When James left the house of the maid who had eloped with her so-called speculated lover, it wasn't just the tailorman who had come to meet her. There was another man who had come to the village so that he could speak to the maid. It was Markus Wilmot.
After listening to his mother, Markus had not only gone to sabotage the shop that belonged to Harris' family, but he had also caught hold of one of the maids who worked in the castle, who in truth worked for the Wilmot's family in giving information on what was going on in the castle.
On reaching the house of the maid a few minutes after James left, Markus had come here so that he could give another work to the maid so that she could be of use but with the crowd present, he asked,
"What happened here?"