The Lexington House Murder
~ Chapter Eleven
Ichabod
had only begun to approach the house, when the door opened and
Jonathan came out followed by Cook.
“I am glad I caught you
sir. Tis my night off, and I am going to my sister in Brooklyn.
Jonathan here is going to accompany me.”
“I asked mother,
and she said it would be alright to stay over the night and return
with Cook tomorrow. Cook is aunt to that boy I told you about. Robert
who is near to my age. I understand he has a new set of detective
stories, new stamps and coins in his collections. I promised Cook I
would I not be any trouble.”
Ichabod responded by running
his hand through the boy’s hair. “Are you sure, he isn’t a
bother, Cook? It is your time off.”
“Never, sir. The two
boys have a fine time together and are no bother at all.”
Ichabod
entered the house. It was almost late afternoon. He was somewhat
exhilarated and wished to talk to Katrina about his day. But when he
spotted her out the kitchen window, he lost all thought of the
Lexington House mystery.
Katrina was bent over smelling the
roses, lilac and herbs which she grew in abundance.
She stood
up with a small bunch of the lilac in her hand. She approached the
rear entrance when Ichabod opened the door. She smiled at him and
offered her cheek for a kiss. “Ichabod, what brings you home at
this time? How did it go?”
“Mailer and I are done for the
day. And it went well. But I am much more inclined to talk about you.
What have you been up to?”
Katrina nodded toward the garden
and went over to the sink to wash her hands. She placed the lilacs in
a small vase on the table. “A little bit of color for Cook when she
returns tomorrow. She is fond of my lilacs. Ichabod, whatever are you
doing?”
Ichabod appeared to be looking for something in the
cabinets by poking around with a long handled spoon.
“Cook
keeps her secret cache in here. She thinks by telling me she has
found spiders in this cabinet before, that I will be prevented from
discovering her penchant for sherry. But I am not put off by her
warnings.” Ichabod however continued to carefully poke through all
the jars and bottles.
When he was finished doing that, he
manfully reached in and retrieved what was indeed a bottle of sherry.
He presented it to Katrina with a flourish.
“Mrs. Crane,
would you care to have a glass of stolen sherry with me?”
“I
would be delighted, Constable.” She accepted the glass from Ichabod
and drank it down.
When they were done, Ichabod took Katrina
by the hand and whispered to her. “I think it is time that you and
I retire to our bed for awhile.”
Katrina’s heart leapt.
She was suddenly afraid because she did not know what would be
expected of her. After her bold seductions, perhaps Ichabod would
presume she know more than she did. She clung to his hand as they
walked up the steps and into their bedchamber. The late afternoon sun
left a soft golden light in the room.
Ichabod removed his
coat and placed it on a chair. He loosened his collar and cuffs. He
walked toward her, his eyes intent upon her mouth. Then he kissed
her.
He undid the hooks and ties of her dress. She slipped
from it, and he placed it carefully on the chair also. She pulled
open the sting closure of her petticoat, and he did the same with
that. When he turned back Katrina stood only in her chemise.
He
walked around her slightly to pull down the covers of the bed, when
he turned back Katrina’s chemise also lay on the chair. Without
touching her he gestured for her to climb into the bed. Katrina did
so. The sheets felt crisp and clean next to her naked skin. She did
not look at Ichabod as she listened to him undressing. He slipped in
beside her, balancing on one arm; with his other hand, he undid the
combs in her hair. He then leaned over her to place them at her bed
side. Katrina took advantage of the moment to study his smooth chest,
and his face so close to hers in the light. The jaw and cheeks
chiseled, the lips perfect. He settled back on his arm, looking down
at her.
“In the beginning, the thought of marital
intercourse with you at all was overwhelming to me. I believed a
thoughtful husband would satisfy himself with his wife only a
reasonable amount of times each month, to show respect for her female
sensitivities. That a man should never see his wife without clothing
on, as it might appear that he did not respect her need for modesty.
To take her as quickly as possible to prevent her from experiencing
any unnecessary unpleasantness.”
“After what you said to
me, I realized that what I was doing is not the way a man and woman
should come together in their marriage. In fact, for a husband to
behave so is being selfish to one’s wife.”
Ichabod looked
down for a second, and then back at her lovely, sweet face looking at
him with such trust. He took a deep breath. “Katrina I believe
based on my studies of physiology and biology that women have the
same capability to share in the physical exhilaration of the sexual
act as a man.” He looked to see if she was shocked at what he had
said. But only that gentle smile remained on her lips. She was still
and did not move to touch him.
Crane looked abashed. “Here
I talk of science, when I have such a beauty in my arms, who has
asked me to truly be her lover; not just a husband who performs his
conjugal duty.”
“Katrina, could you surrender yourself to
me completely?”
She nodded. She could feel the sherry
helping to relax her body. He gently pulled her down lower in the bed
so that her head was even with his shoulders.
Ichabod leaned
over to kiss her throat and the skin immediately below her ear. He
would alternate kissing and running just the tip of his tongue over
her skin. His slowly raised her arms above her head on the pillow. He
kissed the soft flesh beneath her upper arm and along the side of her
breast. Katrina looked down at her breasts. Her nipples had always
been the palest pink. But now they had begun to enlarge and darken in
color. She wondered if ….then, suddenly Ichabod’s lips were
kissing her there. An unexpected flush of feeling leapt from her
breast to her groin. It was as if a powerful force was opening her
up, down deep in her womb. Without even being conscious of what she
was doing, her thighs parted slightly as if she were opening herself
up to him.
“Look at me, Katrina.” Ichabod just barely
whispered to her. “I know that there is a place on your body where
if touched allows you to experience pleasure the same as a man.”
She felt Ichabod slide his fingers down her side until he had
indeed, began to touch the most intimate place on her body. She
started to close her eyes tight.
“No, Katrina, keep looking
at me,” he said. She did as he asked. At first she felt some shame,
quickly replaced by a very strange rhythmic feeling building deep
inside her. She thought, I can stop this, I can move away from his
touch. I can stop whenever I wish.
And then suddenly she knew
she could never stop him. She moaned and moved her body against his
touch. Now she wished for him to be inside her; it must be now. Now
or surely she would break into a hundred pieces. All this time his
eyes never left hers. She whispered, “Ichabod, please.”
Ichabod
entered his wife. He continued to look tenderly at her. “I think
there is only one thing more intoxicating than reaching sexual
satisfaction, and that is to watch the face of your beloved as she
does.”
He slowly began to move inside of her. All at once,
Katrina felt the most powerful of physical sensations. Her eyes grew
wide and she let out a cry. She wanted to stuff her fist in her
mouth, but Ichabod held her tightly. Sounds both wonderful and
strange emanated from her throat. Just then, Ichabod eyes seem to
glaze over and he fairly shook as he released himself inside her.
For a very long time they clung together. Ichabod rolled
slowly on to his back. Katrina now lay on her side looking at him
with wonder. She began to kiss him all about the face. “Ichabod,
you have no idea what you have done to me. Is this normal; am I
different in some way?”
“Why would you ask that,
Katrina?”
She looked suddenly bashful. “Well, I would
like to know, or can I know...would it be proper for me to ask how
much time must pass between our doing this again. Could it be as soon
as tomorrow?”
“No, it is not improper for you to ask. And
I believe, dear wife, that well before tomorrow’s dawn, you shall
know the answer to that question.” Ichabod smiled as he rolled
Katrina onto her back and began to kiss her softly.