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her hostess asked anxiously, "What about the children? Where are your little girls?"
    Jewel whirled and strode toward the other female in the room, wanting to accept this woman as an ally—to trust her—but unwilling to believe in the goodness of anyone now present. The Indian reached for her, and she brushed his hand aside.
    "What do you know about my children?" She'd wanted to appear polite, civilized, but instead her voice came out a harsh demand.
    Hamilton Quince unwound his length from his chair and stood, stepping between Jewel and his wife.
    "It's all right, Ham, let me talk to her." Comfort Quince maneuvered around her husband and reached a hand out to Jewel.
    "I know that you have two baby girls. You've named them Amethyst and Emerald."
    The woman was eager, and her face flushed as she spoke. Jewel stepped back. She was suddenly sure no help would come from Comfort Quince. This woman had her own agenda.
    "I know that you have struggled to care for them, and they were the reason you and your husband parted."
    Jewel stared at her astonished. Since when is my business of interest to the Queen of Eclipse society?
    Jewel had lived in the town and around it long enough to know that Comfort Bailey had married her way up, from crooked sheriff, Owen Bailey—now deceased—to rich rancher, Hamilton Quince. It was also reported that there was nothing Hamilton wouldn't do for his wife, including kill her first husband.
    Along the way, Comfort had accumulated the Boarding House they were occupying, and the Mercantile, where Jewel couldn't afford to shop. It was obvious the woman was no fool.
    Add to that the lustrous dark hair, elegant height, porcelain skin, and full ruby lips, and it wasn't surprising that she was the arbiter of Eclipse male society. But what was unexpected was that she also ruled the female population and guided them with a firm hand.
    But Jewel was sure the Comfort Quinces of the world understood nothing of the underclass—the gamblers, drunks, and whores that made up the town the Rossiters had visited.
    Awful fear swept over her, and she clenched her hands to keep them from shaking, palsied like an old woman. She thought she might suffocate on her own panicked awareness of danger. Inside and out, there was no ally to be had.
    So close, so close … just let me survive these next moments to get out of here.
    Please…
    Her entreaty was a nameless mantra to herself. She'd given up praying to God when he stopped listening. Jewel gathered her wits and hid her terror.
    " Why do you know about my children?" She phrased her question carefully to maximize her request for information and minimize the time it would take to get it.
    It was a conversation between women. The men in the room were excluded, and none attempted to interrupt the tableau. "I … have been concerned about their well-being.
    I know that a woman like you…"
    Comfort paused, her cheeks flushing a darker shade of rose, as she continued,
    "Forgive me. I know that your life has been difficult. What I meant to say is simply, I, that is, my husband and I, would like to adopt your daughters."
    Once the words were out of the woman's mouth, Jewel felt almost relief. She'd expected some nameless horror.
    "Of course you can't adopt my daughters." She relaxed and made to step back, but the other woman claimed her arm and stopped her.
    "Listen to me." Even as Comfort took her arm, Jewel shook it off and stepped back.
    "Listen to me, Jewel Rossiter. You cannot give those precious children a good home. If you love them, you'll see that they would be much better with my husband and me. We can give them everything…"
    "No." Jewel turned toward the hall door and started walking, all the time clenching her teeth to keep the bile of ugliness that festered in her belly from rising to choke her.
    "I'm leaving now."
    I've got a buyer lined up for the twins, Jewel, Frank had taunted her just that morning. She'd thought it an empty threat to frighten her into