Page 2 of A Lady's Beloved Novelist
“I am just not so sure about him,” she tried again in a less decisive tone.“He looks to be slightly…shorter than I am.”
Whatever her mother had been expecting to hear, Andrea clearly did not deliver on it. She watched her mother roll her dull green eyes as she shook her head.
“You are going to end up a spinster for the rest of your life if you remain this fussy. I will be in my grave years before you let a man even get close to you.”
Andrea tried to ignore the disdain in her mother’s voice, but she knew it was a serious concern for the older woman.
“Do not be so silly, Mother, I am sure someone will come along and—”
“But who?” her mother cut her off.“There are going to be no men left to even consider courting you before long.”
Andrea wanted to explain how much simpler her life would have been if Francis Griffith were a real person, but her words would only be met by mockery. She should instead be wishing she had never let her eyes come across the first glimpses of Francis Griffith. She should have ignored the words on the page and remained reading the classic literature her mother loved.
“I just know what I like,” Andrea said whilst shrugging her shoulders. She did not think there was anything wrong with knowing what she wanted in a man, even if she also knew it was completely unattainable.
“I have proposed that we return to London for the summer, just before the new Season gets to its height. Do you really want to be known as the new addition to the group of spinsters, reading and embroidering in the corner and past the age where men think you are still desirable?”
Andrea had seen such women many times; before she understood why they were so shunned by the rest of the ton, she had been jealous of them. She did not see what could possibly be wrong with spending the rest of her days with her nose buried in a book.
But she forced herself to shake her head in response to her mother’s question. Andrea did not dare respond in case her mother had meant the question as a rhetorical one.
“I think you should give some of these men a chance at least. You cannot know within the span of one meeting if you will like a man or not,” her mother continued.
“I can learn plenty from one meeting,” Andrea said in response, though there was no point in talking back to her mother.
Her mother threw her hands up and sat back in her chair.“I do not get it. I really do not understand.”
“Do not understand what?” Andrea asked slowly.
“You are a beautiful young woman, Andrea, and we have raised you to be an esteemed member of society. Yet, you spend your days acting uninterested even when you have attracted men that are even above your father in terms of rank.”
“That does not mean anything,” she muttered.
“That means everything!” Her mother’s tone was shrill with frustration.“The son of a duke has shown his interest, and he is well regarded by society because of his military background. I do not understand how even the best of men do not have you swayed.”
Her mother’s sudden outburst was quickly followed by a rackety cough. Andrea could not help but wince, not in a rude way, but in a way that felt as though her body was beginning to prepare for the turn in her mother’s health.
“You should be grateful that men of such esteem are showing interest in you,” her mother continued after taking a sip of her tea. Andrea had not even touched her own china teacup. It was decorated with the seal of her family, a seal that she was destined to forsake in favour of another man’s family.
Andrea dared to open her mouth and muttered,“I do not think I am interested in the duke’s son.”
“Then I do not know what more we can do for you.” Her mother let out a sigh.“If even a marquess cannot garner your interest, I feel you are too fanciful for your own good.”
Andrea found herself scrunching her nose up at the word; she was not fanciful, at least that was what she told herself, she just did not want to end up with someone who would not heighten her curiosity. If there was anything worse than ending up with the wrong man, it would be ending up with a boring man.
“I am sorry,” Andrea spoke up eventually.“I know I am being difficult when I should not be. I am sorry.”
“Andrea, we need to find you a husband, and soon. Just please…pick one.”
Andrea felt her brow knitting in confusion for just a moment as the sound of a male voice drifted in from a nearby room. It did not take her long before she knew the real intention behind her mother’s conversation.
Chapter 2
“...and in the summer, I love nothing more than rowing on the river. You see, I studied at Oxford, and so…”
On it went. Andrea had never thought herself to be a talented young woman; she read, she dressed well, she behaved well in the company of others, but she never counted any of those activities as actual talents. Yet as she sat opposite the Earl of Shaftesbury, it suddenly struck her that she was incredibly good at pretending to be interested in what someone else was saying.
The young earl went on for some time about the sports that he enjoyed, and Andrea could not help but wonder when he would catch on that she could not relate to a single thing he was saying. But the earl clearly liked the sound of his own voice, and so he would only stop talking to take a sip of his tea.
