"You wanna fight, a mere maid?" Jessica's words were like a slap in the face, the arrogance in her voice grating on Ely's nerves. The room grew hot with tension as Jessica's hand rested on the pommel of her sword, the metal glinting in the firelight.
"Jessica," Lady Catherine's voice was a whip crack in the tense silence. She stepped forward, her eyes pleading as she fell to her knees before Theo. "Please forgive her," she began, her voice trembling with fear and desperation. "She's naive, she doesn't understand the gravity of the situation," she added, her eyes searching Theo's for any sign of anger.
