Chapter 12
Chapter Notes: God, my betas seriously rock the house! Dusty273 and Tanit, you are the apples in my pie, the cheese on my pizza and the fixed ballots to my presidential campaign. Basically, I couldn’t do it without you!
Also, I’m troubled by a few reviews and I wanted to clarify something. Elizabeth’s dreams are just DREAMS. They aren’t the future playing out, Spike isn’t dreaming with her, there’s no joo-joo magic mojo going on. It’s her subconscious trying to make her remember her past, that’s all. Just clearin’ that up for you, which you’d probably figure out on your own after reading chapter 14, but I thought I’d tell you early on so there’s no more confusion. OK, let’s get this party started!
“I’ll just check on Elizabeth,” William said for the fifteenth time that day, only to be stopped by a maid or his mother at his every attempt.
“She’s fine, dear,” Anne said from a settee across the room as she worked on her cross stitch. “I’ve sent Evelyn to her three times and she has reported that Elizabeth is well, but that she wishes to be alone.”
William pursed his lips and paced the floor of the parlor. “But she cannot stay up there all day!” He’d been fretting for hours, annoyed that since his mother had returned he’d barely had five minutes alone with Elizabeth, and that just happened to be because she’d had a nightmare. He needed her reassuring smile, her touch, anything to calm his nerves before his guests arrived.
Anne shrugged. “She will come down when she’s ready. I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be for her not knowing her past. Poor thing.” She frowned sympathetically at her son who hadn’t stopped moving since breakfast. “William, you’re making me dizzy.”
“I just want to be sure that she’s all right before the Underwoods arrive. I won’t be long.”
“William, you are not to be alone with her in her room. I’ll come with you.”
He sighed and nodded curtly, knowing there was no other way around it. Together they climbed the staircase and he knocked softly on her door.
“Elizabeth? Mother and I were checking to see if you were all right.”
Anne fussed behind him. “Elizabeth, it’s all right if you don’t want us to come in. William wouldn’t stop fidgeting until we came to see you.”
William cast an annoyed expression at his mother as they stood outside Elizabeth’s door, waiting for a response.
“Perhaps she is sleeping,” Anne whispered.
“But it’s two in the afternoon!”
Elizabeth was busy kicking her papers beneath the bed and adjusting her hair when she heard them knocking and finally opened the door once everything was carefully out of view.
William smiled warmly at her, relieved that nothing seemed to be amiss. “Are you feeling all right?”
“Yes, thank you,” she answered, smiling at Anne whose eyebrows had raised to alert her that she was, in fact, standing behind her son.
“See? She is fine. Now let’s go downstairs and leave her alone,” Anne said as she tugged on William’s coat.
“Just a minute,” he swatted at his mother’s hand and Elizabeth giggled at the exchange. “We are having guests arrive in an hour.”
“Oh, well…”
”You don’t have to meet them,” William quickly interrupted her, his hand twitching at his side to refrain from touching her. “I was only checking that you won’t require anything while they are here. Our maids will be busy until they leave us.”
“Um, I think I’ll be all right. Maybe you could send Judith with some water or tea?”
“Yes, we can arrange that,” he smiled, rocking on his heels as he thought of an excuse to stay in her presence a bit longer as Anne was getting restless beside him.
“There is much to do before the Underwoods arrive, William,” she said as she backed away into the hall, obviously wanting her son to follow but he was too busy admiring his intended, who matched his awed expression with one of her own. “Oh, for goodness sake! Five minutes and then that’s it,” she said shaking her head and descending the stairs.
William beamed and ran into Elizabeth’s room, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Five entire minutes, whatever will we do?” he bent forward to kiss her, stopping short when she pulled away. “What is it?”
“I think I’ve remembered a few things.”
“Oh,” he backed away. “You don’t sound pleased. Is it unpleasant?”
She sat on her bed and folded her hands in her lap, frowning in thought. “Some of it is, and some of it is still very confusing. I don’t want to say anything until I’m absolutely sure, though.” He sat beside her slowly, staring at the floor. “I know that my name is Buffy, or it’s at least a pet name of some sort.”
“Buffy?” he raised one eyebrow and smothered his initial reaction which was to laugh.
She smiled. “I know it’s silly, but…oh, just look at this.” She pulled out the leather book from her trunk and showed it to him.
He scanned the short note in the front of the book and frowned thoughtfully. “Mission? What do you think that means?”
“We only have five minutes,” she smiled and William laughed softly. “I don’t think I could sum up my thoughts in that time.”
“Perhaps this evening we can arrange a time to talk about this further.” He cupped her cheek and sighed, stroking her soft skin with his thumb. “We’ll get through this, I promise. Whatever happens.”
She nodded solemnly, remembering what he’d said to her days ago, that his feelings would never change unless she was married or engaged to someone else. The signs were pointing more and more towards that very thing and Elizabeth didn’t have the heart to tell him. She didn’t want to lie, either, but the thought of losing him made every bone in her body ache. “I meant what I said last night,” she said quietly.
He smiled sweetly and brushed his lips across her forehead. “I did, too. I love you. I’ve never met anyone like you, never felt like this before.”
“William,” she smiled with teary eyes and embraced him. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“You won’t,” he spoke into her throat, kissing her and inhaling deeply, and then groaned when he heard his mother trudging back up the stairs. “Looks like our time is up.”
“I will see you later, won’t I?”
“Of course, Elizabeth. Let’s just hope this little…gathering that’s about to take place doesn’t last too long.”
“Who are these people?”
“Um, well,” he stuttered, standing up to walk to the door, “it’s a bit complicated.”
“Cecily Underwood was a young lady that William fancied,” Anne said as she walked into the room, grinning like the cat that caught the canary.
Elizabeth’s eyes grew wide as she looked over at William who was blushing furiously.
“Mother!”
“Well, you don’t any more, do you? Not since Elizabeth arrived.” Anne knew she was upsetting her son, but it was obvious that Elizabeth wasn’t in a poor state that day and rather hoped that she might make an appearance. Even though her son had acted irrationally when it came to the young girl, she rather liked this guest of theirs and she was absolutely gorgeous, a fact that would travel quickly after the Underwoods caught sight of her. It would do nothing but help his reputation among those dreadful men that called themselves gentlemen, hearing that William the Bloody Awful Poet had snagged himself quite a nymph. She was always thinking of his well-being, after all.
“William?” Elizabeth asked cautiously, “Why didn’t you tell me this?”
Anne bit back a grin. Oh, jealousy was such an easy emotion to evoke among the young! After stewing in her bedroom all day, knowing that Cecily was downstairs with her man, Elizabeth would surely grow impatient and make herself known.
“I didn’t want to upset you and honestly, I’d forgotten about it until this morning, right mother?”
“He’s correct about that, Elizabeth. But you needn’t worry about Cecily. While she is beautiful and well mannered and extremely eligible, my William has his eyes on you.”
“I promise they are only visiting and will be out of our hair in no time,” William said pleadingly when Elizabeth started to become angry. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you but you were locked away all morning.”
“It’s all right,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll be fine here. There are a few things I’d like to take care of anyhow.”
“Good. I-I mean, are you sure?” William stuttered, kicking himself for implying that he didn’t want her around, which was far from the truth.
“Yes, I’ll be fine,” she said tersely and turned around. “Thank you for checking up on me. Enjoy your visit.”
“Oh, we will,” Anne cooed from the doorway as William walked past her, his head hanging low. “Elizabeth,” she whispered.
“Yes?”
Anne looked down the hallway to make sure William was out of earshot. Smiling mischievously when he was in fact well out of the way, she said, “If you were to grow very bored of this room, I wouldn’t at all be against you traveling downstairs for some exercise or silent observation.”
Elizabeth tilted her head and narrowed her eyes before realization set in and she smiled. “You’re evil.”
Anne raised her hands innocently, her eyes alight with mirth. “I’m only a messenger. I didn’t say a word.”
“Thank you for the tip.”
“You can listen in on the conversation the best from the east doors,” Anne whispered, covering her mouth as if it retracted her gossip. “But I didn’t say a word!”
Elizabeth laughed and watched Anne slip out of the bedroom as she softly hummed a tune to herself. So, William had a little crush on some chick before she arrived, huh? Well, Elizabeth might just have to take a gander at the girl that almost stole her man’s heart. There was no harm in looking.
* * *
“And it was so refreshing to be around so many children. The way they see the world is magical,” Cecily prattled on as she and her mother sat across from William and Anne in the parlor. “I simply adore babies, don’t you, William?”
“Yes, I suppose,” he answered out of courtesy although it was obvious he was bored out of his mind. God, this woman had been going on and on about an orphanage she’d visited. She’d only gone to the damn place to seem noble but William knew Cecily hated children. He’d seen her scowling at them at the Christmas ball last year, annoyed that they’d attended something that she deemed “a respite for the upper class and certainly no place for children whose parents were too inebriated to watch after them.” Had he honestly found her charming before? With every word that spilled from her foul lips he realized what an evil bitch she truly was.
“My heart goes out to them,” she said with a frown, sipping delicately from her cup of tea. “Can you imagine having no parents? No one to care for you? Oh, the poor little things.”
Anne inhaled sharply and patted her knees with the palms of her hands, desperate to change the subject. “Well, what news have you from town, Mrs. Underwood?”
Cecily’s mother began yammering about something equally bland and dull and boring and William rolled his eyes from his reclined position against mantle next to Cecily and gulping the tea that he’d asked Judith to add a bit of a punch to, not noticing the curious gaze of the curly haired woman from across the room.
Cecily was furious that he’d said barely three words to her, and that was only when prodded. William was always fawning over her and she was looking forward to the ego boost. But he hadn’t looked at her. Not once! And was his hair different? Something was off. He seemed…more confident, if that were even possible. “We didn’t see you at the Tate’s last Friday. Were you unwell?”
William turned to Cecily and shrugged. “I was busy.”
“Oh, I see. Were you away on business?”
“No,” he smiled and gulped the last bit of his cocktail, handing it to Judith when she hurried into the room to refill their beverages and finger sandwiches. “Oh, I suppose we haven’t told you about my guest.”
“Guest?” she tilted her head. This was most interesting, indeed!
Anne bit her lip as she listened to Mrs. Underwood, secretly eavesdropping on the young couple in the room.
“Oh, yes. Elizabeth is a charming young American girl. She’s been staying with us for a while,” he said wistfully.
“Elizabeth,” she said with a furrowed brow. A cousin, perhaps? And was William smiling? She couldn’t remember ever seeing him smile. “Have I met her before?”
“Oh, no,” he chuckled, slowly running a hand down his chest as his eyes became unfocused, staring at some nonexistent point in the room as he thought of the blonde vixen upstairs. “You certainly would have remembered meeting her.”
Cecily blushed and looked away. William was acting very peculiar and he’d winked at her! Oh, that was most bold and she found she liked it very much. This more relaxed William was awakening something within her. She straightened in her chair and batted her eyelashes. “I do hope you haven’t written her any poems. I might get jealous.”
William nodded to Judith who handed him another cup and he gulped it down in one swallow, then cleared his throat and said in a low silken voice, “Oh, you have no idea, kitten.”
Kitten! Just what had happened to this man? He was roguishly handsome, she’d finally realized and that tone of voice he used sent warm shivers down her spine. She thanked God that her mother hadn’t heard or they’d surely be in trouble. And didn’t that add more kindling to the fire? The fact that he was doing this in front of their mothers, like some deviant! And…wait a minute, “You write her poems?”
He sat down in a chair beside her and casually crossed his legs, leaning back comfortably and dangling one arm over his knee as he spoke. “Cecily, you’re being awfully nosy.”
She blinked rapidly and made a choking noise. “I was merely…I’m sorry, William. I was only making conversation.”
He shrugged and licked his lips as he seemed to drift off in thought again. “Don’t fret, my dear. It matters very little to me.”
Cecily balked at his harsh words. Before she could retort, Anne had turned to them and said, “Cecily, are you excited for the party tomorrow? I hear from your mother that your house is abuzz with preparations.”
William smiled through his fingers as he rubbed his chin, watching Cecily try to compose herself. “Yes, Mrs. Pratt. We’re anticipating quite a turnout. You are still attending, are you not, William?”
“Haven’t decided,” he said casually.
“William,” Anne gasped, “you’ve already told them that you are coming.”
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, well, I suppose I could make an appearance. That is if you don’t mind my bringing a guest.”
“Not at all,” Mrs. Underwood said happily, not noticing the scowl on her daughter’s face.
“I hope you’ll save a dance for me,” Cecily smiled flirtatiously.
It was at that moment that Elizabeth finally came downstairs and after pressing a pointed finger to her lips to quiet the maids, she leaned against the door to listen.
“I suppose that would be the decent thing to do.” And he winked at her again, shouting in triumph internally at her blush. God, had he known that it would be this easy to gain the affections of a woman before, he’d have been married years ago. Thank God he hadn’t, though.
Elizabeth, fuming from the flirtations going on in the parlor, pulled the butler over rather roughly and forced him into the room to announce her arrival.
“Miss Elizabeth,” he said with a bow and stepped to the side, revealing a pristinely dressed Elizabeth, sparkling with tasteful jewelry and a hint of rouge on her cheeks, William’s favorite cream gown and her hair styled impeccably. He’d never seen her so gorgeous.
Anne slowly blinked with a smile. She could work people like a pro! Right on time, she was. “Oh, Elizabeth! I’m so glad to see you’re feeling better. Do come in and meet our guests.”
She smiled sweetly and glided into the room, trying her hardest to ignore the leer William was giving her so her cheeks wouldn’t flush any more than they already were. Cecily’s mouth dropped open at the sight of her, growing furious at the expression on William’s face when he stood. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say he was undressing her with his eyes! Oh, that lascivious grin of his was most upsetting. He should be looking at her that way!
Introductions were made and Elizabeth quickly walked to William’s side when he stood to greet her, smiling coyly at him as he gave her an appreciative wink.
“I’m sorry, have I intruded?”
“Not at all, Elizabeth,” William smiled, grateful that she’d come downstairs. “We were discussing the party at the Underwoods’ tomorrow evening. Would you like to come with me?”
“I would love to. That is, if it is all right with the Underwoods,” she said shyly.
Cecily narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t buying the shy act for one second!
“You’re always welcome,” Mrs. Underwood replied. “A charming young girl like yourself should be paraded around, not hidden away in this house. William, why haven’t you told anyone that she was here?”
He cleared his throat and smirked. “Can’t say I’ve been too keen on sharing, Mrs. Underwood,” he laughed.
“William,” Elizabeth blushed and when she was sure Cecily was watching, she stroked the back of his neck with her fingernails, tangling them in the tiny hairs at his nape. William shivered and closed his eyes and Elizabeth pulled away before the older women saw her. To touch him in that way was most inappropriate but she didn’t give a damn what Cecily thought. She wanted her to know exactly who William belonged to. By the crimson on the brunette’s cheeks and the ticking muscle beneath her left eye, her mission had been accomplished. Although, it might not have been wise to touch the one part of William’s body besides the obvious that had such an effect on him because he’d quickly sat down and crossed his legs. Elizabeth giggled and he glared at her, smiling at her wickedness.
“Well, I’ve suddenly become ill,” Cecily said as she placed a dainty hand on her forehead. “If it is all right with you, mother, I would like to return home and rest.”
“Can we get you anything?” Anne asked worriedly.
“No, I’ll be fine. I just need to lie down for a while.”
Elizabeth and William stayed behind as the three women walked to the foyer, saying their goodbyes and apologies for the abrupt departure.
“You sly little fox,” William whispered in her ear.
“I have no idea what you mean,” she smiled.
He kissed her neck and gently bit down on her jugular, making her gasp as the sensation sent tingles to her core. “Two can play at that game, Elizabeth.” He winked and walked to the front door to say goodbye to his guests, leaving a panting Elizabeth behind. Anne stated that she would be in her bedchambers for a short nap before dinner and William turned around to face the parlor, placing one elbow high on the door frame and crossed his ankles as he stared deviously at Elizabeth. “Look who’s all alone.”
“I am very busy,” she said haughtily and tried to walk past him.
“Liar,” he said grabbing her arm. “You shouldn’t play with me, Elizabeth.” His arms were around her from behind, his lips hovering over her ear. “I think someone was staking her claim. Am I wrong?”
She smiled and closed her eyes, leaning into his chest as his fingers trailed up her sides and he planted soft kisses along her shoulder. “I’ll never tell.”
He turned her around and grinned at her. “So, you weren’t upset that I reserved a dance with Miss Underwood tomorrow?”
“No,” she pouted, breathing softly as he kissed the sensitive skin behind her ear.
“Not even a little?”
“Maybe.”
“There is no comparison between you and that…whatever she is,” he said plainly, pressing his body against hers, letting his hands caress her stomach and up to her breasts. Cupping them gently, he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth and Elizabeth started panting, arching into his hands.
“The door is wide open,” she whispered, moaning as his nimble fingers located her nipples through the layers of her dress and pinched them.
“Don’t care.”
“Should care.”
He pulled back and hummed silkily, his heavy lidded eyes staring intently at her blushing cheeks and reddened lips. “Shall I shut it?”
She bit her lower lip and ducked her head. “If you insist.”
“Oh, I do,” he waggled his eyebrows and wrapped an arm around her waist, steadying her as he walked them backwards towards the door and kicked it shut with his foot. He brushed his lips against hers sweet and long, turning her around to press her against the door. It was then that she tasted the alcohol on his breath and she smiled against his lips. “What?”
“Someone snuck brandy in their tea,” she teased him, rubbing her nose on his cheek before she kissed him there.
“So what?” he said as his hands returned to their previous location, delicately tracing the curves of her breasts, flaring his nostrils as he stared blatantly at her cleavage. “Needed something to get me through that.”
She moaned when he twisted her nipples sharply, both of them hissing as she bucked into him.
His mouth hovered over hers when he whispered, “Can you be very, very quiet?”
She closed her eyes and nodded, her body tingling with anticipation as she felt one large hand gathering up her skirts between them. Then his hand was on her thigh and he pushed his knee between her legs, forcing her to spread them. “Are you sure?” he cooed, tracing her jugular with his lips and teeth, his fingers moving between her legs and he cupped her mound over her bloomers.
“William,” she panted.
“Do you want me to stop?” He asked this as his middle finger pressed between her folds and the palm of his hand ground into her, the heat from his hand battling with the burning need he was creating.
“No, oh!” she shrieked as his hand slipped beneath the fabric and he kissed her suddenly to quiet her, pulling back once she’d calmed down.
“Shhh,” he said quietly, and stroked. His eyes remained fastened on hers, drinking in every delicious expression she gave him when he touched her, licking his lips and breathing thickly as she became wetter and wetter. The feel of her was incredible, so slick and soft, hot and yielding to his finger as he slid it painfully slow, up and down her slit, pressing harder when he neared her entrance only to pull away again. Her body quivered against his, her head dropped against the door and he linked his free hand behind her neck, jerking her head up to face him.
“Look at me,” he said thickly, the movement of his fingers turning more demanding and the grip on the back of her neck tightening slightly.
She was on fire, her knees shaking as he glided against her clit and teased her opening, his darkened tone and the way he was holding her made it near impossible to keep quiet. She bit her lip hard to stifle her moaning, clutching his shoulders to keep steady on her feet. He slipped a finger inside her and she covered her mouth to stop from shouting in pleasure, glaring at him when his eyes twinkled mischievously and he chuckled at her.
Her breathing became labored and she fought to keep her eyes open, realizing he was breathing as heavily as she. He pressed his erection against her and pumped his finger harder inside her, his tongue darting out to trace the seam of her lips, groaning quietly against them when she gasped into his mouth, all the while keeping his blue eyes fixated on her.
“You’re so beautiful like this,” he muttered, two fingers now driving slowly into her, the palm of his hand grinding against her clit. “So beautiful.”
“William, oh, please…”
”Sh-sh-shhh,” he scolded her again and kissed her once more, slanting his mouth against hers when it became obvious that she couldn’t stay quiet. Her arms linked around his neck and she quaked against him and the door, wrapping one leg around his as she thrust against his hand, so close to the edge. Each hot exhalation of his breath into her mouth, every curling caress from his hand, the warm and wet sweeps of his tongue against hers, his cock against her hip, urgent and needy, bringing her to the point of no return, heating and soothing her until some tightly wound cord within her snapped. It coiled outwards, unfurling with growing rapidity until it touched every cell of her body, tensing up again, only to explode in warmth and pleasure, forcing her to lower her mouth to his shoulder, bite down hard on his coat as she shouted, moaned and whimpered as he urged her on with his moist exhalations on her bared flesh, the greedy movements of his hand and the soft, worshipful kisses he placed on her cheeks.
He gingerly removed his fingers, giving her one last caress that made her shiver in remembrance of what he’d just done to her, smiling proudly as he lowered her skirts. “You are the most magnificent thing I’ve ever seen.”
She blushed and dropped her forehead on his shoulder. “I tried to be quiet.”
He chuckled and tilted her chin up to kiss her. “You have no idea what you just did to me.”
“Tell me.”
“Well,” he cleared his throat, “aside from the rather embarrassing reaction that I have to you whenever you’re near,” he said pointedly as he looked at his crotch with a smirk, “there’s also this burning need within me to make you look like you just did every second of every day.”
She smiled brightly. “I wouldn’t have any objections to that.”
“Oh, but my mother would,” he frowned. “Let’s build a bungalow in the middle of nowhere and live naked for the rest of our days.”
“You don’t think you’d be too shy?” she teased, cocking an eyebrow as she recalled his modesty in his bedroom days ago.
“After what I just did, after the way you looked right then…I don’t think I’ll ever care about propriety again. God, you’re…I just love you,” he sighed with a sweet smile.
“Lucky me.” He kissed her again and she melted against him. William kissed with his entire body. There wasn’t a part of him that wasn’t thrown into it, not a single facet of his being was hidden from her when his lips were against hers. Even if he never uttered the words, she knew he loved her by the way he kissed. And she also knew that he could love her with his hands just as well. Lord, she didn’t know how much more of this sneaking around that she could take before she stripped him bare and made him into a man.
William, with all his reluctance to restrain himself until marriage, was finding it harder to understand why it was so important when every inch of him called for Elizabeth. She would be the only one for him, she would be the only woman to make him feel this alive, this free, sod it all, he would have her if he wanted and damn those who didn’t understand.
Of course, it probably wouldn’t be best to take her in the parlor at four in the afternoon while his mother was merely taking a nap. But he’d felt heaven, seen it with his own eyes and there was no turning back for him. He knew where she lived, brought her to ecstasy and he would do it again and again until the only name she’d ever need to remember was William.