Page 25 of A Lady's Beloved Novelist
Chapter 12
“Lady Andrea,” one of the maids spoke after knocking on the door of the library.
“I am not sure you have quite understood the rules of a library, Lara,” Andrea responded from her spot in the bay window with a book on her lap. It was one she had already read, but it provided some comfort and distraction to her.
“Forgive me, there is a caller for you,” Lara spoke in a hushed tone whilst bowing her head.
Whilst she was the only one in the silent library, Andrea shocked herself by the sound of the book that had been in her lap clattering to the floor.
“Ah,” she said whilst holding a hand out to the maid to stop her from rushing to get the book for her.“I will be just a moment, may I ask who is calling?”
“It is Lord Churchill, my lady,” Lara muttered as she returned to her position in the door.“He has a friend with him.”
Andrea was not sure who he would have brought with him. It puzzled her slightly, but she did not have time to think about it because the maid was still looking to her for instruction on what to do next.
“I will be there in a moment, would you have them shown through to the main drawing room?” Andrea asked whilst smoothing down her dark curls. She had many doubts that he would come calling, but it appeared as though Lily was right.
Her mind was reeling with all the things that could be said, all the reactions he could have. She wondered if he ever even received her letter since she never received a response. But her gut was telling her that this meeting was the response. This was it.
After composing herself for the conversation lying ahead of her, Andrea stepped out of the library and walked through the corridors of Sudeley until she reached the room to which she had asked the maid to take them to.
Sure enough, James was standing with his back straight and his hands clasped behind his back whilst inspecting the bookcase in the room. Even with his back turned to her, she found him attractive.
Andrea banished the thought from her head, feeling her cheeks heat up The man with him looked up almost immediately, but Andrea was almost certain she did not know who he was. His features looked to be forced into a pleasant smile, but she could not ignore the feeling that he was taking her in like a farmer would with good cattle stock.
“Good morning, Lord Churchill,” Andrea said, clearing her throat to get his attention.
“Ah, Lady Andrea, it certainly is.” He smiled whilst turning around and holding her gaze. Her body felt the same way it did when she was riding and faced a tall jump ahead of the horse. She was giddy with excitement since his features were soft, his eyes looked to be truthful, and there was no sign of anger in his stance.“Please allow me to introduce an old friend of mine, Sir Cecil Blakewell.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Blakewell.” Andrea bowed her head out of courtesy and smiled slightly at him. She still was not sure what to make of him, but he did not even have the decency to stand when she was addressing him.
“And to you, Lady Andrea.”
“To what do I owe such a visit?” Andrea turned her attention back to the man she really wanted to speak with.
“Well, the weather appears to be holding, and so I thought it would be a good time to come and see you for a walk? We do not need to go far, but…it would be good to speak with you.”
Andrea felt her heart fluttering as though it were a caged animal trying to leap from her chest.
“Yes, I would like that very much. My cousin Lily should be here soon, I am sure you would appreciate some company too, Sir Blakewell,” Andrea explained, unable to keep the smile from her face. So far, it did not look to be bad news. Of course, she realised there could always be the possibility that he had not checked his post yet and was oblivious to such a letter.
“Then it is settled, we will wait for Lady Carton to arrive.” James seemed just as pleased with the news.
“So, how do the two of you know one another?” Andrea stepped further into the room, relaxing a little now that she had seen James and spoken with him. It left her thoughts with a little more reassurance as to what was going on, and it certainly was not the bad situation she had been reluctantly trying to prepare herself for.
“James and I go way back to the military,” Cecil spoke from his chair, a wry smile on his face.“We were like brothers back then.”
“It has been some years since we have last had correspondence though,” James was rather quick to add in.
Andrea was still trying to work out what kind of friendship she was looking at since it did not feel like James was pleased his old friend was there.
“I thought I would come and reunite us and stay for a week or two,” Cecil said whilst shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.“James and I have years to catch up on.”
“I see.” Andrea smiled politely.“I could not imagine being so close and then not seeing one another for so long.”
“Yes, well, I suppose times do change,” Cecil said, his cheeks a little pink.
“So do people,” James added but chose not to elaborate.
