She turned a last contemptuous glance at Adam, resenting the fact that he, too, had witnessed her private grief.
She seemed about to say something, then thought better about it and clamped her mouth shut. She’d tell him what she thought about him another time. For now, she would give him a wide berth. And hope he would do the same for her.
Adam helped Pearl into the rig. When she was seated she cast him a sideways glance.
“Thank you for intervening on my behalf, Adam. And for staying. It was very kind of you.”
He mounted his stallion and tipped his hat to her. “You’re welcome, Pearl. I hope you and Diamond take the time to get to know each other.”
“Why?” she asked softly.
He glanced at the line of horsemen, and their leader, her spine stiff, her head lifted in that defiant pose. Already the haughty arrogance she wore like protective armor was back in place. “I think it’s what your father would have wanted.”
At the mention of her father, Pearl fought back the tears that threatened to blind her. With a nod, she flicked the reins and the horse and rig moved ahead.
Adam held his mount still, watching the strange procession winding its way toward the ranch house in the distance. He’d been right earlier, he thought. It had been quite a day. But for these two intriguing young women, it was far from over.
Chapter Eight
“I guess we could take our coffee over by the fire.”
Supper was finished, and Carmelita had returned to her own little ranch with her husband, Rosario, leaving the two young women alone. And feeling stiff and awkward.
Diamond led the way across the room to a sofa flanking a large blackened fireplace, where a log blazed. Nudging off her boots, she lifted her feet to the hearth and gave a sigh.
Beside her, Pearl sat primly, her feet crossed at the ankles, her cup balanced delicately on her knees.
During their meal the conversation had been stilted and polite. Each had carefully skirted the edges of the topic that dominated their thoughts. But Onyx Jewel was clearly on the minds of both his daughters.
“It was nice of Mr. Winter to intervene for me today,” Pearl said conversationally.
“You mean interfere.”
Pearl heard the emotion that crept into Diamond’s tone. “You don’t approve of Adam Winter?”
“I don’t trust him.”
“Why?”
“He was accused of killing Pa.”
“Oh.” Pearl brought a hand to her mouth and looked stunned. “But if he killed Daddy, why is he still free?”
“He was found not guilty during his trial.”
“Then he’s innocent.”
“I didn’t say innocent,” Diamond said bluntly. “I said not guilty.” As briefly as possible she told Pearl about the trial, and the judge’s verdict. Then, almost reluctantly, she added the details of how Adam had saved her life. “But in my eyes that doesn’t mean a thing,” she said. “I still have my suspicions about Adam Winter.”
“His actions don’t seem to be those of a killer. And I hope, not only for your sake, but for Daddy’s, that the killer is found soon.” Pearl sipped her tea and contemplated for long moments. “As for Mr. Winter, I thought he was a perfect gentleman.”
Gentleman. The word grated. Diamond thought about the way he’d kissed her. She was pretty sure it wasn’t a gentleman’s kiss. Feeling a strange flutter in the pit of her stomach, she decided to change the subject.
“Tell me about your life in Boston.” Diamond turned to study the young woman beside her.
“It’s very ordinary.” Pearl kept her gaze on the fire. “I live in a small, neat house with a lovely white fence. Whenever Daddy came to visit he...” Realizing how painful this must be for Diamond, her voice trailed off for a moment.
Beside her, Diamond sucked in a breath at the pain. Her father had kept a very important part of his life secret. Why? To spare her feelings, she surmised. But hadn’t he known that one day the truth would come out and she would be hurt by it?
To cover the awkwardness Pearl continued, “There are many shops nearby. A seamstress, a hatmaker, a shoemaker, a fish market and several other markets where each day I buy what I need for my meals.”
Her words pulled Diamond out of her painful reverie. “It sounds so strange. I can’t imagine looking out my window and seeing shops and houses, and people walking along a street.” She shook her head. “I don’t think I’d like it at all.”
“Mama loved Boston. Daddy talked about his life in the West, and I often used to daydream about joining him. But Mama warned me that I would probably wither and die in Texas. She said that it was a vast, lonely place, with few people one could call friends.”
“Now that you’ve seen it, do you agree?” Diamond asked.
“Oh, no. Not at all. This part of the country takes my breath away. The mountains, the plains, the exotic rock formations. And the people, so open, so willing to say exactly what is on their minds.” She sighed. “It is like no other place on earth.”
Her words pleased Diamond. She tried to imagine what it must look like to this Boston woman. But it was impossible. She had no way to compare Texas with the rest of the world. To her, this was the only world.
“Mama was afraid, I think,” Pearl said softly.
“Afraid of what?”
“Of losing me to the allure of Daddy’s life. She knew I was enchanted by his stories of Texas. And so she reminded me that in Boston there are always friends to call upon when one is lonely. And lovely teas and parties.”
“Is that all you do in Boston?” Diamond’s eyes widened in surprise. “Go to teas and parties?”
“Of course not.” Pearl laughed, and Diamond found herself warming to the sound. “I’m hoping soon to find work. Like my mother, I’ve studied at a school for young ladies, and I intend to become a teacher.”
“School?” Diamond swiveled her head to stare at Pearl. “You studied at a ladies’ school? What’s it like?”
“It is a very large building, with the upper rooms used for dormitories. The lower rooms are used for classes. Many of the young ladies during my term came from far away and boarded there. But because I lived in town, I was allowed to go home each evening.”
“What did you study?”
“English, mathematics, history, biology. And a smattering of other sciences. And, of course, comportment. Most of the young ladies were expected to marry wealthy gentlemen, and were being trained in the womanly arts.”
Diamond had no idea what womanly arts were, but she thought she would like history and science. “You must be very smart.”
The young woman shrugged. “I never gave it much thought. Mama insisted that I get an education. It was just taken for granted that I would do as she said. But because I did not come from wealth, and was not part of a... proper family, I was being trained for a life of service.”
She looked over at Diamond. “What about you? Didn’t you go to school?”
“Until a few years ago there wasn’t even much of a town in Hanging Tree to speak of, let alone a schoolhouse.” She flushed. “I suppose, after Boston, you still don’t think it’s much of a town.”
“Don’t be silly. I think it’s a lovely place. The stage driver was very kind to me. And Mrs. Potter couldn’t have been sweeter when I asked for a room.”
Diamond chuckled. “I’m not surprised. It isn’t often she gets a chance to take in a boarder. Especially one that looks like you and smells so good.” She breathed deeply. “What is that sweet smell?”
“Lilac water,” Pearl admitted. “Would you like to borrow some?”
“Me?” Diamond laughed harder, feeling suddenly more relaxed and carefree than she had in hours. Strange. She knew that she and Pearl could never be friends. But she had never had a close female friend before, except for Carmelita, and the housekeeper didn’t count because she was so much older. Diamond hadn’t known how easy it would be to talk with another female. “What would I want with
lilac water?”
Pearl sipped her tea. “Sometimes, when I’m feeling sad, it makes me feel better just to touch a drop to my throat. It lifts my spirits. It feels cool and it smells so lovely.”
Lovely. Diamond rubbed at her temple. That word again. Pearl seemed to use it a lot. And it suited her. The more she got to know this city girl, the more she realized Pearl was a... lovely person. She realized now that her first impressions were wrong. Pearl wasn’t a charlatan. She was a grief-stricken young woman who had just lost her... father.
Father. She blinked back the sting behind her lids.
“You haven’t told me about your education,” Pearl persisted.
“There’s not much to tell. We don’t have a teacher here in Hanging Tree. No need for one. Mothers teach their daughters what they need to know, and fathers teach their sons.”
“But you said your mother died when you were a baby. Who taught you?” Pearl asked.
“Pa.” Diamond’s voice warmed. “He taught me all I needed to know. There isn’t a mustang alive I can’t rope and ride. Pa used to say I could shoot almost as well as he could. And I can hold my own in any barroom brawl.”
If Pearl was horrified by such accomplishments, she managed to hide it. “Can you read and write?”
“ ’Course I can. And Pa taught me sums so I could keep his ledgers.”
“That’s good. But there are some things only a woman can teach you,” Pearl interrupted.
“Like what?”
Pearl’s cheeks turned a becoming shade of pink. “Personal things. Female things. Like... taking care of your body. And dealing with men.”
Now, that was a topic that had Diamond’s complete attention. Could it be that Pearl might have some advice for dealing with these strange new feelings she’d been having whenever she got too close to Adam Winter? At once she dismissed the thought. After all, she hardly knew this young woman. How could she bring herself to discuss anything so intimate, so confusing?
“And only another woman can teach you about having babies,” Pearl added.
“Well, I won’t need to know about those things,” Diamond said emphatically.
Pearl seemed genuinely shocked. “Why?”
“I’ll never marry and have children. I’m never going to let any man take Pa’s place in my heart.”
For long minutes the two young women looked away, staring into the fire, deep in thought.
Pearl glanced around at the strange mix of furnishings scattered about the substantial room. There were ornately carved high-back chairs from Mexico, paired with elegantly embroidered footstools from Europe. The rug underfoot was Turkish, and the curtains at the windows were Irish lace. Yet the young woman who took such splendor for granted seemed as simple and unaffected as a child. “How did you come by such exotic things?”
“Pa found a lot of these things on his buying trips to...the East and to California.” It suddenly occurred to Diamond that he had found more than furniture on his “buying” trips. He’d found someone to ease his loneliness, and eventually another daughter. Oh, Pa, she thought with sudden, wrenching sadness. I thought I knew everything about you. But I didn’t really know you at all.
She struggled to gather her scattered thoughts. “Pa said the ports were crammed with all manner of imported things, if a man knew where to look.”
“Some of these appear to be quite expensive.”
Diamond shrugged. The cost of a thing had never interested her. Nor had she ever, until now, thought to question the value of her surroundings. “Pa used to say that the cattle business had been very good to him.” She looked up. “But it was never the money that drove him. It was his desire to be the best. I understood that. It’s the same with me. I won’t...I can’t,” she corrected herself, “allow Pa’s death to mark the end of the Jewel empire. For Pa’s sake, for my own, I have to carry on Pa’s work.”
Pearl heard the note of urgency in Diamond’s voice, and realized that this young woman was desperately trying to convince herself that she could manage alone.
“Death is never the end,” she whispered. “It is merely a passing.”
“I try...” Diamond swallowed. “I try to imagine that Pa is right here beside me. But...”
Again the two young women turned away, uncomfortably aware of the fact that the grief each carried in her heart was shared by the other. And yet, except for the brief moment at the grave, they seemed determined to grieve alone.
After a few minutes Pearl struggled to stifle a yawn behind her hand, and Diamond realized with a twinge of guilt that this delicate-looking young woman had just endured an exhausting journey without a word of complaint.
“I’m sorry. You’re tired.” She took the empty cup from Pearl’s hand. “Let me show you to your room.”
Pearl offered no objection as she got wearily to her feet and followed Diamond up the stairs and down a long hallway.
“Carmelita said she prepared this room for you before she left.” Diamond opened the door and allowed Pearl to precede her.
Like the rest of the house, the room was impressively large. A log blazed on the fire. Pulled in front of it was a rocking chair draped with a comfortable quilt. The bed was bigger than any Pearl had ever seen. Made of rough-hewn logs, it dominated one side of the room. A fur throw was draped at the foot of the bed. The blankets had been turned down to reveal snowy linens. Beside the bed was a table on which rested a pitcher and basin.
“It’s a lovely room.”
“Well...” Diamond was suddenly uncomfortable once again. “If you need anything, I’m in the room next door.”
“Thank you, Diamond. Good night,” Pearl called as she crossed the room.
“Yeah. ’Night.”
Too agitated to sleep, Diamond returned to the sofa and curled up in one corner, staring into the flames as though they somehow held the answers to all her questions.
Why had she invited Pearl into her home? It was completely unlike her to open up to a stranger. But after the intimacy of shared grief at Pa’s grave, it had seemed the most natural thing in the world. Besides, she consoled herself, it wasn’t anything permanent. Tomorrow she would show Pearl the ranch. She had a sudden need to introduce Pearl to Pa’s life here in Texas. And then, her curiosity satisfied, Pearl would return to her home in Boston. And Diamond could resume her life as she’d known it.
There was another, more perplexing problem than Pearl. One that she didn’t want to deal with tonight. But it nagged at the edges of her mind.
Adam Winter. It wasn’t surprising that the thought of him always caused her blood to heat. After all, he was still the prime suspect in her father’s murder. But why did Pearl insist on trusting him when he was a complete stranger?
And why did the very mention of his name cause that little curl in the pit of her stomach?
Annoyed, she got to her feet. What she needed was a ride, alone in the darkness. Always, whenever she was troubled, she found her spirit restored, her energy renewed, by a solitary nighttime ride.
“Ye’re quiet tonight.” Zeb pushed back from the table and wrapped his hands around a cup of coffee.
“I was thinking about Diamond Jewel.”
The old man chuckled. “I’m not surprised. She’s a fine-looking filly.”
Adam bristled. “I wasn’t thinking about how she looks.”
“ ’Course not. A noble fellow like you.” Zeb’s laughter rumbled in his chest. “Especially now that she’s shared your bedroll.”
“We didn’t share it, old man. She slept in it alone. I found a spot some distance away where I could keep watch for the night.”
“Don’t try to tell me you kept your eyes on the trail the whole time.”
Adam grinned. “I may have cast a glance or two her way.”
“Uh-huh.” The old man blew into his cup and said, “So what were you thinking about just now?”
“About the latest twist in her life. While we were in town today, a young woman arrived from Boston claim
ing to be Onyx Jewel’s daughter.”
“You don’t say?” Zeb’s head came up. “Looks like Onyx Jewel was interested in more than just horseflesh.” He sipped in silence, then asked, “How’d the little wildcat take the news?”
“About the way you’d expect. She threw a fit and threatened to shoot the young woman if she came on her property. Later, she invited her to spend the night at the Jewel Ranch.”
“Well, that beats all.” Zeb drained his cup and headed toward the door. “But like I’ve said, when you’ve lived as long as I have, you won’t be surprised by anything.”
When the door closed behind him, Adam drew his chair up to the fireplace and began to mend a broken harness. As he worked, his thoughts kept returning to the scene at the grave.
It had been good for Pearl to grieve. As for Diamond... from the way she’d held in her tears, it appeared that she considered crying beneath her. Too damned ornery to allow herself the luxury of grief.
Grief. He’d had his share. There were too many graves. And too many memories. In order to survive, he’d had to bury his memories along with the dead.
He paused in his work to roll a cigarette. Leaning back, he drew deeply and closed his eyes. The memory of Diamond, leading her wranglers like a fiery little general, caused him to smile.
She was the most contradictory little female he’d ever met. Tough as nails. He’d feared, for the first few minutes of that confrontation, that she would make good her threat to shoot Pearl. He’d been prepared to do battle if necessary. Even if it meant throttling her within an inch of her life. Yet, when that same little wildcat had held back her own tears at her father’s grave, he’d had the strangest desire to take her in his arms and comfort her until she gave in and sobbed her heart out.
What the hell was the matter with him? Why was he getting involved in her fight? She’d made her feelings about him very obvious. She disliked him, mistrusted him, and intended to do everything in her power to blame him for her father’s murder.
He drew smoke into his lungs, then slowly exhaled, watching the stream drift toward the ceiling. The truth was, whenever he thought about Diamond Jewel, he thought about the way she tasted. Wild. Sweet. Enticing. And about the way she’d felt in his arms. Soft. Warm. Seductive.