TWO:
"Would you stop circling the room? You're making me dizzy!"
"I can't Milady! I bet those musketeers know we're in this already!" Buckingham walked in circles across the library.
Milady De Winter sighed and took a small sip from her cup of tea. "Those musketeers think I'm dead. They think France is safe, they would never suspect we are plotting something of this magnitude this soon."
"You're right." He rested his hand over a pile of books. "Do you have any idea of what would happen if they catch us?"
Milady stood up as she shook her head and her reddish curls danced. "Your Grace." She said sweetly approaching to him and placing her gloved hand over his shoulder. "Richelieu is not stupid, and neither are we. If the musketeers get in our way, we will take them out. We know that D'artagnan boy is clever and knows how to fight, but he is no match for us."
Buckingham took Milady's face between his hands and kissed her deeply, leaving his lips with a hint of her lipstick. "Fishing you out of that canal was not a bad idea after all…" he smiled.
The stars were out and Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'artagnan rode their horses to the palace. King Louis and Queen Anne were excited to see them. They didn't wear any fancy costumes but they made themselves masks to keep the "masquerade ball theme". They didn't want to call the attention being the only guests without masks.
"Let's split and meet here in an hour, maybe this agent will come to one of us." Said Athos and then everyone went to different places.
Aramis sat on a chair to keep an eye on the crowd, Porthos went near the table were wine was served, Athos kept near to their majesties and D'artagnan stood quietly beside the orchestra but he was not planning to dance.
D'artagnan watched everyone dance, but someone in particular caught his attention. She was an excellent dancer, and had a beautiful smile, her eyes dark and mysterious as the night and so was her hair. Her purple mask shielded her face, but what he saw was plenty, she was a true beauty… No, he won't do this again, the last time he fell in love it ended badly. Constance was now married.
When he was about to look away the beautiful girl gave him a flirty look and a smile before leaving the room and stepping out into the garden. He took a deep breath, and walked after her, keeping distance, maybe he could see her once more before erasing her from his mind.