Page 20 of A Lady's Beloved Novelist
“I am yet to see this change you speak of,” James fired back quickly.“You seem like the same old Cecil to me.”
“That is because we have been walking around this estate for the last few days and there are no ways for me to prove that to you.”
“I think there have been many ways you could prove it,” James said.
Cecil narrowed his eyes but sat up in his chair a little.“Like what?”
“Well, if you were changed, you would have been able to know.”
James was not sure if his old friend would catch on to the fact that he was messing with him. James chuckled at the way he had managed to catch Cecil by using his own words against him.
“How long do you really think you will be staying here?” James tried the question again now that it was a new day. It was the same one that he had been persistently trying to get an answer out of Cecil for the last several days.“I am going to need to know because it is going to cost the cook to keep making two meals each time when he is only paid to make one.”
“You make it sound as though it is a big deal.”Cecil chuckled.“I am sure one extra meal is not going to harm anyone.”
“It will all add up though.”
Cecil shifted uncomfortably in the plush chair, but James did not let up with his eye contact.“Perhaps until the end of the month.”
James let out an exhale at the realisation that meant at least another two weeks of Cecil being around. He would not be able to get his writing done whilst his former friend was staying with him. It would be too much of a risk to try to do it secretly, and so it would simply have to wait.
A pang seared in his chest as he thought about how he could not fulfill the demands of the anonymous fan who wrote to him. She seemed desperate for new stories, and yet it would have to wait until the worm of a man sitting across from him was out of his hair for good.
“Two weeks.” James nodded slowly.“Next month will be easier when you get your money from your parents?”
“Of course.” Cecil nodded with a grin on his face. James did not trust him for a moment, but he vowed with himself that come the end of the month, he would be stricter to get Cecil out of his house.
“Looking forward to it,” James said dryly.
“Try not to sound too excited.” Cecil chuckled and shook his head.“You always were a joker, and I know that I was the but of a lot of your jokes, but I really have missed you, Jimmy.”
“Do not call me that, I am a marquess now,” James said quickly.“We arenot out in the east anymore. It matters what you call me.”
“I know.” Cecil wore his knowing smile in a way that vexed James completely.“I was just trying to get a rise out of you in the way that you do to me all of the time.”
James could only roll his eyes at the man’s words. He hated that there was nowhere else he could send Cecil. No matter how much he disliked him, the last thing he was going to do was send him out onto the streets.
“How did you even get in this financial position now that you area Sir?” James cocked his head and broke through the silence to ask.
“Well, it is quite a long story,” Cecil said whilst moving about in his seat once more. James had come to take it as a sign that he was lying through his teeth.“You see, there was an important event that I had put some money on, one that was almost a complete guarantee that you could…double your money.”
“You have gambled away your fortune and now your parents control your allowance?” James cut in to try and make the story a little more palatable.
“Something like that, yes.” Cecil nodded quickly.“Though I do not think it all went on gambling, there were quite a few parties and events that I attended where buying the best champagne was an unwritten compulsory rule.”
“Of course,” James said. He could not believe Cecil was admitting to such things quite so openly, but rumours of the man’s escapades had reached him long before Cecil had turned up in his house. James had heard all about the drinking, though it was not quite as classy as Cecil had made it sound.
He was known around for being out of control when drinking as well as being getting too close to many of the women. It was the kind of reputation that no man would want, and yet Cecil did not seem to care. It was only another item on the growing list of reasons why James did not like him.
James found it hard to believe that he had once taken pity on the man and offered him friendship, that felt like a far cry from the estranged relationship they now had.
“I was hoping to put all of that behind me. The budget has certainly helped.”
“Has it?” James asked with a frown of confusion.“But you are here and living with me for the rest of the month until you get your money to live on and drink for half of the month again until it all runs out. Have I got that right?”
Cecil’s cheeks were red as he stared down at his plate of food.
“I do not mean to be such a burden, I will try my best to stay out of your way. You can go back to doing whatever it is that you do whilst staying here, and I will get on with my life too.”
