Chapter XXVII

A few days later, Elise was escorted to the Palace by her husband. She looked at the place differently than the last time she had come. For one, it was not raining and the gardens looked so much brighter and more beautiful with all the flowers. There were people everywhere, busy putting the final touches so that everything would be ready for the start of the festivities, the following day.

Even though she was a bit unsettled and did not know what she would tell the Queen, witnessing all this agitation was strangely reassuring. Aramis holding her arm was comforting as well. He walked around as if he owned the place, saluting most of the guards, except those who had a grudge against him and Porthos. He swore he had no idea why. Elise gave him a suspicious look but she was not sure she wanted to know more.

It seemed to her that they walked in the gardens for a very long time before they finally spotted the King, the Queen and their entourage near a rose bed.

"You did not tell me I would meet the King, too!" Elise exclaimed, feeling suddenly a lot more nervous.

"Everything will be fine, don't worry. I'm always by your side." He gave her a smile and a squeeze of the hand.

The King was in a deep conversation with one of the party organizers. He was showing him some documents while the Queen was absent-mindedly flipping through a book. D'Artagnan looked bored out of his mind, standing at the King's side. He winked when he saw his friends approach. Her Majesty seemed delighted by their arrival and Aramis had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling at her.

"Your Majesty," he said when they were in front of the royals. He bowed his head and Elise curtsied. She had spent the last few days practising the move so she needed no help rising up this time. The King lost interest in the sketch he was examining.

"Monsieur Aramis!" the King greeted them, clasping his hands. He was in a good mood today. His eyes drifted from the Musketeer to the young woman standing by his side. "May we have the honour to know who this fine lady is?"

"Allow me to introduce Madame d'Herblay, my wife." Elise curtsied again. It was the first time her new name had been used and it felt strange, especially to be called "Madame" in public. She kept her eyes down, not daring to look at the monarch for fear that she would stare too much.

"What a lovely girl! Monsieur Aramis knows how to choose his women, does he not?" the King asked around, and all the courtiers present felt obligated to laugh quietly at the joke. Even Aramis had to smile, even though he hated the comment.

"To what do we owe your presence here, my dear?"

"I requested her presence. You may remember that she is Captain Tréville's niece. After what her family has been through, I wished to inquire after her."

"The Queen is always fond of her most loyal subjects. Since you are here, Sir, you shall come to the armourer's with us. We wish to entertain ourselves." The King stood up from his chair, all the guards ready to accompany him. Elise stiffened a little; she had hoped Aramis would stay with her during the entire audience. Instead, he started to follow his Majesty after he reassured her that he would meet with her again later.

"Elise, will you come with me? I desire to go for a walk." The Queen stood up after a few minutes of silence. All the ladies-in-waiting started to imitate her until she put a stop to it. "You may all remain here and continue your work. D'Artagnan will make a sufficient escort."

The two women walked in comfortable silence, the Musketeer far enough behind them to give them some privacy and still close if they needed assistance. Elise did not know what to do or what to say. The Queen greatly intimidated her, which was not something that happened often.

"Tell me, Elise. Is being married to a Musketeer what you expected?" The girl marvelled at the fact that her royal companion remembered her name. She should not have been surprised, though.

"Absolutely, your Majesty. Although his injuries frightened me a little at first."

"Your husband indeed scared us this summer. He looks much better now so I guess we must thank you for taking such good care of our soldier." The Queen smiled at her kindly. "Are you finding your new life in Paris fulfilling?"

"Oh yes. It is much different from Orléans, but I am quite entertained and there is hardly a dull day."

"You are lucky then. I wonder... will you join us to celebrate my birthday?"

Elise was taken aback by the request. She would have never imagined it in her wildest dreams. When she thought of the week to follow, she always believed that Aramis would tell her all the wonders that had happened, but she did not think she would be asked to attend. It took a lot of willpower not to stare at the Queen. It seemed to fail since she laughed quietly when she saw the look of bewilderment on the younger girl's face.

"The King and I are very fond of Aramis so it only seems fair to reward him. It will be my wedding present."

"Your Majesty honours me. I am speechless," Elise confessed.

"It is settled then. I will arrange for an invitation to be sent to you."

The Queen liked this girl and she could see what had seduced the Musketeer. She may be nervous, yet she sounded lively and well-spirited. They kept on walking, Elise being asked more about her life and how she spent her days. She could not have thought talking to her Queen would be so easy. She tried not to look at her differently, given that she knew dangerous secrets, but her resolve was put to the test a moment later. They heard movement coming from an alley on their right, and d'Artagnan ran past them, apologizing and going to see if there was any danger.

When he returned, he was simply walking in front of Marguerite who was pushing a baby pram. Elise took a sharp breath, a sound that the Queen noticed. Keeping a straight face, she walked up to her son, gazing fondly at the baby. Elise hovered a few steps back until she was invited to come closer. She peered inside the pram carefully, wondering how someone paid their respects to such a small prince.

Baby Louis looked like he enjoyed the attention he was getting from his mother and her companion. He babbled endlessly, making bubbles which went highly against the royal protocol. It made d'Artagnan laugh in spite of himself. The baby laughed in return.

"Papa." The Dauphin had been starting to say a few words lately, and any man he saw was "Papa" for him. If only the King spent more time with his heir, the child would be able to identify the person who could pretend to the title.

"No, my dear. This is not your father. This is Monsieur d'Artagnan. He is here to protect you. Marguerite." By the simple mention of her name, the governess knew she had to take the baby in her arms. Elise stared at the woman when she heard her name. So this was the infamous Marguerite Aramis had been involved with. She may come from an aristocratic family, the young girl was satisfied to see that she was considerably less pretty than her. Marguerite put the heir in the arms of his mother.

"Mama." There was no mistake this time. Elise was amazed by all the love glowing from the Queen's face as she held her son. He was lucky to have such a dotting mother.

Then, he turned his head to look at her and she could not help but gasp. The little eyes studying her were the perfect reproduction of...his father's. The already unruly hair, the brown eyes, even the nose...He was the spitting image of...Aramis. How could the others not see it? How could they be oblivious to such an obvious fact?

Elise composed her face quickly, hoping that nobody had seen how shocked she was. Her fears were renewed once more. If she could spot the resemblance, it was only a matter of time before others followed suit.

"Your son looks handsome, your Majesty. He will grow to be quite strong." To prove her point, Louis grabbed one of his mother's earrings, tucking on it so strongly that her ear started to turn red. She quickly handed him back to his governess.

They parted ways with the Dauphin to resume their walk. The Queen had seen her companion's reaction and she had to do something about it. Bending her head slightly, she made sure that the Musketeer was far away enough behind them not to eavesdrop.

"You know your husband too well, Madame."

"I am sorry your Majesty. My reaction was disproportionate."

"Hardly so. Can I trust you, Elise?" There was an anguish edge to her voice that she could not control. She was all to aware that unfortunately, the heir was growing up looking more like his father than his mother, which could put all of them in jeopardy. She could only hope that wearing rich noble garments and tying his hair back with satin ribbons would make him look more royal than soldier when Louis would be older.

"I've been keeping Aramis' secret for some months and you must believe me when I say that there is nothing more important to me than his safety and incidentally yours. Your Majesty," she added quickly. The Queen stared at her coldly. Had she spoken disrespectfully?

"You've known."

"Please do not blame him for it. I am sure he would have said nothing if he had not been compelled to. I saw what was inside the locket. I can promise your Majesty I will say nothing."

Queen Anne stopped walking, Elise doing the same. Soft sounds indicated that d'Artagnan was still advancing towards them. His Queen held out her hand and he retreated, silently apologizing. The two women stared at each other for a long time. This was a matter of life or death for both of them as well as for the boys they cared about; Elise did not feel like she was looking at her Queen. She was looking at a fellow lady overwhelmed by the same trouble as she was.

The Queen grabbed Elise's hands, holding them tight.

"I believe you. There is much at stake for you now. I attempt to keep Aramis as far away from the Dauphin during daytime for fear that if they are seen together too often, people may react like you did. It would be a disaster. I cannot...I will not put my son in danger. If we should ever talk again and I hope we do, we will not make mention of it. Although...I will always be grateful to you, for keeping my secret, for your discretion and for protecting Aramis like you do." The last words were said in a soft tone.

"Yes, your Majesty."

"Good. Monsieur d'Artagnan! Lead us to the King."

Elise was quiet on the way back from the Palace. There was a lot on her mind. Even if she had tried to make peace with Aramis' past actions, seeing the Dauphin (seeing his son) was too much. She felt like crying. Aramis was asking her questions but she barely answered them. She was in no mood to talk. When he told her about the King's anger at the gunsmith, she hardly sympathized with him. The Musketeer could clearly see that there was something troubling her, but she would not reply when he inquired about it.

His friends came in the evening so they would go to a tavern together. He never asked her permission, why would he? Usually she was bothered by it. Tonight, though, she was glad he was not in the house with her. She could not have put up with making conversation. Did she even want him to know she had met the heir? Elise was not sure of the answer herself.

She went to bed with a heavy heart. Yet, thoughts kept swirling in her mind, preventing her from falling asleep. Aramis found her wide awake when he came back.

"Are you feeling well, Elise?" He sounded very concerned. There was a simple candle lit in the bedchamber and as it illuminated her face, he could see that she had been crying. He sat down next to her. As he made to dry her tears, she turned her head.

"What is wrong? Did something happen today? Did something happen with the Queen?"

Elise glared at him. She knew she wanted to talk to him now. She also knew that she was furious with him once again. At a loss about how to express her feelings, she stood up from the bed, crossing her arms and facing away from him.

"This is all your fault!" She ended up saying after some time.