Page 67 of A Lady's Beloved Novelist
“Her father is requesting your presence to clear up some allegations that have been made,” Bella said whilst standing in his doorway.
“Is this going to be in my favour?”
“I cannot say for sure if they will be on your side, but it is not looking promising for Sir Cecil,” Bella admitted. “There are many questions being made, and he does not seem to have the answers that Andrea’s family would like for him to have. They want you to clear the air and confirm some facts for them.”
James imagined standing there and admitting that he was the author of those stories, that they were based on his own experiences and that it was all his doing.
“Cecil is still claiming to have written the new story?” James asked in disbelief.
“He is trying his best, but Andrea is throwing questions at him that he does not have a hope of answering.”
It pleased him to hear that Andrea was fighting back. But he knew that it was now down to him to put the final nail in the coffin of Cecil’s chances of marrying Andrea.
Arriving at the main house was a rather terrifying experience. James was going to have to deal with all the attention being on him, and he was also going to have to stand in the same room as Cecil.
He followed Bella inside and kept his head down as she led him through to the main drawing room. It was a place he had been to many times before but never had he felt as terrified as he did at that moment.
“Ah, Lord Churchill, it is so good of you to join us at such late notice,” it was the baron who spoke to him directly. James was slightly stunned at the number of eyes on him in the room as he let the door close behind him.
He smiled at Andrea before turning his attention to the only man in the room who was glaring at him. Cecil’s blood was clearly boiling, and James knew that he was going to have to be incredibly careful around him. Cecil was currently losing, and that made him dangerous because nobody knew what he was going to do next.
“It is my pleasure, my lord,” James said. He bowed his head politely and took a seat on the other side of the table from the rest of the family. He made sure that there was ample space between him and Cecil in the room, the last thing he wanted was the man to lash out in front of the entire family that he was trying to impress.
“We have been having some…disagreements in our conversation,” the baron continued. “I was hoping that you would be able to contribute to the conversation with your view of what has transpired?”
“Of course, I am happy to be of service.” James nodded.
Chapter 29
Andrea was trying her best not to sit on the edge of her seat. But she took a moment to glance around the room and noticed that everyone was just as eager to find out the truth. Seeing James for the first time in so long caused her heart to flutter. Writing letters to him just had not been enough to fulfil the gap that he had left in her life.
“These adventure novels that take up so much of my only daughter’s time,” her father began. “We are trying to get to the bottom of who the author is.”
Andrea could see the uneasiness on his face. This had all escalated much further than any of them could have expected. She was not even sure that they would let her be with James if he revealed himself to have such a strange hobby for a man of his stature.
“Sir Cecil is claiming them as his own stories,” her father continued to fill the silence. “But then there are now conflicting stories, and there are certain questions that Sir Cecil has not been able to answer in regard to the books.”
She locked eyes with James. He was looking in her direction as though he were asking for her permission. Andrea held her breath and gave a slight nod of her head. They had everything to lose either way and so she felt that telling the truth was simply the best that they could do.
“They are my stories,” James said finally. He looked at her father with complete seriousness. “I was the one who was congratulated for my bravery when we fought together. Cecil was one of the cowards who tried to flee.”
“He’s lying!” Cecil cut in quickly as he rose from his seat. “He is lying about all of it! He claims my stories as his own.”
“It is quite the other way around,” James continued. Andrea admired how he was able to keep his voice so steady despite the man he was against. She knew that if it were her required to answer such questions, she would not have been able to maintain such a calmness about her.
“You are accusing Sir Cecil of claiming to be the author of these novels?” her father asked. Andrea was surprised at just how interested he seemed in the entire affair.
“I am,” James spoke with confidence as he kept his head high. “He has come here into my life and disrupted everything. He even blackmailed me by threatening to reveal me as the author without my consent. That is something that I was trying to avoid because I am aware that it could mar my family’s name.”
“At least you are aware that your hobby is not the best for someone of your status,” her father said.
“It ismyhobby!” Cecil snapped. He had sat back down as James and her father spoke more, but now he was back up and out of his seat. “Why would a marquess devote his time to such a thing?”
“Why would a marquesslieabout such a thing?” Andrea countered. It was a good point, and she hoped that her father would be able to see that. “Surely, he would not risk his good reputation on something so trivial?”
She noticed that her father had now turned his attention to Cecil too. Most people in the room were staring at him in confusion. He was backed into a corner, and Andrea knew that there was nothing he was going to be able to say that would get him out of this now.
“I hear that he even claims to have given Andrea the advance copy of my latest work?” James added. “But again, this is not true.”
