Title: Unwilling Bride

Author: Neamh1

Disclaimer: Not Mine

Warnings: NC17

Feedback: Please, Please, Please! Plus please let me know if this layout is easier to read, there's been a few comments regarding the layout so just drop me a note so i know for the next chapter.

"He wouldn't dare." Buffy said to herself after he'dgone, even as she said it she knew the truth; he'dmost likely enjoy it as well! Whether she went or not he would win; she could lock her door and refuse to let him in but he would only order the staff to unlock the door and then he might take her key.

The only way to beat him on this was to go straight back down now and finish her dinner. She quickly placed the pins back in her hair and headed back tothe dinning room.

Angelus was surprised when Elizabeth entered the room, he thought she may have come to make a scene, but whenshe apologized to everyone saying that she felt betterafter some fresh air and took her seat, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Don't mention it Buffy dear, after what you've been through recently it's likely that you'll be feeling unwell. At least you have this strapping young man to take care of you, that must be some relief?" asked Derek Linton.
Buffy sent a devilish smile toward Angelus, "Oh of course, he's been so good to me, I was in such a state when he arrived but he was ever so understanding. He's done nothing but praise me for my strength and offer
me support since he arrived; he truly is the husband I wished for." she said with what looked like a genuine loving smile toward Angelus.
Angelus could see the evil glint in her eyes though and he fought to control any remark that he might make as everyone toasted him.

After that things settled down slightly, he and Buffy were still silently at war but in front of their guests they appeared a young couple in love.
After the meal was finished, the men stayed in the dinning room for Brandy and cigars while the women went into the parlor to talk over coffee until the men rejoined them.

"So Buffy, when did you meet Angelus; you two seem quite enamored with each other?" Asked Mrs. Linton once they all had coffee and were sitting comfortably on the sofas.

"Well actually we haven't known each other very long, the marriage was more my fathers idea since he's known Angelus for many years. We had hoped that Angelus would have arrived before...but it wasn't to be." Buffy said trailing off at the thought of her father.

"So...you mean you only met him when he came here this week? That this was an arranged marriage?" Willow asked shocked, she never would have thought her friend would agree to an arranged marriage, perhaps there was something that she was missing.

"Well yes, but once we saw each other it was love at first sight." she heard herself saying, wondering why the hell she was lying to her dearest friends. 'Because telling the truth will cause a lot of trouble for every one' she reasoned with herself. Knowing that Willow would never let her best friend marry someone she didn't love and that Mr. and Mrs. Linton looked upon her as a second daughter and would never want to see her unhappy. Angelus may be many things, but her father had thought of him as a great friend and she knew that he was here because of him. She couldn't let them all turn against him; he would have enough on his hands with her, never mind all her friends.

For the thirty minutes she was alone with the women she wished she had stayed in her room and faced Angelus' wrath later. Her friends hounded her with questions about Angelus that she couldn't possibly answer. She found herself making things up, making him seem to be the man she envisioned in her dreams. The valiant knight that would have one day
come and saved her, sweeping her from her feet and onto his horse, and then riding away with her to safety.

She told them about their shopping trip making it seem more of a loving event where he lavished her with gifts and let her have whatever she wanted. Something she could never imagine Angelus doing for anyone
except himself.

The men entered the room then and took seats amongst the women; Willow vacated her seat next to Buffy in favor of sitting with her husband, which left the space free for Angelus to take. He noted the slightly solemn look on Elizabeth's face as he sat down, assuming her
sudden ill mood was because he was sitting next to her. He wondered how they were going to spend the rest of their lives together in any sort of harmony. Perhaps it would be better if he were to continue working.
That way she would have the run of the house and his name as protection but they wouldn't have to suffer spending all their time in each other's company. Of course he would come back once or twice a year perhaps
to check on her, and he could hire someone to take care of his assets as well as guard Elizabeth while he was away. The thought had promise but he would have to think more on it before deciding.

They both endured the rest of the evening together, as uncomfortable as it had been to pretend that they actually cared for each other they pulled it off.

Angelus wasn't sure what she told the women whilst they'd been alone but he realized she must have given them half the truth and half lies as he had done with the gentlemen. They were looked upon as a 'perfect
couple', or so Mrs. Linton had exclaimed before leaving their estate.
They saw Buffy's friends to the door and once all three carriages were out of view they went back inside. Buffy headed straight for her room without a word while Angelus went into the parlor and poured himself a shot of whiskey. He had made up his mind; he would rush the marriage so that he could get away as quickly as possible. Tomorrow he would send word to his office stating that in two weeks time he would be ready for his next mission. He would speak with the seamstress tomorrow and arrange for the wedding gown to be made be mid next week and then he would find a vicar to wed them a week on Thursday at the estate in a small ceremony. There was no need for a big fancy wedding; he was sure that Elizabeth would not mind. In only two weeks they would be free of each other but also be bound together for life.

True to his word Angelus had everything arranged the next day. Buffy felt as though she been tossed from the back of her horse into a raging river that was rapidly washing her downstream as far away from her normal life as it could. In the next couple of days that had followed their wedding announcement, she had seen little of Angelus, he was always locked up in her fathers office working and when he wasn't he was out making errands and preparing for the wedding which he'd informed her would be in two weeks on Thursday.

On Monday she had her wedding dress fitted and designed between herself and Lady Catherine's bestseamstress. Lady Catherine made a personal visit on the Tuesday of the week of the wedding to deliver Buffy's wedding dress and make sure that it fit perfectly. Buffy stared at herself in the long mirror in her room while Lady Catherine fanned out the bottom of her dress.

"My dear you look wonderful, the gown compliments you completely; your fiance will be spinning on his heels when he sees you walking down the aisle toward him." Lady Catherine beamed at her.

"Actually we're getting married here, as neither of us wanted a large fancy wedding." Buffy replied in an empty voice staring at her image in the old antique mirror.

"Oh well, all the same, he won't be able to keep his eyes off you."

Buffy wished that she wasn't going through with this, but it wasn't the end of the world, divorces may bring scandal but at least they could be performed with good reason, as long as the marriage was not consummated, which was definitely not going to happen. Angelus saw
her as a scrawny runt of a woman, which was not far from the truth. She had gained little weight since he'd been there and the dark circles beneath her eyes had not disappeared, her hair was limp and like straw due to neglect and her spirit had died. Perhaps he would leave after the wedding and work away like he had always done; he hadn't said anything but he had a large envelope delivered by a messenger the other day that she assumed was something to do with his work.
That would be the best thing all around as long as he didn't expect to drag her around the world with him but she was sure he wouldn't intend that.

The wedding was set for Thursday afternoon, only two days away now, only her closest friends had been invited for the ceremony, along with an annoying English man called William who was to be Angelus' best man. Apparently the two of them had known each other a long time but Buffy found him completely intolerable. She hoped that he would be leaving as soon as the wedding was over. There was no reason for a honeymoon and so they were holding a small picnic party after the ceremony as long as the weather permitted. She was actually hoping that it rained so that she didn't have to pretend that she was a happily wed new bride.
When she went down to dinner that night she was to dine alone, Angelus had left her a note with the butler saying that he was sorry for his absence but there was some urgent business that he had to see to at last minute. She entered the dinning room and was surprised to find William in there.

"Hello pet, nice of you to finally join me." he said with that annoying smile.

"I didn't realize that you were here, I thought you had gone along with Angelus, wherever he's gone." She said waving a hand in the air dismissively.

"Do I detect a hint of a question there pet? Do you want to know where your intended has disappeared to on such short notice?" William said to her, loving the way he seemed to be able to spark her anger with just
his presence. He had known Angelus since they were young and they had worked together all their lives. He'd always been Angelus' second, and he knew him better than anyone. What he knew right now was that although Angelus didn't know it yet, this girl was going to change his life. Angelus may go away and try to leave her behind him but he would come back and she would always be here and sooner or later he would realize what he wanted. He had seen the daring look in his friend's eyes when he had introduced Elizabeth to him. It was a look that said that she wasn't for the likes of his friend. He said he didn't want her but he also didn't want anyone else to have her. William was going to enjoy watching this unfold.

"No, of course not, he's free to do as he pleases as am I." she replied tartly.

"You sure about that, pet? Come and sit, I'm famished and can't wait any longer for some good food." William said before she could comment any further; or more likely start another argument.

"So why did you stay here?" she asked halfway into their meal when neither of them had spoken.

"Angelus' business didn't concern me, besides, he wanted me to stay here and keep you company so that you weren't alone." he replied.

"He actually said that?" she asked surprised that Angelus would give a hoot.

"Well...no, What he really said was 'you stay here and have dinner with Elizabeth so that I know she's eaten something and don't you let her leave the dinning room until every last pea on her plate has been eaten', or something along those lines."

"That sounds more like it. So you've been given the arduous task of babysitting" she replied sarcastically.

"Oh I hardly would call it arduous, having a splendid meal with a beautiful young woman..." He saw her smile at the compliment and couldn't help adding, "even if you do have a vipers tongue."

"Are you always this insufferable?" she asked putting down her knife and fork.

"Are you always this beautiful when you're vexed?" he countered.

"William stop flirting with my fiance." Angelus said in an annoyed voice as he made his presence known. Buffy had been startled, but William had already known his friend was there.

"We were hardly flirting." Buffy replied picking her utensils up and pushing her food around her plate.

"To William fighting is foreplay; eat your food instead of playing with it." Angelus replied as he took a seat at the table next to William.

"Everything go alright?" William asked, he knew the reason for Angelus' absence but wasn't going to say anything to Elizabeth, she would find out for herself soon enough.

"Splendid." Angelus replied as he looked through the documents he'd received the other day.

"What are all those?" Buffy asked, knowing that she shouldn't have bothered but wondering anyhow; she was surprised when he actually told her the truth.

"Documents from the head office regarding my next assignment; I'm sure you won't be too disappointed but I'm being called away on Friday to begin my work, I'm not sure how long I'll be gone. A few months at least if not longer; I shall perhaps be back for Christmas." Angelus replied, he'd been wondering how to approach the subject of his leaving, might as well just give it to her straight.

"That's nine months away, must be something important if its going to take that long." she commented, knowing better than to ask what the assignment was. Her father had never once divulged anything to her and she knew that the same would be said for Angelus.

He didn't reply to her, not wanting to engage in a conversation of work, he wasn't permitted to tell her anything even if he had wanted.

She ate the rest of her meal as quickly as possible, as unwelcome feelings of hurt at his sudden leaving assaulting her. She excused herself and went straight up to her room. As she lay in bed trying to fall asleep, she thought about the prospect of having Angelus leave her for nine months the day after they were to be married. She had grown strangely accustomed to having him in the house over the last two weeks. At first things seemed to be going great but then all of a sudden he distanced himself from her and she couldn't understand why, they had spent two wonderful days together and then suddenly he couldn't stand to be alone with her; what had gone wrong? In the time she had spent with him she had found that although he was still all the things he was when they'd first met- arrogant and bossy... she enjoyed his company at times. Thinking back she tried to remember if she had done or said something to upset him and push him away.

Flashback
On Monday of the previous week, they had spent a wonderful afternoon out horseback riding, something that she had missed terribly. They had taken some food and she had showed him the large lake on the grounds
that she had played at as a child. It was peaceful and the weather had been warm as they'd sat and ate their packed lunch. Their horses grazing near the water's edge as they talked quietly about her past and how she
and Willow used to swim in the pool in the hot summer months.

On the way home a sudden playfulness came over her as she called to him that she would race him back home and took off at an alarming rate.
Angelus took off after her worried that she might fall off, but after half a mile, found her to be a capable rider, they were almost back at the estate when they darted through the small wooded area and Buffy's horse came lame throwing her from the saddle.

She landed roughly in the grass dazed but otherwise alright. Angelus had quickly checked her over for any injuries, worrying that she might have broken something, then checking on the horse.

"You won't be able to ride her home, she'll be alright but she can't be ridden for a few weeks until her legs heeled." He picked up her horses reins and mounted his black stallion.

Buffy thought for a minute that he was going to make her walk back to the estate but he reined his horse up next to her and easily lifted her up onto his horse, sitting her in front of him as they headed back at a slow rate to allow for her horse's injury to heal.

She had sat stiffly between his legs at first, one of his arms holding her horse's reins and the other wrapped around her waist holding his reins. It was such an intimate position and she felt as though every brush of his chest against her back was sending tiny electric shocks through her body.
Angelus hadn't been thinking when he pulled her into the saddle with him; he should have given her his horse and walked back, at least that way he wouldn't have her tempting backside pressing back against his groin with every movement from the horse. It was even worse when she finally relaxed enough to lean back against him in the saddle, it felt strangely right and he couldn't fathom why. He didn't know the woman
really and yet her being in the circle of his arms felt so right. 'It has been way too long since I've been with a woman' he thought to himself as he tried to remember how long it had been.

They made the ride in silence all the way back to the stables where they handed the horses over to the stable boy and went inside.

"Are you sure you aren't hurt?" Angelus asked once more as they went inside the house.

"No, a few bruises maybe but nothing I haven't had before, at least nothings broken. My head hurts a little though," she said rubbing the side of her head.

Without thinking Angelus reached out and placed his hand where hers had been, gently feeling for any lumps or cuts.

"Am I interrupting something?" William said with a smile as he came inside the house.

Angelus' hand dropped from her and they both took a step back as William approached.

"Oh please, go back to whatever it was you were about to do, I can wait." Will said with such a triumphant smirk at having caught them doing what was really very little but had earned William their priceless pissed off looks for his interruption.

"What do you want, Will?" Angelus asked, a little annoyed at having been interrupted.

"Just seeing if you were ready to go over those figures but I can see you're busy, we can do it later."

"Actually you two go ahead, I need to lay down for a while." Buffy said and turned toward the stairs without another word.

Angelus watched her go up and then called for Molly, sending her to Elizabeth to see if she needed anything and to inform him if there was anything wrong. He didn't want her left alone after such a fall. Following William, Angelus headed for his office to do some paperwork but his mind kept wandering back to Elizabeth.

That day had been the beginning of something; of what, she wasn't sure but she was sure that's where it had started. The next morning, Angelus had been unusually quiet and hadn't even commented when she hadn't
finished all of her breakfast. She had seen little of him that day and he had been absent at dinner later that evening, but he had sought her out later in the gardens.

She wanted some fresh air to cool down from a particularly loud argument she'd just had with William and had sought refuge in the huge gardens at the back of the house. She went to her favorite area, a small alcove where the bushes had grown over in an arch, concealing the small bench underneath it from the view of the house. Sitting down, she was lost in her thoughts when his voice startled her.

"What did he upset you over this time?" Angelus asked when he finally found her sitting on a bench in the gardens. When he'd entered the house from a long and grilling day, he'd found William cursing in the parlor
filling his glass with whiskey and knocking it straight back glass after glass. He had an idea what had happened but rather than speaking with his friend about it he had searched the house for Elizabeth and
then headed out to the gardens knowing she wouldn't have left the grounds. He found their behavior toward each other amusing and worrying at the same time. William was his best friend and his most trusted confident while Elizabeth was to be his wife. They
would both be the most major influences in his life and they couldn't get along for one day without him there to play referee.

"It doesn't really matter, I can't even remember how we got into the argument so it mustn't have been that important." she replied after an exaggerated sigh.

"For the life of me I can't understand how you could have possibly stood to have worked with him for all those years without shooting him somewhere painfully at least once." she commented and was surprised when Angelus gave a burst of laughter. She smiled in reply, it felt good to make him laugh; it was the first time she had seen him laugh and hoped it
wouldn't be the last.

He loved her sense of humor - where did that thought come from, he wondered. "Are you cold?" he asked, noticing her shiver slightly.

"A little, it's chilled a lot since I came out here."

"Would you like to come inside, I think William's drowning his defeat in a bottle of whiskey in the parlor. We could head into the library and have a
glass of Brandy together to warm you up?" Angelus asked. After not seeing her all day he felt compelled by something to spend some time with her.

She nodded her ascent and they headed indoors quietly so as not to alert William to their presence. Angelus went to pour them some Brandy while Buffy waited by the lit fire warming her hands; it was a cold night and she was glad that someone had lit it.

Angelus returned to her with a glass for each of them and then turned his attention to the books, looking through the selection and choosing one from the shelf as he returned to the warmth of the fire.

"Come and sit by the fire, you still look cold." Angelus said to her when he saw she was about to sit on the sofa.

She had wanted badly to curl up on the soft fur rug in front of the fire like she did so often but had thought that it would start an argument if she were to do such a thing as to sit on the floor! Surprisingly once she was comfy Angelus joined her on the rug.

She was so surprised that she didn't know what to say and so they sat in silence until she noticed the book resting in his hands.

"You like poetry?" she asked him; he was holding her father's favorite book, one that had quickly become her own favorite. The one she had read almost every night when she first learned of her fathers illness, as the
words had given her the strength to get through the hardest times.

"Yes, my own collection should be here shortly. I hadn't the time to bring it with me when I came but I'm glad you have some, I actually have a copy of this book myself, it's one of my favorites. Have you read it?" he asked, thankful at finding some common ground for them to walk on together.

"Yes, I love that book. It was a great help to me during the months of my father's illness." she replied solemnly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories for you," he said.

"No, it's all right. They are good memories, memories of him...If you wouldn't mind, would you read some to me?" she asked almost too quietly for him to hear.

He did a half smile that she found adoring before opening the pages of the book and choosing one to read.
"ONE HAPPY MOMENT"
by: John Dryden
O, no, poor suffering Heart, no Change endeavor,
Choose to sustain the smart, rather than leave her;
My ravished eyes behold such charms about her,
I can die with her, but not live without her:
One tender Sigh of hers to see me languish,
Will more than pay the price of my past anguish:
Beware, O cruel Fair, how you smile on me,
'Twas a kind look of yours that has undone me.
Love has in store for me one happy minute,
And She will end my pain who did begin it;
Then no day void of bliss, or pleasure leaving,
Ages shall slide away without perceiving:
Cupid shall guard the door the more to please us,
And keep out Time and Death, when they would seize us:

Time and Death shall depart, and say in flying,
Love has found out a way to live, by dying."

He had read through many of the poems, but only the happier ones he could find, as he didn't want to upset her. As he read the last poem, he looked up to Elizabeth who had fallen asleep in front of him; he took a moment to study her. She truly was beautiful despite her delicate condition and he wondered briefly what things might have been like between them if they had met under different circumstances. He could feel his heart slowly opening up to her with every smile, every sarcastic remark and comment. She made his heart sore, he couldn't remember having genuinely laughed like he had in the gardens for a long time.

She was a temptress and his ever present logical thinking told him that she was dangerous to him; that she would have him tamed and taking her to parties for the rest of her life and doing nothing worth while if he let her in, but part of him didn't care. A part of him just wanted to be with her, listen to her talking or just watching her sleep like he was now.

It took all of his will power to motivate himself to stand up, scooping her up into his arms he gently carried her up to her room and placed her on her bed.

He wanted badly to crawl into that bed with her and hold her but he forced himself away telling himself that she would probably scream down the house if he did such a thing. She hated him and what he was doing
to her life. Why would she possibly want to be with him in any kind of way, he asked himself. LEAVE NOW!

His brain said and he pushed aside his heart's meager stirrings telling him to stay. Looking back at her still form once more he closed the door behind him with a soft click. Buffy smiled in her sleep a word slipped from her lips in her slumber, a softly spoken...Angel.
End flashback

She couldn't remember falling asleep downstairs. The last thing she remembered before waking was hearing Angelus' soft voice reciting a poem to her. She had woken the early next day to find that he had already left. From that point onwards she had rarely been able to catch him alone to speak with him; William was an ever present companion who she wished would just go away to go bug someone else. She had managed to corner Angelus once since that night and ask him if anything was wrong. If she had done something to upset him.

"Is it me, have I done something? Because last time I checked we had a nice polite conversation and spent a wonderful two days together. Now you won't even be alone with me for five minutes! What's changed?" she
pleaded with him.

He showed no emotions in his words when he replied and his eyes were dark and cold. "There's nothing wrong. I'm a busy man Elizabeth and I have more pressing things to do than to spend time chatting with you. Now if you'll excuse me I have to be going."

With that he had walked away from her, mounted his horse and ridden off, not returning until past midnight.

She had been upset after their brief conversation and surprisingly found comfort in some wise words from William. "When Angelus doesn't know what he wants he puts up this defense where he simply pushes everyone
away. He's never needed to care for any woman in his life and no one has ever spent the time to try and get to know him. If you do care for him pet, then don't give up, he may be going away but maybe you can change
his mind. Think about it." William had said before leaving her in the parlor to think things through, and she had. She decided that she wanted something from Angelus, what; she wasn't yet sure but she wouldn't
find out if he distanced himself from her while they barely spoke.

She had spent every day after that trying to insert herself into his life. Staying up late occasionally for him but he never opened up and never spent much time alone with her without making an excuse to leave.

He acted almost skittish when she was near, as though one touch from her would melt the ice that he had hand crafted around himself to keep her away. She was beginning to loose hope that she would ever break through those walls. And now she had only one day left before the wedding and one more before he would be leaving. She had accomplished nothing in nearly two weeks; how was she going to get through to him before Friday?

tbc..