Thank ye! Thank ye!
Mercury Gray… Yes, yes, you'll get your arse kicking… soon. Not right now, but soon.
Angoliel… I'm sure he is sharpening it. And yes, you're totally right. Only the thought should be in italics. Guess I've been getting lazy again. Bad me! No cookie! (Thanks for keeping me honest!)
Chapter 19: D'Avignon Unmasked
It took Luc three days to find some private time with Athos. The day of the croquet tournament, Louis had sent Athos to handle some business in Paris, and the days after that, Athos had been mostly closeted with the King and D'Artagnan. Finally, Luc simply waited in the halls near where he knew Athos would walk as he returned to his rooms.
"I beg your pardon, sir," said Luc when he finally saw Athos. He held his hat before him in his hands, humbly.
"Yes, Luc?"
"I have come to ask you something," Luc said, hesitating artfully to allow Athos to speak.
"Out with it then, man," said Athos.
"I have spent some weeks now walking out with your daughter." Luc kept his voice very respectful. "And I find myself quite taken with her."
Athos raised an eyebrow. He'd been expecting that someone would eventually come to him like this, but to have it actually happen was vaguely disconcerting.
"I would like your permission to ask for her hand, sir."
"You may be aware that I am interested in having Natalie married, but it is important to me that she be married to the right man," Athos answered. "You say you want to marry my daughter? Do you love her?"
"It would be difficult not to, sir," answered Luc.
Athos was silent for another moment. He had never seen Luc behave improperly, and he came from a good family… Athos had even quizzed D'Artagnan about Luc's background, but the Musketeer captain could only vouch for his performance as a soldier.
Then what is my hesitation? Perhaps it is the speed of the question that makes me wary. Or perhaps it is the natural reluctance of a father to see his one remaining child, his darling daughter, leave him for another man's home…
"You may ask my daughter, Luc," said Athos after a few moments of consideration, "and she will answer you as she feels is appropriate. I will not order her to do anything." To his credit, Athos did feel hypocritical. He had forced Natalie to part with Aramis… But that is different! Aramis was taking advantage of her, seducing her! Luc wishes to marry her. Even that rationalization weighed uncomfortably on his shoulders.
"Of course, sir. I would not want her to marry me if she did not wish it. It is very hard for love to grow otherwise. Thank you very much, sir." Luc bowed to Athos and then hurried away to find his friends. Within the hour, all of them converged on their quarters when they heard Luc was looking for them.
"It is settled. I have Athos permission to ask Natalie for her hand." There was an avaricious gleam in Luc's eyes. "I will ask her this evening, before all the court when we all retire to the gardens after supper. All of my grand plans are coming to fruition."
"So you're really going to marry her?" asked Armande.
"Of course I am. Look at everything it will bring me." Luc shook his head as if Armande were daft. "Soon I will be close to Athos, and that means close to the King. And I will have a pretty sheath for my sword…" Luc, Armande, and Roussel all laughed at the base sexual reference.
"They will miss you at Madame Blanchefleur's," said Jacques. He was sitting in a chair, cleaning his rapier and main gauche, and trying very hard not to look disgusted with Luc.
"Who says I will be quit of Madame Blanchefleur's?" said Luc.
"You will be married," said Jacques. "You just said…"
Luc's howling laughter silenced whatever else Jacques was going to say. "You are as provincial as she is, Jacques. Perhaps you should be the one to marry Natalie. You can set up a country house, raise a family, and be devoted to each other until you die."
Where is the dishonor in that? Jacques wondered.
But Luc wasn't finished. "You think I want to be a simple country squire with a doting wife? I intend to make more of myself than that. My idiot father squandered whatever small inheritance I may have received, and so I must make a name for myself. Marrying this silly little girl will bring me into social circles I may never have been able to touch otherwise. I will gain wealth and fame through her. I will become an advisor to the King, and I will become the most powerful man in France someday."
"And the Musketeer motto be damned?" snapped Jacques.
"All for one and one for all? That motto is a dream, not reality. Everyone has ambitions only for themselves, Jacques. You'd best learn that before it is too late." Luc walked out of the room with Armande and Roussel towed along in his wake.
Jacques said, to no one but himself, "You are only out for yourself, Luc. I look at Athos, D'Artagnan, Porthos and Aramis and see men I admire. I see men to whom the words honor and loyalty mean something. Someday, if I am even half of the man that any one of them is, I will have succeeded beyond any measure I could hope for. To be a man of honor and principle is something you will never understand, and will never be, and I think you have been given enough latitude."
Jacques stood up and buckled on his sword and left the room as well, and ten minutes later he was at D'Artagnan's office. Jacques drew himself up tall and knocked firmly on the door.
"Yes, come in," said D'Artagnan from inside. He was bent over his desk, writing on a piece of paper. He dipped the quill into the ink and finished his thought while Jacques stood at attention in front of the desk. Finally, D'Artagnan put the quill down and looked up at Jacques attentively.
"Captain, may I have a word with you?" asked Jacques.
"Of course."
"I need your advice, sir. I am not certain what to do. I believe that another Musketeer is not conducting himself in a manner befitting his rank," said Jacques. D'Artagnan raised his eyebrows as Porthos, who had just walked into the room to join them, folded his arms across his barrel chest. A charge of conduct unbecoming was a most serious offense.
"Who is it?" asked D'Artagnan.
"Luc D'Avignon, sir." Jacques' voice was heavy; a small part of him felt like he was betraying a friend, but as far as he was concerned, Luc was betraying his oath to the Musketeers, and that was a far, far worse betrayal. At the mention of that name, Porthos eyes grew wide.
"And what has D'Avignon done?" asked D'Artagnan. Porthos' reaction was not lost on D'Artagnan. He briefly caught Porthos' eye and with a slight nod, invited his old friend into the room.
"He is scheming to advance himself by marrying Athos' daughter, Mademoiselle Natalie. I believe his plan is to ingratiate himself with Athos and then assume a role of influence with the King. But he is not doing it out of a love of France or loyalty to the King. He does not even love the mademoiselle! He does it for his own gain, and that is not how a Musketeer should comport himself." Jacques' voice grew more vehement at the end.
"Thank you, Jacques. I will deal with Monsieur D'Avignon, You are dismissed."
Jacques hesitated for a fraction of a second and the deeply disturbed expression on his face was not missed by either D'Artagnan or Porthos.
"You are concerned about something else?" asked D'Artagnan.
"I just… Luc is a Musketeer," said Jacques slowly.
"And you feel as if you are betraying his trust?" guessed Porthos.
"Yes," answered Jacques. "When I became a Musketeer, it never occurred to me that I may find some of my fellow soldiers lacking in the qualities that I feel are the core of what the Musketeers stand for. And then there is the motto…"
"All for one and one for all," said Porthos.
"I'm sure this decision did not come easily to you, Jacques," said D'Artagnan, "but you must answer to your own honor. The Musketeers do believe in all for one, and one for all, but from what you've told me, D'Avignon has disavowed himself of that duty. He therefore deserves neither your honor nor your loyalty. And he does not deserve the mantel of a Musketeer."
"Thank you, sir," said Jacques.
"You may go," said D'Artagnan.
Jacques put his fist to his heart in salute. "Yes, sir." Then he turned and left.
"That is exactly why I have come to see you," said Porthos as Jacques walked away. "I saw this Luc D'Avignon on my way to bring the King's message to the Cardinal. He was at Madame Blanchefleur's…"
"And what were you doing at Madame Blanchefleur's while you were on an assignment from King Louis?" asked D'Artagnan pointedly.
"The Madame and her lovely ladies had been too long without my company, especially ze delectable Daphne. And I was well ahead of schedule. Well ahead!" said Porthos puffing his chest out with no small amount of swagger. "But that is not ze point. I saw Luc there and when his woman interrupted him, he slapped her." Porthos' face turned very dark.
"D'Avignon struck her? Struck her?" D'Artagnan did not condone striking the fairer sex, but he had known Natalie since she was a little girl. That made the thought of anyone striking her even more repulsive.
"Oui. And I do not believe that Athos knows this man well, no? From what I have discovered, he has put a fine face on in front of Athos and Natalie, but the real man is far different. If Athos has given permission for him to wed Natalie…"
"Then we'll need to put a stop to this. I will go speak to Athos right now. Now that the weather has broken in the south, Aramis should be back in France, and if I know him, he'll have ridden hard to make up for lost time. He's probably close to Paris by now. Go and find him. Bring him here with all haste."
"Is that wise?" asked Porthos.
D'Artagnan sighed. "No, it is not wise… but it is right. Now go. Hurry. We may not have much time."
Well, I'm guessing that Jacques now has a fan club. Am I right Reviewer Mavens? Luc is working with borrowed time… but it will be a few more chapters before you all get that confrontation you're so eagerly awaiting. Please read/review… I appreciate the feedback!
Disclaimer: The only things I can truly claim as my own are Natalie and Luc (and a few minor supporting characters). Everything else is borrowed with much respect and admiration for Dumas and the people who created various movie versions of the Musketeers.