Adams, Eve - The Banished Bride [Brides of Bachelor Bay 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

Brides of Bachelor Bay 5

The Banished Bride

As the youngest and most beautiful of the Prescott sisters as well as the original brides, Amelia has never had to want for anything. With a new shipment of brides due into Bachelor Bay any day, Amelia must fulfill her contract and marry or be banished. Regardless, Amelia chooses to never marry and instead live a life of freedom.

After rumors of infidelity, Andrew Gallagher releases Amelia, instantly regrets it, and returns home only to find her in a precarious position with his very own brother, Noah. Amelia is banished from the Gallagher house and the luxuries she's always known.

But the Gallagher brothers soon learn they are determined to prove to Amelia she is destined to be a bride whether she believes so or not.

In an era where land is as unsettled as the times, these brave brides fight for their right to live and love—always in threes.

Genre:
Historical, Ménage a Trois/Quatre
Length:
43,901 words

THE BANISHED BRIDE

Brides of Bachelor Bay 5

Eve Adams

MENAGE EVERLASTING

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

THE BANISHED BRIDE

Copyright © 2012 by Eve Adams

E-book ISBN: 1-61926-238-X

First E-book Publication: January 2012

Cover design by Les Byerley

All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED:
This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

Dear Readers,

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The Banished Bride
by Eve Adams from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy

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This is Eve Adams’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Adams’s right to earn a living from her work.

Amanda Hilton, Publisher

www.SirenPublishing.com

www.BookStrand.com

DEDICATION

Never hesitate to fight for your right to live, laugh, and love—however you see fit.

Chapter 1

Amelia’s Journal, Saturday, August 12
^th
, 1865

Port Steele, Washington Territory

Dear Aunt Mildred stopped by unannounced again today and drove Lizzie out of her mind for nearly three hours. How those Gallagher brothers cannot see the way that woman manipulates her surroundings to best suit herself is beyond me. When I hear her grating voice I cringe and hide out in my room until she leaves—she’s that difficult to tolerate.

On to happier words…

Tonight is another dance at Hattie’s dance hall and I cannot wait. So many men to flirt with and so little time! After I turned Jason McTaggert’s proposal away and had him in return refuse my advances when I’d come to my senses, I’ve finally come to a decision. I’d rather lose my looks than marry and be bound to one man forever. But, my dear journal, between the two youngest Gallaghers, a single woman stands no chance. I’m not immune to their charm. Alone, Andrew and Noah are a frightful power. Together, they are absolutely seductive—and far too tempting. Now I know how those sailors felt when lured to their demise by the deadly sirens. I fear that Andrew and Noah, together, would be lethal to my virtue.

* * * *

Amelia Prescott pushed her bosoms up as she studied her reflection. The new pink gingham dress she’d picked up on her last trip to Seattle fit her snug and did an adequate job of pushing her bosoms up without any help.

Still, it wasn’t enough.

If she had any plans to catch everyone’s eye tonight, she had to be flawless. Her cheeks were too pale, and no matter how many times she pinched them, color wouldn’t grace them. Flustered, she pinched them again anyway. Hard.

“I have color.” One of the little Chinese girls the Gallaghers employed stood at the threshold of Amelia’s chambers.

She turned in her seat and looked at the girl, irritated at the interruption. “I beg your pardon?”

“For cheeks. I have color. No need to pinch.”

Amelia waved her off. “Leave me.”

The Chinese girl—Amelia never bothered to learn any of their names—set her chin and spun on her heel, leaving Amelia to deal with her lack of color on her own.

Elizabeth Gallagher, Amelia’s oldest sister, glided into the room in a lovely, high-necked dress and eased into one of the chairs. The cream taffeta looked splendid on her. She had her red hair up in a loose bun, and the style really made her green eyes sparkle.

Amelia glanced into the mirror. She wore her blonde hair up on the sides with springy ringlets cascading down her milky shoulder. Her large blue eyes didn’t so much as twinkle, and she let out a petulant sigh.

She knew why. The thought of being bound to a single man for the rest of her days had her on the verge of tears. The idea gave her as much of a thrill as watching the incessant rainfall from the gray skies of the Washington Territory.

“You need to treat Ming with respect.”

“She’s a servant,” Amelia justified.

“She’s a
person
,” Lizzie countered. “What’s got you so tightly wound?”

Amelia ignored her irritation at Lizzie’s intrusion. After all, before the three Prescott sisters moved into the Gallagher mansion when Lizzie married Logan Gallagher, the sisters practically roomed together in Hattie Red’s Inn, where the remaining brides continued to stay.

Olivia, the middle Prescott sister, had since married and moved to live with her husbands, leaving the room to Amelia and Amelia alone. She loved finally having her own room for the first time in her life and would never say anything to have that taken away. If Lizzie wanted to join her in the room, Amelia was happy to have her.

“How is dear Aunt Mildred?”

Lizzie rolled her pretty emerald eyes. “That woman…” She pulled in a deep breath. “Logan does love her so. All of the Gallaghers do.”

“All of the Gallagher
men
do,” Amelia corrected. She went back to pinching her cheeks and primping in the mirror. “The women don’t fall for her little pretenses the way the men do.”

“Hmm.” Lizzie looked at her. “Sounds like someone else I know.”