Again, thanks so much for the reviews, follows and favourites. Pallysdeeks; I don't think it could be called a sham marriage. Amorette genuinely likes Fabien and he likes her. I think Amorette wants to try and get over Athos because she believes he can't ever feel for her romantically.

So nothing that happens in this chapter exists in my plans for this story! I keep setting an end goal and then pushing it further away! I quite like the fact that I'm making you all wait for Athos and Amorette to get it together though!

I only own Amorette.

Amorette passed a restless evening in her rooms that night. After their conversation with Shauna she had accompanied Constance and Claude back to the Louvre and had regretted that action ever since. There was the niggling thought that somewhere out there in the streets of Paris some poor girl could be about to walk into a horrible trap that she would never come away from. Sitting alone in her rooms with only her books for company didn't sit well with Amorette. She knew that they had done the right thing in passing on the information that Shauna had given them to the musketeers but sitting around idly felt wrong when she could have been helping.

Athos in his usual demeanour had refused their help and sent them home. Amorette could only hope that he was able to do something with the information that she had supplied. It was nights like this when she had felt a pang of longing for Fabien. She had never passed such an evening of agreeable company before she met him and missed the warm conversation that he brought to her evenings. All of her friends had already gone to bed or were spending time with a loved one and for just a second the thought did occur to Amorette that she could seek out Athos if she really so wanted to. There was the strange sense of confidence in the fact that if she did so, he wold not refuse her as he had done so before.

Amorette had spent her life feeling uncomfortable and inadequate in Athos' company and though that may have changed given his rash actions the last time they were alone together in her rooms, Amorette wasn't sure she could control herself in that position. Besides, who was to say that he hadn't changed his mind again and now hated her now more than he ever had done before. No, better to be alone so that she was reminded of just what she had with Fabien. With the poet she had a future that Athos had refused her for a long time. Amorette had never really considered becoming a mother as she hadn't thought she would ever marry, but it seemed a more alien concept now. Her childhood had not been the happiest and perhaps that had influenced her over the years more than she had realised. How was she to become the mother that her potential children would need when she had been set such a terrible example by her father. Granted, her mother had been loving and caring but she had been weak. If Amorette ever had a daughter she wanted her to be strong, independent and to know her own mind and to speak it. Was she ready to give such an example to a child though?

It instilled a warm sense of contentment in Amorette that Fabien believed she would make a wonderful mother. Amorette did not believe so yet herself but it was the kick-start she needed to have with someone thoroughly in her corner. Her rooms looked oddly tidy now compared to their appearance before Fabien had left for Italy. There had been inkwells, quills and paper everywhere with little snatches of prose and poetry to pick up and read and there had been a distinctly lived in feel to the otherwise cold and unattached ambiance of her rooms. There had been the smell of cologne and the odd doublet or shirt that had been left behind too that had served as a mark of how comfortable Amorette felt with Fabien. Amorette got up and shuffled into her bedroom to look at the large four-poster bed that was still consecrated ground where she and her Fiancé were concerned. Whilst Fabien had slept on the couches in the parlour a time or two, he had yet to stay with Amorette in her bedchamber. It was something that he had not forced or coerced either despite Claude's constant warnings to Amorette.

Amorette knew in her heart of hearts that Fabien wanted a true and pure marriage that would only be consummated on their wedding night. It did help Amorette to trust the poet, but there was also trepidation beginning to set in. in depth conversations with Claude who was only too happy to talk about activities of the bedchamber had helped Amorette to understand that sex could also be a compatibility issue within a marriage or relationship. Claude had said that she believed that had been the death of her own marriage. In the beginning she and her husband had loved each other very much but once they were married and living together things within the marital bed had become strained. It had been the only matter that had caused any upset or friction but it was certainly enough to affect every other aspect of their marriage. Amorette wasn't sure how she could handle being married to Fabien only in legality simply because sexually, they had turned out not to be compatible. There was the fear that something of that kind would happen and neither she nor Fabien would be any the wiser until the deal was done and they were husband and wife and there would be no way out.

Amorette simply had to have faith in the man that she had met and hoped to spend the rest of her life with happily. Surprisingly, Amorette found it easy to have such an optimistic outlook on her future with Fabien and knew that this was because of the confidence the poet had instilled within her. She was changing a little, and perhaps it was for the best. Perhaps there really would come a day when she would no longer pine for the surly musketeer.

Leaning against the door frame, a slight movement from the dark corner of the room had Amorette diving across the room towards where her pistols lay on the chaise longue. Peering around one post of the bed into the gloomy evening light she could just make out the cooper curls of Henry Fitzgerald. Amorette emerged from behind the bed and lowered her pistol, but she didn't drop it.

"Henry I don't care how you got in, just leave now! You can't be here!" Henry seemed to have no intention of doing so however. Amorette could just make out the grin he threw at her before turning to look down from one of the windows of her room towards the Jardin des Luxembourg. "henry I mean it. Whatever it is that you want, I can't help you."

"Got any wine?" asked the Scotsman bemusedly as he took lengthy strides out into the parlour. Amorette followed to find him pouring two glasses of wine. She refused to take the one he offered her and scowled at him, sure that he was up to some mischief.

"How did you get into my rooms? I thought you'd have left Paris by now." Amorette pushed away the wine glass that he offered to her for a second time.

Henry let out a long sigh as he sat down on a couch and Amorette perched on the arm of the couch opposite him, still clutching the pistol. "You know I received letters from the French Queen lass! I know about the tunnels that run beneath the palace and I know that they lead directly to the Queen's own rooms and yours. I thought I'd pay you a little visit as I'm leaving tomorrow. After your little game with Buckingham even you will admit that you owe me at least a few minutes of your time."

Amorette did feel bad about tricking one of her oldest friends but she knew that she had done it for the right reasons. "Henry I am sorry about that but I did it for your own good. Your wild plans to take back Scottish rule were going to get you killed. I've said it before; I don't want to lose another friend. You're an intelligent man who could do wonderful things if only you would put your mind to it."

Henry sighed from his position opposite her and leaned back against the couch. He nodded slowly to show that he understood what she had said. "I know you meant well, but I just don't like being a part of any schemes that Buckingham has cooked up. I've made contact with the right people here in Paris over the last few months but it seems your French peers are too damn frightened to act. Some will supply me with gold and weapons but they have yet to pledge any men to me. I've been away from Scotland for too long. The clan is in uproar and my uncle recalled me over a month ago. I'm facing just as much trouble in my homeland as I do in England right now. My family is unhappy about my flight to France. I don't regret it but they saw it as a shirking of my duties. That castle you came upon me in was my charge. I abandoned it and left it at the mercy of rival clans. You see lass, I'm about a lot more than just winning back home rule for Scotland."

"They've put a bounty on your head, haven't they?" Amorette asked then and she didn't quite know why. What she did know though, was that it was true.

Henry nodded again. "I wasn't going to tell you because I thought you would blame yourself for dragging me away. It was no fault of yours. I was planning to leave that castle and march on England once I had amassed enough support in Scotland anyway. The truth is, that the clan have disowned me and once I step foot on Scottish soil again I will be risking my life."

"What could you have done to deserve such punishment Henry?" cried Amorette. "Surely that isn't simply because you left a castle unmanned?"

Henry chuckled. "No lass. The Campbell Clan is loyal to the Stuart family and always has been. As such they are now loyal to the English monarchy. I'm going against everything that my family believes in. it wasn't until I left Scotland that my uncle realised what I had been plotting. Now, if I return to the clan it's on pain of death."

"Then why on earth are you going back?" demanded Amorette. "Go somewhere else! Or stay here in France. I know you may not consider Paris as somewhere that you could stay but you could travel south. I don't know why you don't just give all of this up and forget these mad delusions. You cannot seriously think that you will achieve this goal? Just who is it that you hope to place upon the Scottish throne if you win it back?" When Henry stared at her blankly Amorette let out a roar of laughter. "You don't even know do you? So you were planning to march on London with only a few hundred men to win back home rule for Scotland and you have no heir with claim to the Scot's throne to present! Parliament would have laughed you all the way into the highlands. No, they'd have killed you all before you even got across London bridge!"

Henry jumped up from the couch, a growl of distaste leaving his lips. "What on earth would the daughter of an Englishman and a Frenchwoman know of Scottish politics? You're still a child for Christ's sake!"

"I clearly know more than you do!" Amorette stood up to meet Henry's angry gaze with only a small table between them both. "I know you could have brought a peaceful campaign to parliament and fought with words and intelligence but instead you would try to sack the English King through violent means. You would have been leading your men to their deaths. Martyrdom is not going to help Scotland in any way. The English would crush your revolt before it even got off the ground and not even in Scotland would they remember you fondly. Scottish rebellions would only make matters worse for the Scottish people. But then you didn't think about that did you? How like a typical young lord with more money than wits or sense to think only of the final outcome? Did you not consider the anguish and disruption your actions would cause? Trying and failing in all of your schemes would bring Scotland to its knees. The English lords in Scotland would take out their anger on the common Scottish people. You'd be starting a civil war in your own country and in turn more people who do believe in your cause would begin to disbelieve it. I don't need to know a great deal about Scotland because you see, I know you. I know you are rash and hot-headed! You'll charge in without thinking things through properly and get yourself killed."

"I don't think you have the right to claim to know me Cometess! You know a young boy who toed the line and followed English lords and swore fealty to them because he did not know the true meaning of loyalty. Do you really think those Englishmen would have supported and fought for me as I fought for them? No! But then you would'nae understand that would you? Your father is one of the wealthiest men in England and I know you believe in his cause despite your many grievances with him." Henry backed away a little then, perhaps aware that his anger was getting the better of him.

"I may not cling to politics and religion as the complete staples of my life Henry but that is because I've learnt from my own family. The things I take value in are much more important to my own life and needs. I value friendship and love above all else. When we really look at the world there is nothing else stronger than love to hold us up. In time power and money corrupt even the best of men. I've seen it happen many times with my own eyes. Why do you think I'm pleading with you now? Take the advice of someone who cares for you as a true friend should and not from some war council who only care about the strength of your arm and the weight of the gold in your pocket!"

Henry stormed towards Amorette with his finger pointed sternly at her. "Have you never wondered Amorette, why you are in such a sorry state? Hiding yourself from the world because you loved someone and he didn't share those feelings. You may have clung to love and friendship and tried to keep your nose clean but where would you be if only you'd taken action? If you'd only had the initiative to deal with your father in the correct manner, he would have been long dead! You have a rather wondrous political position and a fortune that could be put to use and could have made you great. Instead you let love drive you into misery and despair and that has left you incapable of fighting for anything-"

"That's not true!" Amorette snarled.

"Yes it is lass!" Henry was almost nose to nose with her now. "Who is it that you have chosen to marry eh? Someone with good political alliance who could protect and care well for you? Someone with good standing who has the ability to raise an army should he so need one? No, you have chosen a poet! You have chosen a man who barely warrants the name! an intelligent and wealthy woman like you could have changed countries if only you'd let yourself! Instead you marry some penniless playwright who will whisper pretty sonnets in your ear and that's about all! What exactly can he protect you from eh?"

Any sympathy or feelings of friendship that she may have still had for Henry Fitzgerald sank right down into the pit of Amorette's stomach. If that was what he really thought, then he had never really known her well at all. She didn't need the protection of wealth and power, nor did she want it. People who relied on wealth and power could be bought and usually for much less than everyone thought. No, love was the only real protection that would endure until the end. "Just stop Henry! Stop prattling and go! If I'd known you'd speak to me so I'd have locked you out before you could say a word of it! Just get out!"

Henry was staring at her incredulously, but neither had time to voice any more grievances for at that moment a soft click alerted them to the fact that someone had entered the room. Amorette looked towards the door that led out into the hallway with a small gasp. Athos stood in the doorway, an unreadable expression upon his face. He took precise steps into the room until he stood before them both. "Is everything alright?" he said with a pointed look to Amorette.

Amorette nodded stiffly. "Henry was just leaving!"

"Well it's all crystal clear now isn't it," chuckled Henry. "The Comte de la Feré here in Paris in the guise of a musketeer." Shaking his head admonishingly at her, Henry began to make his way towards the door as he spoke. "Really Amorette? I thought that stage of your life had passed you by, but I guess some things never change."

"Not that way!" Amorette cried. "You will go out the way you came in! People already talk enough without you adding my name to the mix." Amorette led Henry back into her bedchamber towards the linen cupboard. "Don't come upon me in such a way ever again Henry, do you understand me?"

With a light chuckle the Scotsman disappeared and Amorette felt a sudden tiredness overwhelm her. Dealing with Athos after all of that was not a pleasing thought. When she returned to the parlour Athos was watching her intently. "You should have called for someone when you found that man in your rooms!" came the gruff voice across the room towards her. "If anyone else had found him here they would have arrested him and perhaps you also! Have you considered how such a meeting may have ended if I had not called upon you?"

"Oh he wouldn't have hurt me Athos, he's my friend!" cried Amorette as she threw her pistol down onto a couch. Realising just how much her hands shook, she fisted them in the folds of her skirts.

"Really? Madam if that is the case then why is it that only now that he has left the room do you lay down your weapon?" Athos raised a brow and Amorette felt even more uncomfortable. When he looked at her like that she felt as if he could read her every thought.

Changing the subject quickly, Amorette asked "Why are you here Athos?"

For a moment there was silence as both parties remembered just what had happened the last time they had been alone in that very room together. Amorette's pulse quickened and her palms grew sweaty. She knew that she could muster the resolve to fight down whatever feelings and emotions that those memories brought forth though. It was the man before her that she was concerned about in that respect. She knew that Athos wouldn't hurt her but if he were to make advances towards her again would she have the power within her to resist him? She needed to for her own sake. Not in the least because now she could never be his to claim. She had a soon to be husband who was hopefully now on his return journey from Italy and wanted to stay true to him. She could not give into the flippant desires of Athos no matter how much she wanted to. Amorette knew that he saw her in a completely different light now due to recent events. Perhaps he even admired her. It was not the kind of admiration that Amorette wanted from him though, that could never be possible. No matter how well he could convince her otherwise he would still rise the next morning and leave her. She would soon be forgotten as his thoughts returned to her dead sister. Then Amorette would be even more bereft than she had been her whole life.

Letting herself float back into the room, Amorette was painfully aware of how Athos looked at her in that moment. She kept her eyes trained on the floor so as not to become bewitched by those blue orbs. "I came," he said after clearing his throat apprehensively, "To tell you that we paid a visit to those practitioners that the prostitute passed to you. They were not very forthcoming at all. The proprietor, a Madam Durand; remembers the young girl Nathaly and remembers selling her the Pennyroyal. They gave the instructions to use the concoction sparingly, one drop in some sweet tea each day for a month. They say she left with it and that was the last that they saw of her. They did say that it is not uncommon for women who wish to be rid of their unborn child in a quicker fashion to consume too much of the concoction at once and thus do harm to themselves. There is no evidence to say that any harm came to the girl on their premises." Amorette sank down onto one of the couches dejectedly. "You and Constance said that you thought she came from the direction of the river, so she could have befallen harm elsewhere in the city. We will investigate further but I wanted to tell you in person that it is not likely that we will ever have any definitive proof as to what happened."

Amorette screwed up her face in concentration for a second. "But Shauna said that those people, this Madam Durand was nasty and untrustworthy!"

"That they may well be the case Madam," said Athos as he took a seat opposite her, "But with no evidence to act upon we have no option but to look elsewhere and perhaps eventually shelve our investigation of this matter."

Amorette sighed heavily and nodded to show her understanding. She knew deep down that this was not Athos' fault, and that he had indeed done all that he could to help but surely too would share her fears that other young girls would come to harm if action was not taken. "I suppose I could concentrate on trying to get word to the girl's family." Those cold blue orbs watched her curiously and Amorette ducked her head and began to pull at a thread protruding from the folds of her skirt.

"There was nothing of value upon the girl's person, and you told me yourself that we do not have a surname or a town of birth to look into. I understand that you want to help Amorette, but I think we have all of the information that we will ever receive regarding this matter. You are welcome to try of course, but I wouldn't get your hopes up." Athos stood up as if to leave but at the last second he appeared to change his mind. He turned back to her with an apprehensive glance, as if he didn't know what answer he would receive. "What did he want, Fitzgerald?"

Amorette shook her head as she stood up. "I honestly don't quite know." She walked slowly towards the door as if she wanted to show Athos out. "He's angry that Buckingham and I foiled his scheme and I think he wants me to know that he'll keep trying. Aside from that though, I cannot fathom what he thinks I can help him with."

Instead of continuing to walk towards the door Athos instead took slow and deliberate steps towards her. "I don't like that Fitzgerald thinks he can approach you in your rooms like that. He came and went without anyone seeing him."

"It's not like that Athos!" Amorette rubbed her temples with firm fingers as she felt the beginnings of a headache emerge. "I've known Henry a long time! He came to my rooms when we were both children playing together and meant no harm; he means no more harm now than he did then! You came to my room too when I was a child. Henry means as much harm to me as you do Athos!"

Amorette was sure she saw Athos huff in frustration. "The child who meant no harm is no longer there Amorette. Even the lively young man who followed Buckingham everywhere resolutely is no longer present. Think upon just what he would do to the world we know if he had enough power-"

"Just how much of our conversation did you hear?" Amorette cried. "Clearly you had no need to ask what it was he wanted from me because you heard it all when you were standing behind that door!"

"Amorette please just hear what I have to say?" Athos took another step closer and Amorette took two backwards. She had no desire to be near him when they were alone after what had occurred last time. She his eyes flicker in recognition of her movements but he remained otherwise unaffected. "You may believe that Henry Fitzgerald is a patriot fighting for what many would see as a just cause. He speaks with intelligence and confidence and some of his plans may actually have some merit. I know that you feel sorry for him and hope that he gains some power or success in his own country to placate himself with but I want you to think on something else. What happens when he gets what he wants? What happens when Scotland has home rule and he has nothing left to fight for there? There are still wars for a man like Fitzgerald to fight in France or Spain and elsewhere and there will always be those willing to pay him to do so! You and I both know that the man can be bought! He followed Buckingham and a number of other English lords for many years despite his heritage and what his Scottish peers preached. That boy you thought that you knew so well all those years ago was not the real Henry Fitzgerald. The one who stood before you today is!"

"I think the same could be said for not just Henry but you also!" Amorette blurted out as she turned from him. She let out a sigh of defeat that she couldn't hold in any longer. She knew that Athos was right, but admitting that to him was rather painful.

"Did you not see his eyes Amorette?" Amorette turned to find Athos only a few inches from her and she jumped back again. "His eyes were enough to tell you all that you need to know. They were alive! Alive with adrenalin, power and anticipation. He won't be able to just give up that high. In all honesty, and I know you know this too; it will end one way or the other. Either Henry Fitzgerald will attain some goal of his and thus strive for more or he will meet a very sharp and quick end. What I'm trying to say is that soon he will no longer see you as a friend who is trying to help. He won't think of how much you care for him! If he has not already done so, he will begin to see you as someone who gets in the way and when his uses for you have run out he will cast you aside. I did hear your conversation with him just now. He spoke of your marriage to a lesser man than he. Perhaps he may even have married you himself if he could have done to entrap your power and wealth!"

Amorette let out a snort. "Athos I have no power!"

Athos smirked almost as if he knew that she was lying. "You have the ear of the Queen of France. You have a rather rambunctious father who likes nothing more than to unsettle humanity. You also unwillingly command respect wherever you go. You may not even notice it but you are thought highly of wherever you go and that is something that is very hard to be bought Madam. Actually, all of that is far more important than your wealth to him. If you were to speak for him, it could only better his situation."

Amorette grimaced. She had already spoken for Henry Fitzgerald to some of the French nobility. She was just glad they had not really been able to offer him much and that she had yet to speak to anyone of any real influence regarding the matter. She knew that Athos was right but she couldn't stand the thought of him laughing at her. When she finally lifted her head to look at him, what she saw was worse than mockery. It was pity. She was reassured by that. At least when he felt sorry for her Amorette had no desire to kiss him. The thought of him feeling almost shamed for her made Amorette sick to her stomach. She supposed that was what had always been there though. Athos knew he had hurt her all those years ago and that he still did so now. She would only ever be that hapless Mademoiselle with no mother and a father who hated her. She would always be the love-struck fool that followed him about with no hope of succeeding. Hadn't she always known that though? Why did she somehow begin to hope every time that he spoke to her that things would change? Suddenly Amorette wanted nothing more than to be free of him and to be alone.

Amorette had always thought the way to placate men was to agree with them wholly and completely. "I know you are right Athos. I shan't have anything more to do with Henry Fitzgerald. I decided that months ago after the incident on his ship when a knife met my shoulder. I appreciate you bringing it to my attention again."

Incredibly, Athos didn't turn and leave, nor did he stay in the same spot. He advanced closer and Amorette the nerves in the pit of her stomach begin to roil. Only a hairs breadth from her, Athos let a finger gently entangle itself in one of her loose curls. He closed his eyes then as if in pain and let out a barely audible sigh. Amorette couldn't help the shaky gasp that escaped her lips. She knew it wasn't fear or hesitance though. Her tendril of hair fell loose again in a snap. The hand fell to rest on her shoulder gently. "Do not worry yourself Madam. I will not renew the endeavours that were so shocking and unwelcome to you before."

With that Athos was gone from the room. Amorette's frantic heartbeat was all that she heard for an age as she stared at the doorway where Athos had vanished into the night.

I think I love that last scene a little bit. If you didn't get the slightest of references in Athos' last sentence, in my head it sounded almost like the Quote from Mr Darcy's letter in Pride and Prejudice…

"…any repetition of those sentiments, or renewal of those offers, which were last night so disgusting to you."

I think both situations carry the same sentiment and feeling. I also like that Athos is turning into Mr Darcy a little bit! Although Amorette doesn't yet know it he is actually starting to feel like she has done for years! I hope Amorette lets Athos chase her for a while though, it's only fair!