Esther listened. She failed to hear the sound of the door closing. Keeping her eyes shut, she debated opening them to find out what was going on. Was she alone? She opened her eyes enough to look through her lashes. It didn’t help. She could see nothing from where she lay. The sound of footsteps had her closing her eyes fully. She wanted to run. She had no idea who was coming towards her. She remained where she was, surprisingly relaxed considering she didn’t know what was coming. Then it struck her. She wasn’t relaxed. She was lethargic and risked succumbing to the drugged wine. It looked like Elvera had gone through with her threat. The dose was a lot stronger now.
The footsteps stopped in front of Esther. “Remove that necklace she is wearing,” Elvera demanded.
“I don’t think-”
Elvera
