"They are very large keys," said Porthos.
Celeste smiled.
One of the blacksmiths used a pair of tongs to remove something red from the fire. He hammered at it for a few moments, studied it and nodded. He plunged it into a bucket of water that was sitting nearby.
Aramis pulled it out when it had cooled and showed it to Athos and Porthos.
It was an iron mask.
Both of them began asking questions but neither Aramis nor Celeste would answer.
"I must go to the palace," said Celeste.
Aramis grabbed her arm. "Be careful."
Celeste smiled as she flipped her hood up. "You know I will be."
D'Artagnan was pacing back and forth in his office.
There was a knock at his door.
He turned. "Anne!"
Anne was standing in the doorway, wrapped in a dark robe, her long dark hair down around her shoulders. "What's wrong?"
"What do you mean?"
"I can hear you pacing from my room."
D'Artagnan sighed and rubbed a hand roughly across his face. "Nothing. Nothing. I…I'm just thinking."
Anne looked at him for a long moment, trying to gauge if he was telling the truth. She came across the room and slid her arms around him. She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes. "What's wrong, D'Artagnan?"
D'Artagnan sighed. Slowly he wrapped his arms around the woman he loved most in the world. "It's Celeste. She's…She's in league with the Jesuits."
"I know."
D'Artagnan looked at her. "What?"
Anne looked up at him. "I know. She came and told when she first joined them."
"She didn't even tell me," said D'Artagnan. He was slightly hurt that Celeste had gone to Anne and not come to him.
"How could she? Louis's accusing the riots on them. And the assignations as well." Anne stood on tip toe and lightly brushed D'Artagnan's lips with her own. "Sleep well tonight, D'Artagnan," she said before she turned and left the room as quietly as she had come.
When she was gone, D'Artagnan resumed his pacing.
"Don't be angry with me."
He whirled.
Celeste was standing in the doorway.
He stood there for a moment, looking at her. Then he opened his arms to him.
She ran to him.
"Celeste, I wish you would not do this."
"I must. For France."