Chapter 10 – The Whispers of Lies
The phone wouldn’t stop ringing no matter how much Spike tried to ignore it. Reluctantly, he reached over Buffy who was also fumbling to answer it, in order to grab it before she did. He kissed her cheek which made her smile even in sleep. She burrowed back under the covers while he answered the phone.
“Hello?”
“William, its Giles.”
“What’s so damn important it wouldn’t wait ‘til morning?” Spike asked, glancing at the clock. Technically it wasn’t really that late since it was only ten o’clock. It had just been an extremely long day for him and his bride. He rubbed his eyes and flopped back on the pillow.
“I heard you were married today?”
“Fuck,” Spike muttered. There wasn’t going to be any easy way out of this conversation. Nor was it going to be over soon. He wondered how his agent had found out though. Had the gossip rags found out already? He sat up, threw back the covers back and headed downstairs. “Where did you get the happy news?” He asked when he reached the stairs and hopefully out of range of Buffy’s hearing.
“So, it’s true,” Giles said, with a sigh. “Oh, dear…”
“Oh, come on, old man, its good news,” Spike said, with a laugh. “I’m happy about it. She’s beautiful, sweet, and she’s given me more inspiration than I’ve had in a long time.”
“How long have you known her?” Giles asked the trepidation heavy in his voice.
He sounded tired as if dealing with and worrying about Spike was causing him a lot of anxiety. It almost made Spike feel guilty because he knew Giles thought of him as a son. Maybe things could have been handled differently, but it couldn’t be changed now. Not that Spike had wanted to wait. It was better to have Buffy already ensconced in his life and in his bed. That thought brought a happy twist to lips that her sweetness still lingered on.
“It’s all your fault anyway,” Spike said. “You’re the one who insisted that I come to Sunnydale for our meeting.”
“You’re met her here? In the last few days?” Giles asked. “My lord man, do you know anything about her?”
“Relax,” Spike said. “She’s a sweetheart and I’m sure you’re going to adore her. I do.”
There was a hint of steel in his last two words; a warning to his agent and friend not to hurt the woman who was bringing joy into his heart. His moments of anger were his own battered emotions and had nothing to do with her. He knew that. She was an angel that would pull him into the light again. He believed it.
“I’m sure you’re quite enamored with her,” Giles reassured him. “But, honestly, how much do you know about this woman? I’m sorry to be so crass but I am your…”
“My pain in the butt,” Spike said with a laugh. He’d been wandering the apartment, but a loud growl from his stomach had brought him into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator to see what Xander had stocked it with. “Come on,” he sighed. “I know you want to give me the warnings and you won’t be happy until you do. So, get on with it.”
“William, don’t,” Giles said with a bit of warning returned in his tone. “You need to listen to me. You’ve been very lonely and vulnerable since the death of Drusilla. You happen to meet some woman…”
“Her name is Buffy,” Spike said. He slammed the mayonnaise jar down onto the counter next to the sandwich makings he’d already pulled out. “She’s not just some woman.”
“My apologies,” Giles said. “You meet Buffy who is willing to marry you after two days. It just doesn’t sound right to me.”
The moment in the hotel room when he’d met Tara came back to him. A plot to snag an older, rich man was what he’d thought for a moment, too. Spike closed his eyes while gripping the edge of the counter. It couldn’t be. He could feel how she felt when she made love to him even if they hadn’t spoken the words. She was innocent and so was Tara. The two of them couldn’t possibly have cooked up such a scheme.
“Did you at least get a prenuptial agreement before you married her?”
A sound from the living room made Spike open his eyes before he could answer Giles. He waited until Buffy came into view. She smiled and tightened the belt on his robe she was wearing.
“Are you there?” Giles asked.
“Yeah, I’m here,” Spike replied, watching as his wife picked up a slice of cheese and slid it into her mouth. He wondered how long she’d been standing in the living room listening to his side of the conversation. “Hold on a minute,” he said. “Let me go into the other room.”
“I’m sorry,” Buffy whispered, backing away. “I shouldn’t have interrupted.”
The frantic look on her face reassured him that she hadn’t been listening, but had just come looking for him. He grabbed her hand to pull her against him. “It’s okay, pet,” Spike whispered, nuzzling her neck. The phone was pressed against his side so Giles couldn’t hear. “Why don’t you make us some sandwiches while I finish this up?”
“All right,” Buffy agreed, giving him a quick kiss before he moved away.
She was humming some nonsensical tune and opening the bread before he made it out into the hallway. He lifted the phone back to his ear.
“I’m back,” Spike said. “And, no, I didn’t.”
“Sometimes you’re too much of an impulsive romantic,” Giles said. “Do you think she would sign one now?”
“I wouldn’t insult her like that,” Spike said, closing the door to his office behind him. “She’s not after my money. She didn’t even know I had it until after we were married. Hell, Giles, she didn’t even know who I was.”
“Oh, bullshit,” Giles replied with a hearty laugh. “You are one of the most famous authors of your genre and you expect me to believe she’s never heard of you.”
“Yes, I do,” Spike insisted, plopping down in his thousand dollar leather executive chair. “She’s been through a lot in the last year or so and I doubt that she’s been that into reading for pleasure.”
“Even if she didn’t know before, she does now and if this doesn’t work out then she can walk off with half of everything you have.”
“She wouldn’t,” Spike said, staring at the empty place on his desk where a photo once sat of Dru and him at their wedding. Not once on that happy day had he ever thought that in only a few years she would be cheating on him or murdered along with her lover. If she’d lived for them to divorce it would have been an ugly affair. He put his head back against the soft leather. “Giles, I…”
“I know, son,” Giles said, softly. “It’s for the best. I’ll speak to Lindsey and have him draw one up.”
“Tell him to be generous to her,” Spike whispered, hating that he was giving in, but hating even more that he had doubts about Buffy on their wedding day. He also knew that Lindsey McDonald was a cutthroat of a lawyer. He was vicious when it came to defending his clients. It was why he’d been chosen to represent Spike and his assets in the first place. There was no way there would be anything but a typical settlement for Buffy in any agreement he drew up. “She doesn’t…didn’t have a lot when I met her.”
“I will,” Giles said. “You have to protect yourself, William. You have a lot of people that count on you so don’t feel guilty for this.”
“Easy for you to say,” Spike said, already knowing he’d made a mistake by giving in. “It’s going to hurt her and I don’t want to do that.”
“If she loves you then she’ll understand.”
Loves him? Now, that was something he wasn’t sure about at all. Had they known each other long enough to really fall in love? Was he living a fantasy? He needed to be with her again. Close enough to touch her, to breathe her in, and then the doubts would be gone. Spike quickly ended the conversation and headed to find Buffy. She was curled up on the couch watching a movie on the television.
“Miss me?” Spike asked, sitting next to her. He loved the fact that she immediately leaned back against him.
“Yes,” Buffy answered, wrapping her hand around his. “Was that something to do with me?”
“Of course not, Luv, Giles found out about us getting married and called to see what was up,” Spike reassured her. He reached over to grab one of the sandwiches that were piled on a plate on the table.
“How did he found out?”
“You know, I never did get an answer from him,” Spike said, with a laugh. “Guess it doesn’t really matter.” He took a bite from the thick ham sandwich she’d made. It was the first thing she’d ever fixed for him. “This is good. Thank you.”
“No problem,” Buffy replied. “Are you sure everything is all right?”
“Yes, everything is fine,” Spike insisted, but he avoided her eyes. She knew something was up, yet he couldn’t tell her. It was their wedding night. Somehow he’d find a way to broach the subject with her later. He tugged playfully on a strand of her hair that was tickling his arm. She smiled at him, then reached for her soda before she settled next to him.
The subject was closed it seemed. She seemed content that everything between them was just fine. It was the first lie between them and it was his fault. Spike wished he had more courage, but it just wasn’t there. Not tonight when he wanted the illusion that everything was perfect between them. Tomorrow was another day that they could deal with the more practical matters between them. He grabbed another sandwich and tried to get into the movie she was watching. He couldn’t though as his guilt played havoc with him. Finally he looked down at her, determined to just open his mouth and tell her but she was fast asleep.
And he let it go for another time.
~~~~~
Buffy stretched, trying to drive the last bit of sleepiness from her still lethargic body. She blinked a few times, looked around for Spike then turned to the alarm clock when she saw he wasn’t beside her. It took a few moments to realize that it really was past one in the afternoon. She never slept that late, at least not in the last few years when the last of her childhood had been left behind.
Embarrassed by what William must be thinking of her, she hurried into the bathroom. Thirty minutes was all it took for her to shower and dress. Buffy didn’t take the time to apply any makeup or fuss with her hair. A pony tail would do until she knew what the plans for the day were, if there were any at all. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a simple pullover sweater that barely reached her waistband. With a quick look in the mirror to verify that the jeans made her ass look as good as she remembered, Buffy left the bedroom satisfied that they did.
There were two voices coming from the living room which made her stop. She listened for a moment. After the night before she didn’t want to interrupt Spike in a personal conversation.
“Well, Giles didn’t waste any time,” Spike said.
“These things are fairly routine in nature,” a strange male voice said. “It just took a few tweaks this morning and it’s all ready to go.”
“What are the terms?” Spike asked.
Buffy wasn’t sure what they were talking about. She knew it had to be some type of contract so she remained where she was. William had lied to her the night before when he said Giles wasn’t concerned about their marriage. The presence of this stranger in their home was proof enough of that.
“Pretty standard,” the man said. “She leaves you or cheats on you; she gets nothing but a flat settlement. If you leave her or cheat on her, she gets a bit more of a settlement plus she gets to keep any gifts you’ve given her or anything she’s acquired during the marriage.”
How could he? It was clear they were discussing a pre-nuptial agreement, except they were already married. Was he really planning on the marriage failing before it had even began. Buffy covered her mouth with her hand as she choked back her outrage. The betrayal burned deep within her heart. Any thoughts of being logical left her as she stormed down the stairs.
“Buffy,” Spike exclaimed, standing up. “I’d like you to meet my lawyer, Lindsey McDonald.”
“I know it’s your lawyer,” Buffy said, snatching the papers from his hand. “And I know what this is.” She waved it at him. “How could you? Not only did you lie to me last night, but now you bring him here with the papers already drawn up. Why couldn’t you just talk to me about it? I never wanted your money.”
“I can explain,” Spike started, but she cut him off…
“If this is the way our marriage is going to be then fine,” Buffy shouted. “I’ll take these to my lawyer and get back to you and Mr. McDonald once we’ve decided our own terms.”
It was a great bluff. Too bad it had no basis in fact, Buffy thought as she ran back up the stairs. Anywhere was fine as long it got her away from her husband and his lawyer. She sat on the edge of the bed weeping as she crumpled the agreement up. There was no way she could back out of this now. Somehow she had to find an attorney to represent her. It couldn’t be too difficult to do. Not in Los Angeles anyway, but she didn’t know anything about how to go about finding one.
There was only one person she could call to ask. It was almost too much as she picked up the phone and dialed a number that was committed to memory. After all it had been her phone number for the first sixteen years of her life.
“Hello, Daddy,” Buffy said, when her father answered. “I need your help.”
to be continued…
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