If you’re looking for books that have prim and proper young misses who sit and wait to be rescued by their knight in shining armour, this book isn’t for you. 😉
The heroine of Tom: To Secure His Legacy, Faith Eldridge, is all that is prim and proper until it become “necessary” to be otherwise, and frankly, for Faith, those otherwise times seem to pop up on a regular basis, as in more than once per week.
First, there was that time her brother’s friend fell from his horse and nearly died when she stepped in to play the part of nurse maid. (Mr. Bertram doesn’t remember that she was there, sitting next to his bed, while he convalesced. Or, at least, she hopes he doesn’t remember.)
Then, there was the time she ended up meeting the same friend of her brother at a coffee house where she had come with her brother to discuss his finances with their stockbroker while disguised as a gentleman.
And then, there was that time when she was on her way to help a friend, and Mr. Bertram stopped her on the street to ask her a question while she was wearing the same maid’s outfit as she had been when she was nursing him! How’s a girl to keep her secrets when such unfortunate meetings happen?
Basically, Faith will do what she needs to do to see to the wellbeing of her friends and family.
She’s also not terribly traditional, but she is practical and quite determined to control her own future. She won’t leave her happiness to chance. She’s going to plan and save for it, right down to the last penny.
For Tom’s part, he remembers the angel who sat beside him while he was ill, but he doesn’t remember her face – only her voice from when she sang to him. But for months he has dreamed of her.
He is no longer the wild-living fellow he was in Mansfield Park. He’s sobered up in a way that only almost dying can do. He’s never going back to who he was, and he’s determined to repay the money he wasted from his inheritance.
As fate would have it (or as this author would have it lol) the two are thrown together in Other Pens book 4 where they will work together to sort out Tom’s financial mess until tragedy upends all their plans and threatens to break both of their hearts in the process.
Before I began writing this story, I spent a lot of time researching about coffee houses and financial things like the stock exchange because this story is built on money matters — both the results of mismanagement and the work to increase fortunes. Investments and risks are front and center. Some characters are risk adverse (at least, when it comes to money), while others are not so skittish about taking a chance if it seems sound. In light of all that, I thought I’d share a few images that I have found relating to coffee houses and the stock exchange with the excerpt from Tom: To Secure His Legacy below. (This is from Tom and Faith’s first meeting, aka the meet-cute.)
“I thought it a good idea to have the two of you meet,” Mr. Clarke continued as he ushered Faith and Tom into his office. “Mr. Bertram needs some advice on how to regain some monies just as your brother is.”
“Brother?” Tom couldn’t help noticing the way the cheeks of the young gentleman, whom he had met in the hallway, had grown brilliantly red, and the fellow seemed to shift uneasily with each mention of that word brother. “I thought you said you and Robert were distant cousins.”
Mr. Clarke’s eyes darted between Tom and young Fredrick. “Did I say something amiss?”
“Yes,” Fredrick snapped.
The fellow was not only delicate looking, but he was also easily put out. However, Tom knew for a fact that Fredrick, if that was indeed his name, was not Robert Eldridge’s brother. Robert did not have a brother. He had only ever mentioned a sister.
Tom tilted his head and looked carefully at Fredrick. The youngster did bear a remarkable resemblance to Robert except Robert’s neck was not so graceful, nor did Robert have such lovely pink lips and long lashes. If Tom were to be asked to put a wager on it, he would bet that the young gentleman in front of him was not a gentleman at all, but rather a lady in gentlemen’s clothing.
“Robert has no brothers,” Tom said, breaking the silence in the room.
Mr. Clarke shifted some papers. “Quite right. I had forgotten.”
The gentleman had not forgotten a thing. Tom settled back in his chair, waiting and watching until one or the other of the people caught in this falsehood attempted to clear up the misunderstanding.
“Well…” Mr. Clarke began but then fell silent.
“You are his friend?” Fredrick asked.
Tom nodded.
“A good friend or the sort who says he is a friend and then tells tales to destroy the other?”
Tom pulled his head back and blinked. “I do not tell tales to destroy anyone. I never have.”
“Never?”
Tom shook his head. “Not once. Ever.”
“And why are you here?”
“Why should I tell you when I do not even know who you truly are?” Tom replied to the demanding fellow.
“He has spent himself into a precarious position and wishes to remedy it,” Mr. Clarke said. “Much like your… ur… brother.”
Mr. Clarke rubbed out his cigar as a clear battle played out in Fredrick’s eyes while the young fellow studied Tom.
“Very well.” Fredrick, whose voice was no longer low but rather pleasantly womanly, placed a hand on his – or rather, her hat but hesitated. “Not a word of this must leave this room. There are those who would use it to ruin me – not that I can name anyone in particular at this very moment. My friends are quite lovely, but there are others…” She pressed her lips together as if she realized she had been rambling. Her shoulders lifted and lowered as she drew a deliberate breath and took off her hat. “My name is Faith, and Robert is, just as Mr. Clarke has said, my brother.”
Beneath that hat was a neatly styled knot of hair the colour of golden sunshine with a few shades of brown and a tinge of a fiery sunset. It was set softly so that some hair would be seen below the brim of her hat just as a gentleman’s would be.
“Do you sing?” Tom whispered.
The space between her cobalt blue eyes furrowed.
“I am certain everyone sings, Mr. Bertram.”
He pulled his eyes away from her alluring lovely pink lips.
“But not all do it well,” he replied.
“Indeed,” said Mr. Clarke. “I have not heard Miss Eldridge sing, but I have seen her calculate numbers.”
Tom looked at Mr. Clarke and then back to Miss Eldridge. This angelic being was the person whom Mr. Clarke thought could help him figure out how to help him with his financial woes? “Mr. Durward said you wished for me to meet someone who might be willing to help me regain my losses.”
Mr. Clarke waved a hand in Miss Eldridge’s direction. “Miss Eldridge is the best client I have. Her brother’s accounts are replenishing themselves quickly.”
Tom turned his attention to the lovely lady beside him. He had never imagined that help could come in such a beautiful package. “Will you help me, Miss Eldridge?”
Her eyes grew wide. “Are you not going to utter your shock over my being female and in possession of a brain?”
“Why should I do that?”
That furrow from before once again appeared between her eyes. “Because most gentlemen do.”
“Do many know that you are a financial goddess?” Tom smirked as the blush on her cheeks deepened.
“No, but I have been cautioned to keep my intelligence to myself.” There was an annoyed edge to her voice.
“Fools. The whole lot of them.”
“I do not flirt, Mr. Bertram.”
“A pity that,” Tom muttered. He would love to flirt with her. “It might surprise you, but I do know that there are ladies who are more cunning than one might expect.” He held up a hand. “And not just cunning in how they can claw at each other. But in useful ways.”
“Such as finances?”
“I have not met one until now, but I do not disbelieve it possible. How else do many estates operate if the lady of the home does not see to the proper management of the accounts and possessions under her purview?”
That earned him a pleased smile.
“I will not lie. I am impressed with that answer. However, before I give my consent to help you, I must know one thing, Mr. Bertram.”
“Anything.”
The brow over her left eye rose as if she did not quite believe him. She was a skeptical sort of lady, which made him wonder why she was so distrusting.
“Why do you wish to regain your losses? Is it to keep creditors away from your door so that you are free to come and go and take your ease? Or is it more?”
“I gambled away part of my brother’s inheritance.”
She remained silent, her eyes searching his.
“I very nearly died due to my reprehensible ways.”
“I know,” she said softly.
Ah! That must be why she was so distrustful. She had heard about him from her brother. Tom shook his head. How foolish he had been. “I am not that man any longer.”
“You are not?” Lashes fluttered over wide, suspicious eyes.
“I have seen the error of my ways. However, I did not pay attention to my father’s instruction, and well, I am in need of assistance in learning how to secure my legacy, Miss Eldridge. I would be very grateful if you would help me.”
