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"Well, you have!"
"I'm sorry! It... she ..." Tess bit back her own words and ducked her head.
"Who?" Marissa barked. "Did someone pay you to do this? Who was it?"
Tess sobbed quietly and didn't volunteer another word. Marissa supposed at another time she would've admired the girl's steel, but right now she was far too betrayed for any generous thoughts. Marissa set her shoulders back and straightened her spine, trying to draw enough air to think, but all reasonable thought lied when she realized Jude stood at her shoulder.
"Are von all right?" he murmured, and when she turned to him, his arms opened and suddenly she was surrounded by him. Nothing else existed in that moment. Nothing but Jude's safe arms and spicy scent. His mouth brushed the top of her head, sending awareness tingling down her neck. He still liked her enough to pity her, at least, and Marissa felt tired enough to take priceless joy in that.
"I'm sorry," she breathed into his chest, knowing he would not hear it. Now was not the time, but she held on and let him stroke her back for a few more moments before she eased herself away. She was almost sure he hesitated before letting her go, but in the end it was probably her own imagination, because his face was still a stony facade.
Her brothers watched her with worry, but Marissa felt steadier when she turned back to watch Tess sob. "Who paid you, Tess? I assume you were paid, and didn't just do this because you dislike me?"
"Of course not!" the maid gasped. "I ... I can't say any more. I can't."
"Why? Just tell me who did this and go. It's that simple. No damage done." She managed to make that lie sound quite genuine, Marissa thought.
"I can't! " Tess wailed. Marissa really couldn't understand her adamance. What did she have to lose? Was she being threatened? But what could be held over the head of lady's maid?
"This is useless," Aidan muttered.
Edward agreed. "She's using information gleaned during her employment to blackmail you, Marissa. The constable will surely be interested in that. Perhaps she'll change her mind once she's been carted off. I'll send for him now. Jude?"
Marissa watched Tess, expecting her to waver at the thought of arrest, but the girl stared steadily at her lap, resigned to her fate. Marissa held up a hand to stop the men, then knelt down in front of her. "If you won't speak, then I'll have to go visit your family. Perhaps they know where you've been employed."
Tess's head flew up, eyes wide with panic.
"They're in Hull, are they not?"
She shook her head, face blanching.
"Yes, they're in Hull. I remember you went there to visit your mother last Easter. You must have written to let them know your new direction, because we haven't received any letters for you. That was one of the reasons Mother insisted you must be fine."
Tess stared, bug-eyed, at Marissa for a long time; then she looked to each of the men, as if one of them might save her. Apparently, she didn't find a friendly face, because her eyes filled with more tears. "If I tell you, she won't pay me. It's the only reason I did it, I swear. One hundred pounds ... I still have four sisters at home. Even if I spend a year in jail, that money would ..."
"It's too late now," Edward said softly. 'Just tell the truth."
Silence swelled in the room until it became a relentless buzzing in Marissa's ears. The clock on Edward's desk licked, and she wondered how she'd never noticed the sound before. Likely, her family was never this quiet.
Finally, Tess spoke. "At first, she paid me twenty pounds just to come work for her. Twenty pounds!"
"That's why you left?"
"I sent it all to my mum, I swear. It's not that I'm greedy."
Marissa nodded as if she understood.
"I should've known the woman was up to no good, but I thought maybe she'd admired your hair and such... ."
"Who?" Jude demanded.
Tess swallowed hard. "It was Mrs. Charles LeMont."
No one so much as breathed. The clock ticked even louder.
Tess seemed to relax, as if she knew her part was done.
"Mrs. LeMont?" Edward said. "That's ridiculous."
