Chapter 9 - Confessions and Compromises

The sky was still dim, and the sun had barely begun to rise, but in a small park not far from Monsieur de Tréville's villa, a young man could be seen sitting alone on a bench as though to rest. Appearances, however, were deceiving, and if any passersby had happened to look closely, they would see that his supposedly calm face wavered, and that he was actually rubbing away dried tear tracks.

Annette, in her disguise as André, desperately tried to make sense of her thoughts while keeping a (shaky) lid on her emotions.

First, she had to elude Milady. Annette had, first thing, burned up the mysterious parchment and what dresses and such she had left - it was best to leave no evidence of her true identity as a female. Then she'd immediately checked out of the inn - permanently, of course. That meant she had practically no place to go, until she found another inn ... but that shouldn't be too much of a problem, given the money she had with her. And regarding identity, the safest option by far would be to remain as she was, a Musketeer. It offered a measure of protection she could not be certain of if she did pack up and leave Paris alone.

But things were always easier said than done.

Even staying with the Musketeers was proving risky - though the duel was officially off because she'd saved D'Artagnan, they still suspected her of ulterior motives of some sort. Particularly Athos - he must think she had something to hide - and indeed, he was right. She couldn't tell them, though - they probably wouldn't believe her until she was locked up in jail, and even then the possiblity was slim. Yet that was her only choice in the matter.

Annette didn't want to live the rest of her life in fear of Milady. That had gone on for far too long, and Milady must be stopped. Especially since she was now working with Lord Buckingham ... which could not be a good thing. Buckingham was from England, Milady from France ... what if they were trying to start a war or something?

Even more importantly, did the Musketeers know this yet?

Probably not. D'Artagnan and the others seemed to be going on with their lives much as usual ... so she was the only one who knew. But how to tell them? D'Artagnan might believe her (by a long shot), and her relationship with the others was tepid at best. They didn't even consider her a fellow comrade or friend.

Annette sighed. Things were just so difficult nowadays.

But the problem of Milady could not be ignored. If she and the Musketeers delayed, it might just be too late.

Annette had to find a way to convey the information to them ...

"You'd best tell me whatever information you have, Milady. Now would be preferable, before I lose control over my rapier here."

She looked up to find a sharp blade hovering dangerously close to her neck.

Oh, of all the coincidences in the world ...

Athos kept his sword trained on André - or whom he'd originally believed to be André. He'd suspected something from the very beginning - there had been something secretive about the way the new Musketeer had operated; he'd evidently had something to hide. Besides, D'Artagnan's description of the girl only served to jog Athos's memory, and he'd realized that André actually looked awfully familiar ...

Like a certain woman who'd betrayed him and his family, escaped from jail twice, and eluded all his efforts to catch her thus far.

Athos would never have believed Milady capable of pulling something off like this - but apparently, she had. Infiltrating the Musketeers - she'd gone too far this time. He'd found out, perhaps with time to spare yet, but how many secrets had she already gained about Monsieur de Treville and the Musketeers?

She had to be stopped. And quickly - no one else must be hurt ...

Wait ... then why had she saved D'Artagnan, instead of killing them all when she had the chance? Things weren't adding up - but then again, nothing about Milady added up, or she wouldn't have been the villain she was today.

She would've been dead a long time ago if that was the case - sometimes Athos wished it had been, but he never really meant it ...

"You've slipped up, Milady," he said coolly, careful not to show any emotion. "That's a first."

He fully expected her to spring at him with a concealed weapon, ready to fight - and indeed, he noticed a small bulge in the side of her jacket that looked to be the size of a small dagger (or gun). Milady was not one to give up easily.

She did nothing of the sort.

Well, I sure am found out. So it was Athos, not Milady, who wrote that note. But he doesn't know how far he is from the truth.

Should I let him kill me? No - though that might solve all your problems, it certainly won't do the same for him or anyone else. Milady will still be alive - and I am the only one who knows anything about her plans so far. I have to tell him, if no one else. Athos would know what to do with the information.

That meant the truth. Every word of it, if possible.

"Wait," she blurted out. "I-I'm not Milady de Winter. I'm not here to hurt anyone. I just want to help ..."

Athos gave a mirthless laugh, and Annette could see the pain and sadness in his eyes. "Do you really expect me to believe you now? I trusted you once ... and that was already one too many times."

Right ... Annette still remembered the time Milady had run away a few years ago. Later everyone learned that she'd secretly gotten married to a Frenchman (and then left him to return home - after which, Annette didn't want to remember). So could Milady's husband possibly have been ... Athos?

Okay, now that was just too much to handle.

By the looks of it, though, she must've hurt him deeply, if not in body then in soul. Annette could sense it. No one went near Milady and survived unharmed. He must have loved her very much, though, before he learned the truth about her ... Maybe he loved her still.

If he wanted to see her, it probably wouldn't be too hard for him to find her ... but she had to let him know that she was not who he was looking for. Which was harder than it sounded.

"I'm not Milady!" she protested again. "I know I'm a girl in disguise" - she pulled off the wig and moustache, Athos's eyes widening in surprise despite himself - "but I'm telling the truth. I'm not even going to fight you back. I'm not Milady, I'm her twin, Annette Lefevre!" Very convincing, Annette. You certainly don't look like Milady, to be sure.

"Very convincing," said Athos sarcastically, echoing her thoughts. He pressed the flat of the blade closer to her throat, causing Annette to choke for breath. "We've stalled long enough. Now give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you on the spot, for all that you've done."

She sensed that he didn't really want to kill her, like he wouldn't really have the heart to kill Milady if he caught her, but it was better not to press that issue at the moment. Gingerly, she pushed the blade back a fraction of an inch, allowing herself breathing space. Ah - the air tasted so sweet. (Once she'd choked her way back to life, that is.) But she had no time to enjoy it - it was down to business now, and quickly.

"I know what she's up to!" Annette shouted. "I can - I was going to - tell you all of her plans, but I didn't want to be found out because she's hunting me down too -"

This was getting her nowhere. Even Athos gave her a look that plainly said "You're fooling no one."

Then a small detail surfaced in Annette's mind.

"One last thing," she said quickly, before he could kill her. "If I'm really Milady, I'm an Englishwoman ... but I've been in French prison at least once before, right?" she asked carefully.

Athos caught on immediately. "You would have the fleur-de-lis on your right shoulder." He shifted his sword slightly off to the side so that Annette could better access her right arm. With the aid of a small dagger, she cut through the right sleeve of her shirt, exposing part of her shoulder. If she'd been branded, there would be a scar, no matter how faint it was. That was what captured criminals carried with them the rest of their lives, as a reminder of their previous wrongdoings.

But her skin was completely unmarked in any way.

Athos blinked - his equivalent of a double-take - but he still kept the blade trained on her, now that she had a weapon out. "So ... you really are her twin."

"Yes. Please don't kill me. I know my appearance must bring back unpleasant memories for you, but I assure you I am only her identical in appearance, not person."

"You may not be Milady, but you are one close to her." Annette flinched - "close" was not exactly the right word to describe their relationship. "The question now is ... why should I trust you?"

So she had accomplished nothing at all, besides proving that she wasn't Milady. Annette felt suddenly tired.

"I don't expect you or the others to trust me. I would earn that trust as best as I could, but I suppose we're all off to a bad start, what with my impersonating a man and all."

"Well spoken, but you just contradicted yourself" - was he mocking her? - "and we're getting nowhere."

"Here's something, all right?" Annette was feeling sick of it all. "The least I can do, then, is tell you what I know about her plans, and it's up to you to believe me or not." Athos waited for her to continue. "Three days ago, at nighttime, I saw Milady meet Buckingham right behind the Mermaid Inn - where I've been staying all this time - and Milady passed a package to him. I think it contained a necklace, though the lighting wasn't too good. It looked like something a queen would wear - with purple jewels and silver lining and all."

On second thought, talking about dangerous villains' plans out in the open - where the danger of being heard was all too apparent - may not have been the best idea ... But she had nowhere to go, and she respected Athos's decision to talk (and kill her) here if need be. Annette continued, but made sure to keep her voice low.

"Then Buckingham mentioned that the Cardinal would be pleased. But the Cardinal is French, and he is English ..." she mused. "And Milady asked how she could profit from this, but Buckingham only gave her a vague answer and left."

Looking up was startled to see Athos's stunned expression - and then she realized the magnitude of what she'd just voiced. What if the necklace did belong to a Queen as she'd supposed? If it was Queen Anne ofFrance ... then the issue was big indeed. Annette could think of several unpleasant reasons why Milady would be stealing the Queen's necklace to give to Buckingham - but Buckingham was working with the Cardinal too ... so they must be planning something together. Something between England and France, two of the most powerful countries in Europe, might spell great good or great danger - and the latter was looking more likely in this case.

She could barely wrap her mind around it all. But Athos looked as though he had it mostly figured out by now. He still seemed to suspect her - but she noticed he was no longer holding her at sword-point.

"Am I certain that what you are telling is the complete truth, no other, and that you truly are not working with Milady and her consorts?"

"Yes." Annette wondered if she should swear to prove her point.

"No need to swear." How - how had he known? "Just get your loyalties straight, and prove that you're on our side. Otherwise you'll find yourself locked up in jail for impersonation, espionage and whatever else you've been lying to us about all this time. Is that understood?"

Perfectly. She knew exactly what he meant. It was a compromise - she'd have to give them information about Milady and Buckingham's doings in order to remain safe. The look in his eyes told her that he was all too willing to turn her over to the authorities if need be.

But this was the most accommodating arrangement she'd ever been presented with, and she was grateful for it.

"Thank you, Athos." She said it with full sincerity. Not many people, knowing her exact relation to the most cunning murderess in France, would have spared her life and walked away so readily.

He only gave a nod of acknowledgement and began to leave. Then Annette suddenly remembered something.

"Wait, Athos!" she called. He turned, his face expressionless. "I know I'm not exactly in a good position to ask for favors - but ..." Thoughts of a certain Musketeer filled her mind. "Could you ... could you please not tell the others about our deal? Especially D'Artagnan?"

Even before she'd finished, she knew Athos, with the perceptiveness she now saw as characteristic of him, had immediately and effortlessly grasped the meaning of her words.

But the next thing he said took her completely by surprise.

"Do you love him?"

It was a deceptively simple question, asked in a deceptively expressionless voice. But the fact that she couldn't really fathom Athos presented too many sides to the question for her liking. Be neutral, be neutral...

"I'm not Milady, but ... no. No, I don't love him." Somehow, that didn't sound quite right - that last part, in particular ...

Athos said nothing, but she knew he understood. It was a simple question, after all, requiring nothing but a simple answer.