Chapter Thirteen
Espoir rode back to Paris with them. d'Artagnan spent most of the time rebuilding and testing his shields. His rosary was long gone, lost on some battlefield somewhere, and he'd stopped wearing the bracelet made of Constance's hair when it stopped being necessary. For now he fell back on an old habit and built his shields on the other three – or two, rather, carefully leaving Aramis out for now.
It was nice to have Espoir along, though. Mindful of d'Artagnan's reactions, he didn't give away any more secrets, but they talked a little as they rode. Espoir knew how most of the people they'd known growing up were doing; they'd mostly married each other, taken over their parents' businesses and begun having children. d'Artagnan hadn't expected anything else, but it was nice to hear.
Aramis endured the ride back. They weren't able to find him a cart, so he rode behind Porthos. They had to strap him on after a while, and he grumbled loudly. "Why is it never pretty women who want to tie me up?"
"We could tie you up and leave you," Porthos suggested. "Maybe a pretty woman would come along."
"Or a pretty man," d'Artagnan suggested. Aramis looked thoughtful, and he smiled. "We're not far from Paris, anyway. A couple of hours."
"And are you alright?" Aramis asked, distracted as d'Artagnan had meant him to be.
"So far. It's mostly just a vague sense that there's noise over that way." He waved vaguely in the direction of Paris. "We'll see how it goes when we reach it."
It seemed to go quite well. Far from being rusty, d'Artagnan's shields seemed refreshed by the long period of rest, and they reached the garrison without any real difficulty. d'Artagnan left Espoir helping Aramis down and went looking for Constance.
She met him on the steps, glancing automatically over the others before leaning into a hug. d'Artagnan tried not to react. He'd known she was different, but the sharp edges in her emotions took him by surprise.
"What do you need, Aramis?" she called down the stairs.
"Rest. Perhaps a bath. And compresses. Clairmont knows what to do."
Constance nodded to the nearest cadet, who took off at a run. "Who's your friend?" she asked, squinting at Espoir. "New recruit?"
Of course, Constance hadn't met him; she'd been in the palace with Anne. d'Artagnan made a mental note to find Césaire, the cadet who'd helped Espoir, and swear him to secrecy. "Not quite." He drew her down the stairs, gesturing Espoir over. "Constance, meet my cousin Espoir, come seeking his fortune. Espoir, my wife Constance."
"Madame d'Artagnan." Espoir bent over her hand. "I'm glad to meet you. We never thought anyone would be able to tame d'Artagnan."
"Get on with you," she said, but she was smiling. "Seeking your fortune? There's not much fortune in soldiering."
"Not soldiering," d'Artagnan said carefully. "I heard that Louis is having trouble keeping a manservant. Espoir worked for our Intendant for a time." Not quite a lie; he had worked for the Intendant, in the stables, for a handful of months. "Can you put in a good word?"
"You want him to walk into a manservant's position?"
"Well, whatever you can get him."
"Don't put yourself out, Madame," Espoir said quickly. "We knew it was a faint hope. I'm sure I'll find something."
Constance heaved a sigh. "Two sets of d'Artagnan eyes. The palace won't know what hit it. I'll ask around, but no guarantees!"
"Of course not," Espoir agreed. "Thank you, Madame."
"For now you can help with that bath, and then there's other things to do. Bed and board."
"More than fair." He nodded and headed for the kitchen.
Constance's smile immediately dropped and she rounded on d'Artagnan. "What are you playing at?"
"I can't explain right now," he said carefully, eyes flickering around the busy courtyard. "But it's important he get something in the king's apartments."
"Important for whom?"
"For Louis, primarily."
She studied him for another minute. "You'd better explain later. I'll go now."
"Thank you." He waved at Brujon to escort her. "I'll see you later."
"You'd better." She stalked off to find her shawl. d'Artagnan took two seconds to breathe, tested his shield quickly, and went to see if Aramis needed any help.
Treville's message came in as they were getting Aramis settled. Athos left him in Clairmont's care – he hadn't realised the young man was interested in field medicine; he really had to pay more attention and stop letting d'Artagnan handle it – and the three of them headed for the palace. A footman was waiting for them and they were ushered into the throne room straight away.
Athos was immediately glad that Aramis wasn't there. Louis was on the throne, and to a casual observer nothing would seem amiss, but they could see the sheen of sweat, the colour in his cheeks and the stiffness in his posture. Anne and Treville, one on either side of him, were both watching him closely, alert for any problems.
"I'm quite sure the Captain of the Musketeers is supposed to be available when I want him," Louis said, apparently to Treville. "Isn't that part of the job description? You were always around when I wanted you." He added in a mutter "Plenty of times I didn't, too," and Treville pretended to ignore it.
"It is sometimes necessary for the Captain to leave on important missions, Majesty," he said blandly. "I'm certain Athos has just returned from such a mission."
"Indeed, your majesty, I was on the trail of the man behind the Chatelet break-in." Feron was nowhere in sight, he noted; hopefully in disgrace after his Red Guard helped with the break in and robbery.
"And did you catch him?" Louis demanded.
"No, Sire, but we—"
Louis held up a hand to cut him off. "Of course not," he agreed. "My vaunted Musketeers. Luckily, there's still someone in this palace capable of fulfilling my wishes." He waved to a footman.
d'Artagnan hissed in a breath, but he didn't have the chance to speak before Gaston sauntered in, followed by two guards hauling a hooded and chained prisoner. Gaston stopped before the dias to bow extravengently; the prisoner was flung to the floor nearby. "Your Majesty."
"Get on with it, Gaston," Louis said wearily, rubbing his forehead. Gaston nodded, turning to Athos.
"My sources have found this man. He's a notorious thief and fence and handled some of the stolen items. He's agreed to help you reclaim them in exchange for leniency from the Crown."
"Has he, indeed," Athos said.
"Of course he has." d'Artagnan moved to free the hood. "He's not well known for his loyalty, after all."
Porthos growled, dragging the prisoner to his feet and shaking him. "What're you doing in Paris? You're meant to be on a Spanish galleon!"
"Porthos!" Bonnaire squeaked, hanging helpless in his grip. "My friend! How nice to see you. No hard feelings, eh?"
"No hard—"
"Porthos," Athos said warningly. Porthos scowled, dropping Bonnaire to the floor in a heap. The pirate started to speak; d'Artagnan, kneeling beside him, held up the keys and gestured for silence. Bonnaire seemed to think that was an acceptable trade, as he stayed silent while d'Artagnan freed the many locks.
"I know that man, don't I?" Louis asked. Anne glanced worriedly at Treville; Louis was visibly ailing now.
"He is a mildly accomplished thief," Athos said smoothly. "He's been before your Majesty's justice before. We're well acquainted, and I'm sure he'll make every effort to help us. Every effort," he repeated pointedly as Bonnaire gained his feet again.
"Oh yes! Of course! If I had only known those jewels belonged to your august self, I would have immediately brought them here myself. I was deceived," Bonnaire said. "I'm too trusting of people, your majesty, that's my fault. Even the man who has betrayed me before, my soft heart insists that perhaps this time he will keep his word. I'm certain her majesty knows what I mean."
Anne eyed him until he started to squirm, then looked across at Treville. "This is the only lead we have?"
"For now, your majesty. He's given us some other names, I have people looking into them."
"Good." She turned to the king. "Louis, why don't we go and find the Dauphin? It's time for his nap, and you know he likes it when we rest with him."
"You have other duties to attend to," Louis said. "Well done, Gaston. If this Bonner man finds my jewels you will have gone a long way to regaining my trust."
Gaston bowed low. "That is all I long for, my dear brother."
"Hmm. Come, Treville." He stood under his own power, but by the time they reached the door he was leaning heavily on Treville.
d'Artagnan jerked Bonnaire around, keeping him from seeing. "You sold the jewels in Paris?"
"Some of them," Bonnaire hedged.
"Some of them?" Porthos repeated angrily. "Where else are we going, then?"
"I have customers in many places!" Bonnaire squawked.
"And you ain't had them but three days. How far could they get?"
"Let's find a map," d'Artagnan suggested, firmly 'escorting' Bonnaire out. Porthos glanced at Athos before following him.
Athos approached Anne, still standing, a little lost, on the dias. "Your majesty?"
She jolted, looking at him in surprise. "Yes, Athos."
He bowed his head a little. "Do you need anything? We may be gone for some time, but I can send the cadets…"
"No." She didn't look past him, but he was aware of Gaston openly listening to them. "Thank you, Athos, but I need no help."
"Of course." Dropping his voice, he added, "Constance is in the palace at the moment."
"Hurry on your mission," she said, face revealing nothing. "We must retrieve our stolen property as soon as possible."
"Of course, your majesty." He bowed deeply, backing away a step before turning. He tipped his hat as he passed Gaston, pretending not to notice the rage flaring in the Duc's eyes at the difference. "Monsieur."
"Captain. Good luck with Bonnaire."
"Your kind thoughts are appreciated, but I'm sure they won't be needed. We have dealt with him before."
"And yet he is still on the loose and selling our jewels."
Athos paused long enough to correct him. "The Royal jewels, you mean."
Gaston let it sit a moment. "Yes, of course."
"Of course," he echoed, turning away. Porthos would have the information they needed by now. He pushed Gaston's behaviour to the back of his mind, making a mental note to discuss it with Treville, and hurried away.