Greetings, all. Profuse apologies for the delay in uploading this chapter. Life has been utterly hectic for the last two weeks or more and is just beginning to quieten down. Thank you for reading and leaving comments. Further apologies for any errors that may have crept in.

Here is the rest of that conversation between the King, the Cardinal and the Captain.

RICHELIEU

I am reluctant to accept that Bircann is using us, deriving pleasure from our present position of a stalemate, but I cannot see another plausible explanation and I fear that the Captain's supposition is worryingly correct. Bircann believes that he will not be put to death whilst he still has vital information. I want to know who his co-conspirators are and, more importantly, the traitor that I still believe is in our midst and on the council. That is the most irksome and when I finally discover the identity of the individual …

Then there is Tréville's missing lieutenant. The Musketeer Captain will move heaven and earth to prevent me from using excessive force upon Bircann to gain the information I want first. Ultimately, he will have to accept that his officer must come a poor second in the grand scheme of things.

"An interesting analogy, Captain," I acknowledge, thinking about the chess game. "I concur that Bircann is taunting us all the time and somehow, despite the predicament in which he finds himself, he is deriving some sort of misguided pleasure from things, such as in his message to you.

"I do not want to play a game with Bircann, not now, not ever!" the King suddenly exclaims. "I do not like this sick game. How dare he suppose that I should want to play at anything! He is a traitor and has tried to assist my mother in taking my throne. If they had their way, I would no longer be the King of France. There was no game in that; he was totally serious in his intentions.

"Indeed he was, Sire," I encourage him. As long as he focuses on what could have happened, what he could have lost, I may yet persuade him towards a more permanent solution regarding his mother.

Tréville is looking thoughtful. "I am now convinced more than ever that Athos is still alive because Bircann wants him to be. He may well be the ultimate sacrificial piece, but Bircann does not want to lose him just yet. Where would be the fun in that? He is manipulating us, manoeuvring us into wrong positions so he can take us, break us one after the other and all from the safe confines of his prison cell."

I eye him with open curiosity, wondering where his thoughts are taking him. The poor, deluded man. I find it hard to believe that as experienced a soldier that he is, he holds fast to the unrealistic hope that Bircann will reveal where the Musketeer is being held. He might as well face it, his man is as good as dead, if he isn't already.

"I do not see what this Bircann hopes to achieve," Louis complained. "He will not escape punishment. A trial is a formality, but I suppose we must hold one; demonstrate that we will do all things properly; that there can be no complaint or criticism, but I want that man dead. He is to be executed, do you understand, Cardinal? He has led my mother astray and his influence over her must be destroyed. Let us see how far he enjoys his game then, when he is the loser and pays the ultimate price with his life."

I incline my head in acknowledgement. I am equally determined that there should be no escape for the traitor this time.

"He knows that he will be executed for his crimes against Your Majesty, and so he wants to exact his revenge whilst he is able," Tréville begins. "He is playing this game to remove as many pieces from the board as he can to achieve his own version of check mate. He may not actually be wanting or expecting some of us to die, but he wants to break us any way he can.

"Look at the effect his actions have had on us already. You, Sire, are deeply distressed by your mother's involvement in this. Understandably so and the matter remains unresolved. You, Cardinal, are faced with another treasonous act that has to be dealt with, but first you have to identify the traitors and you know that at least one of them is closer to the heart of the running of this country than you would like for it means that someone has breached your careful defences; your control and management are not as infallible as you would like. In short, your King and country are at risk."

I feel my facial muscles twitch at the Captain's words and I try to control it, but I nod my acceptance of his theory.

"But what of the Musketeer Athos?" the King asks. "How does he fit into this game as you are wont to call it?"

"Bircann wants to get back at me any way he can and if he cannot reach me directly, then what better way than to target the man who, as my second-in-command, is the person upon whom I heavily rely. A word in the right ear and Bircann will have discovered how Athos has proven himself time and time again as one of Your Majesty's most loyal and skilful Musketeers. That impacts upon the men who readily follow him, hence the low morale within the garrison at his absence. His close friends, Aramis and Porthos, are particularly affected, so all of this undoubtedly creates a bonus for Bircann, and then we must not forget that Athos was responsible for overwhelming him in a sword fight and arresting him, so add bitterness and a desire for revenge to the mix."

"What did this … this man," Louis breaks off, finding it more difficult to refer to Bircann by name, such is the apparent extent to which he detests the traitor. "What did he mean, Tréville, when he said you were obsessed with looking amongst the dead and too close to home?"

"Our searches over the past few days have centred upon Paris, the route Athos is known to have taken when he was delivering the Cardinal's letters to the council and the areas closest to that route. I have had men out daily scouring the banks of the Seine, in case his body had been thrown into the river and they continue riding until beyond the city gates, whilst others visit the city morgue on a daily basis. Men have even gone to the cemeteries every day, checking the names of the newly buried and asking if there were any fresh graves that were unaccounted for.

"I have, this very day, dispatched a team to follow the river to Le Havre just in the event that we missed finding him. They will also stop at all the villages and towns beside the river, inquiring after him. We know he was injured – the blood on his horse and saddle attest to that - so there is the slim chance that he went into the river, was swept away and survived, only to be rescued by people beyond Paris and he is unable, for whatever reason, to send us word."

"A costly use of your men's time," I state, unable to stop myself.

Before Tréville can react, Louis intervenes on his behalf, and I have to remind myself that the missing soldier is one of the King's own men.

"The Captain will leave no stone unturned in the search for my missing Musketeer. God forbid that a time will come when he and I will be past all hope. I will take it under his advisement when he believes that their brave efforts to find their missing brother and colleague must cease but, for now, it is still early days, and I am sure he will be doing everything possible to find his lieutenant."

Tréville dips his head in gratitude. "Thank you, Your Majesty; I could not have put it better myself." Bristling, he fixes me with another of his icy stares. "May I remind you, Cardinal, that a man of his calibre is beyond cost. I will do everything in my power to bring him home, dead or alive. I have searched Bircann's property here in the city and there was no sign that Athos was being kept there. We have probably exhausted our search in Paris, especially in the light of what Bircann says in his message, so it is time to turn our attention further afield."

The man grows more determined in his next course of action.

"We will get ready to leave Paris and visit any of the country estates owned by members of the council. Without knowing who the traitor is in their midst, they are all suspects until we can eliminate them from our inquiries. They may be too old or inform to act directly themselves, but they command households, and the conspirators will have able-bodied men to do their less pleasant tasks for them. Someone is feeding Bircann information in his cell, and we must find out the who and how. To that end, I will send Aramis and Porthos back to the Chatelet in the morning to question the guard. I will use the rest of today and tomorrow to make preparation for my absence from the garrison for I will lead the men myself.

"Our first destination will be Bircann's estate."