head in disbelief, then pointed the rifle at Daniel. "Get your boots on, cowboy. You're about to get hitched." Over his shoulder he added, "Find some clothes, Georgina, or you'll be going out like that."
"Don't be ridiculous. You can't tell me what to do." Not completely understanding, Georgina remained where she was.
Daniel was the one who had to clarify matters for her. "Unless you wish to learn how a bullet works when it goes through a man's heart, you'd better put some clothes on, Miss Merry. I told you you wouldn't like this."
She had read about eyebrows disappearing into a person's hairline, and she suspected she was performing that trick right now as she stared at Peter. He wasn't watching her; he was aiming that silly rifle right at Daniel's heart. Why didn't Daniel just kick it out of his hands?
"Where are we going?"
"To the preacher. If you're not marrying me, then you'll be marrying your cowboy. Somebody has to take you in hand." Peter seemed completely serious.
Georgina was quite certain it was a joke. She sent Daniel a quizzical glance, but he merely waited with arms crossed for her to do as told. Scowling, she made an ungraceful retreat to the pressroom. She knew Daniel had something up his sleeve, but it would be a great deal easier if he would just pull it out now. This was becoming downright embarrassing.
She hadn't known Peter even owned a rifle. He'd probably had to borrow it from one of his brothers. She hoped he knew how it worked or he was likely to blow someone's head off.
That thought hurried Georgina's steps. She hadn't really believed she would be putting Daniel into any danger by her impulsive decision, but he was standing out there at the wrong end of a barrel held by a man who was not exactly in his right mind at the moment. Should that gun go off for whatever reason...
She hadn't been able to resist bringing along the London gown that didn't require a corset. It was the easiest thing to don under the circumstances. Pulling on a chemise and drawers, she hurriedly pulled the gown over her head and adjusted the draping respectably. She couldn't put her shoes on without stockings, so she looked around for a chair to sit on. Finding none, she sighed, and sat on the floor and jerked on the first pair she found, holding them up with tiny blue garters decorated with rosettes. All she needed now was to borrow something and she'd be ready for a wedding.
That thought struck her rather forcefully. Surely Peter hadn't really meant that? He was just trying to make her suffer. Anyway, Daniel was certain to find some way of disarming him. And no preacher in Cutlerville would marry them like this. This was just a means of forcing her out of the building. Well, she'd leave, but she would be back.
Fastening her shoes, she picked herself up off the floor and wished for a little more covering than the flowing sleeves of the gown. But her riding jacket was still wet, her winter cloak too heavy, and the gown didn't come with a polonaise to cover it, so she would have to go as she was.
More angry than afraid, Georgina stalked back to the front room to see the scene hadn't changed by much. The dog had settled down on the floor and gone back to sleep. Daniel was behaving most peculiarly. She had been quite certain that once she was out of the way he would have provoked some sort of struggle. But he stood calmly waiting for her, holding his jacket over his arm. He was wearing his boots, she noticed, and her heart sank to her stomach. They were really going out into the world like this.
Peter gestured with the rifle. "Come on, let's get this over. Reverend Herron will have left home if we don't get there soon."
Georgina's stomach swallowed her heart and carried it to her feet. Reverend Herron worked at Mulloney's because his congregation was so poor it couldn't support him. Herron was possibly the only preacher in town who might do what Peter told him without questioning.
She shot Daniel a look to see if he realized that fact. He merely settled his jacket around her shoulders and took her arm.
"The storm cooled things off," he murmured.
She couldn't believe this was happening. They walked down the stairs in front of Peter, who still clenched the rifle as if he