Howard Haskell Takes A Bride (The Brides of Paradise Ranch Book 0) Read Online Free PDF

dance,” Henrietta echoed.
    Bravery, that’s what Elizabeth called it. Daring. The kind of daring that would take a man far in life. All the way out to the burgeoning land of the West.
    “He was rather handsome, though,” Isobel added. She stood on the opposite side of Elizabeth from Madeline and Henrietta, and had been taking up the role of advocate for Howard Haskell since they’d set out from Clay Street.
    “Ugh.” Madeline wrinkled her nose. “He was far too tall for my tastes.”
    Tall. Elizabeth sighed. Yes, Howard was tall. Delightfully so. And as handsome as Isobel said and more. Elizabeth had never seen a man with such vibrant eyes, such an arresting smile. He was well-formed, and she was certain that he could labor with the very best men making their way West. If anyone could tame the wild wilderness, it would be Howard.
    And he wanted her to come with him.
    She sighed again, so obvious that Henrietta and Madeline rolled their eyes.
    “It will all come to naught, you realize,” Madeline said, her attitude a little too superior for Elizabeth’s liking. “Your mother will see to that.”
    Elizabeth’s dreamy spirits sank. “She will not.”
    But, in fact, Elizabeth had a terrible feeling that she would. Her mother was nothing if not persistent. She wanted Elizabeth to marry Jonas Armstrong as much as her father did, maybe more. The match would mean that she would be admitted into the highest circles of Cincinnati society.
    Once again, Elizabeth was a pawn.
    “I’m sick and tired of being a piece in someone else’s game.” She let her thought be spoken aloud. When her friends gasped at her boldness, Elizabeth stopped and faced them, gripping the end of her parasol tight enough to break it. “Well, I am. Don’t you want something more than to be maneuvered by your parents into a loveless marriage? Don’t you want to fall in love and have adventures?”
    Madeline laughed. “I want to adventure to the finest couturiers in Paris on my husband’s dime so that I can dress like a queen.”
    “And you will if Horace Trumbolt continues to pursue you the way he has been.” Henrietta supported her, the light of new gossip in her eyes. “Did you see the way he—”
    “There is more to life than Paris fashion and being pursued by wealthy men.”
    Madeline and Henrietta blinked, their backs going up in offense at Elizabeth’s proclamation. Isobel shrank under her parasol by Elizabeth’s side.
    “There may be more than that for you,” Madeline rounded on Elizabeth. “For those of us whose fathers do not have as solid a foothold in society, a suitable marriage is the difference between a life of comfort and a life of disgrace.”
    “Well, maybe I would prefer a life of disgrace.” Elizabeth raised her voice, shocked with herself for doing so on a street corner. A street corner near her father’s place of business, for that matter. But her heart was about to burst with newfound feeling. “Perhaps I want a life of adventure. The unknown is exciting.”
    “The unknown is dangerous,” Henrietta replied, eyebrow arched.
    “Then perhaps danger is what I crave.” She knew it was true the moment the words were spoken. So much for not being one to take risks. “Anything is better than living my life at someone else’s whim.”
    “Not anything,” Madeline contradicted her. “Not social disgrace.”
    “Well, I think—”
    Henrietta froze, her jaw hanging open, as she and Madeline spotted something over Elizabeth’s shoulder. Frowning, Elizabeth turned, Isobel with her.
    Her heart knocked into her ribs, then sped up a hundred times. There, coming toward them, in discussion with the man she recognized as his friend from the night before, was Howard himself. The two men were laughing and gesturing, as if sharing a story.
    “Howard.”
    She spoke loud enough that even though Howard was on the other side of the street, he heard her. His head shot up, and a moment later, delight filled his