Hello. I apologise for the update being so late but I just started a part-time job and had a hen do last weekend. I will update whenever possible but they may not be very regular for the time being.
I hope you are enjoying it so far. :)
Chapter Four
'How about you, Your Majesty?' Sophie asked lightly. 'Ever do anything you shouldn't have?' The question could have been insubordinate but Anne was glad to be included, not that she could add anything.
'I'm afraid I was watched every second of every day and never managed to do anything naughty,' she sighed as she thought.
'There must be something,' Sophie prodded as Anne looked around and gave a small smile.
'Well...I did once manage to get into the study of one of our ministers in Spain,' Anne started hesitantly but found she had the interested attention of everyone in the room and Aramis gave her an encouraging smile. 'I sat at the empty desk, I was only about six, and...'
'Go on,' Nicole prodded gently.
'I picked up the ink well and dipped my fingers in it,' Anne blushed slightly. 'I used an important document as a canvas and started drawing pictures of suns, flowers, swirls and the like.' Anne looked up and could see the smiles. 'I jolted when my governess came in and dropped the inkwell and spilled ink all down my front. I then made it worse by covering my hands in ink and then proceeded to place inky handprints along the pristine walls.'
There was silence for a moment as Anne thought he story had gone down badly. Then, Aramis burst out laughing into uncontrollable laughter and was quickly followed by everyone else. Porthos booming laughter could be heard above everybody else's.
'I bet you got quite the telling off!' Constance chuckled happily.
'My father found it quite funny but everyone else seemed to think the sky was falling,' Anne giggled.
'It could have been worse,' Athos said suddenly, causing all attention to turn to him.
'What did you do?' Aramis seemed to be practically radiating amusement now that he was no longer the centre of attention.
'Like, Her Majesty, I was rather watched all the time. Being the son of a nobleman is rather boring,' he said dryly. 'Especially when you're the first son.'
'I met your father once Athos. He didn't strike me as a man with a brilliant sense of humour,' Tréville said earnestly.
'He didn't particularly like dirty children either,' Athos responded with a glint of mischief in his eye.
'We've got to hear this,' D'Artagnan looked rather like an eager puppy.
'Yeah. Spill,' Porthos growled with his warm, brown eyes on his brother.
'I got rather sick of being inside with my lessons and I knew my father was meeting another noble that evening,' Athos explained. 'It had been raining and the path looked rather like yours,' he looked apologetically at Sophie who just smiled back. 'I decided that playing in the mud would be fun and was practically covered head to toe when my father's guest arrived. I then hugged my father in his best clothes and got mud all over him,' Athos said frankly. 'I then proceeded to place muddy handprints all over our pristine walls,' he said with a knowing look towards the Queen.
'I'm sure you got a beating for that!' Constance gasped.
'Rather like Aramis,' he shot Aramis a look, 'I couldn't sit for a while,' Athos finished in his usual dry tone but there was a hint of amusement. Laughter ensued once more as they decided to move to the sitting in front of the fire.
Anne and Constance took places on one sofa while Patrice, Sophie, Tréville and Nicole took the other. Well, actually, Nicole decided she would sit on Tréville's lap on the sofa.
The musketeers were spread out on the floor, except for Aramis who had taken a chair. Alice moved quietly through the room and no-one acknowledged her nor she them. Pierre still hadn't returned.
They talked about the weather and the reasons for the Queen's visit to their part of France and a happy mood radiated from room with the fire crackling in the background.
'Right,' Patrice said suddenly as he used the arm of the sofa to stand up. 'I better go and check the fields one last time. René, you coming?'
'Sure,' Aramis stood and found D'Artagnan standing with him.
'Used to have a farm,' D'Artagnan shrugged as Patrice nodded his acceptance.
'Be back soon,' he said to Sophie and gave her a kiss before the three of them shuffled out of the room.
Sophie watched her younger son leave with the events of the day clearly praying on her mind. She watched the three men leave before she spoke.
'He never said anything?' Sophie asked imploringly to Tréville who shook his head and then to Athos and Porthos.
'He said he had a brother but that was it,' Porthos answered looking slightly apologetic.
'Brothers fight,' Athos stated calmly. 'But this has gone on long enough.'
'You've no idea what happened?' Constance asked already knowing the answer.
'No,' Sophie said dejectedly. 'René may be stubborn but so is Pierre. The thing is, they were always close but now it seems that they can barely stand the sight of each other.'
'It's not your fault,' Tréville said as though he could read Sophie's mind.
'Then whose fault is it?' Sophie responded looking tired.
'They need to come to blows and when they do it will be nasty,' Athos said matter-of-factly. 'But at least then they can find a way to reconcile.'
'Yeah, although I reckon we should be close by because Aramis has got a lot of moves I taught him,' Porthos said with a hint of amusement and a small smile.
'Indeed. It's unlikely to be a fair fight if it gets physical,' Athos responded with his own smirk.
There was a thoughtful silence which went on a bit too long.
'Mind you,' Constance broke the silence, 'Seeing them thrashing about in the mud would be rather entertaining,' she said with a chuckle. Laughter filled the air again and Sophie felt herself relax slightly. Her sons would do battle one way or another but she hoped that Athos was right and they could reconcile their differences.
Pierre couldn't believe his brother's audacity. How dare he return and act as though nothing happened?! He was pacing in one of the barns as he heard voices outside.
He looked through the slightly ajar door and saw his father with his brother and one of the other musketeers. His father was clearly happy to see his younger son but he wouldn't be if he knew the truth. The truth René had hidden from his parents.
'Pierre?' Alice called quietly from the other side of the door. 'Don't you think this has gone on long enough? He's your brother.'
'He's not my brother anymore,' Pierre retorted angrily.
'Why?' she pleaded. 'Tell me, please.'
Pierre never responded as he moved away from the door. Alice turned back towards the house wondering what René could have done to anger him so much.
'Looks like no more lambs tonight,' Patrice said as he rubbed his hands together. They had just witnessed a birth of twins with the mother accepting both of her offspring. 'Let's check the one's in the barn,' he smiled.
After giving the lambs housed in the barn their next meal the three men finally trudged back towards the house.
'It's been a while since I've dealt with new born lambs,' D'Artagnan said cheerfully.
'Gave up the farm to be a musketeer then?' Patrice asked warmly.
'Wasn't my intention but...circumstances played their part,' D'Artagnan shrugged. 'I could have gone back but I never really felt it was what I was meant to do.'
'No point in doing something that doesn't make you happy,' Patrice said as he looked to his son who was being very quiet. 'Pierre is as stubborn as you. You're going to have to make the first move,' Patrice said as he placed his hand on Aramis' shoulder.
'Pierre obviously hates me,' Aramis looked very dejected, 'but I have no idea why,' he looked helplessly to his father who instantly put his arms around his pulling Aramis into a hug.
'Get the truth before you leave,' Patrice said as he let go of Aramis and indicated to D'Artagnan that they should leave Aramis alone for a moment.
Sophie was trying to arrange the sleeping arrangements when Patrice and D'Artagnan entered the sitting room. She may have said that they had enough room but now she was struggling to find it as a couple of rooms were being used for storage. Nicole was trying to help but it was becoming difficult. The sitting room was going to have to be used by somebody.
'Honestly, don't worry about it,' Athos said. 'We will take the sitting room on the cots.'
'But that won't be comfortable,' Sophie protested.
'We often sleep on the ground,' Porthos smiled. 'This will be very comfortable compared to that.'
'Definitely,' D'Artagnan chimed in as he approached.
'I think you're fussing too much,' Nicole scolded her daughter playfully. 'They don't mind.'
'I just want everyone to be comfortable,' Sophie sighed.
'It will be fine,' Athos reassured her and Sophie appeared to relax.
Together they managed to move all the cots to the sitting room. Tréville was to take Aramis' old room, Nicole had offered that he could share with her but he had politely declined, while Constance and Queen Anne were to share Claudette's old room. Anne was to take the bed while Constance would take a cot next to the bed.
There were three remaining cots for the musketeers and one would have to use the large sofa. With Aramis absent it was decided that he would take the sofa by the other three. Quickly they brought some of the Queen's luggage in and Sophie gave them a quick tour of the house.
They were making their way back to the stairs when they heard the shouting. Anne clearly recognised Aramis' voice but she couldn't quite make out what was being said.
'Oh no,' Patrice said under his breath as he recognised his son's raised voices. The group moved closer to the stairs and Aramis' back was now visible and the volume of the argument was much louder. Those listening held their breaths.
Aramis waited outside as he watched his father and D'Artagnan walk away. He tried to remember why and when Pierre had suddenly started acting towards him with hostility. Slowly he began to remember their last complete conversation. The conversation before he returned to Paris. The conversation where Aramis had told Pierre the truth, the truth he had hidden from the rest of the family. He had never expected Pierre to act the way he had nor for his brother to continue holding the secret but hating him in the process.
Pierre had not gathered with the family to see him off after they had spoken the night before. Instead, he had waited to see Aramis out of sight of the house and the family. That was where Pierre had told him 'to never come back' with a burning hatred in his eyes. Aramis shivered slightly as he remembered the hostility in his brother's voice.
Perhaps it would have been best to have held the secret without telling anyone. He had thought that Pierre would understand but clearly his brother hadn't understood. The last thing Aramis wanted was a confrontation but he was worried that the iciness between them now made it an inevitability. He sighed again as he realised the truth he had wanted to keep from his parents and the rest of his family was likely to emerge rather explosively but he smiled slightly as he knew his musketeer brothers would be there for him when it did. He was also sure he would get a ticking off from them at a later point.
He wandered back to the house immersed in his own thoughts and failed to notice that he was being watched. He removed his boots and stepped into the house and heard movement upstairs. He slowly walked through to the empty living room and bent down to warm his hands by the fire. It was then that he heard the hitch of breath behind him and he turned to see Pierre staring at him angrily.
'You've got some nerve little brother, pretending as though nothing happened,' Pierre remarked coldly. 'I wonder what everyone will think when I tell them the truth.'
'What truth is that?' Aramis growled back having finally worked out why his brother hated him. He still couldn't understand why his brother hadn't understood his reasons for not telling the whole truth.
'YOU'RE A LIAR LITTLE BROTHER!' Pierre shouted loudly and Aramis knew that everyone currently in the house would have at least heard the shout, even if they couldn't make out the words.
'THEH WHY KEEP IT A SECRET FOR SO LONG?!' Aramis was riled and now he knew that his parents deserved the truth. He wasn't able to tell them that six years ago but now he knew they had to know.
The stairs creaked and Athos was watching them with his piercing glare. Aramis and Pierre could see everyone else watching them closely as many were leaning over the bannisters. Aramis could see the concern on his parents' faces and he felt his head drop in shame from the truth he had kept from them for so long.
'That's right René, you should hang your head in shame,' Pierre said waspishly. 'You want to know the truth?' Pierre looked to their audience. Athos slowly descended two more steps in silence. 'The truth is...my brother is a coward.'
A/N: As I said at the top I will try and update when I can. I'm afraid the ending of this chapter was the best place to stop it otherwise the update would have taken much longer.
I'm sure many of you have worked out/ have an idea about what Aramis has hidden and it will be revealed in the next chapter. Please let me know what you think. :)
