Page 66 of A Lady's Beloved Novelist
“I…I would do so, but I wanted to keep that a private message between us,” Cecil said, trying to appear as though he were bashful. He laughed it off, but Andrea let her expression dissolve into one of confusion.
“No, go on, it really was lovely,” she urged. “I would love for my parents to hear it. For you to explain that this story was written for me, and…”
She had set the prompt, but he simply stood there with his mouth slightly open.
“Spit it out, son,” her father spoke up. He leaned forward in his chair a little as though he was expecting Cecil to speak quietly.
“Well, it was just a note detailing my affections. We have exchanged many of those.”
His laugh was nervous as he shrugged his shoulders and glanced between the expecting faces.
“No, we have not.”
Cecil turned to her as soon as the words left her lips.
“I wish that were true,” Andrea continued. “But that was why I appreciated this note so very much. I had not been expecting it at all.”
“Well, what can I say? I am glad you enjoyed the surprise,” Cecil chuckled.
“And what is this story about, Sir Cecil?” her aunt asked.
Andrea was silently celebrating. This was what she needed, a question that had him backed into a corner with nowhere to go.
“It is about…it is about a lot of things. I would not like to spoil it for you all, even though it is not something that I expect you would read…”
He was stumbling over his words, and Andrea was pleased to see it. She cocked an eyebrow at his inability to answer any of the questions properly.
“You do…know what the book is about. Do you not?” she asked him carefully.
“What is going on here?” Andrea was pleased to finally hear her father speak up properly. “Why can you not answer such simple questions?”
“It is just that I…well I…”
“I know someone who may be able to clear all of this up,” her aunt stepped in.
“Who?” her father asked. “We should get to the bottom of this quickly. I do not wish to spend much time on it.”
Andrea could tell that her father was only aggravated because the truth was not presenting itself to him. She knew that there was little more that would vex him than that.
Her father was glancing from Bella to Cecil in confusion and quickly shook his head.
“The man who actually resides on this estate, the marquess who was firstly interested in courting your daughter.”
Bella pointed this out as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Upon hearing her words, Andrea turned to see that Cecil was clearly seething at the idea of bringing in James.
“He does not need to be here,” Cecil said quickly. “He is one of the main people who continue to spread lies about me!”
“I actually agree with Lady Bella.” Her father’s voice was commanding and unwavering. “I think it would be good to hear from the marquess too. Especially with the…uncertainty that this situation has caused.”
Andrea could not believe that her father was being serious. This could not have gone any better for her.
*
Being summoned to stand in front of the Pitt family and admit that he was the one who had been writing the stories that their daughter loved so much was a rather intimidating notion for James. He knew that it was a secret that would one day come out, but he had not been expecting it to be so soon. He was not prepared, and there was still the chance that it could go horribly wrong in the interim.
But this was his chance to declare his feelings for Andrea to her parents. He wanted to show them that he was the right man for her daughter to marry, and he was not going to bring her unhappiness in the way that Cecil had already done.
It was her aunt who came to get him.
