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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you to Debbie, Devin, Mali, DaniD, jt, Amelia-Jane, jenny, Kimber, SpaceLord and Klai, for reviewing. Your comments always bring a huge smile to my face. :D And thank you again to the wonderful Evilawyer, for the quick and thorough beta. :D
Chapter 32

Campo Real, two days later

It was done. She was doña Aimée De Alcazar at last. All her dreams had finally come true. She had a rich husband she had snagged from under her perfect sister’s nose. She was the mistress of the biggest and most productive hacienda in Texas. So, why wasn’t she any happier? Why couldn’t she stop thinking of William, of his kisses, his caresses, the way he’d worshiped her body? Why did she dread the fact that from this day forward she’d have share all that with a man that left her cold inside?

That wasn’t all that was making her uneasy, though. Her new mother-in-law had made it quite clear that she wasn’t welcome at Campo Real. Not that she cared about her Aunt Darla’s attitude, not really. She was sure that she could convince Angel to move out of this God-forsaken town. With any luck, they wouldn’t return to Texas after their honeymoon in Europe and she wouldn’t have to deal with Darla De Alcazar except when it was absolutely necessary.

And now, as if she hadn’t gone through enough already, Tegua had sent her some strange contraption and a vial that she’d have to use tonight to ensure that Angel wouldn’t notice that she was not a virgin anymore. She didn’t even want to imagine what the vial contained or what material the contraption was made of; just looking at them had made her nauseous and she wouldn’t have even thought of using them if she hadn’t been sure it was absolutely necessary.

She’d almost wished that William would appear in Campo Real to steal her away so she wouldn’t have to go through with it all. But no, she couldn’t leave even if that happened. She refused to back away just because she’d found some obstacles in her way. Ever since her mother sent her to Boston to live with her Aunt Francesca, she’d dreamed of the day when she’d make everyone realize how wrong they’ve been by preferring her sister over her all this time. Elizabeth had always been their parents’ favorite while she was just the spare, disposable daughter, the one whose existence didn’t matter. Not anymore, though. Since her engagement to Angel had been made public, her mother and most of their acquaintances had treated her differently. She had everything her sister ever wanted and she wasn’t about to give that up, no matter what she had to do.

* ~ * ~ *

The wedding ceremony had gone off without a hitch, if one was willing to overlook the fact that her Aunt Darla hadn’t been able to hide that she wasn’t too thrilled with her son’s choice of bride.

Buffy smiled fondly as she noticed how Angel beamed with pride as he doted on his new bride after the ceremony. In these past two days, she’d had the chance of getting to know him better and much to her surprise, Buffy had discovered that she genuinely liked him, not as the man she once thought she’d marry, but as a friend and her brother-in-law; even if his less than subtle attempts to pair her up with his friend Riley were grating on her nerves. She imagined Riley Finn was a good man, or at least he appeared to be, but she was in love with William and she wouldn’t marry anyone else but him, even if she had to run off with him in order to do it. Forgotten, almost as they hadn’t existed, were the dreams where she’d fancied herself in love with Angel. How could it be any different when all her dreams were now occupied by William?

William, she sighed dreamily. She couldn’t wait to see him, to be in his arms again, to feel his lips on hers as he kissed her until she was breathless and couldn’t think of anything or anyone but him. With any luck he’d find her letter and come looking for her at Campo Real. She wasn’t about to hide her love for him from anyone, although she felt a bit uneasy at Aimée’s possible reaction to the news. Her sister claimed that there had been only friendship between William and her, but he had said that he’d thought of marrying her. Buffy, somehow, felt more inclined to believe him than her own sister.

* ~ * ~ *

Giles’ house, the next morning

“Hold your horses already. I’m coming!” Giles shouted as he walked to the door. He was still very ill and would have preferred to stay in bed, but whoever was knocking on the door seemed very impatient. He figured it was better to open it before it was knocked down. “William?”

“Good morning, Mr. Giles.” Spike smiled, only to frown when he took in the worn appearance of the older man. “Oh, man, you look like hell!”

“Yes, thank you, I imagine pneumonia does that to you,” he replied sarcastically.

“You shouldn’t be out of bed. Where’s Faith?”

“I wouldn’t be out of bed if someone hadn’t almost knocked my door down,” he said, throwing William a dirty look, “and about Faith, I have no idea where she is. I haven’t seen her in almost three weeks.” His energy depleted, the lawyer walked back into the living room and plopped down on one of the chairs. “So, what brings you here?”

“Well, I wanted to know if there’d been any advances in the paperwork to recognize me as your son and give me your last name.”

“Oh, yes, everything is ready. We just have to go to City Hall together and sign some papers there and then you’ll be William Giles,” Giles said, smiling for the first time since Spike had arrived.

“Could we go tomorrow morning then?”

“May I ask why the rush?”

“I’m getting married to the most wonderful woman in the universe.” Spike beamed.

“Is this the woman you mentioned a while ago? Do I know her?”

“Nah, it’s not the same woman. I’m marrying her sister now. I imagine you must know her. Her family seems to be quite known around town.”

“Hmm. So who is she?” Giles asked, curious, as he mentally ran through all the families in Galveston that had two daughters of marriageable age.

“Elizabeth Summers.”

Giles choked on his own saliva and began coughing convulsively. Oh no. No. This couldn’t be happening. “Oh, God, William, I’m really sorry. I—”

“You what? What’s the matter, Mr. Giles, did anything happen to Elizabeth in my absence?” Spike patted the older man’s back while his heart plummeted to his feet, uneasiness overcoming him as he imagined the worse.

“I-I don’t know how to say this…”

“Just say it already!” he said, his expression thunderous.

Giles sighed dismally. “Elizabeth married your brother yesterday in Campo Real. I-I was supposed to go, I was invited but since I’ve been sick—”

“NO! No, this can’t be happening! She wouldn’t do that to me, you have to be wrong.” He shook his head, trying to clear it. No, he couldn’t believe that. Buffy couldn’t have been playing with him like that. He’d been so sure that she returned his feelings. Something like that couldn’t be faked, could it? And María would have said something to him when they talked. He was sure of that. So, there had to be another explanation. Maybe Mr. Giles was delirious? That’s it; that had to be it. He had to make sure, though. He had to go to Campo Real and find out the truth for himself, and the sooner the better.

“I’m sorry, William, but it’s true. I must have the invitation somewhere around here.” He got up and began looking around for the invitation, finally finding it under one of the chairs. “I knew I had it somewhere!” he said triumphantly, turning towards William only to discover that he was alone once more. There was no sign of the younger man and the door had been left open. Dreading to think that William might have left to go to Campo Real, but unable to do much in the state he was in, Giles opened the invitation and read it. “Oh, dear Lord, what have I done?”

tbc

Next chapter: Darla makes a few startling discoveries, Aimée's little theater begins to fall apart and Spike arrives at Campo Real.





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