Locked
A week later, it was nighttime and almost bedtime for Lauren. She walked down the hall from the kitchens, having eaten a scraped together garrison meal for yet another night due to her absentminded keeper. As she turned the corner, she saw a familiar musketeer coming the opposite way. "Lauren!" he hailed her. She met him halfway, stopping to talk. He looked rather agitated and was missing his shadow, Gil. "Do you know where Jacques went?"
How sweet… He looks genuinely worried. Maybe I misjudged him. "I think he's in his room. Why?" Lauren struggled to hide her knowing smile.
"No reason; I just haven't seen him all day. Thanks." He started to walk off, and Lauren turned to watch his retreating figure.
"Good night!" she called, and d'Artagnan gave a small wave of acknowledgement before pushing open the door to Jacques' room. Lauren walked on, taking the roundabout way to the lab. A door to the outside of the garrison burst open in front of her, and she stopped short startled. A sullen looking Jacques brushed past without even a glance, heading straight for her room.
Lauren almost walked on when a brilliant flash of inspiration took over her. Maybe they need some alone time to work their issues out. She ran on tiptoes to Duval's office. Seeing that it was empty, she rummaged through his desk drawers until she found what she was looking for. The master garrison key fit snugly in Lauren's hand as she ran back through the halls. As she neared her destination, the raised voices could already be heard.
"Where have you been?"
"None of your business. Duval gave me an assignment."
"You could have told me—"
"I didn't think you would notice."
"How could you say that? Of course I would notice you being gone, Jacqueline."
Jacqueline, eh? Not an original undercover name, 'Jacques.' Lauren slowly crept up towards the voices. Using her fingertips, she slowly pulled the cracked door solidly shut. Neither party seemed to detect her presence. Hurriedly, she stuck the key in the lock, turning it until she heard the click. Lauren dropped down to her knees, peering through the keyhole. Let the show begin…
Jacqueline looked at him sharply. "That's 'Jacques' to you. And what are you doing in my room? Snooping? I thought you were above such things, noble d'Artagnan."
"Just stop it, 'Jacques,'" he replied, none too nice. His patience for the woman had run out. "Why are you acting like this?"
"Why don't you ask one of your new friends? Or what? Did they abandon you?" she said in mock sympathy. She threw her baldric on a chair and pulled her jacket off, folding it roughly and setting in on the chest at the foot of her bed. The female musketeer straightened, looking straight into the eyes of d'Artagnan.
D'Artagnan refused to move out of the way. "Is that it? Did I abandon you?" Jacqueline remained silent. "I didn't forget what today was, Jacqueline. That's why I was worried about you."
Lauren held her breath on the other side of the door. This is better than any soap opera I've ever seen... Kiss her. Kiss him! You know you want to…
"What are you doing?" Lauren sprung back from the door like a snake had bitten her. She found the face she least wanted to see at the moment.
"Hello, Gil! I was just…" Lauren panicked. How can I explain this? And how can I keep him from discovering Jacqueline? "Hey, will you take a walk with me?"
"Of course," Gil replied, offering her a hand to stand. She took it with a flirtatious smile. Think back to Theatre Arts class… "But first, what were you looking at?" He moved towards the door, hand reaching for the knob.
Lauren pressed her back against it, blocking his way as she stumbled for an excuse. "It was nothing… I was just curious to see what was in there…"
"Don't think I'm stupid… That's someone's room. Why were you spying, Lauren?" he replied tartly. He tried to reach behind her to find the doorknob.
"I…" Lauren pressed back against the door some more, shrinking away from him. God forgive me for what I'm about to do. In one swift motion, she threw her arms around his neck and stood on tiptoe to bring her lips to his. She kissed him furiously, trying to dislodge the memory of her peeking through a keyhole.
Gil was caught by surprise but warmed up quickly, backing her up against the door. Then he regained his senses and backed away. "What was that for?" he panted, looking up and down the corridor for anyone who might have seen. "Duval could kick me out of the garrison for that!"
If only I were so lucky… Aloud she replied, "I'm sorry, Gil—I just couldn't restrain myself…" I wonder if a fake Southern accent has the same effect on French men.
"That's obvious…" d'Artagnan's voice drawled from the doorway. Lauren's sole wish was that the earth would open up and devour her from the spot.
"D'Artagnan!" she said, turning to face him. "What are you doing in there?" Jacqueline appeared beside him, dressed properly again with her jacket buttoned. "And Jacques, glad you found each other." The girl smirked at bit at the double meaning the sentence had.
Gil tried to explain, apparently on behalf of the girl's reputation by the worried looks he kept shooting at her. "We were just—"
"Yes, we know what you were 'just' about to do. Go to your room," Jacqueline growled at Gil, pleasure obvious underneath the irritation on her face. The boy turned tail and retreated. Some gentleman, Lauren thought.
"So what are you going to do to me?" Lauren asked, feeling timid but speaking courageously. She looked between them.
D'Artagnan answered simply, "We'll see what Siroc has to say about this."
"Instead of dealing with me yourself, you take me to Papa Siroc who will report to Duval who will berate me like a child?" Lauren asked indignantly. She lowered her voice a bit to continue, "You're just lucky that you caught Gil instead of Gil catching you two." A wink sealed her meaning.
Jacqueline glared daggers at her. D'Artagnan looked uncertainly between the two women, wondering if he should deny the claim verbally or pull out a sword and threaten someone. "She knows," Jacqueline mumbled to him. Then she started to chuckle, the noise growing into a hilarious laugh that forced Lauren to join in. Panicked by the sound of female laughter echoing through the halls, d'Artagnan pulled them both back inside the room. He was too confused to join in.
Jacqueline stopped after a few minutes, gasping for breath and wiping a tear from her eye. "We won't tell Siroc if you don't tell Siroc."
"Deal," Lauren grinned. She shook hands formally with the musketeer and felt a certain new kinship with the woman.
"So we're all good?" d'Artagnan asked. The two red faced women nodded at him. He nodded back looking rather delirious, but relieved.
Poor baby… "How about I escort you to your room, monsieur?" Lauren bowed and held out an arm to him, mocking his deep, gallant tone. D'Artagnan raised an eyebrow but stood, walking out the door with her. Lauren could hear Jacqueline breaking into giggles again as she shut the door. Thus begins a new chapter
Surprises
Lauren groaned and squeezed her eyes tighter shut. Jacqueline had forced her way into the sleeping girl's room and pulled the blanket that was serving as a makeshift nightshade off of the window, flooding the room with midmorning light. "How can you sleep this late?" Jacqueline inquired. She pulled off Lauren's covers when she saw the half-asleep girl turn over.
"Fine! I'm up," Lauren rumbled, stretching and sitting up slowly with her feet dangling over the edge of the bed. "Where's the fire?"
"What fire?" Jacqueline asked. Choosing not to wait for an answer, she continued, "I asked Siroc and Captain Duval if you could go for a ride with me, and they both said yes. Get dressed and meet me in the stables."
The musketeer left shutting the door behind her before Lauren could get a single word out. "I don't want to ride; I want to sleep!" the girl told the closed door. She fell backwards on her pillow. Just get up. At least you'll see something besides these stone walls…It has been almost two weeks since you saw the outside of the garrison. Lauren groaned one more time and sat up, pulling her clothes towards her.
Jacqueline stood in the courtyard holding the reins of Bud and a beautiful grey mare. Lauren looked at her poor little horse, dressed in oversized musketeer tack just like his owner was dressed in an oversized musketeer uniform. She rubbed the gelding's nose. "A little heavier than an English saddle, eh boy?" Lauren adjusted her stirrups against her arm and stuck her left foot in the iron, swinging her right leg high over the cantle. "Ready, Jacques?" she asked from her tall perch.
The other woman mounted just as smoothly, and they were off. Jacqueline led Lauren through the busy streets, already crowded with people doing their everyday shopping. No one paid much attention to the two female musketeers riding in their midst besides getting out of the way of their horses.
They left the city through a large medieval gate, two people in the throng of hundreds passing through. The line of travelers thinned as they moved farther from Paris and turned off onto smaller roads. After a solid hour of riding, Lauren's stomach began to growl, reminding her that she had forgotten to grab breakfast. She looked sideways at the musketeer riding beside her. "Um… Jacques? Would you happen to have something to eat?"
"I brought a picnic for us. The place I wanted to take you is just a bit further; we'll eat there," Jacqueline explained, still utilizing her manly disguise. Lauren kept quiet until they arrived at a small clearing, only yards away from a clear stream. Jacqueline dismounted, tied her horse's reins to a low branch, and started unloading her saddlebags. Lauren slid down off her horse's back and followed the musketeer's example. Together, they arranged the picnic lunch and sat down on the ground before the conversation really began.
"So they didn't think it was odd for you to request to take me, the crazy girl, out for a ride? They don't know you're a woman, right?" Lauren said first, adding a moment later, "Well, except d'Artagnan."
"No," Jacqueline began, "but I have a reputation for kindness to the fairer sex, and they probably think that an afternoon out would do you some good."
"Or that it would get me out of their hair for a day," Lauren replied with a small smile. "After I ran out of calculus theorems, Siroc seemed to lose his interest, and I don't think Duval ever liked me much."
Jacqueline put on a sympathetic face. "It's not that at all. Siroc is very one track minded; he's probably just distracted by one of his experiments right now. Duval… well, he just likes…"
"Women who don't wear pants?" Lauren put in.
Jacqueline grimaced. "Well, yes. I was going to say 'traditional women' myself, but that's true. He's not used to being challenged by a woman, especially one as unusual as you. Just give them all time to get to know you."
"I don't plan on being here that long," Lauren told her. "This is all my dream, remember?" She gestured widely to everything around them. Jacqueline shifted uncomfortably as she remembered why Lauren was in the garrison in the first place. Maybe I shouldn't remind people that I'm crazy…
Lauren figured it was prudent to change the subject. "So, what is the story behind d'Artagnan? Where do you find a guy that honorable?" Jacqueline let out a feminine laugh and replied with enthusiasm. Lauren leaned back with a chunk of cheese and baguette in hand, ready for a nice, long tale.
After numerous stories about d'Artagnan's daring adventures, Lauren asked about the other musketeers she had met. "I don't really know much," Jacqueline told her, "but d'Artagnan said something about Ramon being from an aristocratic family, but he somehow fell out with them. Siroc is a total mystery. D'Artagnan says he showed up one day and locked himself up with the Captain in his office for hours. When they came out, Duval had declared him the newest musketeer and ordered a storeroom cleared out for a workshop."
"And what's your story?" Lauren asked carefully. "How does a seventeenth century woman become a Musketeer?"
Jacqueline's face was solemn as she began, "I was Jacqueline Roget, a peasant farm girl. I'd fence with my brother in the barn, pretending to be the Legend of the musketeers, d'Artagnan's father. About a year and a half ago, Cardinal Mazarin showed up in a carriage at my family farm…" Jacqueline continued her story, telling all the details from her father's death to saving her brother. "When the flying machine crashed into the tree, my shirt came flying off." She blushed a faint pink. "And that's how d'Artagnan found out that I was a woman."
Lauren laughed long and hard, imagining the look on d'Artagnan's face when he first realized that the young nobleman who had beaten him with a sword was just a farm girl trying to save her little brother. When the fit subsided, Lauren asked, "So what happened to Gerard?"
Jacqueline looked down, tugging at the chain around her next to expose a gold cross hidden under her uniform. "He had a new life in America, but he came back to bring my old necklace to me; he said it was important. To make a long story short, the Guards found us, and I was wounded in the fight. D'Artagnan left to get Siroc and Ramon to help me, and I fell into a daze from the blood loss. Then Gerard fell asleep when he should have been guarding our prisoner, the Cardinal's Captain. Bernard got himself untied and killed Gerard, but I managed to kill my brother's murderer before he could kill me too." Jacqueline took a deep choked up breath, holding back tears with the discipline of a soldier. Lauren instantly regretted asking her for details when it obviously hurt so much.
"I had to let Siroc in on my secret so he could patch me up; he's discreet enough and didn't ask for any details so he could plead innocent if the situation ever occurred. We buried Gerard outside the cottage." Jacqueline's jaw shook as she took another deep breath. "That was a year ago last night."
Ohhh… Lauren thought, That's what d'Artagnan meant last night. "I'm truly sorry, Jacqueline," was all Lauren could say. "I can't even begin to imagine…"
"That's all right, thank you," Jacqueline said, putting on a brave smile even as she sniffed lightly. "Tell me about your family."
Lauren paused a moment. How to describe my family… "My dad is a scientist turned businessman; he's the funniest man you'll ever meet and the kindest. My mother and I don't get along a lot of the time, but she always goes out of her way to take care of me. And I have one younger brother, Nicholas. I love hanging out with him; he's probably my best friend, and he always makes me laugh. We can fight and be friends again five minutes later." She had started off slowly, but the words came in a rushing crescendo by the end.
"We have so much in common!" Jacqueline told her, grinning with delight and reaching out to grip the girl's hand in new friendship. "I think God brought us together for a reason."
I almost think so too, Lauren thought, giving the musketeer a genuine smile. Jacqueline's grin faded as she gazed at something behind Lauren. "What is it?" the younger woman asked confusedly.
Jacqueline jumped to her feet, pulling her rapier out with a metallic ring. "Run and find cover! I'll get to you later." Lauren turned her head and saw a familiar red uniform times three riding up. The Guards dismounted at the edge of the far side of the stream and began to wade across, swords bared. Jacqueline tapped her shoulder with something hard. "Take this and run. Now!" she screamed. Lauren grabbed the item and headed out on foot, running blindly through the trees.
The three men crossed the creek and scrambled up the riverbank. Jacqueline waited at the top. She was able to bring a sword hilt down on one man's head, pushing his unconscious body back into the water. A second man charged, engaging Jacqueline in a duel. "Find the other one!" he hollered to his companion. The last man up the bank headed into the forest after Lauren. Jacqueline made one effort to stop him, lunging sideways to block his way, but her opponent moved with her, and she had to defend herself or die.
Lauren could hear only her breathing and the pounding of her heart. She slowed, looking back the way she had come for any sign of followers. Convinced it was safe enough, she collapsed on the ground at the base of a tree, panting heavily. She finally saw the object Jacqueline had thrust at her—a pistol.
Lauren dropped the thing in disgust. She thinks I would shoot somebody? Lauren shivered at the thought. I'll just wait it out. It could only take her maybe ten minutes to fight them off and get all our stuff together. Maybe ten more to find me if she has to bring the horses through the trees. Satisfied that she would be riding back to the garrison in less than half an hour, Lauren began to relax.
At least until the brush crackled behind her.