Chapter Four: Further feelings
We are in the drawing room, the best room to retire to after dinner. I sit on a chair with a book, next to Claire, also reading, she looks at me every few minutes, I can tell she knows I am not reading.
"What will you do now, Ichabod?" she asks of me.
"I shall need an alibi for every person in that church," I say. "I will draw up a list of every resident of Merry Fellon tomorrow, and then proceed to find out who everybody in the church saw. There must have been someone missing. Mr. Fawcett said everyone was in the church, he must have been mistaken, only a villager would know about the back room of the undertaker's. He must have had a great deal of strength, to put the victim into the coffin, and drag it to the church," this needs a lot of thought.
"Maybe he took the two separately, maybe he put the coffin outside the church and then the body inside it," Claire suggests.
"It is indeed a possibility," I put down my book and turn to her. I am about to speak, but I do not, and I leave the room. I return, a moment later with a paper bag and present it to Claire. "In all haste I forgot the treatment for the rats," I apologize. She takes the bag, inspects the contents and puts it to her side.
"Understandably," she says. "I found a little suitable poison, but now that is all gone. Thank you." I sit back down beside her, and for the first time in the few days I have known her, I study her face. Her features are a work of art, like a beautiful painting, she is not blemished. Her skin is so fair, and her eyes so soft.
"You are beautiful, Claire," I tell her. She looks up from her book and smiles. A smile that radiates beauty, youth and happiness, a smile that feels like it could make even the fiercest creature laugh, and rise the sun on even the most dismal morning.
"Thank you, Ichabod," she replies. I sense I have put both her and myself in a rather difficult position, and I am quiet, and so is she.
"Ichabod," she begins, a few minutes later. "You said you think he murderer will kill again. Is there anyone in the village who you think could be in danger?" This is a difficult question. We do need two murders to form a link, so we can discover the murderer's path.
"I would assume, maybe, someone from the church," I reply, in all honesty. "Although until we find out more, I don't think anyone is safe."
"Will you keep me safe, Ichabod?" she asks, moving closer to me.
"Of course, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe, you will not come to harm," I reply.
"I'll keep you safe too." Does she know how I feel about her? Does she feel the same? I never thought I would be able to get over Katrina, definitely not so quickly. Do I want to take that risk again? Do I trust her? Yes, I do. But I trusted Katrina, and she left. We're not in New York now, Katrina left because there was so much to experience, so far to explore, so many new people to meet. We're in Merry Fellon, here there are no high rising blocks for miles, no new experiences, yet I am happy here, because Claire is here. I look down upon her, she is glancing at my lips, and then looking into my eyes. Those eyes. Those eyes capture my heart every time I look into them. I bend down and let my lips softly touch hers. We both hastily back away, unspeaking, and resolve to read our separate books.