Suspicious Minds

Chapter Nine

It was close to midnight when the feast ended. Aramis, Porthos and d'Artagnan retired to their room with wine, bread, cheese and cold meats for a late supper. There had been no opportunity to speak to Athos who had spent the evening attending on the King. Etienne, by contrast, had never strayed more than a few yards from his cousin.

During the boring hours standing at attention d'Artagnan had done a lot of soul searching. Now, he picked at his food, exhausted and sick at heart. He missed Athos' company more than he would ever want to confess. Perhaps if he had tried harder to get along with Etienne none of this would have happened. "How long have you known Athos?" he asked.

Aramis and Porthos exchanged puzzled looks. "Almost five years," Aramis said. "Why?"

"And you have known me for less than a year. Yet you took my part over his." He was grateful for the steadfast support from his two friends although it had surprised him that they would stand by him against Athos. His actions and those of Etienne had unexpectedly driven a wedge between the inseparables. He had seen Aramis and Athos almost come to blows once after Porthos was injured. Aramis had accused the older man of not caring about Porthos but the moment had passed with no lasting ill-feeling. This was a more serious rift that had to be mended.

"He's bein' unreasonable." Porthos speared a chunk of cheese and chewed enthusiastically.

"Is he? Etienne is his cousin. They grew up together. Isn't it understandable that he chose to believe what Etienne told him?"

"You weren't given an opportunity to explain," Aramis said.

"I could have tried harder."

"He isn't goin' to believe us without proof."

"We don't know that." D'Artagnan drew in a long breath. "Maybe I should talk to him."

"D'Artagnan is right," Aramis said, guilt flaring for the way he had spoken to Athos earlier. They were family just as surely as Etienne was. Squabbling was acceptable, insulting a brother out of anger was not. He had leapt to d'Artagnan's defence, forgetting that Athos was in an untenable position of having to choose between two men he cared greatly about. "We know Etienne isn't what he seems but Athos has no reason to distrust him. We have done our brother a disservice by walking away from him."

"It doesn't feel right bein' here without him," Porthos admitted.

"What harm can it do to talk?" d'Artagnan argued. "He is caught in the middle and we should be trying to help, not excluding him from our company."

"Are you sure about this?" Aramis asked. He knew how vulnerable their young Gascon was to Athos' sometimes vicious tongue.

"Athos has been my mentor, my friend and my brother. He is an honourable man. He will listen to me."

TMTMTM

Athos was mid-way through writing his orders for the next day when a knock sounded on his door. He had removed his doublet and rolled up his shirt sleeves while he worked. He was tired, hungry and would have sold his soul for a drink. In short, he was in no mood for interruptions.

He opened the door fully intending to send the intruder away only to come face to face with d'Artagnan. "What do you want?"

His sharp tone elicited a grimace from the young man but he didn't back down. "To talk."

"Can't it wait?" Despite his words he was drinking in the sight of his protégé. There was a wary look about the young man and Athos felt his stomach contract painfully.

"No," d'Artagnan said with determination. "Can I come in?"

Athos looked up and down the hallway half expecting to see Etienne lurking there. His cousin had dogged his steps all day, effectively preventing him from speaking privately to his friends. He nodded and stood aside.

D'Artagnan entered the room and wandered over to the window, staring out into the night. Athos could see the tension in his movements and it hurt to know that he was the cause.

"I owe you an apology," Athos said before d'Artagnan could speak. "I judged you hastily."

D'Artagnan turned, one eyebrow raised in surprise. "You took the side of your cousin. You have known him a long time. Why would you choose me over him?"

"It shouldn't be a choice," Athos said in frustration.

"It is no secret that Etienne and I dislike one another but we shouldn't have put you in the middle of our disagreement."

"Then why challenge him to a duel? You must have known I would find out." This still rankled with Athos. D'Artagnan was by far the better swordsman and had already humiliated Etienne once.

D'Artagnan met his eyes without flinching. "I didn't challenge him."

Athos sat down heavily. Despite everything it hadn't occurred to him that Etienne had lied about that. "Why would he lie?" Yet he knew the answer. It had been the final act that alienated him from his friends. It had left him open to Etienne's manipulation. The sad thing was he couldn't say that to d'Artagnan without the risk of awkward questions he couldn't answer. All Etienne's actions had led up to the accusation against Aramis and the Queen, something about which d'Artagnan and Porthos had to remain ignorant. That meant continuing to push his friends away until he could find a way to deal with his cousin.

"We think he wanted to disrupt our friendship," d'Artagnan said, unaware of the conflict raging within his friend. "We don't know why."

"Thank you for telling me." Athos was aware that he sounded formal and distant.

D'Artagnan frowned. "What are you going to do?"

"I will speak to him about it."

"You can't trust him, Athos."

"He is my cousin. As you said we have known each other since we were children. I will not turn on him without hearing his explanation." This was how he would have felt had Etienne not already buried a knife in his back. However, he had to keep up the fiction.

"I understand."

D'Artagnan sounded hurt. After all he hadn't done the young man the courtesy of asking for an explanation before disowning him. Athos longed to be able to take him into his confidence but that would drag him and likely Porthos into Aramis' sordid affairs. The knowledge of Aramis' illicit night with the Queen could get them all hanged and he was determined to spare d'Artagnan and Porthos from that fate.

"There is one more thing. We think Etienne is working for someone."

"What makes you think that?"

"Aramis saw him leaving the palace the night he told you he had business in town. Etienne acted strangely, as if he had something to hide."

"You could be mistaken." Yet it made sense. It was more likely someone inside the palace who had suspicions about the night spent at the convent. Putting someone close to him in the hope that he would betray the secret was an act of genius and he could only think of one man who would come up with such a scheme. If the Cardinal was Etienne's patron the situation had suddenly become even more fraught with danger. "There is no motive," he said in an effort to sidetrack the young man. If he and the others started snooping around the consequences could be disastrous.

"Perhaps someone wants to damage the Musketeers from the inside."

"I will consider what you have said." Athos stood and walked round the desk so that he was face to face with his friend. "Goodnight d'Artagnan."

"You will ride with us tomorrow?" d'Artagnan asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry. I have to remain close to the King. We can talk more once we return to Paris."

D'Artagnan accepted the rejection with good grace, seeming happier than when he arrived.

After d'Artagnan left Athos returned to his task of preparing orders. His mind wandered as he automatically recorded the disposition of his men. He couldn't continue to ignore the problem, particularly if the Cardinal was involved. He had to confront Etienne and persuade him that he was mistaken about Aramis and the Queen. If only that were the truth.

Tbc