Chapter 33: Heritage
Walking as fast as he could down the hill that had become slippery with rain, he held Buffy close to him.
The rain soaked him through, making his hair plaster to his head. William could see the manor in the distance.
As his feet touch the solid ground of the path, he sped up his pace. He was now walking so fast that he was starting to feel out of breath. But he didn’t care; all he cared about was getting Buffy out of the rain, into the warmth and out of danger.
As he approached the doors, he burst them open and stumbled into the opening hall. Wesley came running up to him, and gently took the still Buffy from his arms. Leaving William to collapse in a wet heap onto the floor, gasping for breath.
“Take her; put her in the guest bed. For god’s sake make sure she is bloody well warm.”
Nodding, Wesley took the girl in his arms and rushed off up the marble staircase, to the upstairs rooms.
Peeling himself off the floor, William lent against the door. Dawn and Joyce came running out of the front room when they heard him speak.
“Did you find her? Did you find my baby?” Joyce looked frantic with worry. William could tell that she hadn’t sat down the whole time she had been here, she had probably just paced up and down waiting for his return.
Catching his breath, he just nodded. “Upstairs.”
Without waiting to find out where upstairs she was, both Dawn and Joyce ran up the stairs, their heels clattering as they went.
Closing his eyes he waited for his breathing to return to normal, before he went to check on his love.
Willow came out from the kitchen to see William stood there soaked through, running over to him with the blanket in her hands she wrapped it round his shoulders.
“Sir, you’re soaked through, you need to change or you’ll get ill.” Just nodding he held the blanket tight and started walking up the staircase as well.
“Red, I need you to make sure there is a fire lit in Elizabeth’s room. Make sure she is warm.”
“You found her! Oh William, thank you. I was so worried.” Turning, she then ran as fast as she could into the kitchen to go and find Jonathon to light a fire in the guest room.
***
Closing the door behind him, William quickly stripped off his wet clothes and left them on a pile on the floor. Going over to his wardrobe, he pulled out a dry shirt and pair of trousers. Placing a pair of brown boots on his feet, he roughly brushed his hair before leaving the room again.
As he was exiting his room, Dawn was leaving the guest bedroom. He walked up to the distraught girl.
“How is she Dawn?”
Dawn looked at him though her lashes; she could barely contain her tears. “It’s not good, Spike, I think Buffy may need a doctor.”
“Of course. I’ll send for one straight away.” Without wasting a moment, he ran past Dawn and headed straight for the kitchens, en-route he passed Willow. “Elizabeth need a doctor, get Osborne to send for one straight away, don’t wait a second.”
“Yes Sir.” Willow nodded, and ran off back towards where she had just come from.
With nothing left to do, he headed back to Elizabeth’s room. He felt as though he could barely stand to be away from her, she seemed so fragile when he had carried her.
As he got closer to her room, he could see that Dawn was sat on the floor by her room. “Any change Pigeon?”
“No. She’s not responding to any of us.” She played with the hem of her skirt, it was an act that he had seen Buffy do before and it just showed the similarities between the two girls.
“I’ve sent for the doc, pigeon. Big sis will be up and about in no time.” Although he wasn’t one hundred percent sure he believed it himself, he had to get Dawn to believe it.
“Thank you for all of this Spike, I just hope that, Mrs Hartley doesn’t mind.”
Spike looked at her bemused. “Darla died Dawn, didn’t you know?”
“I had heard from some of the other villagers. I am sorry. Guess you own the place now.”
“Guess so.” Spike hadn’t really thought about until now.
“But I didn’t mean Darla, I hope your wife doesn’t mind us being here.”
“My wife?” Spike stared at Dawn even more confused what Dawn was going on about, was this just shock talking.
“Buffy said that you where getting married. She said she could never have you again. That’s why she agreed to marry Mr Finn. She wanted to save us, but she needed you to save her first before she could save us.”
Spike’s head was reeling over everything that Dawn had just said. Buffy had agreed to marry someone, did that mean she was already married, was it too late for him, just like Dawn had said? And why did she think he was married, she should have known he wouldn’t want anyone but his shimmering angel, she had stolen his heart and it could never belong to another.
Suddenly the afternoon they had meet outside the mine, the afternoon that had stayed imprinted on his memory, where she had told him that it was all too late, came hurtling back to him. Suddenly all Buffy had said had made sense. She had thought it was too late, she had thought that he was married. But why?
“Dawnie, where has Buffy got this idea from that I am married. Surely she knows I couldn’t love another.”
“It was a few weeks ago. She heard some one talking in town. I think it was the village. I think it was Mr Lillian. He said that Drusilla was back, said she was getting married...” Dawn’s voice trailed off.
Spike felt sick over the thought. “And she thought I was the one marrying her.” Spike finished for her. “Fuck. Buffy thinks I still care for that whore.” He couldn’t help getting angry over the thought that Drusilla had ruining something else for him.
“But, if you’re not marrying her, who is?”
“You stupid idiot, I should have told her, made it more clear she was the one.” Spike couldn’t help cursing himself. “She married a week ago, a man call called Warren Meers. He loved her when she was with me, guess he never got over her. He always was a snivelling little weasel of a man. Never liked him. She thought it was me that Dru was marrying. Buffy should have known I would never take her back, never. I only ever want your sis.”
“I don’t think she was exactly thinking clearly. That’s why she agreed to marry that stupid guy. She doesn’t love him Spike, she loves you.”
“What is this about, Buffy can’t be married. I can’t lose her again Pigeon.”
Dawn smiled, “She isn’t lost to you yet, she’s not married yet. Today was the big day. I knew she was unhappy, but she kept saying she had to do this, that it was too late. I guess when it came down to it, even she’s not that strong.”
“Dawn, your sister is the strongest woman I have ever met.” Spike held her shoulders so that she had to look at him.
“I think you may need to go and tell her that, I can’t lose her Spike.” Tears started to well in Dawn’s eyes.
“I can’t lose her either, Dawn. But we aren’t going to. Your sister is going to be just fine. We have the best doctor in the whole of Ireland coming. Just wait and see.” He saw Dawn faintly smile and knew that she believed him. “Dawn, what did you mean, but she was marrying the wanker to save you all?”
“To try get us back to where we used to be.” Spike stared at Dawn perplexed; he knew so little about Buffy’s past before coming to Ireland. However just as he was about to answer Buffy’s bedroom door opened and Joyce came out.
“Dawn, honey, you should go spend time we Buffy. She would want that. I will keep Mr Hartley company.” Bowing her head to her mother, Dawn past Joyce and went into Buffy’s room closing the door behind her. “Sorry about her, Sir.”
“Joyce, call me Spike. I’m the same guy who ate with you, just over a month ago.” He watched as Joyce smiled at him. In her eyes he would always be the poor man with the clothes to big, who looked at her daughter with love in his eyes.
“I have made such a mess of things. I should never have let things get this bad, I should have realised my own daughter’s pain. I shouldn’t have let her try to go ahead with this marriage. But she can be so headstrong when she chooses to be. I fear she gets that from me.” Joyce had started to pace forgetting completely that William was stood there. “I should never have let Hank do this to the family. I should have stood up to him.”
“Hank?” Williams voice broke her out of her ramble and she turned to look at him.
“Buffy’s father. Or at least in blood only, he has never acted like a father to her.”
The wheels in Williams head started to turn, he had heard that name before. However before he could put two and two together, Joyce started talking again. “When her brother and his wife, you met them both, Alex and Anya, had their first child, Buffy was overcome when they said that they wanted to name her after her. Now I’m worried she won’t ever get to see her grow up. I don’t know what I will do without my Buffy.” Tears had started to spring in her eyes, as she dabbed them away with the tissue.
“Wait a sec, their child is called Anne, isn’t she? But you just said she’s named after Buffy.”
“She is. Its Buffy’s middle name, has she never told you that?” Joyce looked at him enquiringly.
Alarm bells started to go off in Williams’s head. “Buffy’s real name is Elizabeth isn’t it?” Joyce just nodded, confused where he was going with this, surely he knew. "Has she, or has she not, ever been know as Eliza?" Joyce just nodded. “Elizabeth-Anne Summers also known as Eliza-Anne Summers?” William ran his hands through his hair.
“Yes, that her full name, no one ever calls it her mind.” Joyce just stared at the man in front of her who seemed to be frantic.
“Is her father, Lord Hank Summers III or not?”
“Wow, been quite a while since I have heard his official title. But yes that’s Buffy’s father, where is this leading?”
“That means Buffy’s…”
“Royalty? Yes.”
TBC…
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry there hasn't been any updates recently, things over christmas have got very very very hectic!!! I just hope they are starting to calm down now. Please leave me a review and I WILL update again soon!
Nikki xx
Nikki xx