Willow continued "His son Joseph-Angel's father-inherited the family business in 1936 and promptly went through the money like water. By the time he died in 1943 the family fortune had gone from several million to several hundred thousand. Then his oldest son, Angel, took the reins. He couldn't hold onto his grandfather's original property in Boston, but he did manage to save the estate on the coast where he grew up."

"Sunnydale?" Buffy asked.

"Right. The family's fortune tends to run in cycles, apparently; Sean's father and mother died young, then Sean came to the US. After he married an Italian girl called Rosanna Carmelito, he apparently gained some sort of family talisman and he promptly grew rich. He and Rosanna were very happy, according to the few accounts I could find-they both lived into their seventies." Willow took a sip of tea, then continued.

"Patrick married in his thirties, after he'd increased the family fortune by about three hundred percent. His wife Catherine died young and he apparently didn't have much to do with Joseph growing up, which might help to explain his behaviour. Joseph married a girl called Elaine O'Shaunessy, the daughter of a Latin professor at Harvard. She's the one who gave Angel such an unusual name."

"What's the story with that, anyway?" Buffy asked.

"Well, for a start his name is actually Angelus, according to his birth announcement. I looked it up, and it means either 'angelic one' or 'one with the angelic face'."

"She got that right" Buffy murmured absently, staring at the picture that accompanied the first article.

Willow's eyes danced at the tone of her friend's voice, and she hid a smile before adding, "Angel is also guardian to two minors, his younger brother William and their distant cousin Drusilla-descended from Rosanna's sister apparently. He was seventeen when his father died, but didn't start doing the social scene until the Roarke millions had been firmly established again, about three years ago. There isn't much on him before that-only a few articles, including the second one in the pile."

Buffy slid it from the folder and skimmed it. From the LA Times' business section four years ago, it detailed one of Angel's biggest business deals, a hostile takeover of a company belonging to a man called Luke Vessel.

"What's so interesting about it?"

"Look at the picture." Willow told her.

"I don't see it."

"Left hand."

Buffy did, and frowned. "That looks like a wedding ring."

"That's what I thought, too, but there's no mention of Angel ever being married in any article. I went through back issues of all the newspapers we store, right back to 1943. There's no wedding or engagement announcement, no notice of divorce-or any obituaries since Joseph. I could try the Hall of Records, but…"

"No, Willow, this is fine" Buffy said, frowning. 'Thanks."

"I could be mistaken-"

"I don't think so" Buffy said, the instinct deep inside her that always warned of danger, starting to twinge in alarm.

"I'm sorry I don't have better news for you" Willow said tentatively.

"Don't be silly, Willow-this might not be relevant, and it's not like I haven't had clients who don't tell the whole truth before." Buffy's hand involuntarily went to her chest, and she rubbed a spot just above her left breast.

"But this is different, isn't it?" Willow asked.

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked, her eyes still locked on Angel's left hand in the picture.

"You like him, don't you?"

"I've only met the man once, Willow."

"Sometimes, once is all it takes" Willow told her, showing the inner wisdom that sometimes made her seem much older than her slim frame and cheerful expression indicated.

Buffy looked up, and gave way to that wisdom as always.

"The second I looked at him, it was like something…woke up inside me. And when he smiled" Buffy gave Willow a goofy grin and added, "my stomach went all funny. I mean, I haven't felt anything like that since-"

"Owen" Willow finished for her.

"Yeah. But Owen never made me feel like this. Owen was sunny, and romantic, and gentle…Angel is like" Buffy paused and thought for a second. "He's like the eye of a hurricane. He seems so calm and cool, but the longer we talked, the more I felt there was a storm building up, full of thunder and lightning. I could sense it brewing inside him, all the heat and passion and fury-" she broke off and sighed, taking a sip of her almost-drained coffee before she said in a depressed tone "I'm getting ridiculous. All I know is that when he kissed my hand-"

"He kissed your hand?" Willow said, impressed.

Buffy nodded and continued "When he kissed my hand, it was like I could feel it all over my body. He also gave me The Look when he saw my legs, then went straight to my face."

"No stops on the way?"

Buffy shook her head.

"Wow" said Willow, even more impressed.

Buffy looked up from her coffee cup and told Willow "I can't give way to this. I never get involved with clients or anyone I meet on a case. I have strict personal rules about this, Willow, and I'm not about to break them. Not even for an Irish angel."

Willow looked skeptical and told her "From what I know of Angel Roarke, one of the reasons he's so successful is his ability to turn the rules inside out and gain from it."

Buffy gave Willow a rueful smile, and said "Wish me luck, Will. I think I may need it."

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