“Leave the coffee tray on the sideboard,” she said, tossing the brooch down next to the silver sugar bowl with a dull click.

“We’ll settle this after our guests leave.”

I untied the apron strings, laid the white cloth over an empty chair back, and walked straight out into the central hallway.

Alejandro came out of the dining room two minutes later, letting the heavy mahogany doors latch softly behind him.

“You need to go back in there right now and apologize to my mother,” he said.

“She pulled my mother’s brooch out of my pocket and called me a thief in front of your board members,” I said.