Chapter Four: The bough breaks, the cradle falls
The weather got hotter, and Buffy was surprised, because her previous experience of England had been autumn, when the air was cold and clear and the leaves were brilliant orange, yellow and crimson, everything was scented with woodsmoke and the rain came down cold and often.
And now it was hot, really hot, nothing compared to California, of course, but Buffy was sure as hell uncomfortable. She was barely sleeping as it was, and that made her irritable, and on top of that there was no cool air anywhere, because nowhere in Britain had any air conditioning, and when she'd suggested to Spike that he maybe install some in just a few rooms, he'd laughed and told her it was a waste of money, because summer in Britain was usually just three days when it didn't rain.
Added to which was the annoying fact that Spike had decided sun was bad for the baby, so if Buffy ever tried to sunbathe, he threw a towel over her or hoiked her back indoors. She protested that she was wearing high factor suncream, but he wouldn't listen. He was pale and he wanted her to be, too.
She spent a lot of time with Chocolat, but as the baby got bigger it got harder for Buffy to move around a lot, and after a while she gave in and just mooched around indoors, where at least there was always a toilet nearby. She found the library - huge, musty, ancient, full of first editions, and she knew Giles would completely adore it - and started reading the classics she'd never got around to before.
Spike spent a lot of time on the estate, and for someone who professed not to know a lot about agriculture he always had a lot to talk about when he came back in. Buffy liked to curl up with him and hear him tell her about the sheep, or the horses, or the big harvest of barley they were going to get this year, before he got bored of farm talk and started kissing her instead.
But even that lost its thrall after a while. Buffy was sure it must be hormonal, just like she'd got so incredibly horny a few months ago, but now she could hardly bear him to touch her, not that way. She wanted cuddles and gentle massages, not rampant fucking. Spike was hurt the first few times, until she pointed out that it must be like trying to get passionate with a whale, and she could hardly move, and anyway, sexual activity just made the baby kick and she wasn't sure if that was a good sign. After all, at this late stage it was supposed to have run out of room to kick.
She woke up one morning to hear the dark growl of an engine and a door slamming. Spike was already up and gone, as he was so many mornings, and she thought she heard his voice outside.
She heaved herself out of bed and plodded over to the window to peek out at the driveway below. There was Spike, still in his biker boots although he'd got blue jeans on now, and a green t-shirt, no duster, standing with his hands on his hips.
And there was Glory, wearing a dress that was hardly there at all, posing against her Aston Martin, flicking her curls at Spike and flashing a lipsticked smile.
"Ooh, I'm so thin, and I've got a bad perm and I found a crappy shade of red lipstick," Buffy mimicked. "Trashy cow."
Someone cleared their throat behind Buffy and she turned guiltily to see Jones standing there, her face as blank as it always was when she was around her mistress.
"My lady," she gave a little nod that was as close to a curtsey as she'd get. "Lady Gloria is here."
"So I see. Uh, is she staying?" Buffy asked reluctantly.
"For several weeks."
In several weeks Buffy would have had the baby. She didn't want Glory around for that.
"Oh," she said. "Well, then, get a room ready for her, I guess."
"A suite has been prepared," Jones said, and Buffy didn't miss the emphasis on 'suite'. When her own mother came to visit, she got a room, but when Spike's trashy stepsister came, she got a suite. Right.
"Uh, I'll be down in a bit," Buffy said, and Jones turned to go, without offering to help Buffy at all. Buffy stuck her tongue out at the woman and waddled into her bathroom, but when she pulled the light cord, nothing happened. Great, the bulb had gone.
Well, at least she had Spike's bathroom as a backup. It was still so much of a luxury to Buffy to not have to share her bathroom with her sister and mother - but to have her own, and not share it with her husband?
A little thrill ran through Buffy as she thought the word. She still couldn't quite get used to thinking of Spike as her husband. And nor could she get her head around being a wife. She didn't feel like a wife. She felt like a, well, like an elephant.
"I swear that ultrasound was broken," she said as she stepped out of the shower. "I'm having triplets at least."
She got dried and dressed and put a little bit of makeup on, styled her hair a little, and before she went picked up the phone and called Jones's number. "The lightbulb in my bathroom is broken," she said, "could I get someone to fix it, please?"
"Yes, my lady," Jones said, "I'll get is done straight away."
There were advantages to having servants, Buffy thought as she went downstairs.
It was late in the morning and the breakfast that had been put out in the dining room had long since been cleared away. Buffy went out to the Victorian conservatory, big enough to hold her entire Sunnydale house, and asked Davis to bring her the day's papers and some fruit and croissants for breakfast. He did, although it took longer than when Spike was with her, and she settled down to read the colour supplements. A breeze blew in from the open French windows and the blind overhead created some shade for Buffy to hide under, in amongst the ferns and yuccas and exotic blooms of the conservatory.
"Hey there, Mommy," came a voice from the doorway, shattering the peace and calm, and Buffy rolled her eyes.
"Glory," she said in her brightest, friendliest voice. "I hear you're staying with us."
"You don't mind, do you?" Glory said, coming into view and perching her pert little backside on one of the soft, cushioned basket chairs opposite Buffy's loveseat. "I thought I'd come and see the bambino being born."
"He'll probably be born in the hospital," Buffy said.
"A he, is it?"
"Well, no - I don't know. But I think Spike wants a boy, so..."
"So you're thinking masculine thoughts. I heard that if you eat salt, that makes it a boy."
What a pile of crap. "Salt makes my ankles swell," Buffy said, and Glory looked down at them.
"Better cut it out, then. Don't want them getting any puffier."
Buffy narrowed her eyes. She'd thought her ankles were looking fine.
"So," she said brightly, "we missed you at the wedding." For target practice.
"Well, Daddy had some important business to tend to."
Daddy, ugh.
"More important than his son's wedding?"
"Well, you know, an earl has a lot of responsibility." Glory picked up Buffy's glass and sniffed at the orange juice. She made a face and picked up the nearby phone to ask the cook for some coffee. "One day Spike's gonna have that responsibility."
"I think he can handle it."
"Oh, sure he can. But you know Spike. He can only handle one thing at a time."
You've obviously never been to bed with him, Buffy thought. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you know. Looking after the estate, or looking after his family. And you know the estate has to come first."
"What are you getting at?"
Glory smiled. "One day he'll get bored of his fat wife and screaming baby and abandon you for his birthright."
Buffy tried to keep her cal, especially as Davis chose that moment to enter with a pot of coffee that smelled heavenly. "Isn't his birthright to have a family?"
"No, sweetie baby, that's just his duty. You," Glory said, "are just his duty. He's only doing you to keep your baby. After it's born, he'll probably divorce you."
"Get out," Buffy said, pointing to the door.
"You didn't think he'd really let an American be the next countess, did you?"
"The current one is!"
"My mother has class," Glory said, her expression starting to look a little snarky.
"Your mother would get thrown out of a trailer-park for looking too trashy."
"Don't you insult my mother-"
"Don't you insult me! Get out of my house," Buffy said, and it occurred to her that she seemed to be saying this a lot lately. She pushed herself to her feet. "Go on, get out."
"Or you'll what?" Glory said, winding herself sinuously to her feet - or rather, her toes, since she was teetering on massive heels, far above Buffy.
"I'll call Spike," Buffy said, and she knew that was lame.
"Spike won't come," Glory said smugly. "I saw him go up to the top field this morning, while you were still wallowing in bed. He won't even have phone signal up there."
"Then I guess I'll have to kick you out myself," Buffy said.
"Can you even lift your foot without falling over? 'Cos seriously, your centre of gravity has got to be-"
Buffy slapped Glory hard on her cheek.
"Ow! You little bitch!"
Glory slapped Buffy back and she clutched at the arm of the loveseat for balance. She knew this was stupid, but she was so damn angry with this cheap flashy whore coming in here like she was more important than Buffy, slamming her family, her husband, her authority-
She forced herself to calm down. She was not in any position to get into a fight with anyone.
"Will you just please leave," she said through clenched teeth.
Glory folded her arms. "Make me."
Buffy reached to pick up the phone to call for Davis and get him to take Glory away, or call Spike, or something, but Glory slammed it down.
"Running for help? You know, he's only going to help you until the baby's born. And then, well, you never know. Maybe he'll get sick of the both of you, especially when he finds out it's not his."
Buffy stared at her. She was completely insane.
"Oh, I know all about your little romantic tryst with your ex-boyfriend," Glory went on. "The army captain? I saw a picture. Now he is cute. Shame he's married now. Oh well, marriages are easy enough to break up. Not like I haven't done it before."
"Get out," Buffy said.
"What, so I don't go telling Spike your baby is actually Riley Finn's?"
"It's not Riley's. I haven't slept with him in nearly two years. We broke up ages ago," Buffy said, and tried to sound calm. She failed.
"But you still took a holiday with him last year," Glory said, her eyes flashing. "Somewhere in Europe, uh, Berlin or Vienna..."
"Prague," Buffy said, "and it wasn't a holiday, he was protecting me - you know, I'm not going to talk about this with you, you're just a cheap tacky slut-"
"Take that back!" Glory shrieked.
"No! You can't just come here uninvited and start insulting my family and my baby - who can only be Spike's, because unlike some people not so far from me, I don't sleep around-"
"Like anyone'd have you, you're so hideously fat-"
"I'm not fat, I'm pregnant-"
"With someone else's kid," Glory yelled, and Buffy snapped, and punched her hard in the nose.
There was a sharp click of breaking bone.
Glory reeled backwards, shocked, blood covering her chin, and Buffy stared at her, not quite able to believe what she'd just done.
"I-" she began, but Glory swung at her, catching the side of Buffy's face with her long fake red nails, scratching her, and Buffy tried to push her away but Glory caught her arms and gave her an almighty shove and Buffy hit the loveseat and lost her balance, landing on the floor with a hard thump, and then pain slammed through her and she looked down to see blood all over the floor, and screamed so loud half the household came running.
AN: Yes, I know, it's a horribly short chapter, but I just had to leave you all in suspense. What's gonna happen? I know, but I'm going to make you wait, because I'm more evil than Glory and Ethan put together… But if you'all say nice things, then I might update that bit sooner… God, it's fun being evil