Elizabeth's troubles reach a head in this chapter, and we find out that all is not what it first seemed.

Chapter Sixteen - 25th August 1632

Elizabeth could not fathom why she had thought that the streets might feel different. They were the same as they had always been. She therefore was resigned to acknowledge that it was indeed herself who had changed. She had not spent very long periods of time outdoors since the incident where she was locked in her room, and as a result the fresh air and sounds were not something she felt acquainted with any more. She'd only really ventured out for a walk around the park and to the apothecary and back.

She'd had no choice but to go in search of more tonics. Her supply of them was depleting rapidly and Elizabeth had more than once wondered if somehow Eric might have stolen some from her. Was it possible that he had returned to the lodgings and managed to sneak in? Harry had changed the locks of course, but Eric was a schemer after all. He would see the changed locks as a challenge rather than a certain defeat. Elizabeth was well aware though that her memory was not what it once was. She had considered that she could be waking in the night and taking some tonic to try and soothe her cough, thus using up more of it than she thought. It did not seem untoward that she might forget something so trivial.

It was her second trip to the apothecary in just a few days, but Elizabeth wanted more than tonics this time. In spending so much time with Athos, she had forgone her usual dabbling with opiates and laudanum, not because she did not need them but because she knew that Athos would not approve. She had her suspicions that he might have dabbled himself over the years but of course he would cite her illness as reason enough for her to abstain. Elizabeth had grown tired of the almost sleepless nights though. If nothing else, she wanted some laudanum to aid her sleep. Athos was no longer staying with her at night and she was glad of it, for she felt worse each morning than she had the day before. She was shamed for anyone to see her in that state.

The bell tinkled over the door of the small shop as she entered, her list of ingredients for her tonic clutched in her gloved hand. She handed it over with a small smile for the apothecary and turned to browse the shelves whilst she waited. An older woman did the same on the other side of the shop. Elizabeth waited until the older woman had retrieved her potions, paid for them and left the shop before she dared ask the apothecary for the extra things she wanted. He levelled her with a look that might have caused some people to doubt but Elizabeth held his stare. She'd visited his shop before and she was sure that he recognised her. Sure enough, after a few seconds of deliberation, he placed another few vials onto the counter.

Elizabeth hid her shock as she glanced into her coin purse and saw how much money she had left. She had just enough to pay for her potions, but little besides. She paid the man because she felt too ashamed to admit that she had no money. It would have felt rather foolish, standing there in what was actually quite a fine dress even if it was just slightly out of fashion and trying to convince someone that she'd fallen on hard times. She'd have to do the one thing she'd resolved never to do and ask Harry for some money. She did not think he would mind in the slightest, but she knew his parents would likely have a thing or two to say on the matter. She knew that Eric's words had been cruel and he'd been trying to hurt her but Elizabeth had wondered if there was perhaps some truth in it all. Were her in-laws growing frustrated with having to provide for her mother and brothers?

Elizabeth pushed the thoughts from her mind, well aware that she would end up with a torturous headache if she let herself dwell on such things. She took the phials from the counter and placed them in her coin purse. It was too bulky to place back into her pocket so she held it's strings in her hand and left the shop. As soon as she had crossed the threshold back out into the street, Elizabeth knew that something was wrong. It was as if something had clamped hold of her heart, stopping it from beating in those few seconds. She sucked in a frightened breath as a shadow crossed her vision and before she knew it, Elizabeth had been dragged from the shop front into an alleyway.

She was thrown against the wall and Elizabeth clutched the uneven bricks behind her to keep herself upright. Eric was leaning over her, his hands either side of her face. "What a coincidence finding you here Elizabeth!"

"Get off me!" Elizabeth pushed against his chest but she was not strong enough to even cause Eric to flinch. He laughed cruelly at her feeble attempt to put distance between them both. "What do you...want Eric?" Elizabeth had begun to cough and could feel a pressure on her chest again.

"I want to know what you've told that musketeer that's hanging onto your skirts!" Eric snarled as he leaned in closer and Elizabeth's breaths became shallow and fast. "You're not a fool Elizabeth but I think you might even consider spilling secrets to someone who was able to promise you the protection of a whole brigade of militia. I looked into your friend. He's a musketeer captain. Does it make you feel good; having a soldier in your bed? Does it make you feel powerful knowing that you could bring such trouble about for me?"

"I...I don't...I have..." Elizabeth stammered. She coughed harshly, blood landing in the palm that she held up to cover her mouth.

Eric grabbed her arms and held her in place as she felt her knees buckle. "I want to know what you've told that musketeer! God knows you've always known too much! I was foolish to think you'd keep my secrets!"

Elizabeth shook her head as her vision became cloudy. keeping Eric in her sights was all the more important after what he had done to her recently. "Everything..."She spluttered. "I...I told him everything...I know."

"So you betrayed your husband? The man who has sheltered and kept you these last six years? We could have had so much longer if only you'd been happy to comply! Your current state is your own fault Elizabeth. I would have continued to protect you as my wife if you hadn't gotten all of these ideas above your station!"

"Is that why you locked me in my room?" Elizabeth asked as a sob tore through her throat. She coughed again, the blood missing her palm and landing on Eric's doublet. She saw the anger in his eyes as his grip of her upper arms tightened so much so that Elizabeth yelped in pain.

"I locked you in a room to teach you a lesson Bess. A lesson you do not appear to have learned! I wish to God I'd stopped Harry from freeing you! It would have saved me no end of problems!"

"That's what I am?" Elizabeth asked quietly, surprising herself with how much pain she heard in her tone. "I'm a problem? I don't know...where the man I married...has gone. You...you were so..."

"I was so what?" Eric snarled. Elizabeth couldn't form the words as a strange sensation came over her. She could feel the blood rising within her chest, coughing it up uncontrollably as Eric began to shake her violently. She cried out for him to stop and knew what his reaction would be. They were not far from a crowded street and someone would have heard them.

Eric slammed Elizabeth into the wall behind her and her head bounced off it. She saw stars for a few seconds, the world spinning out of focus as Eric's whispered threats and the smell of his cologne were the only stable things. "Stop!" She yelled suddenly, sure that someone would hear her from the street. "Let me go now!"

As things came back into focus, Eric's eyes were panicked. "Do not think I will not return Elizabeth. I want to know what you've told that musketeer! This is not the end!"

As soon as his grip loosened Elizabeth fell to the ground. There was a smashing sound as she landed in the dust, unable to stand for the sobs and coughs that wracked her body. She knew that her dress would not fare well and must be covered in blood by now, but she had a new increasing worry. She tried wiping away her tears and her runny nose with the back of her sleeve but it came away bloody. Her nose was bleeding profusely and Elizabeth fumbled with the strings of her coin purse. Her handkerchief was sodden though, as the vials had broken her fall, but they had smashed in the process. She began to weep anew for the money she had lost, for now she did not even have a tonic to ease her pain.

A woman's voice floated somewhere above her head. "Madame? Madame can you stand? Help me get her up will you? We'll take her back to my old home, it's closest."

Touches to both of her arms had Elizabeth panicking, but the touches remained lightly firm. She was pulled to her feet and she swayed where she stood, not recognising the man and woman at first. They threw her arms over their shoulders and began to walk, holding on to her waist tightly. "Please...where..." Elizabeth began to plead but she was interrupted again by the woman with the kind voice.

"Don't try to talk. You're in a terrible state. Try and pinch your nose if you can! You're safe with us. My husband's a musketeer. You'll tell us who's done this to you and he'll find them out!"

"No...I..." Elizabeth coughed again so forcefully that she lost her balance altogether. She felt their hold of her tighten, but not in an invasive manner. They were trying to hold her up.

"Stop trying to talk, you're making yourself worse Madame." She knew the voice. Elizabeth was almost sure it was Athos's youngest musketeer friend.

"Athos...no..." The woman had produced a clean and dry handkerchief from somewhere and pinched Elizabeth's nose through it, forcing Elizabeth to throw her head back. Unable to talk she was left listening to the couple's conversation as they moved.

"You know Athos then?" The woman again.

"She and Athos are friends apparently," D'artagnan replied for Elizabeth.

Elizabeth tried to protest because the young couple clearly thought that someone had violently attacked her and caused the bleeding, but Eric had only shaken her a little. It was no use though, she was coughing and crying too much to get any words out. Much sooner than expected Elizabeth felt a shadow pass over her head and looking around, she found herself in the hallway of a house. The couple led her to a chair in some form of parlour or dinning room. Still staring at the ceiling with the woman pinching her nose, there was not much that Elizabeth could see to determine where they were or what the house was like.

"Now," the woman began. "D'artagnan go and fetch the others. Be quick about it!"

"The others?" he asked curiously.

"Well obviously someone has done this to her! She's been attacked and I'm damned if I'm letting red guards handle it!"

Elizabeth tried yet again to protest but still she could not speak for coughing. "Don't you need help here? I can fetch water and-"

"I'll sort all that," the woman snapped hurriedly. "Just go!"

The sound of D'artagnan's footsteps retreated until he closed the door behind them and was gone. There was still silence for a few moments as the woman appeared to be waiting to see if Elizabeth's nose had stopped bleeding. She lifted the handkerchief briefly and Elizabeth tried to put her put her head down, but the woman snapped the handkerchief back into place and pushed Elizabeth's head back again.

"I'm sorry," the woman murmured. "Lets get this stopped first. My name is Constance. My husband D'artagnan is a musketeer, as I think you know. Whoever hurt you; you must tell my husband and his friends. They will ensure that whoever did this meets justice. To attack you in the street like that-" Elizabeth tried to interrupt again but all that she could do was cough. "It was damned cowardly and I'm surprised no one else heard it all!"

Elizabeth waited quietly for a while longer as the woman fumbled with things on the table with one hand whilst pinching Elizabeth's nose with the other. At length she checked again, and to the relief of both women the bleeding had stopped. Elizabeth was released from the woman's grip and a bowl of water and some cloth was pushed towards her across the table.

"Here, get yourself cleaned up. I don't think there'll be any saving that dress of yours though." Constance sat down facing her on the other side of the table. "At least you still have your coin purse though! Unless of course they weren't trying to rob you. You don't know who did this to you, do you?"

Elizabeth coughed then, but this time she managed to find her voice in the time that Constance gave her to speak. "That's what...what I've been trying to tell you, I was not attacked." Elizabeth was surprised to find her voice raspy and uneven.

"But your face! Your nose-"

Elizabeth waved a hand to halt Constance's speech. "It is merely a nose bleed Madame. These things happen from time to time. I have been ill. It is a symptom."

Constance was shaking her head at her. "Madame my husband and I heard you shouting. You were struggling with someone. Do not tell me I did not hear that!"

Elizabeth winced as she sat forward a little and lent on the table. "You did hear it Madame. I had an argument with my husband. We are currently estranged and there have been some recent-"

Constance stood abruptly. "You are the Madame that D'artagnan told me of. Your husband locked you in your bed chamber and left you for days..." Constance looked upon her with so much sympathy that Elizabeth had the sudden urge to slap her. She did not though. The musketeer's young wife was showing her kindness and it was appreciated but she did not want the sympathy of those who thought she was hard done by. She had walked into her marriage, and had stayed with her husband even though she knew exactly what he was like. She was to blame in effect, for quite a lot of what had befallen herself. "Then what happened Madame? If he did not attack you then where has all of this blood come from? You've been crying this whole time Madame. Something has upset you."

Elizabeth began to shake her head slowly. "I believe tears have been a regular occurrence lately. I think the shock of the nose bleed brought them along as much as anything else."

Elizabeth glanced down at her wrist then, realising for the first time that the strings of her coin purse were still attached there. That was why she had not dropped it in all of the commotion. It was sodden, the liquid slowly oozing though the velvet material and into a puddle on the table. She released the strings from her wrist and let them slacken, pulling the purse open to find a small congealing mass of laudanum and her tonic with shards of glass. It was then that she realised that in a way, Eric had assaulted her. He had done so with each look he threw her for many years and Elizabeth had let it happen. He had taken almost everything from her. She was staring down at what little money she had left to her name and it was all in pieces. At least if she'd had some money, she could have died with dignity. Eric had stolen that from her. The fat tears cascaded down her face unchecked and Elizabeth buried her face in her hands. She sensed Constance rounding the table towards her and felt comforting hands land upon her shoulders.

The latch on the front door of the little house lifted and the sounds of heavy booted footsteps on the floorboards reached them. Then the door to the little parlour opened.

"Elizabeth?" Elizabeth lifted her face from her hands in time to watch Athos set his hat down on the table and pull a chair around to sit beside her. He took hold of her wrist gently and turned her where she sat so that she faced him. He scrutinised her face as he cupped her cheek gently in his hand. "What happened?"

"I...I saw Eric. He...we had an argument of sorts. He wanted to know what I'd told you. I think the stress of it all brought on this nose bleed."

Athos was gazing at her intently as if trying to ascertain if she was lying or not. "So he did not cause this? He did not hit you?"

Elizabeth shook her head, feeling slightly small and overwhelmed with them all staring at her. "I...your friends heard me and came to help but..."

"Elizabeth no one here is judging you. Just tell me the truth. No buts or excuses. Your husband is the last person you should be making excuses for after all that he has done to you! Do not think to protect him, not when you are in this state and he just abandoned you like that. If he cared he would be here. He would not have left you."

"He wouldn't have locked you in your bedchamber alone for days either," Porthos said from behind Athos.

"Tell me what happened." Athos's words were carefully sincere even though Elizabeth could see tension building behind his eyes.

"I went to fetch some tonics. Eric must have been waiting for me. I suppose he thought he could not chance approaching me near my apartment in case you were there. He wanted to know what I'd told you Athos. I think perhaps I know something that is of importance, that might cause Eric trouble. I do not know what it is. You may need to look over all of the information that I gave you, for I have not the concentration or energy to figure it out myself. Eric did not hurt me or hit me... he was holding onto my arms tightly but he did not hit me."

"Elizabeth you are shaking," Athos whispered as he took her hands into his. "Did he frighten you?"

"I...That is..." Elizabeth felt the fight drain out of her then and she fell against the back of the chair. "Yes."

"Then that's just as bad," Athos replied. "You won't like me telling you what to do Elizabeth but you cannot be around that man in your state. He's clearly dangerous and you aren't well enough to fight him off should he try anything! Look how worked up you are just from one altercation with him in the street! He is not helping your condition in any way. We do not know what would have happened if you had been somewhere more isolated and no help was at hand."

"I don't think Eric would seriously try to hurt me," Elizabeth replied. "I know what he did in locking me up might have been tantamount to murder but I do not think he meant it to go that far."

Athos gazed at her wearily as if he willed her to believe what he did for a few seconds before he turned back to his friends behind him. "Might Aramis and I have a word alone with the Madame?"

Constance threw Athos a curious glance even as she stood and began to follow Porthos and D'artagnan from the room. Athos ignored the glare and instead tugged the mess that was Elizabeth's coin purse towards him. "What happened to this Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth felt tears pricking her eyes again as she looked down at the sodden mess. "When I fell the vials smashed. It was all the money I had left...it was all..."

Elizabeth began to sob loudly and Athos drew her to him, wrapping his arms tightly around her as she cried against his chest. She missed the apprehensive glance that he threw Aramis over her shoulder. At last, when Elizabeth's sobs had quietened and she felt brave enough to surface again she pulled away from Athos, but it was Aramis who spoke first.

"Madame, I do not think that to consume any more of those tonics would be wise."

Elizabeth looked from one man to the other as their frowns deepened. "Why? What can you mean by that?"

Aramis threw Athos a dubious glance. "I think you must tell her now Athos."

Athos sighed heavily. "Elizabeth I took some of your vials."

"What? Why would you do that?" she questioned him haughtily. "You know I have a need of them! I knew there were some missing but I didn't think...Why would you do that when you know I need them?"

Athos reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders in case Elizabeth should decide to move away from him. "Elizabeth you need to understand things from my perspective. You may think that those tonics are helping you, and the laudanum and the opiates that you think I don't know about. All it does is help you sleep for a few hours. It's not serving any purpose in terms of your condition. I was seeing that for myself. The more of it you consumed, the more you needed. Something did not seem quite right to me so I acted on impulse. I took some with the mind to have them tested. If nothing was found I'd of course have replaced them and apologised profusely."

Elizabeth turned as Aramis placed the missing vials on the table and sat down. There was about half of the contents missing from each. They had clearly been tested thoroughly. "What do you mean if you had not found something...did you find something?"

Aramis nodded slowly. "Madame, within these vials and certainly the rest of the batch that they came from, it is almost certain they were laced with arsenic."

There was still silence as Elizabeth tried to process the marksman's words. "That's not possible...how? What are you saying; that the apothecary was tampering with them before he gave them to me?"

Athos sighed. "No, we do not think the apothecary was aware that there was anything untoward in the tonics. Indeed we do not think there was anything wrong with the ones you ever left his shop with. They were more more than acceptable for consumption. We think that someone has gained access to your apartments and tampered with them there."

Elizabeth heard the unsaid meaning behind those words. "Someone who has a key you mean? You are insinuating that Eric has been trying to poison me? That just sounds so...mad."

Aramis and Athos shared another glance. "Your brother in law does not have a key," Athos continued. "There has been no one else that has spent time in your apartment, excluding myself. I trust Elizabeth that you do not think I would do this!"

"Of course not!" she cried.

"Then I believe your husband is the only other suspect we have. Up until a few days ago he still had a key. He could have easily gained access and tampered with anything in the apartment."

"Why would Eric want to kill me?" Elizabeth cried exasperatedly. "I do not understand any of this!"

"Elizabeth I need you to think," said Athos. "Why would your husband lock you in your room and leave you there to potentially die? Would he not return if he still cared for you in any way? Would he not return out of common decency?"

Aramis spoke again. "Madame perhaps you could tell us when you first began to feel truly ill?"

Elizabeth turned to gaze at him. "You're saying that I'm not really dying? That I'm not really ill; or at least in the sense of a natural occurrence? That my illness is caused by poison?"

Aramis nodded. "I believe Madame, that you told Athos your mother had experienced some form of lung condition whilst within captivity?" Elizabeth nodded apprehensively. "Then it is my belief that you yourself had a similar if not the same condition. This poison in small doses has lowly exacerbated that condition, to the point where it is slowly killing you. I'm afraid I cannot say how it might have affected you. If you were to stop consuming it now, I cannot be sure that you would make any kind of recovery. To be sure, I think you would always have some form of lung condition even if you managed to recover some strength. I cannot be certain that abstinence at this stage would be beneficial in any way. The only thing you can do is try. Can you think far enough back to when you think this all started?"

Elizabeth felt her stomach clench. "It started in Italy." She sucked in a heavy breath, not entirely sure how ready she was to discuss it all again.

She threw Athos a look and saw that he understood her pain. Aramis looked between them both for a few seconds and then asked, "What happened in Italy Madame?"

Elizabeth sniffed. "I lost my child. When we left England I was with child. By the time we reached Italy I was ill. I lost the child, but the doctors there were expecting a quick recovery for myself. I was relatively young and healthy in their eyes. It took quite a while. I was very ill for some weeks. Eric left me. He left me all on my own. I did not speak any Italian back then and I couldn't understand them! We communicated in French; the little of it they could speak. They did not speak English. I was so frightened. It was the worst six weeks of my life. Harry found out what had happened and he came to me. He was furious with Eric for leaving me like that. I don't think he ever forgave him for it. Eric told me he'd thought I was going to die and that he'd panicked, that he didn't want to be there when it happened. I thought at the time that it was odd and selfish but Eric was not a very brave person. I knew that by then. That was when everything changed between us. He did not want me to be his wife, I knew that. We resembled brother and sister more than anything else. He did not want me any more. I repulsed him. I thought that he blamed me for losing the child; that he was angry with me. Then I started to feel ill and the distance between us widened even further."

There was silence for a few moments as the men let her words settle. "That is likely when he started lacing the tonics Madame. Let me guess, it was your husband who first introduced you to them to aid your lung condition?"

Elizabeth paled as the realisation washed over her that what Aramis had guessed was entirely true. "I do not understand why he would want me dead. There are other ways for a husband and wife to separate!"

"Not for Catholics," Athos stated blandly. "We think Eric wanted your money. He wanted you ill; in a weakened state so that when the opportunity arose for him to kill your father, he could then kill you sometime afterwards. You are the only free member of your family and the custodian of any wealth that your father may leave behind after his death. Eric likely thought he knew a loophole in which he could inherit it all. It would also leave him free to marry again, likely far above his station."

Elizabeth was dumbfounded. "This is madness..."

"Elizabeth he's going to be aware that you have friends, that you have help. He will have been watching D'artagnan and Constance bringing you here. He is no fool. He will know the value of friendship and will think he needs to be free of you sooner rather than later, before anyone can get close enough to suspect anything. That is why you've never been able to make any friends. He has been keeping you at arms length, ill but alive until the opportune moment. This has all been orchestrated very carefully. He is going to come for you."

Elizabeth began to tremble. "I don't know what to do."

Athos took her hands again. "You might not want to, but you're going to have to trust me."