Texas Tiger

chapter 19





"Georgina Meredith, I'm going to have to put you in chains. Now will you quit your meddling and go to bed? I'll be there just as soon as I get this last piece set."

"I'm not meddling. The story in this edition of your paper could blow up in both our faces if it's not done right. I have just as much right to go over it as you do."

The frightening part about it was that she was quite right. Daniel shoved his glasses back on his nose and glared at the back of her head. In the lamplight, Georgina's hair gleamed almost silver. She had stacked it untidily on top of her head after washing it earlier in the evening. Daniel had known Georgina had a penchant for anarchy from the first moment he had met her. He just hadn't known what it would mean to his own life. She was destroying every defense he had ever erected.

Reaching for the pencil behind his ear, he growled, "I've been doing this a lot longer than you have. Have a little confidence in me, if you please. You can go over it again in the morning."

The truth was that Daniel would prefer it if she would go on to bed now and be sound asleep before he got there. That reduced the temptation to a certain degree. She had worked as hard as he these last few days to put together this next edition, and he would be a heel to disturb her sleep. But she sure as hell disturbed his.

It was his own damned arrogant fault, and he couldn't blame Georgina for his predicament. He just hadn't thought his unwanted wife would cause him so much trouble. He wasn't like some men, thinking and dreaming sex day and night. He lived in his head as much as his body, and the two had got along well all these years. It had never occurred to him that his body would suddenly rebel and demand a satisfaction that his head told him he had no right to take.

Georgina yawned and stretched. Daniel knew damned well she wore only her chemise and drawers under that wrapper, and he had difficulty keeping his eyes from watching the folds of material gape at her movement. Now that he had some idea of what she kept so coyly concealed beneath all that material, he could think of little else.

In the midst of a fiery editorial he found himself wondering how it would feel to slip his hand beneath that cover of cloth over her breasts, and he frequently cursed himself for not having taken the chance when it had first been offered—as he cursed himself now for even thinking about it. It was perfectly obvious that Georgina didn't think of him in the same way that he thought of her.

It was almost a relief knowing that she would come into part of Hanover Industries in less than a month. He would hire a lawyer and see that she received her share of the profits. Then they could work out an annulment, and they both could get on with their lives. It was the only solution that might save his sanity.

Daniel held his breath as Georgina finally gave in to exhaustion, crossed the room, and pressed a simple kiss against his temple before retiring. It was those light, innocent touches that drove him into his worst frenzies. He wanted to grab her waist, pull her down on his lap, and make mad, passionate love to her. For hours. On the floor. On the bed. Anywhere. Everywhere. He didn't think he could stop once he got started.

So he couldn't get started. Georgina knew nothing of passion. She thought of him as little more than a brother. And that was the way it should be. He was a loner, always had been. Outcast by his real family, he had made his way through his early years with the limited aid of his adopted family, and he had been on his own since. The women in his life always looked on him as a friend, never anything more. There was no reason anything should be different now.

It was very late that night before Daniel put down his proof pages and dragged himself across the hall to where his sleeping wife awaited him. Even though he was practically asleep before he hit the bed, he was a long time in finding slumber once he had Georgina's welcoming body beside him. Hell couldn't have found a more artful temptation.

* * *

Georgina laughed as Douglas raised his fists in a gesture of triumph as he returned for the last stacks of papers. All the sheets were on the streets now, and the boys had been delirious with excitement at how quickly they sold. It meant pennies in their pockets for the boys, but it meant a great deal more to Daniel. People were waiting to hear what he had to say, and willing to pay for it. He could start taking subscribers soon.

"How are they reacting to it down at Mulloney's?" she asked, stuffing his bag with the last papers on the floor.

"I listened as they left for the day," Douglas bragged. "They said there wasn't anything from the office. No shouting, no nothing. But the clerks were all whispering, Miss Georgie. And Janice has heard from a lot of them already. I think they're coming around. Nobody likes being ex..." he stumbled for the word.

"Exploited. No, they don't," she answered with conviction. "We'll get your sister her job back if we have to shut down the whole store to do it. Everybody ought to have rights."

He grinned and ran out the door with his load. Pennies were more important than politics to a twelve-year-old.

Daniel returned not long after that, grinning from ear to ear as he dropped into their one armchair. "It's a pity we won't be having dinner at the mayor's tonight. We might hear a little more than complaints about those uppity Irish this time."

Georgina settled in his lap and kissed his cheek. Nights of sharing a bed with this man had made her bold indeed, and she had no compunction about allowing her natural exuberance loose in his presence. "It was a stroke of genius comparing the cost of milk for one child to the weekly wages of its mother. It shouldn't take any imagination at all to know the mother would have to starve herself to feed her children. There isn't a mother alive who won't weep over that. I just don't think men will pay attention to those statistics, and even if the women see them, what can they do? Women have no power."

Daniel wrapped his arms around Georgina's waist and settled her more comfortably against his thighs. If his hands wandered in the process, she made no complaint, and he grinned and planted a kiss beneath her ear. "You underestimate your sex, my dear. Mulloney's caters to women. Women do all the shopping. They even buy their husbands' shirts and socks. If the ladies of town should decide to stop shopping at Mulloney's, the doors would close overnight."

Georgina gave a cry of excitement and bounced in his lap. Daniel caught her and settled her down a little with a judicious use of his hands on the rounded curve of her hips and buttocks. He wasn't even certain he completely heard what she said next as he settled back in the chair and enjoyed his predicament.

"That's what I can do! I know those women. Their husbands probably won't even let them see that editorial, but I will. I'll call at Loyolla's during one of her afternoon teas and make certain everyone hears of it. I'll be certain to make Loyolla understand what it means to mothers and babes, and she'll be on the bandwagon before I say another thing. Can you imagine what will happen if all the ladies in town refuse to shop Mulloney's until they pay their workers better?"

Daniel dared another kiss to her throat as he murmured something agreeable. At this moment he didn't give a damn about department stores or babies or teas. He had one thing only on his mind, and it was so close, he could feel it.

"Don't you think it's time to retire for the night?" he murmured, nibbling his way up to her ear.

Too excited to sit still, Georgina jumped from his lap and rushed to the door. "Let's go out and see what they're talking about over at the cafe."

Daniel closed his eyes and stifled his groan of agony. He'd rather be punched in the face any day than suffer another moment of torment with Georgina. Apparently, he had a masochistic streak he had known nothing about.

He got up and followed her out.

* * *

"Yes, Georgina, dear, I did read Mr. Martin's extraordinary newssheet. It's made me quite anxious. What if my favorite seamstress over at Mulloney's has a starving child at home and is so worried she sticks me with pins or ruins my rose organdy? After reading those articles, I'm quite surprised some of those clerks don't come after my purse with a knife. It's quite scary."

Loyolla Banks took a deep breath and gently chided the preacher's wife. "Now, Lolly, you've missed the point. Just think how much you paid Mulloney's for gowns last year. Don't you think your favorite seamstress should have received a little more out of them than the cost of a few quarts of milk?"

"Now, Loyolla, don't you get started on women's rights again. This has nothing to do with our rights. This has to do with clerks who take their money home to be spent on whiskey every Friday night." The wife of the man who owned the local lumber mill spoke up. "That's where the money goes. Not on baby's milk. Why, my Harry can scarcely keep the mill open on Saturdays after he pays the help. They all stay home sick or come in so hungover he has to send them back home again. If he paid them more, they wouldn't come in at all. They're little more than animals."

Georgina wanted to reach over and pull the woman's hair from her head, but she demurely spoke over the top of her teacup instead. "I'm quite familiar with a number of Mulloney's clerks, Mrs. Garrison. One family comes from an English vicarage, others are descendants of well-respected craftsmen driven from their homes by religious or political persecution. Their families try hard to learn the language and the customs and make a new life for themselves here, just as our families did when they first came to America. Most of the clerks at Mulloney's are second-generation Americans, but due to deaths or illness in the family, they have very little money and must work hard for a living. I should think Mr. Mulloney could sacrifice a carriage or two to let them live a little better."

"Well now, you remember to tell Peter that, Georgina, when he offers to buy you your first carriage. You just tell him to put that money into a clerk's salary. Just see how well that goes over."

How odd. Peter hadn't mentioned their broken betrothal to anyone. And if her family hadn't mentioned her marriage, these ladies would have no idea she was living on the other side of town. They didn't talk to their servants.

Georgina sipped her tea and let the silly conversation go on without her. It was patently obvious that selfishness and a lifetime of never thinking for themselves made these women worse than useless for her purposes. It wouldn't improve her position to tell them she was married to the newspaper's editor, but she'd dearly love to stand up and announce it to them all just to see the shock and horror on their faces. But if neither her father nor Peter had made the announcement, she wasn't going to take it upon herself.

With a sad shake of her head Georgina set her cup down and made her excuses to Loyolla. This was the wrong group of women to talk to about forming a ban on Mulloney's. She would have to think of another route.

Loyolla accompanied her to the door, holding her hand and patting it gently. "You've just tried to do too much at once, dear Georgina. I know your heart's in the right place, but standing up to Mulloney's won't make the world better. Why don't you wait until you're married, and then you'll understand things just a little more. Women do have power, dear, but we must use it wisely."

To get bigger carriages and newer gowns, Georgina supposed as she thanked her hostess and took her leave. She couldn't see what else they were using their power for.

With a grimace of disdain she set out for the church where Daniel was distributing some of his literature. She hoped he had been more useful today than she had been.

She looked up in surprise at the sight of her father's carriage rolling down the street in her direction. It was the middle of the day, and he was usually up to his ears in work at the factory. Perhaps it was just Blucher out running errands for her mother. She rather missed the stiff old man. She waved, and the carriage slowed.

To her surprise her father sat behind the driver. To her greater surprise he jumped out and held out his hand to her.

"Georgina, thank goodness I found you. It's your mother. She's gravely ill. I need to take you to her at once."

There wasn't any mistaking the gray lines of worry and fear on her father's face. Georgina took his hand and instantly climbed into the carriage. Despite all her mother's failings, she loved her dearly. It had gone against the grain to stay away this long, but without an invitation from her family, she had felt as if she would be disgracing their doorway by returning. This wasn't the kind of invitation she had been expecting.

"What is it? Has the doctor said? How bad is she?" Anxious, she turned to her father as he sat beside her.

"I'm afraid it's the worst, Georgina. I'm afraid we'll have to send her back to the hospital. The doctor has her sedated now. I hoped she would come around before I had to send for you."

Clenching her hands in her lap, Georgina prayed for the wisdom to handle this ordeal. She wished she had Daniel beside her. She needed his experience right now. He knew more of the world than she did. Perhaps there was something else they could do, someone else they could send for. It didn't seem right to send her mother away just because she had difficulty coping with the world. Surely they must be doing something wrong, and if they could just somehow make it right...

Several hours later, Georgina was the one who was sedated.

As George Hanover carefully removed the cup from her inert hand, the physician shook his head behind him.

"It's a classic case, I'm afraid. It must run in the family. I'm sorry to see it, George. But the doctors can work wonders these days. We'll have her right in a few months. I hope this won't hurt her chances with young Mulloney. This kind of brain exertion doesn't occur in males, so he won't have to worry about sons. And Georgina will be just fine once he learns to keep her quiet and away from excitement. I'll explain the technical details to him if you like."

"That's kind of you, Ralph. If you'll signal Blucher, we'll carry her out of here. I'm certain a good long rest at the sanitarium is just what she needs. I should never have sent her away to school, but with her mother..." George gestured helplessly.

Ralph patted him on the back. "I know. It was a hard decision to make. I trust Dolly is strong enough to make the trip with you?"

"She's rested. She'll be fine. You might want to leave me some more of that medicine just in case she becomes agitated while we're traveling."

Ralph removed a bottle from his medical bag. "You might need to keep Georgina under control while you travel. This should be sufficient until you arrive. Just remember the dosage I told you. And God be with you."

As Blucher carried his employer's daughter to the waiting carriage, George tucked the bottle of opium into his pocket and went in search of his wife.

* * *

Daniel paced the street in front of the church one more time. Georgina had told him Loyolla's teas never lasted past five o'clock. He pulled out his watch and glanced at it again. Seven.

He should have paid more attention to the time. She should have been here hours ago. He had expected her here to help him long before this. What kind of crazy side trip had she made this time?

His leg was aching from the day's exertion, but he set out down the street to the mayor's house. Maybe Loyolla Banks would have some idea where Georgina might have gone after she left there.

The servant ushered Daniel into the mayor's office. He stood, frowning, looking pointedly at his pocket watch as Daniel entered.

"I won't keep you for a minute, sir, but my wife was here earlier, and she hasn't come home yet. Is Mrs. Banks available? I thought Georgina might have told her where she was going."

The mayor frowned. "Your wife, Mr. Martin? I wasn't aware that you were married. Mrs. Banks is visiting a sickbed at the moment. I fail to understand why Georgina Hanover would know where your wife went, but she won't be able to help you now. Georgina's had some crisis of the nerves like her mother some years ago. They're taking her to the sanitarium as we speak."

Daniel's weak leg nearly gave out from under him, and he grabbed the desk's edge just in time to keep from falling.

"The sanitarium, sir? What sanitarium?"

"Don't rightly know. You'll have to ask Dr. Ralph. It's some place out in Illinois, I believe. I know the train to Chicago just left, and they were on it."

As a man in a daze, Daniel thanked the mayor politely and wandered out. They were sending Georgina to a sanitarium. Beautiful, bright, flighty Miss Merry—his wife.

Damn, but it looked like he and Papa Hanover would have to have a come-to-Jesus meeting—right after he rescued Georgina.