An Unlikely Brotherhood
By Greenlips24
Set before Series One, prior to d'Artagnan
INTRODUCTION
1627
The English Queen Consort Henrietta Maria, daughter of King Henry IV of France, is to visit her brother, Louis XIII, for the commemoration of their father's death.
She has been surrounded by French women attendants since she left for England to marry the English King, Charles I; but will only have one woman in attendance on this journey; an English woman, Elizabeth Cromwell, who is the only English women she has tolerated in the English court.
Having an English woman with her would allow her to practise the English language that she has not yet mastered, nor shown any desire to; and for that she is not popular in England. Also in attendance will be Sir Edmund Temple, a courtier faithful to the King.
Much is at stake. Her protection must be ensured whilst on her visit. Both the King's Musketeers and the Cardinal's Red Guard vie for the opportunity and prestige of protecting the Queen Consort of England in order to consolidate their positions.
With prior knowledge, English assassins have been despatched to assassinate her on her own soil.
Meanwhile, in Spain, the Comte de Rochefort has been imprisoned for a year in a Spanish cell. The Spanish want to eventually use him as a spy against the French crown. But to turn him takes much time and effort, so first they send their terms of release to Cardinal Richelieu.
Richelieu declines; he believes Rochefort is unstable and leaves him to languish in the Spanish cell.
With their plans thwarted, the Spanish seek to discredit Richelieu, who has the King's ear and is growing in power. Louis, who is growing more dependent upon Richelieu would therefore forsake him and by doing so, would lose his Cardinal's astute political counsel.
Should the Spanish succeed in murdering Henrietta Maria, Richelieu, the King's Musketeers and the Cardinal's Red Guard would be discredited for their failure to protect her.
The success of the English plot would pit France against England, and destabilise the French throne.
Neither group of assassins are aware of each other, only their target.
What would happen therefore, if both sets of assassins are loose in the French countryside to do their damndest?
oOo
Chapter One
The English Court in the Reign of King Charles I
The English court of Charles I combined grand palaces in Whitehall, Denmark House, Greenwich Palace and Hampton Court.
Charles I's reign was one of elegance and ceremony. He was a patron of the arts and had a fine art collection comprising paintings by Rembrandt, Reubens, and Raphael amongst others. Life at court, enjoyed by Queen Consort Henrietta Maria, was sumptuous and the monarchy was revered.
At one time, Charles had sought to take a Spanish Queen, and was drawn to the Spanish court. Enjoying its style, he based his own court on it. Charles's court was therefore sophisticated, and the monarchy absolute. His courtiers were made up of nobles, many being of the Catholic faith. His wife, Henrietta Maria, was a devout Catholic. Many thought that he, himself was a Catholic, but that was not the case. Charles himself thus generated mistrust amongst reformist groups such as the Puritans and Scottish Covenanters, who thought his policies too Catholic.
The court was one of grace, splendour and majesty. Charles himself was portrayed as a hero in paintings he commissioned by Van Dyck; posing on a majestic horse to allay his shortness of stature.
Henrietta Maria had been married for two years when she decided to visit her older brother, Louis XIII.
They had been difficult years but she and Charles, had reached an amicable understanding and with it, some form of respect that she hoped to build on in their years ahead.
They had also been difficult years because she did not yet speak the language of her adopted people. Because she was young, only fifteen when she married, she had the impatience of youth and the arrogance of title that led some in her court to wonder if she would ever deign to learn the language of her subjects and therefore be accepted by them.
Time would tell. Now approaching her eighteenth birthday and as the anniversary of her father's death approached, she had decided to visit her brother in France and pay her respects in Notre Dame Cathedral. She had never known her father, King Henry IV of France, being only one year old when he had been assassinated. However, Louis had always honoured the anniversary, and she was sorely in need of a change of scenery, away from the strictness of the English court with its Puritan mutterings, and the disapproving eyes of the courtiers. She spent lavishly and was in danger of running up huge debts on furnishings and dresses.
Although most of the women assigned to attend her in her chambers were French and had accompanied her to England for her marriage, she found it tedious to tolerate the pale English ladies in waiting who rarely smiled and stood in pairs whispering when they thought she did not see them.
She had indeed brought a large French contingent with her to England, and her husband believed that this also did not go down well with his English subjects and he had had the majority of them dismissed from court the previous year and returned to France. Resisting, Henrietta Maria had retained seven of her French women.
She only trusted one of her English women, Elizabeth Cromwell, who appeared quiet and self contained. It was she who would accompany her mistress to enjoy a short respite, if one could call paying respects to her assassinated father a respite. Taking Elizabeth along on the journey would enable Henrietta Maria to practise the language of her adopted country whilst visiting the place of her birth. Speaking of familiar things in this unfamiliar language could only be beneficial.
The charms and exuberance of the French court and the eccentricities of her brother would be a suitable distraction for the time she was there. The trip across the English Channel would be pleasant after the congestion of London.
oOo
"Sire, a little more warning would have been welcome," Cardinal Armand Richelieu murmured as he moved around the King's ante-chamber, cloak billowing around him as his pace quickened in time with his agile mind, now playing out various scenarios around the English Queen's impending visit.
Louis, picking over a dish of peaches on the ornate table in front of the French windows, merely huffed,
"I am sure we can accommodate my sister, Cardinal," he sighed.
"Oh, I have no doubt about that, Sire. But I was referring to the matter of her security," he replied, stressing his final word, aware that it would still not register with his butterfly-minded King.
Queen Anne, resplendent in ice blue gown and pearls, watched the Cardinal pace, her impassive face betraying none of her agitation at the impending visit of her sister in law; daughter of Marie de Medici; formidable mother of her husband, and mother in law to herself, for her sins.
Louis XIII was only nine years old when his father was murdered and he took the throne, with his mother, Marie de Medici ruling as his Regent until he came of age. It was a time of immense change and restructuring. The death of his father in 1610 had halted the impressive works to connect the Tuileries Palace and the Louvre Palace together along the Seine. When he was finally able to rule France himself in 1625, work to upgrade the Louvre Palace was recommenced. Work would continue for many years, but in 1627 Armand du Plessis, Cardinal de Richelieu had been Louis's chief minister for three years.
Richelieu was beginning to consolidate his power, and was currently building himself a fine residence in the centre of Paris. Louis could be taciturn and suspicious and was relying on him more and more for his astute political knowledge and counsel. Having lost his father at a young age, Richelieu provided the mature male mentorship and guidance the young King may have lacked.
Richelieu now sat in his apartment suite in the palace contemplating the conversation he had just had with the King about his sister's impending visit. He looked up as he heard the heavy footsteps approaching his door, knowing instinctively who was seeking him out.
The firm knock was greeted with the call to enter.
The latch clicked and the door swung open.
"Do come in Captain Treville," Richelieu said, expansively waving toward the chair at the other side of his desk.
Once Treville had sunk down heavily in the chair, Richelieu sat back and sighed.
Although they were often at loggerheads over the stewardship of both of their military forces, they also had a grudging respect for each other, and recognised the respect each had for France and their duty to her capricious young King.
Now they just looked at each other, each knowing that this would be a game they must both enter. They both had too much invested.
It was Richelieu who broke the silence.
"It seems we have both been caught unawares by Madame Royale," he said, giving Henrietta Maria the title she had held as the most senior royal princess of the French court.
"Such visits are usually planned many months in advance," he murmured, clearly very disgruntled at the imminent changes that would need to be made to daily proceedings. Treville wondered what schemes the Cardinal would have to put on hold for the duration of her visit.
"It is clearly the role of the Red Guard to meet and escort her from Le Havre into Paris," he said, peering carefully at Treville, who had yet to speak, but who met his gaze unflinchingly.
When he finally spoke, his voice was resolutely firm,
"As the King's personal guard, the Musketeers will escort her to and from the Cathedral."
This was a prestigious assignment for both the Musketeers and the Red Guard. Neither wanted to give ground, but roles were clearly delineated by the terms of the purpose of each body of men.
However, there was nothing the Cardinal would like more than the Musketeers to be discredited and disbanded. They were a thorn in his side, as he held no power over them. He could just advise his Majesty and drip negative comments in the hope it would poison Louis's support for them.
In the quiet of the room, both men studied each other carefully. Each wore a face of calm determination.
"You do realise," the Cardinal said, standing and walking over to the window, "that this will be an ideal opportunity for the English to be rid of our Catholic Queen." He whirled around, waiting for a response.
"And should anything happen to her on French soil," replied Treville, "the consequences would be immeasurable."
"Quite," Richelieu replied. "Especially if she is killed by English assassins."
Treville sighed; the image floated before his weary eyes; that of an English King and a French King facing each other over the Channel, the body of a dead wife and a dead sister crushing their relationship. Anger and pride had been the mainstay of many wars.
"Equally, if she dies by the hand of French assassins, the consequences will still be dire. The Bourbons have their home-grown enemies. There could be many people pulling the strings here."
"We are between a rock and a hard place, Captain," Richelieu murmured quietly, pinching the bridge of his nose; a headache beginning to thrum in his skull.
"It is a journey of over thirty leagues and at least four days of travel," he added. "If she sticks to the planned route, which she may very well not."
Henrietta Maria would no doubt wish to reacquaint herself with family and friends, some along the route; and her will was strong.
"Then we had better ensure she has safe passage, and returns to her English husband unscathed," Treville said, standing.
"Quite; let us meet again tomorrow to discuss this further; his Majesty is eager to have these arrangements concluded," Richelieu said, and their meeting ended.
Treville returned to the Garrison, worn down by dark images and aware of the huge responsibility he bore, not only to protect the English queen, but his own men.
Tomorrow, plans must be made for a Royal visit that could be the end of them all.
To be continued ...