dirty corduroys. He gave a questioning glance to Georgina, but hurried to his sisters. "How did that bastard sneak up on us like that? We usually get plenty of warning when he's around."
"It's Sunday, and nobody expected him. And he came up through the back alley. He must have known we didn't have the money, so he started here first." Janice took her sister's hand and turned her in the direction of the back room. Glancing over her shoulder at Daniel, she said, "I'm sorry, but I don't think we're interested anymore. Find someone else for your story, please."
Janice was the one who had been hurt, but she was comforting her sobbing sister as if it were the other way around. Georgina wanted to help, but she didn't know how. She felt as if she had been dropped into an entirely alien territory and spoke another language.
She almost gasped at Daniel's expression when he turned to her. She had grown accustomed to seeing him in wire-rimmed glasses, reading her notes or working on his press. She knew the laughter that lurked behind his eyes when he took the glasses off. He was always pleasant, good-humored, and patient.
Right now, he looked as if he could commit murder.
The look disappeared behind the gentle gray of his eyes as he turned to Douglas. "Who owns these houses?"
The boy shrugged and avoided his eyes. "Anybody wants to rent, they talk to Egan. But he don't own them. He calls the owner 'boss.' "
Daniel curled his hand around Georgina's elbow, tugging her toward the door. "Come on, we're going to find out who 'boss' is."
One of the neighbors was already hurrying toward the little house with a basket of medicinal supplies. She gave Georgina's rich gown a look of hostility before disappearing into the interior.
There was no sign of the unconscious Egan in the gutter, but the man hauling Georgina down the street didn't seem to notice. Mr. Martin's jaw was taut and strained, and his limp had returned. She wondered how in heaven's name he had been able to deliver that kick. She wasn't certain he was quite human.
She hurried to keep up with his furious pace. "Where are we going?"
"You are going home."
"I can't. Blucher won't be at the church for another hour or more."
"I'll hire a cab."
Georgina dug in her heels and refused to move farther. "I want to help. You said a story like this needs pictures."
Daniel glared at her. "This isn't the same story. This story needs a six-gun and a whip. You're going home."
"A six-gun?" Her eyes strayed to his narrow hips, and she breathed a sigh of relief to see he wasn't wearing a weapon. "That's barbaric. All we need to do is go to the courthouse and find out who owns the deeds. I can have my father's lawyer do that tomorrow."
"I have a suspicion your lawyer won't want to do that. I can almost wager he already knows who owns this block. And I would wager almost as much that every damned person watching us right now knows who owns these houses. This town isn't so big that anybody can hide for long behind a bully."
Georgina's eyes narrowed. "You already have somebody in mind, don't you?"
Daniel tugged at her arm and got her moving again. "It isn't anybody living on this side of town, that's for damned sure."
"It's somebody living on my side of town, like my father. That's what you're saying." Georgina wasn't accustomed to being angry, but she was getting there. She shook off his imprisoning hand. "Well, it isn't my father. My father is too nice to hire a thug like that."
"That's why your father hires a misogynist like Ralph Emory as foreman for a factory full of women."
"Misogynist?"
Daniel gave her a glare. "A man who hates women."
"I never heard of such a thing," she declared, halting and stamping her foot. "That's perfectly silly. Why would any man hate women, and if one did, why would my father hire him? You're making this up just to send me home."
"I don't need to make anything up to send you home. That's where you're going. You have no business in this fight. I don't know why I let you come down here in the first place. As of this moment you're fired. I'll send you your paycheck in the morning."
Before Georgina knew what was happening, they were out on the main thoroughfare and he was hailing a shabby cab meandering away from the church. She