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 rain 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 as my nerves 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.

          "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?  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.