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"Marissa—"
"Get out of the way!" She kicked him in the shin, which probably hurt her toes more than his leg, but he was so surprised that he gasped in horror.
"I want to know who it is, Edward!"
"We don't know who it is," he said, making a great show of rubbing his leg and looking hurt.
Jude would let her in. She knew it. So she called his name, and Edward rolled his eyes. "Oh, fine, you stubborn brat. Come in and see if you can make any more sense of this than we can."
He opened the door, and Marissa meant to search the room for the blackmailer, but as the door swung open, she spied Jude, only three feel away and reaching toward the door. For a moment, she thought he was reaching for her, and her heart jumped up to pound against her throat in delight. Maybe he didn't hate her. Maybe it wasn't too late.
But his hand dropped as the door swung open, and when she met his eyes, his gaze fell to the ground.
Marissa stared at his hard jaw and wide mouth, and she wished she had the right to touch him. To greet him simply and rise up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips. But with all that lay between them now, she knew that even if they married, she wouldn't have that right. They would be like those other unhappy couples who danced together only once at each ball for appearance's sake. What would people see when they looked at Marissa and Jude? An unfortunate match, they'd say, likely blaming Jude's appearance and low beginnings.
Marissa felt a sharp pain where her heart had been pounding just a moment before. That future seemed unbearable, and as she stepped closer to Jude, Marissa reached out and touched his hand.
He frowned. His eyes rose. But before she could identify the emotion in his look, Edward slammed the door and locked it, startling her into dropping her hand.
"Well?" he said. "Here is our culprit, but she—"
"She?" Marissa asked, spying the huddled figure pressed against one arm of the couch.
"Yes, it's a girl. A servant, we think, but she won't reveal who her employer is, or anything else for that matter.
Marissa cocked her head to see beneath the cloak, but she couldn't make out anything of the shadowed face. "Remove the hood, please," she said loudly, but the girl only curled more tightly upon herself.
"She won't say anything." Aidan growled. "Not even when threatened with the constable, and that may turn out to be our only option."
She frowned at the girl, but was momentarily distracted from her study by the movement of Jude next to her. He walked away and stood looking out the window at the black night beyond, his back to the room. She wanted to follow him over to that private corner and ask if he could forgive her. It wasn't the time for such discussions, but her legs ached with the need to walk to him.
Impatient now, Marissa strode to the woman and tried to pull her hood back, but the girl yelped and held light to the fabric. "Oh, for goodness sake," Marissa huffed. "Let me see you."
A whimper emerged from the layers of cheap wool.
Edward said, "That's odd," and came to join Marissa. "She didn't put up such a fight with us."
A thought bloomed in her head. "She's a maid, you said?"
"Of some kind, I believe."
Marissa took a deep breath. "Take off the hood," she said one more time. The head shook again, and Marissa sighed in sorrow. "Take it off, Tess, or I shall have the men hold you down and I'll take it off myself."
The figure went still as a stone, while Edward looked at Marissa in confusion. "Tess?"
"My lady's maid. The one who went missing last month? We had to hire a new one, remember?" Edward still looked no clearer, but when Marissa reached for the cloak this time, the material slid free of the girl's hands and her brown hair was exposed.
"Tess," Marissa sighed heavily. It was her maid, and that explained the description of the birthmark on Marissa's thigh. Her embarrassing confession had been completely unnecessary. Though it had
saved Peter White's life, she supposed, whatever that might be worth.
"How could you have done this?"
Tears spilled down the maid's cheeks, and she shook her head. "I'm sorry, miss."
"I was so worried about you. Mother said you'd probably run off to get married, but I was afraid something dreadful had happened!"
"I didn't meant to hurt you," Tess whispered.
