Chapter 23
The door to the cabin swung open unexpectedly and Willow shot a quick glance at Tara. “I think she’s figured it out.”
“Willow! Tara!” With flashing eyes and the righteous fury of a Valkyrie, Buffy charged into the cabin, William heavy on her heels, grinning broadly.
They both rose to their feet sheepishly. “Buffy, what a surprise, what are you doing here?” Willow asked, avoiding her gaze.
“Willow, you’ve never been a good liar, don’t start now. What were you thinking?” Her lips were tight as Buffy stalked forward.
“I’m just going to leave you ladies to chat for a bit.” William hastily stepped to the door. There was a storm brewing and he thought he’d just as soon not be a party to the wrath of Buffy. After all, he needed to stay on her good side if he planned to try to woo her back to him.
Willow made a helpless sound as the ungrateful William ducked out the door.
“Alright Willow, what is this all about?” Buffy brandished the note. “I was frightened beyond belief when I received this. I thought you might be dying.” The tremble in her voice brought Willow up short.
“Oh Buffy, no, we didn’t mean to scare you. Did we, Tara?”
Tara shook her head. “Buffy, I’m sorry, we were wrong to trick you that way, honestly we know that. We just didn’t want you to miss your opportunity for something special. We didn’t mean any harm.”
“My opportunity for something special? What are you two talking about?”
“William.” Willow said it as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Oh no, don’t you start an Anya on me now, Willow.” Buffy fluttered back and sat down on one of the bunks, slightly embarrassed. “I don’t know what he’d told you, but it was a mistake, one I regret, and one I won’t repeat.” Her face softened for a moment. “I appreciate what you were trying to do here, but Willow, Tara, that’s simply not the life for me.”
The pair looked at each other, confused. “Buffy, I think there are some things you don’t know.”
She took a deep breath. “Well, then why don’t you fill me in?”
~~~~~~~~~~~
Buffy opened the door to the cabin and slowly walked into the narrow hallway, breathing in the salt air that stung her lungs just a little.
William really loved her. Or so he’d declared to her closest friends, to his brother even. And he was going to break the contract, for her, no matter what the cost.
Had they gotten that right? Was it possible? Or was it just another line he’d fed them to salvage their opinion of him after her abrupt dismissal the day they’d left. After all, it wasn’t as though he wasn’t capable of spinning pretty words when he wanted something.
Yet they’d seen so convinced, so sure of his sincerity.
It startled her, that he would do that. That he thought she was more important than the arrangements made to further the passage of ships and trade and all the things that men’s lives revolved around. That he would rather have her.
She paused before knocking on the cabin door. Was she ready to face him? Knowing this? Because it meant a risk for her as well. She’d known Richard Wilkins since she was a little girl. He was ruthless about getting what he wanted. And what he wanted right now was William and his connections. There would be a price to pay for her and him if they went forward.
So the question was, would she go the safe route and return to Miss Greenlee’s, or would she take the chance and accept what she thought he would offer her when she entered that door?
She realized she didn’t know the answer yet as she knocked softly on the door to the captain’s cabin, but she could start with an apology. She tried to calm the flutter in her stomach as the door swung open.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Buffy?” He seemed surprised to see her so soon. “Get everything sorted out then? All patched up?”
She nodded. “Willow and Tara had some interesting things to tell me.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Oh did they now? What exactly about?” His tone was still slightly stiff.
“You, mostly.” She motioned to the small table. “What do you say we have a little chat? And would you happen to have a cup of tea?”
A small smile crept onto his face. “I think that can be arranged. Give me a moment.”
She settled her skirts as she folded her hands primly on the table.
~~~~~~~~~~~
He returned in moments and gave her a steaming cup, settling across the table with the other. His breath caught just a little as he watched her take a delicate sip to the dark liquid. He almost wanted to pinch himself. Was she really right across from him? Calmly regarding him with her solemn green eyes? And why the sudden calmness in her demeanor? She’d been so furious before, and now, now she seemed positively sedate.
He’d learned enough about her to know such a facade masked still waters.
“I think we have some unfinished business to discuss, William.”
Hearing her say his name gave him hope. She’d dropped the formality again and he took it as a positive sign. And yet he was still left without the swagger of before. He wanted to say something cunning and flip, to see if he could coax a blush to her cheeks and a smile to her lips like he had so often in the past.
But that was before he’d lost his heart to her. Before it meant anything. Now . . . now, he didn’t dare do anything that might cause her to skitter back into her shell again. Because now it really meant something.
He was ready to grovel if necessary.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“So.”
“So indeed.” She lifted her teacup again. “I’m guessing we’ve already started for Charleston, haven’t we?”
He was a little surprised she’d figured that one out, but then again he’d always known Buffy was a sharp tack from the first day he’d met her.
“We’re a ways out from port now. No turning back.”
She pondered that for a moment. “No turning back. Then I suppose we can only look forward?”
“I suppose so.” He titled his head to the side as he studied her. There were faint shadows under her eyes he hadn’t noticed before, traces of sleepless nights that gave him pause. She was thinner as well. He should have put his foot down, insisted she come with them, have straightened out this tangle long ago. And now she was giving him the moment, the chance, the opportunity to do so.
He tried to compose precisely how he should say this as he fingered the emerald ring nestled in his pocket. The one that had been in the Darlington line for years, and rightfully sat on the Lady of the family’s finger. The ring he wanted to slip on her finger. But he needed to get this right, to have the perfect words to persuade her of his devotion and affection.
He didn’t have the chance. She took the lead.
“Did you mean what you said, earlier? That you loved me?”
“With all my heart Buffy. I--”
She raised her hand to stop him. “No, please, it’s alright. I believe you. It seems I have an apology to make.”
“You do?”
She slid her hand across the table and lightly laid it across his, the light touch causing him to shiver with remembrance of what her soft flesh felt like between his. “I do. I lied to you, William, in the garden, when I told you that I didn’t love you.”
If his heart could have danced independent of his body around the room it would have kicked up its heels in the wildest of reels at her statement.
She release her clasp of his hand. “But I’m not sure that it’s enough.”
The music stopped with a screech and his heart missed a step in its dance.
“What on earth do you mean? I love you and, you me. What more is there to ask for?” He already knew the answer to that, knew that merely loving the other party wasn’t enough. Passion and fire would burn, but trust and affection would provide a foundation for something that would see them through the hard times that would lie ahead. And she obviously knew it as well.
“I’m not sure if I can trust you, William. I just need some time.”
“Buffy, I’m not going to marry Harmony . . .”
She stood and stopped the desperate flow of words tumbling from his lips. “William, please. I’d rather you didn’t explain right now.”
He rose too, stepping closer, sure that is she’d just let him press his case, he could convince her. She closed her eyes and stepped away from him, leaving him facing her back, slumped shoulders and bowed head silent testament to the futility of pleading his case.
He followed her, gently laying a hand on her shoulder. “Buffy? What can I do?”
She was very still, barely breathing it seemed, until she exhaled slowly and whispered, “Just give me some time, William. This . . . you . . . everything is just a little overwhelming right now. Could you do that? Please?”
It took everything in his power to slowly withdraw his hand, but he turned and left the cabin.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The sight of the small dock protruding into the dark water was welcome after the day spent working their way up the river. Though the weather was cool and they weren’t plagued with the pests of summer, the exertions under the heavy wool of their coats combined for an uncomfortable extremity of heat and cold as dusk threatened to descend.
“You think he’ll be here?” Wesley looked back at Xander.
“I hope so, after all this. The Fosters were sure he was headed in this direction when he wandered off. If he’s not here, I think we may have to assume the worst.” Xander sighed. “I’m not sure he’ll be half the man this Harmony seems to think he is, but if we can find him, at least he’ll serve to stop Wilkins from forcing Will to go through with that daft contract he signed.”
They glided along the dock until they were in reach and Wesley tossed the rope and moored them securely. The path was well-cleared as they walked through the forest of pine.
”Who are you?”
Xander started at the sudden intrusion to the peacefulness of the day’s end quiet, marred only by the occasional call of a bird. The voice belonged to a small girl, clad in a well-washed calico and firmly clutching a rag doll to her chest.
Wesley knelt to look the child in the eyes. “I’m Mr. Wyndham-Pryce and this is Mr. Harris. We’ve come to see about a guest, a Sergeant Finn who we think might be staying with your family.
The little girl plucked her thumb from her mouth. “The sick man?”
Wesley shared a look with Xander. “Yes, the sick man. Can you take us to see your father?”
The little girl nodded and began trotting up the path, Wesley and Xander close on her heels. The house that came into sight was neat but small, little more than a wooden enclosure that would provide some measure of shelter, but little else. A woman appeared in the door as they drew closer, shading her eyes.
“Sarah? Where did you get off to?”
“Mama, Mama, look what I found!” Sarah grabbed Wesley’s hand and tugged him as she continued to clutch her dolly tightly with the other. Xander noticed the stiffening of the woman’s back as she took in the two well-dressed men.
“Ma’am, we’re so sorry to call on your home in this unexpected manner. My friend and I are searching for a gentleman named Riley Finn on behalf of his wife, who has been most distressed by his long absence.”
“His wife?” The woman’s face softened slightly. “We didn’t know Sergeant Finn was married. The poor man’s just now starting to recover, he’s been so ill he’s hardly had the strength to speak. Likely explains why he’s been thrashing around so, eager to get home, I reckon.”
“Indeed.” Wesley permitted Sarah to lead him closer to the door and made a small bow. “Allow me to introduce myself and my friend, Mrs. . . . .”
“Edwards. Sadie Edwards. My husband’s Elijah, and he’s been out hunting this morning. He’ll be back soon.”
Wesley smoothly introduced launched into introductions, watching as Mrs. Edwards took their measure. She seemed slightly nervous, but he assumed most women living out here might be a bit thrown by two strangers arriving unannounced. He suspected their clothes and groomed appearance helped matters somewhat, but she still appeared ill at ease.
“So you’re just here for Sergeant Finn?”
“Yes ma’am. His wife is expecting and has been quite distressed in his absence.”
That seemed to seal the matter. “Oh, poor girl. Well, come with me, he’s been staying out in the barn, we just don’t have the room in the house.”
She shut the door to the house firmly behind her and led them around to another wooden structure and pulled open the door to reveal a man laying on a pallet, shivering under his blanket, still clearly racked by the lingering vestiges of a fever.
Xander walked in and knelt beside the pallet. He laid his hand on Finn’s forehead and noted the slight flush in his checks. He’d been in Charleston long enough to have seen a case or two of the dreaded swamp fever. Finn, though wan and haggard, seemed to be through the worst.
“Sergeant Finn, can you hear me? My name is Xander Harris, I’m a friend of your wife.”
It seemed with some effort that Finn’s eyes slowly opened. He motioned and Mrs. Edwards reached for a bucket to the side, lifting a hollowed gourd full of water to his lips. “The fever takes the water out of a man, makes him right thirsty.”
Riley took several swallows and seemed to find his voice, cracked though it was from disuse. “Harmony? You know Harmony?”
Wesley stepped forward and nodded. “Yes, we’ve met Mrs. Finn and I know she’ll be most delighted to see you’re on the mend. The last word she received indicated you had succumbed to your illness and she’ll be most delighted to see you again. She has some wonderful news for you.”
A smile crossed the thin face. “I was worried she’d given up on me.”
Xander shook his head. “No, she’s quite devoted. But we really must see about getting you back as soon as possible. I’m sure Mrs. Edwards has provided excellent care, but you could use the services of a doctor.”
Mrs. Edwards nodded. “Poor man stumbled out of the woods a few months back, wild-eyed and raving and near about dead. Wouldn’t have been Christian to turn him away. But he’d be better off getting back to his missus.”
“Mrs. Edwards, I hesitate to impinge further on the hospitality you’ve already shown to Sergeant Finn, but could we trouble you for lodging for the night so that we might make a fresh start in the morning? I’m afraid neither Mr. Harris nor myself are familiar enough with the river to attempt to navigate it in the dark. You’d be amply rewarded, of course.”
Mrs. Edwards picked up Sarah, who’d been clinging to her skirts throughout and glanced at the house and then back to the gentlemen. “Well, like I said, we just don’t have no room in the house, but you’re welcome to bed down out here if you want. I can bring you out some supper once we’ve got it made.”
Xander managed to suppress his laughter at the expression on the rather fastidious Wes’s face at the prospect of bedding down with the cows and horse that were the current occupants of the barn.
“We appreciate the offer, Mrs. Edwards, and we accept. We’ll be just fine out here,” Xander told her.
“Good. I’ll bring back some blankets.” Sarah watched them over her mother’s shoulder, giving a shy wave as they disappeared back around the corner to the front of the house.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry for the long delay in updates and thanks for reading!