Texas Tiger

chapter 13





"We don't treat ladies with disrespect in Ohio," Peter announced with a deceptive calm. "We have a solution for those who try."

"Peter! Stop it. You're jumping to conclusions. Before you make a fool of yourself, just listen..."

But Peter wasn't listening, as usual. He was glaring at Daniel. Daniel merely folded his arms over his chest, smiling back. Smiling! Georgina knew she should have killed them both the night before. She was beginning to prefer the bespectacled journalist to his counterpart who smiled with fury in his eyes. Genuine fear lodged in her middle for the first time.

"The lady's talking to you," Daniel pointed out unnecessarily.

"I'm talking to you. I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you're going to pay for this. Did you think you could walk into town and destroy my business and steal my girl and walk away again?"

"I haven't destroyed your business—yet. And I haven't stolen Georgina. There she sits. Take her with you if you like."

"Daniel!" Irate, Georgina struggled to get up from the chair. It wasn't an easy task with the blanket wrapped all around her and in constant danger of slipping from forbidden parts, but she made it to her feet. "I'm not going anywhere with anybody."

Both men ignored her protest.

Finally stifling his fury sufficiently to face Georgina, Peter turned in her direction. "If you'll tell me you made a mistake and that you want to go home again, I'll forgive you this once. Just collect your clothes and we'll get out of here."

That took her entirely by surprise. Shocked, Georgina stared at him, searching for some sign that Peter really wanted her to go with him. If there was any pain in his eyes, she couldn't see it. She couldn't see anything but his fury and his humiliation. She desperately wanted to believe that he would take her back because he wanted her, but she wasn't that naive anymore.

"Hanover Industries means that much to you?" she blurted out before she could stop herself.

"Your family means so little?" Peter retorted. "Get up and get your clothes and I'll help you out of here." Still clutching the rifle, he returned his attention to Daniel, expecting her full obedience.

"When my family allows other families to starve for the sake of their own pockets, they mean that little to me. I'm not going anywhere."

Daniel rolled his eyes heavenward and interceded. "You'd better take his advice, Miss Merry. You won't like what will happen next, otherwise."

She started to cross her arms and glare back, but remembered the blanket just in time. She grabbed it and kept it from falling, much to Daniel's disappointment, she could tell from his interested gaze. She flushed at the look in his eyes. Why was it that he always made her feel so... so naked?

"I'm fully prepared to take care of myself," she informed him coldly, before returning to Peter. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Your family is an even greater disgrace than mine. Go back and fire another clerk and work off some steam, if that's what you want."

Peter shook his head in disbelief, then pointed the rifle at Daniel. "Get your boots on, cowboy. You're about to get hitched." Over his shoulder he added, "Find some clothes, Georgina, or you'll be going out like that."

"Don't be ridiculous. You can't tell me what to do." Not completely understanding, Georgina remained where she was.

Daniel was the one who had to clarify matters for her. "Unless you wish to learn how a bullet works when it goes through a man's heart, you'd better put some clothes on, Miss Merry. I told you you wouldn't like this."

She had read about eyebrows disappearing into a person's hairline, and she suspected she was performing that trick right now as she stared at Peter. He wasn't watching her; he was aiming that silly rifle right at Daniel's heart. Why didn't Daniel just kick it out of his hands?

"Where are we going?"

"To the preacher. If you're not marrying me, then you'll be marrying your cowboy. Somebody has to take you in hand." Peter seemed completely serious.

Georgina was quite certain it was a joke. She sent Daniel a quizzical glance, but he merely waited with arms crossed for her to do as told. Scowling, she made an ungraceful retreat to the pressroom. She knew Daniel had something up his sleeve, but it would be a great deal easier if he would just pull it out now. This was becoming downright embarrassing.

She hadn't known Peter even owned a rifle. He'd probably had to borrow it from one of his brothers. She hoped he knew how it worked or he was likely to blow someone's head off.

That thought hurried Georgina's steps. She hadn't really believed she would be putting Daniel into any danger by her impulsive decision, but he was standing out there at the wrong end of a barrel held by a man who was not exactly in his right mind at the moment. Should that gun go off for whatever reason...

She hadn't been able to resist bringing along the London gown that didn't require a corset. It was the easiest thing to don under the circumstances. Pulling on a chemise and drawers, she hurriedly pulled the gown over her head and adjusted the draping respectably. She couldn't put her shoes on without stockings, so she looked around for a chair to sit on. Finding none, she sighed, and sat on the floor and jerked on the first pair she found, holding them up with tiny blue garters decorated with rosettes. All she needed now was to borrow something and she'd be ready for a wedding.

That thought struck her rather forcefully. Surely Peter hadn't really meant that? He was just trying to make her suffer. Anyway, Daniel was certain to find some way of disarming him. And no preacher in Cutlerville would marry them like this. This was just a means of forcing her out of the building. Well, she'd leave, but she would be back.

Fastening her shoes, she picked herself up off the floor and wished for a little more covering than the flowing sleeves of the gown. But her riding jacket was still wet, her winter cloak too heavy, and the gown didn't come with a polonaise to cover it, so she would have to go as she was.

More angry than afraid, Georgina stalked back to the front room to see the scene hadn't changed by much. The dog had settled down on the floor and gone back to sleep. Daniel was behaving most peculiarly. She had been quite certain that once she was out of the way he would have provoked some sort of struggle. But he stood calmly waiting for her, holding his jacket over his arm. He was wearing his boots, she noticed, and her heart sank to her stomach. They were really going out into the world like this.

Peter gestured with the rifle. "Come on, let's get this over. Reverend Herron will have left home if we don't get there soon."

Georgina's stomach swallowed her heart and carried it to her feet. Reverend Herron worked at Mulloney's because his congregation was so poor it couldn't support him. Herron was possibly the only preacher in town who might do what Peter told him without questioning.

She shot Daniel a look to see if he realized that fact. He merely settled his jacket around her shoulders and took her arm.

"The storm cooled things off," he murmured.

She couldn't believe this was happening. They walked down the stairs in front of Peter, who still clenched the rifle as if he really meant to use it. Perhaps once they hit the street and were surrounded by people, they could make their escape. Peter surely wouldn't actually shoot that thing.

But it was too early for anyone to be in this part of town. In another half hour or so, workers would begin arriving at the factory, but there wasn't a sign of them now. Even the pony was gone.

That thought broke Georgina's heart as much as anything. The pony was hers. Her father had given it to her for her ninth birthday. He couldn't take it back just like that. It wasn't fair.

She felt a tear forming in her eye, but she refused to let it fall. This was foolishness. In a few minutes Daniel would find some way to get her away, and she would go on as she had planned. She had known she couldn't keep the pony.

Peter's open chaise waited for them. It was designed for only two people, but somehow, all three of them squeezed onto the seat. Georgina was practically sitting on Daniel's knees as Peter took up the reins with one hand. The other hand rested on the rifle in his lap.

"Peter, you have quite lost your mind," she informed him. "I don't want to marry anybody. I've been trying and trying to tell everyone that, but no one would listen. Don't blame Daniel just because I had to do something drastic to catch your attention."

"Georgina, you always were a little fool. Up until now, I thought it sort of cute. It's not cute any longer, Georgina. You made your decision, and Mr. Martin made the mistake of going along with it. Now you'll both pay the price. People will understand an elopement. They will never understand your throwing yourself away rather than marrying me."

So that's what this was all about, male pride. Georgina squirmed uncomfortably, and Daniel caught her waist and held her still. She froze at the intimacy of that touch. She wasn't the sort who sat on men's laps, and they didn't lay familiar hands on her. She sat rigidly, trying to avoid any further contact.

"I am not throwing myself away. I mean to find a job and support myself. I intend to make you see what your poor clerks have to do to live."

"You're going to get married and let a man look after you before you wind up in the streets. I'm surprised and disappointed that you chose this... cowboy... over me, but I don't mind admitting I'm a little relieved. We would never suit."

"That's what I've been telling you all along!" Excited, Georgina bounced in her seat, and almost instantly felt Daniel wince. She turned an uncertain look at him, but his expression was stoic once more. In fact, she could almost see amusement behind the enigmatic gray of his eyes. She frowned, and he tightened his grip on her waist. The blasted man was enjoying this!

She turned her attention back to Peter. "I told you we wouldn't suit. I've saved you from an unhappy marriage. You should be thanking me instead of behaving like a jackass."

"Male donkey," Daniel murmured behind her.

Georgina ignored him. "Let us out, Peter, and we'll forget this whole thing ever happened."

Instead, Peter reined in the horse in front of a modest house on a quiet side street. Picking up the rifle, he gestured with it. "Get out. We're here."

Daniel slipped out from under her and climbed out of the chaise, then held out his hand to help her down. If he knew what was good for him, Georgina thought, he would run now while Peter was occupied tying up the horse. She gestured for him to go, but Daniel's face closed up like a clam's, and he caught her arm and set her down beside him.

Damn, but he was being obstinate about playing the gentleman. Didn't he know that Peter was really serious about this? Whatever Peter had meant to do before—scare her, scare him, make them beg—had suddenly become something he couldn't turn back on. He was going to force them into the presence of a minister and make them go through some farce of a ceremony. She didn't know if it would be legal or not, but she certainly didn't want to have to find out.

When they were all on the ground, Daniel pulled Georgina closer to his side and away from Peter.

"I think you'd better let me talk to Georgina privately for a minute if you really mean to carry this through. She's a mite contrary in the mornings and might not be as cooperative as you could wish."

She breathed a sigh of relief. At last, someone was coming to their senses.

Peter shrugged. "She can refuse and watch me shoot you. Even Georgie isn't that bloodthirsty."

"If you have any damn blood in your veins at all, you'll give us a minute. It's not as if we can go anywhere. Miss Hanover has the right to at least be asked properly for her consent, something you neglected to do, I might add."

It was the first sign of anger that Daniel had shown, and both Georgina and Peter looked at him with surprise. His angular face was taut with suppressed fury. Without waiting for an answer he pulled Georgina to the corner of the picket fence, just far enough to keep Peter from hearing.

"You and I know that we're both innocent, but the world doesn't," Daniel reminded her, keeping his voice low. "I'm perfectly willing to do the right thing by you, but I realize you've been caught by surprise and aren't any too ready for marriage. As long as you're..." He searched for a polite word. "Untouched, the marriage can be annulled. If you'll agree to go through with this, I promise I won't do anything to jeopardize that annulment until you make up your mind one way or another. It's awkward, but it's one way out of the situation. People will find an elopement romantic, but a scandal won't be if word gets out that we spent the night together without marriage. We can go in there and pretend this is just what we want and foil Peter's revenge, then correct it later."

Daniel was holding her hands between them and looking at her as if her agreement really mattered. Georgina was too astonished to know how to reply. In an odd way he was actually asking her to marry him. She wasn't at all certain she wished to understand the meaning of "annulment" or the consequences, but she did have some sense of what he meant by "untouched." They could be married and not married at the same time. It was a revelation that widened her eyes. She could be respectable but independent.

"We could just be..." The appropriate word was difficult to locate, but she tried. "Friends? And be married? Is that what you're saying?"

Daniel's smile was a trifle forced, but he nodded. "For a while. We'd have to decide what to do sooner or later so we don't cause any more scandal, but that will give us more time to think than your friend over there is giving us."

Georgina's heart was pounding a little frantically at the decision she was being given, but Daniel had phrased it a lot more palatably than Peter. If the world required that she be married, she'd much prefer a man who had some consideration for her opinions. Right now, she very definitely preferred Daniel over Peter. Curling her fingers inside his with nervousness, she nodded slowly.

"All right. If this is the only way." Realizing Daniel might not find this arrangement as convenient as she did, not wanting to incur his wrath any more than necessary, she sent him a pleading look. "I didn't mean for this to happen, believe me. I had no idea my father would fetch Peter. And I didn't know Peter could be so unreasonable."

Daniel's smile was a little warmer as he released one hand to caress her cheek briefly. "I'm afraid I understand altogether too well. I'm not blaming you. I have a feeling we're about to upset a few applecarts. Let's do it with style."

She grinned, took his arm, and without any preparation aforethought, stood on her toes and kissed his cheek soundly.

That would certainly make Peter think twice.