Chapter two

The carriage pulled up with a start in front of a majestic house. It was bigger than the house that Buffy had started this time travel trip in, but understated somehow, as if it was hiding a dark, beautiful secret inside that didn't quite convey to the outside image. A footman opened Buffy's door for her and extended his hand to help her down the carriage stairs. Though she was quite capable of descending the stairs herself, she slipped her gloved hand into his, realizing that she was going to have to adhere to the rules of the time for the duration of her stay, however long that may be. Releasing her hand, the footman went around to where Buffy's luggage had been strapped to the back of the carriage and began to haul it up the stairs. Buffy moved to help him when the end of her trunk slipped, but he drew back, muttering something about how she shouldn't concern herself with his job. She started to argue, but noticed another male servant hurrying towards them to help the footman. When he reached the Slayer, he appraised her with a snooty look that could only have been bred by high-class living his whole life, finding her worthy, he inquired;

"Miss Summers, I presume?" Buffy gave a half nod. Looking pleased that she had arrived, he continued;

"We were waiting for you. If you don't mind, Miss Davies, the housekeeper is waiting for you at the side entrance." Buffy breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that she didn't have to climb the enormous stairs leading to the front door. Thanking the manservant, she made her way to the side of the house, the train of her dress becoming heavier with every step as it accumulated the dew of who knows how many mornings. England, remember? She told herself silently all fog, rain and clouds. Despite everything else Buffy was going to have to adapt to, she found herself silently mourning the bright cloudless skies of South California. There was a dark hole in her heart that she had to convince herself didn't boast the unhappiness she felt without her friends. I might never see them again, how are they going to fight The First without me? Came a low pitiful voice in the back of her mind, a stronger voice quickly overcame it, It doesn't matter, they have Faith, they don't need me, they demonstrated that earlier. It was difficult for Buffy to realize that all the pain and heartbreak she had recently suffered at the hands of her friends had occurred only hours before. Jetlag to the past can be a real pain in the ass, she thought. Clearing her mind, she strode up to the plain brown door set into the stone monotony of the wall and knocked sharply. The door swung open almost immediately, revealing a rotund woman with a kind face.

"Miss Davies?" Buffy inquired. The woman smiled hugely and ushered Buffy into the house.

"Myles will be right with your things, Miss Summers and then we can find you your room before you go to meet Mistress Anne and Master William." Behind her, Buffy heard the huffing of the two men carrying her trunk and she hastily followed the housekeeper out of the small room and into the larger part of the house. Once inside the main hall, Buffy had to stand and stare at the opulence that surrounded her. She had been right about the inside of the house hiding a dark and beautiful secret, the decorations adorning her surroundings were beautiful but tastefully done, there was no danger of going overboard in this house. Miss Davies came up behind her and whispered in her ear;

"Magnificent, isn't it?" Buffy nodded, the beauty of the house and the constraint the corset put on her lungs made it impossible to speak. When she finally came back to herself, Miss Davies was already half-way across the hall and Buffy had to hurry to catch her, her Slayer speed hampered by the innumerable layers of clothing. Before Buffy could catch up with her, the housekeeper began to climb a large flight of stairs. Buffy groaned and hitched up her skirts, preparing herself for the ordeal. Once they had cleared they had cleared the stairs, Miss Davies led Buffy down a hall and into a small room. She stood back to let Buffy examine her room. It was big, much bigger than her room at home. The bed was covered in rich, blue hued sheets, which looked suspiciously like silk. There were paintings covering the wood paneled and a large embroidered carpet covering the stone floor. Set in a niche just a little way away from her bed, was a desk with a sewing machine set upon it and a small bookcase right next to it. An unfamiliar voice broke into Buffy's study;

"The bookcase was William's idea" Buffy whirled around to see and older woman leaning against the doorframe to Buffy's room. This was Miss Carleton, Buffy assumed as Miss Davies dropped into a curtsey at the sight of her. Buffy kneeled in an awkward curtsey but Miss Carleton quickly raised her to her feet.

"Now, now, you don't need to curtsey for me; you are a friend, a friend I am paying for, granted, but a friend nonetheless." Her soft laughter immediately put Buffy at ease. Miss Carleton greatly reminded Buffy of her own mother. The Mistress of the house crossed the room to reach Buffy and studied her. Her movements were slow and obviously weakened by illness, but she still carried herself with a sense of pride that illness could never erase. Out of the blue, she remarked;

"You have nice eyes" Buffy was taken aback.

"Thank you" she said. Nodding, Miss Carleton took Buffy's hand and began to lead her from the room.

"I can tell this is going to be a good thing. Please, call me Anne, what is your name?" Buffy blushed.

"My name is Anne as well" Anne's smile widened immediately.

"Well, isn't that remarkable? Would it be alright if I called you Miss Anne, so as not to confuse our two names? I may still look young but too many years and too many corsets have severely impaired my memory" Buffy laughed along with her new employer, she was definitely going to like this woman. When they crossed the threshold, though, Buffy turned back.

"But I need to change . . . . . ." Anne laughed again.

"Don't worry about it, dear, you look lovely, you can change after you meet William" Buffy cast a confused look towards the housekeeper, who mouthed 'Her son' towards Buffy. Understanding flooded Buffy's oxygen deprived mind and she allowed herself to be led by Anne down the hall, towards a large set of French doors.

"I imagine he will be in the library, it is where he spends most of his time." Buffy nodded, then in an awkward attempt to make conversation, said;

"The room is lovely" Anne smiled in easy pleasure.

"I'm so glad you like it. There was some talk of you sleeping in the servant's quarters but I absolutely balked at the idea. I wanted you to be near my room." She motioned to a door as they passed it,

"I hope you don't mind."

"No, no, of course not." The two women paused in front of the French doors and Anne smiled indulgently as she knocked lightly. A voice rang out to meet them;

"Yes?"

"William, dear, it's mum, I just wanted to introduce you to Miss Anne, my new companion." There was a pause and then;

"Come in" Anne attempted to push open the doors but found that she was too weak so Buffy took over for her. Anne smiled her gratitude and led Buffy into the room. Even with all the opulence Buffy had seen today, the library still took her almost non-existent breath. Almost every one of the walls was covered in bookcases, except for one that housed a large cherry wood desk, which was overflowing with papers and inkwells. The bookcases were overstuffed with volumes of every shape and size and a man with curly brown stood with his back to them in front of one of the cases. He was bent over a book, dressed in beige pants, a white shirt and a beige vest.

"William?" Anne called. The man quickly inserted a bookmark to mark his place and turned to face them. Small wire rimmed glasses perched on his nose but Buffy recognized him immediately. Spike.

"Oh crap"

Both Carletons turned to face a very red-faced Buffy, who was on the edge of unconsciousness, stemming from the lack of oxygen traveling through her veins.

"I beg your pardon?" Spike asked, he removed his glasses and cleaned them on a handkerchief he had just pulled from his vest pocket, refusing to look at Buffy, his cheeks flushing crimson red. The look was so characteristically 'Giles' that for a second, Buffy felt like laughing but somehow knew that it wouldn't help her situation.

"Um, I said . . . . . . " Buffy was saved from having to answer, when Anne cut her off.

"William, darling, this is Miss Anne Summers; she is to be my companion." Spike continued to study the floor as if he was searching for diamonds.

"Very pleased to meet you" he said under his breath, before turning to put away the book in his hand. Buffy was shocked; the pre-souled, pre-chipped Spike would have had her on the floor, with her throat half torn out by now and they way he told it, his human alter-ego hadn't been much different. As he moved away, Anne whispered in Buffy's ear;

"Don't worry, dear, he's just shy, he does want you here, it was his idea that I get a companion after all." Spike had returned, so Anne turned to face him innocently.

"So, um, Miss Summers, I'm very glad you're here" Anne prodded Buffy in the side with her elbow and shot her a look that said; 'See, I told you'.

"As you know, my mother is sick and I did not relish the thought of her spending her final days alone." Before she could stop herself, Buffy broke in;

"But what about you? You keep her company, don't you?" Spike looked even more flustered than before and he gazed worriedly at his mother.

"Well, yes, of course, but I meant; someone of her own gender, someone she can speak to about, well, womanly things." Spike was so disconcerted that Buffy couldn't help reflecting on how cute he was. His cheeks flushed red, and his skin a healthy, living color, not the pasty pale complexion she had grown used to seeing on him. Vampire-Spike probably would have kicked William's ass, he was so mild and shy that he didn't even seem to be the same man.

"Miss Summers, it was very nice to meet you, but if you don't mind, I have to get back to work, I trust I will see you tomorrow?"

"Certainly not!" Anne remarked sharply. Shocked, Spike looked up at his mother.

"Pardon, mother?" he asked, struggling to keep his tone even.

"Miss Anne will be eating supper with us tonight and every night after that." Spike looked like he was about to faint.

"She is not a servant, she is a friend and will be treated as such" Anne spoke with such quiet authority that Buffy knew Spike wouldn't dare argue with her. He didn't, so, pleased; Anne bade her son good-bye and swept from the room.

"Very pleased to see you, Mr. Carleton" she said, voice hushed. She didn't know what was coming over her; it was like she was becoming fully enveloped in the 'Anne Summers' character. She dropped a quick curtsey and turned to leave. Spike's soft voice floated over to her.

"Please, it's William, if you don't mind" Buffy nodded and smiling to herself, left the room.