Hello. My first update of the new year! Hope 2017 is a good year for all my readers!
Warning: Scenes of violence.
As usual all mistakes are mine but if you spot any glaring ones let me know. I hope you enjoy it. :)
Chapter Thirty-Six
Rochefort knew that he had to strike soon. He just had to hope the Duke was nowhere to be seen and therefore couldn't spill any secrets. The last thing he needed was for the Duke to blab. Aramis was a different problem. A problem that he would resolve himself as he realised that relying on others was not the best idea. If you needed a job done then it was better to do it yourself.
He wondered when would be the best time to strike as he needed for it not to look suspicious but for the garrison to be quiet enough that he was unlikely to be interrupted. Aramis was alone at the garrison without his brothers and therefore with little protection. The cadets would never refuse him so he just needed to send them away.
He would wait a few hours yet but he couldn't allow Aramis to speak to the King. He was sure he could discredit the Duke if the man dared to reveal his involvement but if Aramis were also to accuse him then Louis may not dismiss the claims so easily. Aramis had to die.
Constance continued her work cooling Aramis but his fever stubbornly refused to go down. He had already had a couple of fitful nightmares which she deduced were a memories of Savoy as he kept mentioning Marsac. She had managed to calm him as she worked out that repeatedly telling him he was safe and at the garrison did the trick. Right now she wished the others were here or that Aramis at least could tell her what to do.
Dr. Jardin had said he would return and she hoped that when he did he would have more ideas. She had thought about sending a message to the Queen about Aramis' condition but she also realised that would make the Queen panic and that was last thing that was needed. She hoped that the doctor would return soon, although she feared what he might say.
Darkness closed in as Tréville and the musketeers approached the Duke's residence carefully. It was important that the alarm was not raised before they could assess and attack properly. Porthos and D'Artagnan returned with news that the back of the Duke's house was covered with guards, as well as the further increased protection at the front of the building.
'Definitely stepped up security,' Porthos whispered.
'About twenty men round the back crossing paths and watching at all times,' D'Artagnan said quietly.
'He knows we're comin'. With the men watchin' we're goin' to struggle to get through,' Porthos sighed.
'Then we need some kind of distraction,' Tréville mused. 'We have twenty men and the Duke has at least forty, possibly sixty.'
At that moment they were all waiting for Aramis' usual quip and then their faces fell as they then realised it wouldn't come.
'Three to one is not so bad,' Athos decided to take Aramis place as the others smirked. It was a comment that from Aramis that would normally rile Athos as he felt that times like this were no time for jokes and yet he now drew comfort from it. It was a sense that Aramis was with them and Athos knew the other's sensed it too.
'Let's get ready,' Tréville said as he moved over to a quartet of musketeers. He instructed them to make sure they were seen by the men guarding the front of the house and have their horses tethered close by but away from the rest of the musketeers. He was hoping that by gaining their attention some guards would follow the musketeers allowing the rest to sneak into the compound. With the horses they would clearly be able to outrun the guards and hopefully return to assist their fellow musketeers.
Ten minutes later the diversion occurred and thankfully the Duke's guards were stupid enough to take the bait. The guards ran as fast as they could towards the four musketeers acting as the diversion while the rest of the musketeers creeped up to the house. They had no idea of how many men lay in wait but the Inseparables were sure that however many it was, they would not stop them getting to the Duke.
It was dark now and Constance was at her wits end. A fitful Aramis was difficult to deal with but the motionless man in front of her was scaring her even more. His temperature hadn't fallen no matter how much she cooled him and his heart was beating wildly. She was really beginning to worry and hoped that Dr. Jardin would have a different solution when he appeared. She had already tried teasing Aramis, shaking him and trying to wake him but to no avail. He couldn't die on her. He just couldn't!
The door to the infirmary opened and Dr. Jardin walked in. His face fell as he saw the worry that lined Constance's face and headed directly towards Aramis. The doctor touched Aramis' forehead and measured his pulse before wincing while Constance watched on.
'We need to get these bandages off,' he said to her as he momentarily left the room. She could hear him talking outside to someone who she presumed was one of the cadets but she couldn't hear what he said.
'Right, let's gently take these off, shall we?' he said quietly.
Together they quickly removed the bandages from around the top of Aramis' torso but Aramis remained silent and motionless. He seemed much more like a rag doll than a man.
'Lemay drained the infection well,' Jardin said as he inspected the wounds. 'Best to let the air get to them for now,' he smiled but Constance noticed that the smile never reached his eyes.
'Tell me the truth,' she said as she stood to face the doctor. He was about to answer when a cadet entered carrying a pan of water, a jar of honey and a bottle of wine. Dr. Jardin took the honey and wine and placed them on a table and instructed the cadet to put the pan of water by the fire. The cadet did as he was instructed and left. Dr. Jardin placed the pan over the fire and added a couple of logs to make it burn hotter.
The doctor moved and picked up the wine and gestured to Constance to move into the small office in the infirmary at the back of the room.
'Sit,' he said as Constance warily sat down and he poured her some wine as he found some cups in the room.
'It's not good is it?' she asked as she took a sip of wine.
'I'm afraid not,' the doctor said quietly. 'The infection from the wounds was drained by Dr. Lemay and the wounds are showing only slight indications of infection. But his fever is still way too high.'
'Does he have sepsis?' Constance asked dreading what she was about to hear.
'Yes,' the Jardin sighed. 'How severe remains to be seen. His temperature is far too high and his pulse is fast.'
'But?' Constance couldn't herself and Dr. Jardin could see her eyes were glistening.
'So far, although his heartbeat is fast it is not irregular and he is not having trouble breathing. I mean his breathing isn't hitching,' he added as Constance looked confused, 'but I am very concerned at how long his temperature has been so high, especially as you have been cooling him,' the doctor did indeed look concerned.
They sat in silence for a few minutes as they both took sips from their cups of wine.
'What was the water and honey for?' Constance asked as she tried to bring herself together.
'If he wakes Dr. Lemay suggested that he drink cooled down boiled water with honey in it,' the doctor said as he gauged Constance's reaction.
'What do you mean if?' Constance growled and Dr. Jardin felt a shiver go down his spine. 'You've given up on him but I will not!' she shouted as she stood and swung the door to the office open as forcefully as she could.
Rochefort deduced that he had waited long enough and made a quick excuse to the King about checking on Aramis after his ordeal. By the end of the conversation Rochefort was sure that Louis thought he had come up with idea. Still it didn't matter as he knew he had to silence Aramis somehow.
He rode to the garrison as he wanted to make himself as inconspicuous as possible and a carriage would have made him far more noticeable. He didn't want anyone to associate Aramis' death with him. He wondered what the situation would be like as he supposed Aramis wouldn't be completely alone so he would need a reason to be alone with the musketeer. He also wondered at what would be the best method to use. He had brought poison with him but poison tended to leave obvious after effects and the last thing he needed was Aramis' death looking suspicious.
Before he knew it he had arrived and there was a rather young looking cadet taking the reins of his horse.
'Where is Aramis being kept?' he asked the cadet haughtily.
'Who are you?' the cadet questioned and Rochefort realised that even the young cadets had been trained to ask somebody's name before allowing them access.
'I'm the Comte de Rochefort,' he said pompously making the young man quiver. 'I have been sent by the King to assess the musketeer Aramis' condition.' Rochefort glared and gained satisfaction from the shrinking youth before him.
'He is in the infirmary,' came a voice to Rochefort's right as Joubert looked unstable on his feet and was leaning on a different cadet but he was certainly not intimidated by the Comte. 'The infirmary is that building there,' he pointed in a no-nonsense manner.
'Thank you,' Rochefort said as politely as he could. He moved to rise up the steps to the infirmary and couldn't help but hold his breath as he had no idea what he was about to see.
He opened the door to find rows of beds placed against the wall but there was only one occupant who was lying on the third bed on the left from the far wall. Lying still. Rochefort looked around and saw that the room was unoccupied except for the stricken Aramis. He felt a smile rise to his lips.
He moved closer to get a better look and could see the greyness of the marksman's skin as well as the cuts that adorned his chest and legs. He touched Aramis' arm and could feel the heat rising from the musketeer's skin. Rochefort swallowed thickly as he noticed the blackness of Aramis' fingernails as he remembered his own torture at the hands of the Spanish. Fingernails caused a lot of pain but would rarely cause problems for the sufferer except to stop their grip which was deemed as a good thing to those who wanted to keep their prisoners beaten and not a threat.
Had Rochefort not seen Aramis' chest rise and fall then he would have thought the usually joyful man dead already. He looked around again as realised the best way to put the man out of his misery was to suffocate him using a pillow. There would be little trace using such a method which made it preferable to poison. In this state Aramis could not fight back. Rochefort was about to reach for the pillow on the bed next to Aramis when he heard shouting and the door to the infirmary office swung open.
'You!' Constance shouted as she saw Rochefort leering over Aramis. In that moment he was thankful that he hadn't picked up the pillow.
'Madame Bonacieux,' he said smoothly as she stormed towards him and Aramis looking rather frightening.
'What are you doing here?' she spat.
'I'm here to enquire about Aramis' health for the King,' he replied calmly but Constance clearly didn't trust him. 'Surely you should be attending to Her Majesty,' he sneered. He hadn't expected this complication.
'Her Majesty gave me leave to look after Aramis,' Constance said as she glared back as if daring him to contradict her.
Rochefort could feel his anger rising as he knew his moment had passed. There was no way she was going to leave Aramis alone now and even if she did how would he explain another visit? He noticed the lines of worry etched on her face and he looked to the doctor who also looked rather grave. Perhaps it was possible that he didn't need to do anything at all.
'What is his condition doctor?' Rochefort asked as he walked to stand opposite the man.
'He has sepsis. If his fever does not break tonight...then he will die,' Jardin answered quietly. Rochefort managed to contain his smile. Just.
'His chances?'
'Of surviving?' Rochefort nodded. 'Low but not impossible.'
'You don't know how stubborn he is,' Constance marched over to the fireplace to check on the water boiling there before returning to the bowl of water she had abandoned to cool Aramis again. A thought occurred to Rochefort as he watched her tend to the almost naked form of Aramis.
'Madame Bonacieux,' he called as he walked towards her. She lifted her head to look at him. 'I'm not sure this is really appropriate. After all, Aramis has no say in how you are looking at his body which is almost fully on view.'
'Actually, monsieur,' Rochefort turned to look at the doctor. 'When I suggested this treatment Aramis was lucid enough to give his consent, therefore this is not inappropriate.'
Rochefort gritted his teeth as he had no more ideas that would allow him to be alone with the musketeer. He just had to hope that the doctor was right and Aramis would not last the night.
'Well, I must go and inform the King,' he said as pompously as he could. 'You are...?' he looked to the doctor.
'Doctor Jardin, monsieur,' the doctor answered.
'Let us hope that you are wrong doctor and Aramis recovers,' he said as charmingly as he could. Rochefort took one last look at Aramis as he left, slamming the door behind him.
Rochefort couldn't believe that he had not managed to silence Aramis once and for all. Madame Bonacieux was constant pain in his arse and he wondered how much more trouble she could cause him. He hoped that Dr. Jardin was indeed correct and that Aramis would not last the night. That would make things simple, well simpler.
He dismounted his horse as he arrived at the palace and quickly moved towards the King's chambers and knocked on Louis' bedchamber door.
'Ah, Rochefort,' Louis smiled as Rochefort bowed and entered the room. Queen Anne was sat at the table where Louis had for once decided to spend some time with his wife rather than his mistress. A chess game had been set up and Rochefort knew from past experience that Queen Anne could win easily if she chose to but he also knew that beating the King was rarely a good thing.
'How is Aramis?' Anne asked as Louis looked as though he had momentarily forgotten about the musketeer. No surprises there.
'I'm afraid the news is not good, Your Majesty,' Rochefort saw the Queen's face fall slightly as she swallowed thickly.
'How bad is he?' Louis' voice was laced with interest and concern.
'Dr. Jardin thinks it is likely that he will not last the night,' Rochefort said as solemnly as he could. 'He has a high fever caused by sepsis.'
'No, that is not at all good,' Anne managed to keep the quiver out of her voice as she struggled with the news that her beloved Aramis may die. No wonder Constance hadn't sent her an update.
'Your Majesty...' Rochefort looked to Anne who nodded for him to continue. 'Madame Bonacieux was present at Aramis' side-.'
'I know,' Anne said defiantly. 'I sent her. I thought Aramis could do with someone he knew well with him as his colleagues have gone to arrest the Duke.' Anne was mindful to make sure that she wasn't insinuating that her husband was wrong to send the other musketeers, even though she thought he was.
'Forgive me, I just wanted to check,' Rochefort replied smoothly and Anne nodded. Rochefort bowed once more and left the room leaving Anne and Louis alone.
Anne noticed Louis yawning as he sat down at the table.
'Forgive me,' she said as she stood. 'I think I should retire for the night. I haven't been sleeping well lately.'
'Of course, that is understandable,' Louis said as he stood too. 'Would it help if the guards were stationed at the outer entrance to your chambers? Less noise?'
'Yes, I believe it would,' she smiled in return.
'Then I shall make sure no-one disturbs you,' he pressed a kiss to her forehead as she smiled and left the room.
Tréville watched as the men guarding the Duke's house charged after the musketeers who had caused the diversion. There were at least ten of them and he only hoped that his men would be able to get away cleanly. Well, they weren't actually his men anymore, he supposed.
'Time to go,' Athos' voice brought Tréville out of his thoughts as the musketeers crouched and approached the main gate. Porthos expertly picked the lock in seconds as the rest of the musketeers kept low to avoid being seen as much as possible.
Luckily, they only encountered one guard as the others had charged after the diversion. Gabriel had swiftly and quietly taken care of the man and taken the man's weapons. They were all aware that the alarm would be sounded as soon as they entered the front door and they had no idea what they would find on the other side.
Athos carefully reached up for the door handle and found that the door wasn't locked as he bent the handle. Porthos and D'Artagnan readied their pistols as they knew an unlocked door meant trouble. The musketeers flattened themselves against the walls on either side of the door as Athos gently pushed it open. He only just managed to stand back before the volley of shots pierced the still shut side of the door and passed through the open doorway.
D'Artagnan mouthed, 'Ten,' as the number of shots heard. Porthos raced through the open door first firing his two pistols and hitting his mark each time. Athos followed again hitting his men and killing them. Porthos quickly charged a soldier who was attempting to draw his sword and smashed the man's head into a pillar staining the off-white colour red and the man crumpled to the floor.
D'Artagnan and Gabriel followed with a volley of their own shots that hit their marks and although they weren't fatal Athos finished the men off as well as another man who charged at him. Tréville appeared as the musketeers heard the sound of running feet and Athos led the way towards the chamber where they first encountered the Duke.
Men charged down the staircase that the musketeers had just passed on their right and shots were fired. Thankfully the Duke's men didn't have the best aim but three of the musketeers were injured, although not seriously. Six men in all stayed behind as the other ten moved on.
The Inseparables had a purpose in their stride and it was clear to Tréville that they would cut down as many men as it took to get to the Duke. The Duke had made a big mistake in harming Aramis.
The musketeers wound their way through the halls following Athos' lead. Athos had memorised this route since the day they first came to the Duke. He would not be kept from the man who hurt his brother. Porthos and D'Artagnan walked determinedly behind him every step in sync. They too would not be kept from the Duke. From a room on the left men charged out. Athos swiped his sword across one man's arm detaching it at the elbow. Athos didn't care as he thrusted his sword though the man's chest.
Porthos too swung his sword and this time caught his man across the stomach. The man dropped his weapons as his hands clutched the wound but the blood already flowing from it made it obvious that it was a fatal blow. Porthos decided to put the man out of his misery as he thrust his sword through the man's chest.
D'Artagnan had two opponents before him but in his mood there was no stopping him. He sliced the first man's thigh and watched as the man fell. He then blocked the second man's attack before he pirouetted around the first man knelt on the floor and thrust his sword through the second man's back. As the second man crumpled, the first man watched in horror and tried to move as D'Artagnan originally meant to thrust his sword through the man's heart but due to the movement he sliced across the man's throat instead. The man gasped for air but blood was filling his lungs and D'Artagnan knew he was dead and turned to look for his brothers.
Tréville fought a man as large as Porthos but the former captain could tell the man wasn't as light on his feet as Porthos was. He was the older man by far but he was quick enough to outmanoeuvre his opponent as he first sliced the man's calf causing the man to topple and then thrust through the man's stomach causing a painful howl to emit from the dying man.
The Inseparables and Tréville looked to the remaining fights and could see that the other musketeers had it covered.
'Go!' Vasselin shouted as he saw them watching. 'We can handle this,' he grinned as Gabriel also finished off his opponent by running him through.
The five men nodded and continued to charge down the hallway with Athos in the lead.
The Duke sat by the fire sipping his brandy as he heard the chaos that surrounded him. The musketeers were here but he knew he had the forces to keep them in check. He was in the same room that he had last encountered the musketeers and the one with the icy blue eyes seeing right through him came to mind. The Duke gave an involuntary shudder as he remembered the icy glare of the musketeer Athos.
He looked out of the window and saw that there were no guards out there. Ten men were now ready to attack in the room he was now in and he realised that the other men were needed elsewhere. He was starting to wonder how many musketeers had come. Still he was confident that the musketeers would be overpowered and then he would shame them in front of the King for attacking a nobleman of France. Maybe he could get back the recognition he deserved after all?
He continued to sip his brandy peacefully but loud footfalls in the distance caught his attention as the commotion started to get louder and nearer.
The musketeers approached the door where they deduced the Duke was likely to be. They could see two men guarding it and the light from the fire flickering underneath the door. They all reloaded their pistols which they had kept with them rather than thrown them away. Aramis always hated how roughly some of them treated their pistols.
'We take the guards without the pistols,' Athos whispered. 'I don't think the Duke is stupid enough not to have men guarding him inside the room.'
The others nodded as Tréville then signalled for Porthos to take the guard on the left while D'Artagnan took the one on the right.
The musketeers moved quickly as they pushed their opponent's swords away and grabbed the men tightly and pressed them against the wall. In synchronisation they pulled their daggers and slit the men's throats. They then dragged the bodies out of the way into a deserted room to the left.
Quietly Porthos examined the lock and deduced that the door was indeed locked. It was a single lock and the musketeers heard pistols click behind it. Porthos carefully picked the lock and was careful to shield his body behind the wall. He would have to do this one completely by feel. He felt the spring that would unlock the door and turned to the others. The others moved back to give Porthos room and pressed themselves tightly against the wall on either side.
Porthos took a deep breath and unlocked the door and quickly moved against the wall. A volley of bullets penetrated the door but none of the musketeers were hit but they suspected that all of the Duke's men had fired. A foolish mistake.
Porthos roared as he kicked open the door and fired his pistol hitting his man in the chest. He was quickly followed by D'Artagnan and Athos who also hit their intended targets. The Duke's men panicked and Tréville hit one while Gabriel hit another. The pistols were spent and it was five against five.
The Duke bolted towards the other door in the room but Porthos knocked the sword out of his man's grip and threw him against the door causing the Duke to flinch and stare at Porthos, who was now purposefully striding towards him. The Duke tried to move the body of the man who was currently stunned by Porthos' throw but Porthos got to the door before the man could be moved.
'Goin' somewhere?' he growled as the Duke attempted to lift a pistol of his own which Porthos snatched from his grasp and pointed at the terrified Duke. He also placed a foot on the fallen man to stop him from moving.
Porthos turned to see his brothers victorious and this time they had chosen to injure rather than kill.
'You can't do this!' the Duke tried to say as defiantly as he could and he stood as tall as possible.
'You are under arrest by the order of His Majesty King Louis XIII,' Tréville growled approaching the Duke who started to whimper.
A/N: I'll soon be doing the corrections for my thesis so I'm just giving an advanced warning that chapters may not always be posted as often as they have been.
I'll admit that Dr. Jardin was originally supposed to be a rather annoying and snobby character but I ended up writing him a bit warmer than I intended. I would love to hear your thoughts. :)