hoped that I would not be too late.

I practically
ran through the streets trying to make my way to her home as quickly as I
could. It was storming outside, but the
was was the least of my concerns. I
reached the house I knew to be hers and froze for a moment, becoming drenched
on the sidewalk. As soon asnervnerves
let me, I knocked on the front door, knowing full well someone was inside. I could hear the drunken rantings of a
man. Mr. Wintergrace, no doubt. Losing the nerve to face him, I circled
around to the back of the house, the rain continuing to soak through my
clothing. I found Victoria huddled in a
ball next to the back stairs.

�Victoria?� I rushed toward her, hoping that her husband
would remain inside. She looked up,
then down again. �Victoria, why are you
out here?�

�Ichabod, you
must leave. If he sees you�� Lightning tore through the sky and I saw
blood flowing down her arm.

cla class=MsoNormal> �What
happened?�

Her voice was
pleading with me. �Please go!�

�I shall�and
you will come with me. Your wound must
be attended to.�

�No, I
can�t�he��

I gently
pulled her to her feet. Her dress was
soaked through, her hair matted to her face.
�He�ll do no more.� She looked
at me, her once brilliant eyes dull and nearly lifeless. I took her hand and we hurried off into the
storm. Once in the safety of my home,
she nearly collapsed. �He was
inebriated?�

�Afterwards,
I�m sure.�

�He did this
to you with a clear head?� She nodded,
ashamed. �Why?�

�He felt I
deserved it.�

�Because of
me?n stn style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Because I consoled you?� She did not answer me. �Victoria?�
Tears flowed from the eyes that I knew were capable of seeing into my
soul. Her body began to tremble from
the cold. �Jonathan,� I called. He came into the parlor.

�Yes,
Ichabod?�

�Fetch some
towels, please, as well as some dry clothing.
She can wear something of mine.
Bandages too.�

�Right
away.� Jonathan rushed from the room,
leaving me alone with Victoria.

I swear that I did not mean to let
my eyes wander as they did, but I could not help myself. She was scared and wet, yet�still so
beautiful. Jonathan returned quickly,
carrying with him all that I had asked for.
I began to cut the bandages as Victoria started to dry herself.

�My bodice,� she said softly. �The laces are too wet to loosen. It would be far easier to cut them free.�

�Oh�� My mind went to images of things that it never should have, I
could not control my thoughts around her.
Carefully, I snipped the laces on the back of her dress, my mind far
from pure thought. I wanted to undress
her. I wanted to show her how I felt a
woman�s body should be cared for�worshipped � not damaged. When I was through with her laces, I looked
at her arm. �Your wound will heal
without stitching. It is not as deep as
I thought it would be.�

�That is very good to hear,
Ichabod. I fear that I do not fare well
with needles.�

I smiled. �Nor do I.� Jonathan had
left again and I was gazing at Victoria�s bare back. She turned, holding her dress against her chest.

�You do not mind a woman wearing
your clothing?�

�What is there to mind? You will catch your death if you remain in
what you are wearing.�

Her eyes cast down. �Death is not exactly unwelcome at the
moment.�

�Victoria, surely you cannot mean
that.�

�My father is terribly hurt because
of me. When my husband finds me��

I interrupted her. �I find it very hard to fathom that you are
as weak as you lead everyone to believe.�

�I have been reduced to a shell of
myself, Ichabod. I can assure you that
I was not always as I am now. Hector
has�changed me.�

�Changed you?�

Instead of answering my question, she
tried to force a change of subject�at least that was what I thought at
first. �Did you know that I was a nanny
once?�

�No.�

She smiled, very slightly. �I took care of three beautiful
children. Their mother had fallen ill
and, being a friend to her family, I was hired to watch over two little boys
and an infant girl. I was happy then,
and stronger. I lived with my father
and brother and I honestly did not want for anything else.�

�What happened?�

�My father wished for me to
wed. He introduced me to Hector � who
was, at the time, so different than he is now.� She had not changed the subject at all and she held my attention
to the fullest. �He insisted that I not
work, it was not necessary in his eyes.�
She looked at me, her eyes trying to say more than her words. �I did not work for the money, Ichabod; I
worked to have a sense of purpose - to do more than spend day after day having
tea with women that I did not care for.
Hector is very strong willed. He
got his way.�

�And then Hector�changed?�

She
nodded. �He was a loving husband at
first. Affectionate, caring�but I made
the mistake of going to visit the children one evening while he was at
work. When I arrived home�that was when
everything cracked apart.�

�For leaving
the house?�

�Trivial, is
it not? I left word of where I was, but
his routine had been broken, therefore he broke me as well.� Victoria cast her eyes downward. �I do not mean to burden you with this.�

�You are
doing anything but�� I realized that
though I had cut the bandages, I had yet to tend to her arm. �Oh, I am terribly sorry, Victoria.� I gently wiped away the new trail of blood
that flowed down her arm, then wrapped bandage around it. �You need to finish changing,� I said
softly.

�As do
you. You seem to be just as soggy as I
am.�

I had not
felt the cold of dampness until she mentioned it, but once she did, I began to
shiver. �I will leave you to dress.� I walked out of the parlor, closing the door
behind me, and went to my bedroom. The
thought of Victoria stripping away her clothing just a floor below me made my
head feel light. I was unsure of how I
was going to survive the night.
- 4
- 5
- 6
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