Hey, dearies.
Hope you all had a good week. I'm so glad that so many of you reading the second part of my story. Also wanna say thank you to the kudos: DebbieF, Hsg, GingietheSnap and Luthien17. Hope you will like this chapter too. Tell me in the comments. Also you will see the outfits and locations on Tumblr and Pinterest.
Chapter 2: An ordinary morning at Chateau Fontainebleau
"Hey, you can't keep me locked up here!"
A man was tied to a chair, his voice echoing from the stone walls of a cellar room. He had no idea if anyone could hear him – or was even around to hear him -, or how long he had been there. He just kept yelling. "Hey, I need to pee!" Slowly he was getting desperate. He tried jarring the chair, pushing off the ground again and again, but the chair didn't move. Four thick bolts solidly connected it to the floor, preventing it from toppling over. It didn't take long for the man's movements to slow down. The waiting and the lack of food and drink had weakened his body. He let his head drop to his chest. An ordinary person would feel pity seeing him like this.
Not so the chief of security of Chateau Fontainebleau and his second-in-command. The two men were alone in the surveillance room, watching their prisoner through the camera. "Good, he's starting to realize the situation. Have Durrand bring him some bread and water."
Athos nodded. Treville had deliberately chosen a senior, experienced man and Athos went to find him.
It was still early in the morning. The gallery opening had ben two days ago and things had returned to their normal routine. Aramis and D'Artagnan had the late shift today, so they hadn't arrived yet. Porthos, like a lot of the other guards, was in the guard room and that's where Athos expected to find Durrand as well.
He went into the room and where despite the early hour the general hustle and bustle was going on, as some of the men stood at the equipment lockers, picking up weapons, walkie-talkies and protection vests. A smaller group, the K-9s, headed into one of the adjoining rooms, where the kennels for the guard dogs were situated.
Porthos stood at the coffee machine, telling a couple of men about his long night. Athos had no qualms interrupting the thrilling – and partly made-up story. "Where's Durrand?"
"Ah, Athos, always the early bird. A woman would be the right cure for that," Porthos teased and some of the men called out their approval. Athos just looked at him, keeping his expression absolutely emotionless. Porthos held his gaze for a few moments, then he gave up "Durrant is still with the dogs, giving an introduction to one of the newbies."
Athos nodded in thanks and left. As Porthos had said, he found Durrand at the kennels situated at the edge of the Coeur des Offices, leading a young man past the dogs, who were barking loudly, but too well trained to go completely wild. "Durrand!" Athos called out and motioned for the man to come over to him. Durrand apparently sent the new recruit off on an errand and hurried to Athos. Every man on the security team had a lot of respect for the second-in-command.
"What can I do for you, Athos? I'm just giving one of the newbies, Michel, the introductory tour. The guy's deadly afraid of the dogs," he said, smiling.
"Treville wants you to take some bread and water to our prisoner." Athos spoke in a low voice, but took care not to make them look too secretively. Durrand nodded and called out to one of the other men still standing at the kennels. "Lefevre, take over for me." Then he followed Athos.
While Durrand stopped by the kitchen for some bread and a cup of water, Athos went back to the surveillance room.
On the way to the cellar, Durrand didn't waste a thought on the fact that their keeping a man against his will was illegal. In the past, Louis' security team had done far worse things in the name of justice, either to protect the king and his family, or because the people of Fontainebleau and the citizens of Paris demanded justice for a crime. The men were something like a special forces unit, not bound by the restrictions of the local authorities.
In the cellar room, he saw his former colleague, Martin. A sorry figure. The man looked up when he heard his footsteps. "Durrand?" The light coming in through a small opening high up on one wall was barely enough to see the outline of the man.
"Martin, here's some food and water." Durrand put the food down and turned away.
"Durrand, my friend. We had good times together. Remember that time we had to protect these women in the brothel? I covered for you there," Martin pleaded.
Durrand stopped. "I just had my fun for thirty minutes. Nobody got hurt. *You'* have betrayed us."
"No, I did the right thing, and you can do the same. Untie me, follow me to Paris. They'll reward you! With our information…."
Durrand had reached the exit and could not hear him any longer. It hurt to see a good friend like this, but then he had also been deeply hurt by Martin's betrayal.
Athos and Treville had watched the little scene with interest. Now they had proof on record that Martin had worked for the Red Guard and that they had paid him for it. It was time to ask him a few questions.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Aramis stood in Anne's office. He had hoped to find her there, but no luck. Just as he turned back towards the door, it opened from the outside. "Anne, good, I was looking for you." He stepped aside to let her enter.
"Aramis, it's nice to see you." Anne was unsure how to handle this situation. After their kiss and Rochefort's attack they had hardly seen each other, much less had had time to talk.
"I just came to tell you that Rochefort was transferred to the state prison today."
Anne was relieved to hear that, but surprised at the speed of the procedure. "So quickly? Doesn't there have to be a trial first?"
Aramis shook his head and leaned against the doorframe. "Your cousin has contacts. The trial in two months' time will just be a formality for the public. Rochefort will stay behind bars for a long time, the judge assured Louis of that."
Anne felt a weight lift off her mind, that Rochefort wouldn't be able to get close to her again. However, there was another thought that preyed on her mind each night. Aramis noticed that something was wrong with her and stepped closer. He tugged her gently against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. "You look like you haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately."
Anne sighed. "I can't sleep, Aramis. I physically hurt someone. Lemay said that Rochefort might become blind in this eye. I didn't want that to happen."
Aramis pulled her even closer and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Anne, it wasn't your fault. He deserves that and actually much more. If I had gotten my hands on him a little sooner….I don't know what I would have done." He felt Anne starting to tremble. His word's obviously hadn't helped, so he changed his approach. "What you did was in self-defense. No one will blame you or accuse you of a crime. If you want, we can report it, but I swear the police will tell you the same thing." That seemed to be more helpful and Anne calmed down a little. Once she had stopped trembling, she snuggled closer to Aramis, reveling in the feeling of him.
Aramis certainly did not mind. After a few long moments, Anne reluctantly pushed him back. "I'm sorry, but I have to go to Louis, he wants to see me."
Aramis nodded. "I'll take you to his rooms."
Together they stepped out into the corridor. Aramis was tempted to reach for her hand, but he wanted to give her the space she might need.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Constance turned over in her bed, pulling the covers with her. A few seconds later she heard grumbling, and something tugged the covers back, before someone snuggled against her from behind and draped an arm across her hip. "Good morning," D'Artagnan whispered, before he kissed her.
"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, not quite long enough, but well."
Constance moved, but he held her back. "Stay here. I have the morning off, let's enjoy the time together."
Constance wriggled free and managed to get out of bed. "You may have the morning off, but I have to take care of some things."
D'Artagnan buried his head in his pillow, so that his next words came out muffled. "I thought Anne wanted to rest and you wanted to do the same."
Constance laid back down beside him and snuggled against his chest. "I guess there's nothing wrong with five more minutes…."
D'Artagnan closed his eyes again. "I think so, too."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Anne, how beautiful you look again. How are you feeling?" Louis greeted her enthusiastically. She had barely said goodbye to Aramis and stepped into Louis's room, when he came up to her. Today he wore a comparatively casual outfit, consisting of dark red chinos with matching shoes and a light cotton poloshirt.
"Louis, good morning. I'm fine, thank you for asking. I already took a short walk in the English Garden this morning."
"A very good choice, I have to say. The English Garden is the most beautiful one."
A tall man Anne hadn't noticed before came over to them. "Dearest cousin," he said, taking a bow and kissing her hand.
"Anne, do you remember the Duke of Savoy, my dear sister's husband?" Louis introduced his guest.
"Oh yes, I was at your wedding. How is your wife? What brings you to Paris?"
Savoy regarded her. So this was the woman who had unmasked his henchman.
"My wife is very well, thank you. I'm in Paris on business. I have an office and an apartment there. My card." He handed Anne a business card. "Madame, Louis just told me about the attack on you. However, it looks like nothing could rattle you."
Anne was wearing a dark, knee-length dress with a floral print, and blue wedges. A white hat and two-tone sunglasses for protection against the sun, and an unusual handbag completed her look.
"Well, I had time to recover from the incident and four bodyguards are always close to me," Anne answered.
Savoy realized, that Anne wanted to speak with Louis in private, so he discreetly took his leave. "Louis, I think we covered everything. I'll see you in the city at some time."
"Absolutely, my dear brother-in-law. For lunch maybe." Louis accompanied Savoy to the door, where a servant was already waiting to show him to his car, and then returned to Anne. "Anne, thank you for coming."
Anne smiled at him. "What can I do for you?"
"With Rochefort gone – may he roast in hell – I'm sorely lacking competence in financial matters." Louis offered her a chair and they sat down at the large table.
"Rochefort has taken care of a lot of matters for you. I can imagine that some of his colleagues have left, too, out of loyalty to him," Anne assumed.
"You're absolutely right. Five people have resigned! Finance and Accounting are at a standstill!"
"I'm sorry, Louis."
He made a dismissive gesture. "It can't be helped. I wanted to ask you, if you could perhaps extend your stay a little and help with a new set-up – or better yet, take the head yourself. At the moment, I trust only a small number of people." Louis took her hands. "You, Anne, are one of them."
Anne thought for a moment. "Louis, I'm glad to help, but I would like to discuss it with Constance first. After all, she's not only my assistant, but also my friend."
Louis clapped his hands. "Good, speak with her, but I thank you already. If she says no, I'll get you a new assistant." Louis got up and left, without a word of goodbye or a thought that she might not want a new assistant. However, Anne was used to it and she had a feeling Constance wouldn't mind staying longer.