whole town on its ear, and we'll do it smiling."
As Daniel watched the parade of gaily decorated carts and people chattering in half a dozen languages snaking their way out of the dingy alley into the broader thoroughfares of the town, he nodded agreement. There were better ways than violence, and his own Miss Merry would find them. He was damned proud of her.
As he hurried her down the alley to catch up with the others, he raised his head to catch sight of Egan standing in the shadows of a cross street. Daniel grinned, grabbed a ribbon from Georgina's hair, and stuck it like a banner into his rifle barrel. The other man scowled and turned away.
Chapter 32
The parade attracted considerable attention as it wended its way through city streets on the way to the better residential section of town. Janice and Audrey waved cheerfully to acquaintances among the clerks pouring from Mulloney's at day's end. Others among the crowd waved at friends and neighbors and relatives emerging from other stores along the streets. And carriages and horses lined up to take their owners home were caught in the traffic as the parade spilled through the crowded thoroughfares.
Georgina caught sight of one of Peter's younger brothers astride a horse trapped by the masses, and she waved gaily. He looked startled, then grinned so much like Daniel that she warmed to him instantly.
She poked Daniel and pointed. "That's your youngest brother, John. Wave."
Daniel turned to where she indicated and was startled to see a younger version of himself staring back. All the boy needed was a pair of spectacles and a bad haircut and he could almost be the eighteen-year-old Daniel had once been. The youngest in the family hadn't followed the Mulloney tradition for Irish good looks, then. With a rather foolish grin at that thought, Daniel waved as directed.
The boy looked mildly puzzled, but he nodded back, then eased himself through a break in the crowd and disappeared down a side street. Daniel watched him go with a feeling of disappointment that he would never have the chance to know the lad. It had never really bothered him before that he hadn't had an opportunity to know his brothers. He wouldn't dwell on it now, when it was too late. He turned his attention back to the disorderly parade.
The straggling procession of carts and poorly dressed people seemed to be growing in size. Neighbors joined neighbors as word spread, and there was an air of defiant celebration as they passed Mulloney's with ribbons flying. Daniel glanced up and caught the brief shadow of a man in an upper-story window, and he lifted a victorious fist with thumb upraised at his father This wasn't the significant moment he had hoped to share with the man, but it certainly was what he deserved.
As they moved into the quieter residential area, the party became a little more subdued. Many of them had never been here before, and they stared around at the immaculate grounds behind iron fences with awe. They passed respectfully around an elegant carriage containing an elderly lady, making a path for it to continue on its way undisturbed. The woman didn't even turn her head to acknowledge them.
Janice worked her way around the crowd to walk beside Georgina. "This idea is beginning to lose its appeal," she murmured. "We don't belong here."
"Just as I don't belong on your side of town?" Georgina challenged her. "Just as Betsy won't belong in Mulloney's when she grows up?"
"Betsy can be anything she wants to be when she grows up. I'll see to that," Janice replied boldly.
"Then you'd better start teaching her about this side of town. It has the same kind of people in it as your side; they're just dressed fancier and more of them speak English." Georgina waved at a startled Loyolla Banks as the mayor's wife stood on her porch to see what was happening. Loyolla only stared back.
"Your father will have us all arrested for trespassing."
Daniel stepped between the two women and took their arms as he pushed them toward the head of the procession. "Her father is in Chicago trying to borrow money, a little bird tells me."
Georgina threw him a suspicious look. "How do you know that?"
"The little bird works in the telegraph office." With a wink Daniel linked their arms and steered the parade up the driveway to the Hanover home.
Carts and wheelbarrows spilled over the lovingly groomed lawn as the newcomers stared up