Texas Tiger

chapter 36





He was afraid to let her go, afraid she would slip away from him again, but he needed to get her water. Daniel held Georgina tightly as spasms of coughing struck her so hard he feared the attacks would spit out her lungs.

He needed to call a physician, but he couldn't bear to leave her. He had never been the sort to panic easily, but he couldn't think for the terror blurring his mind. He couldn't lose Georgina. Not now. Not ever. The shouts and noises from the street below joined the anguished scream of fear inside his skull.

Fighting for some form of rationality, Daniel piled pillows behind Georgina's head so she could lean against them while he unfastened her bodice. He thanked Whoever watched over them that she had worn a gown that buttoned up the front. The way his hands were shaking, he didn't think he could hold her up and unfasten back hooks.

With trembling fingers he ripped open the corset beneath, and Georgina took a gasping breath that brought another attack of coughing. This time, her lashes fluttered a little, and Daniel's heart fluttered with them.

"Georgina, try to breathe easy. Don't gulp, sweetheart. It's going to be all right." The words didn't make sense even to him, but they seemed to soothe her. "I'm going to get you a cup of water. I'll be right back. Just breathe easy, and I'll be right here."

He thought she nodded slightly, and taking a deep gulp of air for himself, Daniel hurried to fetch a cup of water, thankful whoever had condemned the building hadn't shut off the plumbing.

When he returned, she was moving restlessly on the bed. The coughs weren't so heavy now. He sat beside her and pulled her into his arms again. "I've brought you water, sweetheart. Sip it slowly. That's a girl." He was talking more to reassure himself than for Georgina's benefit. He held the cup to her lips and tilted it so the water dribbled gently down her throat. She pushed away to cough again, then reached for the cup herself.

Daniel was certain his heart had stuck in his throat as she drank thirstily. He wanted to weep and offer prayers of gratitude and wild promises to a God he had thought meant for others and not for him. He'd dutifully attended church on Sundays when forced by the women in his life, but he'd never gone on his own. That was going to change now, he promised. He would be right by Georgina's side when she marched through those church doors.

"Daniel?" Her words were uncertain, husky from her raw throat. Her gaze met his with disbelief and a thousand questions.

"You didn't really think I could stay away, did you?" He stroked her hair lightly, not daring more. "I didn't get halfway to Cincinnati before I realized I couldn't live without a heart, and you've got mine."

She made a sound that almost sounded like a giggle, and Daniel felt a foolish grin spreading across his face.

"You're a cad and a scoundrel," she whispered, burying her face in his shoulder to cough some more.

"I'm doing my damnedest to be a hero, Miss Merry, but I'm not as good at it as I ought to be. I came back to tell you I love you and to ask you to marry me. Do you think you might, if I hang around long enough?"

Georgina clung to his shirt and tried to laugh again through a spasm of coughing. She shook her head, and Daniel thought his heart just might plunge to his feet, but he set his lips and hoped. "If loving you isn't enough, what else can I do?" he demanded, desperately needing to know.

"I want a husband," she coughed, "not a hero."

Daniel settled her against his side and stroked her hair. Even through the smoke he could smell lilies, and he smiled. He could imagine waking up to the smell of lilies for the rest of his life. The warm pressure of Georgina's breasts stirred other desires, but he resisted. Now wasn't the time. He didn't know when the time would be, but he'd find it. She was going to be his now, if he had to burn the whole damned town to the ground to prove it.

"I think I could arrange that, Georgie, if you tell me you want to be a wife. I can't promise to be a very good husband. We may have to leave this town. You'd better think long and hard before you make any decisions. I'll give you all the time you want."

"Stupid," she muttered, pounding weakly at his chest. "Stupid, stupid, stupid."

Daniel felt laughter gathering in his chest, and tears of relief followed the trails of grief marked earlier. "I have to get you out of here, Miss Merry. I have to take you to a doctor, but I can't let anyone know I'm back yet. I don't want my father throwing you out of your house until I'm ready to go."

He thought she muttered something that sounded like "Damn the house," but he was probably hearing things. Holding her to his side, he stood up, and she managed a wobbly footstep beside him. He peered through a crack in the boarded windows and watched the chaos below. Off to one side waited a carriage that could only be Georgina's. A very worried Blucher stalked up and down beside it.

"Your carriage is down there, Georgie. I'll take you to it and let Blucher take you home. Don't tell anyone you saw me, Georgie. Do you understand?"

"No," she grumbled, but the coughing prevented any further argument.

"Then you'll have to trust me." Daniel tilted her chin up until their eyes met. "I love you, Miss Merry. Can you trust me just a little bit?"

"After I kill you," she managed to get out with enough vigor to be heard.

Daniel grinned. "I'll make it easy for you. I'll loan you my gun just as soon as I'm finished with what I'm going to do."

Her eyes darkened, but he didn't give her time to question. Without a word of warning, he swept her into his arms again and started for the door. There was one advantage to having a small woman for a wife—she was easy to sweep off her feet.

Blucher looked up in relief as Daniel emerged from the shadows and deposited Georgina in the carriage. She was too weak to protest and sank into the cushions with another spasm of coughing. With a few words of caution and a command to find her a physician, Daniel sent her driver and the carriage off. He thought he saw Georgina watch him through the window, but he didn't dare follow. Not yet.

Picking up a cap lying discarded in the street, Daniel slid it down over his forehead and worked his way into the crowd. It was time to find out what this fire was all about.

* * *

Georgina lay propped against the pillows of her bed the next morning, still coughing but not so badly after a night of rest. She sipped carefully at the medicine the doctor—Dr. Phelps and not her father's treacherous Dr. Ralph—had provided and tried to remember the horrible nightmare of the night before.

She was certain she had dreamed Daniel was there, a penitent Daniel who declared he loved her. An almost penitent Daniel, she amended, vaguely remembering some of his words. He had laughed at her, she remembered, and she had tried to hit him, but he'd said he loved her. And if her memory wasn't all askew, he had rescued her from the burning factory.

That part was almost certainly true. It would be typical of Daniel to play the hero rather than wait for help. The declaration of love she wasn't so certain about. That could have been wishful dreaming. It didn't seem nearly as likely as Daniel playing hero. And she didn't see him here worrying over her bedside, either. She could very well have imagined that part.

Peter arrived as Georgina sipped at her breakfast. She didn't have much stomach for toast, but the juice felt good going down. She threw Peter a look of disdain and reached for her coffee.

"I suppose you're going to blame me for the fire, too." He flung his hat at the nearest chair and ignored it when it bounced to the floor. "My mother is in hysterics, your precious husband seems to have disappeared, and my father has been incommunicado for days. Those are probably good enough reasons for burning down one of the best garment factories in the country. I sent for your father, by the way."

"How thoughtful. I'd better eat and drink while I can. When he comes home, I won't dare touch food."

Peter stared at her. "Maybe my father was right and you are touched in the head."

Georgina smiled sweetly at him, but a coughing fit diminished the effect. Peter continued to watch her warily, but he held out the glass of juice. After she took the glass, he picked up the bottle of medicine on the bedside table.

"This didn't come from Dr. Ralph. Maybe you better have him come over. That cough doesn't sound good."

The sound Georgina made was vaguely like a laugh. "Good. Dr. Ralph and my father, my saviors. Get out of here, Peter. I'm going to get dressed and go hide before I end up in the Shady Rest Retiring Home with my mother."

Peter set the bottle down and contemplated her carefully. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb for my benefit." Georgina set her juice aside and pulled herself straighter in the bed. "Your father and Dr. Ralph are probably playing the same game with your mother. I'd inspect her medicines if I were you. Now leave, Peter, I need to dress."

"Your maid said you were supposed to rest. I practically had to beat her over the head to get in here. Now lie there and explain things a little more coherently or I'll be here all day."

Georgina scowled. "How plain do I need to be? Dr. Ralph gives my mother laudanum to keep her quiet. He gave it to me so my father could drag me out of here and hide me away in a convalescent home until your father could do something about Daniel. Any time a woman in this town tries to protest or complain, Dr. Ralph is there to solve the problem. I think maybe he's drunk too much of the stuff himself."

She pulled back the covers and started to get up, ignoring Peter's shocked expression. "Now will you leave?"

"After that, I don't even dare mention sending for the maid to fetch a doctor." Peter turned his back so she could reach for her robe, but he didn't leave. "I don't know how the fire happened, Georgina. You have to believe me. I've hired some men to investigate, but I doubt that they'll find anything. The fire brigade put out the worst of it before it could destroy the machinery. I'll supervise moving what can be saved into an empty warehouse. We'll find a new building and go back into production as soon as possible."

"We?" Her tone was heavily laced with irony. "We won't do anything, Peter. You'll get your backside out of here and out of my life and never present your face to me again if you know what's good for you. I'm tired of being nice. I'm going for your father's throat. You don't want to be around when I do."

Spasms of coughing prevented her from being as forceful as she could have wished. Peter swung around, but refrained from pushing her into the nearest chair.

Clenching his fists at his side, he waited for her to recover before speaking. "You'll have to beat me to him if anything you've said is true. I'm taking Dr. Phelps to see my mother this morning. If there's any truth to what you're saying, I'll give the evidence to Daniel. He needs to put it in the paper and warn all the women in town. We'll drive Ralph into the ocean if need be. Where is Daniel, anyway? I still have to persuade him to see Mother."

Georgina took the chair of her own accord and sipped at her juice while she gathered strength. "I'll give him the message, but he rather has his hands full right now. I suppose you're going to tell me you didn't know your father offered to give me the mortgage on this house if Daniel would conveniently disappear?"

Peter ran his hand through his hair in a gesture vaguely reminiscent of Daniel's. "I'm prepared to believe just about anything. Don't hit me with any more just yet, Georgie. Let me do one thing at a time. Tell me where to find Daniel."

"Not on your bottom dollar, Peter." This time, she managed her best vapid smile. "As far as I know, he's gone back to Texas. Be sure to tell your father that."

Swearing, Peter bent to pick up his hat. When he straightened, his handsome face was taut with anger and his eyes flashed emerald fires, but his words were carefully polite. "You promised to tell Daniel about Mother. I'm holding you to it, Georgie."

She held her smile. "I'll write him a letter. Bye-bye, Peter."

The smile faded as he scowled and walked out. It was impossible to tell whose side Peter was on. She wanted to confide in him. She had always trusted him. But then, she had always trusted her father, too. She wasn't certain she could even trust Daniel anymore. After all, he had walked out on her just as she had thought they were making progress. But he had come back. She would rely on that.

Despite her threats, Georgina didn't bother dressing. She had no work to go to and no one she wanted to see badly enough to strain her aching chest. She brushed her hair and pinned it up and let the maids wait on her. As nervous and uncertain as she, they seemed to be glad of the opportunity to do something useful.

By the time Janice knocked on the door, Georgina was ready for sensible company. She set aside her book and gestured for her visitor to enter.

Janice slipped through the partially open door and closed it behind her. She gave Georgina a critical look. "You look better than yesterday for some reason. How do you feel?"

"Like a consumptive. I can't stop coughing. Tell me what's happening."

Janice took the chair. "Peter Mulloney is down at the factory, ordering the machines carried into the warehouse you and Daniel were using. He's had all the boards ripped off the warehouse and new glass is being installed. I don't know what happened to the condemnation notice."

"He probably ordered his father to have it removed." Georgina shrugged in dismissal. "Mulloney owns all the sewing equipment anyway. My father said it was mortgaged to the hilt. I just hate going down in defeat like this." Seeing Janice's expression, she hurried to add, "Peter said he would have the factory operating again as soon as possible. I'll make certain he hires you and Audrey. I think he almost listened to me today. He thinks I have something he wants."

Janice waited for explanation, but none was forthcoming. She frowned, then embarked on the rest of her news. "Egan has disappeared. He was around yesterday trying to collect the rent, but no one has seen him since he and Emory had supper together last evening. They were both saying some rather unpleasant things about you and Daniel when they left."

Georgina felt her stomach lurch in apprehension, but she managed to maintain a look of calm. "Maybe Daniel ran him out of town on a rail," she said lightly.

It was Janice's turn to look apprehensive. "I've heard Daniel hasn't been seen in days. He's all right then?"

"Daniel is better than all right," Georgina said with certainty and a touch of bitterness. "Daniel is in his element right about now. He has more pots of trouble brewing than any one man can handle, and he's probably sitting on a roof somewhere, watching them boil and laughing. Don't ever fall in love, Janice. Men are pure hell."

Janice's normally noncommittal expression evaporated with a sound almost like a laugh. She hastily recovered, but her eyes were still smiling. "I'll remember that," she said solemnly. "At least I'll know better than to get near men with six-guns and funny-looking hats."

"Good." Georgina nodded her head vigorously. "Find yourself a nice clerk down at Mulloney's, one with a white collar and clean hands, one who's so grateful to have you that he'll satisfy your every wish."

This time, Janice did laugh out loud, her lips cracking open just enough to reveal her small white teeth. As if to keep anyone from seeing her laughing, she rose and walked to the door, turning only to say, "Tomorrow's the Fourth. Make certain you get a grandstand seat for the parade."

"Oh, I'll be sure to do that," Georgina muttered as the door closed. And she had some excellent ideas on how to accomplish that and several other things on her mind.