Duplicity

Chapter Seven

Time stopped. Later, when Aramis replayed that dreadful moment in his mind, he would swear that his heart stopped with it. In the next breath he came back to the reality that Athos had disappeared into ice cold water.

"Go," Porthos shouted. "We'll deal with this."

Aramis was vaguely aware that his erstwhile opponent was running away, displaying a commendable sense of self-preservation. Porthos and d'Artagnan were still fighting the remaining two bandits. Knowing that his friends would be desperate to join the hunt for Athos, he didn't expect the conflict to go on for much longer.

He ran to the riverbank at the approximate spot from which Athos had fallen. Seeing no sign of his friend he had to conclude that he'd been swept away. He sprinted down the bank, all his attention focussed on the dark smear of the river to his right. Dawn was breaking but the light was inadequate, so he continually called Athos' name. He stumbled over tree roots and almost lost his footing when hitting depressions in the ground, yet his pace never faltered. The side of the bank was getting higher, forcing him further away from the water. Not far ahead he saw a fallen tree that was forming a partial natural dam. He slowed, praying that it had halted Athos' progress.

The first thing he saw when he scrambled down to the water's edge was the body of the bandit who had entered the water with Athos. He was dead, impaled on a branch. Aramis swallowed bile and briefly looked away. When there was no sign of Athos, he clambered carefully onto the tree trunk and edged forward. The tangle of branches impeded his progress and made it hard to see. Finally, when hope was almost gone, he saw a flash of white. Closer examination revealed Athos, lying on his back, his face drained of all colour. Without hesitation Aramis shrugged out of his coat and lowered himself into the river. The chill stole his breath, but he worked quickly to disentangle Athos and tow his inert body to the bank. There he was defeated. There was a two-foot sheer slope between the water and solid ground, and he couldn't conceive of a way to get Athos up there.

"Pass him to me." Porthos' strong voice boomed out over the water.

It took nearly all of Aramis' remaining strength to manoeuvre Athos into a position from which Porthos could grab hold of his leather jacket. Once Athos had been safely brought to land Aramis trod water for a moment, resting his hand on the tree trunk. Then d'Artagnan leaned over and held out his hand. Aramis gripped it thankfully and was able to pull himself out of the water.

Porthos had laid Athos on his back. Aramis had seen drowning victims before and had hoped never to witness it again. He began to press down on Athos' chest. "Please God. Spare him," he prayed as he rhythmically pressed and released.

After an interminable delay Athos began to cough. He turned his head to the side and water spewed from his mouth. The painful coughing persisted as Athos heaved. Finally, it was over, and Athos lay limply on the ground eyes closed and shivering.

"We need to get him back to the camp. D'Artagnan, can you go ahead and light a fire?" Aramis asked.

"Of course."

Now that he had time to process what had happened Aramis also began to shiver. Leaving Porthos to assist Athos, he crawled along the tree trunk to retrieve his coat. Putting it on did little to ease the severe chill which was permeating every inch of his body. By the time he returned Athos was sitting up and flatly refusing to be carried. Aramis was glad to see this spark of his friend's familiar stubbornness.

He had come further than he had realised, and it took far too long in his opinion to return to the camp. Their progress was slow. and Athos was extremely unsteady but unyielding in his determination to walk unaided. D'Artagnan had a small fire lit and was feeding it twigs to encourage its growth. He smiled with relief when he saw that Athos was mobile. Porthos guided Athos down to the ground as close to the flames as he dared.

"We need to get him out of those wet clothes," Aramis said.

"You're soaked through too," Porthos said. "You look after yourself and we'll see to Athos."

By the time Aramis had stripped off his wet shirt, dried himself off and donned his one clean shirt Athos was sitting swathed in blankets and with more colour in his face.

"That was unpleasant," Athos said with his usual understatement.

"How do you feel?" Aramis asked.

Athos considered the question, almost certainly trying to decide if he dared downplay the severity. "My chest is sore; it hurts to breathe, and I feel like I'm encased in a block of ice."

"You were lucky that tree was there," Porthos said.

"Tree?" Athos' brow furrowed.

"It had fallen and created a barrier," d'Artagnan told him. "Without it you would have been swept away."

Aramis sat down and laid a hand on Athos' shoulder. "We thought we had lost you, my friend."

"It appears I am not so easy to lose." Athos suddenly looked concerned. "The letter?"

"Safe." D'Artagnan patted his chest to show where it was.

"Our attackers?"

"Three fled," Porthos said. "The fourth went into the water with you."

"He's dead," Aramis added. "It's unfortunate we couldn't question them, but we were rather more concerned for your safety."

"For which I am very grateful."

"Do you think you will be able to ride?" Aramis asked. "We should try to make it to Calais today. Decent food and rest in a warm environment will help to ward off any complications. You swallowed a lot of water."

"I'm sure I'll be perfectly fit shortly."

Although Aramis doubted that he didn't want to provoke a disagreement. "I'll see what we have for breakfast."

After picking listlessly at his food Athos drifted off to sleep. The others left him alone while they packed up the camp. Once everything was ready Aramis shook him gently.

"We should get on the road. We don't want to spend another night in the open."

The sun was well over the horizon by the time Athos was dressed and ready. He required help to mount and rode silently, slumped in his saddle. Aramis pushed them as hard as he dared, calling a halt around noon when it became clear that Athos could go no further without rest. Lunch was a cold and miserable affair. After an hour Athos insisted that he was fine to continue. Afternoon stretched into evening and it was late before they passed the first farms and cottages on the outskirts of Calais.

They stopped at an inn, several streets back from the docks and Porthos went to enquire about rooms. Aramis and d'Artagnan helped Athos from the saddle. Once on his feet he stepped away from them. Aramis understood. Port towns were dangerous for the unwary. It wouldn't do for any of them to show weakness.

Porthos strode out smiling. "I've got us a couple of rooms. They're servin' fish stew tonight and the landlord was boastin' about the quality of his wine."

They handed their horses over to an undernourished stableboy and went inside. The noise and smell both hit them at once but they were comfortingly normal after the fraught day. They found a table in the back corner and settled into their seats.

"How do you feel now?" Aramis asked.

"Tired," Athos admitted. "Other than that I have no complaints. A decent night's rest is all I need."

The landlord hurried over to take their order and they were quickly supplied with wine, bowls of steaming hot stew and a basket of bread.

"I wonder how those men knew about the letter?" d'Artagnan asked, dipping a piece of the hard bread into the stew to soften it.

"LeGrange warned us there might be trouble. Clearly it is of some sensitivity." Aramis took a drink, pleasantly surprised to find that the wine was palatable.

"Reckon we've only ourselves to blame for bein' ambushed," Porthos said gloomily. "Should've listened to him."

"The letter is safe and that is all that matters. We can deliver it tomorrow and be on our way." Athos had recovered his appetite and was making steady inroads into his dinner.

"You should rest tomorrow," Aramis cautioned.

"We can argue about that in the morning." Athos gave a brief smile. "For now I want to eat, drink and forget today ever happened."

Aramis returned the smile. "As you wish. Who wants more wine?"

Tbc