Page 69 of A Lady's Beloved Novelist
“Well, I do not think he’s going to be causing much more trouble for us now,” Bella remarked. “I think we will be lucky to ever even see the man again.”
News quickly arrived that Cecil was already out of the main house and fleeing from the grounds of Sudeley on foot. The situation within the drawing room was still rather tense, and Andrea wished that she could excuse herself to watch Cecil flee in such a manner.
But she turned to see that all eyes in the room were back on her, and she was suddenly flushing at the attention.
“What is it?” Andrea asked. But then she turned to see that James was closer to her than before. He held out his hand and motioned for her to come closer.
“I have wanted to ask this for a time,” he began, and Andrea could feel her heart leaping at what was happening. “I have wanted to come to you with this question and ask, but there have been too many obstacles in the way. Now that the main obstacle is currently fleeing down the main road of this estate, so I feel a lot more comfortable about asking this.”
Andrea was chuckling along with his words, but it truly was a moment that she wanted to remember. She savoured the way that he looked so deeply into her eyes. It was also the way that his cheeks folded into dimples as he smiled back at her, and the fact that he was shifting his weight from foot to foot and clearly very nervous.
“I suppose from that most recent outburst that it is now clear that you are in need of a husband. I know this is something that concerns your father, but, if I may, I feel that I would be able to take up this mantle and ask for your hand in marriage.”
For a moment, Andrea is too stunned to speak. She blinked a few times as silence settled in the room. Finally, they could be together. There was nothing standing in their way, and they were going to be able to share in one another’s happiness.
“I would love nothing more,” she admitted. “Yes, a thousand times, yes!”
James was suddenlyrushing over to her and embracing her in a tight hug. Andrea laughed in disbelief at what was going on. She found that her happiness was overwhelming, and tears of joy were beginning to build in her eyes. Being in his arms made it all feel real. They had both tried so hard to be with one another, and now it had all finally worked.
“I love you,” she admitted quietly. “I love you and I have for a time now. I am so sorry that I fell for the lies of that man.”
“I do not blame you,” James said. He was shaking his head whilst still beaming down at her. “And I love you too. I have loved you for a long time, and to finally hear those words being said back to me is a joy.”
Much to her surprise, Andrea turned to see the three other people who were smiling in the room. Her mother and father looked incredibly pleased, though Andrea imagined that her father was just pleased that they did not have to go through the painful process of courting someone new once more. She was going to be married, and it was a happy match at that.
“Congratulations to the both of you,” her mother said as she rose from her seat and moved over to embrace her.
“Thank you, Mother,” Andrea said. She was laughing in disbelief as she moved into her mother’s arms. It did not feel quite real that she had just gone from one very disappointing engagement to one where she felt that she would flourish.
“I shall go and find Lily for you,” her mother said. She took a step back to let her father move in for an embrace. “She will want to hear the news.”
“Of course.”
Andrea imagined how pleased her friend would be that everything had finally worked out for her.
“Lady Andrea,” James spoke up whilst clearing his throat from behind her. “Once you are finished, may I have a word in private?”
“Yes,” she said before turning back to her father.
“I am just pleased that it all seems to be falling into place for you.”
“Thank you, Father. I am so glad that the truth has prevailed more than anything. I truly thought that I was going to live a miserable life if I was to marry Sir Cecil.”
“I think we should just call him Cecil,” her father decided. “I am going to write to my connections in London with the news and see what there is to be done about a coward with a knighthood. I am sure there is a procedure in which it can be taken away.”
Andrea was content with the outcome as it was. However, she would have been lying to herself if she had said that the concept of Cecil being further humiliated did not make her smile.
“Thank you,” she said whilst nodding to him. “I suppose we should be more vigilant about who we open our family up to.”
“Indeed, and we will not be making that mistake again any time soon.”
Andrea turned to see that her aunt had been waiting patiently for her. “And I suppose it is to you who I owe the biggest thanks.”
“You are being too kind.”
“You are being too modest,” Andrea countered. “You are the reason that I was able to get letters to James without Cecil finding out. You have helped me in so many ways, Aunt Bella, and for that I will be grateful for the rest of my days.”
“It is all the reward in the world to simply see you pleased and with the man that you want to be with.”
