CHAPTER 19
"Captain Treville! There are riders approaching. Fast!" the musketeer who had been on point for the caravan of soldiers shouted as he rode up to Treville.
"What now," Treville groused under his breath. The journey from the battlefield back towards the garrison had been one delay after another. Broken wheels, broken axles, lame horses, you name it, it had happened. They had begun to measure progress in feet not miles. Gesturing, he had four of his best marksmen accompany him to the head of the column. The four musketeers drew their weapons and pointed them down the road while the Captain kept his own pistol sideways across his lap. A few tense moments passed before the riders came into view.
"Aramis? Porthos? Are you lost?" the Captain blurted out in surprise when he saw the two musketeers.
"One might ask you the same question, Captain," Aramis teased as he drew to a halt near his leader. "You haven't gotten very far in two days. Did you forget the way back to the garrison?"
The look on the Captain's face said it all. He was not amused. "Anything that could break, has broken and slowed down our progress considerably. But why are you here? Where are the rest of the men?"
Quickly, Aramis laid out what had transpired at Comte Vergy's estate.
"So Roudon, Pierre and Francis are on their way to Paris so they can let the King know what has occurred," Treville confirmed thoughtfully.
Aramis nodded. "Well, the King and you for he expected you would be back at the garrison by the time he arrived," the marksman added with a small shrug.
"So, did I," Treville declared ruefully. "So, the King's carriage horses are still at the estate, Athos has been taken hostage by the Spaniards and you two are here," he said summing it up. "How can you three get into so much trouble so quickly?"
"How is this our fault? If anyone it is that stupid Roudon," Porthos bristled even as Aramis reached across and jabbed him in the arm. "Sorry, Captain" Porthos mumbled by way of an apology. The big man wasn't being disrespectful, he was just worried for Athos.
"No. It is not your fault. I shouldn't have said that," Treville apologized. "It was nothing more than my frustration at the rotten luck we have had on this journey home."
"Well," Aramis said with a lazy grin. "We are not so dumb as to realize we don't occasionally cause you issues. But you have to admit, overall we really are quite lovable."
Captain Treville couldn't quite keep the small smile off his face at Aramis' cheeky comment. Trying at least to keep his voice professional even if his face was not, he asked, "I assume you came to find us for a reason."
Now it was Aramis' turn to grow serious. "We did. First, let me say that Porthos and I are here without the knowledge and against the express orders of Roudon."
"Somehow," Treville remarked as he removed his hat and ran a hand through his thinning hair, "that doesn't surprise me."
"Roudon made it very clear we weren't supposed to try to rescue Athos. That it was more important," Porthos spat, "to deliver the King's horses than to save one of our own."
"To be fair. The captain of the Spaniards did say he wouldn't harm Athos if no one tried to follow. That Athos would be set free at the border," Aramis reminded Porthos, though he was really reiterating that fact for Treville's benefit.
"It seems strange that Roudon wasn't more concerned about the value of a captured musketeer," Treville wondered aloud before adding, "Though the King is also a force to be reckoned with when he perceives his commands have not been followed to the letter." For a moment, Treville quietly contemplated his Lieutenant's behavior. He knew Roudon didn't care for the non-nobles brought into the regiment. But the man couldn't be so unscrupulous as to deliberately not rescue Athos just because he thought he was a commoner.
Porthos summed it up. "We couldn't let Athos die because of Roudon's stupidity."
"Aramis, since you specifically sought me out, I take it you have a plan?" Treville asked shifting his gaze to the marksman.
"Indeed, I do."