Surprisingly, as she reaches out with her mind, Elena is able to bypass the Madame's mental barriers without any of the defences she expected. She sees the woman's thought trail, finding a little more than whether she was truthful.
Elena sees that the woman is telling the truth, she always planned to return to the Emperor's service, after getting a good deal. She sees the man the Madame wants her to service, a fat, sexually deviant cardinal from a different order of the church, and gets an idea of the things he'll want her to do. Nothing that will cause permanent damage, but enough to leave her sore the next morning.
"I will swear my oath to the emperor." She adds afterwards, as an afterthought.