Greetings. So the good news is that they have found Athos and got him out of the pit. The bad news is ... well what is the bad news? Is there any? The group prepare to travel back to Paris.
Thanks to all who have been reading and leaving comments.
CHAPTER 53
PORTHOS
I can't believe Aramis just did that but I'm glad 'e was the one because if I wasn't preoccupied with Athos right now, I'd 'ave done a whole lot more than just knockin' Durand to the floor. If Aramis plans on doin' anythin' else,' e never gets the chance for Claude an' the Captain grab 'is arms an' hold 'im fast, orderin' him to stand down, even as 'e struggles against them.
Suddenly, 'e just stops, relaxes an' nods his head, waitin' for them to release 'im an' when they do, he shrugs his shirt back into place on his shoulders where it'd slipped. He's breathin' hard an' I recognise 'e's givin' himself time to recover his composure, but he hasn't moved from where he's towerin' over Durand who lies there, looking up at 'im in terror, wonderin' what he's goin' to do next, but the Captain an' Claude are hoverin' close by in case he reacts again. When he speaks, I can still hear the fury in his voice.
"Don't you dare tell us not to lay him down there after what you've put him through. I hope he leaves dirt, blood and sweat all over it." It's not like 'im to be petty at such a serious moment but I can understand why he said it. "There'll be nobody to worry about it. Your master, Bircann, is a dead man and you'd better start praying my brother doesn't join him!"
"Aramis." The voice is quiet and authoritative as the Captain's calmin' hand rests on his shoulder. "You must look to Athos. Tell me what you need."
Aramis crosses to the couch where I've laid Athos down an' together, we straighten out his limbs and let his head sink into the soft cushions. He looks so frail, so still and smaller somehow, and Aramis places a hand on 'im to feel the reassurin' rise and fall of his chest, but even I can tell 'is breathin' is not good.
In control again, Aramis straightens up an' starts givin' orders. "I need blankets and the medical supplies. Getting him out of these clothes and warming him up is a priority and I need to see if he has any other injuries."
Claude sends the other two Musketeers to get what he wants from the cart an' to take Durand with them. Our stand-in lieutenant is no fool an' realises we'll want a bit of peace and privacy in our work. As 'e closes the door behind them, he stands there to await their return and take the items off them.
Meanwhile, the Captain helps Aramis an' me as we manoeuvre Athos and start peeling the clothing off him.
"I wonder if Athos' doublet, boots an' weapons are still around somewhere?" I say, the thought occurrin' to me as I pull the leather breeches down over Athos' hips. I've always teased 'im about not eatin' enough and there never seemed much to 'im before, although I quickly learned not to be fooled. It hid 'is strength, speed an' agility, especially with a sword in 'is hand but now … For now, I'm sayin' nothin' as to what it felt like carryin' 'im in here in my arms. 'E was so light, so still; it was frightenin' an' I'm thinkin' this nightmare for us all – especially him – is far from over. It's good to 'ave found 'im an' got him out, but there's some comfort in 'im bein' asleep or unconscious or whatever because that delays us findin' out any other damage this experience has done to 'im.
I don't like bein' pessimistic, but I don't see how anyone can have experienced what he's gone through an' not been affected by it. It's not somethin' I feel I can share with Aramis, but I only 'ave to look at 'is face as he's workin' the soiled shirt over Athos' head to know he's havin' similar thoughts.
There's a knock on the door an' Claude opens it to take the bag of medical supplies and an armful of blankets from Alain before bringin' 'em over. I take one of the blankets, shake it out and cover Athos' lower body with it as Aramis starts pulling down the damp braies; anythin' to protect some of 'is dignity even in this situation.
With another blanket, Aramis tries to rub some warmth back into Athos' limbs before I lift 'im a little so we can wrap a third blanket around 'im. Neither of us comments on the ribs painfully visible in the white skin, but we both see it, as does the Captain if 'is sharp intake of breath is anything to go by.
Aramis runs his hands gently over those ribs.
"I can't feel any breaks," he says, which comes as some relief but then we can't tell if any are cracked. Kneelin' beside the couch, he releases one of Athos' hands from the woollen blanket an' ever so gently turns it, examinin' the fingertips. The nails are broken an' torn an' responsible for all the dried blood; some of the skin is grazed too. When he's studied Athos' feet an' the rest of 'is body, he sighs and sits back on his heels, head bowed for a moment.
"How many times did he try to climb out, failing every time?" he asks, his voice little more than a sad whisper.
"You can't think like that, boy," Claude says in gentle rebuke.
Aramis bristles. "I can't do anything else! We," an' he shifts 'is gaze to take in the Captain an' me, "were here nearly three weeks ago and we missed him. All that time we've added to his misery and suffering."
"And that's the guilt we have to bear," the Captain says quickly, "but there will be time enough for that. Right now, that doesn't help Athos at all."
Aramis thinks on what Tréville has just said. "You're right," an' as he says it, he pinches the skin on the back of Athos' arm above the wrist.
"What are you doin'?" I ask in shock that increases as he repeats the gesture just below Athos' collar bone.
"I'm confirming that he's badly dehydrated," Aramis explains as he prises Athos' mouth open, touches his tongue and leans in to smell the breath.
"He's been given water," Claude points out as he moves a little closer to watch.
"Not enough," Aramis states, standing up. "Or he's certainly not been drinking it all in recent days; Durand said as much about yesterday's rations. It's just as well we found him when we did; I don't think he would have lasted much longer. The pinch test shows that his skin does not quickly return to normal, his tongue is dry and his breath smells. Add all that to the strong smell of urine in the pit and they are all signs that he is severely dehydrated."
"Anythin' would smell strong in that space," I argue feebly but Aramis just shakes 'is head.
"Can we help him in any way?" the Captain asks, a frown creasin' his forehead.
"Not until he's awake, we can't. We can keep his lips moist, but we could choke him if we try to force any liquid into his mouth."
"What do you want to do now?" Tréville is prepared to give way to Aramis in the treatment.
"I'll clean his hands, feet and any other scrapes I can, check if there are any signs of infection starting and get him ready to go back to the garrison."
He moves to rummage in the bag of his medical supplies but I catch his arm, stoppin' him.
"Do you think he can make the journey?" I ask.
With that, he glances at Athos an' looks back at the Captain an' me. "Better to move him while he's unconscious and I don't know about the pair of you, but I want him out of here and as soon as possible. It's time to take him home."
We can't disagree and the next hour is a busy one as we secure the house to leave it and make the prisoners ready to travel. The womenfolk are released, as are the men Durand identified as the genuine workers, and are sent back to their village. It is enough that they are currently without employment, although the Captain knows where to find 'em if he needs to once he knows what's to 'appen to the estate. The King will either claim it as his own and add it to crown lands, sell it off to the highest bidder or hand it over as a reward to someone else. Whatever he decides to do, it'll need some maintenance in the interim and there's an advantage to having some staff who already know the place.
Durand will come back with us and the other prisoners. Tréville has already admitted that 'e doesn't think anythin' will be done to the man. He was under duress an' forced to do the biddin' of Bircann an' 'is men out of fear for 'is family. The threat of further punishment should be enough to frighten him. He can probably easily be persuaded to give evidence against Bircann an' the men we've arrested.
Aramis bathes Athos' cuts an' scrapes, applies a soothin' ointment and binds the worst of 'em. As to the grime that covers our friend, that can wait. Cocooned as 'e is in the blankets, we're hopin' that he'll start to warm up, but he's been in that cold an' damp for far too long and I'm certain it's wormed its way down to his bones.
Serge busies 'imself making the cart ready to transport its patient back to Paris. The bed of it is filled with straw, heaped up like a nest and spread with a blanket with more by the side ready to cover 'im up. How many blankets did Serge think it necessary to bring? He must've emptied the garrison's stores!
In the meantime, I tackle Durand as to what happened to Athos' clothes, boots an' weapons an' he blanches, tellin' me that it's all accounted for, stashed in a barrel in the dungeons. Claude an' Alain take 'im out to collect 'em. Strangely, I feel relieved, that when Athos comes out of all this, he can have back the things with which he is familiar, that he will not have to start afresh with them as he comes to terms with the events.
I'm already thinkin' of the nights ahead, broken by his terrified nightmares. I've 'ad enough of my own in the past with things I've seen an' done, an' I've known many a man haunted by battlefield images, incapable of giving voice to what disturbs him or unwillin' to share it with innocent loved ones who wouldn't know where to begin to help.
An' I wonder. Will Aramis an' me be enough to 'elp Athos get over this, especially after not findin' 'im the first time we came here? I looked into that pit an' I know I'd have gone stark ravin' mad within days.
So I admit it.
I'm scared at what we will discover when Athos eventually wakes up.