Also by

Books by Mary Jo Putney

The Lost Lords series
Loving a Lost Lord
Never Less Than a Lady
Nowhere Near Respectable
No Longer a Gentleman
Sometimes a Rogue
Not Quite a Wife
Not Always a Saint

The Rogues Redeemed series
Once a Soldier
Once a Rebel
Once a Scoundrel
Once a Spy
Once Dishonored

Other titles
Dearly Beloved
The Bargain
The Rake
Mischief and Mistletoe
The Last Chance Christmas Ball
Seduction on a Snowy Night

Title Page

MARY JO PUTNEY

ONCE DISHONORED

All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

Copyright Page

ZEBRA BOOKS are published by

Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018

Copyright © 2020 by Mary Jo Putney, Inc.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales, or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.

If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

Zebra and the Z logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

ISBN: 978-1-4201-4811-4

ISBN-13: 978-1-4201-4814-5 (eBook)
ISBN-10: 1-4201-4814-1 (eBook)

Dedication

In memory:

Bradley V. Clark
Friend, ace accountant,
and lunch buddy.

And:

Ruth Cohen
The wonderful agent
who opened the door
to my new life and career.

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

London, March 1816

Lucas Mandeville hesitated at the entrance to the ballroom and thought of cannonballs crushing masts and setting sails ablaze. Bellowing sailors and hand-to-hand combat with pistols and cutlasses. In his Royal Navy days, he’d fought his share of sea battles with the French, had almost died in one. And he’d rather be on a burning deck than in this ballroom.

But he’d made a private pledge to do his best to reestablish himself in the world he’d been born into despite the number of people who would give him the cut direct, or worse. He cast his mind back to his one youthful season in London, when he was an eager young midshipman. He’d enjoyed the balls and dancing and flirting with pretty girls. Surely he could do that again.