December 4, 1779 - Continued
Lillian cared not where she was running towards, nor dared to look back and see if anyone was following her. The Hessian's words echoed in her mind, telling her to kill him. To hear the man she loved telling her to murder him was worse than Richard's reprimand of her allowing the enemy escape, to fight and kill another day. It was all too much for Lillian to bear. She came to a clearing and stopped to glance back and see if either man had followed her. She didn't think so, but when she turned again, Lillian found herself looking at Cassandra, which made her scream, for she did not expect to come across her in the woods.
"What are you doing out here?!" Cassandra shouted with worry, grabbing Lillian by her shoulders and shaking her. "Why did you run away? Where did you go?"
Lillian's face turned white as a ghost and she looked as though she were about to faint in Cassandra's arms. Suddenly, Lillian heard someone coming by the sound of feet running in the snow and was instantly relieved to see it was Albert who arrived on the scene. He followed after Cassandra when she noticed Lillian was gone and raced off into the woods with her to make sure everything was all right, knowing that something was wrong.
"Lillian, what happened?" Albert asked.
Cassandra turned to look at him and said, "I found her first. She's not of your concern."
"Oh, Albert!" Lillian cried, releasing herself from Cassandra's hold on her to run over to Albert and embraced him. Albert held Lillian and placed a hand on the back of her head, allowing her to cry into his chest.
Cassandra looked hurt, though she tried not to let it show, especially when Albert glanced over in her direction, both of them looking concerned for the distraught Lillian.
Albert released the dark-haired maiden, who kept her head down, and put his hands on her shoulders, asking her, "Lillian, what happened? Are you hurt?"
Lillian shook her head. "No", she answered, sniffling.
"Then why are you crying?"
"Because...Because someone has just broken my heart."
Albert took his right hand off Lillian's shoulder and lifted her chin with his finger so their eyes could meet, blue to blue.
"Tell me everything", said Albert.
"Did you forget I was the one who came to your aid first?" Cassandra barked at Lillian, who turned her head and looked at the insensitive woman with a death glare. Cassandra backed away at once.
Lillian went over to Cassandra and said to her, "I thought I saw someone. A man, if you must know."
"What did this man look like?" Albert asked.
Lillian looked back at Albert and told him, "He is a hermit. We've met before. I acted on foolish hope that he might be happy to see me again, but I was wrong. That's why I ran off into the woods. "
"You mean the one who saved your life?" Cassandra questioned. "I thought you said he moved on from this place. You lied to me?"
Lillian looked at her again and answered, "No, I said it was possible I would never see him again. I never said he was completely gone from this accursed land."
"Where is he, Lillian? Which way did he go?"
"Why does it matter to you where he has gone?"
"I want to see this man with my own eyes and find out who his associates are!"
"He has no associates!" Lillian shouted. "What does it matter to you if he does or not? The only thing that matters it that I love him, and there's nothing in this world that can change my mind about that, not even you!"
Cassandra looked lost for words, but then she found her voice again and asked, "You are infatuated with him? Is that what I'm hearing you say?"
"Yes, it is", Lillian confessed boldly, looking at her friend with dead seriousness.
Cassandra's face turned paler than the snow that was around them. Albert didn't know what to say, for he had no knowledge of whom they were talking about.
"You are forbidden from ever seeing that man again", Cassandra told Lillian, rather calmly. "This foolishness of yours must be stopped. A man of low integrity will only bring you-"
"What? Bring me poverty? You've said that before", Lillian mentioned. "Would you like me to remind you of all the other times you belittled my rescuer, or would you prefer your mind be full of forgetfulness?"
"I am not forgetful!" Cassandra objected. "You don't know what I remember. I remember plenty without having you around to cloud my thoughts with a man who I believe to be in poor condition. What if he is poxed?"
"He is not poxed! He's an unfortunate man who has lost everything."
"I don't care what he's lost. One man's loss is another person's gain, and he cannot have you. You hear me, Lillian Waise? I will not have you sneaking off into this forest just so you can lie down with a leper!"
"How dare you accuse me of such things! The only reason you don't want me to see him is because you are afraid of losing me to another man. You don't want to believe any man is good or decent because you don't want any man to love me. You want to keep me for yourself, but you dare not say it out loud for fear of what everyone else would say. You dare to throw stones at me by accusing me of committing sin when you are the one who has committed the sin of lust. Not with thy body, but with thy unholy thoughts of bedding down beside another woman. You are a misandrist and an abomination!"
Cassandra fell silent, looking like a wounded pup who just got attacked by a wolf. The poisonous words her best friend just spat out at her hurt a thousands times worse than any scrape or bruise she ever had.
Lillian was about to speak again, until Albert grabbed her arm and whispered in a low growl, "Be silent, Lillian. Leave her be." She looked at him with a softened expression, though there was still anger in her eyes.
Albert released her, then turned over to Cassandra, who walked right past him and stood before Lillian, pausing a moment before spitting in her face. The dark-haired maiden showed no reaction.
"If that is how you see me, then I shall take my leave and never speak to you, nor bother you ever again", said Cassandra, disgusted. Then she walked around Lillian and started heading back to town, alone.
Lillian calmly wiped the saliva off her face and turned her head, saying to herself, "I shall gladly accept it."
When nightfall came, Lillian sat in her room, brushing her hair before bed. She could hear an argument downstairs between Mr. Mortner and Cassandra, and although she had a good idea what their bickering was about, Lillian knew it better than to go downstairs and get involved. This was something for father and daughter to work out. Simara, who was perched on the nightstand, cawed softly. Lillian looked at the raven and smiled at her.
Suddenly, Lillian heard a knock on the door and asked, "Who is it?"
"It's Albert."
"Just a moment."
Lillian set her hairbrush down and held her left arm out for Simara to jump onto it, then stood up and went to the window and opened it to let the raven out. Simara nipped at a strand of Lillian's hair, earning herself a smile from her mistress, then flew away towards the Western Woods. Lillian hated to send Simara out into the cold, but she was afraid that Albert might say something if he caught her with a raven in her room and thought it better to send her away. The raven understood her mistress' fear of being judged by him, but knew Albert had come to see Lillian for another reason. Simara saw a good heart in Albert, and if one moment alone with him could prove to Lillian how true his good-hearted nature was, then maybe fate would change course for the two of them.
Once Simara was gone, Lillian closed the window, then she picked up a shawl and wrapped it around her shoulders and went to the door and opened it and smiled at Albert.
"Good evening, Lillian", said Albert. "I hope I'm not intruding-"
"No, not at all", said Lillian.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Is everything all right?"
Albert was about to speak, until a crashing noise sounded from downstairs, followed by the raised voices of Cassandra and her father. Lillian closed her eyes and made a pained expression.
"I think we both know the answer to that one", Albert told her.
Lillian opened her eyes and looked at him again and asked, "Would you like to come in for a minute?"
"I really shouldn't", said Albert.
"Please? It's important", said Lillian.
Albert nodded. "Very well, then."
Lillian stepped back and allowed Albert to enter her room and closed the door, then went over to the bed and sat down, patting her right hand on an empty spot, signaling for him to join her on the bed, which he did.
"What is it you want to talk about?" Albert asked her.
"I wanted to apologize for what I said to Cassandra this afternoon", Lillian told him. "It was an unkind thing for me to accuse her of such things."
"Perhaps she needed to hear it", Albert disagreed. "Better for her to hear true honest from a friend than seek out the wrath of her father and God's judgment."
"You don't think I was too harsh on her?"
"No. In fact, everything you said to her explains everything that I've been noticing about the Mortners."
"What do you mean?"
Albert reached inside his coat and pulled out a letter and handed it to Lillian, who unfolded it and read it to herself. Her eyebrows furrowed upon discovering what was written on it.
"Mr. Mortner has been writing to my family for years, claiming Cassandra has fallen in love with me", Albert explained. "When I arrived in Sleepy Hollow, I hoped she would remember me before I worked up the courage to propose to her, but whenever I try to approach her, she distances herself from me. Last Sunday, she told me she was helping Mr. Trotter with his farm. That was the day I met your Mr. Vallingby. She never went to the farm."
"You mean she lied to you?" Lillian asked.
"Yes", Albert answered. "I didn't want to believe it at first, but I've been noticing her behavior has changed. I wanted answers, so I confronted Cassandra one day and asked her if she was in love with me. And you know what she said? She told me she never said that. That's when I realized Mr. Mortner's words were false."
"Why would he lie to you?" Lillian questioned.
"I don't know", Albert answered. "I was hoping you might give me the answer to that, and you did, earlier this afternoon. What else do you know?"
"What else is there for me to tell you? Mr. Mortner has been trying to marry off his daughter for months, but Cassandra's not interested in anyone. She once told me she would rather die a virgin than marry a man."
"Why might that be?"
"I don't know. I wish I did."
Albert turned his head, furrowing his brow as though he were thinking about something. "Who was it you and Cassandra were speaking of today, this hermit you mentioned?"
Lillian looked away, wishing he hadn't asked her that.
Albert looked at her again. "What is it?" He asked.
Lillian returned her gaze to him and asked, "Can I trust you to keep a secret?"
"You know you can trust me with anything, Lillian", Albert answered. "I've kept knowledge of your foresight secret all these years, haven't I? What else is there I need know?"
Lillian stared at Albert for a moment, then she stood up and went over to the window and looked out at the snow descending on the village, listening to the wind howl softly.
"Do you remember where the old windmill is?" Lillian asked.
"Yes, I do", Albert answered.
Lillian looked at him and said, "Meet me there tomorrow around noon. I'll tell you everything you need to know. The hour is late and I need to sleep, as do you."
Albert rose up from the bed and went over to where Lillian was standing, as the dark-haired maiden turned her body around to face his own. There was a moment of silence between them, a tender scenario that showed evidence of more than just friendship. Respect for each other showed in both their eyes, but neither one was willing to say what was truly on their minds. Albert raised his hand in an attempt to touch Lillian's cheek, but restrained himself and walked over to the door instead. Lillian turned her head as she watched him head for the door, silently wishing for him not to leave.
Albert stood by the door with his hand on the handle and turned his head to look over his left shoulder at Lillian. "Until tomorrow", he said. "Good night, Lillian."
"Good night, Albert", said Lillian. "I pray that you sleep well."
Albert opened the door and showed himself out of the room without ever taking his eyes off Lillian, who stared back at him, longingly.
Once she was alone in her room, Lillian closed her eyes and breathed out a relieved sigh and put a hand on her heart, steading herself against the wall as though she were about to faint. The feeling that transpired between her and Albert was more than friendship. It was attraction. Albert possessed most, if not all, of the qualities Lillian could ever wish for in a husband, but she still had feelings for the Hessian, who did not have any care or concern for his own life. Lillian was troubled by this, but she could not let anyone know about it. By tomorrow, Albert would be the first one to know about her secret meeting with the German mercenary.
Just then, Lillian heard a tapping on her window and turned around and saw Simara had returned. The minute she opened the window, the raven flew back inside and landed on Lillian's left shoulder, nipping at her hair once again, this time as a greeting. "I'm sorry for sending you away out there in the cold", Lillian apologized, stroking the raven's breast, and even though she knew the bird would not reply back to her, she still wanted to let Simara know that she meant it. Simara flew across the room and landed on the nightstand next to Lillian's bed, ruffling her feathers before she looked back over at her mistress, who drew her attention back to the window, watching the snow fall. Lillian felt cold and rubbed her arms for warmth, but chose to ignore the freezing weather as she watched the tiny, cotton-like lace fall down from the heavens.