Page 13 of A Lady's Beloved Novelist
“You do not know that yet,” Lily said.“But this is still progress, and for that, we should drink some tea to celebrate.”
Andrea could not stop herself from smiling as she thought about spending more time with James. She wanted to learn more about him, but also the stories he no doubt had to tell.
*
“Thank you for joining us on such short notice.” Andrea smiled at him from across the table.
In all the years that James had lived on the estate, he was sure he would be able to count on one hand the number of times that he had been in the vast dining room at the rear of the large castle.
He preferred his own company, and that meant declining invitations to dinner and tea. Yet when it was Andrea asking, James found himself leaping at the opportunity.
“Thank you for the invitation,” he responded back in a cool manner. The only difference in this meeting was that there were three of them at the table. James had not been anticipating her mother to join them, yet Lady Celeste Pitt was sitting at the head of the table, her eyes flicking between them.
“Yes, Lord Churchill, I was so pleased when Andrea told me you would be able to join us for lunch.”
It was a few days since James had received the letter from Andrea’s cousin that explained her situation a little better. He was still quite unable to believe that he was ultimately the creator of his own problem in the sense that he was the author of the character that she was so obsessed with. He worried that his plan to win her over with stories of adventure was to be thwarted by her mother being present.
James enjoyed speaking plainly, yet he did not feel able to do so in the presence of her mother.
“Andrea here tells me you have been spending a lot of time on the grounds as of late?”
“The weather has been so kind to us so early in the year that it feels almost wrong not to.” James smiled.“And the grounds are kept so well that it only seems right to go out and appreciate them.”
He had spent many years mastering how to flatter his guests when invited to small events like lunch or tea. James was a natural at it, however, he would have much preferred to slouch his shoulders and call everyone by their Christian names. That would not be the case that day, evidently.
“How charming.”Andrea’s mother beamed at his response.“I feel that we have not seen enough of you around here and that is completely my fault. I have been meaning to invite you to more dinners, do forgive me.”
“That is quite all right. I had a busy youth, and so time in the countryside to myself has been quite the blessing.”
“When we spoke last, you said that you were in the military?” Andrea asked from across the table.
“I was,” James said whilst shifting. He felt as though he were navigating a path that was laden with traps. Even one foot out of line could be the end of everything.“I fought overseas…but that is not the kind of talk I imagine you ladies would like to hear.”
He laughed off what he was saying, though he was slightly discouraged when nobody else laughed with him.
“Where did you fight?”
James could see her curiosity like a spark in her light brown eyes; the question had ignited something that he was afraid to put out.
“Well, I did a lot of my training in Europe, we moved through Germany and into the lower lands through Holland,” James said, glancing uneasily towards her mother. The last thing he wanted to do was make a bad impression by bringing up wars.“But ultimately, I spent two years in China fighting in the opium war.”
Andrea’s eyes bulged wide at his words, but James did not dare to elaborate. He could see another question rising to the tip of her tongue but quickly continued before she could ask it.
“I will say, the weather in the East was not what the songs claim.” James chuckled.“Everything is much cheaper over there, and that was a great thing for a time.”
“What caused you to come home?” Andrea asked.
“I fought and saw things that I did not like out there. I completed my military service, and when that was up, I decided I had overstayed. It was too violent for me,” James admitted with a slight shrug of his shoulders.“Besides, I had a duty back here, a title for me to live up to, a duchy for me to inherit one day.”
The dining room was silent as he finished speaking, and James had no choice but to listen to the ticking of the large clock above the fireplace whilst waiting for someone else to speak.
“But enough talk about those times.” James ultimately found himself talking to banish the silence.“I much prefer my slower life in the countryside as a tenant of you fine people.”
This caused her mother to chuckle lightly, the sound like a spoon delicately hitting a china saucer.
“You are too kind.” Lady Celeste flashed a smile in his direction.“This estate has been in our family for generations, and it has seen many tenants come and go. Did you know that William Blake even stayed here for a period early in his career?”
“I did not.” James shook his head. Whilst he was not completely familiar with Blake’s poetry, there would be no advantage in admitting such a thing. The poet was quite famous, and so he imagined in the esteemed literary world it was quite a feat indeed.
