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Author's Chapter Notes:
A million thanks to my lovely friend, Im_bloody_English, for editing this chapter and for all her help brainstorming what will be coming next. Thank you to MarzBar for editing the chapter for me and to Valery, daydreamer, Kimber, DK, teasha, Devin, Vette, SarahandJamesFanatic, MidnightGirl, Amelia-Jane, Im_bloody_English and spikette55, for reviewing.

This chapter was, how can I say it... for one part it was fun to write, Spike's being quite helpful and it's been delightful to write him like this, like a pirate and it seems he doesn't want to let go of that new facet of his personality. But at the same time it was difficult to write it, because Buffy's part made me a little too emotional. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter and I would love it if you could share your thoughts on it with me. *battes eyelashes*
Chapter 43

Spike clenched and unclenched his fists trying to regain some semblance of control after his encounter with Aimée. Not an easy task considering how angry the daft bint made him, but he couldn’t very well go looking for Buffy feeling like he did at this very moment, now could he? No, that would only make matters worse, if that were even possible. Things were beyond screwed as they were, he snorted.

He sighed dejectedly, running a hand over his already mussed hair. He should have made Aimée tell him word for word what she’d said to Buffy. Not that it mattered now; whatever the hell it was the damned chit had told her sister he was buggered. Totally and thoroughly buggered and he could only blame himself for that, no matter how much he wished he could place said blame on the redheaded girl.

It was his own fault that he’d been unable to keep his breeches on when faced with a willing woman. That, like so many times before, he’d thought with his cock rather than with his head. That at one time he’d entertained the idea—short-lived as it’d been—of marrying Aimée. That he’d decided not to tell Buffy about his liaison with her sister when he’d had several opportunities to do it. His own fault…his and his alone.

He chuckled humorlessly at the irony. The Fates must really hate him. Truly, there couldn’t be any other explanation. Why else would they put Aimée in his path only to have him find the love of his life in the form of her sister just a few days after?

Spike was truly worried over Buffy’s reaction at whatever Aimée had told her, but it wasn’t as if he was about to let her back out on her word of marrying him. He hadn’t been bluffing when he’d told Aimée that he wouldn’t let anyone get in the way of this marriage. No one would interfere with his plans. No one, not Aimée, not María, not even Buffy herself. He preferred to have her consent of course, but if she decided to be difficult about it and not listen to him… well, then he’d do what he had to. No matter what, she would be his.

He heard a knock on the front door of his room and half-hoped that it was Aimée coming back. Really, he should have off’ed the redheaded girl when he had the chance; it wasn’t as if he wouldn’t be doing everyone—himself included—a favor. But no, even with as furious as she’d made him and even if just a few minutes before he’d been willing to, she truly wasn’t worth the effort. When he opened the door though, instead of the redheaded girl he found...

“Doña Darla?” he asked, surprise clearly etched in his face. Had the woman finally returned to her senses and decided to throw him out of the hacienda?

“William, if you would be so kind, I need to speak to you. Walk with me to the garden?” Although she poised the request as a question, there was no doubt in his mind that it was nothing short of a command and one that he couldn’t refuse at that. He nodded, closed the door behind him and fell into step beside his father’s widow.

She kept silent until they reached the rose garden outside the East Wing and sat on one of the benches, motioning for him to do the same.

“William, I am not certain if you are aware of what I’m about to tell you, but whether you are or not is of no consequence.”

“Whatever do you mean?” he asked, very curious over what could the woman be referring to as his head tried to wrap itself around her hidden meaning. What should he be aware of? What did the woman know about him? Could it be that she saw Aimée leaving his room and came to the very mistaken conclusion that he’d been fooling around with her daughter-in-law? Nay, she wouldn’t be that calm if she had, would she?

“As I told you before I’m not certain to what extent or even if you are aware of any of this, although I would imagine you have at least an inkling of it as you look at yourself in the mirror every day and the image reflected is so very much alike that of my late husband.” She smiled inwardly when she noticed that understanding, curiosity and perhaps a little bit of surprise showed in his expressive eyes.

“You know?” he rasped incredulously.

“About you being my late husband’s son?” He nodded numbly and she continued, “Yes, I know. I must confess that I had my suspicions the first time we met a few years ago, but then R-Rodrigo…” she choked, drawing a steadying breath as she dabbed at her eyes with the lace handkerchief that she conveniently held in one of her hands.

To William, or anyone else for that matter, the gesture made it seem as if she were too pained by the memory of her late husband, even if so many years had gone by. Not that she was, not really. It had become a habit for her to do that whenever her husband’s name was mentioned in conversation. She had perfected her part of the grieving widow throughout the years and knew perfectly well how it affected those around her.

“That isn’t important now, what matters is that I’m quite certain that had my husband lived to see to it, he would have recognized you as his son and insisted that you took your place in our family, no matter the…errr, circumstances of your birth. And I intend to honor that.”

“I don’t think I understand what you mean.” And he truly didn’t, she couldn’t mean what he thought she meant… could she?

“Well, William, it means that I am willing to acknowledge that you are a De Alcazar before God and the law, so that you may occupy your place in society as such.”

Then again, maybe she did. “And how do you plan on doing that?”

“I’m not too familiar with how any of this works, but I warrant if we asked Mr. Giles, he’d be happy to provide us with all the information we need as to what’s necessary to give you your rightful last name. Of course, with the De Alcazar name comes a certain status and responsibility that you’d be expected to maintain. I’m also willing to provide you with some lands and more than enough funds to live a very decorous and comfortable life.” She held her hand up to stop him from interrupting before she was finished. “And if you accept, as a De Alcazar you’d be able to pursue any lady you deem suitable to wed. Although, to be honest, I already have someone in mind that would be simply perfect for you and your new standing in society… should you accept my offer.”

He was flabbergasted by her offer, he certainly hadn’t expected this. The woman was offering him the De Alcazar name, a place in their family and properties? It seemed too good to be true. Not that he cared for any of that if he didn’t have Buffy by his side. He was rich enough on his own merit, so it wasn’t as if he needed more to provide Buffy with a more than ‘decorous’ life. And although he’d dreamed about having the De Alcazar name ever since his father offered to recognize him as his son, it held no more meaning to him than to be able to offer it to his bride, to his true love, Buffy. It was the same for him to be named Giles or De Alcazar as long as she could wear it with pride.

Doña Darla seemed quite serious about her offer, however, and perhaps the lady she mentioned could be his ladylove? And if she was not the one she had in mind, maybe he could convince her that she would be a better choice for him. It would certainly make things easier for them all if they had the matron’s approval.

He cleared his suddenly dry throat, trying his best not to appear too interested. “Of course and who is this suitable lady that you have in mind?”

“My goddaughter, Miss Elizabeth Summers.” She noticed the change in his demeanor immediately after mentioning her niece’s name and had to suppress the smile that tugged at her lips. She’d been afraid that he would reject her offer, but not after seeing his reaction. She could use this to her advantage; after all, he would be getting more than enough money as part of their deal so there was absolutely no reason to give him a dowry on top of that. “Before you give me your answer, there’s something you should know about Elizabeth. While I don’t think I could find you a more suitable bride in all the country, my niece doesn’t have a dowry to bring into the marriage. Her father, my stepbrother, left them nearly penniless upon his death so if you choose to marry her…”

His heart had been beating so fast from the moment she’d said Buffy’s name, that he almost missed what she said next. Almost, although it wouldn’t have made a difference to him if he’d missed it or not. He truly didn’t understand some of the dealings of their lot and so what if she didn’t have a dowry? She was more than enough dowry for him. If he had her, he would never want for anything else. Still, he couldn’t very well tell that to Doña Darla, now could he? He had to downplay his enthusiasm at her suggestion, make it seem as if this were the first time he’d ever considered making Buffy his wife.

“That is of no consequence to me,” he stated flatly. “But what makes you think that the lady in question is going to accept becoming my bride?”

“I will leave that up to you, my dear boy.” At his raised eyebrow she smiled condescendingly. “I’ll speak with her mother so she, of course, gives you permission to court her first, but the rest is entirely up to you. Not that I think it would be too difficult for you to convince her of marrying you if the looks you two were sharing earlier in the living room are anything to go by,” she suggested none too shyly.

She noticed that? Huh. “Now that was ju—” he tried to justify.

“I truly don’t care what that was, William, so don’t bother explaining the idle details. Elizabeth might need a little coaxing and so be it. She’s always held the idealistic notion of marrying for love. So I suggest you court her, make her fall in love with you then you should have no trouble convincing her to marry you. Now do you accept my offer or not?” she said exasperated. She’d wasted more time than she’d thought she would with him already.

“I accept your offer, Doña Darla.” ‘As if there was any doubt of that after she mentioned Buffy,’ he added to himself.

“Good, good, then it’s settled. I’ll talk to my son about our agreement and then send for Mr. Giles so the needed paperwork can be drawn up. I’ll keep you informed, William.” She stood from the bench, followed by him and with nothing else but a curt nod, left him alone in the garden.

He could hardly believe it. It couldn’t be true that Doña Darla had just offered him Buffy's hand in marriage, so long as he secured her consent. It seemed all that he'd wished for was coming close to fruition. He only had to convince his ladylove and convince her he would. Either that or compromise her in such a way that she’d have no other choice but to marry him. Not the best way to start a marriage, he was aware, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And one way or the other she would be his. HIS.

*~*~*

At the convent

Buffy lay on the cot in her cell reflecting on her day. She was tired, oh so very tired, but sleep refused to claim her. She imagined she should be thanking God that at least now she’d found a safe haven from the storm her life had turned into over the last few hours. Sister Margaret had been so understanding, even when she hadn’t offered any explanation on the suddenness of her appearance back in the convent. No, she hadn’t asked, she’d respected her silence and immediately offered her shelter and whatever else she might need. It had been so difficult not to tell her everything that had happened in light of her generous nature, but she needed time to process it all herself. She wasn’t ready to share her pain with anybody, not without breaking down completely and she couldn’t allow that to happen.

Now, though, alone in her cell, with no other witness but God, she could finally allow her pain to flow freely. It was almost as if she couldn’t breathe as the tears ran silently down her face. The pain was too raw, too recent and the weight bore down on her chest, crushing the air from her lungs. She could think of nothing else but how much it hurt that William had betrayed her so. He and Aimée had been lovers. Perhaps if he’d told her before her sister had, things might’ve been different, but he hadn’t. He had plenty of opportunities and he chose not to tell her.

She felt so lost, so alone right now. She’d thought her world was about to come to an end when Angel had preferred Aimée to her, however this was a thousand, no, a million times worse. She knew now that back then the only thing that had been wounded was her pride, whereas now… Now she felt as if the pain of William’s betrayal would swallow her whole if she allowed it.

Whatever it was she’d thought she felt for Angel was nothing, absolutely nothing compared to what William made her feel. He’d become her entire world in such a short time. And for all the romantic notions that ever crossed her mind as she grew up, she never imagined she could feel like this. That she could feel an all-encompassing love for anyone or that she could feel this devastating ache in her heart because of said love.

She’d forgotten about everything whenever he’d been close to her, whenever he’d taken her into his arms or kissed her. Everything that wasn’t him. She hadn’t cared about propriety, decorum or whatever people might say about her if they’d found out. She’d been so naïve, so gullible to believe everything he’d said. To believe that she was his everything as he was hers. Never again. NEVER.

*~*~*

Back in Campo Real

It was late, later than he’d expected. Who could have imagined all of what accepting Doña Darla’s offer might entail? Not him, otherwise he might have given her a different answer no matter how good the incentive of marrying the girl of his dreams could be. It wasn't like he couldn’t make that happen anyway.

It wouldn’t have been that bad if not for the fact he still hadn’t talked to Buffy. He was on his way to find her room—ready to knock on all the doors in the hacienda until he found her—when Angel intercepted him and unexpectedly threw him off with his behavior toward him.

Truthfully, he hadn’t given too much thought as to how his brother might react to the news of them being related, preoccupied as he’d been all day over the pending conversation with his ladylove. But he was certain that whatever it was he had expected didn’t come even remotely close to what actually happened.

To be welcomed with open arms by Angel into his family had been something he’d fleetingly thought about as a child before his father’s death, before being abducted by Snyder. However the reality of it was so much better than any dream, than any thought he might’ve entertained. He had a brother now. A brother that wanted to make up for the time they’d lost. It had all gone quite well up until Angel teased him over his mother’s choice of bride for him, saying that although he wasn’t entirely looking forward to telling his friend Riley that his sister-in-law was no longer free to marry him, he preferred it be his own brother to marry such a lovely lady.

Spike fought a possessive growl that threatened to escape his throat when listening to Angel call his Buffy lovely—not that finding out that there was someone else that could steal his love away from him hadn’t twisted the blade of jealousy into his heart any further. The brunette man must have noticed the way his features darkened because he’d quickly assured him that it was an agreement reached between Riley and himself of which Elizabeth wasn’t aware. That soothed his ruffled feathers somewhat, but the doubts regarding Buffy’s feelings for his brother continued to permeate his thoughts. He knew he didn’t have any right to be jealous, but the emotion was stronger than him. He simply couldn’t stop having these feelings, no matter how hard he tried. She was his, dammit! And if anyone dared to interfere in his quest of making her his bride… well, they’d find out first hand how William the Bloody earned his reputation as a ruthless pirate.

However it would be for the best to stop those thoughts and concentrate on the task at hand. Getting angry over some inconsequential commentary wouldn’t help his case when he found Buffy. He had to focus on making her see that even if he’d had an affair with her sister, it shouldn’t affect their future wedding. Nothing that happened before they met should matter. She needed to realize that there was absolutely nothing that could change how much she meant to him, especially not her sister. That he wasn’t Angel, that there was no way that he’d ever choose anyone over her. He had to convince her that he loved her beyond all reason or logic.

It hadn’t been too difficult to find out which was her room. He’d just greased the palm of one of the maids with a few gold coins and she happily showed him where his Buffy’s chambers were. He just waited until every light on that side of the house had been off and then he entered her room through the French doors, closing them silently behind him. As quietly as possible, he crossed the room towards her bed and leaned over. He expected to find his ladylove asleep, but pulled back in surprise when instead of Buffy, he found only a pillow instead.

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong here.

*~*~*

Aimée lay on her bed next to her snoring husband and she’d never been more miserable in all her life. Not even when Tegua was subjecting her to her dreaded sitting baths had she felt like this. She got up from the bed as carefully as she could since the last thing she wanted was to wake Angel, and walked to the French doors that led to the garden. She stared out unseeing into the darkness as she thought how unfair life was for her.

She still couldn’t believe what Angel told her. It couldn’t be. This couldn’t be happening. Shouldn’t. This had to be a nightmare and when she woke up she’d be in the life she’d dreamed she would live by Angel’s side. Even as she thought this, she knew that the life she’d dreamt for herself was rapidly turning into a nightmare.

She’d been so sure that marrying Angel was the answer to everything and so far, it had been disappointment after disappointment. The biggest of them all, had been in their bedroom. Oh God, she thought she could do this, be with him. That all she needed were her memories of all the passionate encounters she’d shared with William. She’d never been more wrong.

Aimée couldn’t stop but to compare her husband’s skill in bed against William’s... or rather the lack of it. She couldn’t stop remembering how the dashing pirate made her body sing with pleasure every single time they were together. God, how she craved his gentle caress, his passionate kisses, the way he made her his time and time again. Surely his body still craved hers, too?

What happened in his room had been a normal reaction upon finding out she was married. Yes, that was it. That was why he attacked her; he tried to make her think that it was all because of Elizabeth, but it couldn’t be. There was no way he could possibly prefer a sanctimonious girl over a woman like her. No, no way at all.

As if it weren’t enough that she had to suffer through her husband’s unwelcome ‘attentions’ again or the fumbling manner in which he treated her as she recalled memories of William’s skilled lovemaking, he’d told her tonight that William was his brother and that her mother and he had decided to grant him the De Alcazar name and enough properties and funds to live comfortably for the rest of his life. Shocking didn’t begin to describe how she felt about that discovery, but that wasn’t all of it, no, there was more. The worst part was that they—her Aunt Darla and Angel—had already chosen him a suitable wife and he’d readily accepted their suggestion. And the prospective wife, should she accept his offer, was her sister. Her sister of all women!

So now, not only had she to bear the cross of being married to Mr. Tall, Dark and Dull, but she had to watch her sister marry the man she wanted for herself. Life wasn’t fair. But she wouldn’t give him up, not now, not ever and least of all, not to her sister. William would be hers again; she would see to it.

*~*~*

“And what on earth were you doing in mi Niña’s room this late?” María angrily asked Spike as they walked back to Buffy’s room.

“W-well, I wanted to talk to her. You did give me an ultimatum, did you not?”

“Argh, you’re insufferable. I’m quite certain I didn’t tell you to go into her room at this hour! What if anyone saw you, tell me, what then?”

“Nobody saw me, María. Not even your Niña, she wasn’t there, remember?”

“Yes, and that’s what worries me. That’s so unlike her. Especially since Rosita said that she had a headache and asked to be let alone so she could rest.”

A headache? Had that been the excuse or could it be related to whatever Aimée told her? “Err, there might be something you should know.”

“What now?”

“There’s a chance Aimée may have told her already about the affair.”

“What do you mean? What makes you think that?”

“The daft bint came to my room shortly after you left and said as much. I’m not sure exactly what she told Buffy, though.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me any sooner about this?” she asked exasperatedly, turning to face him as she brought her hand up to pass over her tired face as she thought over this bit of news. If Aimée told her Niña about her affair with William, Elizabeth would be devastated. And a devastated Elizabeth was a reckless Elizabeth. She was sure they wouldn’t find anything in her room. If what William claimed was true, her Niña probably did the same thing she’d done after she discovered that Angel refused to marry her. Escape.

The question was, where?

tbc

I wanted to let you all know that even if this chapter was a bit angsty, there’s light at the end of the tunnel for Buffy and Spike. And hopefully that light will come into work on the next chapter, since Spike is getting impatient to find Buffy and surprise, surprise decided to give the story a very unexpected twist. *lol* Now is your turn, do you want to find out what it is or not? ;)





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