Esmeralda seemed not to notice the departures as she stood staring at him, as though she expected something—perhaps a confession. But there was nothing to confess. Ivy teetered back and forth, seeming rather pleased with herself and the events that had just taken place. Braeden was then certain beyond all doubt that he’d been set up. “Ivy, you are positively drunk on your feet,” Esmeralda declared. She rang for the maid and when the young girl appeared, she seemed rather frightened. “She can vouch for the fact that I didn’t ask for a drink. She told me upon instruction she was to leave a drink on the serving tray,” Braeden told the older woman. Liza seemed to cower as Braeden stepped toward her. Esmeralda looked at the girl for a moment, then questioned, “Is that true? And if it is, exactly who instructed you to leave the drink on the tray?” Liza glanced to Ivy, then lowered her head. “Mr. Parker told me to pour the drink.” “That’s a lie,” Braeden said, his voice low and accusing.
