CHARLES' POV
I stood watching the young man, my suspicions circling in my head.
"You know Jacque's sister?" I asked watching his reaction closely.
"Jacqueline? I've met her," he replied, without even blinking.
"What do you think of her?" I asked, hoping for more of a reaction this time. He hesitated and I knew I had caught something.
"She's a handful." He avoided eye contact; he is lying, that is not how he feels.
"Or two," I laughingly added. Jacqueline walked through the door then, causing us to both turn toward her, and I went over to see her.
"Hello Jacqueline. Where's your brother?" D'Artagnan asked her, bitterness was in his voice. I could hear it. There is something going on here. More than a casual, 'I've met her'. "Oh, he must be hiding, I forgot he's an outlaw now," he finished.
"As are you," Jacqueline replied coldly. He is in love with her, yes! That is what it is. My thoughts turned to confusion. But how? My thoughts turned to d'Artagnan's rescue earlier. 'Jacque's' insistence we rescue him; d'Artagnan's insistence he could handle the two guards himself. 'Jacque', Jacqueline, looking so much alike. It hit me like a ton of bricks and I wondered how I could have been so blind. Jacque and Jacqueline are one and the same. That is how she has escaped capture. She is in disguise as a man, a musketeer. Anger at d'Artagnan surfaced. She trusted this boy with her secret, but not me? Why?
"You must come to England with us," I said to him, steeling a look at Jacqueline before turning back to d'Artagnan and finishing. "Jacqueline is going to be my Queen." Shock, betrayal, and heartbreak showed instantly on d'Artagnan's face vividly. Yes boy, she is mine! You cannot have her! You know you can offer her nothing. I am King Charles the second of England; I offer her freedom and all of England.
"… Don't recall accepting." Jacqueline finished and I focused back on her. Hope was plainly written on d'Artagnan's face. I fumed inwardly. Why did she do that? Unless…
"Perhaps you love someone else?" I asked. We both turned to d'Artagnan who avoided her gaze. It was enough. She may not have said it but she confirmed it without the use of words. No! I must not loose her! I screamed inside my head.
"D'Artagnan would you excuse us?" she asked him, and he followed her request like a true gentleman though it was clear he wanted to stay.
"Come on Clive, let's go pick some mushrooms," he said, scars am clear in his tone. He walked past us, stopping briefly to glance once at Jacqueline. How dare he look at her like that! Jacqueline looked at him too, sadly, as if she knew that would be the last time she saw him. She picked me! My joy was momentary though, as another thought set in. She wants him though! The little voice inside my head told me to quit complaining. Whatever the reason, I had won and she is mine! She would love me and be Queen of England as she should be. I focused back on her, willing myself to listen and prepared to meet any request she asked of me.
