Title: I've Been Watching
Disclaimer: Me no own, you no sue.
A/N: I am continuing this story. The idea for the character of Mrs. Franklin came from watching a few too many Judy Dench movies. Róisín and Ava are characters that I based on two of my friends....They'll know who they are when I introduce them.
I was worried about the man next door. He was a man of so many contradictions. Such a quiet fellow he was, and yet there were odd explosions that came from his upstairs quarters. Such a slight fellow and yet he had managed to become one of New York's constables. Such an intelligent man and yet he was entirely clueless when it came to the women of the city.
Well...I suppose all men are lacking in intelligence when it comes to women. Lord knows my Michael, God rest him, was completely lost. But not so lost, it would seem, as this fellow. Regardless, the women seemed to flock to him, in my day they were called harlots.
They would corner him as he walked to his home. They would throw themselves at him at any opportunity. When they were especially forward, he would blush furiously, stutter an excuse and retreat into his sanctuary. In his absence they had taken to pushing letters under his door, no doubt frustrated that he had not been seen.
He had not actually been in his home for nearly three weeks. For the first several days I thought he was simply working all night, as he was wont to do. It was not until I ventured to his door to ask if he had finished the copy of Shakespeare's Macbeth I had loaned him that I learned that he was not at his residence.
Another contradiction, the man was a poet and romantic at heart and yet worked alongside the most pigheaded and superficial men in existence. I knew that they mocked him and his methods. He would often visit to keep me company; I had long since learned that a small amount of liquor in two cups of tea could open the mouth of even the most secretive man.
My musings were interrupted by another oddity coming up the lane. An amazingly strange group was making its way, slowly but surely. A tall figure in a style of suit that I would know anywhere, was leading two others towards the house that neighbored mine.
My neighbor had returned. And he had brought guests.
Or possibly was trying to escape them, I could not tell. A woman was clinging to him and talking animatedly to the boy, probably her brother, that followed them. The poor boy looked as though he could topple over at any moment from the weight of the luggage he carried. My neighbor was smiling, but he had learned to force a smile so well that from a distance one cannot tell if it is genuine.
I stepped away from my window and walked towards the door. If this was another of those 'city girls' I was going to give her a piece of my mind. If not...Well, better safe than sorry.
I made it to the door and tugged at it. The blasted thing was stuck again! For the third time that week! I let out a groan of frustration, there was no way that stubborn door was going to stop me, and put all my strength behind the next pull. The door finally came free and I stormed outside just as my neighbor was nearing his door.
"You!" I sputtered, shaking a finger in the woman's direction. "You don't belong here!" Her dress was one of the newer fashions, the girl was rich. This fact only made me angrier. "You leave him alone!"
She drew herself to her full height, at barely five feet she was not threatening, and looked at me oddly, as if judging me. My neighbor had paused in trying to unlock his door, and had a bemused look. The boy, quite frankly, looked terrified. Good.
"You and your kind! Always hounding him!" I mocked. "None of you have the sense to see he is not interested!"
My neighbor leaned against his door and watched, a confusedly amused expression on his face. The girl looked faintly puzzled and arched an eyebrow. The boy still looked terrified.
"I suppose you are 'making up for lost time', hmm?" When the girl still did not speak, I continued. "You listen to me. He is not rich. He has no interest in petty talk of the weather. He-"I broke off as I heard a peculiar sound. Constable Ichabod Crane was laughing.
"And just what is so humorous, Constable?" I asked.
"Mrs. Franklin, I must say, this- this is not-"he said, still laughing, "not how I had planned for you to meet, but- but it will have to do." He ceased to speak and resumed his attempt to unlock his door amidst his laughter.
I turned back to the girl, very confused. She did not look offended, merely amused. "I- I," I attempted several times to form a sentence but she simply waved her hand and smiled.
"It is quite alright. Ichabod is fortunate to have a concerned neighbor like yourself," I did not respond. Her soft voice and use of his first name only served to confuse me further. "I am Katrina Van Tassel."
I frowned. "You are not from the city, are you?"
Her smile broadened, "I wished it was not so obvious. No I am not. Constable Crane was kind enough to permit us to come to live with him here in New York."
"'Us'?" I repeated.
She gestured to the boy who stepped forward, still slightly afraid of me.
"It is alright, child," I soothed. "I will not bite."
"Much," Crane muttered as he opened the door.
"Hush, you," I told him, smiling.
The boy looked relieved. "I am Yo-"he paused, uncertain, "Jonathan Masbeth."
My original assumption had been wrong. "Where are you from?"
The girl looked as though she were trying to think of a simple answer. "A small town," she finally answered. "Three days to the north."
I nodded, if she did not wish to tell me the name of the town that was her decision. "So that is where you disappeared to Crane," I said turning my attention to my neighbor, who was patiently waiting in his doorway. "Why did you go without notice?"
He thought for a moment before answering, "The constabulary dispatched me to the town on what they termed 'urgent business'. I had very little notice myself. And how are you, Mrs. Franklin?"
I narrowed my eyes, there was more to it than that. I would learn it later. "I am doing well, thank you for asking. You must come for supper sometime this week. My nieces are going to invade my home soon and I wish to have a quiet evening with friends before I am surrounded by chatty females... Not one word."
Crane shut his mouth, smirked, and shook his head. "Why are your nieces staying with you?"
"My sister, Elaine, passed away and, as their only relative, I offered them a home. I had forgotten what talkative young women Róisín and Ava were." The girl's brows furrowed when I said my nieces' names. "My sister was quite odd," I said by way of explanation.
She nodded slightly, not saying anything. I turned back to where Crane stood. "I will leave you to get settled in, but you will come to supper soon, and you will bring the young lady and the boy," my tone left no room for argument. He smiled slightly and nodded. I nodded curtly and bid them good day before walking back into my own home.
I resumed my place at the window and watched as the three talked briefly and then walked into the house, Crane's arm around the girl's waist, her head resting against his shoulder, the boy close behind. I smiled. I never imagined that there would be a day that I would believe that a woman would be good for my neighbor, and yet I had the distinct feeling that this girl would be just what he needed. Well, at least the other 'ladies' would leave him alone now...