Author's Chapter Notes:
Thankyou all for the wonderful feedback and emails i've had, it inspires me to write!
Further English Adventures – In Days of Old………

A story continuing in the English Adventure series
By LoobyLoo
Disclaimer – I own nothing and nobody, this is just for fun
Rating will eventually be NC17



Chapter 1

Buffy poured milk onto Izzie’s cereal, and she smiled and listened to it as it snapped, crackled and popped.

Spike poured more tea, and Buffy spread her one piece of thin toast with low fat spread…

“Is that all your having? – Aren’t you going to have some of Sam’s yummy thick pork sausages and smoked bacon?”

Spike asked frowning, before tucking into his grilled bacon and tomatoes, sausages, and scrambled eggs with gusto.

“Well if Willow’s coming to stay – it’ll be cooked breakfasts, cream teas, Cornish pasties, fish and chips…I thought I better cut down now!” Buffy said, then she turned her head and called her son.

“Billy! Come on love, your boiled egg is getting cold – she turned to Spike and said with a grin, I suppose he has his nose in a book, as usual!”

“Don’t knock it!” Spike said, grinning

“Coming mom!”

Billy came downstairs holding a book, which he placed on the table.

“No reading at the table Billy! – What are you reading now?………Blackmore Hall, what is this a guide book?” Buffy picked it up and began leafing through it.

Billy ‘topped’ his egg and dipped a toast ‘soldier’ into the soft runny yolk. When he’d finished eating his first bite, he said,

“It’s very interesting – did you know, that when people weren’t allowed to be Roman Catholic anymore during the reign of Henry the VIII, they had to worship in secret, and tiny secret passages were built into the houses, called ‘priest holes’ for them to hide in?”

Buffy smiled and said,

“Did they really!”

“Yes! Hmm…who laid this egg mommy, was it Ginger?”

“Yes darling, it was from your favourite hen, Ginger – when you’ve finished you can help me feed and clean them out”

“Okay…has the post come yet?” As if on cue, the letterbox flapped and Spike got up to fetch the mail.

“Hmm, three for me…one for you darling…and one for you Billy!” Spike handed out the letters.

“Great, it’s my free guide of stately homes from the Heritage Trust”

Spike smiled at his son and tore open one of his own letters

“Have I got one daddy?” Izzie piped up

“Yes darling, here you go, you can have this one, the contents of this letter maybe worth £50,000 in prize money…” He gave his daughter the junk mail envelope to open.

Buffy looked up and said,

“It’s from Willow, she said she’ll be coming to England on the 8th, but she’ll be staying in Oxford for a few days first, then she’ll come to us on the 12th for two weeks”

“Oh great, Auntie Willow is staying!”

“Well today is the 5th, I tell you what, when I get back from playing squash with Sam this afternoon, I’ll shift my computer into our bedroom and that’ll give you plenty of time to get the room ready for her, okay?”

“Thanks love………she says here she’ll phone me so we can give her instructions on how to get here”

“I can always pick her up from the station” Spike finished the last of his tea.

“Nuh uh, not the 12th, you have that Creative Writing talk to give to the ladies at the Women’s Institute” Buffy reminded him

“Oh god yes – I completely forgot about that!”

“Don’t worry, Sam can pick her up”

“Good, I wonder what we’d do without that guy sometimes!”

****************

Buffy was talking to Willow on the phone………

“………Honestly, there’s no need to write anything down, just get the train to Fordington”

“But what if I forget and go passed the station!”

“Don’t be silly, you’d hit the buffers, it’s the end of the line!”

“Oh, right, then what?”

“Then, you come out of the tiny little station, and directly in front of you, across the lane, you’ll see the village shop, go in, there’ll be a lovely big very friendly lady called Peggy in there, she’s always smiling and happy, just tell her who you are and she’ll get her nephew Sam to bring you up here”

“Really, I could just as easy get a taxi!”

“Will, he IS the taxi – he’s Spike’s best friend, and the shop assistant, handyman, fisherman, delivery driver, and he keeps a few pigs for fattening up and then he makes the best bacon and sausages you’ve ever tasted, he’ll bring the groceries I’ve ordered too.”

“Right…”

“He’s even been known to come and give Spike a start on a cold morning!”

“I beg your pardon?!!!”

“When the car wouldn’t start! He’s got out the jump-leads!”

“I was going to say! – Anyway, any idea of the train times, I’m getting the 7.20am Oxford to Exeter train, then the 11.35am Exeter to Fordington?”

“There are only two trains a day Will, one is at 1.30pm, the next is 5.30, you should get the 1.30pm one fine”

“Okay then, well, I’ve just got a little last minute packing to do…um, what size chest did you say Izzie was?”

“Willow, you have them spoiled enough!”

“Oh shush – I have to spoil my god-children, it’s tradition!”

“Actually, I’m not sure, but an age 4-5 fits her fine”

“And Billy still loves reading, I take it!”

“Does he – not fiction though, Xander sent him Harry Potter for Christmas, and I’m ashamed to say it’s been ME reading it – but he loves history, kings and queens, what he doesn’t know about the Tudor’s isn’t worth knowing – he’s genius! – He must get it from Spike!”

Willow laughed and they said their goodbyes until the following day.

*****************

Standing outside the tiny station at Fordington, Willow saw the village shop as Buffy said.

She went over and inside, where a rather large lady greeted her with a smile and said,

“Good afternoon my dear, now don’t tell me, you’re Willow, Buffy’s friend”

Willow smiled and said

“Yes! – Did she tell you?”

“She did my dear, and I’m Peggy, very pleased to meet you - now I’ve got the groceries Buffy ordered, I just want to………there - just a couple of out of date comics for the children, and some of my homemade rum-truffles for Spike, my treat!” She winked at Willow and tucked them safely down the side of the bag.

“I’ll just go call - Oh, there you are Sam, I was just going to call you!”

“Heard the train arrive – so, you’re Willow then, I’m Sam, pleased to meet you – well come through, I’ve put a clean blanket on the seat so not to mark your jeans”

Willow saw a tall, very good looking thick-set guy with a mop of blond streaked curls wearing jeans and a faded sweatshirt, he had piercing blue eyes and a ready grin.

“Don’t forget the groceries Sam, and tell Buffy we can settle up next week – oh, and don’t forget to get the eggs off her” Peggy said

“Will do!” Sam put Willow’s cases and Buffy’s groceries in the back of the van, and made sure Willow was safely belted in the front seat.

“Right then…so Buffy tells me you’ve been in France at university”

“Um, oh yes!”

Ten minutes later they pulled up outside the cottage, and Willow got her first look. The children ran out to greet her while Sam took the groceries into the kitchen. He saw two-dozen eggs on a tray on the kitchen table

Buffy and Willow hugged and came inside grinning

“These are the eggs for Aunty Peg then?”

“Yes, how much do I owe her – I’ll get my purse”

“No need, she said you can settle up next week – how much do you want for the eggs?”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll sort it with her on Tuesday then”

“Hello Sam!”

“Hello young Billy…what are reading?”

“About Blackmore Hall, it’s fascinating”

Izzie ran up to Sam, who scooped her up

“Sam!”

“Hello Bubbles, have you been a good girl for your mum, huh?” Izzie nodded

“Is that right mum, has she been a good girl?”

Buffy smiled and said,

“Oh, I think so”

“Okay then (he put her down and held out two fists to her) which hand is it in?”

Izzie smacked Sam’s left hand, and Sam opened it to reveal it was empty, but then he pretended to pull a £1 coin from behind her ear with his right hand

“There you go, put it in your money box! – And you Billy” he handed Billy a £1 coin too.

“Thanks Sam!”

“Izzie, what do you say?” Buffy prompted

“Thankyou Sam”

“There’s a good girl!” he fondly ruffled her curls and both children went to put the money away for safekeeping.

“Spike about?”

“No, he’s in Barnstaple giving a lecture to the WI”

“Oh yes, he did say, I forgot – tell him I’ll pick him up Sunday afternoon for cricket practice – oh, and I’m going fishing and setting up the lobster pots tomorrow, want any?”

“Ooh yeah, what ever you can spare, lobster or crab”

“Okay then, well, I better be off, I’m trying out a new recipe for my sausages, I’m doing something a bit spicy for the barbecue”

“Willing guinea-pigs here!” Buffy said and waved him off.

“Right, I’ll put the kettle on, and we can catch up with the gossip!”





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