Elizabeth certainly never would…
To anyone but Tom Courtney.
Chapter 5
Silvery blonde hair could not escape his imagination, nor the luminous eyes that had stared at him with surprising intensity.
Tom was not accustomed to seeing such glances from young ladies of the ton. Not that he was overly accustomed to experiencing young ladies of the ton at all.
They were simply not his milieu. And never had been.
Now, Tom had been to several events where gentlemen and ladies did makemerry.
Quite simply, he was more accustomed to those of the ton who had made it into matrimony where they could behave as scandalously as they pleased.
He was aware that young ladies and even gentlemen who were unmarried often had to behave in ways that did not allow them to be their truest selves.
After all, one had to be very careful when on the marriage mart.
He would never have such concerns.
Unlike, Lady Elizabeth. He was free. And he had been for some time.
Tom had more than enough money, property, and power to do as he pleased.
He’d been fortunate enough to make friends.
He’d even entertained the Prince Regent and the Devonshire set on many the occasion.
Oh yes, he had powerful friends and had witnessed things that most members of the ton could not.
But his truest friends were men such as the Duke of Blackwood, who sat before his fire drinking brandy, staring into the flames as if they might somehow lift his mood.
Blackwood was a bit of a surly fellow.
Not many liked him, but Tom did.
After all, how could one not like someone who spent so much money on the improvement of society and on the writers and philosophers of the age? Blackwood sponsored dozens of people who were endeavoring to drag the world out of darkness.
Tom did not have such lofty ambitions as complete societal change.
No, his role, he felt, was to ensure that people could be themselves, at least for a few moments, in a world that generally condemned any sort of uniqueness.
It was imperative, he felt, that people find relief in a society intent on grinding them into submission.
In his club, people could eschew the tight bonds of society, break free, say what they believed, and simplybe. It was one of the great works of his life.
He had been born into the mire.
It was remarkable that he had managed to claw his way out. He didn’t really give it much thought any longer because if he did, the shadows could creep in. Instead, he focused on the actions he had taken, the people he had managed to meet, the money that he had managed to acquire.
And the support of people like the duke.
Blackwood finally swung his gaze over as he poured more brandy into a snifter. The crystal clinking as he did so. “You seem very preoccupied today, Courtney. You’re not usually given to melancholy. That’s my line.”
“I’m not melancholic, Blackwood,” Tom assured. “I’m merely thinking of a young woman that I met.”
Blackwood’s brows rose. “My, my, my. I never would’ve thought such a thing would transpire. A young woman, is it?”