'He'll do anything for her. She asks him to jump; he'll clear the channel in a leap.'
'Fool,' Rochefort commented in amusement.
'What men in love will do...'She caught Athos' eye and said nothing more on the subject. Athos felt like an idiot. Once again he felt like she had made a fool of him. Especially in front of the others, who had not known anything about his past.
'So she asked him to hide the diamonds from his Majesty and so he did' she concluded. 'He wouldn't be happy if he knew about their previous dalliance. She seems to be the only woman he's managed to succeed with.' She smirked into her cup.
They got the hint. Porthos couldn't help but grin at the idea of the prime minister of England not being able to charm women into bed. He was too fond of the pleasures of the flesh and couldn't understand how a man might live without them, or indeed be unaccomplished in those departments.
'Is there a way of getting them back?' Asked Aramis.
'Not unless you wait around in London's alleyways to mug him' she answered drily. 'I'm sure he travels with an armed guard.'
'So what now?'
'You wait and see what happens next. It's a guessing game.'
'We can't wait around. We have things to do.' Porthos was as energetic and boisterous as he ever was. He would never learn the art of subtlety.
'Then you won't make a good secret agent.'
'We are not secret agents, Madam.' Athos scowled at her. 'We are his Majesty's men.'
'And yet you are actively aiding him so you are his agents, if not secret.' She pointed out.
The musketeers thought this over apprehensively. They felt sure that she was tricking them somehow and none of them wanted to admit to anything in case she caught them out.
'Look, we can't do anything to help you. We can't even hinder you seeing as the diamonds are in his hands across the channel. So you have to figure out your next move.' Rochefort slurped his tea, clearly unconcerned with their progress.