Two weeks since the last update and you must have thought I'd left the country! Apologies. The play has finished at the theatre - I was working back stage and one evening, as I sat in the wings, I had a 'lightning bulb moment' and a major twist to my novel that I'm trying to finish before July's end, and then this chapter took over during the week. It was long so I have divided it almost in half. It means I can update a little sooner! :)

Thanks for your patience.

In this chapter, the Captain is at the palace giving and being given an update on the state of things. He will find that it does not make for pleasant hearing.

TREVILLE

22 DAYS EARLIER

"Give me the latest news of what is happening in my city and to my people," Louis demands. He looks pale and drawn and I wonder how much sleep he has had.

Probably a damn sight more than me, I think bitterly and instantly berate myself for my unfairness to the King. If the situation with Bircann and his mother, Marie de Medici, were not enough, then the crisis that has hit Paris in the last week makes that pale almost into insignificance, so it is perhaps a good thing that he has had some sleepless nights thinking about events.

I rub at my eyes tiredly and question when it was that I last slept for more than three hours uninterrupted. First Athos – still Athos – and then the floods. If I am exhausted, then my men are more so, working a relentless eighteen-hour day with twelve-hours in the city, six on a lighter palace duty, and six hours of rest through the day and night and for the life of me, I cannot see the pace of work easing in the near future.

It has been seven days since the rains came and six since the Seine burst her banks, the water levels rising quickly and inexorably. Six more days of relentless captivity somewhere for one of my men.

In my gut, I fear for him. In my head, I realise that with each passing day the chances of finding him alive recede – more rapidly than the wretched waters that have overwhelmed Paris, putting a temporary end to our search. In my heart, I pray and hope that we will locate Athos in time. It has been twelve days since he left the garrison on what should have been a routine errand of delivering the Cardinal's letters.

At least, I think it is twelve days; I find that I am losing all sense of time as I snatch sleep when and wherever I can. I wonder if Athos is keeping track of time, possibly scratching notches into a piece of wood with each new dawn. Does he have any idea as to how long he has been held?

My thoughts revert to the time when I was Bircann's prisoner. I only know the duration of my incarceration because Richelieu informed me afterwards. The first couple of days were probably very clear to me but after that, my senses were dulled by the agonies inflicted upon me and the overwhelming misery, convinced as I was that I had been abandoned.

Is that what Athos feels now? Abandonment? He is strong and resilient, but I have no idea as to the adverse treatment meted out to him and how quickly that can weaken a man's physical stamina and wear down his mental fortitude. I want him to hold on, perhaps feel anger towards his brothers and me for not coming for him already; anything, as long as it makes him fight. For now, I cannot contemplate the possibility that he is giving up hope and resigning himself to his fate.

Fight, man; damn you!

"What was that?"

I start, realising that Richelieu is frowning at me and I have muttered the words aloud.

I dip my head in the King's direction. "My apologies, Sire. Cardinal. My thoughts were elsewhere."

"Well, we need your thoughts back in this room, Captain," Louis snaps irritably. "Stop your delaying tactics, Cardinal, and tell me the worst."

I can't help the corners of my mouth twitching at the King's rebuke to Richelieu. There should be no satisfaction in witnessing it, but I blame it upon my weary brain.

"The news is grim, Your Majesty," Richelieu begins but the King interrupts.

"I rather suspected that it would be. A lot of my city is under water and the people must be suffering. Stop your fawning, man, and get on with it."

The Cardinal begins his list.

"There are almost two hundred dead so far, Sire, either through drowning or being crushed as buildings have collapsed, and almost that again with injuries, both minor and severe. The death toll will undoubtedly rise as a result and as more affected areas are searched. First reports are coming in of the outbreak of disease in the poorer parts of the city although we have endeavoured to get fresh water in barrels out at distribution points as soon as we could in places where the waters have begun to recede.

"Several hundred more have been rendered homeless. Some will be able to return to their homes when the drying out process has begun, others have nothing to which they can return. Officials are out even now attempting to gauge the extent of collapse. A re-building programme will be needed at great expense to the city, but it has cleared us of some of the poorer, deprived areas, so we can think carefully as to how the areas can best be used and revitalised. Elsewhere, damage is considerable, and repairs will take many months."

"A lucrative time for builders and craftsmen," I add. "Perhaps, Sire, you and your council can take measures to prevent them elevating their prices to ridiculous levels."

Louis studies me, frowning hard as he considers my suggestion. "A good point, Tréville. The Paris coffers are not a bottomless pit and I would not have the few benefitting from the suffering of the many. Take measures to ensure that, Cardinal."

"Consider it done, Your Majesty," Richelieu says with a slight bow. "There will be a significant need for timber in the first instance and so I have already written to a number of landowners in the countryside around Paris who have extensive forests and could be persuaded at a price to produce what we need. As soon as the roads are passable, those messengers will depart. Perhaps more wood could be brought from the royal forests at Versailles?"

The King grunts a response and Richelieu, ignoring it, continues.

"Reports are coming in daily from warehouse owners and merchants along the river front who have lost their entire stocks. We have to face the prospect that there is going to be a severe shortage of food stuffs, particularly grain, with almost immediate effect. With that in mind, I will send people out to the towns and villages further afield than our normal suppliers as soon as I can, but we may need to initiate a rationing system sooner rather than later. Other commodities may be hard to come by as well for some time."

"I think we can all live with that situation, Cardinal, for a while; make our personal, little sacrifices. We must be seen to set an example and be prepared to go without a few things," the King insists and I can't help but wonder what he will end up 'going without'.

Serge came to me yesterday with his concerns that the stocks are running low, and he has already experienced problems procuring some fresh produce. There are over a hundred men in the garrison, including Musketeers, stable hands, Serge and his kitchen staff, blacksmiths – who rightly expect food for their labours - and myself. It is my responsibility to ensure that they are fed adequately, especially at the moment when so much is demanded of them and there is neither the time nor the opportunity to seek food elsewhere. The taverns – those that have escaped the flood waters – will be inundated with people seeking warmth and sustenance and the less scrupulous will have increased their prices dramatically and whilst there are citizens willing and able to pay, that situation will be milked to advantage for as long as possible. The news that sickness has already broken out is unwelcome. Four of my men are now in the infirmary, but they are all injured, fortunately none seriously, but I dread to think what will happen if illness breaks out amongst the regiment. It is not impossible given their working conditions, wading through or standing in dirty water from the river, or that the water supplies to the garrison likewise become contaminated, or access to fresh food becomes scarce.

"I will need more of your men to guard food stocks and the distribution points. In addition, now that we have the ringleader Bircann in custody, some of your men must ride out on reconnaissance to ensure that the traitors d'Aubrey and Deauville have left the area with their forces and no longer represent a viable threat. You can pick them up at a more appropriate time," Richelieu suddenly announces, his eyes boring into me, daring me to object … but object I do.