Jacquelyn decided that it was best if she delivered the news they had on Ellerly to the Countess herself, not trusting that the information would get there if someone else delivered it. She didn't trust that the House of Repose wouldn't target those who were involved in trying to raise the Du Paraquettes to nobility. After all, it was tangential to Josephine attempting to regain the Montilyets rights to trade in Val Royeaux. At least Jacquelyn could trust her own abilities to deliver the information, and accompanying message, to Countess Dionne.
She spotted the Countess at the exact location they had agreed to meet, though they hadn't told her who she should be expecting to meet, simply Inquisition members. Jacquelyn was running perfectly on time, so the Countess must have been very eager to hear news of her lover. Jacquelyn could understand that. Every time she was away from Cullen for particularly long she got very eager to hear from him, she was always excited whenever someone came with a letter from him. Though she always tried her best to hide it. She had a reputation to maintain, and allowing people to see just how enamoured she was with her commander wouldn't be ideal. There were many people who would likely take advantage of such a relationship, and she didn't want to put Cullen in any more danger than he was already in by simply being Commander of the Inquisition's army.
"Inquisitor," Countess Dionne greeted. "What an unexpected pleasure. You must have had a long journey to the city. Might there be any news from the south?"
"I have a letter for you from Ellerly," Jacquelyn pulled the letter, neatly folded, out of a pocket and held it out for the Countess. "He is safe with his family in the Dales."
"Oh, my Ellerly!" the Countess sighed in happy relief, taking the letter delicately from Jacquelyn. "Oh, bless you. The Dionnes will sponsor the Du Paraquettes as a family deserving of a noble title, Inquisitor. You have my word. Now please forgive my hastiness, but I must read Ellerly's words. Maker keep you."
Jacquelyn bowed to Countess Dionne before turning and walking away. She would have to make sure that Jospehine thanked the Dionnes appropriately on behalf of the Inquisition, but for now she felt that it was more important she let the Countess have some time to herself. It was also getting close to when Jacquelyn was set to depart back to Skyhold, and to her own sweet Commander.
"I am just not entirely certain that I have made the correct choice," Jacquelyn said, frowning as she did her best not to pace back and forth. "Every moment that passes is another moment that Josephine's life could be at stake. Leliana has a much faster, more simple way to solve our problem, but Josephine does not seem to respect that. What do you think?"
Cullen almost seemed like he wasn't really paying her that much more attention, frowning slightly and rubbing the back of his head. He was just standing behind his desk, reading a letter that it seemed like he'd only just received. Jacquelyn tried not to be too annoyed about this. After all, he did have his own job to do. He wasn't just there to listen to her voicing her concerns about his fellow advisor.
"Is everything all right?" she asked, doing her best to keep her voice calm. Cullen looked up at her, almost surprised, then placed the letter on his desk.
"Yes," he said, "everything's fine. It's just news regarding the search for Mayor Dedrick."
"How is it going?"
The frown slipped back onto Cullen's face as he glanced down at the letter, running his finger along the writing.
"They've reached the town in South Reach and begun the search more thoroughly," he said, though it seemed like there was something else that he wasn't telling Jacquelyn. She didn't like that, but she trusted him enough to tell her if it was important.
"Is there anything else?"
"Not yet," Cullen looked back at Jacquelyn. "Now, what were you saying?"
"The House of Repose," Jacquelyn was happy enough to shift the conversation back to the problem she had at that moment. "I do not want them to harm Josephine, but she is not willing to ask Leliana to send someone to destroy the contract. Every moment we wait, however, is another moment that the House of Repose could send someone to kill her. Finding the Countess' lover took longer than I expected it would, and now I am unconvinced that I have made the correct decision in risking how long elevating the Du Paraquettes to nobility will take."
"Josephine knows what she's doing," Cullen assured her. "It's her choice to make, her life. Yes, Leliana's way might be faster, but Josephine would never be happy with it. If something went wrong and the man Leliana sent got killed, she would never forgive herself."
"I realise that, however -"
"You've already started the process. I hear that people have already been sent to start looking into the paperwork for elevating the Du Paraquettes to nobility. Why stop now?"
"Do you believe that I am doing the right thing?" Jacquelyn asked, watching her commander closely. For a moment Cullen didn't reply, not moving.
"Yes," he told her after a moment, nodding. "Yes, I do. Josephine is your friend, and I think you're doing the right thing supporting her. She has my men watching her, and I think Leliana has also put some men to watch her. The House of Repose will have a hard time getting to Josephine through the defences we've put around her."
Jacquelyn paused for a moment, then sighed. She rubbed eyes, feeling exhausted. It just felt to her like she could never catch a break, like she had to save everyone and everything. The fate of the world rested on her shoulders, and so did the lives of her friends.
"I only with that -"
Cullen's door was slammed open, Jim standing there. Cullen frowned at him, unhappy that his door had been slammed so hard, but realising that Jim must have something important to say.
"Inquisitor," Jim said, Jacquelyn turning to face him, "you're needed in Lady Montilyet's office."
"How soon?"
"Immediately."
Jacquelyn turned back to Cullen, a questioning look on her face.
"Do you need anything more from me?" she asked. Cullen shook his head.
"Go."
Jacquelyn nodded, turning on her heels and following Jim and heading to Josephine's office while Cullen turned back to the letter resting on his desk.
"The House of Repose decided to pay a visit," Josephine said, almost as soon as Jacquelyn stepped through her door. For a moment Jacquelyn couldn't quite catch up with what was going on, being confronted too suddenly with the situation in front of her. Her mind slowly took in the dead body lying on the ambassador's floor. One of Leliana's men stood nearby, and a couple of Cullen's men were walking around the room checking every door, window, and possible crevice that could be hiding anyone else.
"What happened?" she asked, looking up from the body to the slightly shaken Josephine.
"The guards arrived in time, but I should have guessed the assassins would infiltrate the servants," Josephine glanced down at the body before her.
"Are you all right? You are uninjured?"
"They only frightened me. It… was all so sudden. Leliana assigned people to shadow me. They appear to have saved my life," she turned to the woman standing next to her. "I owe you everything, Sergeant."
"Only my duty, Ambassador."
"Duty or not, you did a good thing. Thank you," Jacquelyn said, nodding to the sergeant. She hadn't had the pleasure of meeting the woman before, but she was glad that they had such good people working with and for them.
The sergeant nodded back, still standing to attention.
"I'll talk with the spymaster about these murderous louts. She'll find out how they got in."
"Please ask her to keep me informed. I would also like to know how our people missed this."
"Of course, Inquisitor."
The sergeant bowed to Jacquelyn, then to Josephine, and left the room while Cullen's men stopped the search, moving over to the body of the House of Repose agent and removing it from the room. Josephine watched for a moment longer, then sighed, shakily moving to take a seat in one of the armchairs.
"I would like to ask Leliana to have someone destroy the contract," Jacquelyn told her. She didn't see the point in sugar-coating it, wanting to get straight to the point. Josephine looked around at her in shock.
"What? Why? We are getting so close to raising the Du Paraquettes to nobility! We already have a sponsor for them, and we are close to having a judge. I've already found someone we can ask, we simply have to -"
"Josephine, it is getting too dangerous," Jacquelyn cut in, frowning sternly. "The House of Repose successfully infiltrated our ranks. If Leliana had not put some of her people to watch you, then you could very well be dead right now. Can you imagine the damage that would do to the Inquisition?"
"But we are so close, Inquisitor. Please, just give it a little more time."
Jacquelyn folded her arms, still frowning down at Josephine. It was obvious that the woman was still shaken up about the attempt on her life, but Jacquelyn had to admire her determination to stick to her plan.
"Leliana's people could get into the House of Repose, destroy the contract, and your life would be safe once more. You understand the simplicity of that?"
"I do, but it is not how I want to do things," Josephine said, determination thick in her voice. "This is my family's problem, Inquisitor. It is my choice to deal with it how I see fit. And even if I was willing to ask Leliana to send people to destroy the contract, I'm not entirely certain that the House of Repose would stop sending people to try to kill me."
A sigh escaped Jacquelyn before she could stop it. She knew that there was no way to talk Josephine out of it, and perhaps she was right. Perhaps the House of Repose had more than one copy of the contract, or perhaps the mere fact it ever existed was enough.
"There is no guarantee that the Du Paraquettes will annul the contract, either," she pointed out.
"I am still confident in my decision."
"Very well," Jacquelyn conceded, though she was very clearly not happy about it.