CHAPTER 34
As it turned out praise was not what the two musketeers received when delivering the four Palominos. Timing is everything and theirs turned out to be extremely poor. As they rode into the Palace's side courtyard by the stables, the King and the Cardinal were coming out of the door to get into a waiting carriage. They stopped in their tracks and stared at the bedraggled men and horses.
"What are those things?" the King asked as he eyed the group with distain.
With his ever-present smirk and smarmy voice, the Cardinal replied, "I believe that is two of Your Majesty's finest leading what appear to be horses."
Cocking his head to one side, the King studied the filthy animals. "Horses? They are quite dirty and disgusting. Why would I want those things?"
By now, Aramis and Porthos had dismounted, offered up a bow to their King, and were waiting for permission to speak.
"Why have you brought those animals into my clean courtyard," King Louis demanded of his men.
"These are the horses Your Majesty purchased from Comte Vergy. To draw your Majesties' royal carriage," Aramis declared with a little flourish of his hand.
The King turned to look at the Cardinal, who reminded him, "I'm sure your Majesty recalls a few months back. When the Duke of Savoy came for a visit."
"How could I forget," the King said with a scowl. "His visits are always so enjoyable. I simply don't see what my sister sees in that prick."
"As your Majesty well-knows, your sister sees a very important alliance and does her duty for France, with that prick as you put it."
A small fond smile replaced the King's scowl. "She always was a good and dutiful sister and loyal citizen of France."
"On that visit, you admired the Duke's carriage horses as well as the mount he brought for the hunt."
"I did, didn't I. There is little to nothing to admire about that man, but those horses were magnificent. The hunter was a prime specimen. Agile, intelligent, muscular. And the leg action, on those carriage horses, when they trotted. It appeared as if their knees would scrape the sky. Finely shaped heads too."
"And I am sure your Majesty recalls asking about their breeding and being told it was one of your own, loyal citizens of France, Comte Vergy, who had bred the animals and sold them to the Duke."
The scowl reappeared on the King's face. "The gall of that man to buy my French horses. Though, perhaps I can forgive him for wanting quality, not like what I am sure they breed in that tiny little grubby state of Savoy."
"And," the Cardinal continued as if the King hadn't interrupted, "Your Majesty vowed to get a more impressive set of carriage horses for the Queen, as a gift for her birthday celebration."
The King had ordered such a large number of lavish presents for his Queen that the gift of the four carriage horses had slipped his mind. Until now. Turning rapidly, he stalked up to the musketeers who stood holding the patiently waiting horses.
"Do you gentlemen know the date of your Queen's birthday?" he asked in a tone that spoke of more than just idle curiosity.
Aramis, who had been one of the guards at her Majesty's birthday party last year, thought for a moment. "This month?"
"Two days past to be precise," the King informed the musketeers. "And do you know what was missing at her birthday party?"
While Aramis was tempted to say 'me', he didn't think that would be a wise move. Quietly he said, "No, sire."
Turning to the Cardinal, he repeated the same question. The Cardinal made a show of thinking for a second. Then slowly and deliberately, he answered, "Your Majesty made arrangements to buy the Queen the most magnificent set of matched carriage horses from the best breeder in France. A tribute to your love and her beauty. They were to go with the new carriage your Majesty bought to present to the Queen at the royal birthday celebration."
"Absolutely correct, Cardinal. And how did that work out?" the King asked.
The Cardinal painted a grave look on his face. "Not as well as one would have hoped. About midway through the party, you took the Queen and your distinguished guests outside, to this very courtyard, to present the Queen with her gift. But alas, the carriage stood here, alone."
"And why was that?" the King prodded.
"As we can now see, it was a severe failure of duty. Your Majesty's musketeers, whom you trusted with this important task, let you down."
"There were extenuating circumstances, your Majesty," Aramis interjected, unable to remain quiet.
But the King waved his hand indicating he didn't wish to hear. "The Cardinal is right. I was gravely disappointed, humiliated even, not being able to present a complete gift to my deserving Queen. And in front of all of those guests. Do you know how stupid a carriage looks without horses? Not to mention it doesn't roll well."
Even though they were seething on the inside, both Porthos and Aramis gave small apologetic bows.
"We beg your Majesty's forgiveness for not delivering the horses on time. It was not our intention to place you in a less than stellar position." Aramis attempted to placate his irritated monarch
The King glared at both musketeers. "And yet you did. And when you do show up, very much late, you bring me four disgusting looking creatures. It looks as if you took them to a pig-wallow and allowed them to roll in it. I am not even sure there are horses under all that filth."
"I can assure your Majesty that there are horses under all that dirt. The most magnificent set of matching palominos you have ever seen. Nothing in all of France compares. A perfect gift for a perfect Queen," Aramis exclaimed with gusto.
The King appeared unconvinced and after giving a small sniff, he said, "We shall see. After what I paid, there better be. And you better not have injured them in any way on the journey here."
Aramis gave the King one of his easy smiles. "They have suffered no harm other than a little dirt. They are in splendid health. Comte Vergy had them well-conditioned."
"Well if these horses are as wonderful as I have been told I will personally invite the Comte Vergy to visit me at court," the King declared.
Porthos and Aramis exchanged worried glances, not sure if they should be the ones to break the news to the King of what had happened or leave it to Captain Treville. Luckily, the decision was removed from their hands.
"Sire, we really must be going or we'll be late," the Cardinal reminded the King who turned and looked at him.
"Yes. You are indeed correct." Addressing the musketeers, he added, "I am very disappointed in your tardiness. I shall be speaking to your Captain Treville." With that, he joined the Cardinal, who had already climbed into the waiting carriage. With a crack of the whip, the carriage jerked forward and rolled out of the courtyard.
"That didn't go very well," Aramis said as he and Porthos walked their charges over to the stable lads who led them away.
"You can say that again. Ya think the Captain's gonna punish us?" Porthos asked as they made their way back to their own mounts.
"I would hope not. I don't see how any of this is our fault," Aramis answered as he swung onto his horse.
"I dunno. Somehow every time we think that, we get in trouble anyways," Porthos grumbled as he too mounted and they began to head back towards the garrison.
"Well let's hope Athos' mission went more smoothly than ours just did."
Porthos glanced over at his friend with a grin. "Guess it can't go much worse. At least he missed being reprimanded by the King while that smiling red-coated toad gloated in the background."
"Be careful speaking words like that of the Cardinal…even if it is the truth. They say he has ears everywhere," Aramis warned mockingly. "He is the second most powerful man in France I hear."
Snorting, Porthos replied, "What could he care about us. He hates the musketeers and wants us gone."
"And we best be careful not to give him any ammunition." Changing the subject, Aramis pondered, "I wonder how Captain Treville will take our news?"
"Somehow I don't think he's gonna be really happy with us," Porthos predicted correctly.