Tainted by Association

By Gabriella Mahoney

Book 1 of the Ruined Series.

Letitia Grady is smart, beautiful, rich... and ruined. She was scarcely out of the schoolroom when her eldest sister eloped with a man, only to come back from the adventure unmarried still. Because of a choice that was not even her own, Letitia has been forced to the fringes of society to dwindle into spinsterhood. No respectable man would risk his reputation offering for a woman tainted by association.

However, there is nothing respectable about Sir Randall Scott. For most of her life Letitia believed she wanted nothing more than a normal existence... now she's not so sure.

This short historical romance novelette is approximately 13,500 words.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gabriella Mahoney
• Release date: Apr 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311531827

Gabriella Mahoney

Gabriella Mahoney is a California girl that has been writing since grade school. As an incurable bookworm, she remembers when her best friend first introduced her to Georgette Heyer and the world of Regency romance like it was yesterday. Gabriella likes to write in a variety of genres but she is especially fond of short form fiction and exploring the new romantic possibilities it creates.

Book preview

Tainted by Association

Book 1 of the Ruined Series

By Gabriella Mahoney

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Published by Gabriella Mahoney at Smashwords

Copyright 2016 Gabriella Mahoney

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Chapter 1

A man—or more of a boy, really, because he was only seventeen at the time—once told Letitia Grady that she was born old. The comment was uttered in a complimentary fashion, which lessened the blow only slightly. It was still not the type of thing one hopes to hear from one’s dance partner.

But he was right, I’m afraid.

Letty was born old in spirit. She had never craved adventure. All she ever wanted was a practical, ordinary life. When her schoolmates giggled over the wild romances found in the pages of novels Letty had to force herself not to question why they found such an unstable existence to be appealing. Perhaps it was because her life had been everything except for normal.

Letty’s father, Lord Grady, was a pleasant but inattentive sort of man. He cared for his daughters but would hardly notice if one of them went abroad for a month and came back browned from the sun. This inattentiveness was exactly the reason why Letty had an abnormal existence thrust upon her.

When Letty was scarcely more than a child her elder half sister decided to run away with a man. Vanessa had always been headstrong and resented how quickly her father decided marry Letty’s mother after he became a widower. In Letty’s opinion Vanessa eloped more as an act of rebellion than of love. To make matters worse she returned from her escapade still unmarried. Vanessa remained tightlipped about the whole ordeal, leaving her family to only suppose what must have happened to make her change her mind.

Letty cared for her half sister and would not wish her to be trapped in a miserably unhappy marriage. However, it was often difficult to maintain an attitude of Christian charity when one’s sister managed to destroy one’s own hope of ever finding happiness. Life could be such a fickle beast.

Good riddance, I tell you. Governesses seem to cause nothing but trouble! They’re all the same, you know.

Letty blinked twice as she turned her attention back to the conversation at hand. Mrs. Moore was always an endless stream of mundane grievances. Still, it was better than sitting alone and having people stare. Letty hated the staring. Even worse was the staring followed by scandalized whispering. It seemed incredibly unfair to her that she was exemplified by society as a woman whose example should be avoided at all costs when she hadn’t done anything wrong. Her sister was the headstrong one, not her!

At this rate I may as well just run away with a man of my own and have done with it.

But running away would only make things worse. As it stood she was at least acknowledged by society, though gently pushed to its outskirts. Matrons felt at ease making conversation with her… even if they did encourage their sons to look elsewhere for marriage material.

It was discouraging but Letty refused to give up hope just yet. It was true that she was three and twenty but she had a comfortable fortune. So while she may not be in her first bloom of youth it was surely only a matter of time before an impoverished but respectable clergyman’s son was willing to overlook her social faults and make an offer for material gain.

"I dare