Chapter 44
María and Spike walked back to his room pondering on the possible places where Buffy could’ve escaped to but, came up with nothing. As good a guess as some of the choices were, there was something telling him that none of them were correct.
His desperation grew by the second as concern over Buffy’s safety overpowered everything. Where could she be? Was she in any danger? Grrr, he’d go crazy worrying for her now. And the worst part was that even if he had a remote idea of where to start looking, he couldn’t leave until dawn. With only the moonlight and stars to show him the way and considering his luck as of late, he would only manage to break his neck if he tried to go now. No, he would have to wait and in the meantime hope that they thought of somewhere likely where he might find his lady love.
He opened the door to his room, letting María in before him. And they both started when he heard, “Well it’s about time you finally got here. I’ve been waiting for hours!”
“Xander? What the hell are you doing here?”
“Well, someone had to bring your baggage from the ship or were you planning on using the same clothes during your stay here in Campo Real? From what I’ve gathered since my arrival, I have the feeling these people wouldn’t take that as well as the sailors at the Satan.” He looked from one to the other—curious as to what the woman might be doing in his friend’s room. She was pretty, although a bit too old for the pirate. Plus, last he’d heard Spike was madly in love with the little nun. Had that changed?
María snorted as she thought of how Doña Darla would react to that affront because that’s what she’d think of it, no two ways about that. “I think your friend is right, William. Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“Huh? Ummmm, yeah, Xander, María. María is Buffy’s nana and Xander’s my second in command,” he said off-handedly as he walked into the chamber and sat on his bed, the very picture of despair.
“What’s the matter with you? Wait, I know just the perfect thing to cheer you up, look what I brought.” Xander followed him into the room and rummaged into the bags until he found what he was looking for. “Catch!” He threw something at Spike, who caught it and looked from it to his friend and then to María, who was standing by the adjoining door with a similar expression of wonderment as everything clicked into place for them.
“What?” Xander asked, puzzled as to what might have caused the sudden change in Spike’s demeanor. Not that he was that surprised. He’d known him for years and his mercurial nature was well known by all of his subordinates on the Satan. But this… this seemed to be a bit different from that. Especially if one considered that Buffy’s nana seemed to be experiencing the same change.
“You’re a genius, that’s what you are! I have been wracking my brain thinking where she might be and you just gave me the answer! Thanks mate!”
“Sure, anytime, now care to explain what the hell you’re blabbering about?”
“Buffy ran away and we didn’t know where we might find her. Now I think we have the perfect place to start,” he explained succinctly.
“Uhumm, I take it the redhead opened her big mouth then?” Xander threw him a pointed ‘I knew that would happen and told you so’ glare.
María who hadn’t missed the exchange, asked Spike, “He knows?” The pirate nodded. “And what do you think about that?”
“I told him that he should be careful of what that girl might do, she seemed awfully possessive of him when I met her.”
“Ah, it seems you’re a whole lot brighter than your Capitan then,” she teased, laughing amusedly at Spike’s growl. “What? You know it’s true.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Well, what do you think, is the Convent our surest bet to find Buffy?”
“Yes, I think it might be. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. Now what?”
“Well, I’ll go to the Convent as soon as sun rises and bring her back, that’s what.”
“I’m going with you.”
“No, I think it might be better if you stayed, María. Hopefully I’ll find Buffy there and we’ll be back before anyone notices our absence, but in case she’s not there… I’ll need you to cover for us until we return.”
“Hmmph, and how on earth do you propose that I do that?”
“I don’t know. Say she’s ill or something. That she has a headache or a nasty cold; that she doesn’t want to be bothered, that she only needs to rest.”
“And if anyone insists on seeing her? It could happen, you know?”
“I hope it doesn’t come to that. With any luck we’ll be back before anyone notices.”
“Alright, I’ll stay and cover for you two but you swear to me that you’ll come back here as soon as you find her.” A hint of a threat laced her voice at what she would do to him if he failed to keep his promise.
“I swear to bring her back, María, don’t worry. We’ll be back ready to prepare our wedding before you have a chance to miss us.”
“Miss you? Me? Hardly,” she scoffed before turning to leave the pirate’s room.
She wasn’t sure if she could trust him to bring Elizabeth straight back and not do something rash after all that’d happened, but it wasn’t as if she had a choice in the matter. He made a good point, though. She had to stay and cover up for her Niña’s absence and hope no one would question why she refused to leave her room or call for a doctor. Oh God, when did things become so complicated?
Xander walked out of the bedroom following the woman, making sure she was really gone before returning and asking, “So, what’s the real plan then?”
“What do you mean?” Spike arched his eyebrow.
“Come on, man, you might’ve convinced María but I know you better than probably anyone else does, so spit it out already.”
Spike thought of not telling his friend, but decided against it. He would need Xander’s help if he wanted his plan to work.
* ~ * ~ *
Spike and Xander spent the rest of the night scheming, discussing details and finally deciding on the best course of action to execute the plan and as soon as the sun began to rise on the East, they changed into two of Spike’s best suits and headed out of his room.
They hadn’t even reached the door when Spike suddenly remembered that he’d brought his saddle bag to the room with him and there was a little something of huge importance inside that he would need so he asked Xander to get the horses ready while he grabbed them.
He located the bag easily and took out the small item, weighing it in his palm, before putting it inside one of his suit’s pockets. His plan had to work. It just had to. And even if Buffy decided to be stubborn about it and not listen to his explanations, he’d have to make her change her mind.
* ~ * ~ *
At the Convent
It’d been quite easy to gain entrance into the Convent after he’d announced himself as William De Alcazar. He’d been aware of the influence the name carried—which was precisely why he’d used it instead of Giles—but even he had been surprised at how fast they’d been ushered inside.
Xander had remained outside while he entered the Mother Superior’s office. Once inside, he’d asked the woman point blank if his bride, Elizabeth De Alcazar, nee Summers, was there.
“Your bride, you say?” She was perplexed. She never knew there was another De Alcazar aside from Don Angel. Not that she doubted that he was one. She’d met the late Don Rodrigo De Alcazar several times before his untimely death and there was no question in her mind that the man before her was his son. The resemblance was uncanny.
“Yes, we got married in Campo Real, my family’s estate, just a few days ago.”
“B-but…I don’t understand.” And she honestly didn’t. Elizabeth had never mentioned anything about this…this marriage, although it did explain the reason why the girl had decided not to take her novice vows.
“What do you not understand?” he asked, relief starting to rise in his chest. Buffy was here. The nun hadn’t said anything yet to back up said belief, but somehow he knew she was here.
“Why would Elizabeth leave if she’d just married you? Forgive me, but it’s not like her to do something like that, Mr. De Alcazar.”
“We had a…a minor misunderstanding and instead of talking to me about it, she left. You understand I can’t allow this, don’t you? She’s my wife and as such she should behave.”
“Of course, Mr. De Alcazar, I understand perfectly. I have to admit that I find her conduct appalling. Under our care, Elizabeth was not only taught how to serve the Lord, but also how to serve a husband and this type of behavior is not encouraged by our Order. She’s staying in one of the cells at the present moment. Shall I have her summoned for—”
And possibly give Buffy the chance of escaping yet again once she found out he was here? “No!” he interrupted her hastily, lowering his tone at the nun’s surprised look. “No. I don’t think that’s necessary. Just tell me where I can find her, so I may speak with her and then we shall be on our way back to Campo Real. Our family is awfully concerned over her absence as it is and I don’t want to lose any more time than absolutely necessary.”
“I fully understand what you and your family must be going through and I sympathize with you. However, I must make you aware of the fact that this is a House of God and secular men aren’t allowed to enter within its walls any further than this office. It’s unheard of that a man, no matter how much of a gentleman he might be, is permitted inside the Convent, let alone the cells.”
“Sister Margaret, certainly there’s a manner in which we can…erm, work around these rules?” he asked, taking a bag of gold coins from his suit pocket and laying it on the desk so the woman could peek inside. He had to stifle a victorious smile when he saw how the nun’s eyes widened at the sight of the money. It seemed he hadn’t been that far off in thinking that clergywomen—as most of the clergymen he’d met before—could be …ahem, persuaded into just about anything as long as there was a sizeable ‘donation’ involved. “After all, this is my wife we’re talking about. I have the right, decreed by God Himself I might add, to do with her as I deem appropriate, have I not?”
“You most certainly do, Mr. De Alcazar. I’ll lead you to her cell.” She stood up from her chair and motioned him to follow her.
Much as she would’ve liked to deny his request, he’d made a valid point. Elizabeth was his wife and as such he had the right to do whatever he deemed necessary in regard to her behavior. No matter how much the girl might protest, a woman’s place was by her husband’s side and that was that. Of course, the fact that he was a De Alcazar, one of the—if not the most—influential families in Galveston or that he’d made quite a generous donation to their Order hadn’t hurt either. That money would go a long way in alleviating the precarious financial situation they found themselves in at times that impeded their mission to aid the less fortunate.
They walked through several corridors in complete silence until she stopped in front of a door and knocked.
Spike could hardly contain his impatience at the thought of seeing his Buffy again. Yes, he was aware it’d only been a few hours since he last saw her, but those hours dragged on endlessly while he alternated between worrying himself sick over her well-being and berating himself for all the missed opportunities he hadn’t taken when he had the chance.
He had nothing to worry about now though, not over any of that at least. She was in the Convent and she was safe; she had to be or Sister Margaret would’ve told him was it otherwise. And this time he’d tell her everything she wanted to know over what happened with her sister. It didn’t matter what Aimée told her. He’d just have to work harder to convince her that he’d never cared for the redhead, that if he ever entertained the thought of marrying her it would have been more out of convenience than anything else, that he’d bedded her only because she offered herself to him and he’d behaved like any unattached man would have. He had to make her see that if he had met her first that never would’ve happened. He just had to make her listen to him, whether she wanted to or not.
Relief flooded his body as the door slowly opened to reveal her lovely face again.
To say Buffy was shocked to find William on the other side of the door would’ve been quite the understatement. She was bewildered, stunned, stupefied, all of the above as her eyes went from Sister Margaret to him and back again. How on earth had he found her? She’d been so sure that no one would even think of looking for her here. Her first impulse was to slam the door in his face and find a way to escape the Convent. Her safe haven was safe no more and neither was her heart nor any measure of comfort she’d found throughout the night. It was now destroyed with one glimpse of his deceptive smile. She would’ve acted on said impulse, too, if he hadn’t impeded it by putting his foot between the door and its frame.
Shock gave way to anger then and she couldn’t care less that Sister Margaret was right there beside him or what the nun might’ve thought concerning her actions as she regarded him with all the contempt she could muster. How dare he come after her?!?! After keeping the truth about his liaison with her sister from her, after crushing her heart with the heel of his boot. How dare he?!?!
He hadn’t held any false expectations of her falling into his arms as soon as she saw him, he truly hadn’t, but neither had he imagined that she would ever look at him like that. Like he was the lowliest of the lowly insects that ever crawled the earth, so lowly it wasn’t worth the effort to stomping on it. Not that her anger would make any difference regarding his plan, if anything it only solidified his intentions. She was furious already and God if she didn’t look gorgeous when she was mad. Her eyes gleamed like emeralds as she glared at him, her cheeks flush, her chest heaving as her anger escalated into rage. His cock hardened inside his breeches as he drank in the image. His Buffy was a sight to behold and he could hardly wait to discover if she’d be as passionate when the time came to bed her.
She couldn’t stop herself, didn’t even try to, not after noticing the way he raked his eyes over her. It was too… intense, too raw. And before she could even think about what she was doing she slapped his cheek with so much force that his head snapped violently to the side.
He smiled in a way that could only be described as predatory, stepping closer to her. “Now, now, pet, is that any way to greet your husband?” he sneered.
‘WHAT?!?!’ “Husband? You’re NOT my husband, you piece of sh—”
Spike sighed, sharing a look with the nun as if saying ‘see what I have to put up with?’
“Elizabeth! Mind your tongue, young woman! You’re in the House of God and owe obedience and respect to your husband. Honestly, I’m quite disappointed with your behavior,” Sister Margaret scolded. She had trouble reconciling the image of the girl she knew with the woman Mr. De Alcazar had presented, but Elizabeth was dispelling every last one of her doubts with this attitude.
“This man is most certainly not my—”
Fuck, no, no, this wouldn’t do, wouldn’t do at all. No matter how much it turned him on to see his Buffy full of fiery rage for him, he was acutely aware he would not be able to keep his charade up for much longer if she kept talking like this. He needed to get her out of this dreaded place before the nun saw through his ruse and called for reinforcements to have him removed. He did the only thing he could think of to stop her tirade, he bent down, grasped her behind her knees and hauled her over his shoulder, pinning her flailing legs in place with one of his arms and quickly strode down the hall towards the Convent’s entrance.
“Put me down, you, you…brute!” She squirmed, pummeling his back with her fists, until the sharp pain of a slap to her bottom made her stop. She gasped in outrage and was about to renew her efforts to get away, when he spanked her again, only harder this time.
“Enough! Not another word, not another movement from you or you will find out what I am capable of, wife!”
“You wouldn't dare,” she replied horrified by his actions.
“Oh love, you’ll learn very quickly that there are many, many things I dare to do, especially when faced with such a delicious challenge as yourself. I’m anxious to test that little theory of yours if you feel so inclined?” His voice was deceptively soft, but the not-so-veiled threat underneath sent a shiver of pure terror running along the length of her spine, effectively stopping any more attempts at trying to break free from him.
He bit back a chuckle when he sensed her surrender. It hadn’t been his intention to spank her but she wouldn’t be silent had he not and his plan would surely have been ruined. Desperate times called for desperate measures and all that rot. “Thank you for all your help, Sister. Would you be so kind as to ask someone to please gather my wife’s belongings and give them to my valet?
“Of course, Mr. De Alcazar.”
Mr. De Alcazar? What on earth? She wanted to shout ‘impostor’; that he wasn’t her husband or a De Alcazar, not legally anyway, but the words stuck in her throat. She could still feel the sting his hand left imprinted upon her bottom and God, this evil man had a heavy hand. She felt the blows through every last layer of petticoats under her dress. She knew any protests she might have would fall on deaf ears as Sister Margaret had clearly taken William’s side and if she tried, she had no doubt he’d make good on his threat.
They almost reached the front door when she heard him say, “Xander, once you’ve retrieved Buffy’s belongings, please bring them to the place we accorded, understood?”
“Aye, aye, Captain,” the other man replied.
Captain? The place they accorded? Oh God, what was he planning to do with her? He couldn’t possibly mean to take her where she thought he might, could he?
tbc
Hee, wherever might Spike take Buffy now? *giggles*
Okay, so was it what you thought it would be? *g*
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Author's Chapter Notes:
A million thanks to my lovely friend, Im_bloody_English, for editing this chapter for me and for all your help. It wouldn’t be the same without you, cariño. *smooches* To MarzBar for editing this chapter for me and to Amelia-Jane, Kimber, DrkDevin, teasha, Vette, Angie, MidnightGirl and jt, for reviewing. It truly makes my day to know you’re still reading and enjoying the story.
I have to admit that writing this twist has been more fun than I ever imagined. I think writing over 6,000 words in one week could attest to that. *g* Next chapter is halfway done, so with any luck I’ll have time to finish the next chapter in the course of the next week.
I have to admit that writing this twist has been more fun than I ever imagined. I think writing over 6,000 words in one week could attest to that. *g* Next chapter is halfway done, so with any luck I’ll have time to finish the next chapter in the course of the next week.