The chaos of murmurs rose in partial agreement around them, the inevitability of communal judgment poised to strike.

Scarlett dismissed him coolly, her eyes sliding toward Olivia. “Miss Rivers, I wonder—who could possibly know the real instigator behind all this better than you? Care to share?”

Olivia faltered visibly, the question unraveling her composure until her mind scrambled for plausible deniability. “Me? You must be mistaken. This has nothing ...