Texas Tiger

chapter 38





Dolly Hanover fumbled nervously at her napkin when confronted with the actuality of her son-in-law over breakfast the next morning. Daniel smiled his most boyish grin and passed her the cream for her coffee.

"Morning, ma'am, perfect day for a parade, wouldn't you say?"

She ducked her head, blushing with pleasure at his attention. "We don't usually attend. George says the streets are too full of the common elements."

"Mama usually goes to the Mulloneys for their big Fourth of July picnic," Georgina said with an innocent look that wouldn't fool the pope.

Daniel regarded her warily. His impetuous wife was up to something, but he didn't even want to contemplate what it might be. He glanced at the way Georgina was holding her coffee cup, displaying the ring he had just given her this morning. The sight of his ring on her finger stirred something deep and possessive inside him. The fact that she was proud of it made him bristle with pride. He wouldn't destroy the bond between them by questioning her.

"The parade stays downtown," Dolly explained diffidently. "Sometimes, we can hear the music."

"Well, you just have a really good time, Mama." Georgina patted her mother's hand. "Daniel and I will meet you at the Mulloney picnic."

That was when Daniel knew she was up to something, but he waited until they had left the breakfast table before hauling her into a quiet room where no one would hear them. "I don't know how good an idea it is for you and your family to be over there when I show my face. If my father sees me, he's likely to make a scene."

Georgina patted his cheek in much the same way as she had patted her mother's hand. "Don't worry. I sent a note to Peter telling him to keep your father otherwise occupied. He may be a villain, but he's not dumb. You'll have some privacy."

Daniel caught her hand and pulled it between them. "I'd feel a lot easier if I knew what you were up to. Where will you be while all this is happening?"

"Oh, I'll be just fine, don't you worry. I'll make certain I'm surrounded by people who wouldn't think of harming me. You just go see your mother and don't worry about a thing."

The more she told him not to worry, the more Daniel suspected he had something to worry about, but the sound of Georgina's father coming down the stairs prevented him from questioning closer. Holding her hand captive, he pulled her into the hall to confront his nemesis.

"Good morning, sir."

The older man halted in shock when confronted with the tall stranger who had carried his daughter off. His hand went up to rake at his full side-whiskers, then to tug at his cravat. The steely gray of Daniel's eyes remained implacable. With a slight "harrumph," George Hanover managed a greeting. "I see you don't even have a home for my daughter. You ought to be ashamed of yourself."

Daniel entwined his fingers with Georgina's and smiled confidently. "On the contrary, I have several. I just wanted Georgina to have time to get used to the idea of being married before I take her away. And I thought you might feel better if you had time to get to know me better so you would be a little less concerned for Georgina's welfare."

"Likely story." George glanced at the ring on his daughter's finger and hesitated. It wasn't an inexpensive ring. He took a more calculated look at his son-in-law.

Journalists didn't make enough money to pay for that tailored frock coat Daniel was sporting this morning. But it could have been bought on credit, on the promise of his wealthy marriage. George frowned. "I'd suggest you consider taking Georgina to one of those many homes pretty soon, then. This one isn't likely to be ours much longer."

"I can take care of that, if you'd like, but first I have a few calls to make. We'll talk later." Turning away from his frowning father-in-law, Daniel kissed the top of Georgina's head. "Stay out of trouble until I get back, will you?"

"Of course, Daniel, don't I always?"

Georgina smiled and waved him away, then turned back to her father still waiting in the hall. "I'm calling Blucher for the carriage to take me to the train station. We'll be having guests to go to the Mulloneys with us today."

She didn't wait for his response. With a secretive smile she lifted the long flounces of her best organdy and hurried to summon the driver. The morning train would be arriving shortly, and Tyler and Evie had already wired they would be on it.

* * *

Blessedly oblivious to Georgina's plans for the day, Daniel walked with a nervous stride toward the house he had never thought to enter. He wondered if there was a servants' entrance he could sneak in. He still wasn't certain it was a good idea to come anywhere close to his father yet.

His wild promise to take care of the Hanovers' house had been just that—a promise and nothing more. Paying off the mortgage on that place would leave him pretty close to bankrupt, and he wasn't at all certain that he could produce the income to keep it running, especially when he would have to divest himself of all his capital to buy it. It would be much better if he just left town and let Georgina carry the mortgage as he'd tried to do earlier.

But he had promised Georgie he would visit his mother, and he wouldn't back out now. The resulting fireworks might be better than the ones downtown should he run into his father, but that remained to be seen. He would just have to take his chances.

The carriage gate was open, and Daniel walked up the drive, expecting someone with a shotgun to appear any minute. Instead, Peter appeared on a side porch, glanced his way, and started down the drive with long, land-eating strides.

His brother wore an imposing frown beneath the dark shock of curls, but he grabbed Daniel's hand and shook it curtly when they met. "We'll go up the side steps. My father has gone to the store, but there's no sense in alerting the household."

"What's he doing at the store on a holiday?" Daniel hurried to keep up with his younger brother. Peter might be younger, but he was several inches taller and broader of form and didn't possess the limp that had nagged Daniel all his life. He could almost resent Peter's good looks if he wasn't so worried about meeting the woman inside that house.

Peter sent him a suspicious look. "Georgina didn't tell you? The store's staying open today. Father thinks it will bring in good business with all the crowd in town for the parade."

"He's out of his mind," Daniel said flatly as they climbed the stairs and entered the cool dusk of the interior. "The people attending that parade aren't the kind of people who would dare enter the sacred portals of Mulloney's."

Peter shrugged. "That's what I told him, but he was adamant. I think he's just trying to show the employees who's in charge."

"Don't you have any say in this?" Daniel glanced with curiosity at the brother he hadn't had a chance to know.

"I might be manager, but he owns the stock. He's quite capable of firing me if he chooses." Bitterness edged Peter's voice as they took the inside stairs two at a time.

"You could try making your own way," Daniel said as they reached the upper hall.

Peter sent him a controlled look of fury. "That's fine for you to say, but who will look after Mother and the boys? Somebody has to stand between them and the old man."

That set a whole new perspective on the subject that Daniel hadn't considered until this minute, and there was no time now to ponder it. They stopped before closed mahogany double doors.

Peter threw them open and waited for Daniel to enter first. Daniel gave his brother a sour look, then stepped inside the most elegant boudoir he had ever encountered.

Beneath the cream-colored silk half-canopy of the antique mahogany tester bed sat a fragile woman with pale brown hair streaked with silver. She wore a wine-colored bed jacket over a figured cream silk that matched the heavy satin duvet covering the bed. Wine-red roses filled the vase beside the bed. The sculptured Oriental carpet beneath his feet carried the vivid color scheme further with accents of blue and gold that matched the lounge chair in front of the floor-to-ceiling bay window. Daniel was afraid to look any farther to the huge pieces of antique furniture in the shadows along the wall.

He had no idea how to greet the woman in the bed who regarded him so carefully. As he approached, she raised a hand to her throat, and he thought he could discern every bone and ligament and vein in it, so thin and frail was the skin. Her cheeks were covered with a light dusting of powder, but no amount of makeup could cover the fine, high cheekbones nearly protruding through their delicate covering. A good stiff wind would carry this woman off like a kite, and he was shaking a little inside as he stopped at the foot of the bed.

"I'm Daniel Mulloney, ma'am. Peter said you wished to speak with me."

She smiled faintly then, an almost mystical smile, as if she had seen other worlds beyond this one and only dwelt here temporarily. She gestured for him to come closer. "John will look like you in a few years, and you will one day look like my father. The Ewans are handsome men, but John is at that awkward age and doesn't believe me. I would like him to meet you."

Daniel took the seat indicated and glanced to Peter for reassurance. His brother stood guarding the door, hands behind his back, his expression deliberately blank.

Daniel turned back to the woman in the bed. "I hadn't meant to disturb you, ma'am. I had no intention of imposing on the family who spent so much on seeing me raised properly."

The elegant woman produced an extremely inelegant noise. "You mean you would like to royally skewer the family that threw you out, but you're too polite to say so. Nanny did raise you well, I see. Unfortunately, I find it a trifle hard to forgive her for not letting me know you were alive. She was my nanny once, not Artemis's. He must have paid her exceedingly well indeed."

Daniel looked skeptical. "Begging your pardon, ma'am, but we were told she was nanny for my adopted sister's mother. It's possible she never knew you."

Her pale brows pulled together in a frown that almost matched Daniel's before it disappeared. "As I understand it from Peter's inquiries, your adopted sister's mother was Louise Howell. Louise's mother was Evangeline Ewan before she married. Louise grew up in St. Louis, as did I. My father was her uncle. Louise and I were cousins. You and Evie Monteigne are actually second cousins. It is rather unfortunate that the nanny we shared was not only the kindest nurse we had ever known, but had an affinity for money and a reprehensible ability to keep secrets she shouldn't have. I don't think I'll ever forgive her."

"She's dead, ma'am," Daniel reminded her softly. "And she was good to us. She gave us a good home and was the mother we never knew. She was a trifle old to be a mother, I suppose, but we never had reason for complaint."

Edith Mulloney's hand began to shake as she pulled unconsciously at the covers. Her voice quaked slightly. "You were my first-born child. She had to have known that. Perhaps Louise's child was born out of wedlock, and Louise had a reason to keep her hidden, but you were not. You are the legitimate heir to all my husband owns, just the same as your brothers. It's a disgrace, a shame I can never live down. I should have known. Somehow I should have known..."

She was crying now, and Daniel leapt to his feet, reaching for her hand even as Peter started across the room.

"Please, don't cry. I was a cripple until I was eighteen. I could easily have died without Nanny's care. It's all worked out for the best. You couldn't have known, and you couldn't have made it any better for me if you had. I'm just sorry I never had a chance to know you."

"Maybe you'd better leave now." Hands in pockets, Peter stood beside him, gesturing his head toward the door. "Dr. Phelps said she shouldn't be overexcited just yet."

"No. No, you can't leave. We have too much to talk about. Go get your brothers, Peter. They need to know about Daniel. I'm not ashamed of him, and I don't intend for him to be hidden from the rest of you anymore."

The fragile hand gripping his had a strength Daniel never expected. He turned uncertainly to Peter. "I'm not sure this is a good idea. Your father doesn't claim me. He will throw Georgie's parents out of their house if he knows I'm here. I think you'd better think about this carefully before we do anything rash."

Peter's smile was almost malicious. "Heaven forbid that we should do anything rash, big brother. You might get saddled with this whole crazy house instead of me. But one thing I can tell you for certain, if the old man says one thing to insult our mother, I'll deck him myself. You'll have to wait your turn."

The frail hand tugged at his, and Daniel turned his attention back to the beautiful woman he was being told was the mother he'd never known. Chaotic emotions warred within him, and he struggled to control them as she spoke.

"There isn't one iota of truth to what Artemis claims!" she said indignantly. "It's true I was in love with another man before my parents agreed to his proposal, but I would never have done what he thinks I did. My father lost a great deal of money in land speculation. We would have been impoverished if I hadn't accepted Artemis's proposal. I am ashamed of myself now, but at the time, all I could think of was living without the servants and pretty frocks I was accustomed to. The man I loved was far from wealthy. I couldn't bring him any dowry. So I married Artemis, and I remained faithful to him, even though he swore otherwise. You may not have been the healthy son or image of him that he expected, but you are his child. He will simply have to accept that fact."

Before Daniel could find the words to reply, the bedroom door slammed open and the boy he now knew as John burst through. John looked slightly disheveled and smelled of horse sweat, but he brushed at his hair with his hands and straightened his shirt in his mother's presence. He glanced with curiosity at Daniel, but his attention reverted to Peter.

"You'd better get down to the store. Something's going on, and it doesn't look good. All the employees seem to be in the street outside, and I don't see any sign of Father."

A younger version of Peter strolled in at a more sedate pace, his green eyes veering to the room's various occupants and a frown similar to Peter's formed on his forehead. "You're that newspaper editor, aren't you?" He turned to Peter. "What's he doing in here?"

Edith was the one to answer. "Boys, I want you to meet your eldest brother, Daniel."

The silence that fell over the room was broken by the faint strains of a band playing "Yankee Doodle" in the distance.