Title: Sweet
Sixteen
Author: Pattyanne
[email protected]
Disclaimer: None of the
BtVS
characters belong to me.
Feedback: Love some, thanks!
Rating: Up
to NC-17
Summary: AU. William and Buffy are
teenage neighbors meeting for
the
first time.
Part
twenty-eight:
~~~~~~~~~~
"While I'm far away from you, my
baby
I know it's hard for you, my baby
Because it's hard for me, my
baby
And the darkest hour is just before
dawn.."
~~~~~~~~~~
William did his best to smile pleasantly.
"Hello,
Westham," he said, dropping his books on the kitchen
table. "How
have you been?"
"Oh, quite well, your grace," the man replied,
re-seating
himself when William indicated that he should please do
so.
Keeping his voice quiet, William glanced in the direction
of the
kitchen door. "Is she....?"
"Ah. Yes," the older man nodded. "The duchess
is taking
tea with your uncle in the...the...."
"Living room," William
supplied. "Thank you."
Leaving his grandmother's secretary and personal
assistant to finish his tea, William made his way down
the short hall,
pausing in the arched doorway, taking in
the scene before him.
Abigail
Darlington, the dowager Duchess of Richmond,
was perched on the edge of the
sofa, holding a teacup
and saucer in her hand and regarding his uncle with an
air of genteel superiority.
Neither very tall or particularly
imposing, she managed to
give the impression of being both. Only a little
above five
feet in height, she was built along the same petite lines
as
Buffy was. She had a lustrous wealth of steel gray hair,
neatly pinned
up, and the same blue eyes that both William
and his father had
inherited.
Poor Uncle Rupert looked completely at sea. The knot of
his tie was loose, and his collar button was undone. His
hair looked as
though he'd been raking his fingers through
it, and, at the moment, he was
polishing his glasses with a
fervor that should have worn the lenses clean
away.
".....in any case, Abigail," he was saying quietly, "his
grades
are outstanding, his conduct has been impeccable. I know
that
business with the car worried you...and it did me, as well...but
even
that has proven to be nothing to be concerned about. He's
an extremely
careful driver."
His grandmother leaned forward, placing her cup and
saucer
on the coffee table. "I hardly need you to sing me my
grandson's
praises, Rupert," she said. "What I am concerned about
has
nothing to do with his schooling or his ability to handle
that
obscenely overpriced automobile."
William cleared his throat,
causing both occupants of the
room to turn in his direction. "Grandmother,"
he scolded
teasingly, "did you come all this way just to interrogate
my
uncle about what I'm doing here in Sunnydale?"
The faded blue eyes
instantly regained a measure of their
youthful sparkle as the duchess turned
to her grandson.
"William," she smiled, rising to her feet and opening
her
arms.
Without hesitation, he crossed the room and pulled
her
frail body into a gentle embrace. The familiar fragrance
of her
perfume instantly rocketed him back to his childhood,
and he closed his eyes,
letting the feeling wash over him for
a moment.
A few seconds later,
she drew back, lowering herself to the
sofa again and taking him along with
her. "Oh, look at you,"
she said, brushing his curls back, "in need of a
haircut, I see.
Thank god you haven't bleached all the lovely color out of
it
again."
William grinned. "I very nearly did, but let's not talk
about
my hair. How have you been, Abby? Still as mean as ever,
terrorizing
half of London?"
"I'll have you know that I'm the darling of the social
scene
these days," the duchess replied, giving him a light rap on
the back
of his hand.
"I have no doubts." William sat back and gave his
grand-
mother a speculative look. "Why are you in California?"
"I
simply felt like a bit of travel. I'm not becoming younger,
you know.....what
exactly is THAT expression on your face
trying to say?"
"Something
along the lines of 'you haven't been out of
England since World War II and
would you mind telling me
why you're really here' ," he answered.
The
duchess narrowed her eyes slightly, then turned to
Giles. "Rupert....would
you mind terribly excusing yourself
from the room?"
Not only did he
not 'mind', he was almost comically eager
to follow the
request.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Each night before you go to bed, my
baby
Whisper a little prayer for me, my baby
And tell all the stars
above
This is dedicated to the one I
love..."
~~~~~~~~~~
When they were alone, the duchess leveled
her gaze with
her grandson's. "I spoke with Drusilla Haversham last
week.
She tells me she hasn't heard from you for quite some
time."
William could feel doors inside of him slamming shut. He
really
should have known that this little surprise visit from
Grandma Abby was about
Dru.
All his life, as far back as his earliest memories, the
Haversham family had been a firmly established part of his
world. Their
property adjoined Black Oaks, and both families
had been prominent in the
same social circles.
He and Dru, being close in age, had naturally
drifted
together. From childhood playmates to preteen crushes,
they had
moved through their days cocooned in the safety
of wealth and privilege. They
had developed a closeness
that was unusual between boys and girls of such a
young
age, telling each other secrets and dreams they never confided
to
anyone else.
Still fresh in his mind were the time framed
photographs
of their early years; snapshots taken of them learning
to
ride, swimming in the pond behind the main house, taking
music lessons
together, crawling through the hay barns on
both estates to play with the
litters of kittens born every spring,
and attending parties and dances given
by the cream of British
aristocracy.
So, it was no great surprise when
their families began to
plan their futures as a combined one, naturally
assuming
that the young Duke of Richmond would one day take Lady
Drusilla
Haversham, daughter of the Earl of Sunderly, as his
wife and
duchess.
An impression that William knew he would now have
to
correct.
Taking a deep breath, he sat back against the sofa
and
crossed his arms over his chest. "I know I haven't been
keeping up
with my correspondence as well as I should."
One thin gray brow arched.
"And why is that? Are you
so terribly busy here with your school work? Or is
there
another reason?"
William met his grandmother's piercing gaze
without
flinching. "Actually...I've met someone....a
girl...and..."
"Yes," the old lady sighed irritably. "I thought that must
be
the case. William, how on earth could you have allowed
yourself to
become involved to such an extent that you
neglect your
duties."
"Grandmother..."
"When I allowed you to come and live
here, you promised
me that you would remember who you are...what you
are
responsible for."
"I haven't forgotten anything," he protested. "I
know who and
what I am. Nothing has changed in that sense."
The
duchess gave him a skeptical look. "Indeed? Well, when
you boarded the plane
for America you were practically en-
gaged to Drusilla Haversham. Plans were
being discussed for
your futures, and...."
Sharply aware of what was
coming, William jumped to
his feet. "Discussed by you and Sunderly," he said.
"And
I was NOT practically engaged to Dru. We're friends...and
that's all
we are...all we ever will be."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Life can never be
exactly like we want it to be
I could be satisfied, knowing that you love
me
But there's one thing I want you to do
Especially for me
And it's
something that everybody needs..."
~~~~~~~~~~
Abigail was
silent for a moment, watching the
tense set of William's shoulders. She gave
him time
to calm himself before she spoke. "I see. And...is
Drusilla aware
of your feelings? Because, after
speaking with her, I was left with the
impression that
she expects you to formally ask for her when you are
both
of age."
This information surprised him. He and Dru had never
spoken
seriously of such things. The only mention made
of it had been when they were
small...and all of THAT
had been talked about in the most obscure 'someday
when
we are grown up and married we can do exactly as we
please and no
one can tell us differently' manner of children
rebelling against parental
rules and regulations.
Surely....surely Dru wasn't still holding on to
such an
errant promise, a statement uttered by one small child
to
another.
"Grandmother," he said firmly. "I have absolutely no
in-
tention of marrying Drusilla....not at any time in my
life.
Ever."
"William." Her voice was equally firm. "You are not a
part of this world," she said, gesturing around the room with
one
be-ringed hand. "This is nothing more than an extended
vacation for you. You
do not belong here. You are the Duke
of Richmond, the sole heir to a vast
fortune, and you
must....."
He jerked his head sharply and turned
away.
Abigail paused, recognizing the familiar obstinate posture
that
William always adopted when he felt pressured into
something, and told he
'must'.
Knowing that to do otherwise would push him even more
firmly
in the opposite direction, she softened her voice.
"This girl you've met.
Does she know who you are?"
His silence told her the answer to that
query.
"I see. Are you planning to?"
"Yes...yes, of course I
am."
"Then why haven't you? What are you waiting for?"
William
clenched his fists and stared out the window.
It was a perfectly good
question, but he had no perfectly
good answer for it. He didn't know why he
hadn't told
Buffy everything. It wasn't as though he hadn't had
plenty of
opportunity to do so.
"It's because you KNOW, William. No matter how
much
you may care for this girl, she can never be the partner
you need.
She knows nothing of our world, and she could
never fit in. Like goes to
like, William. Swans do not mate
with
geese."
~~~~~~~~~~
"While I'm far away from you, my
baby
Whisper a little prayer for me, my baby
And tell all the stars
above
This is dedicated to the one I
love...."
~~~~~~~~~~
Still gazing out the window, he spotted
the dusty black
Cherokee pull into the driveway next door. Buffy
stepped
out, talking about something with her mother, her smile
bright and
her eyes sparkling.
Drusilla's image retreated even further from his
thoughts. Her
dark beauty could never begin to compare to Buffy's
golden
glow.
This was what he wanted....what he WOULD
have.
William suddenly turned to face his grandmother.
"I
know precisely who I am," he stated. "I am the Duke
of Richmond. And I WILL
marry the girl that I choose. Not
you...not Sunderly...not the bloody Queen,
herself. I've
found the girl I will make my wife, my duchess, and
no
one...no one...is going to come between us. I promise you
that,
Grandmother."
"William! This is not finished! Don't you DARE leave
this
room!"
But he was already
gone.....
~~~~~~~~~~
"This is dedicated to the one I
love...."
~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...