Chapter VII
Athos, d'Artagnan and Aramis were cleaning their swords in the courtyard when the messenger brought the letter from Captain Tréville. Porthos had gone with Elise to the Bonacieux's house to have some new dresses made. Even though the youngest member of the company would have been extremely happy to have the opportunity to see Constance, Elise still trusted Porthos more. Besides, Athos wanted to avoid a new confrontation between d'Artagnan and Constance's husband.
The Captain's letter was rather succinct. He wrote that the criminal in prison had been released; they hoped he would lead them to his employer. Meanwhile, there were men near the mansion whose orders were to intercept young Christophe if he came back. But there were not enough leads to follow. The entire city of Orléans knew what had happened so if the boy was still close, he would probably not go to his house. The best the Captain could do was watch all the roads and the places where the boy might go looking for food.
"It seems that you will be stuck giving out orders longer than you expected," d'Artagnan stated and Athos stared at him gloomily.
"Lighten up, will you? There are worst things in the world than your position."
"Aramis is right. You could be a poor sick drunkard living in the street."
"Exactly, whereas now, you may be a poor drunkard but you aren't sick and at least you have a roof to sleep under." Aramis ducked to avoid the apple Athos threw in his direction.
"And, I am sure ladies must look at you even more with your newly acquired glory. I mean, you command the Musketeers" d'Artagnan ducked as well.
"God knows these men are hard to control. I'd be amazed if I made it one month without murdering one of them if I were in charge," Aramis added, speaking only to d'Artagnan. Athos growled, standing up from his bench. He slapped both their heads when he passed behind them.
"Show a little more respect or you may indeed be the first ones on this murder list. Now, if you'll excuse me, the King has requested my presence."
His two friends were not at all frightened by his threats and curtsied mockingly as he left.
At the Palace, Athos was surprised to realize his presence had not been requested by the King, but by the Queen. She met him in the gardens, as always followed by her two ladies-in-waiting. They were quickly dismissed, though, on some errand which would probably take a long time to perform. Athos had not been alone with the Queen since the attack at the convent. He had not had the chance to finish the conversation he had started with Aramis before the latter left for Orléans. The Musketeer was uneasy being alone with her Majesty, as he knew things he should not.
"Shall we walk, Sir Athos? The weather is too gorgeous to stay indoors."
"Whatever your Majesty wishes," he bowed his head lightly and took his place on her right side, always a small step behind her.
"I desired to know your feelings about your new duties."
"I am very grateful that your Majesty trusted me in such a position. I am perfectly content." Sometimes, one had to lie, especially when you were talking to the Queen of France.
"I am happy to hear it. Now, the King and I have a special request for you and your Musketeers. I cherish the Dauphin's life more than my own, so we decided that adding a Musketeer guard to his protection was indispensable."
"A very thoughtful idea. I know of one or two men who are well-fitted for such a task."
"We do not simply wish for a daytime guard. The heir to the throne requires a constant watch. You will assign Musketeers to watch over the royal nursery at night."
"Very well. I …."
"I want Aramis to be on the schedule," the Queen cut him off, stopping behind a large tree and facing her companion.
"With all due respect, I do not think it is such a good idea..."
"Let's not play around, Athos. I know that you know. I trust you will not betray neither your friend nor your Queen. Nevertheless, if I do not allow Aramis to see the baby once in a while, he may well end up doing some foolish actions. God only knows what the consequences would be. This situation is my fault and I must make it as right as I can."
"I do not mean to offend her Majesty but... it is also Aramis's fault."
The Queen laughed softly, resuming her walking.
"You are right, of course. To me, it is so unfair that he will be unable to take a prominent place in my baby's life. I wish to make him less miserable. You should have seen him the last time he was in the nursery. He did not look like anything I had seen before. I wish the King showed as much love and joy in holding his son as your friend did."
"If it is what her Majesty desires, then I will give the necessary orders so that this watch can be put in place as soon as possible."
"Be sure to send a weekly schedule to my apartments so I know who works when."
"Absolutely."
"Thank you," the Queen concluded, squeezing quickly Athos's hand. They had come back near the Palace. He bowed respectfully, and waited for her footsteps to faint before leaving the grounds.
Athos was aware that his friend had been careless in the past when it came to the royal child. He would have never believed that Aramis would struck such a deal with the Queen. His sole comfort was that this scheme was official and no Musketeer would be convicted because they were found near the nursery. Still, he could not shake the apprehension that something may go wrong. If she thought her arrangement was foolproof, the Queen may become less careful as well. He would have to make sure that Aramis was more on daytime watch than night time. And too bad if her Majesty disliked it.
Back at the Garrison, Athos found his friends in the kitchen, boasting about past achievements to Elise and Constance. The Captain's niece was finally wearing a proper dress. It restored some of her status, even if her face was still a shocking reminder of what she had been through. There was a sadness in her eyes that Athos knew too well. But right now, she seemed to be rather enjoying herself.
"Athos! You survived! What did the King want?" d'Artagnan asked.
"I did not see the King. I met with the Queen." He pointedly stared at Aramis who appeared to be greatly interested in the news. He knew what the conversation had been about. He may have known for days.
"The Queen!" Elise said dreamily. "How is she really? We hear so many rumours about her in the countryside. I doubt hardly half of it is true. Some say she's as graceful as an angel and some say she speaks with a dreadful accent."
"She does have the grace of an angel and even their looks but, ah...you know... the clothes must contribute a lot to this vision. The clothes and the hair and all these artificial tricks," Aramis added quickly after he saw the daggers thrown in his direction by Atho's eyes.
"Anyway, I've been asked to add a Musketeer to the Dauphin's protection. During day and night."
"Boooooring," Porthos yawned. Watching over a baby had to be the worst mission ever.
"I'm glad to see you are so ready to serve your future king. You'll be the first appointed then. And you the second," Athos decided, stopping d'Artagnan from laughing at once. Aramis was looking at him with apprehension. Against his better judgement, Athos had no choice. "You'll be third, Aramis. I'm going to write down a proper schedule so the same persons do not end up spending all their nights at the Palace."
After he left, Aramis stayed with the others a little more, too happy to worry about what his friend might be thinking of this arrangement with the Queen. He could not wait to be back in the nursery with his son. He'd have to send a word to Marguerite as well. With all the recent incidents, he had almost forgotten about her. He could use some company in a time like this.
On the other hand, it was also nice to spend time with Elise even when she was not feeling at her best. They had grown quite close, especially since he was still caring for her injuries. She trusted him and Porthos more than the others and would often come to them to talk or simply to be close to someone, content to remain silent. It was never good to be alone when you were grieving so he gladly accepted to support her however she needed it.
It appeared that Constance and the young girl might have struck a friendship while they were creating some new garments. It was a good thing for both of them. Elise always worried that she knew no one in the capital city and that it was not really proper for a young woman to stay in a military garrison full of men. Her situation was not ordinary, as Athos had reminded her, so there was no need to fret about such futilities. Yet, having a female companion could only be beneficial.
Aramis could actually use a female companion tonight, too. Unscrupulous and without a hint of guilt, he decided to find some paper to send a message to Marguerite.
"Well, I must take my leave well. I have other activities requiring my attention."
"Send Marguerite my regards," Porthos joked with a wink.
"You don't even know her."
"After what you told me, it feels like I do."
Constance shook her head with disgust, seeing the shocked expression on Elise's face.
"Musketeers! So rude. Don't listen to them, Elise, or they will have a bad influence on you."
"As if you could give advice on that!" d'Artagnan smirked, and Constance swatted his hand playfully.
"Yes, I can. Musketeers have been wrecking my life for almost two years now."
"You don't seem to be complaining much about it." d'Artagnan was not deterred by her accusations, and stood to kiss her cheek. She did not stop him, smiling almost against herself at the kind gesture.
Elise did not know what to make of her situation. She liked the company of the Musketeers and of her newly-found friend. They were funny and loud and rude, and even though she was not used to such an attitude, it was a good distraction from her sorrow. What she liked more than anything else was Aramis's company, though, and to learn that he had female friends of his own, friends with whom he did things Elise did not dare think about, it hurt her a little.
She tried to dismiss the thought, because she had no right to have this feeling, but she could not. She was in trouble.