4 February 1885 {Aurelius townhouse, Richmond Hill & O'Callaghan mansion, Kensington Palace Gardens}
The next afternoon when Spike woke up he found that his coat had indeed been returned. Thankfully one of the human servants had taken it and not any of the minions or a member of his family. He found a dinner invitation for tonight as well as her calling card in one of the pockets and smiled at the 'thank you' written on the back. Hearing his sire's footsteps descending the stairs he quickly put the note and card in his pocket and slipped on his coat.
"Where are you hunting tonight then, Will?" Angelus asked as he took his own coat from one of the servants and slipped into it. Spike fought an eye roll at the name. His sire adamantly refused to call him Spike. It was always either Will, William, or boy most of the time.
"I thought I'd go over to White Chapel tonight," Spike lied. Angelus gave him an odd look then and Spike added, "The blood in Kensington was a little rich last night. What about you?"
"Darla and I are attending some party in Mayfair," Angelus complained. "I can't stand the damn things but she likes to keep us in high society. Don't get into trouble and be home before dawn. Drusilla will be staying here."
"Yes, sire," Spike agreed. He waited until Darla and Angelus left in the carriage then headed to the O'Callaghan mansion in Kensington.
An elderly butler answered the door. "Yes, sir?" the man asked.
"I was invited to dinner," he told him. "My name is William Aurelius."
"Yes, of course sir, please come in. The Earl and Countess and Lady Aislinn are in the drawing room along with the other guests," the butler said taking his coat and then leading him to said drawing room before announcing his presence. "My lord and ladyships, Mr. William Aurelius is here."
Aislinn came forward and nodded at the butler, "Thank you, Reilly. I'm glad you came, William. My parents wished to meet you after I told them how you came to my aide yesterday."
She took his arm and led him over to her parents. "Father, Mother, this is Mr. William Aurelius. William, this is my father the Earl of Connaught and my mother the Countess."
"Please to meet you, young man," the Earl shook Spike's hand firmly. "We were quite concerned when Aislinn left last night. We had several Scotland Yard men out looking for her. Thank you for lending her your coat and getting her home safely."
"It was the least I could do, my lord," Spike said honestly. He took an instant dislike to her father. The man was robust and fit and handsome but the idea that he was marrying his daughter off to a man she clearly did not like put him in ill favor with Spike. He turned to look at her mother and immediately found her cold and distant. She was still beautiful even in her late age but if possible more of an ice queen than Darla. "Thank you both for inviting me to dinner."
"Please, we're always eager to meet new people. Aislinn spoke very highly of you. Tell us, what part of England are you from?" the Earl asked.
"Here actually, in London," he answered.
"Strange surname, Aurelius, for an Englishman," the Countess remarked.
"I took my guardian's name some time ago, Aurelius is his surname. I was born a Pratt but my parents died when I was young," Spike lied easily.
"I'm sorry," Aislinn said and he could tell she was sincere so he favored her with a gentle smile.
"It was a long time ago," he assured her. "I've been very happy with my new family."
She smiled up at him and squeezed his arm which he only belatedly realized she was still holding on to lightly.
Meanwhile, across town in Mayfair Angelus was brooding silently in a corner while Darla charmed their hosts, the Ambassador to China and his wife. Angelus hated these parties. The people were fake as hell and most of them were idiots pretending to be smarter and more educated than they were. What was on his mind though was William. He had lied to him earlier when he said he was hunting in Whitechapel. His blond childe was up to something and that usually was not a good thing.
Darla came over to him looking annoyed, "You could at least pretend to socialize with everyone."
"Actually I'm going to head out. William is acting odd and I want to see what he's up to," Angelus told her. She scowled.
"You can't coddle him forever, Angelus. If he gets into trouble again I'll stake him myself," Darla warned.
"You'll not lay a hand on any childe of mine, Darla," Angelus growled menacingly. She took a step back from him. "You lost whatever authority you thought you had over me a long time ago and you know it. I'm head of this family. Don't forget it."
"Fine, do as you like," Darla snapped and retreated. She knew better than to provoke him further but she still had her pride. Angelus left a few moments later to find William.
Dinner was called then and they were shown into the dining room. After dinner her parents mingled with the rest of the guests and Aislinn and Spike sat on a sofa in the drawing room talking. He told her about growing up, about his love of poetry and how terrible he was at it, about his mother who had tuberculosis and not really remembering his father that much. He told her about his recent travels to Yorkshire and Paris, leaving out the parts about vampires and killing of course. She told him about growing up in Ireland and how much she missed it since moving here to London to further her father's political ambitions. She described the Irish countryside with such detail and affection he could almost see it in his head.
Spike could easily listen to her voice so soft and lilting for hours. He realized halfway through their conversation that he hadn't had a truly decent talk with anyone since before he was turned. Angelus wasn't much of a talker unless it was a lesson about killing or torture. Darla ignored him for the most part and Drusilla, well his dark princess had the mind of a child and talked bloody nonsense most of the time. Aislinn was different. She was young and educated, intelligent and clever, witty and funny with a dry sense of humor he liked. They had similar taste in books and poetry but he found she tended to favor Angelus's taste in art and music. That was something he never found much use for, art and music. He loved poetry but that was the extent of his artistic streak. He preferred the sciences, rational thought and logic. Angelus liked to quote ancient philosophers and Shakespeare and sing, badly mind you, old Irish folk songs and sketch and paint all the time. He had to admit that his sire was a talented drawing artist, though.
Aislinn, he discovered soon enough, possessed a beautiful singing voice and was quite accomplished with musical instruments. She was called upon to perform for them all after they had been talking for two hours and although he was a bit vexed by their conversation being interrupted he was curious to hear her talent. She sat down at a harp and began a soft and sweet rendition of The Grenadier and the Lady.
It was then that Angelus was shown into the room by Reilly. He had been watching as Spike talked to the dark-haired young woman outside the drawing room windows but he couldn't hear them or see her as her back had been facing him. So he decided to come inside for a better look. He took a place in the shadows against the wall as she began to sing and play. The soft, sweet lilting voice and melody of the music hit him nearly as hard as her beauty did. He saw what Spike had seen the night before in Kensington Gardens and more. She was perfection this girl. As he watched and listened to her he felt a strange tightening in his chest that he had never felt before. A rare genuine smile came over his face.
Aislinn watched the myriad of emotions that crossed William's face during her song and wondered what he was thinking. She wasn't the best performer in the world by any means in fact she hated giving these performances for her parents and their guests. She was shy by nature and anxious about singing and playing in front of strangers.
She took time to study her new friend during their conversation earlier and he was indeed very handsome but she had known that from the first. His eyes were clear sapphire blue and his skin fair and his thick short hair curled naturally and was light golden brown in color. He wasn't all that tall but he was a good four or five inches taller than her. His build was slight but lean and athletic. She loved his voice. It was deep and smooth with a cultured English accent with just enough of an edge to it to keep him from sounding like a dandy. Aislinn usually hated English gentlemen. They were pompous and self-righteous for the most part. William was different. He talked to her about things, listened to her opinions and even argued with her a little. He was firmly against her arranged marriage too. He had called it an archaic and barbaric custom that needed to be outlawed. There was something dangerous about him too, though. It was enough to make her cautious around him. Sometimes his eyes took on such a predatory look, calculating even, especially around her parents. Still, Aislinn wanted to know him better.
She played one more song, this time on the piano. It was The Water is Wide. When she ended her song William grinned and applauded her with the others but he also gave her a cheeky wink that made her blush. It didn't go unnoticed by her parents either. They exchanged concerned glances but Aislinn ignored them and made her way over to William.
"All right, how terrible was it?" she asked shyly. He chuckled and fought the impulse to grab and kiss her silly.
"Pixie, it was beautiful. You sing like an angel," he told her honestly. "I usually hate to sit those songs because the performer tries to go over the top and make it operatic. But you kept it sweet and soft and I loved it."
Aislinn heard the sincerity in his voice and gave him a smile that would make the pious man hard as a rock. Spike being the sinner he was forced himself to think of something horrible to keep his erection at bay, like Darla and the Master going at it. Yes, that worked. And then a familiar smooth, deep Irish brogue was heard directly behind him and he went very still.
"You have a truly beautiful voice, lass," Angelus said smiling charmingly as he stepped up next to Spike and took her hand kissing her knuckles. She smiled shyly and glanced at William with a question in her eyes. "Ah, I'm Angelus Aurelius. William and I are relatives of a sort."
"You were adopted as well? I only ask because your accent is clearly Irish and Aurelius isn't a surname I'm familiar with in Galway. That is where you're from, isn't it?" Aislinn asked him. He nodded.
"You could say that yes," he grinned then and she looked stunned.
"A bheith fos mo chroi (Be still my heart)," she whispered. Then she shook her head to clear it and said, "I'm Lady Aislinn O'Callaghan. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Aurelius."
"Call me Angelus please," he said. He was impressed and pleased by what she'd whispered. Clearly the girl wasn't unaffected by him and he was glad of that. He wondered if she thought he knew Irish Gaelic.
Aislinn nodded, studying him a moment. William seemed a bit surprised and wary by the man's presence. What a presence it was too. He radiated power and masculinity. He was taller than William, his shoulders broader and his build more muscular but still lean and athletic. His eyes and hair were dark brown and his skin pale, his features were impossibly handsome and he had a deep and soothing Irish brogue.
"Then you may call me Aislinn," she smiled finally deciding she liked him.
"Aislinn," he tested the name on his tongue and grinned again. "It suits you. Do you know what it means?"
She blushed at that and nodded slightly. "It means a vision or dream."
"And so you are, sweetling," Angelus told her sincerely. "That's nothing to be embarrassed about. William, you were going to keep this beauty all to yourself, weren't you?"
"No, I simply wasn't ready for her to meet the family yet," William replied honestly. Angelus gave him a strange look but said no more.
The other guests began leaving shortly after and Aislinn knew that William and Angelus would have to go too. They saw her gaze at the ones leaving and the sadness that filled her eyes.
"I suppose we should be going too," Spike said and she nodded sadly. Spike took her chin in his fingers then and made her look at him. "Don't worry, pixie. I'll see you again very soon."
"We both will," Angelus agreed. She looked at them both then nodded. Spike released her and both men kissed her hand gallantly before taking their leave.
As they made their way home Spike was silent. Angelus was in a rather excellent mood, though. Still, he needed some answers.
"What were your plans for her, William?" he asked finally.
"I meant her for you, as a new childe," Spike confessed quietly. Angelus couldn't detect a lie this time. "I came across her accidentally last night in Kensington Gardens. She was cold and crying, having run out of her house because her parents told her they had arranged her marriage to the Earl of Ormonde. He's a fat, ugly old man in her opinion and she doesn't want to marry him. I lent her my coat and made sure she got home safely. I could have done anything to her, she was all alone, but she is just so beautiful. There's something special about her. I couldn't bring myself to harm her; the thought didn't even cross my mind. Then I got to thinking and it hit me how perfect she would be for you. While we talked tonight it only became more obvious. But sire, if you don't want to sire her then could we just leave her alone? She's too important, too unique, to just become another meal or one of your 'artworks'."
"Did you not think about turning her yourself?" Angelus asked after a long silence.
"I'm not ready to be a sire. It's too much responsibility," Spike admitted. "Besides, I have Drusilla already. She has a tendency to get jealous."
His sire nodded thoughtfully. Honestly, he already made up his mind to sire the girl the second he stepped into that drawing room tonight but it was fun to play with William's mind. He could hear the pleading and fear in his childe's voice when he asked him to leave the girl alone if he wasn't going to sire her. The boy truly cared for her and with good reason. Angelus would admit he had never seen her equal. She had all the wonderful things about a high born and none of the pretensions. She was genuinely sweet and open and he loved her soft Irish accent. It made him homesick. She smelled like home too, like sunshine and Irish wildflowers and fresh rain. It was intoxicating just being near her.
"Send her a note requesting her presence tomorrow night. Tell her to meet us at that Irish tavern in Whitechapel, the Rose & Sword," Angelus said finally. "I want to get to know her better."
William nodded but looked worried. Angelus saw it and sighed.
"I'm going to do it, William but I want to get to know her more beforehand. It won't be like it was with Drusilla I promise. One lunatic in the family is enough," his sire assured him and William relaxed visibly. "You're not to say a word about this to Darla or Drusilla, though."
"I won't, promise," Spike agreed wholeheartedly. He was in a downright chipper mood by the time they got home.