Aramis sighed and dropped his head back onto the pillow as Athos walked away. He had some explaining to do.
But first, he had to deal with the Queen of France, who was still asleep on his chest.
He looked down at her, still peacefully sleeping, unperturbed by his recent movements and the hammering that continued to carry up to the room. He didn't want to shatter that peace, but he didn't want to just move her off of him and then leave her either. No, he couldn't do that to her. And not just because she was his queen, but because of the night they had shared. A night made up of such moments of...comfort and intimacy and...need. To push her aside and leave her to wake up alone, to act as if last night had never happened, he couldn't.
So, after swallowing against his dry throat, Aramis spoke in a whisper, "Majesty..."
He waited several seconds but there was no movement. He glanced at the open doorway and then tried again. "Majesty?"
Nothing.
Aramis pinched his eyes shut for a moment and then looked down at Anne's right arm draped across his chest. He raised his left hand and stroked his fingers up and down her forearm a few times. "Majesty," he said a little louder this time.
He thought he felt her head move slightly and then saw her fingers twitch. He moved his arms away from her to give her some space when she started to raise herself up. She slowly turned her head up the length of his body until her wide eyes reached his and then swiftly looked to the side.
Aramis broke the silence. "I'm sorry to wake you, but I should get up and see how things are out there."
Anne looked back at him when he spoke, her mouth slightly agape. She looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words, so she closed her open mouth and nodded instead.
Aramis grabbed the blanket but then hesitated to move it away as he remembered he wasn't wearing any clothes. He looked over to where they were strewn across a chair by the wall.
He remembered how he had started taking his boots off and Anne had asked if she could help. Rather than make her kneel on the cold stone floor for the second time that night, he had pulled over the nearby chair for him to sit on so that she could remain on the bed. Once his boots were off, they had started tossing their clothes onto the chair as the night proceeded.
Anne followed his line of sight, then turned back to him, realizing why he wasn't getting out of the bed. Being closer to the chair, she shifted over and, with the exception of his doublet, retrieved their garments.
When Aramis turned around to get his shirt once he was half dressed, he saw that Anne had sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. Her hands rested on top of her knees and she was fiddling with the ring on her fourth finger.
He hoped she wouldn't come to regret their night together too much if they made it out of here alive.
"Do you think those men will soon be finished with what they're building?"
Aramis paused for a second at hearing her speak to him for the first time that morning, the simple question clearing some of the awkwardness from the room. "Probably." He made his way around the bed to get to his boots. "Whatever it is it can't be too complex; they don't have the supplies or the time to work on it. And Porthos and d'Artagnan should be on their way with reinforcements by now."
Once he had his boots on, he walked over to the door. "I'll just go and check in with Athos and see what we should do. I'll be back." With a hand on the door handle, he waited for Anne's nod before leaving and closing the door behind him.
Tréville entered the chapel where Anne was thanking and saying goodbye to the nuns now that the threat to herself and the convent was no more. "Your Majesty, we are ready to depart when you are."
"Thank you, Captain."
As they walked to the horses Tréville asked Anne again if she wanted to wait here while one of the musketeers sent for a carriage, but she insisted she would be fine riding with Aramis again.
"And I don't want to cause you any more discomfort with your arm, so you don't have to offer that I ride with you," Anne added before he could say anything else.
"Yes, Your Majesty. That's very kind of you. Though I assure you I only would have hesitated to offer due to my hindered ability to protect you and because of any possible discomfort it could have caused you," Tréville informed her.
The Captain walked her over to where Aramis was waiting on his horse. Porthos stepped over, ready to lift Anne up, but then Tréville's left hand went to the knot of his cape and he said, "May I at least offer you my cape? The wind is picking up and bringing with it some cold air."
Anne smiled softly at Tréville's protective nature and acquiesced. After Porthos lifted her onto the saddle, he passed Tréville's cape to Aramis, who draped it over the thin cape already around her shoulders.
Sometime after they had set off, Anne asked Tréville, who was riding next to her and Aramis, what he knew about who was behind this attack.
"A promissory note was recovered by Porthos and d'Artangan on one of the men and the visiting Count Mellendorf is listed as the person who hired them."
"Why though?"
Tréville took a deep breath. "The Cardinal...believes Mellendorf wanted you dead so that his daughter, Charlotte, who is at court with him, could marry the King in your place."
Anne noticed that he only referred to what the Cardinal believed. "But you don't think so."
Tréville was silent for a second before answering, "No. As Aramis pointed out, the head assassin, Gallagher, was exiled and had his land stolen for being Catholic, so one might think he would be against killing a Catholic queen in order to replace her with a Protestant one, no matter the price he was offered. That change would also not go over well with some of France's Catholic allies, not to mention the trouble we'd be in with your brother and Spain if you had been murdered. I don't think Mellendorf would want to go through so much trouble just to get a husband for his daughter. He's already made successful matches for his other daughters, he has money, and Charlotte herself is charming. He shouldn't be so desperate for a husband for her."
Anne considered this and saw the logic in his reasoning. "But if it wasn't Count Mellendorf, then who?"
"There was a small box in Gallagher's saddlebags containing money that we assume was payment for the job. Athos recognized a symbol on the box and identified it as belonging to someone else. Someone not connected to Mellendorf."
Anne felt Aramis tense up around her and saw his grip tighten on the reins. They had another suspect and she feared she would not like the answer. Nevertheless, she encouraged Tréville to go on. "Who?"
"Someone who works for the Cardinal."
Anne's head spun. The idea was so shocking and yet...the man was always scheming, always trying to get his way. He has always wanted Louis to listen to him more than her ever since she came to France. "Do you really think he hates me so much as to want me dead?"
"I don't think he hates you, Your Majesty. I think he is scared of you and your influence with the King. He can't have complete control over him while you're around, especially when you're trying to make the King rely on him less and forge a better relationship with your brother." Tréville explained, referring to the letters to Spain the King had written earlier in the year without the Cardinal's knowledge.
"He probably wanted to replace you with someone he could control, someone who would help him, knowingly or not, to influence the King," Aramis said with an edge to his voice.
Tréville nodded. "If he supported Charlotte marrying the King upon your death, not only would France get a large amount of money from her dowry, but she and her father might feel indebted to him even if they had no part in this plan."
"But this is all speculation," Anne sighed, "I'm not saying you are wrong, Captain, I sadly think you are right, it's just ...what can we do until we prove it?"
"I don't think he will try to harm you again once you're back, if that's what Your Majesty is worried about. Not after how badly this plan went."
"He wouldn't dare," Aramis asserted.
"We will make sure of it, Majesty," Tréville assured her, "And I will keep you informed of our investigation."
"Thank you, Captain, and let me know if I can help in any way."
Shortly after taking a break, it started raining lightly and everyone looked up to see a small solitary rain cloud overhead.
"The wind must have knocked it off course," Aramis stated behind Anne.
Tréville, who was now riding at the head of the group so he could talk to Athos, turned around and asked, "Your Majesty, would you like us to stop and find some shelter in the trees?"
"No, I'll be all right, Captain," she told him.
Tréville nodded and then turned back in his saddle to lead them on.
"Here, Majesty, take my hat," Aramis said, offering his hat out to her.
"Are you sure?"
"I'll be fine," he insisted, handing it over.
"Now you look even more like a musketeer," Aramis quipped after she placed the hat on her head, earning him a smile. She loved how relaxed he could be with her. He tended to be hesitant and proper at first, and she knew it was because of their positions, well, her position really, but once he got past protocol he'd open up and be more at ease with her.
"Perhaps even more so than the stable-boy," he added.
Anne's thoughts turned to the "musketeers" trudging along silently behind d'Artagnan at the rear of the group. Tréville had explained back at the convent-after he had noticed her looking quizzically at some of the members of her rescue party-that the whole garrison had gone hunting with the King and with not a single musketeer left and no time to lose, he had recruited the garrison workers for help. She would have to reward them for their service when they returned to Paris.
How would she ever thank Aramis for all that he'd done for her though? Not just saving her life, but listening to her, allowing her to help, and letting her experience such love and tenderness on what she thought could be her last night on Earth. She could gift him her entire jewelry collection and still she did not think it would be enough.
Once the sun shower ended, Tréville turned around to see how everyone was faring. Talking to Anne he said, "You should probably keep the hat on, Majesty, it makes you less recognizable."
Athos had turned his head to look behind him when Tréville did, but took longer to face forward again, his gaze lingering on Anne and Aramis. It puzzled Anne; this wasn't the first time during this journey that she had noticed him glancing back at them.
Apparently Aramis noticed it too, because once Athos had turned his head forward, Aramis leaned closer and in a calm tone whispered in Anne's ear, "You should know... Athos saw us this morning, in bed, but don't worry, he would never say anything."
"Is that why he keeps looking at us?"
"Mhm."
Anne was silent for a few seconds before coming to a conclusion on this latest revelation, "I suppose we should be thankful it was only Athos and not one of the nuns-imagine the shock."
A laugh escaped Aramis and when Athos looked over at them they both did their best to hide their grins.