Page 60 of A Lady's Beloved Novelist
“I am sure there must be something,” her mother said. “We will find something, we will leave no stone unturned. Something will come up and prove him to be the fabricator of the man who came to us.”
Whilst Andrea was not surprised that it was her mother who had changed her mind about Cecil before her father did, it did give her a sense of hope. Her mother had been just as determined, if not more, about getting her married as soon as possible. If even she was able to see that he was not who he claimed to be and that Andrea should not marry him, then she knew that it must only be a matter of time.
That did not make it any easier to deal with though. Andrea had gone into the conversation hoping to come out with an agreement between her parents that they could call off the wedding to Cecil. Whilst that was not the case, Andrea had to take some slight comfort in the fact that they were at least a little closer to getting that decision from her father.
Chapter 26
James was devasted by the news. Whilst he knew that it had been a long shot to get the manuscript published quite so soon, he had not anticipated the chance of doing so to be almost impossible. His printers were not going to be able to meet the demand in time, and there was no way that the edited manuscript would be ready.
For him, it was a real blow because the story was going to prove his innocence once and for all to Andrea. He was still too scared about going to see Andrea. The blackmail was still very real, and there was a chance that it could ruin everything for him.
The story that he had concocted followed all the other ones that he had written; it was based on real events in his life, only the events in the latest book were a little more recent than the other ones.
He had been hoping to sign a copy and get Andrea’s aunt to deliver it to her without Cecil or anyone else finding out. But time was no longer his friend. He knew that he should have known from his previous experience of getting his books published, but he had been certain he could fast-track the process and that it would be released within a small amount of time.
He felt like a fool for having such fanciful hopes. Part of him had even thought about going to his mother to try and convince her to fund a printer that would be able to meet the demand of his order, but he was loyal to his current publisher, and to go behind their backs would sour the relationship permanently. James was a gentleman first and foremost, and he was not going to risk his reputation in such a way.
The best that he could do with what he had was to deliver a version of the manuscript that had been printed for him. It was supposed to be the version that he would mark up with any final mistakes that he noticed when going through it, but James was planning to tell the publisher that it had been lost in the post and that he needed another copy sent to him.
It was a risk, and it could become a costly risk if they ask him to pay for the new copy, but he was willing to do so to get at least one version of the manuscript to Andrea.
He was willing to do whatever it took to have her read the story, even if it was not written in its most complete form.
The morning that the copy arrived in the post was a bright and positive start to the day for James. He had spent so long slaving over perfecting the manuscript and making sure that the story reflected the truth about the people that Andrea was dealing with.
It was still subtle enough to work as a story that others would be able to read without inferring too much. But for the few people who knew the real people behind it all, it would be a story of betrayal, pretence and bravery in the face of cowardice.
James was not sure what would happen if Cecil were to read the story. He would perhaps be angered at the notion of such a thing being published. Even when it did not include his name in it, James could see a very likely scenario where Cecil would not be too happy with the story.
But James was finished with living in fear. If nothing else, the story was going to prove to Andrea that he was the one that she could trust. It was going to be the proof she needed that he was the one writing the stories in secret.
It boiled his blood to even consider the idea that Cecil was trying to take credit for writing the stories. He had clearly picked up on the fact that Andrea was a young woman who craved adventure, and so he had used it to charm her. James could only hope that his charm was beginning to wear off. During the times that he had been close with Cecil, James had noted that Cecil was only ever that charming when he wanted something.
He arrived at Bella’s residence with the manuscript tied together with a piece of string. His heart hammered in his chest at the thought of giving Andrea the manuscript. Other than his publisher, she would be the first person to read it who actually knew him.
Whilst he wrote adventure novels that were enjoyed by many, James knew that many scholars would sneer at them and not think them much in terms of literary value. But James really had put his heart into this, and so he was terrified to let Andrea read what were essentially the personified versions of his feelings. Part of the book even spoke about his feelings towards her, and that was what terrified him the most.
What if he was too late? What if Cecil was still charming her and had her right where he wanted her? He knew that he still had to at least try, that to lose hope and not try at all just was not an option.
“Ah, if it is not my favourite marquess.” Bella smiled from the doorway.
“You always know what to say,” James said. He always felt at ease when he spoke to Andrea’s aunt. He could tell that she had seen a lot in her long life, and so she had the wisdom to help him.
“Please, come on in, we would not want any devious spies to catch you on my doorstep,” Bella said and glanced either way down the path. “If I were to own such a place, I would make sure to pay my servants enough so that they could not be bought so easily by others.”
James smiled pleasantly and followed her through the main hallway and to their usual seats.
“Did you get the chance to carry out your plan yet?”
“Oh, did we?”
Bella was chuckling as she revealed in whatever information she was keeping to herself on the topic.
“We did some good for my niece,” she elaborated only slightly.
“But the marriage has not been called off?”
“I am afraid not yet.”
