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notify your sisters,” he said as he led her inside and opened the door to a cell.
    “Why must you tell them about this?”
    “Because,” he replied patiently, “your housekeeper, Carmelita Alvarez, will be worried when you don’t come home tonight. And she’ll send her husband, Rosario, chasing after all your sisters, getting them all riled up. Besides, Ruby,” he added with an extra bite of sarcasm, “you need a keeper. Maybe one of your sisters can talk some sense into you.”
    Now it wasn’t just the town, she realized. He intended to embarrass her in front of her new family, as well.
     
    He was rewarded by a string of oaths as he herded her into the cell.
    “This way, Ruby.”
    With a last muttered curse she stepped inside and watched as he closed the cell door and turned the key.
    While all this went on, Arlo stood gaping, unable to believe that one of the Jewel sisters was actually being held prisoner in the town jail.
    In the cell next door to hers, Beau Baskin, the town drunk, was beginning to sober up in a hurry. His eyes were nearly popping out of his head at the sight of one of the Jewel ladies behind bars.
    Quent turned to his deputy. “I’d like you to ride out to the Jewel ranch and tell the housekeeper that Ruby is here. I wouldn’t want Carmelita to worry. Ask her to notify the other Jewel sisters that they can come and fetch Ruby in the morning.”
    “Yes, sir.” Arlo was grinning, until he caught sight of Ruby. The smile was wiped from his face. Even with bars between them, he felt a rush of discomfort. This lady was definitely dangerous. Not the way Diamond was, with a gun. But those flashing eyes and sultry lips could flog a man at thirty paces.
    He snatched up his hat and headed out the door.
    When his deputy was gone, Quent walked to his desk and dropped the keys with a clatter. He was aware of Ruby still standing just inside the cell, her hands clenched at her sides, her eyes watching his every move.
    “I am shocked and appalled, Marshal. Until today I was not aware of this cruel side of your nature,” she said.
    “I’m sorry you see it that way, ma’am.” He sat down and began sifting through the papers that littered his desktop. The stage had apparently been through, and Arlo had dutifully piled on his desk a stack of Wanted posters, along with a letter from a sheriff in Waco warning of a jail break by a couple of hardened prisoners. Quent put his feet up and leaned back in his rickety chair, trying to concentrate. But it wasn’t easy, knowing Ruby Jewel was just a few feet away.
    “I’m with you, Miss Ruby,” Beau said between hiccups from the other cell. “Marshal Regan’s the toughest lawman this side of the Rio Grande.”
    “I’ll thank you not to interrupt,” Ruby said, causing his jaw to drop. She turned to the marshal, who was doing his best to ignore her. “If it’s your intention to humiliate me, Marshal, then you have succeeded. Once Arlo’s wife has told her friends Lavinia Thurlong and Gladys Witherspoon, the whole town will be laughing at me.”
    “Now, that’s the truth,” Beau said, jumping right in. “Those two old biddies will spend the whole day running their legs off and flapping their jaws.”
    “Not another word, cowboy,” Quent hollered. It galled him to know that Ruby and Beau were right. Effie Spitz couldn’t be trusted to keep a secret if her life depended on it. That was the only reason why town gossips Lavinia and Gladys cultivated her friendship. As the deputy’s wife, Effie could be counted on to know about every crime and scandal in the territory. Still, what was that to him?
    “I think you ought to put the blame squarely where it belongs, Ruby. If you’re so worried about your reputation, you shouldn’t have stolen from that peddler.”
    “I did not steal.” When Quent swiveled his head and fixed her with a look, she flushed. “Mama preferred to call it her petit vengeance. And it was only done to those who were found