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Title: Reflection of Love
Author: Pattyanne
snapkik@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: None of the BtVS
characters belong to me.
Feedback: Love some, thanks!
Rating: Up to NC-17
Summary: Buffy inherits a house and
finds an antique mirror in the attic, a
mirror that was once owned by William
Cathcart over a hundred years ago.



Part six....


"Thank you," she said, responding to his complimentary
words. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

"Oh, I can't believe that," William replied, forcing away his
embarrassment at being caught staring so brazenly.


Her apparent disregard for his rudeness was making him feel
much more at ease about the incident, although it wasn't helping
the physical reaction he was having. He suspected that as
long as she stood before him half undressed, that state of
affairs was unlikely to change.

As badly as he wanted to conceal it from her, to turn away
from her shining eyes and knowing smile, he couldn't make
himself do it. What if he did...and she disappeared?

No. He would suffer through it as best he could and pray
that she wouldn't notice his problem.


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


Since she couldn't think of any other way to kick things off,
Buffy decided to fall back on tried and true methods.

"So," she said, bundling up the blanket that had fallen from
the mirror and plopping down on it, "tell me about yourself."

He only hesitated a moment before copying her action, sink-
ing down to the floor on his side of the mirror.

"I...I don't really know how to begin."

"Okay, that's understandable. I mean...this IS a pretty
freaky situation. Makes sense that you'd be thrown
for a loop."

He looked almost comically perplexed. "I understand 'freakish
situation', but...'thrown for a loop' ?"


"Well...it's slang," Buffy explained. "It means that this
thing that's happening is so...bizarre...that it's natural to
be somewhat...somewhat..."

"Befuddled?" he offered.

"That's as good a word as any."

"And do all Americans in 2004 speak in this manner?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Anyway," she continued, "how about
if we take turns asking questions and get to know each other
a little better?"

William nodded agreeably. "A sensible suggestion."

"Right. You start."

"Oh, no. Ladies first," he insisted.

Figuring that he would probably die of shock if she asked
him what was REALLY on her mind, Buffy began with easy,
non-aggressive inquiries. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-six. And you?"

"Twenty-five. Got any hobbies?"

"Well, I don't know that I'd refer to them as hobbies, but
I write poetry...sometimes...and I sketch, mostly landscapes,
and not very well."

They sat and conversed for a good half an hour, exchanging
questions and answers. For the most part, the questions
were kept light and impersonal, making Buffy anxious to cut
to the chase.

"See how easy this is?" she asked, smiling when he did. "So,"
she added, trying to sound casual when she asked her
next question, "have you...got a girlfriend?"


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

It wasn't difficult for William to determine the gist of her
question, even though the term 'girlfriend' was unfamiliar.

"Not...precisely," he said evasively.

"A handsome guy like you? I'll bet all the girls are after
you."

His cheeks flushed, William shook his head. "I can assure
you they're not."

"Come on," she coaxed. "There must be someone special.
Someone YOU like."

Blushing all the way to the tips of his ears, he ducked
his head a bit. "There is one young lady that I have...ad-
mired. But she has no interest in me."

"Well, how do you know? Have you told her that you
like her?"

"You mean...have I spoken plainly of my feelings?"

Buffy nodded, surprised when she saw him swallow hard,
as though trying to dislodge something painful from his
throat.

"What's wrong?" she asked, pretty sure she already
knew. "Was she mean to you?"

Buffy could feel the hair on the back of her neck prickle
with irritation. The thought of some stuck up Victorian
Miss Priss being unkind to this sweet and gentle young
man made her wish there was something she could
actually do about it...something like a good, old-fashioned
cat fight would do nicely.

For his part, William was beginning to regret ever
having said anything to Cecily in the first place. He now
felt that he had gotten over her with such unseemly haste
that perhaps his feelings truly hadn't been all he'd thought
them to be.

"Not...not until recently," he explained haltingly.

"And it didn't go well?" Buffy pressed.

He shook his head, staring at the floor, uncertain as to how
much of his humiliation he wanted to reveal. If he admitted
to Miss Buffy what a fool he'd made of himself, she
might also want nothing to do with him.

Even though their acquaintance was of decidedly short notice
and limited to the boundaries the mirror imposed on them,
making it impossible for them to ever do more than converse,
he was oddly unwilling to say anything that might make
him seem unpleasing in her eyes.

"Well, if it wouldn't be too nosy to ask...what did you say
to her?" When he looked up with startled eyes, she quickly
added, "I was just wondering...I mean...maybe I can help. You
know...give you a woman's perspective on where you might
have gone....wrong?"

"Oh, I...I couldn't impose upon you like that," he demurred.

Buffy couldn't believe what she was doing. Was she actually
going to give a guy that SHE liked tips on how to attract
other girls? How stupid was THAT?

Still...it wasn't as though she could have him anyway. Not
through a pane of glass and a hundred year plus separation
in time. As attracted as she was to William Cathcart, it would
be mighty selfish behavior on her part to withhold any help
she could possibly provide.

**Sometimes doing the right thing really sucks!**

"You're not imposing. I want to help," she said, hoping she
sounded more sincere than she felt. "So, you came right out
and told her how you feel about her?"

Unable to see any way out of it, William sighed and
nodded.

"What did you say?"

After a long pause, his face hot with embarrassment, he
said, "I wrote her a poem describing her beauty and
declaring my...admiration."

Buffy stared at him, her mind reeling at this little nugget
of information. She'd never heard of anything so poignantly
romantic. The closest SHE'D ever come to having a man
praise her in verse were the prefab rhymes found on the
insides of greeting cards.

What kind of moron was this woman, anyway?

Did she have any IDEA how many women would give a
year off their life to be in her shoes?

"Well...what did she say to you about it?" Buffy asked,
her protective instincts getting riled up all over again.

"It was more what she DIDN'T say," he admitted. "I'm
afraid she considers me...beneath her."

"That BITCH!" Her hand flew up to clap over her mouth,
but it was too late. The word was out, and couldn't be
taken back. Horrified at what she'd said, she looked at
him through wide eyes.

What must he think of her? He was accustomed to
being around ladies who probably never uttered ANY sort of
profanity, and here she had all but shouted one. Worse, she'd
insulted the girl he admired, the one who had inspired him to
write poetry about her.

Now he would probably hate her, would look at her in shock
and disgust, would think of her as a low class, foul mouthed
piece of trash, a gutter dwelling little...

Her silent litany of self abuse took a screeching right turn
when she saw the look on his face. He didn't appear to be
appalled or revolted in any way. He actually looked very....amused!

In fact, he looked to be trying not to laugh out loud.

Amusement aside, Buffy tried to mend fences.

"Oh, I'm really sorry," she said, ashamed of her out-
burst. "I don't know why I said that, but...but I shouldn't
have. It was...it was rude and mean, I know. I just...it
pissed me...made me angry when I heard what she'd
said to you."

The smile that graced his handsome face was the
sweetest she'd ever seen. How any woman could resist
this shy and charming young poet was completely beyond
her.

She wanted so badly to be able to hold his face between
her hands and kiss the lovely curve of his lips, to pull away
slowly, opening her eyes to find that his were still closed, to
wait for them to open and gaze into hers as she leaned forward
for another...lingering...

"Please, don't feel you need to apologize," he said, jerking
her right out of her daydream. "I daresay, I found it quite
amusing. I do so enjoy the brash way you express yourself."

Well, that was something anyway.

"I guess it's pretty different from what you're used to," she
replied, tucking her hair neatly behind her ears.

"Very different," he agreed. "That's what's so wonderful about
it."

Relief flooded through her. "So...you're not mad at me for
insulting what's-her-name?"

William laughed a little. "No, of course I'm not. And your offer
to help is very kind."

"Help?" She'd totally forgotten about that!

"Yes. You offered to give me a...how did you put it...a
woman's perspective on what I might be doing wrong
in regards to Cecily."

Cecily? So THAT was the bitch's name!

"Yeah. I did say that, didn't I?"

Buffy didn't know why she sounded so dejected. The situation
hadn't changed. She couldn't have William.

But she didn't want Cecily to have him either, damn it!

Chiding herself for her dog-in-the-manger attitude, she
pasted a bright smile on her face.

"I said it...and I meant it! We'll get you on the right
track with good old...."

"Cecily," he supplied helpfully.

"Yeah, her. And...and who knows? Maybe she really does
like you, too," Buffy said, trying to sound encouraging about
that possibility. "Maybe, she was just nervous...or shy."

**Or maybe, she's a great big bitch!**

"Sometimes girls...when they like a boy...don't always know
how to let them in on it. Especially back in your day when
everybody is so....repressed."

"Repressed?" He tilted his head, a gesture so charming that
she nearly missed what he was saying. "Is that what you think?"

But there was no missing the look in his eyes! Even behind
his glasses, they seemed darker and more intense all of a
sudden, and they were pinned on her in a way that made her
body sit up and take notice.

**This is unbelievable. He's just LOOKING at me and it's getting
me hot.**

What had happened to the bashful and blushing young man
she'd been talking with?

The only thing she could conclude was that there was quite a bit
more to William than she'd imagined. Victorian gentleman he
might be, but there was an obviously deep seated core of
natural sensuality that he probably wasn't even aware of, and
it was beginning to break through the barrier of his reserve.

Buffy wanted more than anything to help it along. All she
needed to do was figure out how.



TBC....

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