Three for a Secret by Lilachigh
Chapter 3 All Cats are Grey
One for Silver,
Two for Gold,
Three for a Secret that shall never be told
Buffy was eating a slice of pizza when Dawn came hurtling through the front door, home from school and obviously in a bad mood.
“Don’t ask!” she said, taking the last slice from the box. “I hate school. The teachers are just dumb.”
Buffy licked her fingers. “Er...right. Any particular one?”
“Mrs Murphy. Our history teacher. She is so dumb it isn’t true.”
“I thought you got on quite well with her?”
Dawn tossed back her long dark hair and crammed the rest of the pizza sideways into her mouth. “Nog angy mob.”
Buffy, having had years of translating Xander while he was eating, managed to make “Not any more” out of her sister’s mumbled reply.
Dawn swallowed. “I had to do an essay on the causes of the First World War in Europe. i got Spike to give me all these really neat details and facts, because he was around. And Mrs Murphy said I had a vivid imagination and had made them all up. She wanted me to quote my research material.”
“And you couldn’t very well say William the Bloody told you,” Buffy said with a smile.
Dawn sighed and poured herself some milk. Buffy watched, alarmed at just how quickly milk vanished in this house. But what could she say - I’ve no money, drink water, it’s free.
“And Buffy, it was really odd. I went round to see Spike on the way home from school and - ”
“Dawn! How many times have I told you, I don’t want you hanging out with Spike.”
The teenager scowled. “I suppose you’ve been nagging at him about me. I bet that’s why he wouldn’t let me inside his crypt. He came to the door and said he was a bit tied up and would speak to me later on. And I wanted to tell him about Mrs Murphy.”
Buffy hesitated, then said, in as off-hand a fashion as she could, “Was there anyone else there with him, did you see?”
“What? Oh, I’ve no idea. I could hear the TV in the background and someone laughing. I expect it was Clem.”
Buffy sat on at the table long after Dawn had gone upstairs to start her homework and begin the endless round of nightly phone calls, talking to girls she’d been talking to all day .
Spike not having time for Dawn. That was mega weird. Buffy would have bet anything she had that when it came to her little sister, the vampire was always completely reliable and trustworthy, strange as it was to use those words when talking about Spike.
It had to have something to do with Arabella. He’d been his usual annoying self until a couple of days ago. And that was just about the time Xander had seen Div’vid, Arabella’s husband in town.
Buffy pulled on a denim jacket, shouted up to Dawn that she was going to patrol and to go to bed on time and headed out for the cemetery that housed Spike’s crypt.
She couldn’t shake off the feeling of uneasiness that flooded through her. She and Spike had been so - well, close, recently. OK, when it came to sex, together they were great. But that was all it was. Sex. She needed it, needed to feel, to be in contact in some way with life.
‘And you need a dead guy to get this contact!’ the cynical part of her brain added dryly.
So why was she worrying about Arabella being back in Sunnydale? She didn’t love Spike, she told herself firmly. So she couldn’t be jealous of the vampire girl. OK, at the party she’d felt jealousy, but that had been fuelled by too much pink champagne.
The cemetery was swirling with mists that curled in great white swathes around the tombstones. Buffy shivered. The denim jacket did very little to keep out the cold.
There seemed to be very little vampire activity around. One fledgling fighting its way out of a grave was dispatched without her even breaking her stride. And there was the crypt.
Buffy hesitated, standing behind a large tree, gazing at the door. Should she try again? Talk to him again? Try to find out what the hell was going on.
Just then the door swung open and Buffy shrank back. She didn’t want Spike seeing her lurking like this. He had too good an opinion of himself as it was.
Then she shuddered. Two figures stood in the doorway, back lit by candlelight coming from inside. Buffy peered through the mist. Spike should we recognise anywhere, at any time. And there other was -
A slim woman, long brown curly hair caught up in a complicated knot at the back of her head. A pale blue top, very tight, clinging to her ample curves, and tight fitting black trousers tucked into leather boots. She looked elegant and sexy, immaculate and desirable.
Even as Buffy watched, the vampire girl reached up and kissed Spike on the cheek. Buffy felt her throat constrict and beads of cold sweat break out on her forehead as the man who had only recently been her lover ran his hand down his cousin’s throat, inside the collar of her top.
Through the mist she could see they were both smiling, then Spike turned with a swirl of leather coat and strode off into the mist without a backward glance.
Arabella stood watching him, her hand on the door. She stood very still for a second, then turned her head and looked over her shoulder, directly at where Buffy stood.
“Miss Summers! That is you behind that tree, isn’t it? Were you coming to call on us? Would you like to come in?”
Buffy stepped out into full view, pushing her clenched fists tightly into her pockets. She’d promised she wouldn’t stake Spike’s cousin unless she was attacked first and she was determined to keep her word.
Arabella had said ‘call on us’. Did she mean she was living in the crypt? Buffy gritted her teeth and walked towards her.
“Arabella. I thought you were in town. Australia not to your taste, then.”
“Miss Summers, may I call you Buffy?, such a very sweet, odd name. Oh, Australia was only a temporary visit. My husband had business back here. I imagine he is busy making money even as we speak.”
“I heard he was in town.”
Arabella spun round, for a second a startled expression crossing her beautiful face. “Div’vid in Sunnydale? Oh, I don’t think so.”
“Well, perhaps there’s more than one seven foot bright green demon around.”
Arabella laughed lightly and held the door of the crypt open. “Do come in, Buffy. The mist is getting thicker. I’m afraid it isn’t any warmer indoors, but then William and I don’t need heat - in any circumstance.”
Buffy walked past her, every nerve ending tingling, but determined not to show the girl she was annoying her.
“Can I offer you something? A fizzy drink, perhaps? I believe William does have a kettle and coffee, somewhere, but we’ve been feasting on - ”
“Spike doesn’t feast on humans any more!”
“Buffy, Buffy. Did I say humans? Feasting on some very tasty pig blood that he had in store. Personally, I’m not partial to the flavour, but William was keen for me to join him.”
“So - you’re staying here with Spike?” Buffy asked, gazing around the crypt, noting the female clothes scattered around, a purse upended casually on a stone coffin top, a pair of slippers with high heels and little pink feathers lying casually under a chair, as if Arabella had kicked them off to get comfortable.
“Of course. Where else would I stay. We’re family. I had the distinct impression that you were aware of that when we met at my anniversary party. I’m sure I explained to you that William and I have always been - close.”
“You made it quite clear that you were prepared to cheat on your husband with Spike, but he had no intention of doing so.”
Arabella laughed and lying back in the armchair, fondled the silver locket she was wearing. “I can hear from your voice that you are still feeling the teeniest bit jealous of me, Buffy.”
“Jealous? Of you and Spike? Don’t be ridiculous, Arabella. Spike’s a vampire. I’m the Slayer. We are - colleagues, I suppose. He helps out occasionally. But we certainly don’t have a relationship and as for jealousy - ”
Arabella pouted, her brilliant blue eyes shining in the candlelight. “Oh Buffy, what is the American expression? Can it? I am quite aware of your relationship with William. You want him and you have him if and when you get the chance. Listen, I don’t blame you, William is a very sexy man. Any girl would want him in her bed. And when you get that dreadful itch of desire, who better to scratch it than a vampire. But don’t confuse sex with love. William will never love you. Not like he loves me.”
Buffy realised she was biting her lip so hard, blood was oozing into her mouth. Even as she watched, she saw Arabella react to the scent and for a split second, the girl vamped into game face and then back again, fighting for control.
“Oh is that how you keep him at your side, Slayer? You give him a taste of your blood? Do you let him have a little drink now and then, when he is - how did you put it? - helping you out!”
Buffy felt her stomach roll with a sick queasiness. God, if only she hadn’t promised Spike not to stake his cousin! One swift swing of her arm and the vampire girl would be just another drifting dust cloud.
“And how would you keep him, Arabella? Do you think he would fight Div’vid for you? Spike likes your husband. Or hasn’t that occurred to you?”
Arabella stretched lazily, pushing her arms up above her head, the tight top and trousers clinging to her shape. The locket glittered in her cleavage and Buffy realised with a sinking heart that that was what Spike had been fingering when he said goodbye to her in the doorway - the smooth, creamy contours of her breasts.
Well, she thought, bitterly, Arabella was certainly better endowed in that area than she was. And she was only too well aware that Spike liked breasts. Loved to pillow his head on them, kiss and lick and -
She spun away and headed for the crypt door. She knew that if she stayed a moment longer, she’d break her word to Spike and kill his cousin, there where she sat.
“Don’t be sad, Buffy,” Arabella purred behind her. “You could never win, you know. Oh, I’m sure he enjoyed having sex with you. After all, all cats are grey in the dark, aren’t they? But I can give him Hope, and that’s all that matters to him.”
Buffy pushed out of the crypt and ran blindly back across the graveyard towards the road. Arabella’s words pounded in her head. ‘I can give him hope.’ That was what she’d said weeks ago at her anniversary party. But hope for what?
Love, I suppose, Buffy thought drearily. A future with another vampire, someone who would never grow old, decay, die. Someone who had the same tastes, the same inclinations, the same background.
But why was she so upset? There was something about Arabella that got under her skin. That air of complacency, of knowing you could make any man dance to your tune just by fluttering your eyelashes.
No man would ever have walked away from Arabella, Buffy thought bitterly. Parker would have drooled over her. Riley wouldn’t have gone off to some god forsaken jungle if he’d had an affair with her.
She heard herself laughing - and it wasn’t a nice sound. She remembered Riley and his dark desire for lady vamps. Oh yes, he’d have Arabella was Christmas and Thanksgiving all rolled into one.
She halted at the end of the road and leant against a wall. All cats are grey in the dark. Oh god, was that what Spike thought about her? Had he had sex with her because there was no one else around? All the times he’d professed to love her, had that just been fluff and nonsense, words to get her on her back in bed?
Buffy took a deep breath, forcing the air into lungs that felt seared and burning. She refused to accept she was jealous. You had to have deep feelings to be jealous. And she didn’t have that sort of relationship with Spike. He was useful and - yes, she would give that to Arabella, he was sexy and made her feel good, but there was no affection, none.
No, it was Arabella who was upsetting her and she just needed to be indoors, somewhere quiet and calm so she could be still and work out why.
‘They’re welcome to each other!’ Buffy muttered as she reached Revello and ran up the porch steps. ‘If that’s what he wants in a woman, then great. It’s nothing to do with me. But he needn’t think he can come round to me for help when Div’vid goes hunting him!’
Two hours later she was still awake, sitting in the living-room, gazing into space, trying to force her brain to stop painting pictures of Spike and Arabella together.
When the phone rang, she almost jumped out of her skin, but picked it up swiftly. The last thing she wanted was Dawn to wake up and come downstairs.
“Buffy Summers?”
“Yes.”
“Buffy, it’s Ross. Xander’s friend. At the Bronze. Remember?”
“What - oh, Ross, yes. What on earth are you doing calling now? It’s three in the morning!”
“Buffy, I’m sorry, but I don’t know if Xander told you or not. I’m a detective, Buffy, and I’ve got your friend Spike in my car. I arrested him breaking into the Magic Shop. I thought you should know.”
to be continued
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Even when the other woman is a vampire, it is incredibly annoying when you think your rival is more attractive to men than you are!