CHAPTER 9 - GOLDRUSH
Buffy took a long drink of her champagne, "Okay, spill," she said.
"What do you want to know first luv?" he asked.
She just looked at him, "How long have you known Edna and what's this about your father?"
"Well, as you could probably guess, there is no father or grandfather, just me," he said, looking at her, wondering how much he should tell her.
"Maybe you should tell me first how you came to own the place we're going to," Buffy said.
They were interrupted as Edna entered with the soups, salads, and rolls, "Everything okay? Need anything else right now?" she asked.
"Spike looked at Buffy, "Need anything else Elizabeth? Something else to drink?" Spike asked her.
She shook her head.
"We're fine, thanks, Edna," Spike said, smiling at her.
"I'll be back with your dinner in about 15 minutes, then," Edna said, leaving them alone once again.
Spike waited until Edna had walked out of the pantry, then turned to Buffy, "How did I come to own my place? Well, as you know, I got 'turned' in 1880. Well, my brother had been hearing about the 'Great Goldrush' taking place in California, here in Julian, in fact, since the mid 1870's; had been talkin' about it for about that long, too. He was always a shrewd businessman; a real prick; cruel even, but shrewd when it came to business investments."
Spike stopped to butter a roll and hand it to Buffy, who took it from him.
"Enjoying the soup?" he asked.
"Ummm, yes," she said, "continue, please."
"Okay," he said," taking a spoonful, himself.
"Not really my thing, but pretty tasty. Clam Chowder."
"Spike!" Buffy said.
"Okay, okay! So, my brother decided that he would someday come here and mine for gold. However, he had other obligations to take care of at the time, so he just purchased about 1000 acres through his solicitor in 1875. One thousand prime acres right in the middle of the richest gold mines ever found in California at that time; bought them for practically half-pences per acre; um, pennies. Use to brag to anyone who would listen how he was going to come here and strike it rich. Braggin' as if he'd already had the gold in his hands," Spike said, not without some rancor.
"So what happened? Did he come here? Find gold?" Buffy asked.
"What happened? You want to know what happened?" Spike looked at her, his eyes taking on a hard glint; "can't you guess?"
Buffy looked at him. He had been so gentle with her, with Edna all this time, all of a sudden he sounded so bitter, so...hurt?"
"I don't know what happened, Spike. I wasn't there. Why don't you just tell me," she said, then added, "it doesn't matter to me, not really, not anymore. It was a long time ago, you were...different."
Spike sort of snorted, "Yeah, I was different. Newly vamped, running on pure demon energy, demon rage; rage against all those who had made my life a hell when I was human. Number one target, as you may have guessed - my brother!" Spike said, getting visibly upset. He stopped to get a grip on his emotions, sensing Buffy getting upset. He wanted this weekend to be for her, not about him.
"I'm sorry, Buffy," Spike said, looking at her.
"It's alright, continue," she told him.
"Sure?"
"Yes."
"Okay, then. So, without going into details, I killed my brother; made him suffer, like he did me when I was human," Spike said, "raided his valuables and didn't think much about it again."
"Then quite a few years later, I got to thinking about that property up here, all that stuff he'd been saying about it, about the gold, about the land. So, I find this deed in with the stuff I'd taken and pretty much forgotten about, except for the stuff I used right away."
Buffy looked at Spike, "And then what?"
"Well, then I had to wait until a long time had passed, in order to claim I was a legitimate, lost heir to his deed, so as to not draw suspicion, or have to make too many explanations," Spike said.
"So around 1900 or so, I find a vampire who'd once been a solicitor in life," he said, then quipped, "you know what they call solicitors or lawyers, don't you?"
"What?" asked Buffy, stuffing a piece of tomato in her mouth.
"Bloodsuckers!" Spike said, laughing.
"Funny, funny...go on with the story," Buffy said, interested in this past of his she knew nothing about.
"Okay, so I talk to this guy and he tells me what I need to know to get the deed put into my name, William Worthington, long lost first cousin of Henry Worthington."
"After that was all done, I decided that I would come here one day and see it for myself. Well, when Dru, Angel, Darla, and I first got to this country we stayed out east for a number of years. I still wasn't ready to break off on my own and come west. Besides, the trip then was arduous; certainly not something I was prepared to do, even as a vampire; especially as a vampire."
"Around 1920, just as Hollywood started to really get into movie making and there was all this glitter and glamour thing going on, the gang decides that would be the place to make a go of it; easy pickings and all that," Spike said. "Of course, I had a lot to do with that mindset; kept showing them articles and all that, really just trying to position myself to come up here and have a look around."
"Did they know about your property?" Buffy asked.
"No, never told another living soul that I was close with. Except for you. And Clem."
Just then Edna brought the food; Buffy Shrimp and Scallop Fettuccini and Spike a very rare, large Prime Rib, and baked potatoes.
"Here's your dinner, hope you enjoy it," Edna said, smiling at them, "anything else I can get you, Master William? Elizabeth?"
"No, thank you," Buffy said.
"No, this is fine, it's perfect," Spike said, smiling warmly at Edna, as Buffy looked on.
"Okay, you two enjoy your meal, I'll be back in a little while to see if there's anything else you need," Edna said, smiling warmly at them, especially Spike, whom she gave a wink as she left.
"Oooh, this looks so good!" Buffy said, "much better than that French weird stuff last night!"
"Even the pears dipped in brandy and sauce?" Spike asked a bit snarkily, then wished he hadn't.
Buffy put her hand on top of his, as he was about to cut into the steak, "Yes, much better; even if we were at McDonalds, it would still be much better," she finished, then looking him in the eyes.
Spike didn't say anything, just put his fork down and place his hand on top of hers, sandwiching it between both of his.
Finally, Buffy spoke, removing her hand gently, "Tell me how you know Edna."
Spike started cutting his steak again, "Well, once the gang and I settled near Hollywood, I decided to come up here by myself; have a look around. It wasn't too hard to find someone who would take me out to the area. Even at night I could tell it was a pristine place; a beautiful place. However, I needed to have a way to get some money out of my brother's investment, so through a solicitor here, I sold some acres, had some mined, and kept about 100 acres for myself," Spike said.
"Gold and land was the best investment I could have ever had, had to thank my dead brother for that one. When everyone else got burned by the stock market crashed, my money was all in gold and land; didn't lose a thing, made more money, in fact."
"Funny thing was, by the time I ever laid eyes on this place, the gold rush was long over. About 4 - 5 million in gold ore was taken out of this area by 1879. But I had held onto 1000 acres of prime land during that time, land that had never been mined, as of yet; land that wound up yielding almost as much as the original claims had 50 years before."
"I started another gold rush into this area, though a much smaller one, one that was limited to only the amount of investors I sold to. I sold land in about 10 to 100 acre parcels, so there weren't nearly as many people as had come in the first rush. Of course, each of those investors also had to bring their own work crews, etc."
"And I only sold to investors who promised they wouldn't totally strip the land bare and would replant trees and fill in the new mines, once they were through. It was right in the contract and if they didn't, I'd just come back and kill them if I saw they were abusing their privilege."
"What privilege was that, Spike?" Buffy asked.
"The privilege of being a steward of this land, of course," Spike answered, indignantly, "I knew even then, that this was a piece of paradise that was worth preserving."
"So you were the original environmentalist, then?" Buffy asked, laughing, as she twirled a piece of Fettuccini on her fork.
"Well, not original, but I was ahead of my time. Did a lot of reading about American Indians and their philosophy of the land and all that. Sound like a freakin' poof, don't I? Worse still, a member of Greenpeace," Spike said, rolling his eyes, heavenward.
"Not at all, it's nice, Spike. I mean, strange, but really nice that you think that way, even..."Buffy said.
"Even though I'm a vampire and have spent lots more time destroying than saving, you mean?" he said.
"I guess. I just would never have guessed you for...I never much thought about how you thought about these issues. See, I don't even have time to think about them, wish that I did; wish I had time for deep, long, philosophical debates on issues, on history, on God, the universe, the meaning of life, death, all of it...I just don't. No time for Buffy to have...to think what ifs..." Buffy put down her fork, her eyes tearing up.
"Shit! No, Buffy!" Spike said, "please, don't get upset. I wanted this to be a nice weekend for you, a time for you to rest, not think about all of...everything else," Spike said, wiping a tear off of her face.
"Probably wouldn't understand all that stuff anyway. Never that good of a student," Buffy said with a little sniffle.
"Buffy, don't you ever, ever let me hear you talk about yourself that way!" Spike said.
"You are the smartest, bravest person I know. It's not your fault that you haven't had time to study different philosophies, which by the way, most are full of shit, or continued your studies. Not your fault." Spike said.
"But how many of those armchair philosophers will ever know the name of the person who saved the world for them, more than once? Saved it so's they could have their little useless debates about stuff, that, in the long run, doesn't mean a thing; not if the world ends! That's your contribution, Buffy, and don't you ever forget it. It's priceless, YOU ARE PRICELESS! Spike said, forcefully, taking Buffy's chin in his hand and looking into her eyes.
Buffy looked back into his, "You always have believed in me, haven't you?" she asked.
"Always! Until the end of the world and beyond!" Spike answered verbally, while his eyes told of his deep feelings he always had, would always have for her.
Spike! Her knight in slightly tarnished, bruised, and broken armor, but to her, he shined all the same.
"Thank you, Spike. If I haven't told you lately; I believe in you, too."
To the end of the world and beyond!
Spike looked at her with that look of wonder he so rarely showed, the look reserved just for her, the look he gave her when she'd come to rescue him from The First; a look of hope, belief, wonder, and undying, unfaltering love. For her.
Slowly, he took his hand off of her face, "You should eat, Buffy, luv, your food's going to get cold," he said.
"Okay," Buffy answered, "but you still haven't answered how you know Edna."
END OF CHAPTER 9
Buffy took a long drink of her champagne, "Okay, spill," she said.
"What do you want to know first luv?" he asked.
She just looked at him, "How long have you known Edna and what's this about your father?"
"Well, as you could probably guess, there is no father or grandfather, just me," he said, looking at her, wondering how much he should tell her.
"Maybe you should tell me first how you came to own the place we're going to," Buffy said.
They were interrupted as Edna entered with the soups, salads, and rolls, "Everything okay? Need anything else right now?" she asked.
"Spike looked at Buffy, "Need anything else Elizabeth? Something else to drink?" Spike asked her.
She shook her head.
"We're fine, thanks, Edna," Spike said, smiling at her.
"I'll be back with your dinner in about 15 minutes, then," Edna said, leaving them alone once again.
Spike waited until Edna had walked out of the pantry, then turned to Buffy, "How did I come to own my place? Well, as you know, I got 'turned' in 1880. Well, my brother had been hearing about the 'Great Goldrush' taking place in California, here in Julian, in fact, since the mid 1870's; had been talkin' about it for about that long, too. He was always a shrewd businessman; a real prick; cruel even, but shrewd when it came to business investments."
Spike stopped to butter a roll and hand it to Buffy, who took it from him.
"Enjoying the soup?" he asked.
"Ummm, yes," she said, "continue, please."
"Okay," he said," taking a spoonful, himself.
"Not really my thing, but pretty tasty. Clam Chowder."
"Spike!" Buffy said.
"Okay, okay! So, my brother decided that he would someday come here and mine for gold. However, he had other obligations to take care of at the time, so he just purchased about 1000 acres through his solicitor in 1875. One thousand prime acres right in the middle of the richest gold mines ever found in California at that time; bought them for practically half-pences per acre; um, pennies. Use to brag to anyone who would listen how he was going to come here and strike it rich. Braggin' as if he'd already had the gold in his hands," Spike said, not without some rancor.
"So what happened? Did he come here? Find gold?" Buffy asked.
"What happened? You want to know what happened?" Spike looked at her, his eyes taking on a hard glint; "can't you guess?"
Buffy looked at him. He had been so gentle with her, with Edna all this time, all of a sudden he sounded so bitter, so...hurt?"
"I don't know what happened, Spike. I wasn't there. Why don't you just tell me," she said, then added, "it doesn't matter to me, not really, not anymore. It was a long time ago, you were...different."
Spike sort of snorted, "Yeah, I was different. Newly vamped, running on pure demon energy, demon rage; rage against all those who had made my life a hell when I was human. Number one target, as you may have guessed - my brother!" Spike said, getting visibly upset. He stopped to get a grip on his emotions, sensing Buffy getting upset. He wanted this weekend to be for her, not about him.
"I'm sorry, Buffy," Spike said, looking at her.
"It's alright, continue," she told him.
"Sure?"
"Yes."
"Okay, then. So, without going into details, I killed my brother; made him suffer, like he did me when I was human," Spike said, "raided his valuables and didn't think much about it again."
"Then quite a few years later, I got to thinking about that property up here, all that stuff he'd been saying about it, about the gold, about the land. So, I find this deed in with the stuff I'd taken and pretty much forgotten about, except for the stuff I used right away."
Buffy looked at Spike, "And then what?"
"Well, then I had to wait until a long time had passed, in order to claim I was a legitimate, lost heir to his deed, so as to not draw suspicion, or have to make too many explanations," Spike said.
"So around 1900 or so, I find a vampire who'd once been a solicitor in life," he said, then quipped, "you know what they call solicitors or lawyers, don't you?"
"What?" asked Buffy, stuffing a piece of tomato in her mouth.
"Bloodsuckers!" Spike said, laughing.
"Funny, funny...go on with the story," Buffy said, interested in this past of his she knew nothing about.
"Okay, so I talk to this guy and he tells me what I need to know to get the deed put into my name, William Worthington, long lost first cousin of Henry Worthington."
"After that was all done, I decided that I would come here one day and see it for myself. Well, when Dru, Angel, Darla, and I first got to this country we stayed out east for a number of years. I still wasn't ready to break off on my own and come west. Besides, the trip then was arduous; certainly not something I was prepared to do, even as a vampire; especially as a vampire."
"Around 1920, just as Hollywood started to really get into movie making and there was all this glitter and glamour thing going on, the gang decides that would be the place to make a go of it; easy pickings and all that," Spike said. "Of course, I had a lot to do with that mindset; kept showing them articles and all that, really just trying to position myself to come up here and have a look around."
"Did they know about your property?" Buffy asked.
"No, never told another living soul that I was close with. Except for you. And Clem."
Just then Edna brought the food; Buffy Shrimp and Scallop Fettuccini and Spike a very rare, large Prime Rib, and baked potatoes.
"Here's your dinner, hope you enjoy it," Edna said, smiling at them, "anything else I can get you, Master William? Elizabeth?"
"No, thank you," Buffy said.
"No, this is fine, it's perfect," Spike said, smiling warmly at Edna, as Buffy looked on.
"Okay, you two enjoy your meal, I'll be back in a little while to see if there's anything else you need," Edna said, smiling warmly at them, especially Spike, whom she gave a wink as she left.
"Oooh, this looks so good!" Buffy said, "much better than that French weird stuff last night!"
"Even the pears dipped in brandy and sauce?" Spike asked a bit snarkily, then wished he hadn't.
Buffy put her hand on top of his, as he was about to cut into the steak, "Yes, much better; even if we were at McDonalds, it would still be much better," she finished, then looking him in the eyes.
Spike didn't say anything, just put his fork down and place his hand on top of hers, sandwiching it between both of his.
Finally, Buffy spoke, removing her hand gently, "Tell me how you know Edna."
Spike started cutting his steak again, "Well, once the gang and I settled near Hollywood, I decided to come up here by myself; have a look around. It wasn't too hard to find someone who would take me out to the area. Even at night I could tell it was a pristine place; a beautiful place. However, I needed to have a way to get some money out of my brother's investment, so through a solicitor here, I sold some acres, had some mined, and kept about 100 acres for myself," Spike said.
"Gold and land was the best investment I could have ever had, had to thank my dead brother for that one. When everyone else got burned by the stock market crashed, my money was all in gold and land; didn't lose a thing, made more money, in fact."
"Funny thing was, by the time I ever laid eyes on this place, the gold rush was long over. About 4 - 5 million in gold ore was taken out of this area by 1879. But I had held onto 1000 acres of prime land during that time, land that had never been mined, as of yet; land that wound up yielding almost as much as the original claims had 50 years before."
"I started another gold rush into this area, though a much smaller one, one that was limited to only the amount of investors I sold to. I sold land in about 10 to 100 acre parcels, so there weren't nearly as many people as had come in the first rush. Of course, each of those investors also had to bring their own work crews, etc."
"And I only sold to investors who promised they wouldn't totally strip the land bare and would replant trees and fill in the new mines, once they were through. It was right in the contract and if they didn't, I'd just come back and kill them if I saw they were abusing their privilege."
"What privilege was that, Spike?" Buffy asked.
"The privilege of being a steward of this land, of course," Spike answered, indignantly, "I knew even then, that this was a piece of paradise that was worth preserving."
"So you were the original environmentalist, then?" Buffy asked, laughing, as she twirled a piece of Fettuccini on her fork.
"Well, not original, but I was ahead of my time. Did a lot of reading about American Indians and their philosophy of the land and all that. Sound like a freakin' poof, don't I? Worse still, a member of Greenpeace," Spike said, rolling his eyes, heavenward.
"Not at all, it's nice, Spike. I mean, strange, but really nice that you think that way, even..."Buffy said.
"Even though I'm a vampire and have spent lots more time destroying than saving, you mean?" he said.
"I guess. I just would never have guessed you for...I never much thought about how you thought about these issues. See, I don't even have time to think about them, wish that I did; wish I had time for deep, long, philosophical debates on issues, on history, on God, the universe, the meaning of life, death, all of it...I just don't. No time for Buffy to have...to think what ifs..." Buffy put down her fork, her eyes tearing up.
"Shit! No, Buffy!" Spike said, "please, don't get upset. I wanted this to be a nice weekend for you, a time for you to rest, not think about all of...everything else," Spike said, wiping a tear off of her face.
"Probably wouldn't understand all that stuff anyway. Never that good of a student," Buffy said with a little sniffle.
"Buffy, don't you ever, ever let me hear you talk about yourself that way!" Spike said.
"You are the smartest, bravest person I know. It's not your fault that you haven't had time to study different philosophies, which by the way, most are full of shit, or continued your studies. Not your fault." Spike said.
"But how many of those armchair philosophers will ever know the name of the person who saved the world for them, more than once? Saved it so's they could have their little useless debates about stuff, that, in the long run, doesn't mean a thing; not if the world ends! That's your contribution, Buffy, and don't you ever forget it. It's priceless, YOU ARE PRICELESS! Spike said, forcefully, taking Buffy's chin in his hand and looking into her eyes.
Buffy looked back into his, "You always have believed in me, haven't you?" she asked.
"Always! Until the end of the world and beyond!" Spike answered verbally, while his eyes told of his deep feelings he always had, would always have for her.
Spike! Her knight in slightly tarnished, bruised, and broken armor, but to her, he shined all the same.
"Thank you, Spike. If I haven't told you lately; I believe in you, too."
To the end of the world and beyond!
Spike looked at her with that look of wonder he so rarely showed, the look reserved just for her, the look he gave her when she'd come to rescue him from The First; a look of hope, belief, wonder, and undying, unfaltering love. For her.
Slowly, he took his hand off of her face, "You should eat, Buffy, luv, your food's going to get cold," he said.
"Okay," Buffy answered, "but you still haven't answered how you know Edna."
END OF CHAPTER 9