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Author's Chapter Notes:
I’m very sorry for the delay in posting this chapter, my muse went away on vacation and she refused to come back until she wanted to. I tried to force her and the results were not pretty at all, so I decided to wait until she came back. Add to that that I got the worst cold I’ve had in a while and I’ve been busy, busy, busy with work and planning my daughters’ first communion (just 2 more weeks now). Muse seems to be back now, so I promise I’ll try my best not to leave you hanging for so long again.

A million thanks to Deb, jt, DaniD, teasha, MidnightGirl, Amelia-Jane, Mali, Klai and Brat (welcome back, cariño), for reviewing. All your reviews/comments/questions are answered (or will be as soon as I finish posting) and I just hope I haven’t lost too many of you with my absence. Thanks to MarzBar for betaing this chapter and for allowing me to share my crazy plot ideas with you, you wouldn’t believe how much that helps me when I begin writing. ;) And last but not least a huge thank you to the kind person(s) that nominated this story at the Love’s Last Glimpse Awards for Best Saga and Best Fantasy. It makes me very happy to know that you enjoy the story (and hopefully my writing) enough to nominate it.
Chapter 36

María exhaled a relieved sigh as soon as she got out of the main house. Even when she was opening the door she’d been half-afraid that doña Darla would decide to send someone with her or worse, send someone else instead of her to find her niña Elizabeth. Thank God for the small mercy of Aimée’s theatrics—there just was no way that that fainting spell had been real—or who knew what would have happened after doña Darla and doña Joyce noticed that Elizabeth had been left alone with William.

William. Dios! What had he been thinking by coming to Campo Real and as the new Administrator at that? And what would Mr. Snyder say to that? The man had always frightened her and she was sure he would be furious that William had returned to Campo Real.

If the tension in the living room had been thick enough to cut with a knife before the announcement that William would become the new Administrator, what would happen when they all saw him? Because as soon as they did, anyone that knew don Rodrigo De Alcazar before would make the connection between them. How would doña Darla react to that? She might have been able to get rid of William when he was a kid—there was no doubt in María’s mind that she had something to do with that—but now he was a man and he looked so much like his father that if it weren’t for the hair and the color of his eyes, she could have sworn that it was the same person.

And as if that weren’t enough, there was the fact that she was almost sure that Aimée and William had been involved in some way. All the inquiries she’d made in Galveston after Elizabeth had told her that she’d found William in their garden had similar results and intimated that the pirate and the redheaded girl had had an affair and generally met at the beach or at his cottage.

Some even said that he had been willing to marry the girl, at least until before his second to last trip, then all had stopped as suddenly as it started—she hoped that it stopped when William fell in love with her niña. He might be a pirate, a smuggler, and a devil, but after witnessing the way he looked at Elizabeth, she didn’t think that he was capable of cheating on Elizabeth with her own sister—and now that she’d listened to some of the rumors going on in the hacienda about the new señora not being as virginal as she was supposed to be and said señora’s latest performance in the living room, which suspiciously coincided with William’s arrival, she was afraid to even think of how far that involvement might have gone.

She hadn’t told her niña about her suspicions, and she wouldn’t say anything until William confirmed or denied them. For their sakes she prayed she was wrong, that William didn’t have anything to do with Aimée and everything she’d heard had been nothing more than gossip. But there was another reason why she hadn’t told Elizabeth any of this. Her charge was so stubborn and impulsive that she was afraid of how she might react to knowing that Aimée not only stole the man she’d thought she’d marry for most of her life but had had a relationship with the man she loved now. She’d almost joined the convent after she learned that Angel wouldn’t marry her and then it had been only her pride that had been hurt; she dreaded to think what she would be capable of doing now that what could be wounded was her heart.

She scanned the garden swiftly, trying not to focus on anything in particular as she’d tried to do for the time they’ve been in Campo Real. Too many memories, too much heartache from a time so long ago that almost felt like it had been in another lifetime, a lifetime where she had been young, naïve and foolish enough to fall in love with someone she shouldn’t have. She shook her head to clear it from her memories, there was no use dwelling in the past, the past that was dead and buried along with the man she’d loved with all her heart. But she had more pressing matters to take care of now, like finding Elizabeth and William before anyone else did.

Noticing there was a part of the garden that was completely hidden from the house, she decided to look for William and Elizabeth there. It was as good a place to start as any.

* ~ * ~ *

“And luckily for me here they are,” María muttered when she saw that William and Elizabeth were indeed in the secluded garden, feeling relieved that she wouldn’t have to walk all around the hacienda under the midday sun trying to find them.

She couldn’t stop the smile that tugged on her lips as soon as she saw them. William sat on the grass with Elizabeth sitting on his lap, while they whispered and smiled at each other in between sweet kisses.

It was so nice to see her niña’s smile again; she’d hardly seen it over the last three months, which hadn’t been too surprising, all things considered. She’d do almost anything to keep Elizabeth smiling, but was afraid there were events that couldn’t be stopped now, events that probably had been rushed forward by William’s return to Campo Real. The dice had been cast and now it was just a matter of time for everything to come to light. With any luck the love that Elizabeth and William felt for one another and which was obvious to anyone that might see them together, would be strong enough to overcome all the obstacles that would come before them. ‘Oh, Dios! Why haven’t I thought about this before? This is not good, not good at all. Their love is so obvious to anyone that might see them together. That in itself could be a two bladed weapon, how would everyone react to them being together?’

Doña Joyce would probably agree to them marrying once she realized William was a De Alcazar, if he got his rightful last name that is. She didn’t think being a Giles would cut it for her, no matter how fond she seemed to be of the lawyer.

She wasn’t sure of how Aimée might react, though. She could be sure that Aimée wouldn’t be happy. She’d probably have a coronary if she realized that she’d done her sister a favor by going after and marrying Angel De Alcazar. With any luck she’d understand her luck and leave her sister alone, but she had a feeling that wouldn’t happen. She’d have to keep an eye open for anything the redheaded woman might try to do to hurt her Elizabeth.

Doña Darla and don Angel probably wouldn’t care that much, although if don Angel had named William as Campo Real’s Administrator, it must be because he held him in high esteem. He might be an ally for them, if they could sway him from his intentions of marrying Elizabeth to his friend. She simply couldn’t bear the thought of her beloved niña marrying that insufferable man.

There were so many problems, so many things coming and so little time to deal with them. She sighed heavily as she started walking towards the couple, she couldn’t stop what would be coming, no one could, so there was no use in trying to delay it or in trying to imagine how everyone would react to William or the fact that he was in love with her niña and wanted to marry her. The sooner everybody else saw William, the sooner they’d find out people’s reactions and potential problems and the sooner they could decide how they were going to face and overcome them. She just prayed everything turned out well in the end; there were too many things at stake here and too many factors to consider. They would certainly need all the help they could get.

María cleared her throat loudly as soon she was close enough to where William and Elizabeth were sitting. She half-smiled when they didn’t even turn towards her, thinking they probably hadn’t even heard her, lost in their little world, as they seemed to be.

Oh, to be that young and in love, deep inside she still remembered how that felt. Not that she had really experienced what being in love and being loved in return felt, since the only person she ever felt like that was so far out of her reach that it was practically impossible and then after he’d died…it had been truly impossible.

‘No, María, not again, why are you doing this to yourself? Going down this path will only bring you heartbreak and pain that should stay buried right along with him. There’s more than enough to worry about now than to remember him or what he made you feel, think of the living, think of Elizabeth, think of his son, not him,’ she said to herself, trying to erase the feelings that had arisen as soon as she’d returned to Campo Real. She’d managed just fine all those years, why was it that she returned here and everything came back to her as if it hadn’t been so many years ago?

Shaking her head to clear it from her gloomy thoughts, she decided to make herself noticed since the two lovebirds hadn’t even glanced her way and that wouldn’t do, what if someone else saw them? She’d have to have a serious talk with Elizabeth, she understood propriety could take a back-step to love, but she was a well-raised girl and was expected to observe a certain code of conduct. And William, well, that was just another thing to add to the ever-increasing list of things that they would have to talk about later, after they’d dealt with the aftermath of his coming to Campo Real.

She patted William on his shoulder, smiling when he just swatted her hand away. So, she tried again, hiding her smile and clearing her throat at the same time. This time they heard her, freezing in mid-kiss as they opened their eyes.

Spike had been in heaven, delighting in the nectar of his Buffy’s kisses, when he finally realized that the sounds he’d been hearing and the pats on his shoulder weren’t just his imagination, especially when he opened his eyes and found María looming over him and Buffy, with her hands on her hips and a very pissed off look in her face. Uh-oh, busted! He tried to stand up quickly, forgetting that Buffy was still on his lap as he did and sending her tumbling to the grass.

“Ouch!”

“Oh, sorry, love,” he said sheepishly as he helped her to her feet, sending a cautious look at María, who after that display couldn’t hide first the smile and then the laughs that his reaction had brought.

Buffy and he looked at each other surprised, William even more so since he’d thought for a minute that the older woman had been about to kill him. She could be truly scary and he’d do better to remember not to overstep certain boundaries, but when Buffy was near him he forgot everything that wasn’t her.

“María, are you all right?” Buffy asked her, moving forward, worried when her nana seemed to be having trouble breathing because of her laughter.

“Y-yes, do-don’t w-worry, mi niña. Oh, Dios, I needed that! That was t-too funny.” Her chest heaved as she drew big gulps of air. “I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in a while.”

“Glad to be your personal clown,” Spike said pouting.

“Aww, stop that, that doesn’t work with me,” María said, smiling as she saw his morose expression. “Oh, well, it does work, but just a little bit.” She winked at him, before sobering up, remembering why she was looking for them. “Niña, your mother is asking for you. She almost had a stroke when don Angel told her that you were outside alone with Campo Real’s new Administrator,” she added, turning towards William. “Which, by the way, isn’t too good, do you have any idea of how everyone is going to react to your presence here, boy?”

“Er, no, I don’t think I thought that far along,” he replied, blushing a little under María’s stare. “To tell you the truth I had almost forgotten about the job until Angel mentioned it.”

“Why are you here then?”

“He thought I had married Angel, nana,” Buffy pointed.

“And what? You came to rob her? Of all the imprudent things…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know it was imprudent, but could you blame me? I come back from a three month long trip and the first thing I do is visit Mr. Giles to see how the paperwork to get his last name is going and he told me that Angel had married Buffy and I—” He turned towards Buffy, taking one of her hands in his and looking deeply into her eyes. “I couldn’t bear it, she’s the only woman I’ve loved, I couldn’t think of anything but getting her back. I was ready to do everything, to go over everyone to have her.”

Buffy brought up her free hand to caress his face. “There’s no need for that, love. I am yours.”

“No, you are not,” María said. “Not yet at least and certainly not before you face the welcome committee at the living room.”

“Welcome committee?” Buffy asked.

“Your mother, doña Darla, niña Aimée and don Angel are waiting there. And judging by how some of them reacted to your arrival, William,” she replied, throwing him a pointed look. “I’m not too sure of how you’re going to be received. Which reminds me, I think it might be better if they don’t know about you two, yet.”

“Why not, nana?”

“Well, I think the shock of seeing William is enough for today, don’t you?”

“Shock?”

“Yes, darling, you, don Angel and your sister were too young when don Rodrigo died and that might be why you didn’t recognize him at first, but I’m very sure that won’t be the case with your Aunt Darla or your mother.”

“I don’t think they’ll react as badly as you both think,” Buffy said, sure that she knew her mother and her aunt well enough.

“Well, I think we’ll find out who is right in just a few minutes, won’t we?” Spike sighed, sharing a look with María, both of them sure that it wouldn’t be pretty.

“Yes, we will and after that’s over, you and I are going to have a little talk, William.” María smiled at him, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes and Spike felt a shiver run down his spine, he had the feeling that his past mistakes were coming back to haunt him.

tbc

Oh, btw, will any of you be willing to write a new summary for this story? *battes eyelashes* I'm not too good with those and I think the one I have is not representative of the story anymore. If you're willing, can you send me a private message, pretty please?





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