"I beg your pardon?" I asked, my eyes opened far too wide.
"He seemed to be a very good man. Well known in the community, well liked, very successful in his law practices…" Mr. Dearborne's tone changed. "When I discovered the way that he treats my daughter…I wanted to do something about it. One always wants to protect his or her child, Constable, no matter what age that child may be. I realize that divorce is not looked on favorably, but, under the circumstances, I thought it best. Hector did not agree with my point of view."
"You were not telling Victoria the truth about what happened, were you?"
He shook his head. "How could I tell her that her husband beat me and left me for dead?"
"Mr. Dearborne, it is none of my business, but if you wish for Victoria to be without her husband, why not tell her?"
"He will not let her leave, Constable, and telling her will only make things worse."
"Well, I believe I can take care of that problem. I will have him arrested for…" The man shook his head "no" before I could finish.
"He ranks much too high here. Charges will never remain against him and as for the act of arresting him…I fear that my daughter would be even more danger once he was released. People would say things and…"
"How can you let this man walk free?"
Silence was my answer. The man was in a difficult position, but so was Victoria – even more so than her father. Her husband had picked me up by my throat without any effort at all. To think of what he was capable of doing to her made me feel faint.
"There is nothing that can be done without making the situation worse, Constable. If there were I…" He stopped when we both heard footsteps.
"I…I have your robe, Father." The smile that had warmed my heart was gone from Victoria's face.
"Victoria, darling, what's the matter?" Mr. Dearborne asked his daughter.
She forced a pained smile onto her face. "Nothing you need to worry yourself with, Father." Victoria placed his robe at the foot of his bed, then sat at his side. "You need your rest. I will come to see you in the morning." Mr. Dearborne nodded and Victoria kissed his cheek, then left the room without so much as a glance to me. Strange how much that hurt me.
"Constable Crane?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Would you please make sure she is all right? She is right in the fact that I need my rest."
"Yes, sir. Under these circumstances, I will have an officer keep watch outside your room tonight, just as a precaution."
"Thank you, Constable Crane." Mr. Dearborne closed his eyes and I left. Victoria had left her father's room, but not the building. I found her on a bench just next to the door. She was crying.
"Victoria?" I said, approaching her. "Are you all right?"
She looked up at me, her eyes reddened. "I ran into Hector on my way back here… Ichabod, he did not seem to care in the least that my father was alive. I asked if he would come and see him, but he refused, saying he was far too tired to deal with any of it." I sat next to her, expecting her to say more. She looked at me and I saw confusion in her eyes. Without warning, she put her arms around me and her sobs became more violent. When she finally managed to speak, she asked, "If I were your wife, would you abandon me at a moment like this?"
My arms wrapped around her instinctively and I began to rub her back in an attempt to calm her. However, I forgot to think before I spoke. "If you were my wife, Victoria, many things would be different for you."
Still clinging to me, she said, "You know." I nodded. "I was a fool to think you would be oblivious to it."
"Your father is terribly worried about you."
"My father needs only to worry about regaining his own health."
"It is because of his concern for you that his health is in question." I mentally kicked myself for letting that statement slip, but I could not help but think that it was, indeed, in her best interest to know the truth.
She lifted her head, but her body was still pressed to mine. "What?" She questioned me aloud, but the look in her eyes said that she was not surprised by what I had told her. I was not destined to find out any more – Hector had decided to come to the infirmary after all. Finding his wife in the arms of another man was not what he wished to see.
"Victoria? Constable Crane?" Only three words were spoken, yet my blood ran cold. "What is going on here?" Victoria looked like a frightened animal; she could not find her voice, but she did not need to. I was willing to take any blame I had to in order to protect her.
"She is upset by her father's condition, Mr. Wintergrace. Since you were not here, I was simply trying to console her. There is nothing…"
"Victoria, get up," he ordered. She obeyed him, quickly making her way to his side. "Constable Crane, your 'consoling' is neither necessary nor needed." He turned and headed for the door, Victoria following. I sat where I was wondering what harm had been done – and what harm would be done.