CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Aubin had slipped into the stables and, opening Porthos's saddle bag, had removed the ball of red twine. There was still enough left for his requirements. He also had two other items to help him, rolled up and jammed under his arm.
Crouched low and creeping softly around the stable building and across the terrace at the rear, he made his way to the stream that ran along the tree line. Crossing it quickly, he slipped into the woodland.
Aubin remembered everything Porthos had taught him. Now though, he needed to locate the English assassins, who were close by. Then moving further into the forest he had to locate the Spaniards to somehow get them to follow him. He had his own plan for that, and carried the means to entice this second group tightly under his arm.
He needed to make himself known and lead these soldiers to the English. He had tied red twine to let Porthos know which way he had gone, because he knew he would only be a short time before they realised what he was doing and came after him.
If he could lead the Spanish to the English, Athos's plan would come to fruition.
They would attack each other, while the musketeers finished the job safely, on the outskirts of the clearing he had in mind for the final showdown.
It was a good plan, he thought.
He knew full well he was being reckless, but he had decided that this was perhaps his nature. He had waited all this life for this. It was difficult to control his energy, but he needed to prove himself. Perhaps he was destined for this, and the soldiers who had rescued that small boy would think his a life worth saved.
He hoped Porthos would understand.
oOo
He tracked the man they had seen the day before. The undergrowth was thick, but there was a narrow trail, obviously used by those in the Lodge when they wanted access to what a forest such as this could provide.
There were signs at shoulder height, where the man had held onto foliage and pushed through the undergrowth; as Aubin did now. It was subtle, and the man had obviously been careful, but Porthos had shown him how to see past the subtle signs and when those signs deviated from the narrow trial, Aubin followed.
He lost track of time, intent on his mission.
Then, up ahead, he heard the murmurs of conversation and the shuffle of tethered horses. He had found the English assassins, most still asleep, but the two look outs who had been posted were sitting together in conversation, their shift almost over.
It was easy to slip by them.
Further along, he took out the red twine.
oOo
In the Lodge, the staff had sought refuge in one room on the first floor, so they could keep watch on the forest. All other shutters were closed, door and windows locked, the stables barred to prevent the horses being stolen.
oOo
Just half an hour after he had located the English, Aubin had found the Spanish.
When he found them, he was surprised. The Spanish had almost been upon them; another hour and they would have reached the Lodge and attacked. Then, they would all find out that Henrietta Maria was not there; Sir Edmund would not stand up to Spanish interrogation, and they would follow her route and finish their mission.
He left a piece of red twine in clear sight.
Not this time for Porthos; but for the Spanish to see. If they looked ahead from this piece, they would see the next piece; obviously a message of some sort to pique their interest.
Remembering what Porthos had said about spoor, he made sure he left plenty.
He had trampled the grass verges and walked in the muddy edges of the trail, made soft by the liberal sprinkling of water from his water skin.
How inept the Spanish would think him, he thought!
oOo
Having moved a little closer, once more, Aubin sat in a tree, high above the group below. He smiled to himself as he saw the Spaniard approach the first tree, having followed the carefully prepared trail he had left.
"(que es esto?) he heard the man mutter. ("What is this?")
Looking around, the man saw another glimmer of red in the near distance. Not half an hour's ride away this time, but within walking distance. The man was now joined by another from the group.
"Alli!" the other man said, pointing into the distance. ("Over there!")
The second man spat on the ground.
"Alguien ha estado aqui," ("Someone has been here").
Turning, they hurried back into the wood, hopefully, Aubin thought, to tell their comrades.
Five Englishmen against eight Spaniards.
Three Musketeers and one Red Guard against both.
For Athos's plan to work, Treville would draw the attention of one or two of them and lower the odds. He, himself would draw them all together.
oOo
Aubin dropped quietly from the tree and moved to follow the Spaniards back to their group.
He unfurled the two cloaks he had brought with him.
The Spaniards saw a fleeting red flash of a shadow, but he has borrowed Porthos's blue cloak and the blue will stand out. He wears this lighter cloak beneath his own. At some point, he will swap them over and they will see a flash of blue, which will confuse and interest them. It will also perhaps, make them believe he is more than one man. He has also left an obvious trail.
He moves stealthily through the forest. Now aware, the Spaniards have taken up his trail. They have left their horses, as Aubin's trail is in dense forest cover, where such a large animal cannot pass.
Aubin knows they will all follow him at first, and he plans to take them east toward the English camp. When he had skirted the English camp earlier, the English had yet to break camp, but he needs to split them up and ensure they are all accounted for.
The group of Spanish soldiers has brute force and training on their side and evil intent. Talking with Porthos, he is aware of what the English group has accomplished with their own brutal ambush of the Musketeers.
So he removes his cloak now and the blue cloak is now the outer one, as he allows himself once more to be seen fleetingly.
It works, two Spaniards peel off in pursuit. He leads them back toward the Lodge, closer to the English.
He knows he only has a short time before Porthos comes after him. He realises suddenly why Porthos was so sure Athos and Aramis would follow. They have each other's backs. But he is certain that Porthos has his back now. It spurs him on. His intention is to thin them out; deplete their numbers, then have them all meet.
Athos's plan did not include this recklessness. One look at the man showed he did nothing so foolhardy. But the odds are high. Thirteen against four. Less if any of them follow Treville when he sets off.
Aubin had seen how Treville had greeted his men; seen the relief in his eyes when he saw them. He would ensure he was followed, to lessen the odds. To perhaps take his own revenge on those who threatened his men, his country and its rulers.
He needed to do this. To prove to Porthos his heart was true. To prove it to himself. He would face Porthos's wrath later. For he knew it would come. Just as Porthos had expected Athos's wrath at his acceptance of this mission.
Half an hour later, he pauses and listens before moving off.
He switches cloaks for the last time.
With the cords in his hands, he hears a branch crack behind him. Slowly he turns, and comes face to face with a tall, olive-skinned man who is pointing a gun at him.
"Mosquetero," he sneers. ("Musketeer.")
Too close. They are too close.
oOo
Hands still on the untied fastenings of his cloak, he clenches both hands and whirls it from his shoulders, throwing it at the man. His own cloak is much heavier than the blue woollen one and it finds its mark, covering the man's arm and shoulder. The man staggers back, and the pistol discharges, filling the still air with an explosion that makes him shudder violently. He uses that energy to surge forward, catching the already over-balanced man and sending them both crashing to the ground.
Aubin grabs the gun by the barrel, his fingers curling around hot metal. Pushing the man down with his other hand, in a tangle of blue and red cloaks, he raises the gun above his head and brings it down with force onto the man's forehead. Knowing he is dead, he does not look at him. Instead, he gathers the cloaks. Pulling his own up to eye level, he sees a large hole blown through it.
"Damn," he whispers, remembering the day he had been given it; which marked his elevation from blacksmith's son to soldier.
Through the hole in the cloak, he spots movement and drops down. Drawn by the noise, the dead man's companion is the first on the scene. He is also the second to die, as a sword is thrust up into his gut as he does not see the young beneath the cloak, at the base of a tree. Aubin leaves him pinned to the trunk, the Spaniard's own much finer sword taken as compensation.
He cannot afford to wait though, as the noise will now alert the rest of the soldiers – six now? - and bring about the culmination of a plan that would see him involved in the most exciting and deadly adventure of his life.
Pulling the blue cloak around him, his ruined one rammed under his arm, he took to his heels, back toward the Lodge to face the wrath of Porthos, against odds now reduced by two, but with all the elements now set in motion for one mighty collision.
He thought briefly of Athos.
It is a good plan.
oOo
"Aqui!" The shout went up. The Spaniards were alerted, six moving toward the sound of the gunshot.
"Get Up!" The English sentry shouted, as they broke camp quickly; also alerted by gunshot but unsure of its direction.
oOo
Athos, Porthos and Aramis had made their way deeper into the forest.
Bracing themselves, they spread out, ready to receive the two warring parties of assassins.
In the distance, they heard Treville and Elizabeth Cromwell ride out along the drive. Soon, they heard more horses in pursuit.
"He will be alright," Aramis says, looking across at his brothers; catching Athos's grim expression.
Treville has the woman with him. He is at a disadvantage. This is the part of the plan Athos is not so sure about. But Treville is a soldier and will not go down without a fight.
Three abreast, they moved on quietly under the thick canopy of trees.
Earlier, up ahead, Aubin had found the assassin who had shown himself at the Lodge and followed him as he met up with his companions. He had tied a piece of red twine carefully on the bush and he had moved further into the trees to locate the Spanish.
Looking ahead, Aramis's sharp eyes found the first piece of red twine.
"Good boy" Porthos murmured.
To be continued ...