Early morning sunlight filtered through the curtains and bathed the room pale gold. He rose and prepared some water to wash in, taking care not to wake the other side of the bed. She sighed faintly and snuggled down deeper into the duvet, hair cascading over her shoulders onto the pillow.
He shut the door and took his leisurely time in the bath, unaware of the sudden ambush that awaited him once he got out.
The ambush in the form of the Musketeers crept up the stairs vigilantly. They were sure this was the place that Buckingham would be right now. The man had a few secret places around France, this was one he frequented a lot and they had word he was in Paris. Their best bet was here. Athos lifted a finger to his lips for his comrades to observe and stole along the narrow corridor to the door ahead. Just an ordinary door, it didn't stand out from any other on any other floor in the ramshackle block of flats. He pressed a cautious hand to the handle and turned it slowly to check. To his surprise the door swung open quietly, Buckingham must have it oiled to minimize detection. The Musketeers peered round the door. They could hear the sound of water running in the bathroom, revealing signs of life.
'He might have a sword near him or by his bed' whispered Athos to the others. They nodded and fanned out, Porthos staying by the bathroom door and the other two searching the almost bare garret. It consisted of a very large room with a bathroom to the left and a tiny kitchen located next to it. They doubted Buckingham used it much. By the time they caught up with him he wouldn't be up to baking anything, the double crossing traitor. It didn't take long to find the bed on the other side of the room and to spot who was in it. Whoever it was, it was definitely female, Aramis could recall quite clearly that Buckingham didn't have a mane of dark red hair. Nor would he be wearing a turquoise dressing gown, silk by the look of it.
'She may be his wife' whispered Athos. 'Let's not wake her.' Aramis nodded and they made their way over to the door where Porthos was standing guard. He signalled that Buckingham was about to come out and they waited. A minute later, the door opened and a man in a towel came out whistling softly. They pounced on him and slammed a hand over his mouth as he yelled out in shock. Porthos held his arms while Athos got straight to the point.
'Where are the diamonds?'
Buckingham struggled against them, glaring at them with angry dark eyes; his muffled response was heard through Aramis's hand. Porthos shook his head while Athos came to the same conclusion. 'Take your hand off' he instructed the puzzled Aramis. He complied.
Hand removed, the man spoke in a low tone, understanding that this wasn't a moment to shout. He also seemed not to want to wake the woman in the bed.
'What are you talking about?' He hissed.
'The diamonds, what have you done with them?'
'What diamonds?' He seemed mystified. Athos wasn't going to fall for it.
'Whatever you're planning, you won't get away with it.' Not original he knew but he didn't have much of an opening gambit. They had to rescue those diamonds without delay. Buckingham continued to look puzzled. 'I'm not doing anything but having a bath.'
'A likely story' sneered Porthos, fully convinced Buckingham was lying. Athos had sudden doubts. The man tried to pull away but Porthos held him tight. 'Don't think about trying to escape.'
'My towel is slipping' the man remarked in a sarcastic tone. 'Feel free to secure it for me.' Porthos released his arms while he readjusted it.
'All right, let's start again. The diamonds. Where are they?' Snapped Athos.
'I don't have any diamonds and I wouldn't know what to do with them if I had.' The man made no attempt to escape as he stared at them mulishly. They hadn't expected Buckingham to be this stoic. Not that any of them had actually met him but they had heard stories about how Buckingham had panicked in the event of a fire and thrown his glass of wine at the flaming area of the room. It had made him the laughing stock of parties thereafter. Aramis had seen him once but it wasn't enough to identify him on. He was dark, that's what he knew. And this man was dark. Cafe au lait colour. Was Aramis sure this was Buckingham? He wasn't sure.
'This is Buckingham's hideout?' Enquired Athos.
'As far as I know, yes' replied the man.
'And you are Buckingham!' Concluded Porthos, quick off the mark.
The man looked at him and gave a bark of laughter, much to their surprise. 'You think I am Buckingham?'
'You must be' said Aramis.
'Not I' said the man shaking his head. 'Buckingham is away in London right now.'
So their lead was wrong.
'So who are you?' Asked Athos perplexedly.
'My name is Rochefort. Not Buckingham.' He smirked at the misfortune to be mistaken for that idiot.
Cardianal Richelieu's right hand man? Athos couldn't believe it.