Chapter twelve
Buffy worked a handkerchief between her fingers nervously as Becky laced her into her new ball gown. The Victorian Slayer noticed and smiled.
"Miss Anne, don't worry."
"I'm not worried." Buffy answered too quickly, panic nipping at her tone.
"Well, if that's so, then perhaps you might want to let go of that handkerchief before you turn it into a doily." Buffy glanced down at the almost destroyed piece of fabric in her hands and blushed slightly.
"You remind me of Master William when you do that." Buffy eye's wandered up to her predecessors and they glinted with curiosity. Becky elaborated;
"When you blush, it looks like when Master William does it. You've been spending too much time with him." Buffy looked back down, attempting to focus on her breathing that always became erratic whenever someone mentioned William, which might not have been the best thing, considering the whalebone contraption constricting her airflow.
"He loves you, you know?" Becky continued and Buffy smiled indulgently
"I know."
"I know that you think you know, but you haven't known Master William for as long as I have, he has never felt this strongly about anyone ever, not even Mistress Cecily. I think he might even propose." Something clicked in the blonde Slayer's mind.
"William was in love with Cecily?" It made sense now, his over-reaction to the party invitation. He wasn't worried about her meeting his 'friends'; he was worried about her meeting his former flame, or was it his former flame? Maybe he still had feelings for her.
"Not love, more like infatuation, he was besotted with her, he's in love with you." Buffy eye's traced the patterns of the carpet when another part of what Becky had said clicked into place.
"Propose?" Becky finished with Buffy's dress and surveyed her with a pleased expression on her face.
"Yes, ma'am, and looking the way you do tonight, I wouldn't be surprised if half of the male population in London proposes to you too."
William strode across the foyer's marble floor, his heels clicking against the stone. His fingers folded and re-folded the paper in his hands, the small box in his breast pocket created a comforting warmth but still he was overtaken with anxiety. All emotions other than awe and unrestrainable love fled him as soon as he spotted Buffy on the stairs. She was dressed in a gown of deepest forest green, her hair pulled up only halfway, a good section spilling over her bare shoulders. The deep color of the dress offset her eyes remarkably, creating the illusions of emeralds set in her porcelain face. Her white gloves reached up past her elbows and she wore the barest amount of makeup, a touch of lip color, and eye powder. William felt his breath catch in his chest at the sight of her and he was suddenly overwhelmed with the sensation of light-headiness and leant against the wall for support. Not willing to faint, to blink for even a second for fear that this vision of unbearable beauty would disappear from his sight forever. She descended the stairs quickly, noticing his weakness. She laid a gloved hand on his arm gently.
"William, are you alright?"
"Oh yes, just a dizzy spell, I'll be alright." Doubt and protectiveness clouded her emerald eyes.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course, don't concern yourself with me." He straightened and offered her his arm which she took with a small smile. They moved across the foyer but were stopped by Anne's weak voice crying out to them.
"Oh, wait, please wait, let me see how you look" The couple turned to face the old woman, and Buffy felt a small twang of homesickness and loss. It was such a typical twenty-first century mom reaction, one her own mother had not been able to indulge in. Home-made, prom wrecking devil dogs and Buffy's Slayer duties had erased that possibility. Anne grinned widely.
"You both look lovely, the perfect couple." William blushed crimson; it was the first mention Anne had made towards William and Buffy's new relationship.
"Oh, come now, William, I'm your mother and I have eyes, do you honestly think I wouldn't notice all those goo-goo eyes you two have been shooting each other." She made small shooing gestures with her hands.
"Now go, before I have to kick you out."
Buffy sat in the corner of the large ballroom, bored to tears. The music was lame, the dancing was slow and plodding and her present company, William excluded, was probably the most stuck-up bunch of idiots she had ever seen in her life and she had been a cheerleader! She had seen a better party at her Grandma Muriel's nursing home. William had been exceptionally nervous all night, unable to stop tapping his feet or drumming his fingers. Buffy gazed at him lovingly, trying to draw his attention to her, to get him to forget his nervousness but it was no use, he was staring the opposite way. Buffy had met Cecily, a pompous twit who obviously had never lifted a finger in her entire life and who looked exceptionally like Anya's demon friend Halfrek, not saying anything for the girl's looks. She was pleased to notice William hadn't spared Cecily a second glance, focusing instead on something in his breast pocket. Now, a large arrogant male voice burst through Buffy's mind, jolting her out of her thoughts. It was a 'friend' of William's, Charles or Edward or something, the man had seemed more interested in Buffy's cleavage then her face and Buffy had written him off as another one of the idiots that seemed to populate London's social scene. Now, the man was winding his way through the crowd towards Buffy and William, obviously drunk and booming out his words.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if you would direct your attention to the spectacular grandfather clock provided by our hosts, you would notice that it is almost midnight. Now, the Americans have a tradition of kissing each other on the stroke of midnight, now, we Brits are a little more refined than that, don't you think?" The crowd in front of him roared its approval and Charles/Edward/Whatever turned on his heel to face Buffy, pretending to have noticed her for the first time.
"Oh, what would we have here? A true, blue Yankee. Well, we shouldn't deny her the pleasure of a centuries-old tradition, now, should we?" Again the crowd roared its approval and the man swept Buffy to her feet and planted a large slobbery kiss directly on Buffy's lips. Horrified, Buffy pushed him away from her and the animal laughed in pleasure.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Buffy hissed. The man roared with laughter and Buffy was tempted to punch him in the nose. William was at Buffy's side in a moment, bristling with anger.
"What? You'll do it for money?" Charles/Edward reached into his pocket and dropped a few coins at Buffy's feet. William clenched his teeth at the display.
"What are you prattling on about Charles?" Charles was still laughing and his face was turning red with the effort.
"Oh, please, William, don't deny it anymore. We all know the only way you could get a woman is if you paid for her" Buffy's mouth dropped open and she could feel William tensing for a fight next to her.
"Are you calling me a whore?"
"That I am, mistress, so what do you say to a roll in the hay? What's your going rate?" Before William could react, Buffy reared back and punched the pompous pig in the nose.
"I am not a prostitute" she seethed. Charles raised a hand to his nose and seemed surprised to find blood there. He turned back to his eager crowd.
"Well, what do you know? William's Yankee whore has an anger problem and a wicked arm." Buffy fled the room, not seeing William's spectacular right hook to Charles's jaw.