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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you, Devin, Irene, effection, SarahandJamesFanatic, Amelia-Jane, Kimber, jt, Nika, MidnightGirl and jamesgirl, for reviewing. My muse is thankful for the lovely reviews, too, and because of that, I finished this chapter in under a week. There probably won’t be any more updates until I finish a short Christmas story I’m working on though, but who knows? Anything can happen. ;) I also want to thank my dear friend, Im_bloody_English for betaing this chapter for me and for all her help with this story and with the others I'm currently writing. Thankee, darling! And of course, thank you to the lovely MarzBar for betaing this chapter for me, even in between moving. *huggles*
Chapter 41

Buffy sat on her bed wearily after her sister left the room. She felt completely drained after all she’d been through this day. Although by far, the worst of it all had been finding out the way she had that Aimée and William had been lovers. Hearing William and María talking about it and then having her sister rub her face in it… she shuddered as her heart shattered in a million fragments, the pain of their betrayal becoming almost unbearable as it threatened to overcome her. She almost couldn’t believe that Aimée had so flippantly admitted that she’d never loved Angel, that she’d been William’s lover, and that she would stop at nothing to get William back. Almost, because at this point she really believed that her sister was capable of anything with complete disregard for the consequences. And what of William, had he been playing with her feelings all along, using her as a ‘distraction’ as her sister thought or had he really fallen in love with her as he’d claimed? He’d seemed so sincere and she’d wanted to believe him. But even if he did love her, could she get over the fact that he and her sister were lovers at one time? And María, how could she not tell her about this, especially when she knew firsthand how much it had hurt her to lose Angel to Aimée?

She had so many questions that she truly didn’t know what to think anymore and honestly, she didn’t want to think about any of it for the moment. She wished she could just curl up in her bed and cry until she had no more tears, until she had expelled William and all that he meant to her from her heart and her life, until his and María’s betrayal didn’t hurt as much as it did now, until she could move on and forget all that she’d lived through this day. But she couldn’t, not for now at least. For now she needed to decide what she was going to do with her life. There’d be time to cry later, to somehow mend her broken heart and with any luck, to forget the deep and abiding love she still felt for William.

One thing was clear though, she couldn’t stay in Campo Real for another second. She simply couldn’t stay and face William, María or Aimée at the moment, she simply couldn’t. Not now, maybe not ever. But where could she go? Their house in Galveston would be the first place where they’d look for her. She needed to go somewhere else, someplace safe and peaceful, where she could heal from this. ‘But where could I go, where?’ she asked herself, as she thought of the possibilities with her house out of the question. She could go to her Aunt Francesca’s house in Boston, but just thinking of traveling cross-country un-chaperoned, with all the dangers it presented… she shivered. No, that was not an option, at least not unless she couldn’t find any other place to go. ‘The Convent!’ her mind finally supplied.

Yes, the Convent would be the perfect place to hide. Sister Margaret had made her promise that she’d return to her if she ever needed it, even though at the time Buffy had hoped it would never be necessary. Her eyes filled with tears as she thought of how naïve she’d been, but she hurriedly wiped them away before inhaling deeply and trying to calm down. There was no time for crying right now, she had to plan her escape.

How could she leave Campo Real without anyone noticing? She couldn’t take any clothes with her; that was for sure. But that wasn’t really a problem, she had more than enough clothes in her house in Galveston and she could collect some up before going to the Convent, not that she’d need any if she stayed there, but still it was better to be prepared. Because she’d been going riding nearly every day since she’d arrived at Campo Real, she could ask one of the peons to saddle her horse and no one would think it odd if she went out today; at least not until it was too late.

“Yes, this could actually work,” she said out loud, before taking her riding attire and the small purse that contained most of her savings out from the armoire. Her savings didn’t amount to much, but they could be useful in the future if she decided to leave the Convent.

Before she changed and got ready to leave, she had to make sure everyone knew she was not to be disturbed. She wrote a quick note to her Aunt Darla, excusing herself from dinner and then she opened the door to her room, not surprised to find a maid outside in the hallway. With a house the size of Campo Real, there were always maids up and about in the hallways, cleaning or just being there in case any of the family or guests needed something.

“Rosita, could you please deliver this note to my Aunt Darla for me?” she said, relieved that it had been one of the maids she’d known from her previous visits to Campo Real.

“Certainly, Señorita Elizabeth.” The young girl curtsied, but before she could take the note from her hands, Buffy swayed as if she were about to faint. “Oh Dios, are you all right?” she asked concerned, moving to the blonde girl’s side.

“I-it’s just the heat; today has been especially hot here in Campo Real.”

“Maybe if you rest for a while you’ll feel better, do you want me to bring you anything? Or maybe I should go and try to find Doña María?”

Buffy paled. No, that wouldn’t do. “No, no, please don’t. I-I’m sure that if I go to bed right now and rest, I’ll be as good as new tomorrow in the morning. I don’t want to worry my mother or María unnecessarily, so if any of them asks you, could you tell them that I had a mild headache and went to bed early and to please not disturb me until the morning?”

“Of course, Señorita. Do you need me to help you get ready for bed?”

“No, don’t worry, I can manage on my own,” she answered, smiling softly at the maid before entering her room and locking the door behind her.

She reclined on the door afterwards and closed her eyes. She hated that she’d had to deceive Rosita into thinking she was sick, but in this case it couldn’t be avoided, otherwise her plan wouldn’t work and she needed it to work. She sighed and opened her eyes, before walking to her bed to begin changing her clothes.

When she finished getting dressed, she arranged the pillows to look as if she were asleep in her bed, just in case someone managed to get into the room, then took her purse from the vanity before walking through the French doors that led from her room into the garden. She scanned the area, hoping that there wouldn’t be any peones or maids—or even worse, William or María—around and once she made sure the coast was clear, she closed the doors and stepped into the garden.

She avoided the walking paths, but even then she was surprised and thankful that even with as huge as Campo Real was and with as many servants that worked there, she didn’t find anyone until she reached the stables.

Buffy exhaled a relieved sigh when she found the stables deserted, aside from a young peón that had been on his way back to work in the fields and offered to saddle a horse for her. She couldn’t believe her luck when the peón told her that he hardly ever visited the main house, but that that day he’d been sent to fetch some tools to repair a fence and that the next day, he and some of the other peones were going on a week-long trip to Velasco to sell some cattle at the fair.

Perfect. Everything had gone as it should so far. It seemed things were finally looking up for her on this hellish day.

*~*~*

“And are you completely certain that it was Aimée?” Darla asked. She almost couldn’t believe what Cordelia had just related her. It simply was too good to be true.

“Yes, I am, Doña Darla. I saw her leaving Señorita Elizabeth’s room afterwards,” the girl nodded.

Darla smiled wistfully, she’d always known that Aimée was nothing but a gold-digging whore with more nonsense than common sense and what Cordelia had heard straight from the girl’s mouth was all the confirmation she needed. Her smile waned as she considered that Angel wouldn’t be as easily convinced. He was completely blinded by Aimée and he wouldn’t believe anything they said against her unless they could prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt. Cordelia’s word simply wouldn’t be enough to convince him.

She was painfully aware that she had little to no influence over her son and his decisions nowadays, but even if she couldn’t tell Angel all she knew about Aimée, that didn’t mean that she couldn’t confront her with what she’d discovered. Not yet, though. First, she would make sure to bring the girl down a few notches and her plan of marrying Elizabeth and William would fit perfectly with that. Between all that Cordelia told her and what she’d witnessed in the living room, she was sure that Aimée would simply die of jealousy at the mere thought of someone stealing away the man she still considered hers even when she was already married to another. Poor little fool, her jealousy and stupidity really knew no limits, and she was counting on that for Aimée to show her real face to her son very, very soon.

*~*~*

“So, do you really think Aimée is capable of telling Bu-Elizabeth about us?” Spike asked again, swallowing hard. This didn’t bode well for him, especially judging by the reception Aimée had given him when he arrived at Campo Real earlier today. The girl had seemed determined on continuing with their liaison even if she was married now, so to make her understand that whatever they had was over and done with could prove to be quite the challenge. ‘Uh-oh, not good, not good at all.’

“I don’t think she is capable of doing that, muchacho,” María said seriously, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she noticed the relief that showed in William’s face at her words. “I know she is capable of that and much more.” Once more despair settled in his handsome features after hearing her and she couldn’t stop herself from comparing him to his father again. He looked so much like Rodrigo De Alcazar at times, that she could almost fool herself into thinking it was him. She sighed longingly, before shaking her head and deciding now wasn’t the time for remembrances. There were more pressing issues at the moment, like making sure William told her Niña about him and Aimée before the redheaded girl had a chance to create havoc.

“Seriously, William, don’t ask me why because I really don’t know the reason, but Aimée has been set on hurting her sister in any way she can ever since she returned from Boston, and if she thinks that by telling her about you two she can make her suffer, she will do it with no regard for the consequences.”

“So what do you propose? That I should be the one to tell her? Yes, I think that will go just great, won’t it?” he said, sarcasm dripping from his tone.

“And you think that if Aimée tells her it will be any better? I’ve known Elizabeth for most of her life, and yes, I’m aware that she will not take lightly to the knowledge that you and Aimée were lovers at one time. But I also know that if she finds out through her sister it will be a thousand times worse. She’ll feel betrayed and with good reason. So if you don’t tell her by tomorrow, I will. Mi Niña deserves to know what she’ll be getting herself into when she marries you; if she does marry you after this, I mean.” And with that she got up from her chair and neared the door.

“All right, all right, I’ll tell her. Damn, you’re one tough old bird,” he muttered the last part.

“I hope I didn’t hear you calling me a tough old bird, William,” María said without turning.

Fuck! He’d had to remember in the future that the woman seemed to have very good hearing. “No, no, of course not, I just had something in my throat, I promise,” he responded, before remembering what Aimée had said when he arrived to Campo Real, ‘Elizabeth was the one that was supposed to marry Angel, they even were betrothed…’ He needed to know if there was any truth behind that statement, and if there was someone that could clear that up, it was Buffy’s nana. “María?”

“Yes, boy?”

“Was Elizabeth ever…” he paused for a moment, not sure if he really wanted to know, because what would he do if she said yes? He almost couldn’t bear the thought of his Buffy being engaged to anyone that wasn’t him, but then again, what if she said no? Aimée could have been lying; it wouldn’t be the first time. Yes, it was better to find out now, he thought. Trying his best to stifle any signs of jealousy, but not quite managing as it was tearing him inside, he almost growled the rest of the question, “…betrothed to Angel?”

“Who told you about that?” María asked, surprised by his question. It wasn’t that it was a secret, but after all that had happened almost no one talked about that in deference to her Niña’s feelings and after all, who was he to be asking that and in that tone?

Her answer to his inquiry, even if it was not truly a direct answer, was more than enough for him. Aimée hadn’t lied, not about this; his Buffy had been engaged to his brother. His hands gripped the armrests so tightly that his knuckles turned white as jealousy seeped into each one of his pores. “It doesn’t matter who told me,” he gritted through his teeth. “What matters is that it is true!” Furious, he pounded the coffee table with his fist.

“Of course it matters who told you, it was Aimée, wasn’t it?” María said, her own temper rising. She was appalled that William actually had the nerve to be angry over this, as if he hadn’t more than enough sins going against him as it was! She continued her tirade without waiting for his answer. “Of course it was her, who else? I should have known that girl would find a way to create problems for mi Niña with all that nonsense about her being engaged to Angel. But you know what, William?” Even jealous as he was, he had enough presence of mind not to interrupt the increasingly angry María, not even with a nod, as he looked at her with wide eyes. “Yes, mi Niña Elizabeth thought she was engaged to your brother. All her life, her mother and Aunt told her that she was going to be his wife as soon as he returned from Europe. Everyone knew about this, everyone, except of course, Angel. Turned out his dear mother forgot to inform him of this little fact.” She laughed humorlessly.

“Then he met Aimée in Boston and decided that she was the one he wanted to marry. Did you know that he didn’t even have the decency of breaking the so-called engagement himself? He sent Doña Darla to do the dirty work instead. Of course the Doña didn’t want to hurt Elizabeth any more than she had to, so she didn’t tell her about Aimée and Angel. That didn’t matter though, mi Niña was so heartbroken over his refusal to marry her that she decided to join a convent. But she wasn’t heartbroken for the reason you might think, no. Her heart broke because she couldn’t bear to be the laughingstock of everyone in Galveston or to feel their pity directed at her when they found out that Angel hadn’t wanted to marry her. Did Aimée tell you all that, too? Did she tell you that she was the one that told mi Niña about her own betrothal to Angel, that she was the one that told her that Angel had refused to marry her because he preferred Aimée over her? Tell me, I’m waiting for your answer!”

“N-no,” he answered meekly, his sails completely deflated. He’d have to remember next time that María was not a woman he wanted to anger.

“Did you ask mi Niña about this? Was that why she ran away from your room?” She asked, her hands over her hips, a scowl firmly set in her face.

“No, of course not. I-I couldn’t bring myself to ask her, but I needed to know that’s why I asked you. It’s just…I can’t bear the thought of her loving anyone before me.”

“I see. So she has to accept that you wanted to marry her sister at one time and that when you say it’s over between you two, it is; yet you have the nerve of being jealous over the fact that she was engaged to marry Angel?”

“When you say it like that, it does sound a bit stupid.”

“More than stupid, but I’m too tired and angry at you to go over this right now. Remember you only have until tomorrow at noon to tell Elizabeth, William, or I will,” she said before leaving the room.

“When will I learn to keep my mouth shut?” he asked himself sighing. Now María was angry with him and he still didn’t know why Buffy had left his room in such a hurry, and on top of that, now he had to tell her the whole truth about his relationship with Aimée, otherwise María would tell her and seeing that he wasn’t her favorite person right now... No, there was no other option; he had to be the one to tell Buffy and the sooner the better.

tbc





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