Chains Of Love

By Merzibelle

Gilded Dreams

Wesley Wyndham-Pryce sat at his desk, watching the light refract off the rich, dark ruby nestled on a bed of white velvet in a royal blue box. The necklace seemed to taunt him for allowing Fred to get away that night at the ballet. The velvet-covered box sat in the center of his desk, yet another reminder of his failure to tell Fred how important she was to him. He could well remember slipping away from Gunn and Angel that evening to retrieve the necklace from the safe deposit box at his bank. He had known, somehow, that it would go well with whatever dress Cordelia had helped Fred decide on; however, there had never seemed to be the right moment to give it to her. And then, after Cordy had given him such hope, he'd caught her with his best friend. Shaking his head, Wes started to reach for the box, intending on closing it in order to return it to the bank, when a soft question interrupted him.

"What's this? It's pretty." Cordy started to reach for the small box on the desk, intending to get a better look. "Ruby?"

"Yes." Wes looked up as Cordy's hand started to reach for the box. He snatched it off the desktop, the pendant slithering along the chain to rest against his hand…

…Amelia and the Countess had paused on the stairs, standing beneath the clock and speaking briefly before both women turned to descend the Grand Staircase. The ruby he'd given her in London gleamed beneath the lights and nearly matched her dress, bringing a soft glow to her pale skin, while lightening her dark hair and expressive brown eyes. In all, she was a vision…

"….Hello… Wesley? Hello?"

Cordy's voice penetrated Wes' distraction and he closed the box, tucking it into his jacket pocket as he rose. "I need to go." He started toward the door but was halted by Cordy grabbing his arm.

"What just happened?" Cordy refused to let go, forcing him to talk to her. "One minute you're telling me that you have a ruby necklace, which I'd like to know where you got as it's obviously old, the next you're all spaced out."

Seeing that there was no chance for escape, Wes sighed and sat on the edge of his desk. "It was a gift when I was very young. The first owner gave it to me on one of her visits to see my mother. She told me at the time that she felt that it should be mine, that I reminded her of him. She never told me what she meant for she died not long after that. Mother said once that Amelia had never married and that the necklace had been a gift to her from her fiancé right before he had died, but I never knew more than that." Shaking his head, he paused for a moment, then continued, "I don't know what happened, Cordy. Maybe I just need a break---too much stress."

Both Wes and Cordy looked toward the lobby as Fred's soft squeal and laughing 'yes' echoed into the office. Wes ducked his head and Cordy started to reach for him, planning on giving him a hug, when he again rose to his feet. "I'm sorry, Wesley." Cordy's voice was soft, barely a whisper, "I didn't know."

"Doesn't matter," Wes replied, his eyes on the lobby through the window of his office. "You said it yourself, remember. Some of us are meant to be alone."

Cordelia stared at Wes in surprise, not believing that he threw her own words back at her. She just wanted to sit down and cry for him; instead, she patted his arm once. In less than a year, he'd lost two women that he loved. It hurt her terribly to see Wes like this, so broken and lost. For those brief moments that he'd been all spaced on her, she would have believed that he was desperately in love. She wondered again who he had called 'a vision' in those few seconds. Looking at him now, all pensive and sad, Cordy knew that she would keep Fred occupied as long as possible. "I'll keep her busy."

"Pardon?" Wes shook his head, shaking off the nagging feeling that he should know something. That memory seemed familiar somehow.

"I'll keep her busy. You need to figure out what happened to you." Cordy flounced out of the office, leaving Wes alone.

Wes stared after Cordy for several long moments, his hand tucked in his pocket, fingering the necklace's box. He slipped off the desk, returning to his chair and tilting it back enough to prop his feet on a corner of the desk. Settled somewhat comfortably, he pulled the necklace out of the box, wrapping the chain around his fingers. "What are you?" he murmured, twisting his wrist to clasp the pendant…

…He stood on the stairs near the ornate gilded clock and watched his Amelia speak softly with the Countess of Rothes. Both women were still attired in their eveningwear and looked about ready to retire. He casually turned away from the women to glance at the clock: 11:51. Rather late, and so he headed down the stairs to join Amelia. "Darling, it's getting late. You really should retire."

She turned toward him, smiling softly. "Of course, Alex. Will you escort me?" She blushed, ducking her head as he offered his arm to her, inclining his head to the Countess, before leading Amelia towards the stairs. They hadn't gone far when Alex saw Second Officer Lightoller giving brisk orders just outside the doors to their suite. As the couple neared, Lightoller turned to face them.

"You should dress warmly, miss. We'll be setting out the lifeboats as a precaution until we discover what's wrong with the ship."

He felt Amelia grasp his arm tightly, staring wide-eyed between both men. He, however, kept his attention on the officer, staring at him intently for several long moments before the officer nodded once and turned away, again issuing orders to the stewards. He drew in a deep breath, dropping formality in favor of expediency, nearly dragging Amelia at a brisk walk down the short passage to the suite. Within was her maid, and to both women's shock, he started issuing orders. "Amelia, go change. Put on your warmest things; it's a cold night out. Annie, you too. I want you to stay with Amelia. You'll both be safer that way."

He stepped closer to Amelia, resting his hands on her shoulders before allowing a finger to trace the chain of the necklace he had given her. "You are so very precious to me; never forget that." Stepping closer to her, he raised a hand to cup her cheek, stroking it with his thumb before kissing her with all the passion for her that he had kept hidden since the engagement. Amelia gasped, before wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning into him. Slowly, reluctantly, he ended the kiss. "Go change, darling."

He watched her walk away, listening to the maid asking worried questions about the noises in the corridor and why they had to change and get in the lifeboats. Both women's voices were drowned out by the sudden din of the steam escaping from the boilers. He leaned against the wall by the door, trying to remain calm for her, though he knew just from the expression in Lightoller's eyes that the ship was doomed. However, he would see his Amelia safe.

He looked up as Amelia and Annie rejoined him, both bundled up in warm dresses and coats. To his surprise, they seemed to be having an argument, which Amelia ended by tucking something within her dress, saying, "He gave it to me. I won't lose it if someone decides to rummage in our rooms." He offered both women his arm, leading them from the suite up to the boat deck.

There it was organized chaos, and he could see at least one of the lifeboats had already left. He moved through the idly milling crowd, most of whom didn't want to leave the perceived security of the ship until he found Lightoller loading one of the boats. He stopped there and listened for a moment as Lightoller insisted on only women and children being allowed into the craft. He bowed his head, feeling Amelia clutch his arm tighter, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"I don't want to go. It's safer here." She said quietly, "Can't I stay with you?"

"No, darling." Taking a deep breath, he looked toward the bow, then down at her. "If what we were told is correct, you'll be back in time for breakfast. Just do this for me. I don't want to worry about you." Leading her toward the lifeboat, he caught a quick glimpse of the chain to the necklace he had given her, one of the small rubies catching the light from the rockets being set off behind them.

Lightoller glared at him, but he ignored the man. Stepping to the side of the lifeboat, he watched as Annie, far more realistic than her mistress, scrambled in and waited for Amelia. He took Amelia's hand, kissing her cheek one final time, whispering into her ear, "Be happy, my darling, my love."

Handing her into the boat, he watched as Annie wrapped an arm around Amelia, nodding once at him. He knew the maid understood and would watch out for Amelia. He stepped to one side, watching as the boat was slowly lowered to the waiting waters of the Atlantic. He leaned on the railing, staring after her and listening to the sounds around him, feeling the bow slip lower and lower. Only when he could no longer truly make out which boat was hers, did he slowly turn away, returning inside in search of a drink, not wanting to see what was coming…

…Suddenly freezing cold, Wes jerked, and the pendant dropped from his nerveless fingers. He stared at the dangling ruby for a moment before dropping the entire necklace onto the desk beside him. He stared, unseeing, down at it as his mind tried to process what had just happened. All that he could truly understand was that Amelia reminded him in some soul-deep way of Fred. They shared those wonderful eyes that made you feel like you were the only man in her world. For a brief moment, his mind was flooded with the memory of the kiss, the desperation that had colored it.

Shaking his head, he carefully gathered the necklace up and tucked it into his pocket. Now, even more than before, did he feel that he needed to give the necklace to Fred. It was hers, not his.

Rising to his feet, Wes slipped out of his office, intending on going upstairs to see her. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, Fred appeared at the top of them, once again wearing that beautiful red dress from their ballet night. Again, Wes had a brief image of her in a similar dress standing on a much grander staircase. Seeing her smile at Gunn, who had entered the lobby from the front doors, made his heart ache.

Bowing his head, Wes stepped back into the shadows of the short corridor off the stairs. From there he watched as Fred carefully descended the stairs, looking across the lobby at Gunn waiting for her. Taking a deep breath, Wes stepped out of the shadows behind her, lifting the necklace over her head so that she caught a glimpse of it before he settled it against her skin. It was only years of training that kept his hands from shaking as he carefully did up the clasp, releasing the chain to rest against her skin. He took a moment to smooth a hand across one of her shoulders before whispering to her, "Be happy, Fred."

Fred gave Wes a questioning look, but he just waved her across the room toward where Gunn was standing, waiting patiently for her. She crossed the room, carefully lifting the skirt of the dress to climb the short flight of stairs leading to the front doors. Yet as she joined Gunn, something made her half turn to look back at Wes, who stood on the far side of the room, leaning against the lower stair railing. His expression seemed to be one of resigned acceptance, and it bothered her enough to voice the nagging doubt that was suddenly hounding her: "Must I?"

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