“Thank you.” He lifted her gloved hand to his mouth and placed a gentle kiss against her knuckles, a pleasant warmth traveling up her arm and into her chest.
The more she learned about Matt—from his work ethic to his undeniable pride in his family—the more she liked him. If she ever considered marriage, it would be with someone like him.
As if she would ever marry. Between her family and her workers, a home and family of her own was just a far-fetched dream.
Chapter 5
Their late lunch turned into dinner. Not that Matt was complaining. The more time he spent with Dania, the more convinced he was that Senator Evers was hiding something. Why would the man suggest the Eisons’ mill be the focal point of his article on the need for child labor laws if he knew what Dania was doing to help her young employees? And why had Evers led Matt to believe Dania was just another spoiled society girl? What had been the real reason for the division between the senator and his lifelong friend?
What about Dania? There was no denying she cared about her young employees, even went so far as to educate them. Then why didn’t she change her employment policies to exclude children up to the state’s mandated age of twelve?
“Dinner was lovely, Matt.” Dania took the arm he offered and settled in beside him as they stepped out onto the sidewalk. “I usually don’t eat dessert, but that peach cobbler was too tempting to pass up.”
Matt covered her hand with his and smiled. “Maybe we can eat here again before you return home.”
She turned her head and studied a store window display. “I shouldn’t be here now, but I’d hoped to discuss the mill with Mr. Young.”
“The industrial engineer?”
“Hmmm.” She nodded. “He has some theories on employee safety and facility layout that I think could be useful at the mill.” She pressed her lips into a slight frown. “Only I can’t get an appointment with him.”
“That’s odd.”
“Not really,” she replied. “Young is very well respected in his field.”
Matt shook his head. “No, I mean, the man’s secretary called on me at the paper yesterday morning and arranged an interview. He even gave me my pick of appointment times.”
Dania’s face fell. “Oh.”
“Why would he do that? I can’t imagine his appointment book filled up that quickly.”
“It didn’t.” The pain in her eyes when she glanced up at him was almost his undoing. “Mr. Young won’t see me because he doesn’t believe women should be business owners. Or at least, his secretary believes that.”
“That’s ridiculous. Many women own their own businesses these days.”
“Maybe, but most do things like sewing or cooking or running a boardinghouse.” She sucked in a deep breath. “Very few are in manufacturing or textiles.”
Matt’s temper flared. “That’s all the more reason for Young to mentor those who are in the field.”
Dania stopped walking and turned to face him, a soft smile on her face. “You know, you’re not what I expected, either.”
He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear this. He was, after all, working in Senator Evers’s interest, though the position had not been finalized. But something deep down inside wanted to know what this woman thought about him. “How’s that?”
“Well, I thought you’d be like Uncle George. A little stuffy at times.” She blushed. “Very set in his ways. Why, Uncle George was completely against Papa leaving me in charge of the mill. He said no man would want a woman in business. Said Papa would be better off leaving it to him, that he would see to our well-being, and that I and my sisters would marry well. But you—” She gave him a shy smile. “You’ve been a pleasant surprise.”
Matt wanted to bask in her compliment, but this might be his only chance to discover what happened between the men. “How did your father react to his suggestion?”
“Papa laughed it off.” She hesitated. “But he broke off his friendship with Uncle George soon after that and told me to never trust him. Papa didn’t like getting unsolicited advice, even from his best friend, so I didn’t take it too seriously.”
Mr. Eison broke off the friendship, not the other way around as the senator had claimed. What other suggestions had Evers made to Dania’s father? Had Evers even asked Mr. Eison to get rid of his child employees? Is that why the men broke ties? “Why do you think your uncle didn’t come to your father’s funeral?”
Dania squeezed his arm then turned and started down the street. “Your mother must have gone mad with all the questions you asked as a child.”
Matt laughed. “I believe if you don’t ask, you’ll never know.”
“That’s very wise of you.” The sparkle went out of her expression. “I only wished I had the opportunity to ask.”
She was thinking about Mr. Young again. Well, that was easily fixed. “You’re coming with me tomorrow.”
Startled blue eyes gazed up at him. “What?”
“Young’s secretary gave me two hours with him tomorrow morning starting at ten. I’ve already gotten most of the information I need, so if you’d like to ask him some of your questions …”
“You would do that for me?” Her lips spread into a wide smile, and he forgot to breathe. He had a feeling he would do a great deal more for her if given the chance.
“Of course,” Matt said when he finally caught his breath. “I’ll pick you up in the morning. Just have a list of your questions ready.”
“Then I’d better get back to my room.” He could almost feel her tremble with excitement. “I have so many questions. How am I going to figure out which ones to ask?”
“I could help you, you know,” Matt offered before he could stop himself. Questions about Senator Evers still lingered in his mind, questions that might be answered by some of his sources around town. But that could wait. Dania needed him, and for the moment at least, that was simply enough.
Matt watched Dania pace the lobby of Ernest Young’s hotel room the next morning. Her hair secured in a loose chignon at the base of her neck, she looked every bit the young businesswoman, but even dressed in a pale blue waist shirt, black skirt, and sensible boots, she still managed to steal every rational thought out of his head. “You’re going to wear a hole in the rug if you keep doing that.”
The corners of her mouth lifted into a sweet smile, one that he was growing quite fond of. “I’m afraid I’ll forget everything I want to ask.”
“You wrote your questions down, didn’t you?”
She pulled a notebook similar to his out of her skirt pocket. “It took some time, but I think I got everything.”
Matt nodded. It had taken the better part of the evening to hone in on what Dania felt would best help the mill. Some questions had surprised Matt in their simplicity, but each focused on the safety and care of her young employees. It had struck him sometime last night that she truly cared for these people, even at the cost of her own profits. This made him like her all the more.
Like? Who was he kidding? The feelings he had toward Dania Eison had evolved far beyond that simple term. He wasn’t ready to put a name to it yet, only that she might possibly be the most interesting woman he’d ever met.
And he was springing her on Mr. Young without a word of warning. Whatever questions Dania had, she needed to make them count. “Did you narrow them down to the most important one or two?”
Dania stopped midstep and glanced at him, her wide blue eyes focused and determined. “I picked the most pressing ones about safety, but depending on his answers, I probably have follow-up questions.” She walked back and sat down in the chair beside him. “I only wished I didn’t need to ask them at all.”
Her statement surprised him. In the short time he’d known her, it was apparent Dania loved her work, but man or woman, it was a huge responsibility to carry. “Why’s that?”
She sighed then shook her head. “It’s nothing. Forget I even said that.”
But Matt couldn’t. He’d never liked unanswered
questions, not in interviews he conducted or in the stories he researched. It displayed a lack of trust, almost as if she were hiding something, though he couldn’t for his life think why.
Unless she didn’t trust him.
“Matt?” He turned to find her staring at him. “You’re thinking.”
He shook his head. “No, I’m not.”
“Your brows furrow and you get this terribly serious look on your face.” Dania stood in front of him, her hands clasped behind her back. “You’re wondering why I didn’t explain myself.”
How was she able to read him so well? He guessed turnaround was fair play. “It’s the reporter in me.”
She gave him a soft smile. “That makes you an excellent journalist.” Her lips flattened into a straight line. “It’s just that if I had my choice, I wouldn’t have children on the payroll.”
Dania didn’t want to use child labor in her mill? Matt asked the question before he could stop himself. “Then why do you?”
She drew in a deep breath. “After Papa died, I worked out a plan to replace all the children in the mill with adults. We would pay a living wage to any man or woman over sixteen we hired. It meant a significant decrease in my family’s fortune, but it was the right thing to do.” She knotted her hands in her lap. “Only I didn’t expect such opposition from the children’s parents.”
“Why?”
“Tifton is a small farming community, so most of the older boys work the land while their younger siblings make ends meet working at the mill.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Matt said more to himself than to her. His family had been too busy just trying to survive to worry about making ends meet.
“If I give jobs to adults, it’s as if I’m taking food off those children’s plates.” She turned worried eyes to stare at him. “They could lose their homes.”
Matt knew the feeling all too well. Many a night after his parents thought he was asleep, he’d listened to them worry about how they would pay the rent or put food on the table. More than a few times, he’d stolen sweet potatoes from one of the farms on his way to work, just so he’d have something to eat. Even now, all these years later, the thought of it made him sick.
Yet here Dania was, trying her best to help the children under her care. Everything she’d done in these last few days—buying fabric, hiring a boot maker, speaking to Mr. Young—spoke of her commitment to her young employees.
“Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.” The scripture his mama use to read from her old Bible whispered through him. Those were hard verses for anyone to live up to, yet he could see them being lived out in Dania. She was a rare jewel in their materialistic world—someone who actually cared more for others than herself.
What he would give to have her in his life!
But that wasn’t possible, not until he discovered why George Evers wanted to destroy her family. Matt glanced at her. He couldn’t ask Dania outright; finding out her uncle was using the Eisons as a springboard to the governor’s mansion would hurt her badly. Still, she might be able to give him a lead. He’d just have to be careful how he phrased his questions. “Did you ever talk to your uncle George about this?”
“Once, a long time ago.” She gave a feminine snort. “He thought that I would lose everything Papa had worked for and leave our family destitute. It was the reason he suggested I find a husband.”
The idea irked Matt. If Evers had succeeded, Dania would be married, and he would have never had the chance to know her, to love her, to make her his wife.
His wife?
Matt cleared his throat, his heart pounding like a piston on one of the machines in the industry pavilion at the exposition. “Did the senator suggest anyone for the position?”
Dania grimaced then whispered, “He said he would take care of me and my family, make sure my sisters married well, and that Mama was cared for. I didn’t understand it. I mean, I thought of him as a relative but not a …” Her throat worked as she tried to get out the word. “Husband.”
No wonder Martin Eison broke off his friendship with Evers. The man wanted to get his hands on Dania’s fortune. Was this how he’d hoped to fund his gubernatorial campaign? By using the Eisons’ funds? And when Dania and her father didn’t fall in line, did the senator plan to exact his revenge by running them out of business? Matt intended to find out.
Chapter 6
I’m afraid that’s all the time I have.”
Dania scribbled the answer to her last question in her notebook then glanced at the massive grandfather clock in the corner. Two fifteen? That couldn’t be right. Matt’s appointment was scheduled to end at twelve o’clock, and he’d only needed ten minutes to clarify some points. That would mean …
Dania turned to the gentleman across from her, collecting her things as she spoke. “Mr. Young, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you this long.”
The man gave her a reassuring smile. “It was my pleasure, Miss Eison. I only wished I had more time to answer your questions, but if I don’t leave now, I’ll be late for my introduction at the exposition.”
“Mr. Young,” Matt said from where he stood in the corner. “Neither one of us expected such generosity of your time. I’m sure I speak for the both of us when I say thank you.”
Was it her imagination or was there a hint of irritation in Matt’s voice, but why? Was it possible that Matt was jealous? The thought came to Dania out of nowhere. That was impossible. Mr. Young had been nothing short of professional in answering her questions and asking some of his own—nothing to indicate a more personal interest. Besides, the man was too full of himself to take an interest in anyone else.
Maybe Matt was irritated with her. She had taken up most of Mr. Young’s time this afternoon, and Matt had an article to get out. Yes, that had to be it, but that didn’t stop her from hoping he might be the tiniest bit jealous. Because that would mean Matt cared about her, and she so wanted him to care.
Dania closed her notebook and put it along with her pencil in her reticule, half listening as the men talked about the exposition. Mama had always told her that her heart would know when she met the man God had picked out just for her. But wasn’t that something mothers told their spinster daughters so they didn’t give up hope? Dania had thought so.
But then she met Matt.
“I thought you weren’t scheduled to speak until tomorrow, Mr. Young,” Matt said as he came to stand alongside her chair and placed his hand gently on her shoulder, as if declaring himself to the man.
But Mr. Young didn’t seem put off by it. “I’m not, but they’re introducing some of the more important speakers this afternoon at the state pavilion.” He glanced down at Dania and smiled. “Were you planning on attending tomorrow, Miss Eison?”
“Why, yes. I am—”
“We both do,” Matt added before she could finish her sentence. Though it was a simple response, there was a warning in Matt’s words, as if he were protecting her from Mr. Young’s perceived advances.
Dania rolled her eyes. Men!
“Then allow me to reserve you two seats. I’ve been told to expect a rather large gathering, and I’d hate to think of Miss Eison fighting the crowd to hear my lecture.”
A rather pompous statement but probably true. Shaking off Matt’s hold, Dania stood and held out her hand to Mr. Young. “How very kind of you.”
“Yes,” Matt bit out. “Very kind.”
Taking her hand, Young bent down and placed a soft kiss against her knuckles that made her go tense. Of all the … Dania drew her hand back and grasped her reticule to keep her hands from shaking. “Until tomorrow then.”
“I’ll walk you to the door.”
“That’s all right.” Matt’s fingers cupped around her elbow. “We can see ourselves out.”
Dania hurried out of the suite alongside Matt, matching him step for step until they stood in the hallway. She finally drew in a breath when the door to the hotel room mercifully clicked sh
ut.
Strong hands came down gently on her shoulders. “Are you okay?”
Dania rubbed her hands together, desperate to rid herself of the feel of Young’s lips on her skin. “I wasn’t expecting him to kiss my hand like that. It was …”
“What?” Matt asked. “You’re not going to say noble, are you?”
Dania’s heart tumbled around in her chest. Matt was more than a little bit jealous if his reaction was anything to go by. Well, there was one way to find out. She sucked in a calming breath and lifted her head to look at him. “I was going to say gallant. Like something you might read in one of Jane Austen’s books.”
“I wouldn’t know. I don’t read British romance novels.” He smirked, then turned, dropping one hand to the small of her back. He gave her a slight push in the direction of the stairs. “If you ask me, the man was rather forward toward you.”
Dania ducked her head, biting her lip to keep from smiling. “Forward?”
“Couldn’t you see the man was flirting with you?”
If that was flirting, Mr. Young had better stick with his perk diagrams. “Flirting? Mr. Young only answered my questions. He was a perfect gentleman.”
“You may not have realized his intentions, but I saw what he was up to.” He must have noticed her confusion because his brows furrowed into deep lines. “The man canceled two appointments so he could spend more time with you.”
Maybe Matt was right. Maybe Mr. Young had been flirting, not that she would recognize a flirtation if it reached up and bit her on the nose. But Matt had noticed it and had acted to protect her from the man. Did that mean he cared for her, or was he simply being a gentleman?
Why was she even thinking about it? The mill owned her body and spirit for the foreseeable future, and whatever time she had to spare was devoted to her mother and sisters. There wasn’t enough hours in the day to explore a relationship with Matt right now or for several years to come.
But she did love to tease Matt. “He’s not too old for me.”
Matt slammed his hat on his head once they’d reached the lobby. “Old enough to be your father.”
The American Heiress Brides Collection Page 31