Hello. Right, currently trying to wrap loose ends. After I left the last chapter on a bit of a cliffhanger I hope this doesn't fall flat.

Just a small warning of a slightly grisly scene in the last paragraph involving a dead body.

Enjoy. :)

Chapter Forty-Three

'That is a preposterous accusation!' Tréville retorted without thinking making Rochefort smirk as his accusation hit the mark.

'It seems to me that they would have the greatest motive in wanting the Duke dead,' Rochefort sneered. 'After all Aramis nearly died. Surely a good reason to want the man dead.'

Tréville was rapidly trying to think while Rochefort stared back in victory. Tréville suspected Rochefort was to blame as Renard had told Aramis and the musketeers that Rochefort was the traitor. Unfortunately, Louis would not take that as proof.

'Now, now Rochefort,' Louis said as looked between Rochefort and Tréville. 'That is quite the accusation without proof.' Tréville felt himself relax slightly but he was on guard should Rochefort try anything else. 'Although, he does have a point,' Louis looked to Tréville who was doing his best not to show how much he was seething inside.

'Perhaps...' the Queen's voice stirred the men. 'However, I do not see it.' Rochefort looked worriedly towards the Queen. How dare she intervene in his last chance to get rid of the musketeers?

'Go on,' Louis prodded.

'It seems to me that Rochefort is indicating that heightened emotions would have been the cause for the musketeers to murder the Duke?' she looked quizzically at Rochefort who was trying to keep his emotions in check.

'Yes,' Rochefort replied tersely.

'Then, it seems to me very unlikely for them to act in this manner,' Queen Anne chose her words carefully as she claimed the attention of the men in the room. 'I know that Athos, Porthos and D'Artagnan are honourable men and they have always served the crown to the best of their ability. Of course, within their group Aramis is as important as the others. I saw how distressed they were when they thought Aramis had died. Even then I did not feel anger but more grief and sorrow emitting from them. It is true that grief can make any of us react in uncharacteristic ways and I'm sure Tréville would agree that sometimes our emotions can get the better of us.'

'Indeed, Majesty,' Tréville agreed hoping that the Queen's words would filter into Louis' short attention span. 'That is why the garrison works so well and men are always stationed at the gates to alert us if any musketeer appears to be acting out of character.'

'As I thought, you and your men are well prepared for these occasions Tréville,' Anne smiled as Tréville nodded his appreciation of her statement. 'Therefore, it seems unlikely that the musketeers would be able to do such a thing. Returning to their motives I believe there are none.'

'Your Majesty, Aramis was severely tortured and nearly died. Surely that is motive enough,' Rochefort blurted out as he could see Louis appearing to accept his wife's reasoning while Anne managed not to flinch at Rochefort's blunt description.

'He makes a good point,' Louis agreed but did not seem convinced.

'We all know how unwell Aramis was and that he has been lucky to escape with his life,' Anne continued but her voice held a steely note. A note reserved for making herself heard. 'Had he died it would have been far more believable for our noble musketeers to have committed this act but Aramis lives. I observed their relief at learning of Aramis' recovery and it told me that he was more important than any anger they may have felt. I would suggest that they have barely left his side since they returned.'

'You are quite correct, Majesty,' Tréville decided to take a risk to emphasise his men's innocence. 'They have not left Aramis side in the infirmary.'

'Any witnesses?' Rochefort sneered.

'I do not need witnesses to know that they did not do this,' Tréville's voice held a deep growl that told everyone in the room that meant business. 'I know these men. They had ample opportunity to kill the Duke when we went to arrest him. The fight was chaotic and the Duke resisted capture. Porthos alone held a pistol at the fleeing Duke and could easily have shot him the chaos. They kept their composure and emotions in check which is why they are musketeers.' Tréville decided that telling the King about the hits the musketeers got in to appease their emotions wasn't relevant as the Duke couldn't mention it after all.

'That is a good point, Rochefort,' Louis conceded. 'They are my best men and they returned the Duke here for trial. We were likely to find him guilty and he would have been executed anyway. Why bother with murder?'

'Your Majesty,' Tréville ventured. 'The Duke, like Renard, mentioned a traitor in your court. He wouldn't tell me who it was,' Tréville flashed a glare at Rochefort who remained unmoved, 'but I believe it is likely that the traitor ended his life before he could speak.'

'Not the traitor again,' Louis huffed.

'It does seem more likely than the musketeers,' Anne said quietly. 'Did the Duke give any indication who it might be?' she asked Tréville.

'I regret not, Your Majesty,' Tréville was quietly seething but an accusation against Rochefort could be turned back on him and the musketeers. This was not the time.

'We still can't be sure that the Duke was involved,' Rochefort said quietly. 'Only Aramis can testify that the Duke was present when he was tortured. He may not have been thinking clearly.'

'The link is the scarred man Renard,' Tréville addressed Rochefort. 'Athos tells me that it was definitely the same man that attacked Her Majesty's carriage and tortured Aramis. Aramis was found on the Duke's land and Athos reliably informs me that the Duke held Aramis' crucifix.' Anne gave a small gasp at Tréville's last words but thankfully no-one noticed. Aramis had kept her present to him but she hadn't seen it when she had nursed him. She wondered if he would ever get it back.

'It rather seems that the Duke was guilty, Rochefort,' Louis conceded. 'I see no reason why Aramis would lie and I don't believe that the musketeers had anything to do with the Duke's death.'

'Are you certain that Renard was the same man in both cases?' Rochefort tried one last time.

'Athos assures me that it was the same man,' Tréville responded calmly. 'However, I had originally planned in asking the Duke if he recognised the man. Showing him Renard's corpse. I'm sure that between us we would have been able to deduce whether the Duke had seen the man before.'

'And how was he meant to see the man?' Rochefort asked looking confused.

'I have sent for the body to be recovered and brought here,' Tréville said without a hint of disgust. 'I was hoping that you would help me confirm that the man was at the shack.' Tréville watched as Rochefort looked slightly ill.

'I'm afraid that Athos kept me well out of sight so I would've been unable to do so,' Rochefort replied still looking a bit sick.

'Is the body still being transported?' Louis asked.

'Yes, Sire,' Tréville returned his attention to the King. 'I sent the men this morning.'

'I can do it,' came Anne's quiet voice. The men looked quizzically at her. 'I want to see the body.'

'Your Majesty, I do not recommended it,' Tréville said hurriedly. 'The body will not be in a good condition.'

'I need to see the man that held us hostage, Captain,' Anne had a steely look of determination about her. 'Tell me when the body arrives,' and she swept from the room leaving the men looking somewhat nonplussed.

'I doubt we will ever find out what happened to the Duke,' Louis turned and flounced into a chair with dramatic effect. 'What of the men who fought the musketeers?'

'I believe that they have returned home and are no threat,' Tréville said quietly as Louis looked rather worn out. Rochefort snorted in derision.

'You think not?' Louis asked Rochefort wearily though it was only mid-morning.

'They fought against you, Sire. Surely they must be punished,' Rochefort glared at Tréville as if daring the former captain to contradict him.

'Tréville?'

'The men fought for the Duke against what they perceived was a threat,' Tréville chose his words carefully. 'However, when the situation was revealed that the Musketeers were there on your orders they instantly surrendered. They caused no problems for us extricating the Duke and I do not believe that they are any threat to the crown. The Duke may have been a traitor but I do not believe the people had much choice but to follow him. I warned them that any uprising would result in their deaths.'

'You are sure that they are no threat?' Louis asked pointedly.

'I do not believe so as I warned them of the consequences,' Tréville answered. Rochefort started to speak but Louis held up his hand.

'This has been rather draining,' Louis said as he poured himself some wine. 'I will try to convince Anne not to see the body of that awful man but she is a stubborn woman. Tréville you will be there and make sure she is looked after.'

'Yes, Majesty,' Tréville bowed.

'Good,' Louis waved a hand as Tréville and Rochefort recognised their dismissal.

Once out of the King's chambers Tréville turned and faced Rochefort.

'I know that you set this up,' Tréville growled. 'You sent Aramis to the Duke knowing that he would be tortured and killed. For reasons I cannot fathom, you also set up the attack on the Queen. How else would the route be known in advance in preparation for an ambush? You killed the Duke to stop him revealing that you are the traitor.'

'Some rather strong accusations Tréville,' Rochefort. 'Shame you can't prove any of them.' Rochefort knew that he would have to be wary of the musketeers as all of them knew the truth now. They just couldn't prove it. Any ambitious plans would have to be put on hold. For now.

'We're watching you Rochefort,' Tréville turned on his heel and left Rochefort just glad that his treachery couldn't be proven.

The bath tub was filled halfway up with water as Athos and D'Artagnan heated some water over the fire and placed some heated bricks into the cold water already in the bath. The mood was sullen as the musketeers waited for news of Tréville's likely arrest and they couldn't help but feel responsible. Especially Aramis.

'Maybe the King won't arrest him?' D'Artagnan tried to say positively but it was clear his heart didn't believe it.

'Whatever happens we must follow Tréville's orders,' Athos said quietly as he placed a warm brick into the bath. 'The Musketeer regiment will be in chaos without Tréville and only we can sort it and keep it from being disbanded. He knows that.'

'This is my fault,' Aramis murmured.

'Not everythin' is your fault,' Porthos responded immediately. 'You kept Henry and Agnes safe from those that would exploit them.'

'We all lied to the King,' D'Artagnan agreed.

'There are some things the King is better off not knowing,' Athos stated calmly. 'Maybe the Duke was bluffing or maybe he reveals Rochefort as the traitor and Louis completely forgets any lies that Tréville told him about his mother.

Athos and D'Artagnan added the warm pans of water into the bath and tested the temperature. They removed the bricks and added a few more as they tried to make the bath warm but not too hot.

'Come on,' Porthos grinned at Aramis. 'You're not going in the bath clothed y'know.'

'You're depraved, you know that?' Aramis teased back as Porthos helped him out of his shirt. Well Porthos' shirt. Aramis swayed slightly at the motion and they wanted to get him bathed as quickly as possible. He was still prone to exhaustion even though he wouldn't admit it.

'No point in cleanin' these,' Porthos said of his shirt and braies that Aramis had worn. 'I'll get some new ones.'

'It's ready,' Athos called as he finally felt the bath wasn't too hot but warm enough that Aramis could soak easily.

Aramis was pulled up by Porthos as Athos came to Aramis' other side. It was clear that i would be easier for Porthos just to pick Aramis up but they all knew these steps were important to the marksman, no matter how much it tired him. They just hoped nobody walked in to Aramis in his birthday suit.

As Aramis finally made it across to the bath he felt a sense of accomplishment although he knew he was heavily relying on Athos and Porthos. With D'Artagnan's help the three men managed to get the rather tired Aramis into the bath successfully.

The warm water was doing Aramis the world of good as he felt his muscles relax and the warmth of the water on his skin. He leant back and found that Athos had put a towel on the edge of the bath so he relax.

'Better?' Athos wore a small yet knowing smile as Aramis just blinked lazily at him.

'Warm,' was all Aramis could manage to say as his eyes closed sleepily.

The door to the infirmary opened causing the musketeers to look at the new arrival. Aramis' slow brain finally sussed something was up as he slowly turned around.

Tréville stood before them and although the captain was good at hiding his emotions his relief was clear but there was no joy in his demeanour.

'What happened?' Athos asked as Tréville pulled up a chair not batting an eyelid at Aramis in the bath.

'The Duke is dead,' he said with no emotion.

'He can't have been executed yet?' D'Artagnan looked confused.

'Rochefort,' Athos mumbled.

'I believe so,' Tréville said quietly. 'The Duke was murdered in the Bastille and Rochefort tried to suggest that one of you did it.'

'Sneaky git!' Porthos exclaimed. 'Blame us for what he did!'

'We can't prove it,' Aramis managed to say as his brain got up to speed.

'No, we can't',' Tréville agreed. 'However, Rochefort may have saved us as well as himself. The Duke can no longer tell the truth about Marie de Medici and our role in the deception. Her Majesty spoke up for all of you and together we convinced Louis that none you played a part in the Duke's death.'

'If I wanted to kill 'im I'd have done at his mansion,' Porthos growled.

'I made a point of your discipline when arresting the Duke,' Tréville was smirking slightly which the other men knew that their 'hits' had not been mentioned. Aramis suddenly yawned widely making everyone smile. 'Right get him clean and back to bed.'

'I am here you know,' Aramis was doing his best whine but Tréville knew he'd taken the comment lightly.

Aramis turned back around in the bath and Athos managed to catch the towel at Aramis' neck before it plunged into the water. Aramis was clearly exhausted so they had better bathe him quickly.

Tréville stood and nodded to the men still facing him as he gave a last glance towards Aramis before he left them alone.

'Aramis you need to try and stay awake,' Porthos said quietly.

'Warm, sleepy...' was all Aramis managed as his eyes started to close.

'We'll wash him. You do his hair,' Athos said instructed Porthos quietly who retrieved another bucket of warm water and soap to wash the dozing man's hair.

They set to work as Aramis dozed. He was mostly clean but they wanted to remove all the dried sweat covering large parts of his body. They were careful touching his chest and legs but Aramis only twitched slightly when the wounds were touched suggesting that they weren't being too rough. Porthos washed Aramis hair and a small smile crossed the marksman's face. Porthos was gentle with his touch and Aramis could relax knowing he was safe.

The water became tepid but the dozy Aramis didn't really care. He hadn't noticed Athos and D'Artagnan leave and return bearing clothes and sheets respectively. Athos had found clean clothes in Aramis' room and D'Artagnan had gone to fetch clean sheets. Aramis would want to move out of the infirmary but he wasn't yet strong enough. He would argue but this time the other three would win.

'Hey sleepyhead, time to get out,' Porthos gently touched Aramis' shoulder and Aramis blinked awake looking confused. 'You're clean now and I even washed your hair for you.'

Aramis' hand moved to his hair and he could feel that it was damp. 'So you did. Did I sleep through it all?'

'Yep,' Porthos grinned. 'Come on, out you get.' Porthos held the towel ready as Athos and D'Artagnan appeared and between them got Aramis out of the bath and wrapped in the towel. Porthos picked Aramis up and took over to his re-made bed.

'I can walk!' Aramis insisted but the others just rolled their eyes.

Together they managed to get Aramis dressed but it was made more complicated by Aramis insisting he could do it himself. He couldn't and the pain draught was wearing off and they all knew it. He was getting rather ratty at his inability to do things.

'Stop being awkward and let us do this!' Athos snapped as he'd finally had enough. The glare he sent his brother was enough to make Aramis cower. Slightly.

Soon Aramis was back in bed and he was now mumbling that he wanted to go back to his own room.

'I want my own bed,' Aramis said stubbornly.

'Not until you can walk,' D'Artagnan said doing his best not to show his amusement at Aramis' tantrum. 'You never let us go back to our rooms until we can walk there and you barely got across to the bath.'

'That's different,' Aramis' mumbled so quietly it was barely audible.

'How so?' Athos raised an eyebrow and all Aramis could do was huff.

The infirmary door opened and Constance came in looking rather happy to see Aramis awake.

'You smell better,' she smiled at him. 'Dr. Lemay gave me some pain draughts for you. He hopes to see you later tonight as he's been waylaid by a sickness spreading through the palace again. You've been more cheerful,' she said looking at the others for an explanation.

'He wants to go back to his room. We said no,' Athos stated matter-of-factly.

'You should listen to them Aramis,' Constance said sympathetically. 'Her Majesty told me about the Duke and how Rochefort tried to blame all of you.'

'Thanks to Her Majesty and the Captain we are not suspects,' D'Artagnan shook his head disbelievingly.

'Rochefort?' Constance asked worriedly as the men nodded. 'It worries me how much Her Majesty trusts him.'

'Until we have evidence I doubt she would be persuaded,' Athos said ruefully. 'She knew him long before we did.'

'I better go,' Constance said as she moved towards the door. 'You rest,' she said pointedly at Aramis before leaving.

'Ok,' Aramis huffed as he settled under the sheets again.

The next day passed swiftly and with little incident. Aramis was awake more often than the previous day and was continuing to badger the others about moving back to his own room. So far they were holding out. Just.

Gabriel and Vasselin had returned to Paris with body of the scarred man Renard. The body had been exactly where Tréville had said and both men were glad Aramis' torturer was dead. There didn't hide their disgust at the scarred man from anyone.

Tréville once again tried to reason with the Queen but she was adamant that she needed to see the body. She made it clear it was for own closure but Tréville wasn't completely convinced although he didn't know why.

Tréville had Renard's body taken to the tunnels underneath the Louvre and made it clear to the Queen that what she would see would be a rather revolting sight. A dead body was never pleasant but this one had had a few days to stew.

Tréville hesitated as he pulled back the canvas covering the body but the Queen seemed certain as her posture did not change and she didn't recoil. He pulled the cloth off the face of Renard to reveal the man's head and the clear bullet wound that had killed him. Tréville felt bile rise in his throat and although the Queen had gone slightly green she stared at the body in disgust with no suggestion of sickness.

'He tried to poison himself with hemlock,' Tréville explained. 'In the end, Athos showed him mercy by shooting him rather than leave him in agony for days.' Tréville placed the cloth back over Renard's face as he had seen enough. 'It is definitely the same man who was responsible for the attack on you and on Aramis.'

'Agreed,' Anne said as her mind was a whir. She wasn't sure what she felt knowing that her tormentor was dead but she was aware of the growing anger within her. Anger at Athos.

A/N: As I said trying to tie up loose ends as I go. If you notice anything I've not mentioned yet let me know. Possibly because I've forgotten! :)