Apologies for the delay in adding this chapter - been a bit of a hectic week.
Many thanks to readers and for responses to chapter 70. I'm sorry if I have let any errors slip through here.
To all of you in these uncertain times, look after yourselves and please keep in touch. A brief word would suffice but long silences let the imagination work overtime!
CHAPTER 71
I
Tréville rode back to the hunting lodge with Aramis beside him; Porthos and d'Artagnan followed them both and were deep in conversation. Aramis was content to let the Captain ride in silence until ready to speak; no doubt he was thinking about the successful meeting he had held with the loyal nobles in which he elaborated upon the information they had received in the letters from Richelieu and the explanations that Aramis had been allowed to give. The meeting had then progressed to the strategic, who would be where in the event of an attack and the understanding that the Musketeer officer would have the ultimate authority in protecting their Majesties. The fact that Richelieu was prepared to defer power in this matter to Tréville made it easier for the nobles to accept and comply, thereby making their forces available to him.
It was a big responsibility for the man, and he was looking weary, enough that Aramis was considering ways in which he might raise the subject and offer some remedy that might aid a more restful sleep.
"That went well," Tréville suddenly announced. "It is reassuring to have such men in whom we can trust and who have promised their support."
"I'm glad," Aramis agreed, and he genuinely was pleased if for no other reason than the fact that it helped ease the burden shouldered by the officer.
Tréville's face darkened. "As long as they are all trustworthy, of course, and Richelieu and I have not made some terrible mistake in identifying those who are loyal."
Aramis frowned and tut-tutted. "Stop doubting yourself. You and the Cardinal have poured over the arrangements for days. These men were not selected upon a whim. Even Richelieu would not have contacted them if he had any remaining suspicions about their reliability."
The Captain sighed and ran a hand tiredly over his face. "You're right, of course. We have prepared for this trip for so long, gone over every single possibility and various outcomes so that, somehow, it is a relief to be here in the field at last and to face whatever transpires but still …" His voice trailed off and he pointedly looked in the opposite direction to Aramis.
"You still wonder of you have missed anything. That is understandable."
"Athos was able to make a couple of suggestions, even after everything we'd done."
"Athos?" Aramis was surprised.
Tréville turned to face him, a devious smile on his face as he explained about giving the injured Musketeer all the documents to study as a means of occupying him.
The marksman chortled with amusement. "Has he really been giving you the run around? I don't think I've ever heard you mention him, murder and court martial in the same breath before."
"Oh I've thought about it often enough," he said and, when Aramis laughed again, he added, "about all of you." It was his turn to smirk at the younger man's reaction.
They rode on in silence a little way.
"He has been …. difficult," Tréville admitted eventually, careful as to what he revealed and yet he needed to let the other man know of his concerns. "Perhaps more so than when he has been injured before."
"Why though?" Aramis was perplexed. "Why this time more than any other?"
"He wanted to be at Versailles."
"But why?" Aramis persisted.
Tréville could not betray Athos' trust and mention L'Hernault, for to do that would force him to reveal the Musketeer's past, but nor would he tell a downright lie to the men who had so freely given of their brotherhood and friendship.
"Too much time and preparation has been expended upon this venture," Tréville said, evading that issue and relating the other truths as he knew them. "He wishes to be a part of it. He feels it is his duty as a Musketeer to be here. From our conversations, he has accepted that he is no condition to fight or stand for long periods on guard duty, but he has offered me any assistance in other ways."
"And you agree with that?" Aramis could not hide the accusatory tone.
"Reluctantly. Eventually. He was not to be swayed so that I feared he might follow us here. I thought it more prudent to have him travel with us than to attempt the journey alone."
Silence fell again.
"I would be easier in my mind if he were not left alone."
Tréville's comment was totally unexpected and, as Aramis glanced at him, he kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead.
"One of you needs to be with him at all time. To give him something to induce sleep is not sufficient and would render him vulnerable."
"To what? Attack again? From whom?" Aramis' voice had risen in alarm, his rapid questions heard by Porthos and d'Artagnan whose conversation came to an abrupt halt. "What's been happening? What haven't you told us?"
Tréville reined in his horse and the others likewise halted. He twisted in his saddle so that he could see all three of them.
"I have reason to believe that the person behind the assault on him is here at Versailles and when that person realises that Athos still lives, may try again."
"But why?" This from d'Artagnan. "What is their reason for wanting him dead?"
Tréville opened his mouth to give the answer he had prepared as he rode but Porthos beat him to it.
"Because when they saw him at the meetin' outside Troyes, they recognised 'im as a Musketeer and knew that he was spyin' on 'em. They wanted 'im dead before he could get back with the information, but they failed an' when they see 'im alive an' kickin', they won't be 'appy about it and will try again because they want to and because they can."
II
Milady stood gazing down upon the sleeping figure of her husband.
Having paid a servant to act as an intermediary between her and the Cardinal with a message, she had waited in a nearby copse for Richelieu to take the late afternoon air and wander in her direction. As he paused to rest on a fallen tree-trunk, she had remained concealed within ear shot and told him what she knew of the approaching rebels. At first angry that she had come to Versailles when he had expressly forbidden it, he had to concede that she had valuable information and advocated that she remained in the area, spying upon the dissenters.
After that, it had been easy to circumvent the indolent Red Guards on duty and reach the outermost Musketeer tents from the rear. She slipped down the side of the one which she knew housed Athos and lingered to listen. At first there was nothing, no movement, no indication that he was still in there and then, suddenly, she heard them. Sporadic, gentle snores; the ones that had had her struggling to suppress giggles in happier days; the days when she had lain beside him, propped up on an elbow as she watched him sleep, utterly exhausted in the aftermath of their lovemaking.
He did not always snore; it tended to happen when he had imbibed a little too much wine and, together, they were giddy with happiness. She wondered if he had had too much to drink now for she knew of his reputation around the taverns of Paris, had spied on him from a distance as he had made his unsteady way home alone or watched whilst his brothers had controlled his drunken belligerence as they took him back to the garrison.
Standing at an arm's length from the cot, her eyes swept the interior of the tent and she spotted the upturned box serving as a table. On its top stood a simple tankard and the small bottle at its side. She un-stoppered it and sniffed warily at its contents, her lips twisting into a cruel smile.
Not drunk but sedated.
He was completely at her mercy.