Greetings from San Diego.
Oh my, what an incredible journey yesterday across the Mohave Desert, lunch in Palm Springs and then over the mountains and down ... into traffic. Have paid a King's ransom for a reliable internet connection over the next few days so be prepared for a chapter per day for 5 days!
Fo those of you concerned about Athos, I have spent a long time deliberating on how I do this and I know he is 'out of the picture' at the moment. In the past few days, I have considered weakening and writing a sort of interlude CHAPTER to see what he's up to but decided against it. You, the readers, need to learn things as the others do for (my only spoiler alert) for maximum impact. I promise that once he reappears, he will be there the whole time and we WILL find out what has happened in Troyes. For now, there is a little more setting up to do and I just have to hope that you are not disappointed. This CHAPTER contains a little more 'setting up' and all will be revealed soon.
CHAPTER 23
"I have been following mine for three days," Aramis was the first to make his report. "Antoine Fornier has remained at the court and made himself very conspicuous. He's definitely a ladies' man and flirts outrageously."
Porthos snorted with suppressed laughter. "Good job you're the one that's watchin' him then. He can't be teachin' you anythin' new an' we wouldn't want 'im corrupting young d'Artagnan here."
The young man in question was embarrassed even as Treville smothered a grin at the apt comment and Aramis protested loudly.
"Anyway ," Aramis said loudly and slowly, endeavouring to restore some order and regain attention for his news, "he slips from his rooms each night and heads for a different destination and assignation. I remained outside one all night the first time but he didn't leave until dawn." He glared at Porthos who had just opened his mouth to speak. "And don't you dare utter another word!"
"In contrast," he continued, "Lazare Tanquerel is quiet, reserved and keeps very much to himself, interacting very little with anyone else." He grew serious. "He positions himself in a room so that he can watch the royal couple constantly."
"Sounds suspicious," Treville acknowledged. "We'll maintain a close watch on him. What about the two you were assigned, d'Artagnan?"
"I think we can cross Charles Basot from the list. The court physician has attended him in the past few days as he has developed a severe case of gout and is finding it difficult to move around so he is confined to his rooms."
"No visitors?" Treville pressed.
"Other than the physician, no. I asked some discreet questions but two people confirmed that he is in such pain as to be immobile. His wife, on the other hand, is making the most of his incapacity and enjoying herself very publicly. So I concentrated upon Georges de Thou. He's young, a little older than me and tends to spend his time with similar young men. They're fairly quiet and good during daylight hours, not wanting to put a foot wrong, but after dark is another matter. They're revellers until the small hours."
"There's nothing to suggest that they might be like-minded in a conspiracy?" Treville wanted to know.
D'Artagnan cast sideways glances at his friends. "The only conspiracy they seem to be joined in is how much rich food they can eat or throw at each other, the amount of good wine they can drink and the number of wenches they can fondle during an evening."
"See, I knew I should have taken de Thou!" Porthos objected. "Now all my attempts at keeping d'Artagnan young and innocent have failed."
D'Artagnan's thoughts strayed to an unexpected night of passion he spent in the arms of a dark-haired, green-eyed mystery woman when on his way to Paris and he flushed.
"I think d'Artagnan is not so innocent as he would have us believe," Aramis grinned, noting the young man's change in colour.
"Enough," Treville scolded, but there was no anger there. D'Artagnan shot him an appreciative look at halting the teasing. "Go on, Porthos, and stick to the point."
"I don't think Gilles de Mayenne is capable of anything," he said dismissively. "All he does is eat all day."
At this, Aramis chuckled and was about to retaliate with a veiled insult of his own but Treville's look stopped him, so he cleared his throat instead, fought to control his facial expression and focused intently upon Porthos.
"I've never seen anyone eat the amount he can put away at one sittin' an' then, a couple of hours later if that, he's back for more! Except he doesn't 'come back', 'e just stays where he is at a table, barks an order when he's good an' ready an' the food's put down in front of 'im. He doesn't move because 'e probably can't; he's huge!"
Aramis raised an eyebrow at the perceived exaggeration.
"It's true," Porthos remonstrated. "He's bigger than me, an' I'm not talkin' about his height."
The two men standing with him laughed whilst the Captain referred to the list in front of him. "He may be obese but that doesn't stop him conferring with plotters. Did you see him talk to anyone?"
Porthos shook his head. "Only the servants. His table manners leave a lot to be desired and if you could have seen the way some people looked at 'im as they walked by, none of them would have sat with 'im to pass the time of day."
"That's sad," d'Artagnan added. "Perhaps he eats so much for comfort; he's lonely."
Porthos and Aramis turned their heads to where he stood between them and gave him a strange look.
"And what of Francois Allaire?" Treville was trying to keep them focused.
"Now he's an interestin' one," Porthos said, all business-like once more. "He's loud an' obnoxious; full of his own importance an' a ridiculous figure. I don't think he's liked much by the other courtiers an' when they're in groups, he seems to attach 'imself to 'em an' take over. They're just too polite to tell 'im to go away but I've seen them when he does decide to move on and they're talkin' about him. I sort of moved closer to one group an' overheard someone say that they wouldn't trust him at all, that he was a trouble maker."
"What sort of trouble?" Treville's interest was aroused.
"They wouldn't say anymore but the others were in agreement. So I watched 'im even more closely an' there was somethin' about 'im that was wrong; I just had a bad feelin'. He'd wear one expression when talkin' to the courtiers an' then, as he walked away, a change'd come over him, as if he detested them all, they were beneath 'im somehow an' he's always givin' a sly look around to see if anyone's watchin' him."
"Has he realised that you are?" Treville was concerned.
Porthos' anger simmered at the memory. "He's looked straight at me a couple of times but I'm not even the dirt on his shoes, given that I'm a soldier and because of my birth."
They all knew that he was referring to his skin colour and they felt for him. Knowing the man as they did, they wanted to protect him from those who still bore prejudice of any kind.
"An' anyway," Porthos suddenly looked sheepish, "I have to confess I lost 'im for a good hour or more yesterday."
"How so?" Treville demanded.
"I was standing to the side of one of the main reception rooms; they were both there, Allaire an' de Mayenne an' I had 'em both in sight. Well suddenly there's an almighty crash, a squawk and chaos. Seems like de Mayenne's chair couldn't take 'is weight anymore an' collapsed underneath 'im. It had arms an' although the legs had completely broken off, he was wedged solidly in the seat. Several servants rushed to help whilst the rest of 'em – the courtiers - just stood there. Some had the decency to smother their laughs but a few were not so kind."
"Poor man," d'Artagnan said, his concern genuine.
Aramis and the Captain both looked equally perturbed by the tale; it would be a talking point within the court for several days to come and it would be at de Mayenne's expense. Apparently already despised and ridiculed by many because of his size and habits, he would have lost all face with this incident. A number of those who followed the King could be fickle at best and cruel at worst, which was often. They were there to be seen and heard, to gain advantage from Louis and when they were not as successful as they expected, their loyalty turned, as Treville and the others were investigating at that time.
"Anyway, I went over to help an', with some effort, broke one of the arms off so we could roll 'im out an' then onto the floor. Took three servants an' me to get 'im to his feet and recoverin'. By that time, Allaire had slipped away. I set off through the corridors, takin' all the routes he'd used so far and then some more, but I couldn't find 'im at all. He hadn't returned to his rooms because I asked a servant in that area."
"Perhaps he deserves more of our attention," Treville noted and, as the three watched, he picked up his quill and made a large mark by Allaire's name.