The Misguided Bride: The Dollar Princess Series, #2

By Shaye Muir

Texas, 1900

 

Everything She Wanted but Him

 

Daddy's little girl gets everything she wants and what Miss Eleanor Strickland wanted was the fairytale.  To marry an English Duke and to live happily ever after in a London castle.

 

But what her father arranges is anything but romantic as her intended has a mysterious past.  Was he the subject of a scandalous divorce?  Did he father bastard children?  Was he a murderer?  Gossip of mistresses and public embarrassment send Eleanor to rethink her hankering.

 

Book Two in The Dollar Princess Series

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ardent Artist Books
• Release date: Jun 21, 2024
• ISBN: 9798227004338

Book preview

The Misguided BrideTitle page

The Misguided Bride

Copyright © 2022-2024 by Shaye Muir

All rights reserved.

Book Cover and formatting provided by

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contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Thank You!

Acknowledgments

Next in the Series

New Series!

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About Shaye

one

MIDLAND, TEXAS, 1900

It was as though the air went still around Eleanor where she stood next to Mr. Archer Barnfield with whom she had been making conversation, as the young man looked to cling his hopes to the chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the center of the ballroom. While the man was dreaming that the ostentatiousness of desire would be enough for the young Miss Strickland to notice him — to notice his intention — something else took her focus and looked to draw the blood from her face. 

The young man was the last person in the room to tear his gaze away from Eleanor; everyone else was quick to relinquish their attention to the pair that was clearly stealing the night away. Miss Elizabeth Patmore was locked in arms and steps with Jeremy Hollis as they took over the floor of the ballroom, looking completely ignorant of everyone else, and consumed with each other instead as the music played. They were not the only ones who had been dancing, but whatever other movement might have been happening at the time fell clearly short of the display the two were giving everyone. Elizabeth’s cheeks looked to be burning with flush, as the man held her hand while she spun till she rolled back into his arms, and the pair ended up within inches of each other’s face. 

Whatever air was missing in the room was clearly lost in the heat that was inevitably coming from destined to be the subject of the evening. Mr. Barnfield returned to joining everyone else in watching just as the dance came to an end, and as though Elizabeth and Jeremy had been the staged performers for the night, the hands that came together in applause afterwards did not seem out of place. He looked back slowly to Eleanor and she had a sourness on her face as she turned to him. 

Eleanor regarded the man’s face with disappointment as he just stood there, half-baked and clueless. She bit the inside of her lower lip and released it just as quickly, as she reminded herself of Celine’s scolding to quit the habit. She looked back briskly at the rest of the room, and everyone seemed to be taken in some form of commentary about the display.

Looking to take advantage of the exoticism seemingly in the air and finally charm them some attention too, Archer took a step ahead and turned so she would be his focus. 

Would you do me the honor of a dance? he asked.

Eleanor minded his hand with a pinch on her face, her primal instinct was to knock it off and walk away, but because it would be so crude and character unlike a lady, she looked back up at his face, glanced beyond him to Elizabeth surrounded by girls who wanted to catch some of her blush, and Eleanor raised