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Chapter 4 – Family

England

Lady Lilah Giles looked good for her age. Damn good. Many men of means still coveted her attentions. She sometimes wished that she had remarried after her husband had passed, but she was vain and did not wish to give up her title. She had taken many lovers over the years, but the years were still lonely. Her children made matters worse. Rupert had foolishly messed up his life and was now a disgraceful drunk. Drusilla was in and out of institutions and a constant burden. It became even worse when Ethan Rayne married her. Drusilla was only 18 at the time and Lilah had suspected the relationship might have been going on for years. Several years. Despite her objections to Ethan, Lilah was relieved that she would be rid of the girl, but she should have known better. Instead of Drusilla moving out, Ethan moved into Pembrook. He knocked Drusilla up right away, and once baby Dawn arrived he made sure he was away on business most of the year. Lilah was aware he had mistresses, but at least he was smarter than Rupert and hid his dalliances from Drusilla. She sometimes suspected that Ethan had just married Drusilla to get back at Rupert for sleeping with Jenny Callendar. Ethan’s family was very wealthy so it certainly wasn’t for Drusilla’s inheritance.

The only bright spot for Lilah was Dawn. She was a shy, lovely girl, with none of her mother’s afflictions. Having Dawn made up for Lizzy being in America for Lilah. She raised Dawn the way she had hoped Drusilla and Rupert would turn out. She knew Dawn suffered from her parents neglect and often overindulged her to make up for it. Amazingly, Dawn was rather unspoiled.

Lilah took over the family’s finances from Rupert a few years after his separation from Joyce. He was quickly squandering away the family fortune. Since she had taken control she had nearly tripled what her husband had left her. She was quite proud of this - she had to work very hard to cover the disgraces of Rupert and Drusilla.

When the police came to the manor one day to tell her that Rupert was dead, she was not surprised. In her mind her son had been dead for years. Now she finally had something to burry.

Drusilla on the other hand, was devastated. She threatened to slice her wrist and join him. The servants restrained her in her room. Dawn took it in stride. She never knew how her Uncle was before he became a drunk. Her only concern was her mother. As Lilah prepared to have her institutionalized again, Dawn objected.

“You know it’s not going to do any good – it will be like all the other times. You might as well leave her here and just hire a nurse to make sure she gets all her pills.”

“A girl your age should not have to deal with this.”

“Well, somebody has to, and it’s just you and me now. I’m 15 now and you can’t continue to hide what really goes on in this family from me, so I think I should have a say in what happens to my mother. I doubt if Dad will even come home for the funeral.”

“I actually heard from him this morning. He is planning on coming. He said he had something important he needed to discuss with me. He should be here this evening.” Lilah felt terrible about how pessimistic Dawn was regarding her parents. She had offered on several occasions to send Dawn to boarding school so she could get away and lead a more normal life, but she refused. She was too devoted to Drusilla to leave her.

Ethan arrived that evening as promised. He came bearing tons of gifts for Dawn, as usual. She thanked him politely and excused herself to her room, saying she had a lot of homework to catch up on. He briefly went in to see Drusilla, but she was too sedated to realize he was there. Ethan then joined Lilah in the parlor.

“Lady Lilah, I am so sorry about Rupert. I had always hoped he would manage to turn himself around.”

“Thank you Ethan, but my son was deeply troubled and all our attempts to help him were futile. I do appreciate everything you tried to do for him. But Ethan, we must talk about Drusilla. She’s taken the news quite hard, and Dawn does not wish for her to return to the institution. I can’t really blame her, the girl should have at least on parent around.” Lilah raised her eyebrows at Ethan as she said this.

“Lady Lilah, I know I have been a terrible husband and father, but you are quite aware of how difficult Drusilla can be. I think I have been quite generous in the time and devotion I have given her over the years.”

“Yes, Ethan, I do understand about Drusilla, but there is no excuse for your treatment of Dawn. The girl needs a stable parent in her life.”

“Oh Lilah, don’t sit there and try to pretend you haven’t reveled in raising Dawn. You’ve made a miniature Lady Giles, now haven’t you?” Ethan commented snidely.

“Trust me Ethan, I would have much preferred for Dawn to be raised by her parents, but I certainly wasn’t going to lady my granddaughter, heir to the Giles title and fortune, be neglected. It was my duty to raise her as a proper young lady.” Lilah countered.

“Fine Lady Lilah, we could argue about this all evening, but you have just hit on the exact point I came here to discuss with you. Dawn is not the only heir to the Giles title and fortune. Have you forgotten your eldest granddaughter? The one in America that you have never once visited or called? Or do you prefer to pretend she doesn’t exist?”

“Of course I have not forgotten Lizzy! Unfortunately circumstance dictate that I must. The future of this family is Dawn.”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. Now is the time to make amends. You need to contact Joyce and let her know about Giles. For Christ sake, she is still his wife. And Buffy is his only child. They deserve to know. And this is the time to reach out to them. We could all be a family again. If anything would help Drusilla, it would be Joyce and Buffy coming home.”

“Buffy?” Lilah inquired.

“Oh, Joyce is now calling Lizzy ‘Buffy’ now.”

“What type of name is Buffy? How do you know this – have you spoken with them?”

“I actually visited them in America about 3 years ago. I was in Los Angeles on business and looked them up. They’re living in a small town in California called Sunnydale. I tried to convince Joyce to reconnect with the family, but she wouldn’t hear of it.”

“Ethan, how could you do this and not tell me! I am so angry with you for going behind my back!”

“Lady Lilah, I was only trying to help save Rupert. I thought if anything could pull him back, it would be Buffy and Joyce!”

“Well he obviously made the choice to cut them out of his lives. I have to respect my son’s wishes.”

“Bullocks! You interfere with more people’s lives than I can count. What’s the real reason you are shutting out Buffy?”

“How dare you take that tone with me Ethan Rayne. I have only done what was proper. How would it look, Buffy showing up after Giles has neglected her all these years?”

“Oh Lilah, how vain can you be? All you’re concerned about is appearance. You need to be concerned about your family. Well I’m fed up with it! If you don’t contact Buffy and Joyce, I will.” Ethan glared at her.

Lilah could not believe this. She had never been treated in such an appalling manner. But Ethan was right. She was ashamed of how Rupert had treated Joyce and Lizzy. And she was ashamed she hadn’t done something in the early years to rectify it.

“Fine Ethan, your right.” Lilah stated in a small voice. “As soon as the funeral is over, I will go to American and try to talk with Joyce and Lizzy.”

“Don’t you think they should be allowed to attend the funeral?”

“That’s just too traumatic and there is just to much bad history. I want to try to start my new relationship with them on a more positive note. It’s bad enough to have to tell them this news, but then to put them through the funeral? No, after is best.”

Ethan was so relieved that she had agreed to make contact that he argued no further. “Fine, I’ll accompany you. I think they’ll be much more receptive with a neutral party present.”

“Fine Ethan, we will leave on Friday.”



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