Good morning from Parker, Denver. Home alone and looking forward to a good writing day; not all of the time can be spent on Revenge though! I am woefully behind in other things as adventures come thick and fast.
Thank you for comments on Chapter 17 and all those who continue to read the story. Thanks also to Helen who has helped solve my 'accents' problem on the tablet. I am being lazy though and rectifying it from chapter 24 onwards.
So the state of 'war' (mainly in words) continues between the Cardinal and the Musketeers. They have to work together somehow.. Porthos is definitely not a happy man though.
CHAPTER 18
The next morning, the Musketeers were seated once again at their respective tables and waiting for the arrival of the Cardinal who was 'detained' on other business, despite specifying the hour that he expected the Musketeers and d'Artagnan to put in an appearance.
"'E's doin' this deliberately," Porthos grumbled.
"Of course he is," Treville agreed, refusing to let any annoyance show in preference of the taste of victory he detected. "Richelieu is put out that we had finished the tasks allotted to us by the time he deigned to grace us with his presence again last night. Perhaps he had expected us to disappear with the job undone and he was disappointed that he had no cause for complaint. I cannot be the only one to have seen that the quantity of documents we had to peruse all exceeded that which he assigned to himself."
The other three murmured their agreement.
"So I have to thank you for your diligence, gentlemen, in a job well done," he added.
"Anythin' to upset the Cardinal," Porthos growled. "Besides, we 'ad to do somethin' to take our minds off worryin' about Athos an' it seemed like we were 'elpin' him in some way."
The two other friends nodded furiously.
"This is his fifth day," d'Artagnan observed quietly.
"He should have reached Troyes by now," Aramis declared.
"An' started makin' his contacts."
"And put himself at risk."
"Don't start thinking like that, Aramis," d'Artagnan advised.
"I started thinking like it four full days ago," Aramis said, his bitterness evident.
The others were prevented from making any further comment by the arrival of the Cardinal, black robe billowing behind him as he strode towards his desk and took his seat.
"So, gentlemen, we are here to discuss and possibly cross-reference our findings from yesterday and produce a final list of suspects, ranking them in order of potential threat," and he reached for the paper he had prepared from the top of a pile of documents.
No greeting, cordial or forced, and no apology for keeping them waiting for over an hour. It certainly was not because he was in attendance upon the King for Louis had risen late claiming that he was not sleeping so well with all this additional worry! Then he had had a leisurely breakfast before deciding upon taking a turn around the gardens with the Queen. He had sent a missive to Treville and the Cardinal informing them of his plans and insisting that they update him with their findings before the day was out.
This delay with the Cardinal was nothing more than a slight against the Musketeers, Treville in particular. Richelieu was fond of devising every conceivable method to antagonise the soldier but it said something of the Captain's mettle that he seldom rose to the bait unless the situation was extreme – and this one involving Athos was falling into that category. Even d'Artagnan had seen enough of the Captain to understand his current grim expression and the taut facial muscles as he focused on only that which was relevant.
"We will also need to ascertain the whereabouts of those we shortlist," Treville added, all business-like now. "Who is currently at court and who is expected to join the King's company at Versailles. We should initiate some sort of surveillance for those here in Paris. A major concern will be those who are neither in Paris nor expected at Versailles because it will be almost impossible to check where they are in time for the hunting party at the end of the month."
"I concur with your evaluation of the situation," Richelieu conceded with a modicum of grace. "Now, who should feature as a concern?"
The five men spent the next two hours or more naming and discussing those they had identified the previous day; very few were eliminated as unlikely candidates and that was primarily due to advanced age or known infirmity and had initially been included by Aramis, Porthos and d'Artagnan; they did not have the knowledge of courtiers like the Cardinal and the Captain.
When the discussions were exhausted, they sat back in their respective chairs, disappointed by the length of the 'short list' Richelieu had created.
"That's not what I'd call a short list," Porthos quipped under his breath to Aramis.
"Thank you for that astute observation," Richelieu said cuttingly, overhearing the remark. "I suggest, Treville, that as the surveillance was your idea, we assign your men here to watching those at the top of the list who are at court."
"They will not be able to watch all of them, even if they take two each," Treville said pointedly. There was significantly more than six nobles, even at the Louvre, who had good reason to be unhappy with the King.
"An' we won't be watchin' them for long. We're on the road headin' south in five days," Porthos reminded everyone present, just in case any of them had forgotten.
"That will not be possible," Richelieu announced.
"But ..." Porthos began to object but Treville silenced him with a raised hand.
"I gave these men my word that they could go after Athos on the tenth day."
Richelieu was barely containing his exasperation. "As touching as their loyalty to each other is, Treville, the situation has changed dramatically in the past twenty-four hours and they must be involved in the surveillance. Do I need to remind the four of you of your oath to the King and country?"
"Not at all," Treville said pointedly, almost through gritted teeth. "But we have just ascertained that the list is too long and between us we cannot watch all of those named. If we had more men ..."
"I am unwilling to let more of your men – or mine, for that matter – know what we are doing," Richelieu interrupted. "The less people who know of the threat, the better our chances are of identifying those involved in the conspiracy and therefore better placed to foil any attempt on the life of His Majesty. You and I could possibly watch more than a couple each and my agent remains in Paris for now and can likewise be involved."
"So you saw fit not to send her south again to Troyes?" Trevillle kept his voice conversational, his reference to 'her' almost unnoticed. He had not forgotten the mystery woman.
"Exactly, I thought it better that ..." and the Cardinal stopped, realising just what Treville had said. It was too late to correct him on the gender. "Better that my agent remain here to await further orders," he went on vaguely. "A good thing, it seems, if we have a number of suspects."
It was a vain hope that he had covered his error for the Captain was not a stupid man but perhaps interest had at least been deflected.
"You said we could leave on the tenth day," Porthos growled, fixing his commanding officer with an angry glare.
"You heard the Cardinal; things have changed," the Captain declared, the warning obvious in his voice.
"Interesting, Treville," goaded Richelieu, watching and listening to the exchange. "I'm currently wondering who is in charge of the Musketeers at this moment."
Aramis grabbed Porthos by the arm and made to pull him away. "Leave it, Porthos. You're making things bad for the Captain. I don't like this any more than you do but we have no choice, nor does the Captain."
"You would do well to heed your friend, Musketeer," Richelieu added.
"Thank you, Cardinal. If anyone is to speak to my men, it will be me; there is no need to trouble yourself." Treville felt the need to re-establish his control.
Richelieu looked as if he were about to make another caustic comment but Porthos took a deep breath and pulled himself up to his full height.
"I'll do the watching for nine days after this," he suddenly announced, his stern gaze resting upon the Cardinal so that the churchman was in no doubt as to his meaning and why. "I don't much like the idea but if it has to be done, I'll do it, and then I am on the road south and no-one is going to stop me."