Upon the morrow I maintained a careful distance from Porthos. I did not wish for it to appear obvious that I was avoiding him, but at the same time…I was avoiding him. I chose to stand near to Aramis, waiting for the village people to arrive if they had made their decision to stand and fight. Some I expected would, such as Jeanne, but the others I could not say. Either way, I would remain here. One way or another, I was going to let the baron understand the true extent of his folly choosing to make trouble upon my own people.
We waited, even after daybreak, but yet no one appeared, not even Jeanne. Perhaps I had been mistaken. Eventually the others took to pacing, so I remained sat upon the edge of the well, mace turned towards the sky to bask in the sun. "They're not coming," Aramis finally declared, giving up hope and growing tired of waiting.
"They will," I assured him with utter confidence. "Just give them time."
"Time is what they don't have, my sweet," Aramis reasoned so I looked at him, arching an eyebrow which challenged him to contradict me again. I knew these people. They were stout hearted and fiercely loyal. They would defend their home to the last, if it came to it. They just needed a little more time to conquer their fear. Conceding, Aramis bowed handsomely in defeat.
"You can hardly blame them," understanding their reservation, d'Artagnan looked at me sympathetically as the others started towards where Treville waited.
"They've made their decision. Let's go," Athos was keenest of all to leave. "Madeleine, we are leaving."
"I am not." They froze, and I even caught the look of alarm upon Porthos' expression at my refusal to leave. "I will remain here. With or without the villagers, I'll not surrender." They all turned, making to argue and possibly even physically drag me away if it came to it, but Treville called for them to wait, having noticed something. I followed his line of sight and the angle of his body as he walked forwards to see one of the village boys had arrived. I'll admit, I had not expected that.
"Just you?" At first, it was just the one boy. Then, they began to appear. Trickling from their homes, the villagers arose to stand before Treville and the musketeers, ashen faced and nervous, but ready and committed all the same. I exhaled a breath, then rose up to greet them, going to them each in turn to praise them for their courage and offer what words of comfort I could manage. Now that we had the numbers, the challenge was now to teach them how to fight. I hoped that the numbers might readily overwhelm Renard and his men, that they would buckle under fire, but this was only a slim chance.
I set to work upon my main task which was to secure the perimeter around the village. Everything we could possibly find to create barricades was brought out and sealed the entrances to each side of the village. If a barrel was empty, I had them find a way to fill it just to give it more weight. The stronger and sturdier our barricades, the better. My brother even overcame the residual tension of our argument to bring me a bow and quiver of arrows fetched from the armoury in our old house.
When I held it, I recognised it immediately. "This was Thomas's…" smoothing my hand down the subtle wood, I lingered where Thomas's hand once held this very same bow. If I closed my eyes, I could just about recall the sensation of his hand curled over mine, helping me to hold the bow as he taught me how to shoot. His initials were carved into the wood, and I was relieved to see that it appeared no rot or water had damaged it. There was not even dust, so I could only think that it had been placed in a chest and sealed for safekeeping.
"He would have wanted you to have it," Athos admitted, still unable to meet my gaze. "Perhaps now a part of him will fight with us." Eyes stinging with emotion, I held the bow close to my heart.
"He's always with us, Athos." Unable to answer, Athos nodded curtly then walked away. I marvelled at the bow, one of the best Thomas had ever owned. He had collected them for a time, but this one had been his favourite. It had a beautiful double arch, curving like an undulating wave. A true hunter's bow, and it bent to my hand as I drew back the string to my cheek. I did so slowly, careful to not overexert the wood which had not been flexed in some time. Taking the quiver, I went to find somewhere to practice.
I went carefully, a little frightened of breaking the bow, but it yielded to my guidance as I gradually increased the pace of my shot until I was a good thirty paces away and still retreating. Each time, the arrows found their mark. At fifty paces, I took a little more time to study the target, a scarecrow now with a plume of arrows protruding from his chest and head. I waited for the shift in the wind to settle, watching my hair as it rose upon the breeze before it lowered once again. With my fingers strained to the limit and ignoring the bruised ache in my body, I released the arrow.
The pain made me hiss against it, but I was determined to not allow it to rule me. Once this battle was done, then I could recover. Rolling my shoulders to ease the strain, I watched the arrow fly its course, traversing through the air until finally, it struck the scarecrow in the middle of its head, knocking it off completely. Laughing jubilantly, I looked around to see if anyone else had witnessed the shot, only to see Porthos watching from the back of the farmhouse. For a moment I froze, recalling with a rush my confession and quickly hid my face to conceal my flush. When I risked another glance, he was gone.
Part of me was relieved. The other was disappointed. Shaking my head despondently, I went to retrieve my arrows then returned to help the villagers learn how to defend themselves. I held a class for the women and children, telling them how to best protect themselves and where to strike a man, using a compliant d'Artagnan as my example. A brave thing to do, for I was not always gentle when throwing him to ground. We laughed all the same, and each time I would offer him my hand to help him back to his feet.
I continued to monitor the building of the barricades, flitting from station to station to help where I was needed, and even held a fencing class using sticks for swords. At the very least, I taught them how to block and had them practice against one another so that it would not seem so frightening to have something waving about so closely to their face when it came to the real battle. The business was a welcome distraction, for it kept me away from Porthos and any possible confrontation he might be brewing.
Just as we were finishing with one of the sections, I noticed a woman come strolling into the village. For a moment I did not recognise her, but then I looked again, and it struck me. "Catherine!" Leaping down the barricade, she looked at me with a start as I rushed towards her. "Catherine, is that truly you?" She too required a moment to recognise me, for six years had been long enough for both of us to alter beyond recognition. I was now a woman grown, but she had been reduced it seemed, reduced in stature and pride, and all warmth had fled from her spirit.
"Madeleine…is it truly you?" Staring at one another, Catherine's eyes grew misty with a tremble to her lip. "Oh my…you have grown! Athos said that you were here, but I did not recognise you at all. Dear Madeleine, it is good to see you." Sharing the sentiment, Catherine and I embraced one another. She smelled different than I remembered. There was no scent of perfume, only earth and forest and rain, as if the wild had seeped into her being.
"What has become of you, Catherine? I thought after…after Thomas…I thought you returned home." A grimace passed across her features, something I caught instantly. "Have you remained here all this time?"
"There was nowhere else for me to go." Becoming void of all emotion, Catherine drew in a deep breath. "But I am here, and I shall help where I can."
"Catherine…" but she was already walking away from me, and I could only watch her leave in guilt and regret. Not having wished to intrude, Aramis stepped to my side then, looking after the woman he had noticed me speaking to before asking how I knew her. "She is Catherine de Garouville. She was once betrothed to my brother, Thomas. They never had the chance to marry." Nodding in understanding, Aramis then asked if I was alright. "I did not know what became of her…I should have asked. I should have looked back." For a moment, I cast my gaze upon the village. "Not just Catherine, but everyone here. I turned my back on them out of grief. They do not deserve this."
"You are making amends now, my sweet, and you cannot blame yourself. You were grieving, and neither you nor Athos were in a fit state to care for anyone other than yourselves, and even then you both barely managed." Despite the truth of his words, it did not alleviate me of the guilt. "You can only cross one bridge at a time, dear Madeleine. Let us start with this one, then we can think about the next." Dimly nodding, I allowed Aramis to draw me away to rest for a moment, for he had noticed that my limp had exacerbated and insisted that I sat for a while.
Finally, when all preparations were done, Treville addressed the village to explain our plan and how we intended to focus the fight to a single road on the eastern side of the village. Treville explained that the barricades were strong enough in the south and west that we could man them with minimal numbers, whilst the north was too marshy and water ridden to traverse either on foot or horse. Which left Renard only one option.
Choosing my place upon the barricade, I had a rifle and a pistol readily loaded and my bow propped beside me. I saw movement within the trees before the first shot came, the thunderous noise it made drowning out my warning. Immediately the villagers panicked and began to return fire, one man being struck down by the initial bullet, but when I made to go to his aid, I recognised that he was already dead. Glassy, unseeing eyes stared at the sky, and I knew his soul had already returned to God. I kissed my knuckle and made the sign of the cross, whispering a prayer before taking up the rifle.
Renard's men remained within the safety and cover of the trees but I held back my fire as Treville shouted for everyone to cease firing. "Hold! I said hold! You can't shoot what you can't see. You're just wasting ammunition," he explained and so the villagers harkened to his orders, retracting their guns to remain behind the barricade. "He's trying to see how many guns we have." We waited in trepidation, our eyes fixated upon the treeline.
A shot rang out from our side and I saw a figure drop just as he had emerged from the trees. A second followed soon after, this one from Aramis. His strike was clean and felled the man in an instant. At least that made for two less to deal with. For some time there was no movement, and so the villagers carried away the one who had fallen, and I noticed Catherine walking away from the barricade, Athos soon following. I thought nothing of it, continuing my watch on the treeline. There was no movement, but I could feel their eyes upon us. They were watching too.
Sometime after, I felt a hand at my sleeve, gently pulling upon it to ask for my attention and I found Jeanne there. "Jeanne, how is…what is it?" Catching her distressed expression, I slid down from the barricade and approached her, growing concerned. She seemed angry also, labouring for breath in a way that seemed she was about ready to burst.
"I do not like her," I blinked in confusion. "Catherine, the one who was going to marry into your family."
"Catherine? Why ever not? She was always warm and kind to my memory, but I'll admit she is a little altered now…"
"Of course, she was good and kind to you, you are of noble birth," grasping at my hands, Jeanne looked upon me imploringly. "I overheard your brother suggest that he might be signing over his lands to her. Do not let him do this, Lady Madeleine. Having her as our fief's lady would be just as terrible as Renard." Bewildered at where this had come from, I could only appreciate that Jeanne was genuinely alarmed, and it had driven her into such a state as to seek my aid. "She looks down upon us, she does not even consider us people. But you care, Lady Madeleine. If your brother will not be our lord, then we would rather you be our lady."
"Although my brother said something to the like in the tavern, I do not imagine he has any intention of handing everything to me. I am but a sister, a woman. Such a thing…I do not think it has ever happened before." Jeanne straightened herself with a firm resolution.
"Then perhaps now should be the first," amazed, I stared at her for several moments until we became distracted by the sound of approaching horses. Looking through a gap, I saw the baron and his son approaching. Gesturing for Jeanne to get back to a safe distance, I called Treville and Athos over as a white handkerchief was waved to invoke the right of parley. Seeing as we had little choice, I stood with the captain as Athos climbed the barricade to bandy words with those treacherous snakes.
"I thought we might avoid any further unpleasantness." The baron announced as pleasantly as he might when commenting on the weather. After my brother's acceptance, the baron proceeded. "Since you seem so determined to renounce your God given nobility, sign over your lands to Edmond in perpetuity and I'm willing to spare these poor folk. In addition, your sister, the Lady Madeleine, will consent to become my son's wife." A startled gasp arose from all who heard and even Treville jumped to hold out his arm to block me from their reach, even whilst they stood outside the barricade. "Her sons will inherit after my son, and the land will continue to pass through your bloodline through her. In this way, everyone is satisfied." No one spoke.
Perhaps the demand for my hand in marriage should have been more shocking, but in truth it did not affect me at all. Such things were normal for girls in noble families. Had we remained as the established comte family in Pinon, most likely I would have been married already to someone of a credible rank. I could not see my brother's expression, but I found I did not wish to know what he thought. "If I could take you upon your word that you would treat me without cruelty as your wife, and that you would never again bring harm upon these people, then I might have accepted your offer." I called out to them, lowering Treville's arm so that I could step further into view. "But I know that your word is false, and therefore I cannot marry your son. For any reason." I noticed Edmond's face sink into a scowl. His cheek seemed to have recovered.
"Take the offer or you all die." The baron glanced to his son with a look of exasperation before speaking once again.
"My dear son's words may lack elegance, but his sentiment holds true." Holding a relaxed refrain upon his elevated perch, I listened as my brother answered rather simply that the land no longer belonged to him. A frown puzzled itself upon my brow, but when I looked at Athos, he was gazing down upon me with a soft, brotherly smile of warm love and adoration.
"The land now belongs to my sister, as does my title. It is her right to do with it as she wills." My hand jumped to grasp Treville from shock.
"Aye!" Jeanne suddenly cried out, climbing the barricade to brandish her gun. "And we'll stand with our lady to the very last! We'll defend this village with everything we've got!" A chorus of cheers arose as the villagers rallied behind me, chanting my name as I stood in a stunned stupor. Catherine was there also, but she was not sharing in the celebration. She was staring at myself and Athos, and I noticed her whisper to my brother before storming away in a rage. Pushing the event to the side, I turned back to the baron and raised my hand to call for silence. The villagers obeyed instantly, and I marvelled at the novelty of it.
"As you can see, Baron de Louviers…you are not wanted here! You are trespassing, and must leave immediately or we will use deadly force to drive you from our lands!" The baron gaped, his mouth dropping wide.
"You would pass your lands and birthright to a female?" Calmly, Athos agreed that he would indeed hand over his lands to a woman, but not just any woman. His beloved sister. The one person he could entrust with the lives and welfare of our people. A warm glow overcame me, and I looked at my brother with complete devotion. "Then be it upon your own head!" Swinging his horse around, the baron charged away in an outrage with his son swiftly following, calling back threats and promises of pain before vanishing from sight.
"So…Comtesse de la Fère…" Treville began, and when I turned around I found everyone looking at me expectantly. "What are your orders?" It felt strange to consider giving orders to the captain, but as everyone continued to wait for me to speak, for me to lead, I knew that I had to rise to their expectations and beyond.
"Return to your posts and make ready. Prepare to defend your homes from these foul invaders!" A roaring cheer arose and everyone rushed to fulfill my command.