Page 61 of A Lady's Beloved Novelist
Disappointed, James had been hoping to hear that Bella had spoken so outlandishly with the accusations against Cecil that they had no choice but to throw him out. But society was rarely so callous in its behaviour, even within a family dinner.
“But you should have seen him squirm, I feel that you of all people really would have liked to have seen it,” Bella said. She was still chuckling to herself as she took a sweet from the bowl on the table between them.
Over the course of their meetings, James had noticed that Bella most certainly had a sweet tooth. Other than tea leaves, it seemed to be the only other thing that she had a constant stock of within her residence. He marvelled at the fact that she had any teeth left due to the number of sweet bowls she kept well stocked.
“I am glad that he finally got to feel uncomfortable in regard to some of the things he has done over the years. It is about time that he sat there and listened to his reputation.”
“Oh and Abigail and I were on fire. We were going back and forth between ourselves and commenting on the various accusations. Seeing him try to justify and lie to get out of actually answering for them was quite the delight.”
“And what of Andrea’s parents? Was the baron outraged by the claims?”
“Baron Rivers remained quite silent throughout. I cannot say if he was angry or curious really. I do not think he said a word throughout it.”
Hearing that Cecil had left the house shortly after Bella and Abigail left the dining room brought James even more satisfaction. He so wished that he could have been at the dinner to see it all play out for himself, but he knew that would not have been right. It would have set in motion everything that he was trying to prevent.
“I have something that I would like you to give Lady Andrea.”
James placed the stack of papers down on the table. It was quite a lot now that he considered it upon reflection.
Bella clicked her tongue and paused for a moment before finally speaking up. “And you want her to read it all?”
“It is a lot, but I know that she enjoys reading. It is an adventure novel, and I am not expecting her to read all of it, just the parts that I have highlighted.”
“Knowing her, I am sure that she will consume every word,” Bella remarked. “I will make sure that she gets it,” Bella said finally.
“Thank you so much, I know that I already owe you such a great debt, and I promise that I will one day find a way to pay it all off to you.”
“I only ask that you make my niece happy. She deserves at least that. I have seen how miserable the current man at her side is making her, and it is not a becoming sight at all.”
James wished that he could go to her right at that moment to tell her that everything was going to work out as it should, that he would be with her in the end. But he was not even sure that he could trust in that statement. Cecil had played a good game, and James had not even seen it coming.
“I hope she understands who is who in this novel,” James admitted.
“She is a smart girl, she will know. I would not say such a thing if I were you, it doubts her intelligence, and that girl is a lot smarter than either of her parents would ever give her credit for.”
James could imagine that with a lifetime of reading under her belt, Andrea could rival some of the literary scholars if they were ever to recognise his novels as great literary works. It pained him to realise that her talents were wasted on her, but she seemed content with her love of his books.
“I suppose all that I can now do is wait,” he said, followed by a weary sigh. Everything had been building up to this, and now he was letting it out of his hands once more. It was a scary notion, one that he was not sure that he wanted to trust in, but he had to have some faith that her aunt was going to prevail and deliver the work to Andrea.
“If she comes to me, then I will make sure that you are aware of the news as soon as possible,” she promised him.
“Thank you, Lady Bella. I must say that you have done more than I could have ever expected of you, and for that, I will be forever grateful.”
But for now, James could rest. He no longer had to put his ink to paper. It was all done, and he just had to wait to see if his words would resonate with her for the most important time. During the writing process, he had thought of all the other books that Andrea had read so many times. It shocked him that she was such a fan of Dean Morris’s writing, but it had made him want to write more.
Now that he had actually done it, it was the first time since first going to the publisher and letting the editor read it that he was anxious for someone to set fresh eyes on his work.
*
“What is it?”
Andrea eyed the brown paper carefully. Someone had clearly done a rather shoddy job at parcelling up the contents of the package. But her aunt merely shrugged her shoulders.
They were meeting out in the open, for everyone to see, and so Andrea figured that whatever it was, it could not possibly be anything too scandalous.
There were servants in the room, eyes everywhere. Andrea was not sure what she could say around who anymore, and she hated that it was all Cecil’s doing. He had turned her home into such a thing with his lies.
“It is those silly postmen again who come by the house, they seem to always be mixing up our post. It has gotten much worse recently,” her aunt said. Andrea noticed the way that her voice suddenly carried across the room, as though she had been intending for all to hear.
