November 22, 1779 - Continued
Meanwhile, Cassandra was pacing back and forth in the tavern, wondering what could have happened to her best friend. When she went upstairs to wake up Lillian and tell her she had overslept, the red-haired barmaid was shocked to discover she wasn't in her bedroom. Her cape was missing, so she obviously hadn't been kidnapped, but it wasn't like Lillian to just disappear and not tell anyone where she was going. Cassandra didn't know where Lillian could have possibly run off to that morning, but something told her she had most likely gone off into the Western Woods. She would have told her father about it right away, but he was absent at the moment.
It wasn't long before Cassandra heard the door open, and when she turned around and saw it was Lillian who entered, her worried heart was put to rest, but this did nothing to shield her anger.
"Where have you been?" Cassandra demanded, causing Lillian to jump from the tone of her voice.
"I...I was out visiting a friend", Lillian explained.
"Who could you possibly have gone out to see this morning?"
"If you must know, I went to visit the hermit in the Western Woods. I told him I couldn't stay long, so we kept our meeting brief. I told him I would return to see him another time, but he informed me he would be moving on."
"I really wish you hadn't done that, Lillian. You had me very worried. Why would you sneak off to see a man you hardly know?"
"Because I owe him for saving my life", said Lillian, boldly. "If the hermit were a king and he asked me to be his servant, I would humbly accept. But enough about him. Where is your father?"
"He had some important business to discuss with Mr. Hardenbrook this morning", Cassandra answered. "He should be back any minute now."
"I suppose you'll inform him about my absence?" Lillian questioned.
"No, of course I won't. Now that you're back, I won't have to tell him anything. I'll just keep my silence, like I always do."
"Very well", said Lillian, taking off her cape. She turned around to hang it up on the wall when Cassandra spoke up again.
"There is no hermit, is there?"
Lillian froze in fear and turned around slowly to look Cassandra in the eye. "I beg your pardon?"
"You heard what I said", Cassandra told her, stepping forward. "You know what I think? There is no hermit hiding in the Western Woods. There is a man, yes, but he is no hermit. To you, he is more than a man. He is a soldier, a nobleman who is not afraid to slaughter those who stand to oppose him. He is a force to be reckoned with, and for that, you love him. There's no use denying it, Lillian, so don't try to pretend you don't love him."
Lillian shook her head, looking confused. "I don't understand."
Cassandra reached a hand into the pocket of her apron and pulled out a piece of parchment, holding it up to the level of her head for Lillian to see. A look of horror dawned on Lillian's face, her eyes widening as she quickly realized it was the Hessian's message. For a moment, it seemed the world had stopped spinning, and Lillian felt her heart stop beating along with it. Had Cassandra discovered her secret? What was to happen to her now?
"Where did you get that?" Lillian questioned, softly.
"When I went to awaken you, I found this lying on the floor near your window. At first, I thought it strange, but upon reading what it said, I thought about who might have sent it and started to put the pieces together."
Lillian felt her left side for the dagger, but remembered she had left it upstairs under her pillow. Her heart started racing with panic, fearful that Cassandra had discovered the weapon, as well.
"I know you love him, Lily. I've seen you with him before. I've seen the way he looks at you and the way you stare back at him. You're speechless whenever he's around you, intimidated by his mere presence."
"Cassandra, please, I can explain."
"What's to explain?" Cassandra questioned, smiling in amusement. "I think it's quite obvious you're in love with Mr. Vallingby."
Lillian blinked and furrowed her brow. "Richard Vallingby?"
"Yes, who else? The day he came into the tavern looking for recruits, he told me he was in love with you. You don't have to hide your secret from me, Lily. We've always told each other everything."
"That is absurd", Lillian declared. "I have no interest in Mr. Vallingby anymore than you have any interest in Albert. The man who saved me is the one I love, and even though he has no wealth or title, or even a family-"
"Lillian, don't tell me the hermit has stolen your heart", said Cassandra, laughing at her. "What can he offer you but poverty?"
Angered, Lillian snatched the letter out of Cassandra's hand. Even if her friend didn't know she was referring to the Hessian, Lillian was still offended by Cassandra's laughing about a poor person's misfortune.
"How dare you! Who are you to judge me for loving a man whose class is lower than my own?" Lillian questioned. "Didn't your father ever teach you to show sympathy to those who are less fortunate than yourself?"
"I meant no disrespect", said Cassandra. "I only meant-"
"I already know what you meant", said Lillian, raising her voice and causing Cassandra to step back. "You think I know nothing, but I know more than you think I do. If a man is not of noble blood or has no connection with the Continentals, you think he is not worthy of you. I wish I could share your passion for men of war, but I would rather love a man for who he is and not what I want him to be. I, too, wish I could help those men out there, but I can do nothing except pray for their souls and comfort their loved ones while I still draw breath. From now on, I shall rise at dawn every morning and give you a lesser greeting than the one a farmer gives to a sow. If my seeing my rescuer disgusts you so, maybe it is better that he is moving on. From now on, keep out of my room and let me grieve my losses in private, or I shall tell your father what you really think of the idea of being married."
Turning around, Lillian grabbed her cape and ran out of the tavern, slamming the door and leaving behind a confused Cassandra.
Later that night, Lillian held the Hessian's letter in her hand, feeding a corner of parchment to the small flame of a lit candle, burning evidence that she had been in contact with him. It pained her to do so, but it was better for her to keep him safe and not give away his identity. She still had the dagger he gave her, which had not been discovered by Cassandra, but Lillian now had to take extra precaution to make sure nobody discovered her secret tryst with the foreign soldier. Cassandra had come to the wrong conclusion and thought she had received the letter from a different man, so if anybody ever asked her about it, that was the story Lillian would tell them.
Once the letter had been erased from existence, Lillian turned her head to look over her left shoulder and went over towards the window to look out at the Western Woods. She missed the Hessian and wondered if he was missing her, as well. She also wondered what he was doing right at that moment and hoped to have a vision just so she could see him. Oddly enough, Lillian suddenly found herself having one. The Hessian was not shown in this premonition, but when she turned around, Lillian found her room had transitioned to the inside of a military tent. Robert Vallingby was looking over a map, while his younger brother, Richard, was sitting on a cot right next to him, writing what she assumed was a letter to their family back home. Lillian was confused what either one of them had to do with the Hessian, but she allowed the vision to play out and show her what needed to be seen.
"Fifty-one dead, twenty-three wounded", said Robert. "Two of them are still missing. If I find out those two cowards abandoned the army, I'll execute them myself. These men aren't soldiers, they're farmers."
"As were the soldiers we lost yesterday", Richard added, not looking up from his writing. "And the day before that. And the week before that and so forth, but that makes no difference to you, does it?"
Robert turned around to face his brother and said to him, "We might have lost the battle, but we're not going to lose the war."
Richard nodded, letting his older sibling know he was still listening.
Feeling ignored, Robert snatched the letter out of his Richard's grasp, looking at it and seeing that it was not a letter he was writing, but a love poem. His cold, hard gaze shifted back to look at him, disapprovingly.
"Why do you waste your time writing this nonsense?" Robert asked.
"What men like you call nonsense, I prefer to think of it as poetry", said Richard.
"I brought you up here to get your mind off of romance, not encourage it", Robert scolded. "You're here to fight, not heal a broken heart by falling for another woman. It would do you best to forget about that Waise girl."
Richard stood up and asked him in a serious tone of voice, "Why should I?"
Robert grabbed hold of his brother's arm forcefully and pulled up his sleeve, revealing a faded, horizontal red line across his right wrist. Lillian saw it and gasped in shock, putting a hand to her mouth and looking horrified.
"Because the last woman you fell in love with broke your heart and drove you to try and end your own life", Robert reminded him. "It will kill me to see you lose yourself over a woman again."
Richard yanked his arm out of Robert's grip and pulled his sleeve back down to conceal his scar. "Lillian's not like Jasmine", he said. "She's different. Though I've only known her for a short time, I know deep within my heart that she would never do anything to hurt me. It is true she has not said she loves me, but that is because she does not know me. If it weren't for this infernal war, I would have stayed behind in Sleepy Hollow and courted her, treating her the way a lady is supposed to be treated. Once she had gotten to know me, I would ask her to marry me and take her back to New York, where I know she would be happy."
Lillian lowered her hand to place it over her heart, hardly believing what she was hearing, as Richard proclaimed his love for her, despite his brother's objections. Cassandra was right, but Lillian didn't want to believe it. She had heard Richard say he loved her once before, but she did not feel the same way about him at the time. After hearing him speak those words, her feelings for him were still the same, but Lillian couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for him. Whoever this Jasmine woman was, she sounded horrible. Richard mentioned having a childhood sweetheart once, but Lillian never imagined he would try to commit suicide because of her.
"You have a soft and foolish heart, brother", said Robert. "One of these days, I fear it will be the death of you. I need you to focus on the war, not daydream about some country girl who doesn't give a damn about you."
"Why do you speak about Lillian like that?" Richard asked. "She hasn't harmed you or me. Why are you so angry with her?"
"I don't trust her. There's something about her that uneases me. All I'm asking is that you forget about that traitorous tramp back home and not to lose your head over another one."
"Then what shall I lose my head over?"
"Anything but falling in love or dying by the mercenary's sword. I don't know who this Hessian Horseman is, but ever since speaking with the people of Sleepy Hollow, I find myself believing them. He's more demon than he is man."
Lillian glared at Robert, not liking what he just said about the Hessian. If this weren't a vision and she was really there with them, Lillian would either throw a chair at Robert or flip a table over in anger.
"The more you mention him, the more I am less wishing to be here", said Richard. "I'll fight if I must, but I certainly don't want to die. You speak of freedom, but to me, the only freedom left is death."
"Without freedom, there is no living!" Robert shouted. "Don't you see this is what our enemies want? They want us to fear them, so they can control us. I refuse to subject to King George, as should you."
"I do refuse, but there are more important things to me than war."
"You mean love?"
"Yes, love! You say there is no living without freedom? Well, I say there is no living without love. Without love, a man is doomed to fail in life."
"I've had just about enough of your fanatical fantasies", said Robert. "Love doesn't last forever, Richard. Whatever you feel for that Waise woman will be ten times more painful than any wound you might receive."
"If that is the way you feel about her, then you and I have nothing more to talk about", said Richard. "Once the war is over, I shall return to Sleepy Hollow and set up permanent residence there. You'll never see me again."
Turning his back on his brother, Richard crossed his arms over his chest and refused to speak anymore. His stubbornness reminded Lillian of Cassandra, the way she constantly argued with her father.
Stepping forward, Robert placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and spoke to him gently, "I know I'm not our father, but everything I do is to try and protect you. These are dangerous times we live in, and the only reason I remind you of it every day is so I don't lose you. Our mother was against you coming here, but she knew it was the right thing for me to bring you along, so I could look after you. Forget about Jasmine, forget about Lillian. Think about our family and what's best for them. Thousands of men didn't want to leave their families, Richard, but they did. Some are afraid, but others are willing to fight for their rights. Pray for them if you must, but there isn't much more I can do to help ease your fears."
Lillian stayed silent the entire time, not wanting to miss a single word. Witnessing this vision made her realize that despite his cold and harsh demeanor, Robert still cared about his brother and was only scared of losing him. Though they quarreled and disagreed on some things, as brothers do, Robert and Richard Vallingby were very protective of one another and only wanted what each one thought was best for the other sibling. With that, the vision ended, changing from the interior of the tent back to Lillian's room.
Blinking, Lillian shook her head and looked over at Simara, who stared back at her. Walking over, Lillian offered for the raven to perch on her arm, and Simara accepted the invitation by jumping onto her limb, cawing.
"These are strange times, my friend", Lillian said to the raven, stroking her soft, ebony breast. "Dangerous, but strange."