REBEL HEARTS
Chapter 1:
Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I do not own any of these wonderful characters! Joss Whedon and ME own them,lock, stock and barrel!
South Carolina, circa 1778
“Captain Anderson,” Lieutenant Parker Abrams greeted his commanding officer with his even expression and mandatory salute. ‘Spike’ Anderson was looking over some military maps before him in his makeshift tent when Lt. Abrams burst in on him. “What?” Spike acknowledged the slightly younger man gruffly. “You wanted to know bout the Finnwood Plantation, Sir?” Parker stammered, rather nervously.
Lord William ‘aka’ Spike Anderson, recently of London, England and now the Captain of His Majesty’s Fifth Regiment was a formidable man, no question. Lt. Abrams had personally witnessed Captain Anderson burn an entire farm down, up in Virginia. Yes, the Captain, who was an intelligent man, could be a bit of a hot head when so inclined.
Although Lt. Abrams was as loyal Englishman as the next man, he did not approve of rash behavior, even from a Captain in His Majesty, King George III’s, army.
The announcement, by his Lieutenant caught Spike Anderson’s attention. “How far is it?” he asked simply of the lower ranked officer. Abrams did not like the wicked gleam in his Captain’s blue eyes, but he answered anyway, “not far, Sir,” he mumbled. “Our scouts have returned with some information, however not much. It appears that there are several slaves and servants on Finnwood and the Master, Riley Finn is away, possibly serving in the Continental Army itself. He is married, his wife is left in charge of the entire, large farm. She is very young, or so it seems, no more then a teenager herself, perhaps. There is a youngster, a white male, probably a relative of Mr. Finn’s? He’s possibly close to twelve or thirteen and was not seen about the place too much. Plenty of livestock. It would certainly make good quarters for our troops, Sir.
William ‘Spike’ Anderson, Captain in his Majesty’s Army made a concentrated effort not to smirk in victory. “Perfect,” he muttered with glee, as he pulled out a cigarette and a bottle of whiskey. “Have a drink,” he ordered Abrams, evenly, who did as he was told. “Something troubling you Lt.?” Spike mumbled as he took a drag on the cigarette and eyed the younger man.
“No,” Abrams answered quickly, then, “well, yes, I guess there is. However, I fear to broach the matter with you, Sir. It might be construed as insubordination. “I’m feeling really generous, Lt.,” Spike responded with a wide grin, “broach away, please.” He took a sadistic joy in watching his Lieutenant squirm in discomfort.
“Sir,” Abrams began cautiously, “I just wondered why it is so imperitive that we quarter at the Finnwood Plantation? I mean, there is a closer one, just down the road a mile or…” Spike cut the man off with a wave of his large hand, pacing as he smoked his cigarette.
The silver haired Captain stopped his pacing long enough to give Lt. Abrams a wicked grin and an answere. “Oh,” he chuckled lowly, “it’s not the fucking farm I’m interested in, Lt. No, it’s the young woman, Mrs. Finn who resides in it that I’m interested in.”
‘Flashback 1775 Boston, Spike’s POV
Lord William Anderson was bored beyond bored at the moment and wondered once again how he had let his best friend, Alexander Harris, talk him into attending this dull party. True, Lord Anderson, son of Lord James Anderson, was on holiday from his homeland of England, that is until he entered the King’s Army,very soon. Xander Harris, who was the son of a well to do merchant from Boston in some nameless berg of the Colonies, and the Lord had met at the University. William Anderson saw an American mirror of himself, immediately, in the rambunctious Xander Harris and they became fast friends.
Not that Xander and Lord William resembled each other, no. Xander, at 6’2” was taller then William, and certainly heavier. William’s hair was nearly silver, due to a childhood illness that had killed his twin brother, James, while Xander’s was almost black. The Lord’s eyes were indigo blue, where Xander’s were chocolate brown, but they were kin, in nature anyway. Both Xander and William were notorious drinkers and womanizers and cut quite a swath through the British Isles while in College together. Where Xander enjoyed any female company, however, William preferred high classed courtesans and high priced whores.
Since the time that both Xander and William had graduated the University, middle of their class, they had continued their path of carousing and drinking from the Isles to the Colonies. At the moment, however, Lord William was stuck at this staunchy party, in Boston, with Xander and his friends at some Britishman’s home. Rupert Giles and his lovely wife, Jennifer, were certainly wonderful hosts. Could they help it if their guests were duller then dull? Even if some of the ladies present were ‘okay’ in William’s opinion, they certainly would never go for a tumble in their virginal beds. That was fine, both Xander and William could find a couple of whores, good ones, who for a quid or two would give them the pleasure they needed for the night.
At this very moment, Xander was chatting up a somewhat cute young lady, Anya something or other. This was the chit that his friend Xander was all set to woo and marry, as soon as possible, but William was bored with the would be lovers’ conversation. William sipped his whiskey, tried not to yawn in obvious boredom, but suddenly felt the urge to look up at the top of the spiral staircase that sat in the middle of the Gile’s grand ballroom. The pull to stare at the top of those stairs would prove to be a life altering experience for Lord William Anderson.
There, at the top of the staircase, poised on the brink of descending upon the mere mortals below, stood a vision of lovliness. More then that, William acknowledged in awe, this girl was a vision of a Goddess. At that moment, the long dormant poet in William reared his poncey head and acknowledged this unknown beauty as ‘his muse.’ In all of his twenty-one years, William Anderson had never felt this ‘feeling’ of euphoria that he now felt, just gazing at this angel as she descended the staircase towards the guests in the ballroom. The ‘angel’ as William immediately dubbed her, wore a pink, silk dress that brought out her golden skin tone. She wore her hair down, unlike so many young ladies of the day who put their’s up in severe buns and such.
William could not see her eyes, clearly, or at least the color of them anyway. However, once the beauty had reached the bottom of the staircase and hurried over to his own friend, Xander, he could see that the girl’s eyes were the color of the sea. She was beautiful, she was a vision, this girl was perfect. She was right in front of him, hugging his best mate, Xander Harris, which caused a wave of jealousy to wash over him.
“Xander Harris,” the vision giggled, “you’ve grown!” Xander blushed like a school girl, much to William’s disgust, “you too, Buffy,” he almost giggled himself. “William,” Xander turned to his friend, “this is our Elizabeth ‘Buffy’ Summers. This, dear sweet Buffy,” Xander gushed, “is a real Lord! Lord William Anderson of England.” The little beauty gave William a saucy smile and held out her hand, which he immediately kissed, gently.
“I am most honored, Miss Summers,” William flashed this Buffy his most charming smile. “It’s I should be honored, Sir,” she chuckled back, retrieving her hand all too quickly for his liking. “Of course,” she pouted, “perhaps I should not be so honored by a Lord? After all, soon my beloved Colonies may be free of your King’s rule and his colors will no longer fly over these lands.” With that, Elizabeth Summers turned about and flipped her honey blond tresses with her tiny hand. Leaving an opened mouthed William and grinning Xander behind.
“Why that little minx!” William stuttered in surprise. “Oh shit, William,” Xander began to laugh rather too loudly, “you’ve just been struck by Elizabeth ‘Buffy’ Summers’ arrow of cupid himself. She’s only seventeen-years-old and the heartbreaker of the Northern Colonies, already. Daddy’s Hank Summers, who owns the cotton factory up here and Joyce, his darling wife. “Yup,” Xander continued with a sympathetic shrug for William, “Buffy’s something all right. Too bad she’s spoken for, though.”
William flinched and glared at his best friend. “Spoken for?” he nearly growled in question. “Oh, yeah,” Xander chuckled lightly, “she’s engaged to Master Riley Finn, owner of Finnwood Plantation in South Carolina Colony. Finn’s farm produces a lot of the precious cotton that Summers wants for his factory. I guess that’s why he’s willing to sacrifice his only child’s happiness for…”
“What do you mean, Harris,” William growled again in frustration, “sacrifice Buffy’s happiness?” Xander shook his dark head, “I’ve heard some unsavory things about Mr. Riley Finn, William,” he lowered his voice, although Buffy’s Father seems to worship the idiot. Buffy’s a good girl, William,” Xander added thoughtfully, “as bright and shiny as a new penny. Hate the shit I’ve heard about Finn, for dear Buffy’s sake. Makes a real man sick.”
William scowled at Xander then looked back at Buffy who had begun to speak with some older gentlemen who hovered about her like old maids. “Why would Summers give his only child in marriage to an oaf like this Riley Finn?” William asked Xander, somberly. “Because William,” Xander continued just as seriously, “like I said, the man worships Finn and his cotton. Thinks Buffy’s marriage to the fool will secure the flow of cotton up here to Boston. Simple as that.”
William Anderson’s scowl suddenly turned to a bright, happy smile. “Xander, old friend,” he chuckled lowly, “you’re going to do me a real big favour. You, my old mate, are going to get me an audience with that little spitfire, Buffy Summers, alone. Tonight.”
Present Day, 1778 South Carolina
Buffy lay in her huge, fine marital bed. A lonely, empty place now and even before her husband, Riley had left for the War. Mahalia had made her some herbal tea, an apple/cinnamon concoction, that had helped Buffy relax, a little.
The British Army had been spotted, just a few miles from Finnwood and Buffy realized that she had to prepare herself and this farm for the invasion that was probably inevitable. Yes, she would give quarters to the enemy, no question, if it meant saving this farm, the servants and slaves, and young Andrew from harm. It was Buffy’s obligation, her duty as Mistress of Finnwood to protect it, the people here and the land. At the moment, however, Buffy tried to rest and dream. Dream of Boston, three years before when she was younger, single and in the company of her family and friends.
A/N: Sigh. Please read and review. Period pieces are difficult and iffy at best so I would appreciate any views readers have.
Thank you. Luv, Spuf
squawks
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!