Lady Anne: Book One – Ruined-
Blurb
Upon the death of her father, her Guardian, “The Honorable Robert Conrad” married her at sixteen to a vicious beast named Gerard Candor, the Marquis de Coeur. Her ‘husband’ would bring friends with him when he would arrive to provide her the small pittance she was expected to live on.
If she allowed them to use her body, then she would receive her money. If she fought them, she would be brutally beaten and receive no money.
Recognizing her need for help, her friend, Tom, helped her establish a very fine private club at her estate. With the money she received from the club games, she begins to build a fine stable of horses for the gentlemen to ride.
When the Marquis de Coeur dies, Anne celebrates with her gentleman. While she will have less money, she is certain her life will be better now.
She couldn’t be more wrong…
EXCERPT
“I have never seen nor spoken to her. Robert convinced me the travel was too wearisome, so I sent my steward to marry her in proxy. When Girard returned, he said the girl balked at signing the wedding certificate until he agreed, in my name, a promise she could remain in England on her family estate and receive a monthly stipend of four thousand pounds.”
“Four thousand?”
“Given the size of her fortune, it was not unreasonable. I felt uncomfortable at the time with this false marriage, with using this girl just to get myself out of debt. I tried to convince myself she would be happier on her estate and forcing her to come to France would just compound the cruelty of this marriage. I thought such generosity might assuage my guilt.” The Marquis sighed and shook his head. “What a generous man—to give her back a pittance of what I had just taken away.”
“Another man would have done less,” Aaron offered.
“Despite my feelings of guilt, the money was most welcomed by all my creditors. It also enabled me to send you enough to make your business a success. If that were the end of this story, I would not feel good about what I had done, but I doubt it would cast me into hell.”
Aaron frowned. “Did something happen to the girl?”
The Marquis closed his eyes. “I convinced myself she could still have some sort of life, and I would not fault her if she took a lover along the way. After all, I was not a real husband and could offer her no physical comfort.”
“Did you tell her this?”
“Not directly. I was too ashamed to even write the poor girl a letter. Instead, I sent the message with my steward when he hand-delivered her monthly stipend.”
“And how did she respond to this message?”
“With gusto. When Robert first wrote me about the girl, he spoke honestly about her faults. She was, to his mind, overly educated, opinionated, and far too full of energy. He admitted he looked forward to shifting the responsibility of her guardianship to my capable hands.”
“You are digressing, Father. What do you mean she reacted with gusto?”
“I had told her that taking a lover wouldn’t offend me, so she did just that. However, not discreetly as one would wish, and not with singularity as I had naturally assumed.”
“What are you saying?”
“I destroyed the poor girl’s hope of any honorable life of happiness. I am saying I have taken a bright young heiress and made her the lowest of whores.”
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About the Author
Liza O’Connor
Liza loves to write books. In fact, she has over fifty novels now and she still continues to publish a book a month. She writes in a multitude of genres: Romance, Comedy, Historical, Paranormal, Suspense, Sci-Fi, & Western. She even has one Young Adult novel.
Thus, her books have a wide range of heat from mild to adult language and situations, that are determined by what seems realistic for each of her many stories.
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LIZA O’CONNOR