Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I really do love hearing what you guys think! It's so different being the writer and not the reader. I never know what you guys are thinking. Don't know if it's bad or good or somewhere in between... let's just get to the story, shall we?
The day had started peacefully enough. She’d gone to her lessons, even though she was older than a student usually was. She’d met William, talked to him and persuaded him not to admit himself to Cecily at the party. So why, when her father had shown up with a pale dress and demanded she get herself ready for the evening, did she suddenly feel so overwhelmed?

"Elizabeth, come out of there!" Hank yelled for what seemed like the thousandth time to bring his eldest daughter from her dressing room. "I want to see the dress you chose."

"You chose it, dad. Not me." Buffy shouted from behind the door. "I don’t see why I even have to go. It’s not like I’m needed to make you look good," she stepped out of the room as she said this, and into sight of her father’s scrutinizing gaze. She scowled at his expression of distaste.

"You couldn’t make anyone look good in that dress. Honestly, girl, do you try to look like a harlot, or does it come naturally for you?"

Buffy held in angry tears at her father’s bitter words, and responded, "Naturally. I get it from you."

Hank immediately raised his hand to strike, but stopped at the last second when she unflinchingly said, "You really want the guests to see red marks on my face from your ‘discipline?’"

He raised his head proudly, and whispered in a low tone, "Do not think your wicked mouth will go unpunished, Buffy ." He spat the nickname in disgust. "Just because you’re to be a bride to a wealthy businessman in the future, does not mean you are immune to paternal punishment now."

Buffy met his eyes fearlessly. He had never scared her before, and he wouldn’t now. Sure, he might hit her later, but at least she would still have her pride and dignity. It wasn’t like he hit her often. Only when she questioned him as a person did he show himself to be inhuman.

"I expect to see you downstairs in ten minutes, ready to greet the people attending." Hank waved a dismissing hand to his daughter as he walked down the hall, away from her.

Buffy growled. The only thing she had to look forward to was seeing William. Or at least watching William. She’d made the decision earlier that night that he shouldn’t see her. She’d been so honest with him at the park that she’d forgotten to tell him about her father’s lie. She didn’t want him to be angry with her so soon after their first meeting. She’d just tell him tomorrow, and explain everything. Sighing, she went back in her dressing room to put on her gloves, and headed down the stairs.

When she reached the bottom, her sister and mother both greeted her.

"Buffy, you look beautiful." Joyce hugged her daughter close before leaning back to look at her again. "That dress didn’t look attractive at all until you put it on. I even tried to convince your father to return it." She smiled at Buffy. "You make it look like the dress of royalty."

Buffy shook her head. "That’s what dad was going for, right? We’re the richest snobs in all of London?"

Dawn laughed. "Yeah, he gave me this huge broach." She pointed to a three-inch oval hanging from her gown. It was a dark blue color, polished and surrounded by a silver ring. "I feel like I’m going to fall over!"

They all laughed, not noticing Hank walk up. He seemed to be in a better mood, or he was just pretending to be because his wife and coworkers were there. "Are we ready ladies?"

Dawn and Joyce nodded, while Buffy frowned. "Ready for what?"

Hank looked annoyed, but still managed to keep a fatherly smile on his face. "For our introductions of course. We’re to be publicly announced before we mingle with the crowd. Elizabeth, I want you to pay extra attention to Mr. Abrams tonight. He’s already got quite an interest in you, and we don’t want to make a bad impression by ignoring the young man, do we?"

"Wait… we’re going to actually stand in front of everyone to be introduced?" Buffy almost shrieked. "You’ve got to be joking!"

Hank raised his eyebrows. "No, child, I’m not teasing you. You’re going to be on your best behavior tonight, right?"

She nodded silently. This was not working out the way she’d planned. It was simple: avoid William, but keep close enough to see him, talk to Parker long enough to be acceptable, and hide out for the rest of the evening. But if she was going to be introduced to everyone as Elizabeth Anne Summers, there was no way she would be able to hide from William, or keep her secret until the next day.

"Let’s go then." Hank linked his arm with his wife’s, and guided the three girls to the ballroom. Her parents were the first two out, then her sister. She waited for a moment, taking a deep breath, and walked through the door leading to the room. She put on a false smile, looking for William frantically. She searched every head from the front to the back, even double-checking to make sure that that person wasn’t him. She nearly cried in relief when she was unable to find him. But, she was also disappointed.

"Hello. Welcome to our home. It is my pleasure, as well as my family’s, to see you all here tonight. For the rest of the evening, we will make every attempt to meet all of you before the night is over. But, first, introductions are in order. My name is Hank Summers. This beautiful lady next to me is my wife, Joyce." He smiled at her. Walking over to his youngest daughter, he placed a hand on her shoulder, "This is my wonderful young daughter, Dawn."

He looked at Buffy, almost seeming reluctant to go to her. She kept her smile in place, thought her mind was screaming at her to drop it to a frown. Finally, Hank moved to her, taking her shoulder as he had Dawn’s. "And this is my elder daughter, Elizabeth Summers."

After introductions were finished, Hank excused them from the center of the room, and encouraged the guests to enjoy themselves. As Buffy began to step away from the open circle, her hand was grasped in a larger one that guided her into the crowd. She looked into a handsome face that she’d never seen before. "Thank you, sir."

She smiled a friendly smile. It was time to put on the glamour. She put on an air of importance. "May I inquire as to the name of such a kind gentleman?" She looked into his admiring blue eyes, instantly realizing who he was. She tried not to wrench her hand from his when he confirmed it.

"Parker Abrams, Ms. Summers. It’s a pleasure to meet you." He lowered his head, lifting her palm to meet his lips. She thanked God that she was wearing a glove.

"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Abrams." She politely removed her hand from his grip. His good looks and predictable charm made him seem like a decent man, but there was something… off about him. Looking down at the floor to avoid eye contact, she pondered ways to get away from him. Thinking of her sister, she began, "Well, I should…"

"Please, won’t you come someplace more private so that we can get to know each other?" Parker’s hand was attached to her shoulder before she could protest. She looked behind her, searching hopelessly for a rescuer. He pulled her along through the crowd, and Buffy started to feel a little helpless.

"Mr. Abrams, if we could just stay- oof!" Buffy ran straight into someone while she was looking the opposite direction. After regaining her balance, she apologized. "I’m so sorry, miss. I wasn’t watching where I was… going." Buffy wanted to suck the words back into her mouth. "Hello, Cecily."

"Elizabeth! Might you have been paying attention, this wouldn’t have occurred. You nearly made me spill this champagne all over my dress! Imagine if you had ruined it, and your father had to pay for its replacement. I would have taken great pleasure in your punishment." Cecily was outraged. That much was obvious. But, as soon as she looked at Buffy’s companion, her mood shifted from anger into pleasant.

"Oh, Mr. Abrams! It’s good to see you again. Have you been well?" she flirted. Buffy fought the urge to gag.

"Cecily, are you and Ms. Summers not strangers?" Parker asked in confusion.

Cecily looked at the other girl, at first with contempt, and then she began to laugh. "Elizabeth and I? Oh, we are close friends. I was simply playing around with her before. She’s quite the clumsy one, though, isn’t she? Always spilling things, breaking expensive items… running into people…"

Parker laughed along with Cecily, while Buffy pretended to be interested. Inside, she was fuming. Cecily was shamelessly flirting with the man that Buffy was supposed to be charming. Not that she cared what they did, of course, but just the idea that those two would do a thing like that enraged her. She would gladly leave them to themselves if a certain man were there.

‘You can have him, Cec. You take him, and I’ll take- William!’ She saw him the instant he set foot in the room. He was glancing around somewhat nervously, his eyes searching the room, undoubtedly for the girl he’d come to see. The same girl she was standing right next to! Thinking quickly, she grabbed Parker by the hand and began to tug at him.

"It’s been nice talking to you Cecily, but Mr. Abrams and I were actually just heading to a quieter area. If you’ll excuse us…" she pulled Parker away before anymore was said.

The man attached to Ms. Summers’ hand was very pleased. She was jealous! For what other reason would she have pulled him away from a beautiful woman like Cecily? Still, he’d hoped he could have gotten another word in with the lovely Miss Adams.

Buffy led them to a cushioned bench in a secluded spot of the room, hoping against hope that William hadn’t seen them. She made sure to take the seat facing the front so that she would be able to watch him as he moved about the room. When she found him again, having spotted Cecily and heading toward her, she turned her attention back to Parker Abrams. "Sorry I pulled you away like that… I was feeling a little drowsy, and I thought that it would be better for me to sit down."

"Oh, you’re feeling light-headed? Here, let me get you a glass of water. That might help." Parker eagerly jumped back up, and headed back into the crowd.

Buffy sighed. In a way, she was relieved to be rid of him, but it put her in a position of visibility. She could be easily seen from William’s point of view, and she really didn’t want that to happen. Quickly abandoning the seat, she began her night of spying.

 

~*~*~*~*~



When William arrived, he’d promptly begun searching for Cecily. The amount of people in the room was startling, but he managed to find his love speaking to a dark haired man and a blonde woman. He made his way toward them, noticing how the man and woman rushed away from Cecily as he approached. When he got to his destination, Cecily seemed to be looking around for someone, but he greeted her anyway. "Good evening, Cecily."

She looked sharply at him, hiding her disinterest with a barely there smile. "Oh, William. I didn’t expect to see you here."

He smiled, "Yes, I know I’m not quite as social as I should be. But, I came here on behalf of my mother and I… also heard that you might be here. I thought we could chat a little." William held his breath, hoping for the best.

But his lady seemed distracted by something. "Hmm," was all she said in response. She hadn’t heard him speak, then. He waited for her attention to return to him, but it only seemed to move farther and farther away.

"Cecily! I apologize for that. Miss Summers was just feeling a little dizzy and needed to sit down. Shall we continue our conversation elsewhere?" Parker Abrams brushed past William in his pursuit of Miss Adams. William couldn’t believe the ignorant manner of this man. He looked at Cecily, waiting for her answer.

"Of course, Mr. Abrams. I suppose we should step outside for a while to gain some privacy." She took Parker’s hand and he started to lead her away when she stopped, seeming to have remembered something. "William, I apologize. Mr. Abrams and I have some important matters to discuss, and I’m sure you’ll forgive my early retirement."

"I understand, Cecily. I’ll be sure to catch you after your return." William raised his voice to be sure to reach her ears as by the time he’d finished the statement, she was nearly out of the room. He sighed. ‘At least I’ll have time to work on my poem. That last word has yet to come to me.’ He moved to a seat near a wall, and pulled his notebook and pen from his coat pocket. He opened up the papers to the most recent entry, and began to think of the perfect word to end his poem.

~*~*~*~*~

Buffy had had a time of watching the happenings before her. First, she’d seen William approach Cecily. Then she’d seen Parker Abrams push around William in order to speak to Cecily with the excuse of fetching her water. She couldn’t even fathom the guile of a man who would actually lie to the woman he was supposedly marrying in order to speak to another. She ignored the guilty voice in her head, accusing her of her own duplicity. When she’d seen the two depart, and William look around almost helplessly, she’d had to fight the urge to go over to him. Luckily, he’d seated himself a ways away from her, and occupied himself with… was that his poetry notebook? She smiled, amused that this man would think of a party such as this as an opportunity to write. But, since he’d settled himself so well into what he was doing, she was content to just watch him as he thought.

Several minutes later, William seemed to be bumbling with words. She could faintly hear him asking one of the servants for a synonym of gleaming. Amused by his excitement, she giggled a little.

"Has something caught your fancy?" Buffy jerked her head around when she heard the voice behind her. It was Parker, holding a glass of champagne and one of water.

"Oh, Mr. Abrams. I was beginning to wonder where you’d run off to," she lied. She could see the falseness of his smile, the arrogance of his nature as he sat down beside her without permission.

"I’m sorry, Ms. Summers. The way to the drinks was much longer than I intended. I hope you didn’t fret." He handed her the tall glass of water. She wanted to growl at him. She had only just met the man and he was already assuming she would miss him?

"Not to worry. I found ways to occupy my time." Buffy smiled sweetly.

Parker seemed interested. "Tell me, what do you do with your spare time? When I arrived here, I noticed you were watching something. Or someone." He glanced in the direction she had been facing. "Was it the nervous antics of William the Bloody?"

Buffy looked appalled. "Excuse me? William the Bloody?" What on earth could he be talking about? She pinned him with a stare, but he just pointed. When she returned her focus on William, she saw him heading nervously towards Cecily, once again. She was mingling with a group of people, and he joined her.

"He’s such a horrible excuse for a man," she looked back to Parker, anger making her frown. "He’s always going around, muttering strange words, worrying about his mother. And he’s been in love with Cecily since he was a child. She’s been blind to it, of course."

Buffy didn’t even try to hide the rage at the tone of his voice. He had no right to speak about William that way. "Is that so?"

Parker nodded, and grinned sadistically. "A girl like that has better things to do than worry about the feelings of a thorn in her side."

She was just about to tell him her mind, but she was interrupted by an eruption of laughter throughout the room. ‘I wonder what that was about.’

She glanced at William, keeping an eye on him as he sat next to Cecily. She couldn’t clearly see his expression, and she was anxious to know what was happening. She was also worried.

"So, Miss Summers, what do you make of his wonderful choice of words?" He looked at her as if he expected her full attention.

"His… I’m sorry… his what?" She had been distracted by William and Cecily’s conversation, and not paying attention to the insolent man in front of her.

"William’s ‘poem.’ The cause of the laughter a few moments ago. I knew he wrote badly, but I didn’t think he was as pathetic as he’s just proved himself to be." Parker laughed, and Buffy’s heart filled with dread. She turned back around to see William’s tear-filled eyes as he pushed his way through the people to leave. ‘No… no!’

"You know… there’s a reason he’s called William the Bloody Awful Poet." Parker smirked as he said the statement loud enough for William to hear.

Buffy looked at Parker. "You want to know something?" she smiled innocently. When he nodded, clearly thinking that his insults towards William had somehow wooed her, she fought the urge to slap him. Instead, she took the glass of water in her hands and threw it in his face. "You should really stick with Cecily."

Satisfied that she’d gotten her say, she ran out of the ballroom, leaving Parker wet and red faced, and chased after William. She saw him walking hurriedly into an alleyway, so she headed towards it.

~*~*~*~*~

It wasn’t a good enough word to say that William was heartbroken. As he sat on the hay bail, shredding up his poem, he found he didn’t really care to define how he was feeling. Yes, he wanted to wallow in it, and curl up in submission, but he didn’t want to know what it was.

He had been humiliated and rejected by the one woman whom he’d given his faith, obviously misguided. He should have listened to his mother. He should have listened to Buffy. They’d both warned him about Cecily. He’d just refused to see it. He’d spent his whole life building up this perfect picture of who he believed Cecily really was, and had been proven wrong in so many ways.

And to think of that awful name that had been created for him. That’s all he was to every one of those people in there. William the Bloody. And they were right. Here he was, crying his heart out, only no one was listening. He was completely alone.

"I’m listening, William." Buffy called out quietly in front of him. She watched as his head shot up in surprise. He probably hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

"Buffy. I’m afraid I’m not very good company right now. It’s best if you go home." William looked back down, trying to secretly wipe the tears off his face.

"I don’t mind if you’re not very good company." She took a couple steps toward him. "I’d like to stay, if it’s all the same to you."

William couldn’t control his response. "It isn’t all the same. I’d like to be alone. Please leave."

Buffy could see right through it, though. Her heart ached for him, and she walked over to him, sitting by his side. "I’d like to stay with you, William."

He looked over at her as if he was about to protest, but he gave a defeated sigh, and looked away from her. She kept a steady eye on him, making sure he knew that she was available to listen. After a few moments of silence, he spoke.

"I should have listened to you. You warned me that Cecily was cruel, but I was too fascinated by my own foolish thoughts of her to pay attention." He chuckled humorlessly.

"William?" Buffy wanted to touch his back, but she wasn’t sure if he’d take it as comfort.

"Things got a little out of hand tonight at the party. I was insipid enough to bring along my notebook, and one of the well-to-do fellows got a hold of the one that you read. He read it aloud to the room, and then mocked it. As if I weren’t there to hear him." William curled his lip.

"Then, Cecily asks me to tell her honestly who the poems were about." He had to hold back tears as he finished. "I couldn’t lie to her. I told her the truth. Everything."

Buffy took his hand. She didn’t say anything for a while, simply offered her support. "I don’t know what you’re going through, but I do know what it’s like to be rejected. Let me help you?"

"You’d do that? Why?"

She just smiled. "I know we’ve just met, but I already think of you as a very close friend. I’d like to help you gain your reputation back."

William laughed. "Buffy, I don’t have a reputation. I never wanted one, and I don’t think I want to have one now. It’s Cecily I want. My Cecily."

She sighed, and her smile dropped. "William, are you sure? I thought you knew by now that she’s not what you believed she was. You still want her?"

William looked at her. "I can’t give up this easily. If I do, I’ll be proving to her that I am what she says."

"What does she say you are?" Buffy asked concerned.

"She said… nevermind. It’s not important." He assured her. "I should probably go home. Mother is expecting me. Will I still be meeting you tomorrow? I’d enjoy another visit to the park, and with you."

"Yes. We can still meet tomorrow. I’d like to talk some more." Buffy and William stood together, and parted ways. "I’ll see you then."

"Goodnight, Buffy." William walked in the direction of his house, and Buffy headed back to the party.

~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Thanks to my beta, Devin, who helped me out with this chapter. Please review!





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