Texas Tiger

chapter 8





Daniel leaned against the front window frame, waiting for the beautiful woman in white to reappear on his doorstep below. He enjoyed the sassy spoiled brat in her, but she had just shown him a side that he hadn't known existed, and he was fighting a losing battle with admiration. Spoiled, she might be, but dumb, she was not.

He grinned with another kind of admiration as Georgina sailed out the front door. She was a vision in white, trailing silken gauze and lace, and smelling of lilies, as he ought to know. The scent still lingered in the air around him. Peter Mulloney didn't have any idea how lucky he was. One of these days, Daniel was going to have to get around to telling him.

He sent the heavy vellum invitation plummeting out the window toward her feet. His aim was off. It hit the parasol first before bouncing into the dust.

She looked down at the invitation, bent to pick it up, then turned the parasol back to look up at him standing in the window. Daniel crossed his arms and called down to her, "The mayor isn't likely to want to see me after this edition hits the streets."

Instead of answering, she swung around and stalked back toward the front door.

He hadn't expected that. Or perhaps he had. Ladies didn't yell from the street. He hadn't wanted her to leave so precipitously. He wanted to share the triumph of his first creation with someone, and Miss Georgina Meredith Hanover was the ideal companion. Of course, he had in mind breaking out champagne and laughing and hugging and that kind of celebration, not a first-class, genuine, knock-down brawl, but he would take what he could get.

He rebuttoned his shirt, shoved it into his pants, and raked his hair back out of his face. He really was going to have to get a haircut. Evie would be ashamed of him. But he was grinning widely when Georgina sailed back into the room.

She slapped the invitation at the arms crossed over his chest. "You can be very certain the mayor will want to see you after the paper comes out, if only to have you hanged. But it's his wife who wants to see you. And if you don't appear, she won't give me the information on ABC Rentals. Now do you want that information the easy way, or would you prefer to work for it?"

Her blue eyes sparkled like rare diamonds, and her cheeks were flushed with heat and probably ire. Daniel couldn't help thinking that her lips were a delightfully kissable pink, but that was because she was pouting. He'd have to make her laugh and chase that thought away.

"What kind of work do you have in mind?" he asked innocently, knowing Miss Georgina Hanover had no notion of what was going through his mind right now.

She looked at him suspiciously, but since he had taken the invitation, she modified her tone. "I haven't any idea how a newspaperman works to get information out of people. I suppose if you kicked around a few people as you did that Mr. Egan, you might find one or two willing to talk. I just thought you might prefer to do it by having a nice dinner instead."

"Will you be there?" He dangled the invitation between two fingers.

"Peter and I are invited, yes." She held herself stiffly against any attack of disapproval.

"Good. I'll get to meet the infamous Peter. If I don't meet him tonight, that is."

Daniel seemed serenely unconcerned by the prospect of being beaten into a pulp by her fiance. Georgina shook her head at his foolishness. "I'd suggest finding somewhere else to go once you send those papers out into the street. Peter is bigger than you are, and your fancy kicking isn't likely to impress him any."

Daniel bent the invitation and shoved it into his trouser pocket. "I'm not a fighter, Miss Hanover. I don't take pleasure out of hitting people. If your Mr. Mulloney can't be reasonable about this, then I'll have to show him out. How I do that will be up to him."

He didn't seem to have any doubts that he could do it. Remembering the wide shoulders and muscular arms she had seen earlier, Georgina didn't argue. She didn't know what Peter looked like beneath his frock coat and cravat, and she didn't intend to think about it. She took a gulp of air to clear her brain, but before she could give him a good reply, the downstairs seemed to erupt into commotion.

"I brought 'em, Mr. Martin! Are they ready? Can we go out now?"

Shouts and whistles and stamping feet echoed up the stairwell. Georgina turned in time to see a herd of grubby boys in all sizes and shapes pouring into the room. Corduroys and suspenders and knickers and bulky shirts and even a sporty cap or two abounded as they spread out, filling the small room with their energy.

"The first batch is coming off the press right now. You can catch the factory workers coming out for lunch. The next batch needs to go downtown. By evening, I want you all over town."

Georgina watched in amazement as Daniel sprang into action, sorting through the boys, sending two to pick up the sheets rolling off the press, setting two of the weakest to folding, adjusting the carrier pouches over the shoulders of the smaller ones, and instructing them carefully in their duties. He had the patience of two saints as he explained the same details a dozen times. Some grasped the idea quickly, grabbing their sacks and the first papers folded and running out the door. Others hung back, uncertain, waiting for understanding to dawn.

As they understood that they were to charge two pennies for each paper and bring back one penny to buy more, they began to bounce in anticipation. Georgina watched as one small boy continually got pushed to the back in the jostling, shoving crowd. Swiping a carrier pouch and filling it with freshly folded newspapers, she leaned over the heads of several larger boys to hand it to the small one.

His freckled face broke into a wide grin that revealed two missing front teeth. "Thankth, mith," and he was off.

After that, Georgina joined in, leaving Daniel to return to his presses while she kept order in the folding process and saw that everyone was supplied with the same number of papers. As soon as the room cleared of one batch of carriers, the first ones started to return, their hands clutching dozens of grubby pennies.

She didn't know how Daniel would make any money off the pittance that she carefully divided in half, returning one half to each boy along with a corresponding number of papers. Pennies didn't buy presses. Pennies wouldn't even buy paper. She hoped he knew what he was doing.

There wasn't time to question. One of the presses stuck, and cursing, Daniel yelled for one of the boys to give him a hand. That left Georgina helping to fold papers as well as count cash and replenish pouches. Perspiration poured from her forehead, and she was in dire fear that the underarms of her gown were soaked, but no one seemed to notice. The boys just grinned and thanked her and ran out again.

As the boys spread further into the city, their returns became less frequent. By midafternoon, there was a lull, and Georgina stood up to stretch her aching muscles. Daniel appeared from the back room, ink smeared from ear to ear but grinning happily.

"They're out there, Miss Merry. We'll be the topic of discussion at every table tonight. Doesn't that make your toes tingle?"

What was making her toes tingle was the expression of warmth and admiration and approval in his eyes. Georgina wasn't used to anyone looking at her like that. And the name he had given her made her somehow feel special, as if they shared a secret between them. Avoiding these thoughts, she glanced down at her ruined gown and tried to shake out some of the paper shreds.

"I'm all a-tingle, Mr. Martin, but I suspect it's dust and fleas. Anticipating yelling and cursing does nothing but make me want to bury my head until it stops."

His grin disappeared, and an expression of concern formed lines between his eyebrows. "We'd better get you home. I don't think it's a good idea to let anyone know you're involved with this at all."

Georgina gasped as she remembered the time and Blucher waiting for her back in town. "What time is it? Blucher will think I got lost. They'll be sending out search parties. Oh, dear, I have to go." She looked around dazedly for her parasol and whatever accouterments had accompanied her.

Daniel located the parasol in the rumpled covers of his bed, where the boys had been tussling, and Georgina found one of her gloves under his table. There was no sign of the other. There wasn't time to look. She hurried for the door, unaware that Daniel was following her until she reached the stairway.

She turned and waved him away. "Go back to your presses. I can always go to my father and tell him I got lost. He'll believe that sooner than the truth."

Daniel glanced down at her ink-stained skirt and up to her dust-smudged cheeks, and shook his head. "If you walk in like that, he'll be after heads, specifically mine. I think we'd better smuggle you into the house and let you clean up before you go telling any stories. How good are you at lying?"

Georgina gave a radiant smile. "Not very."

"Good." Not explaining that reply, Daniel caught her elbow and hurried her down the stairs.

They met Janice hurrying up. At sight of Georgina, she froze, but she couldn't hide the desperation in her eyes as she appealed to Daniel. "The paper's all over town. Mulloney's is in an uproar. They're looking for the sheriff to have the newsstand closed down. And they fired Audrey because someone told them she had been talking to you."

Janice didn't say what they all knew: The little household couldn't survive without Audrey's meager income to supplement hers.

Georgina knew this woman disliked her, but she was determined to right the injustices of her world. "I'll talk to Mr. Mulloney," she offered at once. "I can make him see that your sister didn't do anything wrong." Her face lit up with a new idea. "I'll tell him that I'm the one who gave Mr. Martin the information!"

A flicker of hope crossed the other woman's face, but Daniel dashed it with a scowl as he pushed Georgina forward. "I don't want him to even know we've met. I'll talk to your hotheaded boyfriend myself, just as soon as I get you out of here."

Georgina grabbed the rail and glared over her shoulder at him. "You can't tell me what to do, Daniel Martin! I'll get Miss Harrison her job back if I have to break precious porcelain over Peter's head until he agrees. I'll have his father screaming for mercy, and it won't be over his son's broken head. He's tighter than a Scotsman. I know how to hit him where it hurts."

Daniel looked interested but not amused. "We'll discuss this some other time. Right now we're getting you home." He glanced at Janice. "Go home and tell Audrey we're taking care of it. It may take a while, but Mulloney's control over this town is ending. You have my word on it."

Looking uncertain, Janice said nothing as Daniel and Georgina hurried out into the street. A few more boys were returning with empty pouches, and Daniel directed them to help themselves to the last stack of newspapers. Then grasping Georgina's arm, he steered her toward a main thoroughfare where there was some hope of finding a carriage for hire.

"I am tired of being treated like a baby, Daniel. I can get home on my own, and I can persuade Peter to hire Audrey back."

She didn't notice that she had slipped into calling him by his given name. She was tired and worried and irritated, and her mind wasn't on the formalities. For a change, a man's insistence on seeing her home was comforting, and she wanted to surrender to the easy way out, but she knew she couldn't allow him to do it. As much as she would like to have Daniel's strong presence at her side when she arrived in total dishevelment on a day when tempers would be high, she knew she couldn't do that to him. She pulled away from him and hurried forward on her own.

Daniel kept easy pace with her. "It's late and you shouldn't be out on these streets alone. You're not getting rid of me that easily."

"Janice walked these streets alone," she pointed out. There was no use in trying to outdistance him. His legs were longer and even when he limped he could walk faster than she could. Besides, perspiration was pouring down her back and the heat was too great for any undue exercise. Words were her only hope.

"Janice isn't dressed in silk and lace and looking like a crime about to happen. She knows these people. You don't. I'm taking you home, so save your breath."

She did. Georgina held her mouth tight in furious silence as they hurried down one alley and dirty street after another until they came to the respectable part of town where Blucher had left her. Then she lifted her skirt, dodged beneath the noses of a team of horses pulling a carriage, and ducked into the nearest shop before Daniel could follow.

The shop owner looked startled as she darted inside, looking bedraggled and forlorn, but he was all solicitous kindness when he recognized her.

"I've had a small accident." Georgina smiled wryly, shaking out her skirt as she appropriated a chair. "Is there someone you could send around to Mulloney's? I need Peter to take me home."

The shopkeeper was already shouting at someone in the back when a large shadow filled the doorway. Georgina scowled at the sight of Daniel standing there in shirtsleeves and ink stains. He would ruin everything.

"I'll step around and speak to Mr. Mulloney. I was heading that direction anyway." Daniel gave the shop owner an obliging smile.

Caught, Georgina couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't reveal she knew who he was, and she didn't think now was an opportune time for that. Mr. Daniel Martin had a propensity for wanting things his way, just like any jackass.

"That's very kind of you, sir," she murmured with syrupy politeness. "There aren't many gallant knights willing to come to a lady's rescue in this day and age."

That made him frown, and he turned around and walked out without a word to her.

Daniel was in no humor for the carpeted aisles and glittering chandelier of Mulloney's Department Store as he stalked in covered in grime and in working man's attire. The clerks stared disapprovingly, making it obvious he had no place in here. That inched his temper another notch higher. Only the prospect that he was finally coming face-to-face with his brother kept his feet moving. Otherwise, mayhem would have been his preference.

He knew precisely where the office was. He'd had a good teacher who had taught him to always know the lay of the land. Remembering the lesson he'd learned from his good friend Benjamin, Daniel modified his step somewhat. He was in enemy territory now. It would pay to be cautious.

The office door was closed, and yelling echoed from within. The secretary who usually guarded the desk had disappeared, presumably to gossip about the free-for-all ensuing in the inner sanctum. Daniel smiled a little more confidently. He had a good notion of the cause of that argument. He was going to enjoy walking in on it to tell of a maiden's need for rescue. Then he could really see what these people were made of. He already suspected he wouldn't like what he found out.

Daniel knocked politely, but no one responded. The argument escalated into a one-sided yelling match. If that was the old man in there, he had a strong set of lungs. Hiding a smile of anticipation, Daniel swung the door open. This was a civilized city office after all, not a place for the six-guns and dynamite he'd had pulled on him in the past. All these city slickers could do was yell, and he'd been yelled at by the best.

The instant the door swung open, the room fell silent. Two remarkably similar faces turned to stare at him. One was older, lined with age and crowned by silver hair, but the defiantly square jaw and glittering emerald eyes were identical to the younger version standing next to him. The black-haired younger man stepped forward with a scowl.

"This is a private office. Please leave."

Daniel managed to keep his hands out of his pockets and a smile off his face by remembering Georgina's plight. Still, he took his time taking in the man who was almost certainly his younger brother. There wasn't any resemblance that he could see. Peter Mulloney was handsome in the fashionable sense with the broad, tall figure and dark good looks that women admired. He was attired immaculately in starched collar and conservative tie and coat. The only concession he made to humanity was a small frown between his eyes as he stared at his unwanted guest.

"Miss Hanover sent me. She's had a small accident and seems to be in need of rescuing. She's around the corner at the shoemaker's."

Worry and irritation crossed Peter's face in equal proportions. "Is she all right? Do we need to send for a physician?"

"She's fine, just a little shaken. I can see her home if you're busy." Daniel had to say that. While he might have a penchant for rescuing ladies in distress, he also had an outrageous sense of humor. The fact that these men had no notion of who he was tickled his fancy. To be able to snatch Miss Hanover from under their noses would be even more amusing. Rescuing her from their greedy clutches just added icing to the cake.

"No, I need to talk to her." With a harried expression, Peter shoved his hands through his hair. "Thanks for bringing the message." He reached into his pocket and flipped Daniel a coin as an afterthought before turning back to the irate old man behind him.

Daniel caught the coin with a grin and walked out whistling. They were going to remember this moment one of these days, and it wouldn't be with fondness.

With that single derisive gesture, the Mulloneys had just demolished the last barrier of hesitation holding Daniel back. He felt no compunction at all about letting loose his armies and storming the bastions. The white knight would rescue the fair damsel, and in so doing, he would slay the evil dragon of injustice.