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Going Back

Chapter 7

The remaining interviews with the staff went smoothly, but as time wore on, Aramis' body began to protest.

"This is the last one?" he asked Athos reaching for a cup of water.

Athos narrowed his eyes as he saw Aramis' hand shake slightly as he lifted the glass to his lips. He rose from his chair and pushed Aramis into it immediately. He could see a slight sheen of sweat on the marksman face.

"How long has this been going on?" he asked, his hand going to his brow. Aramis was warmer than normal, but the fever seemed mild still. D'Artagnan stood upright and Porthos growled slightly as he marched over to the table.

Aramis grew frustrated and pushed Athos' arm away. "I'm alright!" he said, though he did not rise from the chair. "It's a mild fever – the body's way of dealing with the after effects of the gun shot. It will pass."

"You could have mentioned something earlier," Athos said, his eyes flashing.

"I'm fine Athos. I needed to be here," he said.

"Aramis…" rumbled Porthos.

"I promise, as soon as we are finished with these interviews I will rest as we discuss our findings and next steps."

"In a bed," Porthos insisted.

Aramis scowled. "Fine. But then you will need to discuss our strategy at my bedside. I refuse to be omitted from this investigation. I will only need a little time to recover," he said.

Porthos' brown eyes flashed in challenge and he folded his arms across his chest in an intimidating stance. Aramis, who never refused a challenge, glared back at the towering brawler; his dark Spanish eyes sparked their own fire and promise of violence if he was not kept involved in this investigation over something as small as a gun wound.

Athos raised his hand to his face and began to massage his temples once again. He stepped between his two brothers.

"Aramis, we would never remove you from an investigation unless you needed it, medically. Now, we will agree to discuss our next steps if you promise to participate from bed and remain there until dinner. While I understand why you push yourself to such extremes, you will be more help to us if your mind is clear and your body is rested. If necessary I'm certain that Porthos will be happy to tie you to the bed if that is the only way we can ensure you'll rest."

Aramis bit his cheek as he considered the logic and slight chastisement of Athos' statement. He nodded his assent though his eyes still held their defiance. Porthos stared down at his best friend, a blend of affection and a teasing threat still gleaming in his own eyes. His defiance, devotion and the self-sacrificing love he had for his brothers were three of the things about Aramis that drove Porthos crazy; they were also three of the things that he loved the most about the man. He grinned at Aramis, who grinned back giving him one of his signature mischievous winks.

Crisis averted and a tentative truce reached between his brothers, Athos signalled to Porthos to lead the last member of the household into the room. Maurice and his brother entered after Porthos to where Aramis and Athos sat at the table.

Maurice's brother's eyes widened as he took in the musketeers. The man looked very little like Maurice. He was at least 15 years younger, seemingly in his mid-50s. He was balding like his brother, but where Maurice's hair was fair, the brother's was brown, and bright blue eyes beamed out from his face where warm brown pools were set on either side of Maurice's nose. He took the seat that was offered to him.

"This is my younger brother, Joseph," Maurice said by way of introduction before he exited the room.

"Pleasure to meet you," said Aramis. "I'm Aramis and these are my friends Athos, Porthos and D'Artagnan. We are here conducting an official investigation on behalf of the King." Joseph said nothing, though his blue eyes were focused on the marksman.

"We would like to ask you a few questions if you'll allow us," Aramis said. Joseph said nothing but nodded slightly.

Aramis raised his eyebrows at the silent suspect and looked to Athos.

"How long have you been here, Joseph?" Athos asked bluntly.

"I've been here my whole life," he said as he tore his eyes from Aramis to focus combatively on Athos.

"We were told you had left for a while," Porthos said as he went to stand protectively behind Aramis and Athos. There was something unnerving Porthos in the way Joseph was looking at his brothers.

Joseph nodded slowly. "Well I was gone for a bit. Was looking into something and running a few chores. Then I served in the army for a while. La Rochelle. Mountauban. Royan." He couldn't repress the slight shudder at the memory of his time in the army. Aramis and Porthos nodded their understanding. Porthos had fought in two of those battles, Aramis in all three and many more besides.

"How long have you been back?" Athos rephrased his question.

"Not long. About three or four months. Had to help Maurice. He's not as young as he used to be," he said roughly.

Athos nodded. "The Spring thaw is usually hard here. Was there flooding in the north field again this year?" Athos asked.

A look of confusion ghosted across Joseph's face. Aramis noted the reaction, but kept his inviting grin on his face. "It was about the same as every year."

Athos frowned slightly at his response and looked at the man more closely.

"What did you used to do before the war?" D'Artagnan asked.

Joseph startled as though just realizing D'Artagnan was there as his eyes flickered towards him. "Odd jobs where I could," he said. "As I said, I was looking for answers."

"And did you find them?" Athos asked, his eyebrow raised skeptically.

"In a matter of speaking," the man replied, and this time, Aramis thought you could almost see the anger in his eye as he answered Athos' question.

"There have been some attacks on the Noble Road, not far from here. Do you know anything about them?"

"Was anybody hurt? Was anything actually taken?"

"No…" said Athos slowly. "No one was hurt, but the carriages were damaged. The patrons were en route to Paris so much of their finery was ruined with the filth and debris that was cast upon them. Several collapsed as a result of the altercations."

"The King sent some of his best guards all the way here because some nobles got dirty?" laughed Joseph. "Typical."

Storm clouds gathered over Porthos. He too had thought that the mission was a little ridiculous, but he was duty bound to complete it regardless of his feelings. Having this man give voice to his own frustration over the situation rankled him. The fact that two of his brothers had been injured by the madman who was making this mischief only darkened the situation, but in Porthos' mind had at least given some credibility to their case.

Athos looked at the man, his stone mask of indifference clearly set upon his face. Porthos took a gamble, and with a quick look at Athos, he leant in to Aramis and audibly whispered, "See? This man thinks the mission is nonsense too."

Without missing a beat, Aramis grinned up at him. "Come now mon ami, you know that arriving dirty at the palace is social suicide."

Porthos laughed, "It's worse than the plague to some of 'em, eh? Didn't mind when we was down in the mud at Royan though, eh?" he asked, winking at Joseph.

"You've got to admit that it's an improvement on some of them. Especially the smell," replied Aramis, also grinning at Joseph.

Joseph laughed darkly. "Some of them deserve it more than others," he said. He could not quite keep the bitterness from his voice.

"We should almost be thankin' the man actually," said Porthos. "Brought us to this place. Shame what happened to the rest of the estate, though the people are happy being free and independent."

The man sobered at these words. "It's not a shame, it's a tragedy. The de la Fere estate could have been the jewel of the empire. Now what is it? Ashes and ruins."

"This place remains," said D'Artagnan defensively. "You should be grateful you're allowed to stay here."

Joseph looked at the Gascon for a moment. "Oh yes," he said as a slow cruel smile came to his lips. "I'm grateful."

"Deserved or not, the King will not tolerate attacks on his citizens. The man also attacked two musketeers. When we find him, he will need to be brought to Paris to stand trial," Athos said coldly, his blue eyes pinning Joseph to his seat. "Is there anything you can offer us that could assist us in our investigation?"

The man stared back at Athos, ice-blue eyes locked on ice-blue eyes. "No. I'm sorry I can't be of any use to you."

'Thank you for your time," said Athos dismissing the man with a nod. He rose and exited without another word.

oOo

The musketeers shared a pointed look as the door swung shut behind Joseph.

Porthos helped Aramis from the chair. Aramis smiled at him, but insisted on walking on his own, and led the musketeers upstairs to one of the guest bedrooms. He settled himself on foot of the bed as D'Artagnan stretched out on a chaise like a cat, sighing slightly at the relief it gave his ribs. Porthos grinned at his brothers as Athos entered the room carrying a steaming mug.

"Sophie says to let that steep before you drink it," he said, passing the mug to Aramis who smelt it and nodded recognizing the herbs that the housekeeper had provided.

"So, are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?" D'Artagnan asked.

"Not sure what you mean," said Porthos with a grin.

"Come on, you picked Joseph out as our man almost as soon as he entered the room," said D'Artagnan. Porthos grinned.

"Well he is the right build. Unfortunately the hood and mask hid his face and muffled his voice," said Aramis, also grinning, though he shrugged his shoulders resignedly.

"What was all that about the north field?" Porthos asked.

"It was just something that John said, about Maurice's brother not actually helping around here," Athos explained. "It's true, the winter was rough and cold, with more snow that usual but it's the south pastures that suffer in the thaw."

"So what are we going to do?" D'Artagnan asked.

"Nothing yet. We'll need to watch him carefully. We need to find something concrete to tie him to the assaults," Athos said.

"There was an anger and bitterness in him. His service in the army can explain some of that…" Aramis said with another shrug of his shoulders.

"True. We're also looking for a man called Felix…Perhaps Joseph is just an accomplice," said Athos. "I'd like to speak to that merchant you spoke with D'Artagnan. I suggest we split up tomorrow. Porthos, you and Aramis will remain here and watch out for Joseph. See if you can get him to warm up to you some more. Aramis, be on alert. If Joseph is connected in some way, he may have been the one who shot you. He may try to finish what was started."

Aramis nodded, "I'll be prepared."

"As will I," said Porthos with a slight growl.

"I feel like there's some sort of key to all of this that we're still missing," said Athos with a frustrated shake of his head.

D'Aratagnan started and slapped his palm against his forehead with enough force to cause him to wince and rub the contact spot. "A key!" he said. "How stupid of me! I forgot all about it!"

The other three stared at the younger man with looks of humour, confusion and concern for his mental wellbeing written on their faces.

"I swear, I'm not mad," said the Gascon as he read the silent expressions of his brothers at his reaction. "I found a key hidden in a corner of the library. It's large and old and bronze. It could be a match to the door of the vault."

"What?!" said Aramis and Athos.

"Oh ya," said Porthos. "That must have been what he was looking for. Musta' just found it when you guys came into the library. Probably forgot about it as he ran."

D'Aratagnan nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't think about it earlier," he muttered angrily.

"Where is the key now?" Athos asked.

"it's back at our room in the inn. We can retrieve it when we go to interview the merchant."

Athos nodded his agreement. "I think it's a good idea that we remove our stuff from the inn for the interim. All roads seem to be leading back to this place."

"But where will we ever find enough beds for us all," said Aramis mockingly.

"Speaking of beds…" Athos replied, casting a triumphant glance at his brother who pouted immediately, "I believe you promised to rest now. You too D'Artagnan. You are both to remain in this room and in this bed, Aramis, until Porthos and I retrieve you for dinner."

The two musketeers pouted as Porthos followed Athos from the room, muttering a quick "Sleep tight kiddies. Have a good nap!" before snapping the door shut on their protestations.

oOo