Afternoon,all.

Thanks, as always, for reading and leaving comments.

A slightly longer chapter here as things inevitably begin to draw to a close.

CHAPTER 119

I

There was no hurrying Louis and so it was over half an hour before the four men were seated at a table laden with food and wine. Athos felt somewhat uncomfortable at sitting down to eat opposite the King and, glancing to his right, Tréville seemed to be having similar thoughts. Only the Cardinal to his left appeared relaxed.

Louis, however, was effusive with his repeated praise and it did not strike him as curious that he had elected to sit and eat with the three men who were now 'dearer to him than all others.' Although he had never doubted their ability to keep him safe, the realisation that he had survived the challenge to his rule and a battle had obviously given him a ferocious appetite. He would never admit that he had lain on the cushions and mattress, weeping with terror, hands clamped over his ears in a futile attempt to minimise the sound of violence outside.

Athos, who was struggling to recall if he had stopped to eat anything since daybreak, could only marvel at the times the monarch reached for the different dishes to replenish his rapidly emptying plate.

"Eat! Eat!" Louis urged him when he picked at some cold roasted boar.

He looked at the meat and the idea struck him that the animal had probably been running around the forest the day before. He nearly laughed at the notion, something that he so rarely did these days that he feared he was bordering on exhausted hysteria.

"Eat!" Tréville ordered quietly, passing him a platter of hard-boiled eggs that had been halved and nestled between slices of cheese and more meats.

There were so many sauces, garnish and sweetbreads, followed by an even bigger array of sweetmeats and marchpane, coloured and shaped to resemble fruit, flowers and animals.

The problem was that Athos was disinclined to eat anything. He was in a vicious, worrying cycle: too tired and lacking the strength to eat, he knew he needed to eat to regain his strength. He hoped their discussion would prove to be a distraction for all, diverting their attention from him. It was still acutely embarrassing that he had so nearly passed out in front of the monarch. Tréville was pouring wine for each of them.

"Do you intend leaving for Paris in the morning, Your Majesty?" Richelieu asked, steering the conversation to the matter in hand.

Louis looked surprised. "No, Cardinal. I came here to hunt and that is exactly what I intend to do. The sooner life regains some normality, the better for everyone. The trip so far has been marred by the threat hanging over us but that has now been removed. I admit that some of my pleasure in this visit has diminished so that I might not remain for the planned period, but I refuse to decide that this evening. In fact, I think a hunt tomorrow afternoon might provide a much-needed amusement, although some of my guests might wish to leave Versailles. That will be entirely their choice, of course, and I will not take offence."

Athos was unsure whether to believe Louis' last declaration. His geniality was in the immediate aftermath of a battle and having received a terrible fright, but with a night's sleep, who knew what royal mood might emerge in the morning? For now, the three men seated at the table would humour him and deal with his mercurial nature as necessary.

"Sire, we have many prisoners and some wounded," Richelieu began, trying to refocus him on the more important points.

Louis' face lost its conviviality. "It is enough that they are still here at Versailles for tonight. I want them moved to Paris at the first opportunity. That is another reason why I shall remain here; I refuse to travel at the same time as prisoners."

Tréville broke his silence. "Might I suggest, Sire, that the only ones to be transferred to the Châtelet or Bastille are the nobles at the centre of this plot? To send sufficient men to guard and escort all the prisoners would deplete the number of Musketeers and Red Guard who are fit enough to offer regular security. We have had a few tragic losses and other men are wounded."

"What about all the others who fought and either surrendered or were captured?" Richelieu frowned at the prospect of releasing all of them.

"They were ordinary, untrained men who should never have seen battle. Many of them were slain. They came from the estates and would be known to the imprisoned survivors who are numb with shock at what has happened," Tréville continued. "They are men of the land who need to go back there in readiness for the harvest. If that is not done, the people may starve in a hard winter and they may not have sufficient stores to plant for next year. There will be women and children enough who are left grieving after this. We know you are merciful, Sire; let your people see and know this too. Send those men home."

Louis was listening carefully and clearly considering what the Musketeer Captain was proposing.

"What of the militia men?" Richelieu wanted to know. "There were plenty of those too."

"Some of them did escape but, again, I ask what can be gained by imprisoning them?" Tréville pressed.

"They fought against His Majesty. An example should be made of them for their actions," Richelieu insisted.

Athos understood what Tréville was meaning; after all, he had kept his own militia at Pinon.

"Their actions were the result of following orders," he took up the explanation. "All that matters to them is the pay they receive in service to their lord; many would not question what they were being told to do. Even some of them would have felt coerced. Send them home too. I presume the estates of the imprisoned nobles will be confiscated and given as rewards to others who are more deserving. The militia men will swiftly change their loyalties to a new liege lord. If not, they will move on and sell their sword skills to the highest bidder. As far as they were concerned, there was nothing personal for them in this conflict against Your Majesty; they did not stand to benefit from anything directly."

"You would have me release so many men?" Louis wanted clarification.

"Think of how your people would respond to this significant act of mercy," Tréville prompted.

"It is the nobles who acted against you who are the ones deserving punishment," Richelieu added, warming to the suggestion.

"And the charge will be treason?" Louis asked.

The three men nodded in agreement.

"I can have Musketeers escort them tomorrow. They can leave at daybreak." He looked at Athos. "Porthos, Claude and d'Artagnan can be in charge. Aramis will need to remain here tending the wounded."

"Whilst some of the Red Guard can accompany the ordinary men until they are a distance beyond Versailles. Then they will be left to their own devices to get back to the estates from which they originated," Athos stated.

"Make it so," Louis ordered. "I would not have these treacherous persons here at Versailles any longer than necessary."

Athos and Tréville exchanged a satisfied glance. This was going better than either of them had anticipated.

"All that remains now, Your Majesty, is to decide what is to happen with your brother, the Duc." Richelieu was the one to raise the unpleasant topic.

It touched the monarch deeply as his eyes filled with tears.

"What is to be done with the traitor?" Louis asked, his bottom lip quivering in distress.

"I am afraid we cannot bring a charge of treason," the Cardinal sighed.

Louis was amazed. "What? After what he has done?"

"Indeed, Your Majesty. We know he brought armed men across France without your knowledge, but he claims that he simply forgot, something that we can neither prove nor disprove. He did warn you, Sire, of the plot and claimed that he had a man at the meeting acting as his spy. Gaston also insisted that his men were there to fight in your defence which, in the end, is what they did, ensuring that the victory was ours. The rebels believed those men were being provided to help their cause and his explanation was that he had to act in such a manner as to convince them that he intended to fight on their side when, all along, he was committed to your cause."

"And do you believe him, any of you?" Louis demanded.

"No, Sire; we do not," Tréville answered for all of them, "but we cannot prove it."

"What of the men who were his messengers? His spy at Troyes? The two men you arrested yesterday?" Louis spluttered, his anger emerging from helplessness.

Athos deferred to Tréville for the explanation.

"De Mayenne, who was arrested in Paris, was being brought here for questioning when his heart gave out. He was, unfortunately, a man of considerable size and the journey was too much for him.

"Allaire was released from custody this morning and we know that he rode out of Versailles shortly afterwards. We firmly believe that he had been sent to Gaston's men to tell them to fight for you, but we cannot prove otherwise."

"Can you not ask him? Put pressure on him?" the King demanded.

Tréville took a deep breath. "Sadly, no, Your Majesty. His body was found on the battlefield. He had ridden in with Gaston's men. As for L'Hernault," he looked at Athos. "We know that Allaire released him before riding out and that he went into hiding. I initiated a search, but he was nowhere to be found. I shot him dead to stop him from killing Athos after the battle."

There was silence at his news.

"So there is no-one to speak against Gaston?" Louis sounded broken. "If we have no grounds for execution, I cannot exile him either."

"Sadly not, Sire," Richelieu said, "but I do have a suggestion. You can banish him from court and confine him to his Orleans estate. Restrict any movement. I can make sure that …" and here he hesitated, "my people in the area keep him under surveillance. He will not be able to do anything or have guests without I learn about it."

Louis made an immediate decision. "Do it, Armand, and do it now so that he can make ready for his departure. He is to be gone before I rise tomorrow. There will be no leave-taking for I do not want to have to look upon him ever again. He is not to be trusted."

Richelieu dabbed at his lips with a napkin and pushed back his chair. "Consider it done, Your Majesty."

The two Captains took this as their cue to leave as well.

"We must make our rounds, speak with the men and visit the injured," Tréville explained. "Thank you for the food, Sire."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Athos added. The two men bowed and followed the Cardinal out of the room.

"Er, Captain," Richelieu said when the door closed behind them.

It took Athos a moment to realise that the Cardinal was speaking to him and he straightened up, wishing that he could do his rounds as quickly as possible and be left to crawl into bed.

"I would speak with you before you make your rounds. Please wait for me in my office and I will be there as soon as I have informed Gaston of the King's wishes. Should he prove awkward as a result, we may need to have a heavy Musketeer and Red Guard presence in the morning to ensure that he departs as desired."

The two soldiers watched him go.

Athos sighed; he had an undesirable sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Now what does he want?" Tréville wondered aloud.

"I do not know," Athos replied. "I have an idea and I only hope that I am wrong."