She did not reply.
"I can, of course, call the police, but I'd much rather keep the matter private. This household has suffered enough scandal in these past months. Surely you would prefer that we settle this between ourselves?"
"So that you can turn me out of the house with no character?"
"You're hardly in a position to make demands, Lizzie."
"I think I am."
It took a great effort to remain calm; I would have to ask Colin how he managed to do it so well. "As you wish, then." I pulled the bell, and Davis entered the room. "I'm afraid we're going to need Inspector Manning."
"Very well, madam." He turned, very slowly, started for the door, and then looked back. "Have you ever visited a jail, Lizzie? Terrible place. You can't imagine what it's like. Not when you're used to a snug room in one of the best houses in London." Her gaze was still fixed on me, and Davis, standing behind her, actually winked at me. I nearly fell out of my chair. "Lady Ashton is generosity itself. I can't imagine she'd want any of her girls to wind up in such a situation. Rats. Lots of rats. Filth everywhere. The smell's unbearable. You'd probably wind up falling ill before long and would welcome an early death."
"Enough!" Lizzie cried. "I admit that I took your letters."
"Why did you do it?" I asked.
"I didn't think I was hurting anyone."
"Did you also pass information about myself and the Duke of Bainbridge?"
Now that she knew she was caught, all her confidence evaporated. She seemed nervous and began talking very quickly. "Not precisely, milady. I just confirmed that he was here a lot, and alone with you. And that he sent the flowers with the note."
"You read the note?"
"Yes, I'm sorry."
"How did you know that Mrs. Francis had come to call on me the day that you offered to bring us tea?"
"I don't remember, milady. Honest, I don't."
"How did you pass along your information?"
"I left notes tacked to a tree in Berkeley Square, milady."
"I don't believe you, Lizzie. Can you read?"
"Yes."
"And you read the note from the Duke of Bainbridge?"
"Yes." She swallowed hard.
"How did he sign it?"
"I don't remember exactly. I...I think he signed it "Bainbridge." Or maybe "Jeremy"?"
"What exactly did your employer ask you to do?"
"At first I was to keep an eye out for signs that you were having an affair with Mr. Berry, but I never saw any, so then he told me it was the duke I should watch for."
"So when you saw the note, you assumed it was from the duke?" She nodded.
"You can't read, can you?" She did not look at me. "The trouble is, Lizzie, the note wasn't from him. It wasn't even signed."
"Oh."
"There's no shame in not being able to read. It's not your fault that you weren't given the opportunity to learn. Why did you steal the letters?"
"I thought they were from the duke, too, but started to worry that the person paying me would begin to figure out that I couldn't read them and stop paying me."
"Who is that person?"
"I don't know."
"Lizzie, do not lie to me now."
"I'm not lying. I don't know who it is."
"You obviously don't leave notes in the square. How do you communicate with this person? How did he contact you in the first place?"
Now the girl turned deadly pale. "I had trouble at my last position and was let go without a character."
"What had you done?" I tried to picture Colin. Calm Colin, able to persuade anyone to admit to anything.
"I...I flirted with my master's son."
"Just flirted?"
"Yes."
"Are you quite certain?" Surely I couldn't wind up with two maids in delicate situations in the course of a single evening.
"Oh, yes, Lady Ashton. His father turned me out of the house the moment he saw his son talking to me."
"What house was this?"
"Please don't make me say."
"You must tell me, Lizzie. I will have to confirm your story."
"It was Lord Grantham, milady."
Lord Grantham, the man whose Limoges box Sebastian had stolen. "So you were expelled from the house?"
"Yes. My mother's in service in Richmond, and got the housekeeper to let me stay with her while I looked for another position, but, as you can imagine, without a character, I couldn't find anything."
"Richmond? Whose house?" My heart was pounding. Was this all to be so easily solved?
"Mrs. Sophie Hargreaves, milady. A very kind mistress."
Not so easily solved. Sophie was married to Colin's brother, William. "So what happened?"
"I had just about given up and was ready to take a job in a button factory, when a man approached me and said he could help. He's in service, too, you see, and had spotted me on my rounds looking for work. Said he could get me a character if I would agree to help out his master and that I'd get extra money for doing it. I didn't see any harm in it. Sounded like a bit of fun."
"A bit of fun that could have destroyed me. And, Lizzie, had you succeeded in doing so, I would no longer be in a position to be able to help you."
"I'm sorry, milady."
"Who wrote the false character?"
"I don't know."
"Surely you know what house it was from? Otherwise how could you have known what to say when Mrs. Ockley interviewed you?"
"I just meant that I didn't know who had actually written it. It was supposed to be a Mrs. David Francis. She lives in Richmond, too."
This was certainly bad news, but I retained my composure. "And this man you spoke to? Who is he?"
"He wouldn't tell me his name. Too risky, you know. If we was to get caught."
"How did you communicate with him?"
"We'd meet on my day off in the park."
"Are you to meet with him this week?"
"I saw him a few days ago, and he said they didn't need me anymore."
"Did you give him the Bible that was in my carriage?"
"I did, milady."
"But you could not have thought that had something to do with the Duke of Bainbridge?"
"No, but after I brought the letters, the next week he said that if I came across anything out of the ordinary, it would be a good idea to bring it to him. When I heard the carriage had been run off the road, I knew that wasn't ordinary, so when Baines gave me your things, I looked through them."
"You went through my reticule?"
"Yes, milady." She no longer was meeting my eyes. "I thought it was odd you was carrying a Bible instead of that funny Greek book, so I figured I'd give it to him."
"Did you also take a letter that was to be delivered to Mr. Hargreaves?"
"I did."
"And you told Baines that I'd removed it from the mail tray?"
"Yes, milady."
"Is there anything else about this you think I should know?"
"I don't think so." She squirmed in front of me, and I knew she wished I'd let her sit.
"As you might imagine, I'm having a rather difficult time trusting you."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm a bit confused as to why you are so repentant now, after having been so contentious when I first began to question you."
"I shouldn't have done it, milady, I know. He told me that if I ever got caught, I should deny everything as strongly as possible. Said that if I stood my ground, there was no way you could ever prove that I'd done anything wrong."
"Lizzie, when a person has done something wrong, it can always be proved somehow."
"Yes, milady." She was beginning to look rather ill. I turned my attention to Davis, who was still standing at the door.
"Take her to Mrs. Ockley and tell her not to let the girl out of her sight until I have this all settled." As soon as they had left, I weighed my options. I could send letters to Sophie Hargreaves and Lord Grantham, but it would be best to speak to Beatrice in person. I wanted to see her reaction to Lizzie's story.