Chapter 50. Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold
The last thing Buffy had expected when she entered the dining room the next morning was to find everyone already there, seemingly waiting for her. She blushed as Angel, Mr. Finn and William rose from their seats as soon as she came through the door, her blush deepening when William walked towards her and brought her hand to his mouth, looking deeply into her eyes before giving her a wink.
“Good morning, love, I have just finished telling everyone that you've done me the honor of agreeing to become my wife,” he said. “I hope you don't mind I told them without waiting for you.”
Buffy blinked. He'd already told everyone? She stole a glance at the other occupants of the room and was happy to find that aside from Aimée, who looked as if she were about to be sick and Mr. Finn, who seemed indifferent to the proceedings, the rest of their party appeared pleased with the idea.
She smiled sweetly at him. “Of course not, why would I?”
“Actually, he told me first thing this morning. After all, I'm the man of the family and had to give my blessing,” Angel said nearing them. “My congratulations to you both. I couldn't be happier by this match.” He patted William's back and then leaned in to kiss Buffy on the cheek, chuckling at William's low growl. “Down, boy, she's all yours or will be as soon as the wedding ceremony is done and over with.”
“And when will that be?” Doña Darla inquired, enjoying her daughter-in-law's obvious distress at the course the conversation was taking.
“As soon as possible,” Spike answered, leading Buffy to the table and helping to seat her by his side. “How does next Saturday sound to you, my love?”
“Perfect.” Buffy beamed at him, throwing a triumphant smile at her sister, who just scowled at her while grinding her teeth.
“This Saturday?” Joyce asked in dismay, feeling as if she were about to faint. “But...but what about all the preparations a-a-and… the church, bans have to be posted. You do realize it takes longer than that to organize a wedding, don’t you?” she interjected weakly, still in shock over the surprising turn of events. Yes, she and Darla had talked about a possible marriage between the blond pair; however, they'd also agreed that they would speak about it with Elizabeth first and now this? Angel had already given his consent and her daughter hadn't even consulted with her before accepting William’s proposal, it was as if she were invisible to them.
“Aunt Joyce, I'm quite certain between you and my mother you can organize a wedding in less time than that. Money is absolutely no impediment, since William is quite wealthy in his own right and seeing as he's my only brother, all the De Alcazar resources and connections will be at his disposal. I'm sure getting a special license won't be that much of a problem, either.”
Aimée dug her fingernails in her palms as she tried to refrain from slapping the smug smile off her sister's face. There was no way in hell she'd allow the wedding to happen. William was hers, dammit! Even if at the moment he was still mad at her for marrying his brother, she was sure she could convince him to run away with her, to leave Campo Real, Angel and her damnable sister behind. And then she'll be the one laughing.
“Of course, the first order of business will be going to the City Hall in Galveston and inscribe you as a De Alcazar there,” Angel continued.
“And be baptized, too, I warrant,” William sighed. “Isn’t that a requisite for a church wedding?
“You’re not baptized?” Joyce asked, a hand flying to her chest, unable to believe a grown man like William wasn’t christened in the Catholic faith.
“Well, no, the man that married my mother refused to allow her to baptize me with his name.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “And after my mother died, I just didn’t think the priest would have been too keen to baptize me as William the Bl—”
“That won’t be a problem either, will it, Angel?” Buffy interrupted her fiancé before he finished talking. It wouldn’t do either of them any good if her mother realized he’d been a pirate beforehand, no matter if her brother-in-law and probably her Aunt Darla, too, were aware of it. There was no need to give her mother a heart attack for the time being, she seemed distressed enough as it was.
“No, not at all, Elizabeth. Actually, it works out perfectly,” the brunet man replied, turning toward his brother. “You’ll be recognized as Rodrigo De Alcazar’s son and my brother before God and men alike in the same day. Though I’m saddened that our father isn’t around to see this happen, I’m certain this is exactly what he would’ve wanted.” He exhaled a deep sigh and shook his head, dispelling the sad thoughts from his head. “Now, how about we finish breakfast? We do have a lot to accomplish today if you’re set on marrying this Saturday.”
Over my dead body! Aimée screamed inside her head, smiling grimly as she attacked her food as she wished to attack her sister. Elizabeth might have won this battle, but she wouldn’t win the war, she would make sure of that.
*~*~*~*~*~*
“What do you pretend with this charade?”
“Charade?” Buffy asked in return, watching Aimee through the mirror, compelling her to elaborate. She was in the middle of putting her hat on before meeting Angel and William on the foyer to go to Galveston for the day when her sister had entered her room without bothering to knock. Not that she expected her to. As it was, she was surprised it’d taken her as long as it did to confront her.
“You know exactly what I mean,” Aimée answered, stomping a foot on the floor.
“As a matter of fact, dear sister, I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. Now if you’ll excuse me, Angel and my fiancé are waiting for me.” She tried to get past Aimee, but the redhead blocked her way.
“Not until you answer me.”
The blonde girl heaved a pained sigh. “Alright, I’ll humor you. What was your question again?” she inquired sweetly, delighted when she saw Aimée’s temper rise even more at her taunting.
“William will never marry you!”
“Well, if you believe that, I’m quite certain you’ll be disappointed come Saturday,” Buffy retorted sweetly bringing her left hand up to gaze at her ring. “Isn’t it absolutely breathtaking?”
“I don’t know by what means you convinced William to give that ring to you, but he’s not going to marry you.”
“Is that so?” the blonde replied calmly.
“Yes.” Aimée lifted her chin defiantly; certain she could scare her sister into calling off the engagement. “And no amount of you pursuing him is going to change the fact that he loves me. Me, not you.”
“You need to get your facts straight, darling.” Buffy raised to her full height, almost nose to nose with her sister, her green eyes glimmering with confidence. “For one thing, unlike you, I’ve never pursued William. I can assure you he’s been the pursuer all along. Second, if you think you can convince me that he doesn’t love me, you’re sorely mistaken. A lot has happened since our last… hmm, chat, if one can even call it that. And not just what you witnessed last night, in case you were wondering.” She winked at Aimée mischievously and continued, “Did you know he went after me and practically kidnapped me from the convent to take me to his ship? It was sooo romantic!” She sighed, a dreamy expression on her face.
“You-you hussy! You think just because you were his, he’s going to marry you?” She scoffed. “He’s just playing with you, passing the time while he convinces me to leave Angel!”
“I’m the hussy now? That’s rich!” Buffy laughed heartily. “At least my future husband can claim he’s the only one that’s shared my bed, can your husband say the same, dear sister?” she inquired.
“You… argh!” Aimée raised her hand to slap her, but her sister’s reflexes were faster, grabbing her by the wrist with much more force than she’d have given her credit for. Her eyes misted as Elizabeth exerted more pressure on her arm, making her whimper because of the pain.
“Don’t ever think of doing that again,” Buffy said menacingly, narrowing her eyes at the redhead and relishing the look of fear she received from her sibling. “Now I’m going to let you go but if you try something else against me, I won’t be responsible for what I might do.” She let go of the limb and smiled sweetly, “And don’t think I’m not prepared to make good on that threat.”
“Now be a good girl and toddle off, I need to finish getting ready.” She turned her back on Aimée, walking back to the mirror and effectively dismissing her from the room.
She fussed on arranging her hat until she heard the unmistakable click of the door closing and released the breath she’d been holding until then.
She was well aware this little show of bravado she’d just put on for Aimée’s benefit might backfire on her, but right now, she chose not to care. She’d had more than enough of her sister’s cheating, lying ways and she refused to let her win this time. She’d allowed her to intimidate her before, to prey on her insecurities, on her naïveté, but never again.
She was a woman now. William’s woman at that and as such she would behave.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Galveston
Getting Rodrigo De Alcazar out of jail had been more than a mite anti-climatic. As soon as the news of the Habeas Corpus motion he’d presented to Judge Reynolds reached Quentin Travers’ ears, he’d vanished into thin air, leaving his post as the prison warden in his second in command’s not so capable hands.
It’d made a whole lot easier to find and subsequently free his friend from the cell that had been his purgatory for the last twelve years.
He’d barely recognized don Rodrigo at first, bearded and covered in dirt and grime as he was. Definitely a long shot from the elegant landlord he’d known most of his life, but one look into the man’s dark brown eyes had been enough for him to confirm this was indeed him. And that despite what they’d been told years ago, he was alive.
Rodrigo had never been happier to see someone in his life as he’d been when Rupert Giles crossed the threshold into the small cell. He’d hoped, prayed with everything he had the boy would deliver his message, but hadn’t expected the cavalry to come to his rescue so soon, or at all.
Not like he was complaining, especially not after his friend—uncaring of how much in need he was of a bath—pulled him into a tight embrace, both their eyes suspiciously bright as they got reacquainted with each other after so many years.
It didn’t take long for the lawyer to help him out of the place that had been his personal hell for longer than he cared to remember. And even with the desire to leave this place behind as soon as he could, he paused as they stepped out of the building, his nostrils flaring as he took his first breath of freedom into his lungs. His eyes hurt as they tried to get used to the harsh light of day after so many years in the dark, colors blending and merging and shapes slowly taking form as he focused on them. The noises of the people, carriages and horses milling about, were almost deafening at first, unused as he was to them after spending so long a time in silence.
His chocolate gaze finally settled on Rupert, his friend, his confidante, and for the first time in what felt like forever… he smiled.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Rodrigo insisted on bathing outside on the patio in Giles’ home. While he hadn’t watched in a mirror, he knew he would need more than one wash to clean his body after so many years of neglect and he didn’t want to cause his friend more problems than he already had.
With Rupert’s help and lots of soap and water, he finally rid himself of the layers of filth that’d covered his body for so long. It felt absolutely heavenly to feel the clear liquid on his skin, cleansing not only his body, but his soul from the unspeakable horrors he’d experienced in jail. Shaving his face and cutting his hair had been a divine experience, although he’d had to rely on the lawyer’s more steady hands, since his were shaking too much to handle a blade so close to his throat.
He was weaker than he would’ve liked, but needed to get this out of the way before anything else. Before he could tell Giles all that he remembered, before they could try to uncover what happened to him and how had he ended up in jail.
Later, alone in Giles room after changing into clean clothes that hung over his frail frame, he could barely believe his eyes as he observed his reflection on the mirror. Aside from having lost a lot of weight, his hair being sprinkled with gray, the lines around his eyes and mouth and foregoing the mustache he’d used back then, he looked pretty much the same he had twelve years ago. As long as he didn’t focus on his eyes, those revealed how much he’d changed, all he’d suffered, how prison had hardened him.
He gripped the sides of the basin, his knuckles turning white as he vowed once again to get to the bottom of it, to avenge what had been done to him.
He didn’t remember much of that time, his memories were still quite blurry, but he was determined to discover who was behind this and make them pay for what they did to him. Even if it was the last thing he did, he would make sure whoever did this to him would pay in kind for all he lost.
*~*~*~*~*~*
“And that’s the last thing you recall before falling from Palomino?” Giles asked, grinning from ear to ear as he watched his guest devour the food he’d placed in front of him. His cooking skills were nothing to frown upon, especially taking into account his confirmed bachelor status, but it’d never received such… enthusiastic response. Although considering what Rodrigo must have been fed in prison, he imagined this meal must taste like a little slice of heaven to him.
“Yes,” he responded, his brow furrowing as he tried to remember anything else that might be important. He knew there was something that eluded him, but try as he might he couldn’t grasp what it could be.
“All right, that’s enough for now. Between this and what William told me over what happened to him, too, we can fill in the blanks.”
Rodrigo stopped at mid-chew, his eyes widening in fear as he tried to swallow past the lump suddenly lodged on his throat. “William?” he croaked. “What happened to William? I thought you said he was fine, the same as Angel.”
“William’s perfectly fine,” he cleared, patting his friend’s hand to calm him. Or at least he hoped he was, given the way he’d left his house the day before, but he wasn’t about to say anything about that now. “It’s just… he had a run in with Snyder around the time you disappeared.”
“Snyder?” There was something tickling at the edges of his memory when he heard that name, but what was it?
“Yes, you remember him, don’t you? He’s been Campo Real’s Administrator all this time. Well, to be honest, I’m not really sure if he still is. Angel wasn’t too keen on keeping him on that post after he returned from Europe; but who knows if he fired him what with the wedding and all.”
“He was just a foreman then and not all that good on his job if I recall correctly. How did he end up administrating the hacienda, Rupert?”
Giles shrugged. “I suppose it was Doña Darla’s decision.”
“Darla?” he sighed heavily, passing a hand over his face, as details of his last encounter with his wife came back to him. “I had almost forgotten about her. I was coming to your house that day, you know?” Giles raised an eyebrow at him in silent question and he continued, “I told her I married Anna all those years ago and that if she didn’t accept William as my son, I would let everyone know about it. That I was willing to accept the consequences of my actions, go to jail for bigamy or whatever was thrown my way to protect my firstborn.”
The lawyer blinked as he processed all this new information, thinking back to the day he learned of Rodrigo’s demise. Doña Darla sent him a note; she made it so that he never saw the body. Bloody hell! She didn’t let him know until after the supposed burial and he knew why.
“Do you think she’s behind all this?” he asked, although he already knew the answer. It made perfect sense. Rodrigo’s disappearance, William’s kidnapping, Snyder being promoted to Administrator, it was all tied in and now, this moment, after so many years, they had the answer of who might be behind it all. And judging by the murderous gleam in his friend’s eyes, God helped her if what they suspected was true.
“I know she is. She’s capable of anything to keep her status as Campo Real’s mistress. Even partner up with a sniveling whoreson like Snyder, it might seem.”
“What are we going to do about it, then?”
“Are you sure you want in on this, my friend? It might get a little… violent.”
“It’d be damn time already, I say.” Giles winked. “After all how long has it been since we indulged on a spot of violence?”
“Too long, amigo. Too damn long.”
tbc
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Author's Chapter Notes:
I know it’s been a long time since I updated this story, or any other for that matter, however my muse has been MIA and with it’s been hard to try to reawaken with as busy with work and RL as I’ve been lately. I have good news, though, we’re finally nearing the end of this story and I think (hope) to finish it in perhaps five chapters or less. *crosses fingers*
Anyway, I want to thank to everyone who took the time to review and let me know you’re still here with me, I promise I will finish responding as soon as I finish posting this chapter. And I really hope I haven’t lost all of you with the long waiting between updates.
As always, a million thanks to my lovely Tina, who took time out of her uber-busy schedule to edit this chapter for me. And to Beth, who inspired my muse into focusing on this story in the first place. *smooches* I love you, girls!
Anyway, I want to thank to everyone who took the time to review and let me know you’re still here with me, I promise I will finish responding as soon as I finish posting this chapter. And I really hope I haven’t lost all of you with the long waiting between updates.
As always, a million thanks to my lovely Tina, who took time out of her uber-busy schedule to edit this chapter for me. And to Beth, who inspired my muse into focusing on this story in the first place. *smooches* I love you, girls!
Chapter End Notes:
Like, dislike? Want to know what’s going to happen next? I’d love to know you’re still reading and what you thought about the chapter if you’re inclined to let me know. *bats eyelashes*
Oooh, and before I go, Corazón Salvaje won the Whole Lotta History Award on Round 2 at the Cradle of Humanity Awards. Thank you to everyone who voted for it!
Oooh, and before I go, Corazón Salvaje won the Whole Lotta History Award on Round 2 at the Cradle of Humanity Awards. Thank you to everyone who voted for it!