Texas Tiger TH3 by Patricia Rice Read Free Book Online

toe reminded Daniel that he was expected to answer. He finished wiping his hands on the rag. "As far as I know, she was just an aging spinster with an axe to grind, but I'm sorry to hear she lost her job. That was uncalled for."
    That took the wind out of her flag fast enough. She had come marching out to war for next to nothing. Daniel waited for the next installment of this emotional drama.
    Georgina grimaced, but forged ahead. "If you are looking for a story on how women are mistreated by management, then you have only to look to my father's factory. I can help you with that."
    That hadn't been what Daniel was looking for at all. He had merely been trying to find out more about his family and their operations, but he wasn't about to admit that to Miss Georgina Hanover. He dusted off the window seat and gallantly offered her a place to sit. He could smell the light fragrance of her soap as she swept by him to accept it. Lilies of the valley. Lord, but it smelled good.
    "I was more interested in Mulloney's," he answered imperturbably.
    "Then you ought to be interested in Hanover Industries. They produce most of the clothing that Mulloney's sells under their own label."
    He really didn't care. The world was rife with injustice. Daniel knew that from firsthand experience. What he really wanted to know about was the callous wealthy family that had thrown him away, but this woman standing in front of him was engaged to the heir apparent. He detected a slight conflict of interest here.
    "Mulloney's is a big name in this town. A story about them will generate sales. Everybody shops at Mulloney's. Why would they bother reading a story about Hanover Industries?"
    "Because those women work terrible hours under horrible conditions and make barely enough to stay alive. Isn't that story enough?"
    "That's your father's factory you're talking about, Miss Hanover. The money he makes from his employees keeps you in those expensive gowns and paid for that equipment." Daniel nodded at the satchels on the floor. As much as he wanted access to that camera, he had a bad feeling in his gut about any partnership with Georgina Hanover. They had no ground in common whatsoever.
    She really hadn't thought this through at all, he could tell. She sighed, wiped her face with a handkerchief, and looked miserable. Daniel suspected that what had started out as an act of defiance to make her father or Peter take notice was now snowballing into something quite different. But she didn't look as if she meant to give up.
    Putting away her handkerchief, Georgina stiffened her shoulders. "All right, have it your way. It's your paper. But I suspect there is some connection with the factory and the store, and that's the reason my father's workers are so overworked. My father is a nice man; Mr. Mulloney isn't."
    Daniel didn't intend to dive after that one. He would see for himself what kind of man Mulloney was, not dwell on gossip. "And what do you think photographs will accomplish on this little crusade of yours, Miss Hanover?" He jerked the topic back to more pertinent arguments.
    She looked surprised. "Why, they'll show the horrible conditions people work under. Photographs are all the rage, you know. People react to pictures much better than words."
    Daniel patiently let her toward the obvious. "News photos must be displayed in windows where they'll be seen, Miss Hanover. Where will you display yours? On my boarded-up windows? I think the people in this area already know the conditions they work under."
    Georgina bit her lip and glanced around as if just discovering where she was. "It's not exactly like the news offices in London, is it?"
    "Not exactly," Daniel agreed. Then taking pity on her, he asked, "Do you know how to use that thing?"
    She brightened. "I spent all morning learning, and they said I could come back any time with questions."
    "I suppose they showed you the wet process?" Daniel asked with a touch of gloom.
    Georgina shook her head. "They have dry