Page 55 of A Lady's Beloved Novelist
“Tell me, child, how bad has it been for you?” Bella asked, sitting opposite her. “Can we also get some tea?”
“Of course,” Andrea nodded before signalling to one of the servants at the edge of the room. “It has been rather…unpleasant.”
“I have been speaking with the marquess, and from what he has told me I can only imagine what you have been subjected to,” Bella said.
It was rather refreshing to hear someone acknowledging how she was feeling without judging her or telling her that there was no other option.
“He is rude and unbearable,” Andrea went on to say. “I have never met someone who is so careless of other people’s feelings and opinions. I know that he is lying to me about being the author of the adventure books that I so love, but I am not sure what else he is lying to me about. I know that cannot be the only thing, and so it scares me to think what other things he is keeping from me.”
“Try not to think about those, I fear you will only drive yourself mad in the process,” her aunt said after considering her words for a moment. “I am sorry to hear that you are suffering so much. I feel that women suffering at the hands of men is something that happens so often, and yet is spoken about so little in our society. I really do hope it changes.”
“I hope my fiancé changes,” Andrea added. “And I do not mean that I hope Cecil changes, I think we are long past that. I hope that someone else can take his place because I cannot see myself marrying him.”
Bella’s expression slowly slid into a grimace as she nodded in agreement.
“Yes, I do believe that Sir Blakewell may be too far gone to be able to change,” Bella said finally. “I have heard stories too. I just wanted to come and see you to let you know that James and I are trying to find something that could help us with this mess.”
“Thank you and tell James that I say my thanks to him too,” Andrea said in a lower voice. The last thing she wanted was for Cecil to hear such a conversation.
“I think Abigail may want to get involved too,” Bella spoke as though she were warning her.
Andrea chuckled at the thought of two old widows teaming up together to stop the plot of a man with a knighthood.
“Only as long as she does not tell the entire estate about this business because that would really hinder everything,” Andrea said.
“I have already told her of the importance of not spreading this news, do not you worry.”
Andrea could tell that her aunt really cared about her wellbeing. She wondered if she cared more than her own mother sometimes.
“He has been trying to bring the wedding forward,” Andrea said after a pause of silence. “Unfortunately, that is also music to my parents’ ears and so they are both pressing me to agree. I have pressure coming from almost every side now, and I do not know how to hold them off for much longer. Knowing that the wedding is in the autumn was the only thing keeping me sane. It meant that I had time to find a way out of this.”
“We will still find a way. The summer is long and stretched out before us. Perhaps you could compromise with an end-of-summer wedding?” her aunt suggested.
It was true that the idea would give her at least a few more weeks to stall and get out of the engagement entirely. Andrea just did not like the idea of appearing as though she was going to give in to the pressure she was under. But that was just her pride talking, and she was going to have to find a way to rise above it.
“All right,” she said finally. “I think I can do that.”
“Good, and then I will speak with both James and Abigail once more. I have a plan forming.”
Andrea had never seen the look on her aunt’s face before. She was scheming something, that much was clear. She felt a sense of reassurance to have Bella in her corner and fighting for her, it gave Andrea some hope that soon this would all be over.
*
“I have a plan, but I need you to tell me everything that you know about Cecil Blakewell.”
James had not even stepped in the doorway yet, and he was already feeling bombarded by Bella’s attitude. There was a look of determination in her eyes that made her appear slightly younger. She was already stepping away from the door and walking down towards the room where they always had tea together.
“Am I going to hear the details of this plan first?” James asked with a chuckle as he walked through the wooden-panelled halls after her.
“Of course. Abigail and I are going to dine with my sister and her family. Cecil will be there, and I am just going to ask him some…questions. I would be a fool to not want to know my nephew-in-law, would I not?”
James could not resist the smile that had spread across his face. He had spent many late nights staying up in an attempt to get his book finished, and this was the satisfaction that he had been needing to hear.
“That sounds like a wonderful idea.”
“I am glad you think so,” Bella said as they stepped into the room and saw that Abigail was already seated. “We would love to know more about the man that my niece might be marrying.”
James did not like how she had phrased it. He was going to make sure that Andrea did not marry Cecil, even if it was going to be at the expense of his own reputation.
