Texas Tiger TH3 (20 page)

They stood face-to-face, and Georgina held back a gasp of recognition. It was the same sloping aristocratic nose on both men, only Daniel's was slightly bent from some earlier brawl. Their lips were pressed tight in the same straight lines of fury, and there was even a certain similarity in the jut of their jaws. Why hadn't she seen the resemblance sooner?

Because the force of their highly incompatible personalities made it impossible to see similarities where there were only differences. Daniel was easygoing, mild-mannered, and amiable, always willing to listen and eager to act. Peter was wired tighter than any rope, explosive in his manner when thwarted, stiffer than the celluloid collar at his throat and as difficult to bend. There could be no comparison, except at moments like this.

Daniel was shaking his captive and shoving him toward the desk and the still unsigned license. "Witness it, dear brother. Let us make this perfectly legal, just as you asked. Then go home to Papa and explain what you've done. I doubt that he will be amused, but he probably won't banish you to St. Louis as he did me. He'll start running out of sons after a while if he did that."

Peter turned so violently that he ripped from Daniel's grasp, but Daniel blocked the blow this time, shoving Peter's fist away. Then he stepped back and stood by Georgina's side.

"Sign it, Peter. You don't have to tell the old man anything. Let's just try to get out of here like civilized human beings before the good reverend and his wife think we've lost our minds."

Peter grabbed the paper and scrawled his name vividly across the bottom, then handed it to Georgina to finish signing. He scowled at Daniel as he walked toward the door. "I wish you well of her, but don't think I'm forgetting this. That name on that piece of paper had better be real or I'll see that you're hanged. Georgina deserves better than scum like you."

Peter stalked out, slamming the door, to the sigh of a soft "Oh, my" from Mrs. Herron. Her husband merely handed her the license to finish witnessing.

Georgina discovered she was trembling. She wasn't accustomed to scenes like this. She had always lived a staid and respectable life. Only the humbler, uneducated elements of society shouted and fought and behaved like animals. Just what was she letting herself in for?

Daniel folded the paper, put it into his pocket, and handed the terrified minister some coins for his trouble. Peter should have been the one to do that. Peter had always been her model of respectable behavior. She had only begun to realize how poor her judgment had been all these years. How wrong could she be about a man she had known only a few weeks?

Pure terror washed through Georgina as Daniel reached for her hand to lead her away. She didn't know this man at all. She hadn't even known his real name. A man who could hide his identity while attempting to destroy his real family wasn't the kind of man she wanted for a husband. She jerked her hand away and started out the door without him.

Daniel caught up with her in a few strides. She was halfway down the unpaved street before she realized Peter had taken the carriage, leaving them stranded in an unfamiliar neighborhood.

"Keep going straight. We'll be downtown in a few minutes," Daniel advised as he walked beside her, adjusting his gait to hers.

"Go away," she whispered harshly.

"Since we're going in the same direction, that isn't reasonable."

He was loping along with his limping, humble act, being the amiable journalist again, but now she knew better. Daniel might look tame, but he had a vicious streak to match Peter's any day. Anyone who could take a blow like Peter had dealt him and still strike back with fierceness was not a gentle man. She hurried faster.

Daniel kept pace without complaint. He didn't even seem to be limping much. Maybe that was just a pretense, too. Scowling, she lifted her skirts and almost ran toward town.

"Merry, you can't run away. You did that last night and look where it's got you."

He was right beside her, not even breathing heavily as they entered Main Street. Street sweepers were stirring the dust on the macadam, and a few of them looked up with interest as they hurried by.

Georgina skirted around the lamp man dousing the gaslights. "I'm not running away."

"Then what are you doing? Early morning walks may be beneficial to our health, but I don't think this pace is required."

"Why don't you just shut up and go away? I have to think."

"Fine. I'll be quiet. But I'm not letting you out of my sight. In that gown you'd have every male in town on your heels within minutes."

She hadn't thought of that. She glanced down at the folds of silk blowing in the breeze created by her brisk walk. She wasn't wearing enough under it to disguise her legs beneath the thin fabric, and the neckline was shockingly low for this time and place. Even as she realized that the shadow between her breasts could be seen, she felt Daniel's gaze follow hers. He was staring at her breasts.

And he had every right to. He was her husband.

Gulping at the enormity of the foolishness she had committed, Georgina stalked on.

What if he had lied about leaving her untouched, too?

Chapter 15

"Merry, I'm not going to eat you alive. Why don't we stop somewhere and have a bit of breakfast and discuss this like two rational people?"

"Stop calling me that." Her response was irritable and irrelevant. Daniel's words conjured up uncomfortable sensations that she didn't know how to deal with in these circumstances, and she didn't know how else to reply. Her stomach cried out for food, but she couldn't imagine sitting down across a plate of bacon and eggs with this man just as if they were a real married couple. That was just a shade too intimate for her taste.

And the other sensation causing her agony was even worse. She needed to relieve herself, and there seemed no salvation in sight. She couldn't even remember Daniel's office having anything as civilized as plumbing. What had she done when she had thrown herself out into the cold world beyond her father's safe walls?

"You're right, you're behaving just like your father now. I ought to call you George." Grabbing her elbow, Daniel dragged her into a small side street emanating mouthwatering aromas.

The buildings along this forgotten alley were lined with grime. In wet weather the ground was like a swamp. In dry, it probably consisted of solid ruts and dust so thick a footstep could disturb it. Some of the buildings sported windows with fading letters painted on them. Signs dangling over doorways held the incomprehensible names of their proprietors. Daniel pushed her through the doorway beneath one claiming to be "Mama Sukey's."

The scent of food in here was so strong Georgina could feel her knees weaken. Ham and biscuits came first to mind, and she had a sudden overwhelming desire for the massive breakfasts she had enjoyed when visiting a friend in Kentucky. Mounds of biscuits and bowls of gravy and platters of eggs and ham danced dizzily in her mind. She just might faint from hunger.

Before Georgina could crumple into the nearest chair, a diminutive black woman emerged from the back and gave a holler of welcome, opening her arms and smiling warmly at sight of Daniel. "Danny Boy, where you been keepin' yo'self? I got them fresh aiggs just the way you like them, and you ain't been here to enjoy them."

The woman nearly crushed Daniel in her embrace before she discovered Georgina standing nearby. With a whoop she put Daniel aside, placed her gnarled hands on her hips, and looked Georgina up and down. "What you got here, honey? She sure enough looks like she could use some feeding up. You done brought her to the right place."

"Sukey, meet my wife, Georgina. Georgina, Sukey is the best cook this side of the Ohio, and she'd be the best cook on the other side, too, if her mama hadn't already claimed that title."

Sukey beamed. "My, my. Little Daniel done growed up and got himself a wife. Does my boy Ben know 'bout this?"

"I'm sending out the wires this morning. Is he in Texas or Natchez now?"

"He been sniffin' 'round a little girl down Natchez way, so I s'pect that's where he's at now. Those folks of yours likely to be there, too, now that it's summer. You'd best let them know what you gone and done or they'll be almighty hurt. Now you sit down here and let me whup you up a real meal."

She started toward the kitchen, but Daniel called her back. Gesturing with a modicum of embarrassment to Georgina, he asked, "Can you take Georgina back to wash up? I kind of dragged her away without giving her a chance to prepare."

Georgina sent him an incredulous look, but gladly took the excuse to hurry away. She just prayed that whatever served as a washroom in this place was clean.

When she returned sometime later, considerably relieved and in a tidier condition, she found Daniel already seated at a table mounded with just the kind of breakfast she had been dreaming of and topped off by cinnamon rolls so light they practically floated from the plate. As wedding breakfasts went, this was more than adequate.

Sighing with contentment as she sipped the steaming coffee, she ignored the covert look Daniel sent her, but the half smile that appeared a moment later caught her attention. She frowned and put down her fork filled with eggs.

"Don't look so smug, Daniel Martin or Mulloney or whoever you are. I'm still furious, and I'm going to find a way to get even."

"With whom? Me or Peter or the world?" He dug into his fried ham with fervor. "And what's the point? It's over and done, and we have work to do. There isn't time for plotting revenge."

Her fork lingered uncertainly in midair as she considered his complacency after the morning's events. But the mention of work kept her tongue from flapping loosely. Georgina regarded him with a measure of caution. "You'll let me work? Doing what?"

"Until I can figure out how to get your equipment back from your father, I guess I'll use you to do some of the interviewing. Both Mulloney and your father hire lots of women, and I think they'll talk to you easier than they will to me. I know word has got out that talking to us could cost them their jobs, but I have a plan for that. We need to turn Audrey and Janice to our side first, then we'll be rolling."

It didn't seem credible. Georgina had already seen the trouble she had caused and the resentment that resulted. She wasn't at all certain she would be welcome in that side of town ever again, and after the incident with those two bullies, she wasn't certain she wanted to go. She was beginning to think she would have done better staying in the part of town that she knew, digging through the courthouse records and going to dinner parties, instead of prying where she wasn't welcome.

Her doubts must have shown on her face. Daniel looked up from his feeding frenzy to scan her expression. "You're not backing out now, are you?"

"I don't seem to be very good at it," Georgina answered miserably. "I don't seem to be very good at much of anything."

Daniel grinned and the gray of his eyes practically sparkled. "I imagine there are one or two things you might be good at with practice if that kiss was any example, but I suppose we ought to reserve them until you've decided whether or not you want to be married. I'm looking forward to our wedding night."

Horrified, Georgina stared at him. "You said this was only temporary. You said we wouldn't really be man and wife!"

Daniel shrugged and popped a strawberry into her mouth. "We won't, not until you say so. But don't take too long making up your mind. It's hard being a faithful husband when there's no wife to be faithful to."

She accepted the warning for what it was and lost her appetite. She would either have to move out on her own in truth, or accept Daniel as her husband. He wouldn't wait forever. It was a terrible decision to have to make. She was glad she didn't have to make it immediately.

Filled to overflowing, they traversed the streets more sedately a little while later. Georgina didn't even object when Daniel wrapped his fingers around hers and held her hand. She rather liked the casual possessiveness of his grasp. Peter had never held her hand. He had always offered his arm when required, but even a stranger on the street might do that. She liked knowing she was a little more than a stranger on the street.

She didn't like the direction they were taking, however. She recognized it instantly, and her heart beat in trepidation as the scarlet geranium came in sight. She didn't want to deliberately walk into a place where she would be looked on with scorn. She pulled on Daniel's hand, trying to hold him back, then trying to escape when he continued walking.