Good morning and thank you so muck for the positive response to the opening chapter of this new adventure.
So, what is it that has got Louis so impatient?
CHAPTER 2
Captain Tréville and Athos strode with matched steps through the corridors towards their audience with Louis, the French King. Athos desperately patted at his leathers, dulled with the dust from the road. Then he pulled off his hat and ran fingers through his matted hair in a vain attempt to tidy himself a little.
"You'll do," Tréville said, casting a sidelong glance at the younger man. "You have had no opportunity to freshen up after your ride as there were, understandably, more pressing matters so Louis will have to exercise a little tolerance for once."
Athos smiled briefly in appreciation of the officer's support but was unsure as to how accommodating the monarch would be.
Two footmen opened a set of double doors at the end of the corridor and they were admitted into the library. Louis was seated at a desk, absorbed with studying a map as Cardinal Richelieu, France's First Minister, stood by his right shoulder and pointed with a long, bony finger as he indicated pertinent places. A third man, unfamiliar to the soldiers, stood silently to one side, watching proceedings. He turned to scrutinise the newcomers and Athos was immediately struck by the watery blue eyes, devoid of any expression, that surveyed him.
"Ah, Captain, at last!" Louis scolded. "We are not accustomed to being kept waiting when there are important matters to be discussed."
The officer's jaw muscles tightened as he bowed low, taking the time to control his temper; there were occasions when the monarch's lack of sympathy or understanding knew no bounds.
"My apologies, sire, but I had hoped that your messenger would have informed you that I had an injured man brought into the garrison," Tréville declared.
Louis had the decency to look a little guilty at the reminder. "Ah, I was informed as such and I am sorry for your man. I trust he is not seriously hurt."
"d'Artagnan will recover, Your Majesty. He was with Athos, Porthos and Aramis when they were set upon by robbers as they approached Paris with the documents you required," Tréville explained.
Richelieu's face registered alarm. "Are the documents safe?"
Athos stepped forward, reaching inside his doublet and withdrawing the folded papers. He held them out and the Cardinal almost snatched them from him in his haste to check the seals.
"Are they all there?" Louis demanded of the First Minister.
"It appears so, Your Majesty," the Cardinal answered.
"Were your attackers after these?" he asked Athos, indicating the documents he held.
Athos shook his head. "There was nothing to suggest at the time that they were anything more than opportunists. Although they were armed, they were not very proficient with their weapons."
"I presume from that, you did not take any prisoners." Richelieu sounded scathing.
"It was a short and abrupt altercation, Your Eminence," Athos answered, "and …"
The Cardinal interrupted. "And it would have helped had you taken a prisoner whom we could have questioned."
"And I had an injured man who needed tending," Athos replied, an edge creeping into his voice that was not there before. He failed to see the warning look that the Captain gave him. "The attackers were desperate men, apparently beyond reason and their methods crude. We wanted to end the confrontation as swiftly as possible. Had they had the sense to turn and run, we may even have let them go."
"Bandits on the road and you would have let them escape? Is that your idea of upholding the law, Musketeer?" Richelieu was beginning to sound testy.
"As I have already said, Cardinal, I had a man who had received his hurts from an assailant. In the fray, I could not see how badly he was wounded. My prime concerns were to have him tended and returned to Paris as soon as possible … and to bring these documents to the palace as expected," he added as an afterthought.
"Are the contents as we anticipated?" the strange man suddenly spoke.
Tréville and Athos glanced towards the individual who was evidently party to the importance of the documents and was present in anticipation of their arrival. The two soldiers then exchanged a questioning look; with the Captain, it was a slight frown, even as Athos raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, Armand," the King began, his use of the Cardinal's given name informal and indicative of their close friendship. "Open them and read, do."
There followed a tense silence as Louis and the third man waited for Richelieu to break the seals on the documents and peruse what was written. All the while, the two soldiers looked on in bemusement.
Satisfied with what he had read, the Cardinal raised his head and gave a smug smirk. "All is as we wished, Your Majesty."
Louis clapped his hands together excitedly. "Excellent news. Now we may proceed with the next stage. All is well."
"Not entirely, Your Majesty, if the attack on the Musketeers is to be taken into consideration," Richelieu reminded him.
"Yes, but the assailants were all dispatched by my gallant Musketeers," Louis pressed. "The problem is resolved."
Richelieu sighed patiently. "We cannot make that assumption, Your Majesty."
"If there is one attempt, there will be others," the stranger added with confidence.
Tréville stiffened and his frown intensified. Unable to vent his increasing wrath at the King, he directed it towards the Cardinal instead.
"Excuse me for interrupting, but just what is going on here? What are these documents if you feel they and the attack on my men are linked? You gave me to understand my Musketeers were engaged in a straightforward delivery of a missive from His Majesty and the collection of some sort of reply. If you have endangered my men by withholding essential information …"
"There was nothing to indicate that there would be a robbery attempt," Richelieu began.
"But you believed that there was a strong possibility given your reaction when Athos produced the papers," Tréville interrupted. He rounded on the stranger. "Forgive my bluntness, Sir, in inquiring who you are for you appear privy to information that has so far been denied me."
The man blustered at the confrontation and looked to the King and Cardinal for guidance.
"Calm yourself, my dear Captain," Louis intervened. "Permit me to introduce Guillaume Tanquerel. He is to act as my emissary to the English and I have decided that your lieutenant and his friends will provide the escort."
"To where, Sire?" Tréville was attempting to exude an air of control that was in direct contrast to his body language; Athos had known him long enough to see that. "I fail to see ….!
"His Majesty has procured another priceless relic to add to his collection," Richelieu interrupted. "In the light of your man's recent success in protecting and avoiding the theft of the last valuable relic, His Majesty has decreed that he will only entrust the task of bringing this latest acquisition to Paris to Musketeer Athos."
Athos looked a little surprised at the royal recognition. It was unexpected, especially as he had, in his view, only been doing what any other Musketeer would have done, even though he was not on duty at the time and was, in fact, recovering from serious illness.*
"The relic," Richelieu went on, "comprises some bones of an early 13th century saint who hailed from Normandy but went to England, joined a Cistercian order and was eventually installed as Abbot in a new religious house that he founded. There, he died. His resting place was desecrated when the diabolical Tudor monster turned against the true church and his remains were lost for nearly ninety years."
Richelieu paused, glanced at the King, gave a bizarre little smile and continued his tale of what happened after Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries.
"Fortunately, some of the bones have recently been discovered and His Majesty's most gracious sister, the Queen of England, has insisted that they be restored to the country of his birth. After much effort, descendants have been traced and they have offered the reliquary containing the earthly remains of their ancestor to be retained in His Majesty's keeping. One of the documents authorises that fact, so that the English will relinquish the reliquary into the hands of Tanquerel and your protection."
"And the other documents that Athos has brought to you?" Tréville wanted to know.
"One is a personal letter from Philippes de Ricart to His Majesty on the arrangements regarding the reliquary. The others are older, family documents, all in Latin and relating to their ancestor," Richelieu answered. "None are of any concern to you."
"I would like to see the ones in Latin," Tanquerel suddenly announced, reminding them of his presence. "There might be something of importance that it would be helpful for me to know for the exchange."
"Once I have read them for myself, I will assign scribes to make copies which will be made available to you before you depart." It was clear, then, that the Cardinal had no intention of allowing the original documents out of his sight.
"Please ensure that everything is copied accurately," Tanquerel insisted, "even if they are lowly crossings out."
"It will be done," Richelieu assured him with a dip of the head.
Tréville and Athos glanced towards each other again. There was still more going on here than they had been told.
"When do you intend upon leaving?" the Captain inquired, wondering how long he and his men had to make ready.
"If we are to assume that the attack is associated with the reliquary, then your men must be on the road post haste, Captain. First light tomorrow will be appropriate," ordered the Cardinal.
Again, there was the silent exchange between the two soldiers and Tréville nodded, granting permission for something. Athos cleared his throat.
"Forgive me, Sire," he began, addressing the King, "but several questions come to mind. Do you or the Cardinal have any idea as to who may be behind the attempted robbery, if indeed it were for the documents? What would they hope to gain by obtaining the papers? If they have been foiled in that attempt, do I presume that others may try again as we escort the Emissary to collect the reliquary or are the thieves more likely to wait until it is in our possession and we are on the return journey?"
"Oh, so many questions, but all good ones," Louis answered. "Cardinal, I defer to your better understanding of the issue."
"The alert was founded upon nothing more than a rumour that reached me and has come from an unverified source," Richelieu explained.
"Vague, admittedly, but still you did not see fit to warn me of this before we sent Athos and his comrades to collect the documents?" Tréville was still angry and it could be heard in his voice.
"It was, as I said, merely vague rumour. Besides, I thought Musketeers were ever alert to danger anyway."
Did Athos imagine it or was Richelieu deliberately goading him and the Captain?
"Anyway," Richelieu added, "we will assume that the attack was for the sole purpose of stealing the documents with the intention of using them to claim the reliquary before Tanquerel could do it."
"Who would know of the documents and their significance?" Athos asked, his mind continuing to mull over the information.
Richelieu's eyes narrowed with disdain. "If I knew that, Musketeer, I would have ensured that the person behind this threat was apprehended before now."
"I meant no disrespect, Your Eminence," Athos said, his face a picture of innocence and sincerity.
The Cardinal studied him for a moment for he had had plenty of dealings with the younger man and was never quite sure how to react to him. It was not long before he visibly relaxed and muttered, "None taken."
"I understand Athos' concern," Tréville added. "It would help if we had some idea as to who might also be interested in some bones and why."
Tanquerel chose to respond. "I assure you that we know nothing for certain, but one branch of the family expressed displeasure at de Ricart's willingness to part with the relic. It was only a verbal opposition though and there has been nothing to indicate they would take direct action to appropriate it for themselves."
"And who are 'they'?" Tréville persisted.
Tanquerel remained annoyingly evasive. "Some cousin or other, I believe. The interest is immaterial."
The Captain frowned. "The ancestor's bones and what happens to them are obviously not as immaterial as you would have us believe."
The Emissary looked to the Cardinal as if unsure as to how much more he should divulge.
Richelieu sighed. "I doubt that the bones have any intrinsic interest for anyone; the value is in the reliquary itself, rather than its contents."
Athos refrained from making any comment or from showing surprise. Richelieu might be a cardinal in the Church of Rome, but there was much in his actions and attitudes that deviated strongly from the demeanour expected of a man of God and he had never hidden his scorn for religious relics.
"Why would that be ?" It fell to Tréville to ask the next question.
"The gold casket is purportedly very ornate and inlaid with precious jewels," the Cardinal explained.
"So these people are motivated by greed then?" Tréville said, his expression cold.
Richelieu would not meet his eyes. "It would appear so."
"And is the possibility of further threat the reason why you would have my men leave tomorrow?"
Richelieu shrugged. "That is one reason. Another is that the English are ready to exchange at the earliest opportunity. Tanquerel is prepared to leave so the sooner they all depart for Calais the better."
"Calais?" Tréville was stunned. "Athos and the others only arrived back this morning from Falaise! They have spent eleven of the last twelve days in the saddle and you now expect them to set out on another six-day journey early tomorrow."
"If you think they cannot cope …" Richelieu began.
"That's not it and you know it," Tréville snapped. "Besides, there is no alternative, is there? His Majesty has made it perfectly clear that he wishes Athos to lead this mission."
"Of course," Louis interjected. "There is no-one else I would have to undertake this." Worry creased his brow. "But if he and his friends are too exhausted, they might not be very efficient if they are attacked again. After all, d'Artagnan has already suffered injury. Perhaps they should delay until rested, my dear Cardinal."
"I beg to differ, Sire," Richelieu said pointedly. "We cannot keep the English waiting too long and arrangements have already been made to cross La Manche."**
Tréville stiffened. "I am sure, whilst they await our party, the English representatives would find the opportunity to rest in Calais beneficial before they embark upon their return journey."
Richelieu's mouth dropped open and he stared at the Captain as if he could not believe what the man had just said.
"You misunderstand, Tréville." The Cardinal was taking a distinct pleasure in correcting the officer. "The English are not coming to Calais. Your men will escort Tanquerel to Calais where they will all board the ship that has been arranged to give them passage to the English coast. Your Musketeers will accompany the Emissary to Dover Castle where the reliquary will be handed over."
At the sharp intake of breath at his side, Tréville glanced at Athos in time to witness the colour drain from the younger man's features.
The Captain groaned inwardly as he immediately realised why his lieutenant was stricken. The Inseparables were already travel weary without the additional problems of threats. Not only would d'Artagnan not be fit enough to accompany his brothers but Athos was no sailor and would have to face his fear of the open sea.***
A/N
*The story is told in 'La Rougeole'.
**La Manche – the French term for the English Channel (used since at least the early 17th century)
***First explained in 'Retribution'