Thank you to everyone who has commented on the past couple of chapters, especially if you are a guest for I cannot contact you separately.
Thank you also to the many readers who are following this story.
In this chapter, it's going to be a long night!
CHAPTER 102
I
Aramis lay awake in the darkness, listening to the dying sounds of the camp as the men settled for the night. They had all been ordered by Tréville not to keep late hours. He heard another cot in the tent creak as someone turned over.
"Porthos, you awake?" he whispered.
"Yeah. You findin' it hard to go to sleep too?"
"My mind's too active."
"I can't sleep either," a third voice cut in. d'Artagnan.
"You thinkin' about Athos?"
Aramis nodded and then tutted at his foolishness when he realised no-one could see him. "All sorts of things but him mostly."
"How d'you think he looked?" Porthos asked.
"Pale, drawn, exhausted," Aramis answered.
"I thought so too. If this thing with the nobles blows up tomorrow, there's no way 'e should be fightin'."
"He can't avoid it when he has to lead the Red Guard."
"I understand why 'e was made up to actin' captain an' there's no-one more suited to it but it shouldn't 'ave 'appened like this, not on top of everythin' else."
"I agree with you, Porthos," Aramis said softly, "but there's no undoing it now. We'll just have to hope that this Grenouille is a man who's as good as his word and that he will try, as far as possible, to keep an eye on our brother."
"What did you think of Athos' story? The one about him and L'Hernault?" asked d'Artagnan who had been quietly listening to the exchange between the other two.
"We were partly right," Aramis answered, "and it reinforces what we've been thinking about him being from the nobility. L'Hernault is a Baron, as was his father before him; he would not lower himself to have a feud or a fight to the death with a commoner."
"Maybe he'll be ready an' willin' to tell us one day," Porthos said, stifling a yawn.
"Maybe," Aramis agreed, his word sounding empty in the darkness.
II
"I demand to see my brother, Richelieu!" Gaston was decidedly unhappy which was a considerable change from the buoyant mood he had displayed at the banquet.
"No-one demands to see the King," the First Minister reminded him carefully as he thought of his earlier meeting with Menier. "Besides, His Majesty has already retired. It has been a long and exhausting day. Tomorrow is designated as a day of rest so I will arrange an audience with him in the morning after he has conducted his other business."
"I refuse to wait that long. I want explanations now!"
Richelieu half expected Gaston to stamp his foot in an immature rage. He smiled but it lacked warmth.
"Perhaps I can help you with whatever has upset you, Monsieur*," Richelieu offered. "If you would care to accompany me to my office, I will see what I can do to assist you," and, after a slight dip of the head in forced deference, he walked off, an act of disdain at odds with the formal address.
Gaston hesitated briefly and then almost trotted to catch up with the Cardinal. Inside the room, once the door was shut, neither took a seat and Gaston's fury erupted.
"I hear that you have arrested two of my friends and have them locked up under guard. What is the meaning of this? I demand that you release them immediately."
"That will not be possible in the case of one of them," the Cardinal answered. His voice was low, menacing.
"What do you mean?" Gaston spat out.
"Baron L'Hernault is guilty of the murder of the Captain of the Red Guard," Richelieu explained. "He will be facing a trial on our return to Paris.
"Captain of the Red Guard? I don't understand! Why would he want to kill him?" Gaston was puzzled.
"Perhaps you expected to hear that he had killed a Musketeer instead?" Richelieu challenged , his eyes hard.
"I don't know what you mean!"
"I hear it from Captain Tréville who was present during the interrogation of both men that L'Hernault claimed you ordered him to dispose of a troubling Musketeer who had been present at the meeting of the nobles."
"I gave such an order?" Gaston was incredulous.
It was not very convincing, but the Cardinal feigned his acceptance and gave a surprising chuckle that was as disconcerting as it was unexpected.
"I thought that it could not be possible but, sadly, it appears that L'Hernault is losing his grip on his sanity and I dare say such an order was one of his many flights of fancy. Yes, that must be it."
"But what of the other man, Allaire? Surely he was not involved?"
"Not in the murder, no, but he was complicit in the attempt to dispose of the murder weapon and in supplying a false alibi for L'Hernault," the Cardinal explained.
"So what do you propose to do with him?" Gaston asked. He tried to appear disinterested but the rise in his voice betrayed his agitation.
Richelieu recognised correctly that the Duc was concerned that he was being deprived of a trustworthy messenger on the eve of the crucial meeting and the potential uprising. He needed to lull the King's brother into a false sense of security.
"Absolutely nothing, but I haven't told him that; at least, not yet. He has to learn the valuable lesson that it is not acceptable to impede an investigation. No social rank gives him the right to do that." Richelieu hoped that his emphasis might be a reminder to Gaston to guard his own behaviour. Being the King's brother would not give him any protection in the face of a proven charge of treason.
"So he will remain locked up for the duration of the night. That should give him plenty of time to contemplate the error of his ways. He will be released in the morning but not before," Richelieu continued. "Now if you will excuse me, I still have business to attend to before I am able to retire. Let me show you out," and indicating that Gaston preceded him this time, he moved to open the door. Their discussion was at an end and with that, Gaston had to be satisfied.
III
When Tréville and Athos arrived, it was nearing midnight. Athos reported on the Red Guard, firstly informing Richelieu of the inadequate provisions his men had and, as he expected, the Cardinal had no idea and was rightly indignant. It increased to rage when he and Tréville learned of the shortcomings in the weapons and shot.
"I have given it thought," Athos said and went on to outline how best the situation might be salvaged.
"The man was incompetent," Richelieu sputtered, meaning Planque.
"I am surprised you appointed him to such an auspicious position." Tréville could not resist making the comment but kept his expression neutral.
For once, Richelieu was momentarily flustered, but that weakness was gone in an instant. "He seemed an appropriate choice at the time, given the sudden depletion of Red Guard," and he looked hard at Athos as if it were his fault that he had been wrongly accused of murder and that his brothers had been forced to fight and slay those same Guards in a desire to find the evidence to prove his innocence.
"No matter," Tréville said and brusquely changed the subject. "We must discuss the advice given to His Majesty before his meeting with Menier and know exactly what we are doing as soon as that meeting is over. We have planned for this eventuality for several weeks. Now we must ensure that the implementation of those plans is conducted smoothly."
Today's 'little gem':
(Think that's what I'll call my notes from now on. So much nicer than A/N!)
* Third son of King Henry IV (ruled 1589–1610) and Marie de Médicis, Gaston was at first known as the Duc d'Anjou. As the only surviving brother of Louis XIII, he was known as "Monsieur" from 1611. After the death of Gaston's brother Louis XIII in 1643, his nephew Philippe, brother of the new king Louis XIV, became the new Monsieur. To differentiate the older Monsieur from the younger, Gaston, the uncle, was called Le Grand Monsieur and Philippe, the nephew, was called Le Petit Monsieur.