DArtagnan and the Iron Mask or Two Years Later - 2

D'Artagnan and the Iron Mask or Two Years Later

Book 2


Fanfic by Vadim Zhmud

© Vadim Zhmud 2022

All rights reserved.
For commercial using contact with oao_nips@bk.ru
Summary of the first book

This text has not been edited after machine translation. This is an introductory event.


The first book tells that the author of the novel “The Vicomte de Bragelonne” Alexandre Dumas, having heard criticism of the ending of his novel from the young Marquise Dionne de Livry, decided to rewrite it. Contrary to the first version, which describes the deaths of Porthos, Muston, Raoul, Athos and d'Artagnan, in the new version of this ending only Muston truly dies, but he also dies at the wrong moment, and not for the reason described in the first version, and later at the hands of Colbert's spies. The death of the remaining heroes did not happen by luck.
Aramis, having started his adventure of replacing the King with his twin brother Philip, languishing in the Bastille, hoped to become the true king of France, and then aimed to become the Pope. Although he did not succeed, he became quite influential in the politics of Europe, since he took the position of Bishop of Vannes, general of the Jesuit Order, and also Duke of Alameda, Spanish envoy to the court of France.
XIV , who had been returned to the throne, to destroy all his best friends - Athos, Porthos, Aramis and Raoul, decides to hide from the King that Porthos accidentally escaped and not to carry out the King's order, but on the contrary to save Athos and Raoul, however, arriving to the battlefield, he receives erroneous news about the death of Raoul in the battle and the death of Athos from poison. Later, he learns from the envoy Aramis that the same envoy had previously arranged for everyone to decide that Raoul and Athos had died. D'Artagnan decides to inform the King that Athos, Porthos and Raoul died, and brings authentic documents about their deaths, drawn up by those who did not doubt it. D'Artagnan announces that he only has to carry out his orders regarding Aramis. However, the King does not believe d'Artagnan and sets a trap for him and Aramis, dooming them to a painful death in the Bastille from hunger in front of each other. The resourcefulness of Captain d'Artagnan helps him and Aramis escape, after which d'Artagnan comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to bring Aramis's adventurous plan to replace the King with his twin brother to its logical conclusion. However, over time, he realizes that although his choice is the right one to save his friends, it is not the right one from the standpoint of the interests of France, so he allows Louis, who escaped from the abbey, to take his former place on the throne of France. The king pretends to forgive Aramis and d'Artagnan, but the punishing sword of revenge of Louis XIV and Colbert is raised over them. The captain is seriously considering the idea of staging his death, turning to Count Rochefort for help, however, fate itself does everything for him. The circumstances of the captain's injury are such that even Count Rochefort believes that d'Artagnan did not survive and actually died.
As a result of all the adventures, the King and his minister Colbert consider Athos, Porthos, d'Artagnan and Raoul dead. Only the Duchess de Chevreuse, known to readers from the novel “The Three Musketeers” as Marie Michon, Aramis’s beloved and close friend of Queen Anne of Austria, mother of Raoul, Viscount de Bragelonne, knows that Athos and Raoul escaped.
While saving his friends, d'Artagnan also acquired new enemies, among them the du Trabuson family, in which his wife, Madame Olivia, was the main organizer and instigator of all troubles, and her pathetic husband Didier was only her instrument. Their son Auguste was also only the executor of Olivia's will.
At the last meeting of the four friends, readers see that they are being watched by Didier du Trabuson, who previously acted as Colbert's spy. How did this man manage to get out of the Ottoman Empire, where he was given as a eunuch to the influential Ahmed Pasha? Was it Colbert who sent him to spy on his four friends? True, Aramis fired a musket into the bushes where he was hiding, after which a scream came from the bushes. Was du Trabuson saved? What was the letter that Aramis had on his chest that he was afraid of losing? How will the adventures of the four friends develop further? Readers will learn about this from the second book of the dilogy.

Preface by the author

My readers probably remember how the novel Ten Years Later ends. No matter how much I love my heroes, we must remember that all people are mortal, so I tried to describe not only their life, full of incredible adventures, but also their death worthy of all respect, where I showed that until the very last minute of their lives, each of them remained the noblest nobleman, faithful to the duty of honor. But my little tormentor, the charming young Marquise Dionne de Livry, shattered my author’s pride by pointing out to me such inaccuracies in my trilogy about the musketeers that destroy my statement about their faithful friendship, about their eternal motto “One for all and all for one!” She categorically demanded that I redo the ending of the novel, correcting everything that seemed illogical to her and violating the general spirit of the musketeer brotherhood. Unfortunately, her argument was so strong that it did not allow me to brush her off like an annoying fly. At the same time, she demanded that I confirm her “brilliant” guess that Porthos, Raoul, Athos and d’Artagnan did not die as absurdly as I described. The young wretch was so young and so sweet that I didn’t have the heart to argue with her. I frivolously confirmed that I was, supposedly, really writing a sequel, in which I would explain all the inaccuracies of the novel “The Vicomte de Bragelonne,” and also blithely promised to send her the manuscript of this novel. Not being too committed, I thought that I would easily forget my promise, and she herself, having matured, would forget about this conversation. However, the young Marquise Dionne de Livry, as it turned out from her numerous letters, did not forget for a day about the promises I made, and her letters became more and more demanding, and I, due to the weakness of my soul and out of extreme condescension towards young females, who, to my misfortune, pleased me with their childish spontaneity, I could not decisively refuse my promise, and also did not imagine that I would lose these regular letters from the young marquise.
When I once again met my young tormentor, who by this time had already become a charming young mademoiselle, but had not lost her liveliness of mind, I felt that I wanted to please her even more with my writing talent.
- What can you say this time, charming marquise, about the fate of my heroes in my latest work? - I asked, expecting to receive, at least, joyful approval.
“I’ll say that you only listened to some of my comments,” answered the seductive scoundrel.
- Only to some? - I was surprised. — I finished the novel almost entirely according to your recommendations, and still didn’t please you?!
“It’s boring,” the Marquise answered and shrugged. - Raoul is the scheme, Athos is a little better, Porthos is only different from the dry scheme in that it does not digest seafood, and the rest are no better. Some strange personalities appear in the novel, all these du Trabusons and others. You succeeded only in four people: d'Artagnan himself, de Bezmeaux, de Saint-Mars and Louis.
- You are unfair, my dear! - I objected. - And Aramis? And Philip? And Colbert? What about Fouquet? And the Duchess de Chevreuse, after all?
- As soon as you pay attention to one person, you immediately forget about everyone else. All your heroes do is travel from Paris to Pignerol and back! Or even further - to the Greek island of Cyprus or even to Scotland! If you start timing how long each trip should take, then it becomes utter stupidity.
- You won't please, my dear! - I exclaimed. “In that case, I refuse to write further and will destroy what I have already written!” What a blind man I was! A writer should write only what his own imagination tells him, you cannot listen to anyone, you cannot consult with anyone! I will destroy this manuscript, and let everything remain as it was! It's decided! Porthos died in the cave of Lokmaria, Raoul - in the war, Athos in his bed from grief, Muston - while reading the will of the glorious Porthos, and d'Artagnan died - yes, yes! - D'Artagnan is dead! He died from a cannonball, and let's get it over with!
- Ugh, what a hothead you are! - the marquise pouted and stuck out her lower lip in an absolutely charming way. “You don’t tolerate the slightest remark!”
- Yes, yes and yes again! - I said, gradually calming down. - Just think about it! I spent a whole month on this new novel, I was in such a hurry that in some places it consists only of dialogues, I betrayed myself by never describing a single feast! I thought that you would love this work, I thought, damn me, that you would hug me and kiss me at least on the cheek for all my work!..
“That won’t be the case,” said the devilish charm, slid towards me, hugged me tightly and left traces of its wet lips on my right cheek.
“Well…” I muttered. - Of course, I got excited... But explain to me, for God’s sake, what you didn’t like?
“The last chapters,” she said. — You wrote the last chapters in such a way that it is clear to all readers that the novel is coming to an end, all that remains is to put all the characters in their places and close the book.
- But have mercy! - I exclaimed. - After all, this is the law of the genre! Every novel someday comes to its end, and in this ending all conflicts are resolved.
“Firstly, this cannot be said about some of your other novels,” she replied, abruptly returning to her place. - I mean your best novels. Secondly, life does not obey this rule, and the best novel should look not like a novel, but like life! Every time one problem is resolved, another arises, as long as the heroes are alive, this is real life! And you? Everyone is happy, everyone has gone to Scotland, everyone is doing well! From this it is clear that there will be no continuation.
“I didn’t plan it, my dear!” - I answered.
“Well, okay,” she said. - So be it. This means there will be no continuation.
And she looked at me eloquently, so that in her eyes I read: “That kiss on the cheek that you just received from me was the last!”
“I did, however, sketch out some plan for continuing the novel,” I lied. “But you’ve probably convinced me that it’s not worth continuing.”
- I?! Have I convinced you?! - exclaimed the little monster. — I’m trying to convince you to write the next part and somewhat revive those characters in whom I did not see the liveliness that was in your first novels about musketeers! That means you understand me! Lovely!
At the same time, she waved her arms and finished her gesture with her palms facing up, which apparently meant: “Admire this little guy!”
“I seem to be a fetter for your imagination!” - she said and wrinkled her nose. - And I imagined myself to be his muse!
The corners of her eyes sparkled, and I thought with horror that tears might appear in them. I admit, I fear girlish tears even more than morning jogging.
“I swear to you, my dear, that you were my muse!” - I exclaimed, almost without lying. - And I ask you to continue to be so!
- This is true? she asked.
I read my destiny in her eyes.
To me, her question meant about the same as if she had asked: “Do you really prefer to go to heaven rather than hell?”
- My God, of course it’s true! — I answered, almost already believing my own words.
- And you really have a plan for the second volume? she asked.
- How could you doubt it? Of course have! Five whole pages! - I lied, and I believe that I didn’t give myself away in any way.
There are moments when you should be able to lie, and as convincingly as possible. So, here it is, the second part of my novel, written under the pressure of my tormentor and my muse rolled into one.

Prologue

Aramis unfolded the envelope he had received from Venice.

"Mr. General! Since you have lost the title of Bishop of Van, and since your position as Duke of Alameda at the Spanish Court has lost some of its benefits, since Spain is no longer an ally of France, we see one simple way for you to restore your high position in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and strengthen your influence on the politics of Europe for the benefit of the Order, if you agree to be called Antonio Pignatelli.
The real Antonio Pignatelli, who was born in 1615, just 7 years after you, has gone missing. Considering your resemblance to him and how young you look, you could easily pass for him. He was born into the princely family of Pignatelli, which is located in the south of Italy, in Puglia, as we learned. He probably died during an accidental sinking of a small ship in the Mediterranean Sea. He had to go on a little trip. The news of his death has not yet spread, he is considered alive and, in addition, quite influential people in the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church are involved in promoting his career. At the same time, however, he was not in a close relationship with anyone, in appearance you are so much like him that the chances of success are high, taking into account the fact that his closest two friends are members of our order, so they will confirm at any level that you are him. There is every reason to believe that a cardinal's hat is being prepared for Antonio Pignatelli, and some perspicacious minds have predicted him to be a future pope. You should know that he was educated at the Jesuit College in Rome, where he received a doctorate in canon and civil law. Even at a young age, when he was about twenty years old, Pope Urban VIII appointed him an official of the ecclesiastical court. Pignatelli was referendar in the Apostolic Signatura and also governor of Fano and Viterbo. He later went to Malta, where he served as an inquisitor from 1646 to 1649. Shortly afterwards he received priestly ordination. You could easily replace it, taking into account all the circumstances outlined in this letter.
Signed: A. S.”
— What do they write from the mainland? - asked d'Artagnan.
“And this…” Aramis smiled. “They just informed me that I am no longer the bishop of Van.
“You read the letter with this news so carefully, dear Aramis,” d’Artagnan smiled. “You’d think it was offering you a cardinal’s hat!”
- My friend! - Aramis smiled. “Being a cardinal is too much trouble, and I’ve become completely lazy.” I expect to retire completely soon.
- But you are the only one of us who is still on the list of survivors! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “Are you really thinking about faking your death and leaving France forever?”
“You can’t imagine how accurately you almost guessed my plans!” - Aramis agreed. - All my affairs are not worth talking about. All this is the petty troubles of an old man who can’t wait for the time when everyone will forget about him in order to take a break from worldly worries.
- I hope your friends are not on the list of people you would like to run away from? - asked the captain.
- In no way! - Aramis agreed. “It is to my friends that I would like to escape from political affairs!” It's so lovely here! Such wonderful air! Nature!
— By the way, have you forgotten that we have a picnic today? - asked d'Artagnan.
“I’m already anticipating it and rejoicing in advance at how wonderfully we’ll have a rest!” - Aramis answered. - Of course, under two conditions.
- Which ones? - asked d'Artagnan.
“The first condition is that it is not my horse that will have to carry the provisions that we will stock up for our dear Porthos!” - Aramis smiled. “And the second condition is that there should be no seafood in this basket.” For some reason, Porthos really doesn't like seafood.
“Yes, I noticed that,” d’Artagnan smiled in response. - Don’t worry, Grimaud will take care of the groceries, which means...
- This means that we have nothing to worry about! - Aramis exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Aramis was wrong; there was nothing to worry about.
The messenger who delivered the letter to Aramis was recognized by one of the sailors on the ship on which he sailed to Scotland. This sailor was Didier du Trabuson, who escaped from Turkish captivity. He met with this envoy when he received through him some orders from Aramis at a time when he was still under compulsion to carry out some orders from the prelate. Deciding to follow this man in the hope that this might lead him to Aramis himself, Didier immediately deserted the ship on which he was taken out of pity. He even abandoned his simple belongings, taking only small savings and stealing a couple of excellent short-barreled muskets from the captain's cabin. Du Trabuson was driven only by a thirst for revenge, and the person he hoped to meet was Aramis.
 
So, d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis had a picnic in the middle of a forest clearing in Scotland, not far from the Monqueville estate, owned by d'Artagnan.
“My friends, this picnic reminds me of a couple of others,” said d’Artagnan.
- By my sword, I know what you're talking about! - exclaimed Porthos. – Firstly, is this dinner at the La Rochelle fortress? Those were great days!
“I agree,” Aramis smiled softly.
- For our youth, friends! Why are your cups empty? - Athos exclaimed, although his cup could hardly be called full, because he had hardly drunk in recent years.
- Well, what about the second one? – asked d'Artagnan.
“Of course, the one where we planned this glorious event,” said Aramis with the same soft smile.
- That's it, friends! How glad I am that we are together again, as then, and as, I hope, always! - exclaimed d'Artagnan, knocking over his goblet of excellent Anjou wine. – And do you know what came to my mind now?
“Apparently, we’ll find out now,” Athos grinned.
“And the fact that the four of us have been keeping our finger on the pulse of history for almost forty years now.”
- For goodness sake, d'Artagnan, are we really that old? – Aramis protested.
“I remember, Aramis, you are not good at mathematics,” d’Artagnan inserted the pin.
- Not strong, by God! – Aramis answered.
“But in architecture,” continued d’Artagnan.
- Let's not talk about this! So what did you say about the pulse of history?
— I claim that history is us, and we are history. We sometimes correct its course, that is, I say that we hold the reins of this restive horse in our hands.
“As always, I agree with you, d’Artagnan,” Aramis replied after he furtively felt the said envelope on his chest and made sure that the letter was still where it was supposed to be.
- And no one can stop us! - continued d'Artagnan. “No one will dare cross our path.”
- Nobody! - Aramis confirmed, - But for God's sake, be quiet!
At this time, a dry branch cracked under the foot of Didier du Trabuson, who fled from the Ottoman Empire and swore an oath to kill Monsieur d'Artagnan and Monsieur d'Herblay.
“Can they really hear us here in the forest?” – d'Artagnan was surprised. “I heard that walls have ears, but there aren’t even walls here.” Only trees.
At that moment, Aramis looked in the direction of the sounds and, thanks to his keen vision, clearly saw the surprised face of du Trabuson in the bushes, who immediately hid again. Without giving any sign, he continued the conversation.
- Is it some kind of stupid wild animal? For example, a squirrel,” said Aramis, and with these words he phlegmatically shot into the bushes, as if not aiming at all.
Aramis's bullet hit du Trabuson in the chest just above the collarbone, he screamed in pain and surprise and collapsed more out of fear than from powerlessness on the ground with his face straight into the anthill. Overcoming the pain from the wound and from the bites of the ants, he quietly crawled back and hid behind a tree, after which he began a methodical retreat deeper into the forest.
“I think I heard a scream?” – d'Artagnan was wary.
- Squirrel, sir! Squirrel,” Aramis objected.
- As for me, it was a whole boar! - Porthos exclaimed, - I think I’ll take a look.
- No need, Porthos. - Athos objected softly, - Aramis told you that it was a squirrel, therefore, it was a squirrel.
- Squirrel, or marten. I’m weak in biology, as well as in mathematics,” Aramis grinned.
“I hope there weren’t any other… squirrels with her,” Porthos grinned.
“We stayed too long,” Athos answered and silently indicated to Grimaud that he could tidy up his things.
“Mademoiselle Campredon has already been waiting for our marshal,” Porthos smiled.
“And Mrs. Thomson has been waiting for our baron,” d’Artagnan inserted a reply.
“Aunt Miss Grefton is very pretty,” Porthos smiled. “Besides, she finds me impressive.”
“I was not interested in how Mademoiselle Suzanne Campredon finds me,” answered d’Artagnan, “it is much more important to me that I find her charming.”
- My friends! - exclaimed Porthos. “It seems our friend intends to get married and make half a dozen little d’Artagnans!” After this we will have to move out of Montville.
“What do you have to fear, Porthos?” - asked d'Artagnan. - After all, Francois turned all your estates into money and transferred this money to your account! You are rich, my friend, and you can buy ten of these Monkvilles.
- This is true! - Porthos answered proudly. “But I haven’t decided yet where I would like to spend the rest of my days.” I haven't chosen a suitable lock yet. Here in Scotland all the estates are a bit too modest.
“My friends,” said Athos, “Aramis and I are happy for you.” You can enjoy a little family happiness.
- Listen, Athos! - said Aramis. - Have you really never met a woman in your entire life who could...
- Dear friend! - Athos interrupted him. — I asked myself this question, but I still cannot answer it. Sometimes it seems to me that... However, no, I’m already too old for family life.
- And you, Aramis? - asked d'Artagnan. — It seems you were going to become Pope?
“Not this year,” Aramis smiled. - And our young friend Philip, it seems, is not at all burdened by his lot?
“Wait, Aramis, don’t think so far ahead,” answered Athos. — Times change, and people change too.
“And we change too, Athos,” Aramis agreed.
- Damn it, if anything is constant in this ever-changing world? - asked Porthos.
“Yes,” answered d’Artagnan. - Our friendship. One for all!
- And all for one! - Athos, Porthos and Aramis exclaimed in one voice, after which all four laughed cheerfully, jumped on their horses and galloped off.
But before joining his friends, Aramis rode up to the place where he had seen du Trabuson's face. Seeing a torn up anthill and bloody footprints leading deeper into the forest, he said: “Damn! He left again! and, spurring his horse, easily caught up with his friends.

Chapter I. Treason

- My friends! - D'Artagnan turned to his companions. “Two years have already passed since we made a difficult decision that will affect the fate of all of France, and, possibly, all of Europe. Do you think about the extent to which we had the right to intervene in history? Could we make this decision? And did we make the right decision?
“D’Artagnan, my friend, only the two of us made the decision,” Aramis objected. “Our dear Athos and Porthos were not with us in the room where everything was decided.
“You are mistaken, Aramis,” answered d’Artagnan. “This decision was made by all of us, although only the two of us voiced it.”
- How so? - Aramis was surprised. - After all, if you remember, there were only four of us in the room - you, me, Louis and Philippe! After talking with both of them, we decided to take Philippe away and leave Louis!
“We weren’t talking only to them,” objected d’Artagnan. - In any case, I talked to everyone. In my heart, both you, Athos, and you, Porthos, gave me your answers, and I heard them.
- My friend, do you have spiritual powers? - asked Aramis.
“Let’s do this,” D’Artagnan smiled. “I will now tell you what was discussed between us and Their Majesties, Philip and Louis, after that, Aramis, our friends, Athos and Porthos, will whisper in your ear their opinion in favor of our choice or against it, and then I will say what they whispered to you.
- It's coming! - Aramis answered.
- So, my friends, listen! - said d'Artagnan. “At first, Philippe and Louis tried to bribe me with a higher and higher position. Philip then said that he had dismissed Colbert and would bring back Fouquet from the Bastille. So, friends, vote as if your opinion decides the fate of France, here and now! Good afternoon, gentlemen, your opinion! Tell it to Aramis!
Athos drove up to Aramis and whispered something in his ear, after which Porthos did the same. Aramis smiled and looked at d'Artagnan, waiting for his statement.
“Athos told you approximately the following,” answered d’Artagnan. “I am very angry with Louis for the way he treated Raoul, but I must admit that Colbert is actively restoring and strengthening the military and financial power of France, while Fouquet was only concerned with the splendor of palace life, organizing luxurious holidays, building palaces full of luxury, erecting fortresses whose guns are aimed not outside France, but at its territory, feeding flatterers and spending millions on their mistresses. For France, I choose Colbert!” I'm right?
“Tell him yourself, Athos,” Aramis answered with a smile.
“My friend, I did not mention Raoul, palaces and mistresses,” answered Athos. “I just said that Fouquet armed himself against France, while Colbert is arming France, Fouquet ruined the treasury, and Colbert is restoring it, so I would choose Louis.”
- Wonderful! - continued d'Artagnan. - I'll tell you what Porthos said. He said the following: “Damn it, I feel sorry for Philip! And I am ashamed that I am guilty of humiliating Louis, and yet, whatever you say, he is our rightful King! We swore allegiance to him. I choose Louis!
“I said a little wrong, d’Artagnan,” said Porthos, “but you very accurately expressed my feelings and my opinion.”
- What did you say, Porthos? - asked d'Artagnan.
“I will repeat to you word for word what he said,” Aramis replied. “He told me: “I swore allegiance to Louis and I damn well regret that I quarreled with him!” If it were possible to leave two Kings, I would vote for such a decision, but if only one is needed, let Louis remain. Although I’m damn sorry for Philip!” If we were to make a bet, D'Artagnan, I would admit defeat.
“If you know us so well, dear d’Artagnan, tell us how we should decide the fate of the unfortunate prince?” - asked Athos. “For two years now he has been living with us as an honored guest, or, what would be more accurate, under our protection and as a high-ranking prisoner. You don't think that this can go on forever, do you? Besides, he is younger than us. Sooner or later he will escape our ever-watchful eye.
- Oh, we will have to decide this and very soon! - answered d'Artagnan.
“You call our living together a watchful guard,” said Porthos, “meanwhile, you and I went on this picnic without taking him with us, and entrusted his guard to only the servants.”
- Oh, don't worry! - Aramis answered. “Bazin knows his business and would rather allow himself to be killed than allow someone left under his protection to escape.”
“I have no doubt about Bazin’s intelligence and agility, but we don’t know the assistants we hired to help him well enough,” continued Porthos.
- Just two years? - Athos objected. “These people have served us faithfully for two years, and we have not had the slightest reason to doubt their integrity and devotion. John Small and Ben Brown are quite reliable guys. Why did we have to be the prince’s jailers all the time?
“Perhaps it would be safer to imprison him in a locked room with strong doors and reliable locks?” - Aramis asked himself rather than his friends.
—Lock the prince in prison? - Athos was indignant. “Even if they told me that Philip would escape and kill me in the process, I would not agree to such barbarity in this case either!” I prefer to die at the hands of a prince than to become a real jailer for the prince, the legitimate son of our King Louis XIII and the twin brother of our King Louis XIV !
“The job is done, friends,” said d’Artagnan. - I share your concerns! Perhaps we shouldn't have trusted indentured servants. But we can’t share the prince’s company forever! The four of us had a lot to discuss, and I'm glad that this picnic took place.
“We shouldn’t have started this conversation,” said Porthos. “But my heart is not at peace.” I don't trust these Scots!
- John Small and Ben Brown are English, Porthos! - D'Artagnan added a clarification.
- Especially! - Porthos answered and frowned.
“ We are like little children, telling each other horror stories!” - Athos smiled. - However, it’s already getting dark! Let's speed up the pace!
Indeed, the sun had already touched the horizon, coloring the western part of the sky with orange and red tones, the sky overhead had turned grey, and twilight was approaching. The friends broke into a fast trot.
Approaching Montville, the friends saw a glow in the east. It seemed that the Sun split into two and had two sunsets. Soon the smell of smoke reached them. The friends spurred their horses and galloped towards Monqueville.
Having turned the corner, from where Monqueville was clearly visible, the friends saw that d'Artagnan's house, outbuildings and stables were in flames.
- Suzanne! - D'Artagnan exclaimed and spurred his horse. - Suzanne! Miss Campredon!
- Agnes! - Porthos shouted and gave spurs to his heavy horse.
- Philip! - Aramis whispered and also thrust his spurs into his horse.
- My poor friends! - said Athos, not lagging behind his friends a single step.

The whole of Montville was in flames. The roof of the stables collapsed. At least three of the seven horses that remained in it miraculously got out of it and, galloping to the very edge of the forest, grazed, looking fearfully in the direction of the terrible glow.
Agnes Campbell, Miss Grefton's aunt, came out to meet her friends. Her clothes were torn and stained with soot.
- Angela, you are alive! - Porthos exclaimed, jumping off his horse.
- Suzanne! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. -Where is Suzanne?
“She’s alive,” Agnes answered. “She was taken away by force by these two, John and Ben. They killed Bazin, captured Philip and Suzanne and left, taking four horses from the stable.
- I'll find them! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - I’ll get them out of the ground!
“We will find them, my friend,” answered Athos.
“Tell me, Agnes, did Philip go with them voluntarily?” - asked Aramis.
“I don’t know that,” Agnes answered. — I hid behind the stables. They thought I was in the stable, locked the doors, propped them up with pitchforks and set them on fire. After making sure that the stable was on fire, they left, then I opened the stable and released the remaining horses.
-Where is Bazin? - asked Aramis.
“He lies by the well,” Agnes answered. “They shot him twice.”
- Bazin! - Aramis exclaimed. - Bazin, my dear!
“He’s still alive,” said Grimaud, who had found him a long time ago and was trying to help his comrade by bandaging him.
- Tell me, Grimaud, will he live? - Aramis asked, and his friends heard his voice tremble.
“I don’t know, monsignor,” answered Grimaud.
“Forgive me, monsignor, I didn’t save…” whispered Bazin.
- Shut up! Bazin, shut up! You can't talk! - Aramis exclaimed. “Where is he wounded, Grimaud?”
“One bullet in the arm, that’s nothing, the other in the chest, I’m afraid it hit the lung,” Grimaud replied.
- Grimaud! Do everything you can for him! - Aramis exclaimed.
“This could not have been said,” said Athos. - Grimaud knows his stuff.
“Monsignor, forgive me my sins,” Bazin whispered.
- Shut up, Bazin, shut up! - said Aramis. -What sins could you have? I forgive you all your sins, whatever they may be, Bazin, my friend, my dear Bazin.
“The bullet went right through the chest,” said Grimaud. - There is no blood coming from the mouth. The wound in the arm is also through, perhaps the bone is touched.
- We need a doctor! - Aramis exclaimed.
“ Grimauld is an excellent surgeon, don’t worry,” answered Athos.
- Bazin, my friend, don’t leave me! - said Aramis, and the friends saw tears on the prelate’s cheeks.

 Chapter II. A month before

King Louis XIV of France remembered two Bastille prisoners placed under the supervision of the faithful de Saint-Mars.
The first prisoner listed under the name Marciali was Lieutenant of the Guards D'Elsorte. He carried out Colbert's orders, trying to kill d'Artagnan and the prisoner he accompanied, that is, Louis himself. Having in hand an order to imprison an escorted prisoner in the Pignerol fortress, d'Artagnan did not dare to carry it out, and decided, at his own peril and risk, to imprison his enemy d'Elsorte there. He left Louis himself in the abbey, assuring him that the marks on his forehead received in one of the attacks forever closed the possibility of returning to the throne. However, the marks soon faded as they were not as deep as they seemed. D'Artagnan's scrupulousness allowed Louis to subsequently escape and regain the French throne, so Louis could not blame d'Artagnan for his decision. However, he understood that d'Elsorte, in fact, was a victim of circumstances, because he was only following Colbert's orders, unaware of who the prisoner was, who was accompanied by the captain of the royal musketeers. The king knew nothing about the meanness of d'Elsorte, who, having given the nobleman his word not to take up arms against the captain and his companions, as soon as he received the arms back, hastened to use them against his liberator. For some time after returning to the throne, the King was occupied with the idea that Colbert believed that the mysterious prisoner, listed under the name Marchiali, had some kind of national significance. The king was amused by the thought that he had a way of leading his almost omnipotent minister by the nose. However, over time, it began to seem to him that keeping a person in the Bastille just because he carried out an order was unnecessary cruelty, and, in addition, supporting an insignificant lieutenant at the expense of the treasury, as only a prince of the blood should be supported, was excessive wastefulness . The first consideration was not so significant for such a person as Louis, and both of these considerations together provided both the reason and the reason for the manifestation of leniency. In addition, a new prisoner under the name Eustache Doge was also kept in the Bastille. The king who came up with this name believed that his twin brother Philippe was being held under this name, however, d'Artagnan this time showed the same leniency for the same reasons, so instead of the prince, a certain Jacques Long-Cotou was placed in the Bastille , that is, Jacques Long Knife. Athos and Porthos captured this robber, rapist and murderer near the Pont Neuf bridge, which saved two young girls from robbery, from death and even, probably, from violence, which, of course, would have been an even greater disaster for these girls. True, our friends did not inquire what these two girls were doing on a dark night in such an ominous place, as a result of which Porthos even for a second doubted their integrity, however, a small investigation undertaken by Aramis’ informants convinced the friends that detention in the Bastille was for such a scoundrel. , like Jacques Long-Cotou, was a very weak punishment for what he deserved for his crimes. As we have already said, the King knew nothing about this, so he was convinced that it was Philip who was placed in the Bastille.
For the first six months, Louis was busy only strengthening the state and his own position in it, since the several months he spent in the abbey convinced him that nothing lasts forever in this turbulent world, and that even the King of France could one day lose his throne and everything, absolutely everything. For the next six months, Louis was exclusively occupied with strengthening the military power of France and its financial system with the help of the same Colbert. For another year the King was busy with the war.
After two years, Louis remembered the two prisoners and began to think. Both of them were kept in the Bastille, since de Saint-Mars, transferred from the post of commandant of Pin- hierol to the post of commandant of the Bastille, took with him to the Bastille his prisoner, known to him as Marciali, who was d'Elsorte.
After these two years, annoying Colbert and inserting small pins into him no longer seemed funny or pleasant to Louis: Colbert proved himself to be a faithful servant of the state and the King. There was no point in keeping D'Elsorte in the Bastille any longer. But before he was released, it was necessary to make sure that he did not know anything that could disturb Louis' peace. He could have accidentally learned some information that could serve as a clue to the King’s great secret, which no one should have known about. The easiest thing would have been for d'Elsorte to have died quietly in the Bastille, but previous orders had commanded de Saint-Mars to carefully protect the prisoner's health and care for him like a prince, so at a minimum, these orders should have been adjusted. Louis, meanwhile, understood that any correction of such orders could serve Colbert as a guide to unraveling the great mystery, since prisoners were not transferred from royal to beggarly conditions for any reason. The other option was to release D'Elsorte and assign him some difficult task that would lead to his death. The release of a prisoner could only mean that, having served the allotted time, the prisoner in question has atoned for his guilt. In this option, Louis saw another positive side. Colbert, undoubtedly, would have assigned his best spies to the liberated Marciali, which would have given Louis the opportunity, for his part, by assigning more experienced spies, to identify these spies. No matter how deeply Louis trusted Colbert, he would like to keep him on a short leash, so Louis really wanted to know Colbert’s spies. As the saying goes, “tell me who the friends of your friends are, and I will tell you who your enemies are.” This saying was taught to young Louis by Mazarin, who learned it from Richelieu.
In addition, Louis was interested in visiting Philip, to find out how he was doing, whether he had retained his amazing resemblance to him, Louis, what his mood was, whether he was making plans to escape or, even worse, to escape with the aim of seizing the throne again .
“Why is everyone so praising the intelligence and insight of Cardinal Richelieu? - Louis thought with irritation. “If he had been a little wiser, he wouldn’t have left me this problem!” Philip should have died in infancy! Do I, the King of France, have to solve this problem? Why does everyone always put everything on my shoulders? I cannot take upon myself the sin of Cain. Is there really no person in all of France who would take this sin upon himself? I shouldn't think about it! I shouldn't want this! This should happen on its own, without my desire! Because I don’t want this, I’m not only a good King, I’m also a good brother. Yes exactly! It is not my wish that he should die.”
Nevertheless, the King remembered that it was possible, in accordance with an earlier order, to see d'Elsorte, who was listed under the name Marchiali, and even more so to release him, only by personal order of the King. The same thing applied to Eustache Doget, that is, Philip. This would seem to protect him from Philip's escape. A trip to the Bastille to see Philip, however, seemed extremely dangerous to Louis. He risked remaining in it as a result of a minor betrayal or a major conspiracy, while Philip in this case could very successfully be removed from the Bastille and return to the throne of France instead of Louis.
“Ah, if d’Artagnan were still alive, I would know with whom I should go to the Bastille for this matter! - thought Louis. - Only he could I completely trust in this matter!.. Trust? Why, exactly, should I trust him? True, he hid the King's great secret, and there is not a single soul who could boast of having learned this secret from him! But, on the other hand, it was he who carried out the substitution, the vile betrayal, the second kidnapping! It speaks in his favor that he placed me not in the Pignerol fortress, but in the abbey, but this is another example of disobedience! The last time, when my fate depended on the actions of this man, he chose me again, and he himself decided to arrest Philip. This certainly speaks in his favor! Did he have a choice? Of course he was. Was it more profitable for him to eliminate me rather than Philip? Of course it is! He could fear revenge on my part, and could count on Philip's gratitude! Was Philip simply so stupid that he did not thank d'Artagnan as he should have, and that is why d'Artagnan chose my revenge over Philip's gratitude? Impossible! Why did these two choose me? After all, this choice is forever! Or not? Or was I wrong? But no, de Saint-Mars will never let Philippe out of the Bastille! De Saint-Mars knows his duty! And if d'Artagnan had hidden me in Pignerol under the supervision of de Saint-Mars, I would still have remained there! But he didn't. Devil take me apart! I'm a fool! After all, what d'Artagnan did once, he can do a second time! He could have put someone else in the Bastille, just as he had put the fool D'Elsorte in Pignerol! Why did this only come to my mind now? Yes, because I was too happy about my victory, for which I had almost no chance! Because I was worried about my position on the throne of France, and not about Philip's position in the Bastille! Fool! Make such a mistake! What if Philip was also placed in some abbey, or some monastery, of which there are thousands in France? What if he's just waiting for me to make a mistake? Philippe is the ace in the hole of this card sharper D'Artagnan! He can replace me with him at any time! However, he is dead. Is he dead? After all, I didn’t see his corpse!? In war, they say, corpses are so badly mutilated that there is no way to identify them! I had to immediately investigate the circumstances of d'Artagnan's death! And I had to personally ensure that it was Philip who was placed in the Bastille. Why didn't I do this? I know why! I was afraid that on the way to the Bastille d'Artagnan and d'Herblay would change their minds and put me there instead of Philip! I was afraid of a trap! All these two years I have been constantly afraid of a trap. D'Artagnan is dead, but I'm still afraid of him! D'Herblay is now my ally, the Spanish ambassador, and I am afraid of him too! However, everything was upset with Spain, despite the fact that my wife is a Spanish princess. Didn’t d’Herblay set this up?”
Louis broke out in a cold sweat. For the first time in these two years, he listened to his feelings and realized with all clarity that fear did not leave him for a second, at any moment he expected his brother to appear, an assassination attempt, every night, falling asleep, he was afraid of waking up in prison, every morning, waking up , he was glad that he woke up in his bed, and never realized this. Now he realized that as long as d'Herblay was alive, until he was convinced that d'Artagnan was really dead, and, most importantly, as long as Philippe was alive, he would never have peace. The King's great secret was worth nothing if there was no Philip, so the biggest concern was Philip. But he, Louis, should not visit the Bastille with Colbert, because it was impossible to allow such a powerful man to master such a terrible secret! This trip should have been given the appearance of an unimportant inspection, and it should have been done so that Colbert would never know about this trip. Even if Colbert could be sent somewhere, this would not mean that Colbert's spies would not monitor all the King's movements. Therefore, to begin with, it was necessary to release d'Elsorte, placing behind him those spies who could identify Colbert's spies. Then, these spies should have been isolated, and only at the third stage could one go to the Bastille himself in order to make sure that it was Philippe who was imprisoned in the Bastille under the name of Etache Doge. After this, one could calmly think about his fate, think about how one could help or suggest that Philip has already lived long enough in this world.
“True, it’s not safe to let D’Elsorte out if he knows something! - thought Philip. “It wouldn’t be a bad idea to talk to him first.” But to go to the Bastille yourself voluntarily, knowing that Philip exists somewhere, and not having a full guarantee that Philip is in the Bastille, would be imprudent!
Louis rang the bell, after which his secretary entered his office with a respectful bow.
“Hubert, invite the Duke d'Epernon to me,” said the King. - At twelve o'clock in the afternoon. And at twelve thirty - the Chevalier de Lorrain. And at one o'clock in the afternoon - the captain of the royal musketeers, Mr. d'Arlencourt.
 
Chapter III. Three orders

When d'Epernon entered Louis with a bow, after all the formalities the King said:
- Listen, Duke! I remember you went to the island of Saint-Marguerite in order to deliver the prisoner Marciali to Paris.
“I, Your Majesty, do not remember such an episode, however, I do not dare to deny,” said the puzzled Duke, afraid to say too much, since, as he knew, the King was not privy to this mission entrusted to him by Colbert.
“It’s pointless to deny it, Duke,” the King objected. “I know that Colbert sent you on this mission without consulting me, this is the reason for your failure.” You did everything right, and I’m not angry with you, nor with Colbert either. I only hope that such an incident will teach him not to show excessive initiative in matters that are not entrusted to him. So, M. de Saint-Mars did not give you the prisoner Marciali for the reason that you did not have a personal order signed by me so that you could receive it. So, this time your mission will be much easier and it will be successful, congratulations in advance. You won't have to travel that far and you won't have to come back with anything. The prisoner Marchiali is still under the supervision of Monsieur de Saint-Mars, but they are both in the Bastille, which is much closer. You didn't have a letter signed by me, this time you will have it. Here it is. Go tomorrow and bring me this prisoner by one o'clock in the afternoon.
With these words, the King handed the Duke a letter with the following content:

"The King's Order.
Monsieur de Saint-Mars to hand over the prisoner Marciali to the Duke d'Epernon under his full responsibility.
The Duke d'Epernon must take him to the Louvre for interrogation by the King.
This order remains with M. de Saint-Mars as a supporting document for the transfer of the prisoner. Do not make entries in the prisoners' journal.
After interrogation, the prisoner will be returned to the Bastille in exchange for this order and placed in the same place under the same conditions.
Signed: King Louis XIV of France ."

“And one more thing, Duke,” added the King. — Do not take guards to guard the carriage. I want my musketeers to guard the carriage. Take eight musketeers from d'Arlencourt for this purpose, without devoting him to the task for which they will be taken. Just ask the most loyal and brave servants. I want it that way.
“It will be done, Your Majesty,” answered the Duke d’Epernon, after which he took the order, bowed and left.

Twenty minutes after he left, Hubert announced the arrival of the Chevalier de Lorrain.

- My dear Lorren! - exclaimed the King. - I came up with a new entertainment for you and me!
- In that case, I will soon be out of business, Your Majesty? - Lorren smiled. “It seemed to me that inventing entertainment for the King and alleviating boredom at court was one of my unspoken duties?”
- That's right, dear Lorren! - Louis agreed. “Although you should be assisted in this work by my other courtiers, whom I call my friends, but who, it seems to me, are only thinking about how to fill their pockets, you perform these duties much better.” But this time it was me who came up with the fun.
- What is it, Your Majesty? - Lorren asked.
“She is connected with Colbert,” answered the King, smiling slyly.
- Fi! — Lorren made a grimace. - You know that I don’t like him! Just the sight of it makes me sick!
- So, you won’t refuse to screw him up? - the King clarified.
- I will do any nasty thing to him with great pleasure! - Lorren confirmed.
“Well, listen,” Louis was inspired. “I have one prisoner in the Bastille, about whom Colbert thinks that he is very important for me, for France, and God knows for what purposes.” This is the hook on which we will catch this fish.
- Very interesting! - Lorren exclaimed. -Who is he really?
- A nonentity who doesn't deserve any attention! - answered the King. “I suppose it could be released, but then the whole game would break.”
“It would be unwise to release him if he can serve us in order to catch Colbert,” Lorren agreed.
“That’s what I think,” the King nodded. “I ordered d'Epernon to bring this prisoner to me for interrogation by one o'clock tomorrow.
- Curious! - Lorren exclaimed.
“I don’t need him, but I believe that Colbert will definitely arrange for surveillance of the carriage on d’Epernon’s route from the Bastille to the Louvre and back,” the King continued. “I also don’t exclude the possibility that he will try to persuade d’Epernon to talk to the prisoner on the way, to find out his story.” Perhaps even he himself will be in this carriage. He won’t be able to overhear our conversation, so I’m almost sure that on the way to the Bastille he’ll try to get this prisoner to talk, and it’s even quite possible that he’ll try to kidnap him from me.
- And what does this threaten Your Majesty? - Lorren asked.
- Better ask what this means for Colbert! - Louis laughed. “This, if you like, is a test of his loyalty to me, and also an excellent way to recognize his spies who serve only him, but about whom I know nothing.”
“So this prisoner is the bait we'll use to catch Colbert?” - Lorren perked up. - Your Majesty, you are an unsurpassed genius in strategies of this kind! I bow to your genius! What is required of me?
“You must take people loyal to you, place them along the road to the Bastille, or send them to track the carriage, or perhaps both.” You must find out at all costs whether Colbert will interfere in this matter, exactly how he will do it, and with what result.
- Nice fun! - Lorren exclaimed. — Human hunting is the best of all types of hunting, and hunting with decoy bait is the most exciting of all types of human hunting!
- So you will do what I suggest? - asked the King.
- Your Majesty! Any request you make is an order from the King of France! I will carry out any of your orders! But I will also carry out this order with great pleasure, because we will have great fun, and, I hope, we will pretty much annoy this hated Colbert!
- Make sure he doesn’t notice the trick, my dear Lorren! - said the King. - If he notices the surveillance, the whole game will be ruined!
“I will use women, children and the elderly along with the soldiers,” Lorren replied. - In appearance, they will not be any different from ordinary passers-by. The merchant's cart will follow the carriage. Another cart will follow in the opposite direction.
- Good morning, Lorren! - said the King. - I'm counting on you. At four o'clock you will tell me everything!

Ten minutes after Lorrain left, Captain d'Arlencourt was invited to the King, who took over the position of d'Artagnan, who was considered killed in the battle.
- Captain! - said the King to d'Arlencourt. “Some people whose job it is to serve me and carry out my orders instead poke their noses into my affairs, contrary to the prohibition I explicitly give on this matter.
- Unthinkable, Your Majesty! - answered d'Arlencourt. - Are you ordering them to be arrested?
“Arrest, dear Captain d’Arlencourt, that’s the simplest thing,” Louis objected. - To begin with, I would just like to know these people. Forewarned is forearmed, right?
“I am a soldier, Your Majesty, please forgive me,” said d’Arlencourt, “I am not a detective, and I do not have any skills for this.” Your Majesty has a sufficient staff of people whose profession and whose skills are more suitable for this task.
“That’s right, dear captain,” the King objected. “You object to your King, but your King is not angry with you because you are right.” However, I am not suggesting that you spy. You are right that there are enough spies in Paris, and there is no need to use musketeers for these purposes.
“I am happy, Your Majesty, that you agree with me,” said the captain.
“I agree with you, and I hope that you will agree with me,” continued the King. — In order to protect the state from conspirators, the police are needed. In order for the police to have information about the conspirators, agents are needed, if you want, call them spies or spies. No matter how contemptuously you and I may treat their activities, such activities are necessary for the state, and someone must carry them out. But the question is: who will monitor those who should monitor others? And who will watch over those who watch over those who watch over everyone else?
— This is a complex philosophical and state task, Your Majesty! - exclaimed d'Arlencourt.
“This is just a one-time action, consider it an order to carry out an inspection,” the King clarified. “I’m not asking you to find out anything, to follow someone.” The task is more simple.
- What is it, Your Majesty? - inquired d'Arlencourt.
“Tomorrow M. d’Epernon’s carriage will leave for the Bastille for one insignificant prisoner, whom it will bring to the Louvre.” This carriage will then take this prisoner back to the Bastille. This carriage will be under surveillance despite my prohibition. I believe that, perhaps, not only Monsieur d'Epernon and his prisoner will travel in this carriage, and not only sufficient security for the safety of the convoy, but, perhaps, some significant person who sticks his nose into my affairs. Do you think this is good?
- This is outrageous, Your Majesty! - answered d'Arlencourt.
“For this reason, I ordered that this carriage be followed by those people whose duty it is not and has never been to carry out such surveillance,” continued the King.
“They may not be able to cope with this assignment, or they may not cope with it well enough,” suggested d’Arlencourt.
“So be it, it doesn’t bother me,” the King waved it off. “I thought that they could make their task much easier by colluding with those they are assigned to monitor.
- Is that so? - D'Arlencourt was surprised. - Forgive me, Your Majesty...
“Nothing, nothing, your reaction is quite natural,” replied Louis. - You see, captain, if there are several groups in a state that do not tolerate each other, this is not scary. If in a state there are several people poking their noses into the affairs of the sovereign, this is disgusting. But not fatal. If these groups only pretend that they do not tolerate each other, but in fact enter into a criminal conspiracy against their sovereign, then this will already be a state crime, this will be the greatest danger for the state.
- You are right, Your Majesty! - answered d'Arlencourt.
— Isn’t protecting the King the main function of the royal musketeers? - Louis inquired.
- That's right, Your Majesty! - confirmed the captain.
“Consequently, you must help me find out whether there will be a conspiracy between those who must deliver this prisoner to the Louvre and back, those who will monitor his movement on their own initiative without my order or permission, and also those who must keep an eye on these latter, according to my direct orders.
- How can we distinguish one from the other, Your Majesty? asked d'Arlencourt. -What will our business be?
“Your job is to form a motorcade to guard d’Epernon’s carriage from eight musketeers loyal to you.”
“All my musketeers are loyal to me, Your Majesty,” answered d’Arlencourt.
“That means, from among your most faithful, most courageous, and most observant people,” the King clarified. “Tomorrow morning d’Epernon will ask you for an eight-man escort.” Give it to him. These people should be your ears and your eyes in this matter, and you will be my ears and eyes. Such an assignment does not contradict the functions of musketeers and the code of musketeer honor, Mr. Captain?
“The instructions received from you, Your Majesty, are extremely clear, they do not contradict the soldier’s oath, and they will be carried out exactly,” answered d’Arlencourt, straightening up.
“Okay, captain, I’m satisfied,” said Louis. - You are free. Tomorrow I'm expecting you to give a report at five o'clock in the evening.
The captain bowed and left the King's office.

Chapter IV. Evening visit

In the evening, the Duke d'Epernon came to Colbert and outlined the essence of the King's instructions for the next day.
— Do you have the order, monsignor? Colbert asked.
“Here he is, Mr. Minister,” answered the Duke.
Colbert read the document carefully twice and returned it to d'Epernon.
“An interesting business,” Colbert said thoughtfully. “First I want to see this prisoner, and I can’t do anything.” Now, when I almost forgot about him... Yes, I almost forgot, only almost, because I don’t forget about anything! Now, as you can see, we have a chance to figure it all out.
“I will interrogate this mysterious Marciali on the way to the Louvre, and also, if it is ordered to take him back, I will interrogate him on the way back!” - the Duke exclaimed passionately.
- Great! - Colbert exclaimed, but immediately caught himself and feigned absent-mindedness. - What did you say, Duke?
“I said that I would interrogate Marciali on the way!” Just let him try not to tell me the whole truth about himself! - answered d'Epernon.
- Under no circumstances, Duke, under no circumstances! - Colbert answered hastily. “If His Majesty takes such precautions in relation to this prisoner, your attempt to interrogate him will be your verdict as well as mine.”
- But your first words were “Great!”, weren’t they? - the Duke was surprised.
“I was distracted, I answered with my own thoughts, don’t pay attention,” Colbert was embarrassed. “Under no circumstances will I order you to interrogate the prisoner Marchiali.” Just follow the King's orders and do not deviate one iota from his order.
— Will there be any other assignments as well? - the Duke asked disappointedly. — Perhaps you will be curious to know the details about the trips?
- What, excuse me, details can there be if, according to my instructions, you do not deviate in any way from the instructions received from the King? - Colbert said with some embarrassment. “You simply take the prisoner to the Louvre and take him back.”
- So, no action? - D'Epernon asked disappointedly.
- No, absolutely no actions other than fulfilling His Majesty’s instructions! Colbert replied. “Good-bye, Duke, I won’t keep you any longer.”
With these words, Colbert glanced at the wall clock and rose from his chair, which forced the Duke to leave Colbert's office without further questions.
Having escorted the Duke to the threshold of the office, Colbert made a finger sign for the secretary to enter the office.
“Lucien, bring me Jeannette de Bachelet, quickly.”

Twenty minutes later, a pretty noblewoman entered Colbert’s office.
“Did you call me, sir?” - she asked and modestly lowered her eyes.
- Jeannette, baby, when are you meeting the Duke d'Epernon?
“I think in two or three days, sir,” answered the young beauty.
- No good! - Colbert objected. - You will see him today. Start being capricious, use any of your feminine tricks, you know how to do it, every single one! But just get him to tell you about the King’s assignment tomorrow. This assignment is to bring one mysterious prisoner from the Bastille to the Louvre and take him back. Remember: you don't know anything about this. He himself must tell you about it. After that, make him swear that if he loves you, he will find out the story of this prisoner and tell you. Not a word about me, of course. Well, you're smart!
“I understand everything, sir,” answered Jeannette with the most modest look. “I have to find out from him what the assignment is, then get capricious, say that he doesn’t love me, and if he does, let him entertain me with a story about this prisoner, right?”
“In order to entertain you, he can invent some kind of story himself,” Colbert replied disapprovingly and wrinkled his upper lip. “We need to come up with something to prevent him from resorting to lies.”
“I’ll say that I know something about this prisoner, and if he decides to deceive me, I’ll find out anyway,” Jeannette answered.
- No, that won't do! Colbert exclaimed. “You cannot know anything about him, and your curiosity should not appear interested.” Just say that you can easily see when he is lying and when he is telling the truth, so threaten him so that he does not try to deceive you.
- What if he still deceives me? - Jeannette asked, pouting her lips.
“That, my dear, is not your concern,” Colbert answered condescendingly. “If he tries to deceive you, that will also give me some information about the case.” So, there's just a little bit left to do. You need to have this conversation today.
- Oh, there’s nothing complicated about it! “I’ll write to him that I miss him terribly, and he’ll come running like a darling,” Zhannetta answered.
“Okay, I’m satisfied,” Colbert replied. - If the case goes well, you will receive a bonus in the amount of a month's allowance in addition to your regular monthly salary.
“Thank you, sir,” said Jeannette and left with a bow.
In an excellent mood, Colbert walked Jeannette out of the office and again beckoned the secretary with his finger.
- Lucien, invite Pr;val to me immediately.
Ten minutes later, a man of such small stature entered the office that if not for his face, he could have been mistaken for a four-year-old child.
- Mister Minister, did you call me? - asked the dwarf.
- My dear Martin Pr;val! Colbert exclaimed. - I have business for you.
“I’m listening to you,” Preval answered obediently.
- Stock up on dried fruits and nuts without peeling. Lucien will give it to you. You have to spend the night and day in a secret place,” Colbert said.
“This is not the first time for me,” Preval replied.
“Today the Duke d’Epernon will visit Jeannette de Bachelet,” Colbert continued. “While Jeannette has him, you must sneak into the carriage, lie down under the seat and hide, so that no one sees or hears you.” You can sleep at night, I hope you don't snore.
“I sleep quietly, like a baby,” answered Preval.
- Great! Colbert chimed in. - Tomorrow the carriage will go to the Bastille for one prisoner, and after some time it will take him back to the Bastille. All this time, while the prisoner and the Duke d'Epernon, who is escorting him, are riding in the carriage, you must listen to what the conversation is about and remember everything, if possible, word for word. The content of these conversations interests me very much.
“Everything will be done,” Preval answered with a bow.
-Aren't you asking about the reward? - Colbert asked and looked at Pr;val expectantly.
“I am in your service, sir,” answered Preval.
“You can ask for an additional reward for this assignment,” Colbert replied.
“The sire always sets the reward himself,” answered Pr;val.
“Yes, you’re not mistaken,” Colbert nodded. - And you won't be disappointed.

Chapter V. Eyes and ears that serve two people

The Duchess de Chevreuse was getting ready for bed. Despite her advanced age, she was still attractive, although she already looked at her reflection in the mirror with great chagrin.
Although the Duchess almost never locked the doors of her room, she still taught all visitors to knock.
This time the knock was one of the conventional ones, of which the Duchess came up with a whole set, so she could easily recognize who exactly was knocking on her door.
- Come in, Jeannette, I’m alone! - the duchess answered the knock.
- Duchess, it really is me! - said Jeannette de Bachelet.
“It’s so late,” noted the Duchess, “that I believe you have the latest and most interesting news.”
With these words, the duchess opened her box and took out a pearl bracelet, which she silently handed to the girl.
“Thank you, Duchess,” said Jeannette, accepting the bracelet with a bow. “This evening Monsieur Colbert called me and ordered me to invite the Duke d’Epernon to his place in the evening.”
- Very interesting! - answered the duchess. - Continue!
“Tomorrow the Duke will have to deliver a certain secret prisoner from the Bastille to the Louvre, and after interrogation by the King, take him back to the Bastille.
“Yes, yes,” nodded the duchess.
“I was ordered to persuade the Duke to ask the prisoner about the reasons for his imprisonment, and on the way back to find out everything about the prisoner’s conversation with the King.”
- Without a doubt, it’s him! - exclaimed the Duchess.
“I did what I was told,” Jeannette smiled. — Louis promised to tell me everything about the prisoner.
- Great, baby! — the Duchess admired. - Great job. Here is a bracelet for your other hand, and when you tell me everything you learned from the Duke, you will receive a tiara.
“Thank you, Duchess,” said Jeannette and, having received an approving nod from her patroness, left the boudoir of the Duchess de Chevreuse.

Colbert, meanwhile, received a note from the secretary, written in Jeannette’s small, neat handwriting, which said: “The promise has been made. Jeannette."
Colbert sniffed the note automatically. Recognizing the smell of Cologne water, which Jeannette preferred, he rolled the note into a tube and burned it on a candle.

Chapter VI. Mysterious Prisoner

The next day, the Duke d'Epernon arrived at the Bastille with the King's orders.
- Monsieur de Saint-Mars! Good afternoon. I came to take revenge! - the Duke said arrogantly, entering Saint-Mars's office, which had previously been de Bezmeaux's office.
— Were we really rivals and competed in something? - asked Saint-Mars.
“I want to remind you how you did not give me your prisoner Marciali on the orders of Monsieur Colbert,” said the Duke, extracting the King’s order.
“This prisoner can only be extradited by order signed by the King,” Saint-Mars answered calmly.
- This is the order! - d'Epernon answered proudly, handing the order to the commandant.
“If you want to call it revenge, call it whatever you want,” Saint-Mars answered calmly, studying the order. “If you had presented a similar document there on the island of Saint-Marguerite, you would have received this prisoner.” If you had now presented a document signed only by Mr. Colbert, you would not have received it now. I always carry out the orders of the King exactly, and I also carry out the orders of the Minister exactly, provided that they do not contradict the orders of the King. So, you take Marchiali, and I take this document.
“Yes, take him,” d’Epernon said proudly and sat down in Saint-Mars’ chair.
“Right now, Mister Duke,” replied de Saint-Mars. - I must warn you about the procedure for keeping and transporting this prisoner. According to His Majesty's orders, he must move outside the fortress only with an iron mask on his face. In this mask I will bring him to you. Also, according to the order of His Majesty, any conversations with this prisoner are prohibited, except for messages to him about the regulations of his stay in the fortress or the regulations of his actions. If he starts to say something, you should not listen to it. In this case, it is permissible to cover his ears or use a gag to shut his mouth. In all other respects he should be treated with respect, calling him Monsignor.
“Have you read that this prisoner is at my complete disposal?” - asked d'Epernon arrogantly.
“Yes, sir, I can read,” replied Saint-Mars. “I just told you the instructions I received earlier.” You can neglect them, for which I do not bear any responsibility. This minute you will have a prisoner.
Soon Saint-Mars returned to the office, leading with him a prisoner in an iron mask. The Duke involuntarily stood up and approached the prisoner, torn by curiosity.
“So, monsignor, from this moment you are at the disposal of the Duke d'Epernon,” said Saint-Mars, turning to the prisoner.
After this, de Saint-Mars sat down in his chair with the air of a man who had completely fulfilled his duty.
“Follow me, monsignor,” said the Duke dryly, overwhelmed by many feelings that he carefully tried to suppress.
After this, d'Epernon went down the stairs into the prison yard, where his own carriage and eight musketeers were waiting for him, acting as an escort. At that moment, one of the musketeers easily jumped off his horse to open the carriage door in front of the duke and his prisoner. The prisoner looked at the musketeer and shuddered. He recognized Francois, his old enemy. This man was one of those who took him prisoner, one of those who were responsible for his imprisonment in the fortress of Pignerol, and then in the Bastille. D'Elsorte decided that he was being taken to execution. However, he controlled himself and calmly got into the carriage, deciding not to say anything to anyone and to hold on courageously to the end.
Francois, meanwhile, was not privy to all the circumstances of the case, he did not pay attention to the prisoner, calmly closed the carriage door, jumped on his horse, and the carriage, accompanied by a cortege of eight musketeers, left the gates of the Bastille and headed to the Louvre.
D'Epernon rode in silence for some time, hoping that the prisoner himself would break the silence, however, the masked man rode in silence, contemplating through the translucent curtains the streets of Paris, which he believed he was seeing for the last time in his life.
“Do you know, monsignor, where I’m taking you?” - D'Epernon finally asked, remembering the promise he had made to Jeannette.
The prisoner silently looked away from the window and looked carefully at the Duke.
“If I were being led to execution, it would hardly require the Duke d’Epernon,” thought d’Elsorte. “Besides, he also calls me monsignor, which means he takes me for someone else, whose fate is perhaps not as unpleasant as I think.” We must continue to play a noble person!”
- Why these meaningless questions? D'Elsorte said in as arrogant a tone as he could manage. - The order was given to you, which means you know where and why you are taking me. If you intend to tell me the purpose of the trip, tell me if you want to find out anything from me, then I hope you understand that I cannot give an answer to your question. If you want to know something else, please be kind enough to formulate your question more clearly.
D'Epernon, who could not have expected such courage and audacity, stopped short and remained silent for some time, looking for tactics for further conversation.
“Perhaps you have some last wish?” - asked the Duke, hoping to simultaneously frighten his prisoner and force him to change his arrogant tone to the tone of a petitioner, so that the conversation would finally move to a more frank and friendly tone.
“First I would like to hear the accusation and the verdict,” the prisoner snapped coldly.
- Don't you know your guilt? - the Duke was surprised.
- Are you interrogating? - asked d'Elsorte even more arrogantly, continuing to play a noble person, so noble that even the Duke d'Epernon is not something special to her.
After these words, d'Epernon bit his tongue and fell silent.
“What kind of person is this? - he thought. - This prisoner behaves as if he were a prince of the blood, at least the illegitimate son of the King, or something even more significant! He talks to me like I'm a simple guard, despite the fact that he apparently knows me! He meets any question I have with hostility and turns it against me!”
However, the Duke decided to make one more attempt to get the prisoner to talk.
— Do you have any complaints regarding your detention in the fortress? - he asked, trying to combine a patronizing tone with enough respect.
“No,” the prisoner answered briefly, after which there was absolutely no possibility of continuing the conversation, especially taking into account Colbert’s orders and instructions from Saint-Mars.
“Damn this Jeannette! - thought d'Epernon. - Women make us do crazy and stupid things! Why did I even talk to him! Stupid feminine whims! Maybe he’ll be more talkative on the way back, and if not, I’ll lie to her about him and be done with it!”
After this, the prisoner and the guard rode in complete silence all the way to the Louvre.
Since Colbert had not ordered surveillance of the carriage, Chevalier de Lorrain's men failed to notice any suspicious persons, except for a few tramps who looked at the carriage out of habit of showing curiosity about everything in the hope of chance profit.
The musketeers accompanying the carriage also did not note anything dubious, however, Francois's trained eye noticed several of Lorrain's spies.

When the Duke led the prisoner into the King's office, Louis ordered that the prisoner's hands be tied behind the back of the chair in which he was seated, after which the King ordered them to be left alone.
 
Chapter VII. Talk

When the doors closed, Louis approached the prisoner and took off the mask he knew so well.
“So, as far as I understand, you are one of the former guards?” - asked the King.
“Lieutenant of the Guards Regiment d'Elsorte, Your Majesty,” answered the prisoner.
“I remember you,” said the King. - Answer as best you can to your King. For what offense did the captain of the musketeers d'Artagnan put you in the fortress?
- Only because I carried out the orders of Minister Colbert, Your Majesty! - answered the prisoner.
- What was this order? - asked Louis.
“We were commanded by de Trabuson, whom Colbert, through three ranks, appointed captain of the guards,” answered d’Elsorte. - I don’t know all the subtleties. At first it seemed to me that Captain d'Artagnan and the prisoner he was taking to the Pignerol fortress should be detained. Then everything became like a simple hunt for people. I realized that we were instructed to kill d'Artagnan and bring the prisoner to Colbert. Then the order changed. We should have killed both of them.
“Kill them both, aren’t you mistaken?” - asked the King.
“That’s exactly right,” D’Elsorte replied. “We’ve almost got it done.” Du Trabuson's wife shot the prisoner in the head. I guess she killed him. All that remained was to kill d'Artagnan.
- Du Trabuson's wife? - the King was surprised. - Since when do women ride horses and shoot muskets?
“She fights with a sword no worse than any guardsman!” - answered the prisoner. - Not a woman - a devil!
“So, then you killed the prisoner,” the King said gloomily.
He remembered that this prisoner was himself, and only a happy accident, this very iron mask that now lay in front of him, saved him from certain death; Even now the trace of that bullet, which almost became fatal for Louis, was visible on it.
“Madame Olivia killed the prisoner, and I tried to kill the captain,” answered D’Elsorte. - An order is an order! I'm not to blame for anything.
“I don’t believe you,” replied the King. “I know d’Artagnan very well.” In recent years he has become almost a pacifist. Remaining an excellent and brave military man, he avoided any senseless bloodshed, almost avoided duels, especially if the opponent was weaker than him, and pitied any compatriot. He would let you go after you failed to kill him. He would have released you on parole, demanding that you promise not to interfere with his mission any further.
“I don’t dare lie to you, Your Majesty, that’s how it was,” admitted D’Elsorte. “He let me go on parole as a nobleman, I promised that I would not take up arms against him.”
“Then why were you captured, why did he put you in the Bastille?” - the King was surprised.
“I didn’t keep my word,” D’Elsorte replied. “I tried to kill him at the first opportunity.”
“You didn’t keep the nobleman’s word?!” - the King was surprised.
“I had an order to kill him, I tried to carry it out,” D’Elsorte replied.
“In that case, you shouldn’t have given your words,” the King snapped. - If a nobleman gives his word as a nobleman, this word is sacred! I, as the head of all the French nobility, approve the order of Captain d'Artagnan to take you into custody. I deprive you of your nobility. You will be returned to the Bastille. Previously, you were treated like a nobleman, moreover, you took the place of a very worthy nobleman. You were treated like a duke, almost like a prince. From now on you will be treated like a common criminal. Do you have one last request for me?
- Your Majesty! - exclaimed D'Elsorte. “I would have fallen to my knees in front of you if I had not been tied to the chair!” I ask you one thing. Don't take away the noble title from my children.
- Do you have children? - asked the King.
“Two sons,” answered D’Elsorte.
“Okay,” agreed the King. “They are not guilty of your treachery.” They won't know anything about him. For them, you will be listed as dead while carrying out the minister’s order. The content that was assigned to you will be transferred to your children as a pension. You will be kept as a simple criminal, in solitary confinement. You will wear this mask for the last time on the way to the Bastille. You won't need it anymore. I'll arrange this. But no one will see your face anymore, because the face of a nobleman who has sullied his honor is not the best sight.
- Thank you, Your Majesty! - exclaimed D'Elsorte. -You are so generous! If you need a man who is ready to give his life for you, know that Lieutenant D'Elsorte is at your disposal!
“Okay, my dear,” answered the King. “Perhaps I will allow you to fight as a simple soldier, and then, perhaps, if you regain your noble title with your courage, I will remember you.” And now I don't want to see you anymore. They will take you back. I will order changes to the conditions of your detention later. You will be taken back on the same carriage, with the same escort. These people don't need to know about your shame. I allow you to behave with them as if you were a noble person. But this will be the last time. Did you understand everything well?
- Thank you, Your Majesty! - D'Elsorte said again and bowed his head, since his hands were tied.
After these words, the King again put the iron mask on the prisoner with his own hands, then he rang the bell, and to Hubert who entered he said:
- Hubert, tell the Duke d'Epernon that he can take the prisoner and return him back to the Bastille.

Chapter VIII. Colbert's investigation

Intrigued, d'Epernon again entered the King's, saw the prisoner in the same mask, in the same position. Having untied his hands, he took him to the carriage, after which, accompanied by the same convoy, the cortege headed back to the Bastille. It seemed that the prisoner was even less inclined to talk and at the same time maintained an extremely arrogant appearance.
- Is your fate clear to you now? - asked d'Epernon.
“Quite,” answered the prisoner, proudly raising his head and crossing his legs.
- Was your guilt explained to you? - asked d'Epernon.
- By what right, sir, do you ask me this question? - asked proudly d'Elsorte, who took particular pleasure in daring the Duke d'Epernon himself, remaining under the mask and portraying a mysterious and unknown prince.
The Duke became shy and did not dare ask any more questions.
Arriving at the Bastille, the carriage again entered the fortress courtyard, the Duke invited d'Elsorte to leave and escorted him to de Saint-Mars' office.
“I return your prisoner to you, Monsieur de Saint-Mars, and ask you to return the King’s order to me, as follows from the order itself,” he said to the commandant.
“Thank you, Mister Duke,” replied the commandant, looking around at the prisoner. - This is the order.
“Happy stay,” the Duke answered dryly and left the Bastille.
-Where to now? - asked the coachman.
- To Colbert! - the Duke answered decisively.

- What news, Mister Duke? - Colbert d'Epernon asked, smiling radiantly.
“I haven’t found out anything except that this prisoner is a very significant person, apparently a prince, but I don’t know him.” This is none of my friends!
- How did you draw this conclusion? Colbert asked.
“From communication with him,” answered d’Epernon.
- Sorry? What did you say? - Colbert feigned extreme surprise. “You dared to communicate with him, despite my prohibition?”
“Actually, I didn’t communicate with him,” the Duke answered, embarrassed. - Just a couple of phrases. I invited him to sit down, and invited him to get out when the carriage arrived at the place.
- And from these phrases you concluded that he is a noble person? - Colbert asked, peering intently into the Duke’s face.
“Rather, my intuition worked here,” answered the Duke. “I can tell a noble person from an ordinary nobleman.”
“Well, thank you, Duke,” Colbert replied. “It seems that I had one of the bills for you under consideration, something related to uniforms for your guardsmen.”
“I would ask you to pay it as soon as possible,” said the Duke.
“Of course, Duke, of course,” Colbert replied. — Apparently, you have other expenses coming up?
“It is advisable to replace a dozen horses, saddles, muskets, my lieutenant has a list,” answered d’Epernon.
“Send it to me, I will order payment,” Colbert nodded, but, catching himself, added, “if the requested amount is justified, within the funds allocated to me.”
“Thank you, Monsieur Minister,” d’Epernon replied with dignity and left Colbert’s office.

In the evening, Jeannette de Bachelet appeared in Colbert's office.
- Jeannette, my girl! Colbert exclaimed. - What tales did your Louis regal you with?
- He talked like crazy! - Jeannette laughed. “I immediately realized that he didn’t find out anything and was making up a story about some unfortunate prince who was taken to prison straight from the wedding!”
- Even so? Colbert smiled. “I haven’t heard of any weddings of princes that were interrupted by the arrest of the groom!”
“This prince has returned from a sea voyage, during which, due to a storm, he stopped at some island!” There he met with some foreign general, entered into a secret alliance, after which he was arrested right at the wedding the day after his arrival, thrown into a fortress on some island, then transported to the Bastille in a carriage with barred windows, putting on him iron mask This prince was wearing an iron mask this time too, so my Louis didn’t see his face. There were some other details about the mysterious eastern princess, about a treasure hidden on a desert island, and even about some convict and murderer who tried to kill this prince. I'm tired of listening to this nonsense.
- Well, the Duke has an imagination no worse than Abbot Bourdaile! Colbert exclaimed. - He should write novels!
- Fi, I wouldn’t read them! - Jeannette objected. - Everything is somehow chaotic, illogical, inconsistent. Basically, he deceived me.
“You helped me a lot, Jeannette, I am very grateful to you,” Colbert replied. — You will receive the wallet with the promised reward from Lucien.

After Jeannette, Colbert received the dwarf Martin Pr;val.
- Dear Martin, what will you tell me? Colbert asked.
“Almost no conversation,” answered Pr;val. “On the way there, he asked if the prisoner knew where he was being taken, if he knew his guilt and if he would have his last wishes. The prisoner answered all questions arrogantly and briefly. On the way back the conversation was even shorter.
- Great, Preval, but could you tell me more? Colbert asked. - You have an excellent memory!
After this, Preval recounted almost verbatim all the dialogues that he heard from under the seat of the carriage.
- Nobody noticed you, are you sure? Colbert asked.
- Not a single soul! - answered Preval.
- Thank you, my friend! Colbert said with a nod. - Hold it!
With these words, Colbert handed Pr;val a wallet, which in weight, size and contents exactly corresponded to the fee established between the two for such services.

Chapter IX. Reflections of the King

Louis thought. The information received from Lorrain, from d'Arlencourt and from d'Epernon was generally consistent. It turned out that Colbert stopped spying on the King’s envoys, stopped poking his nose into Louis’s affairs and devoted himself entirely to the tasks entrusted to him, namely the rearmament of the army and navy, finance, and industry.
“So I shouldn’t expect any trickery from Colbert? - Louis asked himself. “Or did all three of them collude?” Well, let’s say that de Lorraine and Colbert could conspire behind my back; they are too zealously demonstrating mutual enmity before my eyes for me to dare to believe in it. If they were truly enemies, they would hide this enmity. But d'Arlencourt? Could he conspire with both? Unthinkable! However, I must allow the betrayal of my musketeer captain. But is it possible to believe in Colbert’s selflessness and Lorrain’s good feelings? Okay, let’s assume that they are all honest and loyal people to me. In this case, can I risk going to the Bastille to meet Philip? What if they have prepared a trap for me, and the carriage will take Philippe, not me, back from the Bastille? Terrible! You shouldn't take that risk! How can I find out whether Philippe is really placed in the Bastille under the name of Eustache Dauger? After all, I cannot trust anyone in this kingdom of mine as much as I would trust d’Artagnan! Damn me completely! I trusted d'Artagnan, and yet he betrayed me twice, not counting minor acts of disobedience! First of all, when he kidnapped me, he replaced me with my brother Philip! For this alone he should be quartered! Secondly, he deceived... No, he deceived not me, but Philip! After all, it was only thanks to this deception that I was able to return to the throne! Moreover, when he and the Bishop of Vannes, with this d'Herblay, who is now called the Duke of Alameda, decided the fate of France, choosing me from the two of us, because this decision returned the throne to me! In addition, his devotion to my mother, his devotion to me during the Fronde, when I was still a small boy and could not withstand this terrible danger to which our entire family, the entire monarchy, was exposed! Whatever you say, d'Artagnan was always faithful to me, provided that I did not demand that he deal with his friends. Such devotion is understandable, it has its own clear boundaries, I should constantly remember these boundaries, not violate them, and thereby have d’Artagnan as my most faithful and reliable officer. I should have kept it to myself. He shouldn't have been sent to battle, I needed him here in the palace as captain of the royal musketeers! Oh yes, I promised him a marshal's baton! It can only be obtained for winning a military campaign. They should have given him that damned staff, because he fought so much! It was stupid to risk him. Well, that’s what war is for, to lose the best warriors. What should I do now? How can I find out who is sitting in the Bastille, Philip or someone else under his name, just as d'Artagnan put that pathetic coward d'Elsorte in Pignerol instead of me? I really don't have any friends! I’m left alone and I have no one to rely on!”
At that moment, the office doors opened, Secretary Hubert entered and said:
“Your Majesty, the Duchess de Chevreuse requests an audience.”
- Ask! - exclaimed the King. - Ask immediately!
“I forgot that there is another person in the palace whom I can trust! Duchess! After all, she helped me regain the throne! She hid me in the Louvre, gave me clothes, and shaved off my beard with her own hands, returning me to my former appearance! I even powdered the remaining scars on my forehead! This lady won’t betray me, if only because it doesn’t benefit her!”
- I am happy to see Your Majesty in good health! - said the duchess, entering the office with a polite bow. “I’m also happy that you took the time to meet with me.”
- My dear duchess! - said the King as kindly as possible. - I always have time for you! How can I neglect my mother's best friend!
“Oh, Your Majesty, I have so often been completely neglected simply because I was your mother’s best friend that I have become accustomed not to be surprised by anything and to accept the kindness and favor of royalty with surprise, gratitude and the greatest respect!” - answered the duchess with the most modest look.
“What brings you to me, dear Duchess?” - asked the King.
“My duty as a loyal subject,” answered the duchess. “I realized that you need me, Your Majesty.”
- Is that so? - Louis was surprised. - Do I need you? For what purposes, may I ask?
“Your Majesty, no one can hear us now, I hope,” the duchess said in a quiet voice. - You need help in connection with a secret that no one except me, you and one other person knows about. However, there are still initiates who are in a place where knowledge of this secret will not help them.
“Yes, Duchess, this secret gives me some concern,” agreed the King. - But how did you know that this concern arose right now?
“Oh, this is just my feminine intuition and, if you like, a little observation, as well as taking into account how much time has passed since some events that you and I remember well,” answered the duchess.
- What did your intuition tell you, madam? - asked the King warily.
“Your Majesty, you don’t have to be afraid of me at all, because you are convinced that I am your most devoted friend!” - answered the duchess. “You want to make sure that it is Philip and no one else who is placed in the Bastille.” Because you don't trust d'Artagnan's actions, especially when he acted in conjunction with d'Herblay, do you?
- Good God, madam! - exclaimed the King. - I can’t pretend! Yes, that's exactly what worries me!
- For God's sake, be quiet, Your Majesty! I said that no one can hear us, as I hope, but there are topics that should be discussed in a whisper even if you are on the shore of a raging ocean and do not see anyone around you within musket shot.
“You are right, duchess,” Louis said in a quieter voice. “I would be grateful if you would go to the Bastille and visit the prisoner recorded under the name Eustache Dauger.” You will talk to him, if possible, and find out his intentions, but most importantly, you will make sure that this is exactly the person who should be kept there.
- Eustache Doge? - the duchess was surprised. “I thought his name was Marchiali.”
“His name was Marchiali,” replied the King, “but now his name is Estache Doge.” By the way, a man named Marchiali is also sitting in the Bastille. There is no need to meet with him.
- I think I understand! - said the duchess. “Did D’Artagnan deceive Philippe by placing another person under that name in Pignerol?”
Louis looked at the Duchess of Chevreuse with surprise.
“And therefore you fully admit that he could deceive you in the same way when carrying out exactly the same order!” — the duchess finished her thought.
“Yes, duchess,” replied Louis. “So, will you do this for me?”
- Of course, Your Majesty! - the duchess agreed. - I am happy to provide you with more than just this simple service, but you can always demand more! Much more!
“I will reward you, Duchess,” replied the King.
- This is completely unnecessary! - exclaimed the Duchess. - However, my expenses have now increased due to the need to repair my ancestral castle...
“It will be paid for, duchess,” Louis nodded. - I'll make the arrangements. And besides, you will need an order, my written order to the commandant of the Bastille. Wait a minute, I'll write.
The king sat down and wrote the following document:

“Order for the commandant of the Bastille, M. de Saint-Mars.
The bearer of this, the Duchess de Chevreuse, is ordered to meet alone with the Bastille prisoner Eustache Dauger.
Mr. Commandant is responsible for the execution of this order and for maintaining the strictest secrecy in relation to this order.
Signed: King Louis XIV of France ."

“In connection with this matter, I have to write a lot myself, without a secretary,” Louis said with a smile and handed the order to the Duchess de Chevreuse.

That evening the Duchess visited the King again.
- Duchess! - Louis exclaimed impatiently. -Have you seen him? How is he? Don’t be tormented, speak up!
“Your Majesty, under the name of Eustache Doger, another person is imprisoned in the Bastille,” the duchess said calmly. “This is not your brother, and he is not at all like you or your brother, this was visible even before he took off his mask.”
- They tricked me! - exclaimed the King. - I was deceived! Cunning d'Artagnan! If he had been alive, he would have been in trouble! What a simpleton I am! Only now, two years later, I decided to check who they imprisoned! Damn d'Artagnan, damn d'Herblay! Yeah! Well, d'Herblay will not escape my wrath! After all, it seems that he is still alive, and has the audacity to stay at my court from time to time as a Spanish envoy!
“As for d’Herblay, I would recommend that Your Majesty never trust his words,” replied the Duchess. - He's a Jesuit. Perhaps you don't know about this? As for Captain d'Artagnan, I believe that he simply did not dare to put a man of such rank in prison. This order contradicts his beliefs. This, if you like, is his worldview. And this was to your advantage, sir, in another similar situation.
- Yes, Duchess, you are right! “Perhaps I would forgive d’Artagnan for such a joke if he were alive,” answered the King. “And I think I’ll have to forgive the Duke d’Alameda for this, since he was no longer my subject at that time, but was a Spanish envoy.” Who I shouldn't forgive is myself! How could I trust these two to carry out such an assignment! I should have only instructed them to put a mask on him and hand him over in the mask to other persons who did not know who was hiding under it. Yes, yes, I had to entrust someone else to take him to the Bastille!
“Your Majesty, you acted wisely, don’t blame yourself.” After all, if you involved other people, then in this case you would risk even more due to the fact that even new people would be privy to the terrible secret,” the duchess said quietly.
“They wouldn’t have to know who they were taking, why, or for how long!” - objected the King. “After all, I have a completely decent and honest d’Epernon!”
- Does Your Majesty consider the Duke d'Epernon to be decent and honest? - the duchess was surprised. “In that case, I don’t know what advice I can give you, sir.”
- And you, Duchess, do not seem to share my opinion about the Duke? - asked the King warily.
- Oh, what are you doing, Your Majesty! — the Duchess smiled with barely noticeable irony. “Can I dare to evaluate such a valiant officer?”
- Who else can I rely on? - asked the King. - Just don’t tell me about the old guard, about all these musketeers! D'Herblay turned into a Jesuit and worse, into a Spanish ambassador! The other three are dead!
“Only two, Your Majesty,” replied the Duchess.
“Are you saying that one of these three is still alive?” - the King exclaimed animatedly. - Who is this? Let me guess! Du Valon is crushed by a huge stone in the Lokmaria cave, d'Artagnan is killed by a cannonball! Comte de La F;re? Is he alive? Did the commandant of the Candia fortress, General Grimaldi, file a false report of his death? Did he deceive me?
“Grimaldi was convinced that the Comte de La F;re was dead, don’t scold him,” answered the duchess.
- But is he really alive? Since you are talking about it, then it must really be so! - said the King. - However, this is of little use to me. I offended Count de La F;re, I am guilty before him. But this enmity cannot be quelled. The Count stood up for his son, Raoul de Bragelonne, but I became the unwitting cause of his despair, which led to his death, since my passion, no, my love for Louise de La Valli;re, as it turned out, did not suit his taste, since he considered her his bride.
“Ah, Your Majesty, this is already a thing of the past,” said the duchess. - Besides, the Viscount...
- What about Viscount, Duchess? - asked the King. - He seems to have died?
“I would say otherwise,” replied the duchess. — The Vicomte de Bragelonne was comforted.
“Did you take part in this young man?” - the King asked sharply and looked intently at the Duchess.
“I happened to talk to him once or twice,” said the duchess.
“I was informed that he died heroically during a foray into the fortress, isn’t that also true, duchess?” - asked the King.
“I believe that you have been told the truth,” said the duchess, without changing her face at all. - You are right, Count de La F;re will not be your faithful assistant. Moreover, if he did not show up at his estate, then he apparently had reasons to hide from you, Your Majesty.
- So he is my enemy? - asked the King.
“I don’t even know what to say about him, sir,” answered the duchess. “I’m beginning to think that the news that the Comte de La F;re did not die is not accurate.
- What do you mean by this, Duchess? - asked the King. - Do you doubt that he was saved? So your information about his rescue is not reliable enough?
“Oh, this is not information, but just speculation,” answered the duchess. “Indeed, I remember that I learned about this from a letter received by one of my friends. She received this letter long after the news of his death, from which she concluded that he was alive. Probably, this letter was simply too late on the road. God, how stupid I am! And I imagined that he was saved!
“Duchess, you are not sincere with me,” the King said sadly. “The Comte de La F;re could not write letters to any lady, your friend.” The Comte de La F;re had no ladies, he had no girlfriends. He avoided contact with women. My mother told me about this.
“Your Majesty, it was not his girlfriend, but his distant relative,” answered the duchess. — The letter concerned an inheritance.
“Tell me the name of this friend of yours and his distant relative, Duchess,” said the King.
- Name? — the Duchess grinned. - Do you want to know the name, sir? It won't tell you anything. Besides, she already died a year ago.
- So what was her name? - asked the King, looking into the eyes of the Duchess de Chevreuse.
“ Her name was Marie Michon, Your Majesty,” answered the duchess. - And to prove that I am not deceiving you, I will show you her scarf with a personalized monogram, which I wear in memory of her. Here, look.
With these words, the Duchess took from her cuff a perfumed silk handkerchief, on which in the corner were embroidered in gold letters two extremely beautiful letters, a double “M” with curls. This handkerchief was exactly the same as the one that Aramis had once dropped on the ground, which the young d'Artagnan then tried to pick up and return to Aramis, which is why the very same duel was scheduled, which marked the beginning of the friendship between the Gascon and the three musketeers.
Louis looked at the handkerchief and his doubts dissipated.
“Apparently she didn’t lie,” he thought. “Just a minute ago I was ready to swear that Athos was alive, but it seems to me that she is not lying.”
“Duchess, I am extremely grateful for your help,” he said. - Describe to me the man who was placed in the Bastille under the name of Eustache Doget.
“It seemed to me that this was an ordinary street robber,” said the duchess. - This is clearly not a nobleman. This is a rude, uncouth lout. In the two years he has been kept as a duke, he has not become more refined. He is supplied with books that he has not opened, and it is highly doubtful that he can read. Looks like they put some kind of hanged man in the Bastille.
“Well, let him sit there, replacing Philip, until I can put someone in his place who should take his place,” said Louis. “Do you suppose, Duchess, he was placed in some abbey?”
“If d’Herblay had made the decision, he would have been placed in the most remote Jesuit monastery,” said the duchess. “If d’Artagnan had made the decision, he would have suggested that Philip leave France and, most likely, go to the ends of the earth.” But since...
- But because? - asked Louis.
“I wanted to say that the joint decision, most likely, is that they took him with them to Scotland,” said the Duchess.
— Why exactly to Scotland? - asked the King.
“It seems that d’Artagnan had a small house there, given to him by General Monck,” said the duchess.
- Duchess, tell me, what is the condition of your garden on your estate? - asked the King. — It seems to me that your expenses for its maintenance have increased recently?
“Your Majesty,” said the Duchess, feigning extreme modesty and embarrassment. “I’m ashamed to say this, but the garden is in such a state that I wouldn’t dare invite you to look at it.”
“We can settle this easily, Duchess,” said the King. “I am assigning you a pension for the maintenance of your garden in the amount of ten thousand livres for life.”
“I remember, Your Majesty, that the village is called Monqueville,” said the duchess. — A small house under the shade of trees on the banks of the River Clyde.

 Chapter X. Colbert's Reflections

“Mister Minister, Monsieur Preval has come to see you,” the secretary told Colbert.
- Preval? - Colbert was surprised. - Well, ask.
- Mister Colbert! - the dwarf who entered turned to his patron. — I learned something very interesting and important for you.
- What exactly? Colbert asked.
“Yesterday morning I learned that the Duchess de Chevreuse visited the King,” said Pr;val. “I followed her and realized that she had fulfilled some order from His Majesty. From this I concluded that she would certainly arrive with a report, so I hid in advance in the King’s office.
-You dare to spy on the King of France?! Colbert exclaimed. “Don’t you dare claim that I instructed you to do this!”
“I did it entirely on my own initiative,” answered Pr;val.
- What if they caught you? Colbert asked. - What would you say in this case?
“I would say that I chased a cat that belonged to the Queen, but then the cat ran away, and I did not have time to hide, and did not dare to crawl out of my hiding place in full view of the King,” answered Preval.
“I don’t think they would have believed you,” Colbert grumbled.
“It depends on your luck,” Pr;val agreed. “I would steadfastly adhere to this version, even if the veins were pulled out of me, one by one.”
- Commendable, my friend! Colbert replied. - So, what did you want to tell me?
— The Duchess visited the Bastille at the request of the King. “She saw a prisoner there named Eustache Dauger,” Pr;val replied. “She should have identified him.” The prisoner was kept in a mask, but at the behest of the duchess he took it off.
- Well, well, very interesting! Colbert exclaimed. - Further?
“The Duchess said that this is a different person, he does not look like either the King’s brother or the King himself,” answered Preval.
- Double or relative? - Colbert was surprised. “I didn’t think about this possibility.” Further?
“The king was indignant, he cursed d’Artagnan and d’Herblay, saying that he had been tricked.
- Further?
“The Duchess said that d’Artagnan simply could not put a man of such rank in prison, and said that in a different situation this would play into the hands of the King.
- This is not clear yet. Further?
“The Duchess called d'Herblay a Jesuit and recommended not to trust him.
- Nothing new in this, now?
“The king said that this man should have been sent to the Bastille with other people, to which the duchess objected that in this case other people would have learned the terrible secret.
- Further?
- The king said that he could only trust the Duke d'Epernon, the duchess did not agree with this.
- Further!
“The Duchess said that the Comte de La F;re did not die, but was saved, however, after that she said that she was mistaken, and decided so only because the letter from him arrived a little later than the news of his death.
- This is possible, it would have to be sorted out. However, it doesn't matter. Further?
— The king demanded that the duchess describe the prisoner under the name Eustache Doger. The Duchess described him as a common criminal, not a noble one, and called him a hanged man.
- Further?
“The Duchess suggested that the man who was supposed to be placed in the Bastille under the name of Eustache Dauger was most likely taken to Scotland.
— Why to Scotland? Colbert asked.
“The King asked the same question,” answered Preval. “The Duchess explained that M. d’Artagnan had a small house in Scotland, given to him by General Monck.
- Is that so? - Colbert was surprised. — Unaccounted property abroad for an officer in the service of the King? Interesting! Further?
— The king promised the duchess to finance the costs of maintaining her garden. After this, the Duchess said that the village was called Monqueville. She also said that we were talking about a small house on the banks of the River Clyde.
- Further?
“ That’s all, Mr. Minister,” answered Preval. - At this point the audience ended, the Duchess left the King.
- Who else visited the King after that?
— For a long time the King sat silently in thought, and also walked around the room. After that, I lay low, waiting for an opportunity to escape. I left the office as dusk fell.
“Are you sure no one noticed you?” Colbert asked.
“I was very careful, no one saw me, Mr. Minister.”
“Aren’t the doors of the king’s office locked when the King is not in them?” Colbert asked.
“They are only locked if everyone leaves, including the secretary,” Preval replied. — Sometimes the secretary leaves for a short time without locking the door. I know about this, I took advantage of his absence to get into and out of his office.
“I didn’t know that you take the initiative in such delicate matters as monitoring the King’s visitors and even the King himself!” Colbert noted.
“I have never done this, Mr. Minister, but I have always studied the possibilities for this,” answered Pr;val. “But this time I decided that it was necessary to take a risk.”
- Well, you took a successful risk, dear Preval! Colbert agreed. -Did you tell me everything? Did you miss anything, forgot anything?
“I told absolutely everything, Mr. Minister,” Preval replied.
“Okay, my friend,” Colbert replied. “Now you must forget about everything you told me.” That's an order. This is your reward.
With these words, Colbert took one of the wallets from the drawer of the table and placed it on the table in front of Pr;val.
“Thank you, Mr. Minister,” said Preval, taking the wallet and weighing its weight on his hand. — Should I continue to take the initiative in such a situation?
- My God, Pr;val, my dear! Colbert exclaimed. “You seem to want to receive orders from me to keep an eye on His Majesty?” Under no circumstances will I give you such an order!
- But you are not angry with me for my initiative, Mr. Minister? asked Pr;val.
“I gave you money so that you would forget everything you heard, and, of course, so that you wouldn’t let anyone know about this unfortunate episode, don’t you understand?” Colbert asked. - Think for yourself, can I instruct you to repeat such studies? In no case!
“But you don’t blame me, sire?” - asked the dwarf.
- For what, my friend? Colbert asked. - Because you were looking for the Queen's beloved cat? This is noble and worthy of all praise. I hope you found the cat and put it where it was supposed to be! I don't want to know anything more about this matter. If you ever have the opportunity to take care of Her Majesty's cat again, you would do well to do so. We all love the Queen extremely much and would not want her cat to get lost or stray. You understand everything, I hope, my dear?
“Thank you, Mr. Minister, I understand everything,” Preval answered with a bow and left Colbert’s office.

Left alone, Colbert took a blank sheet of paper and wrote:

“De Chevreuse knows a lot and spies for E.V. Eustache Doge is a prisoner in B-i, a hanged man, placed in place of someone who should be like E.V. or on Monsieur. Is Comte de La F;re alive? Check. Scotland, Monkville, house on the banks of the River Clyde."

Chapter XI. Louis

Meanwhile, the King, who guessed that Philip was in Scotland, was thinking about what he could do to protect himself from Philip's return. The Duchess hinted that the Duke d'Epernon should not be trusted. He himself feared this. There was absolutely no one to send to Scotland. For two years Philip did not make himself known; perhaps he has resigned himself to his fate and does not lay claim to the French throne? In this case, he could forget about everything he learned.
However, others could take advantage of Philip by dragging him into their politics.
What bothered the King most was that the Duke d'Alameda, known as Aramis, did not retire from politics. This active man knew the great secret of the King, and he knew where Philip was, he met him, he saw him regularly. It was this man who at one time planned to replace the King with Philip, and it was he who did it almost successfully. True, in the last case, when he could influence the future fate of the two princes, the fate of France, his fate, Aramis took the side of Louis, he and his friend d'Artagnan unanimously decided to arrest Philip and leave Louis on the throne. But since they did not put Philip in the Bastille, they could be hatching a plan for a coup d'etat. So, the danger is not only and not so much in Philip, but in the Duke of Alameda!
In addition, the King thought that sending someone after Philip was a big additional risk, while arresting the Duke was not a risk, but only the defense of his state power, the defense of the state, the defense of France.
So, fighting Philip is difficult and pointless, fighting against the Duke d'Alameda is necessary!
The Duke's stay in Scotland is temporary. Sooner or later he will arrive in France, and then he can be arrested and placed in the Bastille, and perhaps even more reliably excluded from the list of persons dangerous to the state, excluded once and for all. The king understood from his own experience that the Bastille was not the final solution to the problem. The final solution to the problem can only be the scaffold.

Chapter XII. Failed mission

After reflecting on the situation, Colbert decided to send spies to Scotland to the address he had written down, to Montville. Two spies were ordered to make sure that a man similar to the King was hiding in this house. Of course, Colbert did not assume that this could be a twin brother, he only assumed a relationship based on similarity, and did not know that we could be talking about such a degree of similarity. About this man, who looked like the King or his brother, all he had to do was collect as much information as possible and deliver it to Colbert in Paris. It was prescribed that nothing should be done in relation to this mysterious person, but only to collect information as completely as possible. Readers will forgive us for not naming the names of these spies; the reasons for this will be clear from the subsequent narrative.
Colbert's envoys were sailing on a ship through the strait and halfway there the ship was attacked by pirates. The foreign pirate ship "Black Fox" was well armed, and the captain of the French ship did not get involved in the battle. Thus, Colbert's spies fell into the hands of the pirates. Pirates who robbed with the consent of the government of a country, paying the agreed share of the loot to the treasury, in those days called themselves not pirates, but corsairs only because they did not attack all ships, but only the ships of one of the warring parties. Those corsairs who captured the ship with Colbert's spies on board did not attack the Dutch ships or the ships of their allies, but boldly attacked French and English ships. These were Dutch corsairs, friendly to Holland, which was at war with France and England. Not all the sailors on this ship were Dutch, but they considered themselves as such.
The captain of the Black Fox, Van der Mil, interrogated the prisoners in order to understand what kind of ransom could be obtained for them. Colbert's envoys immediately announced their mission in the hope of rescue. The captain, however, did not believe the statement he heard, so the prisoners told him all the details of their mission to confirm their words. So, saving their miserable lives, these people revealed state secrets to the enemies of France, who thus learned about everything. May the readers forgive me, my pen refuses to write their names! As a true Frenchman, I am filled with anger at the behavior of these people. As a result, the misfortune broke out, which our readers learned about in the first chapter of this book.
The ship's captain smelled a big jackpot. He decided that in the worst case it could be a relative of the French King. He also realized that we were talking about a terrible secret. And with secrets it’s always like this: the fewer people know about them, the more valuable is the knowledge of the secret by those who are initiated into it. For this reason, the captain of the ship "Black Fox" Van der Mil decided to reduce the number of knowledgeable people by two people and ordered Colbert's two spies to be thrown overboard, whose names from that moment went down in history, and in that part of it that we should not be proud of.
Van der Mil decided to understand everything that was happening and benefit from the information received for Holland in its fight against France and England. They found this house and made acquaintance with the servants who were hired by d'Artagnan and his friends.
Unfortunately, our heroes, Athos, Porthos, Aramis and d'Artagnan, considered the hired servants to be Englishmen loyal to King Charles II , but these were Irish Huguenots, fierce enemies of the King of England.
Van der Mil's men easily convinced John Small and Ben Brown to come over to their side and kidnap Philip. In doing so, they seriously wounded Bazin.
Our friends briefly discussed the plan for further action, because they were all men of action. The most reasonable were Aramis and d'Artagnan, but in this case they were both inclined to immediately catch up with the criminals, since Aramis was eager to avenge Bazin, and d'Artagnan passionately wanted to return his beloved woman. In addition, they all wanted to return Philip as quickly as possible.
Perhaps this is why they did not notice that the wounded du Trabuson had learned something and drawn his own conclusions about the situation.

Chapter XIII . Unexpected visitor

A few days after the events described at the beginning of this book took place, his secretary Lucien entered Colbert's office.
“Mister Minister, a lady who calls herself Olivia du Trabuson is asking to see you,” said the secretary.
- She? Colbert exclaimed. - Ask, Lucien!
- Yes it's me! - Olivia exclaimed, entering Colbert's office. -You weren't waiting for me?
- Frankly, no! Colbert exclaimed. - At least not today. However, I'm glad to see you, Madame Olivia! Come on in! Lucien, bring us coffee! Or perhaps Madame wants something stronger?
- Madame wants to receive everything that is due to her, Mr. Minister! - Olivia answered. “Madame suffered in the minister’s service and hopes that the minister will thank her.”
“Madame will certainly be rewarded,” Colbert agreed. - But first I would like to hear a report on the assignments completed or...
- Or? - Olivia asked.
- If the instructions were not completed, as I can judge, then perhaps Madame will tell me the details that prevented her and her husband from completing these instructions? In this case, I will consider whether the du Trabuson family should be rewarded for service that did not lead to anything good. Or perhaps Madame has other reasons to expect a reward from me?
“So, my husband’s and my faithful service is not a sufficient reason for you,” said Olivia. - Okay, I understand that. Those who were unable to capture the enemy should not expect any reward for their wounds. Well, then I can suggest something else.
“ I’m listening to you, madam,” Colbert said. - Lucien! Where's the coffee? And bring some biscuits!
“Information, Mr. Minister,” Olivia replied. - Information that will be useful to you.
— What is this information about, Madame du Trabuson? Colbert asked.
“Information that someone lives somewhere,” Olivia said.
- Oh, this? Colbert exclaimed. - Every person lives somewhere! Why do you think that such information might interest me?
“Because two years ago you instructed my husband to follow this man!” And they even ordered to kill him! - Olivia answered.
- Times have changed, Madame Olivia! Colbert chuckled. “The man you are talking about was called d’Artagnan.” He was carrying out a mission that was very important, and therefore I asked your husband to keep an eye on him so that no one would interfere with him in carrying out this mission. Your husband did not cope with this assignment very successfully, that’s all. Then you and your husband disappeared somewhere! Now you come to me and declare that you carried out my instructions, and also say that you have some information about a person who has long died. Why do you think this might interest me?
“You didn’t order to see to it that nothing bad happened to him, Mr. Minister, you ordered to make sure that something bad happened to him!” That's a big difference! - Olivia objected.
“You and your husband misinterpreted my order, so I’m not surprised that you carried it out so poorly,” Colbert objected. - However, these are things of the past.
“So the information I wanted to tell you is also not of interest to you, and you don’t want to pay me for it?” - Olivia asked.
- Do you want to tell me that Captain d'Artagnan did not die? Colbert exclaimed. - That's news to me too!
- So you know about this? - Olivia was surprised.
- Undoubtedly! - Colbert replied, and thought to himself: “I didn’t know, but now I know it!”
“And you mean to say that you also know where he is?” - Olivia did not let up.
- Of course, I know, because I am the Minister of France! Colbert replied.
- No, you don’t know! - Olivia objected. - Nobody knows about this except me and my husband!
“You are mistaken, madam,” Colbert smiled. - If you please, I will prove to you that I know this. He lives in Scotland, the town of Monkville, a house on the banks of the River Clyde.
“You knew this all along and didn’t act?!” - Olivia was surprised.
“I have plenty of other things to do besides pursuing the old warrior because, having recovered from his wounds, he chose to live in the house that General Monk gave him,” Colbert answered. “I consider M. d’Artagnan to have retired.” I don't care about him.
“And you’re not interested in who lives with him?” - Olivia did not let up.
- Why should I be interested in this? Colbert shrugged. - Of course, his friends live with him. Comte de La F;re, of course. From time to time the Duke d'Alameda comes there.
“You know everything,” Olivia said in despair. “And you won’t pay me anything for this information.”
“Take the biscuit, madam, it is extremely tasty,” Colbert replied. — Drink coffee. And don't worry so much. Perhaps I could take you and your husband into the service. But to do this, I must make sure that you will follow my instructions exactly.
- What do you need for this? - Olivia asked in despair.
“To begin with, complete frankness,” Colbert said. - Tell me how you found out about it.
“ My husband escaped from the Ottoman Empire on a ship, contracting to work as a simple sailor,” said Olivia. - When the ship arrived in Scotland, he recognized one of the agents of the Bishop of Vannes, the Chevalier d'Herblay. He tracked him down and informed me about it by pigeon mail.
- What did he tell you? Colbert asked.
“He said that d’Herblay visited the house you know about, Monqueville.” “He had three friends there, among them Captain d’Artagnan, the Comte de La F;re, the Baron du Valon, as well as a couple of women and four servants,” Olivia answered.
- Baron du Valon! Wonderful! - Colbert said.
“It seems to me that you didn’t know about the baron, Mr. Minister?” - Olivia asked.
- No, why? “I just note that the information you provided is quite consistent with what I have,” Colbert replied.
- Then, perhaps, Mr. Minister also knows about the person who lives with them? - Olivia asked.
- Undoubtedly! - answered Colbert, who managed to get a ton of information completely free of charge from this chatty woman. - I will tell you about this man. There is a person living with them whom they treat with great respect, and this person is very similar to His Majesty.
- Amazing! - Olivia exclaimed. - You know absolutely everything!
“Yes, Madame Olivia du Trabuson, I know absolutely everything,” Colbert replied, mentally congratulating himself on the fact that his little deception had brought such huge dividends. — My profession requires me to know absolutely everything.
- And I can’t serve you in any way? - Olivia said in despair.
“I’ll think about it, madam,” replied Colbert. “But so that you don’t say that I didn’t take any part in you, take this modest purse towards your future services, which, I hope, you will render to me with greater success than it was before.”
With these words, Colbert pulled out a rather modest wallet with silver coins from the table and handed it to Olivia.
“Well,” Olivia replied with a sigh. “This, of course, is not what I expected, but you didn’t learn anything new from me.”
“Nothing new at all, madam,” Colbert nodded. - Goodbye, madam, I will call you if I need you.
Olivia left Colbert's office in complete disappointment, while Colbert again congratulated himself on the fact that at last he knew the secret of the King, and also learned without any trouble that the glorious four musketeers, known in their youth days as Athos, Porthos, Aramis and d'Artagnan are still alive, that they are staying together, and that they live exactly where, according to the assumption of the Duchess de Chevreuse, they could live - in Scotland, in the town of Monkville on the banks of the Clyde River.
   
Chapter XIV. Let's go!

My dear readers, I believe, are already angry with me for leaving them for so long in complete ignorance about the further fate of the main characters of the novel - d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis. I hasten to inform you that our heroes immediately set off in pursuit of the criminals. Athos ordered Grimaud to take care of poor wounded Bazin and Madame Agnes Campbell. Madame Agnes agreed to look after Bazin while Grimaud went to a neighboring village, four miles from Monqueville, for a doctor and for a soft carriage with springs on which Bazin could be transported to a more appropriate place for the wounded man.
The friends rode along the road leading towards the nearest port, to Edinburgh, since the attackers were undoubtedly enemies of France, and since England was currently an ally of France, even if an unreliable and temporary ally, it follows that the criminals were also enemies of England . For them, the most natural solution was to leave the British Isles as quickly as possible, that is, by sea.
The friends were running so fast that they could only talk while walking with great strain on their vocal cords.
“If they manage to sail before we catch up with them, we will miss them!” - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
- No, d'Artagnan! - Aramis shouted back. - This will only mean that we will continue the pursuit by sea! You forget that I came to you on a ship that is waiting for me at the port!
- This means that we have a naval battle ahead of us! - Athos shouted.
- My ship is ready for battle! - Aramis answered. - Both the captain and the crew!
—Are you traveling on a warship? - Athos was surprised.
“I’ve always been a little military, even when I was primarily a priest,” Aramis answered. - Now that I have become an ambassador and a duke, even more so!
- Why do you need this? - asked Athos. - After all, the ambassador’s personality is inviolable!
“Every person is inviolable only as long as he has the means to ensure this inviolability,” answered Aramis. - Moreover, military means are preferable to political or economic ones, and it is best to use them all together!
“Aramis is right,” agreed d’Artagnan. “Even in his own country, a person who serves directly the King and submits only to him does not always remain inviolable, as he and I had the opportunity to verify from our own experience. A warship for a sea trip when Europe is at war is the best transport for a diplomat. And it will be very useful to us!
- Sea battle! - exclaimed Porthos. - I like the second word better than the first! But I haven’t eaten seafood, so I’m ready for a sea trip and a sea battle!
-Who is your captain, Aramis? - asked d'Artagnan.
“Captain d'Argenson,” answered Aramis. - An extremely loyal person to me.
“Aramis,” said Athos. “It’s time to ask you a very important question.”
“Yes, Aramis,” confirmed d’Artagnan, “the answer to this question is extremely important for all of us.”
“Does this mean that you, Athos, and you, d’Artagnan, discussed something behind my back?” - asked Aramis.
“No,” Athos answered briefly.
“But do I understand correctly that you, d’Artagnan, know what question Athos is going to ask me?” - Aramis continued.
“Yes, because I wanted to ask it to you myself, Aramis,” answered d’Artagnan. - Athos wants to ask you, whose side are you on?
“That’s right, my friend,” agreed Athos. - As you know, friends, there is a war going on now. On one side are France, England and Sweden, on the other are Holland, Spain and the Habsburg Monarchy. You, Aramis, are French, but you are also a Spanish grandee and Spain's envoy to the French court. Therefore, the question is legitimate about whose side you are on.
“My friends, you made several inaccuracies,” Aramis answered with a smile. “Besides, your question was meant to offend me.” But I’m not angry, because I myself gave rise to such a question.
- To hell with inaccuracies, your answer is important, Aramis! - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
“Perhaps if I correct the inaccuracies, this will be the answer?” - Aramis objected. - Let's start from the second side. You named Holland, Spain and the Habsburg Monarchy, forgetting about Brandenburg.
“That’s right,” agreed Athos.
“On the other hand, you named France, England and Sweden,” Aramis reminded.
“We forgot to name Cologne and Munster,” said Athos.
“And besides, my friends, you forgot to name the Count de La F;re, Baron du Valon, Count d’Artagnan and Duke d’Alamede!” - said Aramis.
- Great answer! - exclaimed Porthos.
- What about Spanish citizenship? - asked d'Artagnan.
“Being a subject of France, and having received an order from the King of France to arrest or kill your friends, you, d’Artagnan, acted, first of all, as a friend,” Aramis reminded, “and you tried to fit the duty of a loyal subject into the framework that he left for you.” duty of friendship.
- Don't continue, Aramis! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - One for all!
- And all for one! - Athos, Porthos and Aramis picked up.
“Now that we all seem to have died, except Aramis, it is all the more fitting for us to hold on to each other until the grave!” - Porthos added.
“In the name of France, I am ready to rise again if His Majesty tells Colbert to leave me alone!” - answered d'Artagnan.

Arriving in Edinburgh, the friends began intensively making inquiries about the four companions, whom they could describe quite accurately. Aramis took advantage of his influence among the Jesuits, who were also in Scotland. He found out that in addition to John Small, Ben Brown and Suzanne Capredon, there were two more Dutch officers and two sailors among the fugitives. But no one recognized Philip based on his description. Either he was not with them, or he was dressed as a Dutch officer or sailor, perhaps with a false beard.
“Obviously, our enemies, together with the prisoners, sailed on the ship “Black Fox”, the captain of the ship Van der Mil, a famous warrior and Dutch corsair,” said Aramis. “Our ship is no worse, but we need an additional supply of gunpowder, cannonballs, and a couple more long-range cannons, one on each side.” You also need grappling hooks and short-barreled muskets.
- We'll waste time! - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
“In half an hour, everything listed will be delivered to the ship, five minutes after that we will set sail,” answered Aramis.
“Aramis,” Porthos addressed the prelate.
“Yes, Porthos,” answered Aramis. — There is already boiled pork, cheeses, sausages, wine, rum and crackers on board. And no seafood.
- Let's hit the road! - cried Porthos.
“On our way,” echoed Athos and d’Artagnan.

Chapter XV. Porthos is trained in naval combat

“Captain d’Argenson,” Porthos turned to the captain after the ship went out to sea. “Although I am an experienced warrior, I have never taken part in a battle on the water.” Explain to me the basics of cannon fire in a naval battle.
— It is advisable to hit the waterline with the cannonball, that is, the line on the side of the ship where the water boundary passes.
- Curious! - exclaimed Porthos. - For what reason is this?
“It’s very simple,” answered the captain. “If the cannonball goes lower, the water will slow it down, and the impact will be weaker, the hole will be smaller, or there will be none at all.”
“I understand that,” Porthos agreed. - What if the core goes higher?
“In this case, the hole will not lead to the sinking of the ship,” answered the captain. “You will damage the ship, but will not take it out of the battle.”
“I believe there is an option for an even more successful cannon shot,” Porthos replied.
- Which? - asked the captain.
“You should get below the waterline at the moment when the ship, due to rolling, exposed this part of its side,” answered Porthos.
The captain looked at Porthos in amazement.
- Do you think that such a successful shot could be made on purpose? - he asked.
“We are not discussing the possibility or impossibility of a hit, but for now we are only discussing the question of which hit is the best,” Porthos answered simply. “We'll probably discuss how to get the best hit later.” In this regard, I believe that we will catch up with the ship and try to approach from the direction of the sun, so that it will be easier for us to aim, and more difficult for the enemy.
“If it successfully coincides with the next tack,” the captain agreed.
— Is tack a turn to go against the wind? - Porthos clarified.
“That’s right,” agreed the captain.
“Then you shouldn’t wait for a successful coincidence, but you need to calculate the tacks so that you get what is required,” Porthos suggested. — It’s possible to make two or three tacks a little shorter or a little longer on the approach?
The captain looked at Porthos with even greater amazement.
- Please tell me, Baron, how do you propose to deliver the most accurate cannon shot? - he asked.
“I believe that you should not aim at where you want to go, but take into account the rocking of our ship, the rocking of the enemy ship and the wind,” answered Porthos.
“For this purpose, some preliminary calculations or skills are needed,” answered the captain.
“That’s true, but you can take a closer look at how both ships move, observing how the gun’s aiming at the target moves,” Porthos answered.
“You’re right, Baron,” the captain agreed. - Usually two preliminary shots are required for a good shot. If the first cannonball flies too far, and the second one doesn’t fly enough, then you need to aim at the middle between the first and second aiming, in this case there will be an accurate hit.
“But the enemy won’t let you fire three shots in a row,” Porthos objected. “In addition, after each shot the cannon must be reloaded, and during this time the relative position of the ships will change. It seems to me that one shot should be fired in advance, long before meeting the ship, in order to understand what the flight path of the cannonball is. Moreover, it would have been better to do this towards land, then we could very accurately measure the flight distance of the cannonball and correlate it with the angle of inclination of the gun.
“It won’t do much,” the captain objected. - One reference point is not enough. In addition, on water, distances are perceived with a large error. In addition, the gunner will not be able to retain the flight parameters of the cannonball in his mind for so long.
- This is provided that one gunner serves several guns. But, I hope, we have a separate gunner for each gun? - asked Porthos.
— There are fewer gunners than cannons, because during a battle not all cannons participate in the battle. If, for example, the enemy is on the left side, then the starboard guns are not needed,” the captain replied.
— If the guns on the starboard side are not needed, they must be moved to the left side, isn’t it? - asked Porthos.
“The guns are fixed on their rollers,” answered the captain. “Otherwise, nothing will hold them during the swing, and we will simply lose them.”
“You’re probably right,” Porthos agreed. “We’ll have to think at our leisure about how to quickly roll the cannons from one side to the other, while maintaining their ability to be mobile and at the same time firmly attached to the deck.” But for now we will be content with half the number, because we will presumably only have one ship as a target. Therefore, we will only need guns on one side.
After that, Porthos carefully examined all the cannons and, of course, he most liked the two additional cannons with increased firing range that Aramis had delivered. On the inside of the barrels of these guns there were small slots located with a screw; in addition, their barrels were longer, and one charge could hold more gunpowder.
- I like these guns! - exclaimed Porthos. “I’m afraid that a small portion of powder gases will escape through these grooves, but it seems to me that the core will spin.” I don’t understand why exactly this is better, but it seems to me that the idea is damn right!
In addition, the captain told Porthos about the incendiary charges. Porthos ordered that ordinary cannonballs and incendiary charges be kept ready in separate boxes as close as possible to the cannons.
After this, Porthos took several lessons in the use of grappling hooks and found them quite useful for close combat.
Aramis's ship, called the Griffin, was fast enough, so he soon overtook the Black Fox.
Athos, who was observing the horizon with a telescope, reported that the horizon was clear, but since the ship was located near the coast of Holland, Dutch ships could appear at any moment.
“My friends, we must quickly win and leave, or die in battle,” he said. “If we sink the ship, our death will not be in vain, since we will rid our country of the second contender for the throne, who has gone over to the side of the enemy.”
- I ask you to approach these robbers from the sunny side! - Porthos said to Captain d'Argenson.
The captain glanced at Aramis, who nodded to confirm Porthos' instructions.
“In five minutes, the Black Fox will be within range of a long-range cannon,” the captain informed Aramis. — Shall we fire a warning shot with a blank charge?
“We will, but not to single people,” answered Aramis. “There will be no negotiations with these pirates.”
“Let me aim the gun,” said Porthos. — I will fire the first shot from a regular cannon.
“Monsieur Baron, if the shot is a warning, we should not hit the ship’s hull,” the scrupulous captain d’Argenson warned Porthos.
“That means I will mark ten toises in front of the ship’s side,” answered Porthos. — How long does the wick burn?
“No more than a second,” answered the gunner.
“I will aim the cannon myself and light the fuse myself,” answered Porthos, taking the lit fuse from the gunner. - Charge the long-range cannon on the left side with a cast iron cannonball, and the right cannon with an incendiary charge. Get ready to reload these guns as quickly as possible.
- Great, Porthos! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - I believe in your accuracy. And we will get ready to board.
The pirates on the Black Fox cursed the pursuing ship, fired muskets, and brandished grappling hooks and sabers.
As the ship approached within shooting range, Porthos aimed his short-barreled cannon and lit the fuse. It seemed that the cannon was weightless, the giant controlled it so easily. A shot rang out and the cannonball landed on the water twelve toises in front of the Black Fox.
“A small shortfall,” Porthos exclaimed and moved to the long-range cannon. - Now we will correct the aiming...
The giant adjusted the barrel of the long-range cannon with the same apparent ease and lit the fuse. A shot rang out almost in stasis.
- Bravo, Porthos! - Athos exclaimed. “You hit ten inches below the waterline and went through the side!” The ship was holed below the water level!
“That’s what I was counting on,” Porthos answered modestly. “I fired at the moment when the enemy side rose on the wave. - Captain, can you slow down and come in from the other side?
- Do it! - Aramis confirmed.
- There is fulfillment! - the captain answered and gave the appropriate instructions to the team.
Ten minutes later, the “Griffin” approached the “Black Fox” from the other side.
Porthos aimed the second cannon on the deck at the base of the mainmast and fired. The cannonball, filled with gunpowder with a burning wick sticking out of it, flew to the deck and, falling at a distance of half a toise from the intended target, exploded. A fire started on the deck of the Black Fox.
- Brake! - Porthos shouted.
The Griffin slowed down and again found itself behind the Black Fox. This made it impossible for the pirates to fire back at the Griffin, since there were no cannons at the stern of the Black Fox.
“In order to approach and launch a boarding attack, we must enter an area in which we will become a target, they will be able to fire at us,” said Aramis. “When fired at close range, they can easily sink our ship.” Meanwhile, their ship is already damaged enough, because it received a hole.
“If you wait a little until their ship takes on more water, the attack will be more successful,” answered Athos, continuing to observe through the telescope, “but we are near the coast of Holland, Dutch ships can appear at any minute.” I see sails on the horizon. You must act quickly.
- I have to save Suzanne! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - We must attack immediately!
“Don’t get excited, my friend,” Aramis objected. “Even if we capture the ship, and by this time the Dutch ships approach, we will be captured by them or die.” In this case, our temporary victory will not give us anything.
“But if we wait until the ship starts to sink, the Dutch may also arrive in time!” - D'Artagnan objected.
Meanwhile, the Dutch pirates pumped out the water flowing into the hold from the hole, and directed the stream not overboard, but towards the fire that flared up from the incendiary cannonball fired by Porthos. In this way they extinguished the fire, after which they began to pump water overboard.
“Why don’t we start firing at the stern?” - asked Porthos.
- Captain, act! - Aramis ordered.
The Griffin turned starboard towards the Black Fox and Porthos aimed the cannon again. The shot hit the stern again a couple of inches below the waterline.
“Porthos, you said you’ve never fired a ship’s cannon before?” - Aramis was surprised.
- It's true! - Porthos confirmed.
- Captain, fire a salvo with all the port guns at the stern of the Black Fox! - Aramis commanded.
A volley of four guns thundered almost simultaneously, but only two cannonballs hit the target. This was enough for the ship to receive two more holes.
- We turn to starboard and fire a salvo from all guns! - Aramis commanded.
After the second salvo, the Black Fox received two more holes and began to slowly sink.
- Return your prisoners to us, and we will not sink your ship! - D'Artagnan shouted.
- Damn the bald man, not the prisoners! Van der Mil shouted back. “If you sink the Black Fox, your prisoners will die with us!”
- Aboard! - D'Artagnan commanded.
“For boarding,” confirmed Aramis.
The "Griffin" turned around and began to approach the left side of the "Black Fox" with its starboard side. The team prepared grappling hooks, muskets and swords.
The ship "Black Fox" was larger than the "Griffin", the crew was more numerous. Fortunately, the Black Fox had already taken on enough water so that the sides of both ships were approximately equal in height.
- One for all and all for one! - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
Friends picked up this slogan and rushed to the attack. An unequal battle ensued. The Black Fox sailors left the pump and rushed to a counterattack. Due to their numerical superiority, they hoped to capture the Griffin and escape on it, since the Black Fox was doomed.
D'Artagnan's sword seemed to have several blades, so quickly did he wield it. Instead of a sword, Porthos used a grappling hook on a long shaft, which was twice as long as an ordinary sword and four times as heavy, however, it also moved quickly in the giant’s hands, as if it were an ordinary sword. Athos fought with a sword in his right hand and a dagger in his left. Aramis took the sword in his left hand and held a loaded musket in his right. As soon as he saw John Small, he shot him in the face, after which one of the insidious traitors was dealt with. Throwing away the musket, Aramis took the sword in his right hand and attacked the two pirates. Athos, fighting against two pirates, pierced the chest of one of them with his sword. It was Ben Brown, so the second traitor was dealt with. Despite the numerical superiority, the Black Fox team was defeated. Having lost two-thirds of his crew as a result of a fierce battle, Van der Mil decided to surrender.
“We need the girl and nobleman you kidnapped!” - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
“We can return the girl,” Van der Mil replied. “But we don’t have the nobleman you’re talking about.”
- This is a vile lie! - Aramis exclaimed. “You kidnapped this man, and he should be on your ship!”
“We kidnapped this man, but he is not on my ship,” Van der Mil answered with a sneer. - You can search my ship.
- We were outwitted! - Aramis exclaimed. - Unless he's lying.
- To hell with them! - answered d'Artagnan. - We take Suzanne and the captain of the Black Fox and leave!
- D'Artagnan! - Suzanne exclaimed as soon as he found her in the captain's cabin and freed her from her bonds. - My hero! I knew that you would save me.
“Tenderness later, my dear,” answered d’Artagnan, kissing Suzanne. - Tell me, is Philip with you?
“I didn’t meet him on the ship,” Suzanne answered. “I think he stayed in Scotland or was sent on another ship.”
“I think the captain is not lying, Philippe is not on the ship,” d’Artagnan said to his friends.
-Can we be sure of this? - asked Aramis.
“We need to be sure that we did the right thing.” “If he is not there, we have nothing more to do here; if he is on the ship, but we cannot find him, then the ship must be sunk,” answered d’Artagnan.
- Everyone alive - get into the boats, quickly! - Aramis commanded the Black Fox crew in Dutch. - Porthos, transfer all the gunpowder from the enemy ship to their arsenal! Place six inches of wick and, at my command, light it!
Carefully peering into the faces of each member of the crew, Aramis and d'Artagnan were convinced that Philip was not among those sleeping in the boats.
- Rock it, Porthos! - Aramis exclaimed. — Light up and return to the Griffin!
Porthos lit the fuse and returned to the ship, the Griffin quickly sailed away from the Black Fox. The Dutch pirates in three boats also began to hastily row away from their ship. A minute later there was an explosion, and the Black Fox began to quickly plunge into the water.
- I'm on my way, friends! - Aramis exclaimed. - The Dutch ships are about to approach.
The Griffin turned around and rushed to the shores of England, taking with it the freed Suzanne Campredon and the captured Van der Mil.

Chapter XVI. Dangerous Retreat

- Captain d'Argenson! - Aramis exclaimed. — Three Dutch ships are already very close. You should leave as soon as possible. We cannot defeat them in battle.
“Yes, General,” answered the captain.
The Griffin turned around and went in the direction opposite to where the Dutch ships appeared on the horizon. The Dutch noticed the Griffin and set off in pursuit. The “Griffin” was lighter and a fairly fast ship, but the wind was fair, the Dutch set all sails, the waves on which the “Griffin”, swaying, lost speed, were almost imperceptible for the Dutch ships, so they glided through the water faster and the distance between the fugitives and the pursuers were steadily declining.
— Two long-range cannons aft! - Porthos shouted.
“Mr. Baron, we will not be able to secure them, and, therefore, we will not be able to fire,” the captain objected.
“The same nails with which they are fastened now,” answered Porthos. - We will pull them out and kill them. We must put at least one cannon on the stern!
“If you pull out the nails, each of which is two fingers thick, the guns will move, and we will no longer be able to hold them!” - exclaimed the captain.
“We’ll hold it,” answered Porthos. - Give me four of the strongest sailors.
Indeed, Porthos began to supervise the work. Under his leadership and with his active assistance, huge nails were removed from their places. When the last two nails were pulled out at opposite ends of the carriages, Porthos personally held the cannon in place. Then he almost independently dragged it to the stern, having previously laid out a piece of felt, installed it in the right place and ordered the nails to be driven in. Half an hour later the work was completed, a long-range cannon was installed at the stern.
- Ho-ho! - exclaimed Porthos. “Now we can continue to evade our pursuers, and when they start to overtake us, we will have a surprise for them!” Now our retreat cannot be called a simple flight, because we have aimed a cannon at the enemies, which, I hope, will serve us well!
- Porthos, you are magnificent! - said d'Artagnan, admiring his giant friend, who was in excellent spirits despite the danger of dying from enemy cannonballs, which, perhaps, would soon begin to fly from three ships at the same time.
“I believe I will be even more magnificent if we drag a second cannon to the stern.” We still have time for this.
This time, Captain d'Argenson not only agreed, but even wanted to personally participate in moving the second long-range gun to the stern.
Half an hour later everything was ready. Two cannons were pointed towards the Dutch ships, which were steadily approaching the Griffin.
“We’ll put off the incendiary shells for later,” Porthos ordered. - First, we will fire at the waterlines of the overtaking ships.
“Monsieur Baron,” answered the captain. — Your successful shots in the battle with the “Black Fox” showed us all that you are an excellent gunner. I give you complete command of these two cannons, which are mounted at the stern solely due to your skill and your strength.
“You will not be disappointed in your decision,” Porthos answered modestly.

Soon the ships approached so close that Athos was able to read the names of the ships through a telescope.
- These are ships of the fourth rank, friends! - said Athos. — On the left is “Zwanenburg”, in the middle “St. Paulus”, on the right “Endrakht”.
- Well, the names! - Porthos grumbled. - The middle one is all right, but the right one is completely unthinkable! If he gets close first, I'll be happy to put a hole in him. A ship with such a disgusting name has no right to sail the world's oceans.
However, the first to approach the Griffin was the medium ship St. Paulus.
Porthos took aim and exactly two seconds before the Dutch ship raised its bow on the next wave, he lit the fuse. The shot came at the right moment; a cannonball fired from Porthos’s cannon entered the bow of the St. Paulus ship, which rose above the water. As soon as the bow of the St. Paulus dropped down, the ship began to draw water into the hole that had formed, as a result of which the bow of the ship began to lower and the ship began to rapidly lose speed.
At the same moment, all three Dutch ships opened fire on the Griffin, however, on the bow of the Dutch ships there were only light cannons, the cannonballs of which did not reach the Griffin. For deadly fire, the ships had to turn sideways to the Griffin, and for this they had to completely catch up with the Griffin. As long as they were behind the Griffin, they did not pose much of a threat to it.
As "Saint Paulus" began to lag behind, "Endrakht" began to approach the "Griffin" next.
- This is what I was waiting for! - exclaimed Porthos. - I will punish you for such a dissonant name!
But the first shot was not so successful, because Porthos was too hasty. The cannonball pierced the bow of the ship well above the waterline, so the resulting hole did not in any way affect the performance of the enemy ship.
The Dutch ships again responded with a salvo, this time two cannonballs reached the deck of the Griffin, one of the sailors was seriously injured.
“I must calm down,” Porthos said to himself.
The gunner’s assistants had already reloaded the first cannon, Porthos gently stroked it, kissed it and said: “Don’t let me down, dear!” After that, he took aim very carefully, waited for the right moment and fired. The cannonball penetrated the bow thirty inches below the waterline. This was the most glorious shot Porthos had taken all day.
- Take it, “Edrakhmaputra”! - exclaimed Porthos. - Or whatever your name is, “Endrakrakhktkambma”!
He immediately ran to the second cannon and slowly took aim, after which, carefully calculating the moment, he fired again. The Dutch ship received a second hole ten inches below the waterline.
- This crap with a disgusting name has been taken out of the race! - Porthos summed up his shooting.
- Bravo, Porthos! - Aramis and Athos exclaimed.
- Porthos, you are magnificent like the Greek god Hercules! - exclaimed d'Artagnan.

The captain of the Zwanenburg, meanwhile, correctly assessed the situation. Realizing the danger of directly pursuing the "Griffin" with its two deadly cannons at the stern, he decided to bypass the "Griffin" on the right at a sufficient distance, and then conduct devastating fire from the port side cannons. In this case, his ship was out of reach of Porthos' stern cannons, while the cannons on the sides of the Griffin were much weaker.
- Well, friends! - Aramis exclaimed. “We must continue to move as quickly as possible to get away from the two downed ships.” Apparently, we will not be able to withstand a battle with the remaining ship, but still, a one-on-one battle between two ships leaves more hope than the battle of the Griffin against three Dutch ships.
This race could continue for another half hour if the wind did not change, since from the very beginning of the battle the ships did not change tack, since the wind was fair for all ships.
— Starboard guns ready for battle! - exclaimed Porthos.
All the Gryphon's starboard guns were loaded.
A desperate firefight ensued. Although the Griffon fired three fairly successful shots at the Zwanenburg, this ship was quite large, and the resulting holes were quickly repaired, and the water from the holds was pumped out quickly and efficiently. The Griffin received two holes, but they were more noticeable because the ship was smaller and the holes were larger. Everything was going to the point that the Zwanenburg would be able to sink the Griffin or board it and capture its entire crew and passengers.

Chapter XVII. King

At Colbert's next audience with Louis XIV , meanwhile, an unpleasant conversation for Colbert took place.
“Monsieur Colbert,” said the King. “I am as pleased with your actions in strengthening the finances and army of France as I am dissatisfied with your continuous interference in matters that I did not entrust you with and from which I told you to stay away.”
“Your Majesty, I believe that military affairs and political affairs are always so connected with each other that it is sometimes impossible to separate one from the other,” Colbert said with ostentatious humility. “Apparently, I again accidentally overstepped the bounds of my authority, which I deeply regret.” If you deign to show me exactly where I went wrong, I will try to correct the consequences of my indelicacy and prevent anything similar from happening in the future.
“Your indelicacy is nothing new, therefore, there is no need to give you any explanation,” the King answered coldly. “You are still interested in prisoners, about whom you should have nothing to do, and you are still interested in people associated with these prisoners, although from a bunch of these four there is only one pathetic old man left, whose fate I can decide myself, without your annoying participation.
“My participation is aimed at giving Your Majesty as complete information as possible about this matter,” answered Colbert, delighted that he could tell the King something new to alleviate his displeasure.
- How about that? - the King was surprised. “So you are better informed about the matter in which I asked you not to interfere than I am?”
“I cannot be knowledgeable about anything better than Your Majesty,” Colbert replied with all possible courtesy. “But perhaps, due to pure chance, I can make some clarifications to the information that is being communicated to you in addition to me.”
“Okay, I’m listening to you, Monsieur Colbert,” replied Louis. “If you tell me something that justifies your misplaced curiosity, I may reconsider my assessment of this importunity.”
“Let’s start, if you will, with a little something,” said Colbert. - The Abbot d'Herblay, known to you, formerly called Aramis, who was later a friend of Monsieur Fouquet, as well as the bishop of Vannes, after which he became a Spanish grandee and Duke of Alameda, the Spanish ambassador to the French court. We needed this man for some time, because he promised assistance in establishing allied relations with Spain.
“You didn’t tell me anything new, Monsieur Colbert,” the King objected impatiently.
“I just wanted to point out that Spain did not become our ally despite the fact that Your Majesty’s august wife, Queen Maria Theresa, is a Spanish princess,” Colbert replied. “Consequently, we pinned our hopes on this man in vain.
- To begin with, Mr. Colbert, you should consider that in the last two years we have been able to conclude very useful agreements with Spain, and not at all thanks to my august wife, the Queen, but thanks to the efforts of the Duke d'Alameda, in which his intelligence was superbly combined , his connections, his influence and his talent as a diplomat. “I’m telling you this with knowledge of the matter, and I believe that your knowledge of this side of French diplomacy is enough to agree with me,” Louis objected.
“I completely agree with Your Majesty,” Colbert replied. “However, I want to point out that in the future there is no reason to foresee even the slightest benefit from the Duke’s participation in our affairs with Spain, since we have no business with her.”
“You are mistaken, Monsieur Colbert,” Louis objected. “It sometimes happens that even warring countries have some important diplomatic affairs that are recorded in secret agreements, and which are carried out steadily despite the situation that these countries are formally warring. In addition, no war is eternal, while any policy is continuous, because it is eternal. Diplomatic relations are not as visible as military relations, but their influence is sometimes much stronger.
“I bow to the wisdom of Your Majesty,” Colbert answered modestly.
“You are, however, right that, probably, the Duke’s talents will not be so useful in the future, since it seems to me that, as a Frenchman by birth, Spain may exclude him from among its diplomats, just as we excluded him.” from among the Spanish representatives, since the warring countries do not keep each other's representatives at their courts. However, let's not promise. Who knows what the influence of the Duke in Spain rests on? Until now it has been quite significant and useful for us, although we know nothing about its true reasons.
“That’s true, Your Majesty, but you apparently don’t know that the Duke visits Scotland very often,” Colbert replied. “And his visits are connected with communication with a certain person about whom I was ordered not to make any inquiries.”
-What do you know about this person? - the King asked lively.
“I know, Your Majesty, that this person is a relative of the French royal house,” said Colbert, realizing that he had gone too far, and at this moment his fate was being decided: either the King would forgive his involvement in this secret due to the additional information he had, or he will destroy it.
“You are mistaken, Monsieur Colbert,” Louis answered calmly. - This person only has some external resemblance to a certain person, which, however, does not give him any rights to anything in this world.
“I accept your amendment, Your Majesty, and I ask you to forgive me for inappropriate speculation,” Colbert agreed.
“This person should have been kept in other places, but you, Monsieur Colbert, have not told me anything new regarding his stay in Scotland,” replied the King. “So, I expect you to justify your indelicacy and your curiosity against my will, and, as far as I can tell, you have not yet provided them to me.”
“To complete the picture, I must tell you that the three other people associated with this story, contrary to general opinion, did not die at all. They are alive, and they have been next to the person we are talking about for two years now,” said Colbert, realizing that he had drawn a joker from the deck and was presently presenting it to Louis: the future fate of the minister depended on the King’s reaction to this news.
“Are you talking about those people who were friends of M. d’Herblay?” - asked Louis.
“These people are called Baron du Valon, Comte de la F;re and Comte d'Artagnan,” answered Colbert. - The last of them, a former captain of the royal musketeers, a man who, by your order, received the rank and baton of Marshal of France, whom everyone considered dead almost at the same hour when he received this baton. This man is alive and is in Scotland on his estate.
- In the town of Monkville? - asked the King. — In a house on the banks of the River Clyde?
“That’s right, Your Majesty,” Colbert replied.
Louis stood up abruptly, which caused Colbert to also jump up and bow. The king began to nervously pace around the office.
“Mr. Colbert, you must tell me in all honesty what you did after you received this information,” he said. - Don't try to lie to me. I will find out everything anyway, sooner or later, and if it turns out that you hid even the smallest thing from me, or lied to me, you will be in trouble.
Colbert went cold. He had to admit that he had arbitrarily sent two spies in order to find out everything about the person about whom he had received a ban from the King. However, if he hides this act and the King later finds out about it, it will be even worse. The decision had to be made quickly, so Colbert decided to confess everything, trying to soften the wording.
- Your Majesty, I sent two people to assist...
“You sent two spies to find out who this person is!” - Louis interrupted him, calling a spade a spade. - Mister Colbert, I am very dissatisfied with you. It’s good that you have now admitted your disobedience! What happened to these people?
“I don’t know, Your Majesty,” Colbert stammered.
— When did you send them? - asked the King. “However, I can myself calculate when you did this, since the reason for your actions, apparently, was my interest in the prisoner Marciali, isn’t it?”
“Your Majesty, I bow to your insight,” Colbert said quietly.
—You didn’t expect to use pigeon mail? - the King asked dryly.
“No, Your Majesty,” Colbert replied.
- Why? Don't you want to get the information you're interested in as soon as possible? - asked the King.
“I wasn’t sure it was possible for pigeons to fly across the strait,” Colbert replied.
- What a strait there is! - The King grinned. “It’s further from the coast to Paris than to cross this strait.” And, besides, even in this case you could use pigeon mail from Rouen or Caen.
“That thought didn’t occur to me,” Colbert replied.
“Don’t lie, Colbert,” the King said sternly. “I understand your impatience to find out the secret that interests you; I also know that you use pigeon mail in such cases.”
“Your Majesty, I’m not lying,” Colbert replied. “I suggested that the secret might be too important to be trusted to a dove.” After all, you can shoot a pigeon!
“You could resort to secret writing,” the King objected. - Okay, so, you are waiting for your envoys in person. What is your worst-case deadline for their return?
“No later than the next two weeks, Your Majesty,” Colbert replied.
“Now listen to me, Monsieur Jean-Baptiste Colbert,” the King said coldly and clearly. “You followed your curiosity and made sure that some information, the dissemination of which is undesirable for me, will be known to you.” This is bad, very bad, Colbert, but it's nothing compared to your other mistakes in this matter. It is unpleasant for you and for me that this information will also be known to two of your envoys, of whose silence I am not convinced. This is a most serious offense, Mr. Colbert! Further. If these people fall into the hands of enemies, this information may become available to the obvious enemies of France, of whom there are currently a lot as a result of military operations in Europe. This is even worse. Finally, the secret, which was kept quite well by the four people you named, will now probably become known to those people who not only will not keep it, but, on the contrary, will make efforts to use it to the detriment of France. Under these conditions, the people whom you have classified as my enemies become the only support for maintaining this secret outside of France. As long as the person you were interested in, despite my ban, is outside France, the people you listed are the most reliable and, practically, the only support for France in this matter! For your mistakes you should be executed, Monsieur Jean-Baptiste Colbert. I have a good reason for doing this immediately, but there are two reasons for not doing it. The first reason I am not ordering your immediate execution is because you have finally admitted all your actions honestly. The second reason... You probably don't need to know it.
“This reason is that d’Artagnan and d’Herblay preferred me to Philippe simply because I preferred Monsieur Colbert to Monsieur Fouquet.”
“Both of these reasons are not reliable enough to save you in the next similar case,” continued Louis. - Remember this, Mister Colbert! Now repeat to me again the names of the four people you told me were in Scotland.
“The Comte d'Artagnan, the Comte de La F;re, the Baron du Valon and the Chevalier d'Herblay,” answered Colbert.
- Throw out all the names except the first one from your head! - The King grinned. - Remember four simple names: Athos, Porthos, Aramis and d'Artagnan. It's much shorter. And these are the names by which they should be called. All the rest does not matter. From now on, Mr. Colbert, you must consider these four people to be the subject of your highest concern. You must help these people in everything that concerns the preservation of the secret that you have touched and as regards preventing the use of this secret to the detriment of France. This means that the person you mentioned must continue to be controlled by these four people, and you must know every second where these people are, and if they are going somewhere, you must know where exactly they are going. I forbid you to interfere with their actions without my consent, even if it seems to you that intervention is necessary. I and only I will decide what is permissible for these people and what is not permissible for them. Did you understand me well, Mr. Colbert?
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Colbert replied.
- Athos, Porthos, Aramis and d'Artagnan must act as they see fit, you have no right to interfere with them, but you must know where they are and where they are going, I hope this is clear? - repeated the King. “I won’t keep you any longer, Mister Colbert.”
“If I decide to get rid of these people, I will do it myself and without Colbert’s help,” thought the King. “I need these people at the moment.” The Count de La F;re will be the guarantor of the nobility of their actions, d'Herblay will not allow unreasonable actions, du Valon will never go against France and its King, as for d'Artagnan, he loves me and is devoted to me, except for the situation when he you'll have to choose between me and your friends. Well, I won’t put him in front of that choice anymore.”

Chapter XVIII. The rescue

- There are English ships on the left side! - Athos shouted.
Four English ships were also spotted on the Zwanenburg. Now the advantage was clearly on the side of the English ships and their allies. The only question for the Griffin was to hold out until the approach of the English ships.
The Griffon turned sharply to the left, turning its stern towards the Zwanenburg. This maneuver was now possible, since the other two Dutch ships were already far behind and their guns could not reach the side of the Griffin.
- Porthos, your art is in demand again! - D'Artagnan shouted.
- I like it! - the giant responded.
Most of the sailors were struggling with the leak. Several people were sealing holes from inside the ship, the rest took turns working on the pump, pumping water out of the hold. But the Gunners were still active. Two of the most skilled gunners helped Porthos control the two stern cannons.
However, Porthos' active firing did not cause damage to the Zwanenburg, since the captain of this ship took into account the effectiveness of the Griffon's stern firing in terms of the damage it caused to the other two ships. This ship continued the pursuit without due diligence, intending only to demonstrate its superiority over the enemy, which was temporary due to the rapid approach of the English ships. Apparently, the captain of the Dutch ship did not plan to engage in a naval battle with the approaching English ships. No matter how deplorable the condition of the "Griffin" was, it continued to stay afloat and posed a danger, all three Dutch ships had holes that reduced their maneuverability, while the approaching English ships did not have the slightest damage, in addition, they outnumbered the Dutch group . The four fresh English ships were a clear threat to the three damaged Dutch ships, even if the Griffon were not taken into account.
Soon the Zwanenburg completely turned around and began to retreat from the approaching group of English ships.
“We are saved,” said Aramis. - Thanks to the cannon fire of Porthos and thanks to the arrival of the English ships.
“Thank God, we can still continue our work to save France,” said Athos.
“You’re right, Athos, but besides, it wouldn’t hurt to stay in this world a little longer!” - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
- You're right, d'Artagnan! - Porthos picked up. “Today’s shooting gave me back the fullness of my taste for life and military action!”
- Did you return it? - D'Artagnan was surprised. - Do you mean that before this you lost your taste for life and for battles?
“Not that I lost it,” Porthos grinned. “But it’s been a long time since I’ve felt such the excitement of a fight.”
- Yes, Porthos, today you were on fire! - Athos noted. - Today was your day, my friend! You did a great job for all of us!
- How else? - Porthos was surprised. - We have one for all!
- And all for one! - Athos, Aramis and d'Artagnan answered in unison.

Meanwhile, the English ships approached the Griffin. Since the “Griffin” sailed under the French flag, and England at that time was our ally, English sailors waved their caps from the boards of the English ships, and the sailors of the “Griffin” greeted the English ships in return.
Suddenly, pure French speech came from the ship St. David.
- Captain Butts is here! - a voice amplified by a megaphone reached our friends. - Do you need help? If not, we're off in pursuit of the Dutch ships!
- Captain d'Argenson is here! - answered the captain of the Griffin. — Thank you for the military support! We're on the move, we can handle it ourselves. You can go in pursuit of the Dutch! They all have holes.
“Give me a megaphone,” said Athos.
The captain handed the earl a megaphone to the count.
- Captain Butts! - Athos shouted. - The Comte de La F;re is here! I bless you, Raoul, for the chase! Thanks for the help!
- Father! - shouted Captain Baths, for it was Raoul de Bragelonne, who had adopted a new name in the service of the English fleet. - I obey! We will take them prisoner or drown them!

Needless to say, the ship "Zwanenburg" and the ship "Endrakht" were sunk, and the ship "St. Paulus" was captured and taken to the shores of England, where it was subsequently burned, since it was so significantly damaged that it could not be repaired no point.
Thus, Raoul de Bragelonne, under the name of Captain Bats, led and carried out a successful hunt for three Dutch ships and thereby covered the name of Captain Bats with glory. Looking ahead, let's say that this feat was far from the last on the list of the glorious captain Butts.

The Griffin then returned without incident to the port of Edinburgh, where it stood for repairs, while our friends made another attempt to find out the fate of Philip. The captive captain of the Black Fox refused to give information. Aramis wanted to use his methods of influence on him, but Athos categorically rejected his methods.
D'Artagnan rejoiced at Suzanne's salvation like a child, since this beauty, apparently, had seriously captured his heart.

Chapter XIX. Trouble with a pirate

Upon returning to Edinburgh, friends made a new attempt to find out something about the fate of Philip. Porthos, Aramis and d'Artagnan suggested a more thorough conversation with Van der Mile, captain of the Black Fox, who was temporarily locked in a closet. However, Athos categorically rejected any violence.
“This man is our prisoner,” he said. “Prisoners must be treated with dignity.”
- Even if the fate of several European states may depend on information that he knows but does not want to report? - Aramis objected. - Even if, due to his silence, we may not succeed in preventing the greatest catastrophe, which could end in an even more brutal war than now?
- Let me give him a good squeeze! - said Porthos. “I’ll just shake his hand, half-heartedly, and he’ll tell me everything!”
“This scoundrel incited two of our servants to commit treason, he is responsible for the death of Bazin, he kidnapped Philip, and, damn it, he kidnapped Suzanne!” - D'Artagnan was indignant. “And we treat him on ceremony, as if he were a diplomat from a friendly country!”
- My friends! - Athos objected. - This man was captured in battle, he is our prisoner, prisoners should be treated correctly.
“Remember, Athos, how Mordaunt treated the prisoners!” - said d'Artagnan, although he perfectly understood that this argument would not work.
“But we are not Mordaunt,” Athos smiled.
“When we paid tribute to Milady for her crimes, and no scrupulousness stopped us,” said Aramis. - But it was, whatever you say, a woman. And even though she shot at us, even though she tried to poison us, and despite all her other crimes, she did not stop being a woman. However, we understood that we were dealing with the enemy, and we treated her as she deserved.
“After that there was not a day when I did not repent of this act,” Athos objected sadly. “The point is not whether she was guilty enough to deserve this fate or not.” And the point is not how expedient it would be to rid the world of it. It's about ourselves. Are we ready to carry the weight of such an act on our shoulders for the rest of our lives? Do we need reproaches from our own conscience?
“Then you should probably let this bastard go free,” Porthos grumbled.
“I would do this if I were not afraid that he would carry his plan of using Philip against France to its end,” answered Athos. “This man knows too much, and his knowledge is too dangerous.” He apparently knows where Philip is, and he intends to use him to create trouble, threatening civil war in France. Therefore, he cannot be released.
“And I think that he does not deserve freedom also because he kidnapped Suzanne, intended to kill Agnes and, apparently, killed Bazin,” d’Artagnan fumed. - He incited two Englishmen to betrayal! These same John Small and Ben Brown are not decent people, but they didn’t show it in any way. They would probably continue to serve us quite well if it weren’t for him. And as a result of his actions, they both took the path of betrayal, and although they were killed, it would be better if they remained honest people and lived for their own pleasure. Many people died from the actions of this pirate, and we stand on ceremony with him! He sows evil around himself and will continue to do so. Decent people took the path of betrayal by his grace.
“Forgive me, dear friend, that I remain insensitive to your grief,” said Athos. - After all, as a result of this betrayal, you were left without your home.
- My house? - d'Artagnan muttered. - By the way, yes! And I forgot about it! I’m also broke on top of everything else, damn him! However, this doesn't bother me as much as the rest.
“You are not ruined, d’Artagnan, until I am ruined,” Porthos objected. - And my money is in a reliable English bank.
“And all my money is also at your disposal, my friend,” said Athos.
“Don’t let money matters worry you, my friends,” Aramis answered softly. - You can ignore such trivial problems. I have a completely reliable source of funds that we can use if necessary. But we need to find Philip. If you, Athos, do not allow us to apply harsh methods of heart-to-heart talk to Van der Mil, I will have to deal with this matter through my own channels.
“Then what should we do with this pirate captain?” - asked Porthos. “It’s a damn shame that you can’t just strangle him!” By God, Athos, I don’t understand you! We pierced the cardinal's guards with our swords like beetles with a pin just because they spoke disrespectfully about us or about our uniform! Meanwhile, these were our compatriots who honestly carried out their service, and they were subordinate to the first minister of France, appointed by the King of France to this position. They were in their right, they were, I repeat, French, and honest French. Remember, during the siege of La Rochelle, and on other occasions, we fought with them shoulder to shoulder, they were our comrades in arms! And none of us has a heartache from the fact that each of us has our own small cemetery, which we filled with those with whom for a moment we did not agree on some trifling issue. And here before us is an enemy, a pirate, a Dutchman, a murderer! Why should we bother with them? Ugh!
“Perhaps you are right, my friends,” Athos finally answered. “Perhaps this man is a scoundrel, and he is certainly our enemy.” He deserves serious punishment, perhaps even death. But he is our prisoner. If there was an opportunity to give it to the French authorities, I would gladly do so. But we don't have such an opportunity.
- Well, why not! - Aramis objected. “We can entrust it to Captain d'Argenson.” After his men repair the Griffin ship, they will head to France. He can bring this pirate captain under the jurisdiction of the French police and leave the decision of his fate to the French Themis or even directly to His Majesty. However, do not forget, Athos, that this man knows a secret that he should not know. This alone makes him an enemy of France and a state criminal against France, deserving of execution. At the same time, note that he owns the secret of Philip’s stay, which we, if we managed to get it out of him, could use in order to prevent all the harm that he planned and which, perhaps, will be caused by other people according to his plan, even in the event that we never release him again, and even if we killed him.
- Damn it, Athos! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “If thirty years ago, in my youth and ardor, I had pierced this pirate with my sword, you would not have even thought of condemning me!”
“Even if you had pierced him with a sword in yesterday’s battle, then even in this case I would not have thought of condemning you, my friend,” answered Athos. “But today he is our prisoner, and he is unarmed.”
- This can be easily fixed! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - I will give him a sword, and we will fight on equal terms.
- What if he refuses? - asked Athos.
“I’ll sort it out,” said Porthos.
With these words, Porthos went to the closet. When he found the key to the door, he simply tore off the padlock as if he had simply plucked an overripe plum from a tree.
- Listen to me, Mr. Van der Mil! - he said. — Is it possible to invite you to a conversation?
“I won’t tell you anything about your nobleman whom you want to find!” - answered the pirate.
“You don’t want to tell me, and there’s no need,” Porthos answered calmly. — I would like to talk to you about your country.
- What do you want to know? - asked the Dutch captain.
“Wait a minute, having a heart-to-heart conversation with a person whose hands are tied is simply indecent,” said Porthos. - Let me untie them for you.
With these words, he easily broke the bonds that tied Van der Mil's hands.
“I wanted to discuss with you a few subtleties of the Dutch language,” he continued. “You don’t mind this, do you?”
“Not at all,” Van der Mil replied.
— Tell me, please, what do you mean “Hardy Horse” in Dutch? - asked Porthos.
“ S toer paard,” answered the Dutchman.
“Well, that’s quite understandable,” agreed Porthos, without understanding anything, however. — What would you say in Dutch: “Strong carriage”?
“ S terke koets,” answered Van der Mil.
- Tolerable. What about “Sharp Sword”? - Porthos did not let up.
“ S cherp zwaard,” answered the Dutchman, beginning to get irritated.
- Thank you, my dear! - Porthos continued with an imperturbable look. “You are providing me with extremely useful linguistic information.” What do you say in Dutch: “Ugly, vile, vile pirate, the very sight of whom disgusts me”?
— Dikke , onhandige Franse brutal , die ik graag met een zwaard zal doorboren ! - Van der Mil exclaimed, not hiding his rage and hatred of Porthos.
- This suits me perfectly! - exclaimed Porthos. “It seemed to me that you would like to back up your words with a few swings of your sword?”
- With great pleasure! - Van der Mil exclaimed.
- A couple of minutes and we will sort everything out! - Porthos answered joyfully.
After this, he turned to Athos, Aramis and d'Artagnan.
- My friends! - he said. - Mr. Van der Mil gave me a short lesson in the Dutch language and asked me, in gratitude for this, to give him a short lesson in fencing. I ask you to make sure that no one disturbs us. Aramis, would you lend Captain Van der Mil your sword? I promise not to break it during our fencing lessons.
Aramis silently handed Porthos his sword, which Porthos handed over to the Dutchman.
Van der Mil looked at Porthos with an attentive gaze, then looked around at his friends.
“Perhaps this man does not suit me in height and weight,” he said gloomily. “And his arms are longer than mine.” I can't handle him.
“Why are you ordering me to shorten my arms for the pleasure of fighting with you?” - Porthos got angry.
“I choose this one,” he said, pointing to d’Artagnan.
“In that case, I can already begin to sing your funeral service,” Aramis grinned. - How long do you think he will last, Athos? A minute or a minute and a half?
“Forty-five seconds,” answered Athos.
“Then I will fight you,” Van der Mil replied, pointing to Aramis.
“Fifty-five seconds,” answered Athos.
- What about you? - Van der Mil asked Athos.
- Who knows? “I don’t count seconds in battles,” answered Athos. - Maybe a minute and a half or even two.
- Do you admit that you fight worse than your friends? - Van der Mil was delighted.
“You didn’t understand me,” Athos objected. “If I fight you, I will fight with my left hand in order to somehow reduce the likelihood of your defeat.”
- Great idea! - exclaimed Porthos. - Van der Mil, we'll even the odds! I will fight against you without a sword! I'll give you the sword, and I'll take the dagger myself. It is good for you?
“If your friends give the nobleman his word not to help you,” Van der Mil answered.
“I give you the word of a nobleman for myself and for my friends that none of us will interfere in your battle, we will only ensure that the conditions of the duel are not violated,” said Athos.
- The word of a nobleman! - Aramis and d'Artagnan confirmed Athos' words.
Porthos took up a dagger with a blade no more than a dozen inches and left Van der Mil to use Aramis's sword.
“Agree on the count of three,” said Athos. - One two Three!
The battle has begun. It was not easy for Porthos to parry sword blows with only a dagger, but he had excellent reflexes, titanic strength and amazing composure. Van der Mil did not give Porthos the opportunity to wound himself, since the length of his arm, together with the length of the sword, of course, greatly exceeded the length of Porthos's arm, together with the length of the dagger blade. Porthos calmly repulsed the sword, the force of his blow gradually increased, and this began to exhaust Van der Mil. Unexpectedly, Porthos hit the sword especially hard, the Dutchman’s hand deviated after the sword, after which Porthos lunged with his hand and the dagger entered the Dutch pirate’s chest up to the hilt.
“Sir, after such a blow you have no more than half an hour to live,” Aramis said coldly. “I am a priest and I can absolve you of your sins if you are a Catholic and if you tell us where we should look for the nobleman we need.”
“I’m a Protestant and I won’t tell you anything,” Van der Mil replied.
“Amen,” said Aramis.

Chapter XX. Confession

After this, Porthos carefully picked up Van der Mil and laid him on the bed, placing pillows under his head.
“Wait,” Van der Mil finally said through force. - I have to tell you one important thing. Promise that you will call a Protestant priest to me.
- Suzanne! - D'Artagnan exclaimed and entered the next room, which was occupied by his beloved. “Suzanne, baby, bring the Protestant minister here immediately.” His services will be paid. Hurry up, please.
“We will fulfill your request without any conditions, sir,” answered Athos. “However, if you have something to say and thereby ease your soul, reducing the evil of your actions, we will listen to you with all attention.”
“Know that the nobleman you are looking for fled from us after he learned of our goals,” said Van der Mil. “We couldn’t understand how he managed to escape.” He is very smart and cunning.
—What were your goals? - asked Aramis.
“We knew that this man was very similar to the French King and his brother. We decided that this was an illegitimate prince. “We ourselves did not see the King of France, but we trusted those from whom we learned about it,” answered the Dutchman. “We wanted to ask for a larger ransom for him.” They were counting on a million livres.
- From whom did you learn about this? - asked Aramis.
“You didn’t deceive me with the priest?” - Van der Mil asked in turn.
“He’s already on his way,” answered Aramis.
Indeed, at that moment Suzanne entered the room, accompanied by a Protestant priest. Aramis motioned for them to wait aside.
“We captured two French spies who were sent by French Minister Colbert in order to clarify some information about this man,” the pirate answered.
-Where are these people now? - asked Aramis.
“I think it’s in the stomachs of sharks,” Van der Mil replied. - The team decided... So why bother now? I myself decided that they knew too important a secret, so I ordered them to be thrown overboard.
- Here comes the priest! - Athos exclaimed, inviting the priest to approach the bed on which the wounded Van der Mil was placed. “We leave you alone so that you can confess and prepare for your journey to the next world.”
“I recommend that you not discuss this incident with your clergyman, Mr. Van der Mil,” Aramis whispered. “In order to repent of your actions related to these circumstances, there is no need to name names. Believe me, if you show such modesty, you will provide an important service not only to our compatriots, but also to yours.
Van der Mil nodded.

After this, the friends left the room, leaving the priest who entered to talk with the Dutchman.
Ten minutes later the priest left the room.
“I have forgiven him his sins,” he said. “He wants to talk to a man named Athos.”
Athos entered the dying man's room.
- Sir, did you want to talk to me? - he asked. - I'm listening to you.
“Yes, Mr. Athos,” answered Van der Mil. “I heard your discussion about how to deal with me.” Based on this, I decided to trust you, because I was convinced of how noble a person you are.
“I respect the last will of a person in your position, sir,” answered Athos, “but I must warn you that I cannot promise to fulfill every will of a dying person, since you were our enemy and would have remained so if not for were near death.
“Don’t worry, my request will not conflict with your concepts of honor and duty,” Van der Mil replied. - We are talking about my daughter. She has no one but me. I admit, I'm not the best father, but I am a father, such as I am. My profession may be reprehensible from your point of view, but for the citizens of my country, privateering against ships flying the flags of hostile states that are at war with us is not condemned. On the contrary, my fellow citizens would call you adventurers and, perhaps, robbers or pirates, who knows. Please forgive me for this directness. Everyone fights for their ideals, and sometimes ideals do not coincide. So, I ask you to transfer to my daughter what I would like to leave her as an inheritance, that is, my entire fortune. This cannot be formalized legally, since what I own is in a secret place in the form of gold and silver coins, jewelry, and precious stones.
“Sir, wherever you buried your treasure, I cannot promise that I will find it and give it to your daughter,” answered Athos. “Currently, I have several much more important matters to attend to, and besides, I am no longer young, and I cannot guarantee that I have enough time to complete such assignments. The priorities of state interests are currently the highest for me.
“I understand all these circumstances and recognize them as significant,” Van der Mil replied. “I only ask you to take the document sewn into my jacket and keep it until circumstances allow you to devote a little of your precious time to this matter.” From the document you will learn both how you can find my daughter and how you can get the treasures I have hidden. It would be enough if you would just find my daughter and give her this document, but I would like some of my money to serve as atonement for some of my sins.
“This is a very noble intention, sir,” said Athos.
“I ask that the house and surrounding buildings that we burned be restored to compensate M. d’Artagnan for losses, since my opinion of him changed after I got to know him, and I would not want to be the reason for his ruin,” Van der Mil continued.
“Monsieur d’Artagnan will not need anything while his friends are alive,” answered Athos.
“As far as I could understand his character, Mr. Athos, your friend will never be able to use your money as his own, and I left him without his own funds.” It's my wish. I ask you to restore his estate and hand it over in better condition than it was. Take double the price of damages and compensate him for the damage caused by me and my people,” Van der Mil said. - If you cannot do it yourself, entrust it to my daughter, although she is still small and lives in Holland, it will be much more difficult for her to do it than for you.
“Sir, I understand your noble impulse and am ready to accept this commission, although I assure you that d’Artagnan does not need compensation of this kind from you, since everything he had he always obtained himself,” answered Athos.
“Also promise me that you will give a tenth of the money to the Protestant church to commemorate the souls I lost,” said Van der Mil. “Although I consider my craft to be an ordinary military profession, I confess that your views on how prisoners should be treated have penetrated my soul. This is the first time I have encountered such integrity, and I really regret that I did not meet you earlier. Perhaps I would laugh at your principles if it weren’t for myself. Circumstances forced me to listen very carefully to your words, and I became imbued with your principles. I confess that I did not treat my prisoners as you would have done. This saddens me very much now, when I have one foot in the grave. Promise to give one tenth of the money for the remembrance of the souls destroyed by the captain of the Black Fox Van der Mil, I beg you.
“I promise to do this on the condition that I can fulfill this promise without abandoning the more important mission that, by the will of fate, lies with me,” Athos said firmly.
“That’s quite enough,” agreed the Dutchman. “I know you will do it if you can, and asking you to do the impossible makes no sense.” Now the last request, Mr. Athos. Please, take this dagger out of me.
- If I do this, you will die! - Athos objected. “You didn’t die from blood loss only because the dagger prevented it from flowing out of the wound it inflicted.”
“I know, Mr. Athos,” Van der Mil answered. - Having received from you a promise to fulfill my request, if you have such an opportunity, I finished all earthly affairs. I have nothing else to do in this world. I won’t lie, I feel unbearable pain. Besides, you know that my hours are numbered. So why prolong this torment? I want to die right now.
“The method you propose will increase your torment,” Athos objected. “Perhaps my friend Aramis will have some means that will allow you to leave this mine with less suffering.”
- Wait! - the Dutchman objected. “I’m an officer, and I don’t want to die from poison.” I prefer to die from a stab wound. My decision is firm.
“Okay,” answered Athos.
“I’ll say a final prayer,” Van der Mil said. - When I'm done, I'll close my eyes. After that, I ask you to do what I ask.
Athos nodded silently. Van der Mil began silently moving his lips, looking at the ceiling. After a few minutes, his lips stopped moving, and he closed his eyes tiredly.
Athos walked up to the dying man's bed and with one jerk took Porthos' dagger out of the Dutchman's chest. A dying snore escaped from the pirate's throat, a large, rapidly growing blood stain appeared on his chest, after which the pirate fell silent.
Athos tore open the edge of the jacket and the lining of the Dutchman with a dagger, took out a leather envelope from the resulting hole, and, without opening it, put it in his pocket, after which he left the room.
“I feel sorry for this man,” he told his friends. “No matter how villainous our enemy may seem to us, he sometimes contains a lot of simple human kindness and nobility.
 
Chapter XXI. New goal

So, friends learned that Philip had fled from Van der Mil. He may still be in Edinburgh, but the more time has passed since his flight, the less certain the place where he may be can be indicated. Perhaps he has already left not only Scotland, but also the British Isles as a whole, he may end up on the mainland in any of the European countries, both in France and Holland, or in Spain, in Italy, in Portugal, but you never know Where!
Aramis, of course, had his own channels for obtaining information, but he could not announce a search for a person whose appearance exactly coincided with the King of France. Such searches could cause more harm than good. In addition, at any moment Philip could appear officially. It would also be pointless to warn informants to keep an eye out for whether the twin brother of the French King might turn up somewhere in Europe. If this happened, it would become known, but if this does not happen, then any rumors about such a possibility are unnecessary and harmful, if not extremely dangerous. If the world expects such an event, a simple impostor may declare himself the French King, even without any resemblance to Louis XIV .
First of all, d'Artagnan decided to send Suzanne to safety. Such a place seemed to him to be the neighboring village of Montville, where Agnes Campbell, Aunt Miss Grefton and Bazin were currently located, if he was still alive. Aramis found reliable people to accompany Suzanne Campredon to her destination.
- D'Artagnan, why do we have to separate? - asked Suzanne. - Am I interfering with your business?
“Suzanne, we have an important matter ahead of us, I will not hide it, this is a matter of national importance,” answered d’Artagnan. - Despite everything else, this is a dangerous business, and I cannot risk you! I already almost lost you. I won't survive this.
- But perhaps I will be useful to you? - asked Suzanne.
“My dear, you will be extremely useful to me if you remain in complete safety as far as possible from those scoundrels with whom we are likely to cross swords,” d’Artagnan answered warmly.
“I’m afraid that we are parting forever, my dear captain,” Suzanne said sadly.
- Nonsense, a thousand devils! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “I’m not going to die, at least not in the next few years.” From the moment I seemed to die, and at the same moment when I found you, I especially loved life! Damn it, I love you and I intend to marry you, dear Suzanne! Agree, it would be impolite of me to die after I, as you see, made you an offer, which, I hope, you will accept with favor?
“I agree, Charles, and if my consent can somehow protect you, know that I agree a thousand times!” - Suzanne answered.
- How he’ll protect you, wow! I swear by my sword, your consent will add strength to me, and, therefore, I will be invulnerable to the swords and bullets of the enemy! - answered d'Artagnan. “Still, in case I am killed, know that I was killed happy, knowing that you love me and will shed a tear or two for me.” It’s just a pity that all the inheritance that I could have left you was burned to hell. But my friends will not leave Charles d'Artagnan's widow in poverty!
“I’m not going to become a widow without becoming a wife, dear Charles!” - exclaimed Suzanne. “Come back safe and sound, my knight, you won’t regret it!”
- I'll be damned if I don't do exactly as you advise! - answered d'Artagnan. “If ten minutes ago I still doubted, now I am completely convinced that I should live a little longer in order to return to you and spend several happy years with you, dear Suzanne.”
- Better than a few dozen happy years! - exclaimed Suzanne.
- Oh, my dear! - D'Artagnan smiled. “No soldier makes such far-reaching plans, but I am a soldier to the core!”
At that moment, Aramis entered the room, returning from a meeting with his agents.
“My friends, I can tell you some news, but judge for yourself how useful it will be,” he said. - Van der Mil decided to hide Philip in St. Giles, in one of the locked cells. His brother-in-law serves in this cathedral. He was convinced that Philip would not escape from the care of this relative. Apparently, Van der Mil greatly valued his captive and trusted his brother-in-law very much, and also believed in the reliability of the locks. Indeed, there was a bolt on the door that could be locked from the outside. there are bars on the windows. In the evening, Philip was fed dinner; the next morning the room was empty. The bolt was still locked, but if Philip had somehow managed to open it from the inside, it was not surprising that he had closed it so that his disappearance would not be immediately discovered. The brother-in-law told Van der Mil that he did not understand how Philip managed to escape. They had a heated argument, but in the end Van der Mil believed his brother-in-law and left him alone.
“This is extremely interesting information, Aramis, but not very useful for us yet,” said Athos.
“Further information is not reassuring,” Aramis continued. “There are very significant reasons to believe that he sailed to the mainland.” Several people matching Philip's description set sail on various ships bound for various destinations. The two most likely places where Philip went were France and Holland. Taking into account the fact that the King himself will most likely soon go to Holland to wage war, Philip may also go there. But at present the King of France is heading with troops to the Rhine to assert French power over Alsace and Lorraine. This is where the main drama takes place. The troops of Holland and its allies will apparently also be there. Therefore, our place is there.
- Damn it, is it war again? - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - Well, you can’t escape fate! I continue to follow the instructions of my father, although he has long been dead. Once you have chosen military craft as a profession, it is difficult to become anything other than a soldier!
- Well, thank God! - Porthos responded. “I must admit, I’m already bored without a real battle in this quiet Montville.” We warmed up well in a naval battle, but this is not what a real musketeer needs!
“In recent years, I have not been looking for an opportunity to fight,” Athos said sadly, “but I am not going to avoid them either.” If it is necessary to fight, then we will fight.
“I confess, my friends, sometimes you can do much more with a word, spoken and written, than with a sword,” Aramis continued. “But it also happens that a word, backed by a good blow from a sword, acts faster and more convincingly.” However, our main goal is not to promote the success of French military operations, but to prevent the collapse of the monarchy due to the emergence and active actions of a second contender to the throne. It is impossible to say in advance what exactly we have to do, fight, or engage in diplomacy. However, you must be prepared for anything. Therefore, let’s arm ourselves properly and set off on the “Griffin” to our homeland.
 
Chapter XXII. A few words about Lorraine

The author must remind our dear readers that Lorraine was an eternal stumbling block for the French throne, and Louis XIV finally decided to remove this stone from his path. Even during the Valois dynasty, starting with Francis II , the Lorraine house laid claim to a place that no one was going to give it. Due to the marriage of the young monarch to Mary Steward, this house came close to the throne, since Mary's mother was Mary of Guise, and that says it all. The Guises considered themselves entitled to claim the French throne, however, they reluctantly recognized the primacy of the Valois houses. Since Catherine de Medici had four sons, no one expected a change in the dynasty. However, all four died without leaving legal male heirs. Young Francis II left at such an early age that this is not surprising, however, the next son, Charles IX , who had illegitimate children, still did not have time to leave a legal heir, which was already a bad omen. Henry III, who followed his brother to the throne, did not like women, preferring his minions, which undermined the dynasty. To top off all the evils, the youngest son, Francois, died young, never waiting for his turn on the throne, although it already seemed to many, including him, that such a dubious opportunity in the presence of three older brothers had already become impossible for him. so unrealistic. With all these transitions, the Giza authorities sought to seize the throne of France for themselves, which was the cause of many civil wars and riots. Using religious strife as leverage and relying in their struggle on the support of other Catholic states, as well as the Pope and cardinals, both in their own country and in neighboring countries, the Gizas were a constant threat to the throne. However, fate decreed otherwise, and the throne of France passed to Henry of Newar, the husband of Catherine de Medici's daughter Margaret, who, under the name Henry IV , founded a new dynasty, the Bourbon dynasty. It is easy to imagine the anger of the Guises and their hatred of the entire dynasty, which was ahead of them in this eternal race. The heads of the Lorraine house, as a rule, received the name Charles. Louis XIV , the grandson of Henry IV , and, therefore, the third representative of the Bourbon dynasty, inherited not only the crown of France, but also the eternal enemy of this crown in the person of the obstinate dukes, cardinals and abbots from the Guise family, that is, the entire Lorraine house.
Thus, the Duke of Lorraine should have been shortened, Lorraine should have been forever deprived of the independence that it received from Charles V , who divided his empire between his sons. Alsace, a territory adjacent to Lorraine, was also prone to separatism, which gave rise to endless contradictions both in this land itself and in nearby lands.
After Louis XIV deprived Monsieur Fouquet of his independence by acquiring the fortress island of Belle-Ile, a campaign against Alsace and Lorraine was inevitable. If under Henry IV and under Louis XIII the royal power in France was not yet strong enough to be able to streamline and forever consolidate these rebellious lands as an integral part of France, then under Louis XIV, largely thanks to the efforts of Colbert and de Turenne, the King of France already had a sufficient military force and political power to finally resolve this issue completely.
 The Dutch War broke out in 1672-1678. Our allies were England, Sweden, Cologne and Munster, and our enemies were Holland, Spain, the Habsburg Monarchy and Brandenburg. By this time, Alsace and Lorraine were formally already under the hand of the King of France, but the rebellious Guises continued their intrigues, both diplomatically and militarily, with the goal of using the border location of their lands to balance between France and the Habsburg Monarchy, as well as involving them in games Spain and Holland. Since these lands were too attractive due to their strategic position, none of the countries that received the proposal of a military and economic union remained indifferent to such a proposal, although in the end none of such adventures was crowned with the expected success.
The obvious danger was the presence of Philip in this territory. If the Duke of Lorraine had captured it, he could either have announced the capture of the King of France, which would have contributed to increased military assistance from our enemies, or tried to place Philip on the French throne, with the aim of making him an obedient conductor of his own interests. Probably, another intrigue could have arisen, but in any case, this situation did not bode well for France.
Meanwhile, the Dutch government openly made fun of Louis XIV , publishing and distributing all kinds of lampoons about him. After Louis declared himself the Sun King, the Dutch issued a coin with Joshua, who, as is known, according to the Old Testament, stopped the movement of the Sun with his command. Thus, Holland seemed to hint that it was stronger than France and could stop Louis in his territorial plans.
The reasons for the ideological confrontation between Holland and France lay, of course, in the difference in religions. While France got rid of mainly the Huguenots and turned entirely into a Catholic state, Holland retained Protestantism as its main religion. This was probably one of the reasons why numerous libels against the King of France came from it. Another reason was, of course, conflicting territorial interests. The third reason was competition for dominance of the seas.
England, as we know, was also a largely Protestant country, however, Charles II himself was raised at the French court during his exile, which began when he was still a young prince, at a time when Cromwell overthrew and executed his father , Charles I , gravitated towards Catholicism. In addition, Charles II's own sister , Princess Henrietta, was married to our King's brother, Philippe, Duke of Orleans, traditionally called Monsieur. This marriage gave her the title of Madame, that is, the second most important lady of France, after the Queen. Such a close relationship between the two royal houses contributed to the establishment of understanding and cooperation. Charles II hoped to transform England into a Catholic country, supported an alliance with France and also believed that Dutch activity on the oceans should be curtailed, since hegemony on the water was vital for England, an island state. Unfortunately, the alliance between France and England soon disintegrated, but at the time of which we are writing, England was still on our side, the gallant Viscount de Bragelonne fought on the side of England under the name of Captain Baths, and the English fleet supported our fleet in the water in its confrontation with Dutch and Spanish ships.

Chapter XXIII. Innkeeper

Before the friends set off for France on the Griffin, an interesting episode occurred. The innkeeper entered the room where d'Artagnan and his friends were conferring.
“Gentlemen, I’m sorry for distracting you from important matters,” he said. “This morning a man came who offered me ten doubloons for treating you to the wine he brought.” At the same time, he handed over four bottles of wine, seemingly good and sealed according to all the rules. They were in this very basket. I, gentlemen, am an old soldier myself, and I deeply like you. Therefore, I suspected something was wrong and decided to agree for the sake of appearance, because if I had not agreed, I’m afraid he would have carried out his plans in another tavern.
— Do you suspect that this wine is poisoned? - asked Aramis.
“I think so,” answered the innkeeper. “Otherwise, why on earth wouldn’t this man offer you this wine himself?” But I have my own rules at the tavern; I don’t treat my guests to wine that I’m not sure about.
- Excellent rule! - Aramis exclaimed. “To maintain this tradition, I offer you ten more doubloons!”
- What should I do with those ten that I took for myself for show? - asked the innkeeper.
“They are yours by right, you earned them with your honesty,” said Athos.
-Can you describe this man? - asked d'Artagnan.
“The pronunciation is French, just like you,” answered the innkeeper. - Slightly shorter than me, bulging eyes, low forehead, wide brow ridges, thin long nose, but even, straight, upper lip slightly protruding, mustache and beard in your fashion, like yours.
— Is there a wart on your right cheek? - asked d'Artagnan. — are two teeth missing at the top left?
“Exactly so, gentlemen,” answered the innkeeper.
“Thank you, sir,” said Aramis, “keep ten more doubloons for the information.” Destroy these bottles and leave the basket. Could you get us four of the same bottles, which would be like these as two peas in a pod, but contain quite good wine?
“I’ll do it, gentlemen,” said the innkeeper, taking away the basket with four bottles.
“Then bring them to us in this same basket,” Aramis answered and placed five more doubloons in the innkeeper’s hand.
When the innkeeper left, Aramis and d'Artagnan looked at each other.
- Du Trabuson! - said d'Artagnan.
“Without a doubt,” Aramis agreed. - Just as there is no doubt that this wine is poisoned.
- What kind of Trabucon is this? - asked Porthos.
“One mutual acquaintance, whom we will treat with wine, which will be brought by a worthy innkeeper,” answered Aramis. “We’ll offer him a drink and see his reaction.”
-Where will you get it? - asked Porthos. - After all, apparently, there is no trace of him. And we need to hurry on our way.
“ Don’t worry, they’ll find him,” Aramis replied. “And the ship will only be able to go to sea tomorrow morning.”
After this, Aramis left the inn, apparently to give his agents some orders.

Chapter XXIV. Evening guest

In the evening, a Scottish nobleman, who looked like an officer, the head of the guard, knocked on the friends' room.
- Have you found it? - Aramis asked him.
“They brought him to you, my lord,” answered the Scot.
“Enter,” Aramis ordered.
Two guards entered the room and brought in the bound du Trabuson.
“Thank you, gentlemen, you are free,” said Aramis.
- What you want from me? asked Du Trabuson.
“We just wanted to thank you for the wine you treated us to, dear Monsieur du Trabuson,” answered Aramis , freeing him from his bonds. “We would also like to invite you to join us.”
“I don’t drink red wine,” said du Trabuson with a tremble in his voice.
- Every rule has its exceptions! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - Will you really refuse to taste with us the wine that you yourself chose for us?
“I took a vow not to drink,” replied du Trabuson.
“We don’t believe you, Monsieur du Trepelson,” Porthos objected. “No one in their right mind and sound memory makes such vows.”
“My name is du Trabuson,” corrected the unfortunate man.
“We’ll be acquainted, Monsieur du Troubanzon,” answered Porthos. “And I am Baron du Valon, and that’s enough for you to meet for the first time.”
“Now that we have met, let me go,” du Trabuson pleaded.
-Where are you in a hurry? - asked Athos. - Let's taste this wonderful wine together.
He resolutely knocked off the necks of the first two bottles and poured the wine into the five goblets that were already waiting for them according to Aramis' instructions.
“Thank you, you drink, and I’ll follow you sometime,” du Trabuson categorically refused.
“It seems to me, Monsieur du Trepan;on, that you absolutely want to insult us,” said Porthos. - How? Treat people you don’t know and at the same time refuse to drink with them yourself? Is this wine poisoned? If so, then I will impale you on this sword like a chicken! Answer me, is the wine poisoned or not?
- Well, what are you talking about! How is it possible? - du Trabuson stammered. “This wine is offered to you from the bottom of my heart, as to my fellow countrymen.”
- Then drink with us! - exclaimed d'Artagnan, handing du Trabuson a goblet full of wine.
- I can’t, I don’t drink, I made a vow! - Du Trabuson protested.
“Monsieur du Trabuson,” Porthos said firmly. “Either you drink this cup, or you will have to fight a duel with one of us, and we, by the right of the offended party, choose a sword as a weapon.”
Knowing for sure that the bottles contained poisoned wine, du Trabuson chose a duel with Aramis. It was half an hour's journey to the place of the alleged duel.
Three quarters of an hour later the matter was over. An hour and a quarter later, the friends returned to the tavern, where wine was waiting for them in bottles that were exactly like the bottles sent by du Trabuson.
- For the repose of the pitiful eunuch Didier du Trabuson! - D'Artagnan declared.
“God rest his soul, amen,” said Aramis.
- And why didn’t he like this wine? - asked Porthos. - Excellent wine! It would be better if he drank with us and went on his way in peace.
“His soul has found its final refuge,” Athos sighed. “I regret this forced measure, but, apparently, we had no other choice.”
“To console your conscience, I inform you, Athos, that this man killed Lieutenant d’Aunay with a vile stab in the back, when he did not expect it at all,” said Aramis and told in detail the history of this crime.
“In that case, let’s drink to the repose of Lieutenant d’Aunay, who did not remain unavenged,” said d’Artagnan.
- Athos, don't be so gloomy! - said d'Artagnan. - Would you like me to tell you one funny incident that happened to Colbert and me?
“I’m always glad to listen to you, dear friend,” answered Athos. - Especially if your story promises to be funny.
“Once the King ordered me to receive a significant sum from Monsieur Colbert to carry out one delicate assignment. I came to Mr. Intendant of Finance with a warrant for the amount written out, signed by the King. Colbert received me very kindly and invited me to dine with him while his clerks prepared and brought the required amount. What do you think, the dinner was quite tolerable, although I would not call it luxurious! I was almost imbued with great sympathy for Mr. Minister, but imagine my surprise when I was short of ten pistoles in the amount given to me. I told Colbert that there was some mistake, but he said everything was correct. He simply deducted from the amount given to me the cost of the dinner in which I took part. Then I took another twenty pistoles from the amount given to me and returned them to Monsieur Colbert with the words: “Mr. Minister, you are obviously a wonderful financial figure, for which I congratulate you! In that case, I’ll leave you another twenty pistoles to pay for dinner with you and my friend Baron du Valon. I will notify you in advance about the time of lunch for which he and I will come!” What do you think happened after that?
“Did he really take those twenty pistoles?” - Athos asked with a smile.
“I think that if he knew our dear Porthos, he would have asked for another twenty pistoles!” - Aramis added with a laugh.
“In this case, I would try to eat for all fifty pistoles!” - Porthos laughed.
“You guessed wrong,” answered d’Artagnan. - Colbert is not that stupid. He realized that it was dangerous to quarrel with me, however, he could not accept this money, which would be humiliating for him. He returned my money and the ten pistoles withheld to me with the words: “Please forgive me my little joke. I just wanted to test your ability to count and remind you that money from the royal treasury should be counted with special care, and it can only be spent on those needs for which it is intended.”
- Disgusting miser! - Porthos grumbled. - In all decent houses, nobles treat other nobles for free! Mister Fouquet in such a situation would have returned twice or even ten times as much!
“Mr. Fouquet would never find himself in such a situation,” Aramis objected. “He would inquire in what coins d’Artagnan wanted to receive the entire amount, and would offer it in brand new gold coins, and would also put it all in a purse embroidered with pearls worth at least ten pistoles.”
“It’s good that things didn’t come to the point where you and I, D’Artagnan, would go to dine with this miser!” - exclaimed Porthos. “I feel like eating it would give me heartburn!”
- Porthos, my dear! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “It’s unthinkable that your amazing stomach couldn’t digest some food!” It seemed to me that in this respect you are like some kind of Scandinavian god, you can eat and digest any decent food, and all of it will only benefit you.
- The way it is! - Porthos answered proudly. “But lately I’ve noticed that my Scandinavian divinity has subsided slightly. In any case, my body does not accept seafood.

Chapter XXV. Memories of Richelieu

“Since we already hit memories yesterday,” said d’Artagnan on the morning of the next day, when the ship sailed to the shores of France, “and since we already had a little free time, allow me, my friends, I will tell you about the lecture that I heard from the lips of the great Cardinal Richelieu himself a little after we parted for twenty whole years.
- This is very interesting! - Aramis perked up.
“Your story will be an extremely pleasant addition to our breakfast,” Porthos agreed.
“This meeting shocked me so much that I remembered the cardinal’s words almost verbatim,” continued d’Artagnan. The cardinal invited me because, by our mutual agreement, I had entered my name into an open patent for the position of lieutenant of the royal musketeers. I stood timidly on the threshold of his office when, with a soft smile, he invited me to come in and make myself comfortable in one of his chairs. You know, the cardinal was very fond of cats, so there were one or two cats in almost every chair; there were no free chairs, so I was left standing.
The Cardinal was then a tall and slender handsome man with a sharp gray mustache. He condescendingly extended his hand to me to kiss, I kissed his dry palm, studded with rings, which, it seemed to me, could be used to buy an entire street in Paris. After that, the cardinal sat down in a comfortable chair next to the chess table, not paying attention to the cat that was sitting in it. This cat immediately sat on his lap. Then the cardinal pointed me to another chair opposite. I tried to pick up the cat, but he turned away from me contemptuously and lazily moved to another chair, which caused the cardinal to smile condescendingly.
“Well, Monsieur d’Artagnan,” said the cardinal, “I am following your non-trivial career.” I noticed you when you killed my best swordsman. They killed, and not even in a duel! Very reprehensible. You simply refused to surrender your sword, but my guards had every right to arrest you as a violator of the edict prohibiting duels!
Did you know that a nobleman was recently executed by order of the King for a similar offense? No? You should know about this before you grab the hilt! If I decided to forgive you, it is not because youth serves as an excuse for crimes, but because sometimes you want to make an exception even from the most just law. The death penalty, you see, is a measure that has always seemed disgusting to me, especially in relation to a nobleman. And I still hope to re-educate you and therefore I want to talk to you.
- Wow! - exclaimed Porthos. — It turns out that our cardinal was a great humanist? And I, in the simplicity of my soul, considered him an inquisitor.
“He was both,” Aramis answered.
“The cardinal further explained his condescension towards me by the fact that he saw in me such character traits that, as he said, would provide me with an unusual fate. - continued d'Artagnan. “Well, I guess his prediction came true!”
- To the fullest, my friend! - Athos agreed.
“I remember the cardinal’s further words almost verbatim,” said d’Artagnan. “The most amazing thing is that I didn’t fully understand everything he said then, but now, remembering this speech, I find it very instructive and prophetic.
-What did he tell you that was prophetic? - Aramis asked with interest.
“If you please,” replied d’Artagnan. “I will speak in the first person, as the cardinal told me.” “We, the clergy, sometimes manage to lift the veil of the future and look into tomorrow,” he said. - And what can I see there? History, my friend, is created not only on the throne and not only by those who sit on it, it is also created by those people who surround it. And here I am, as a person who has stood close to the greatest European throne all my life, and who has made every effort to strengthen it, now, on the threshold of old age, I am simply obliged to look back and look for those who will replace me, or at least, let’s say, us, the few who they care about the fate of France, about the fate of the Monarchy, and, of course, about the fate of His Majesty the King and the entire royal family. Who do I see? Near the throne there are many worthy and noble persons. Some people consider aristocrats to be an extremely unreliable support for the monarchy. They are called careerists, sycophants, sensualists and hangers-on around the throne. Of course, this opinion is not fair! These are very worthy people, all of them are the most loyal subjects of the King, and if among them there are careerists, then is the desire to make a career such a bad quality for a courtier? Perhaps, in most of them, careerism suppresses common sense, sometimes forcing them to commit acts that can only be called treason. But dare we condemn the aristocracy? We just have to resist the harmful consequences that their careless actions can have. Precisely - careless, for I am far from thinking that any of the noble nobles could have their intention of causing damage to the King and France. Of course, sometimes they may prefer their own good to the good of the state, and this can be directly characterized as treason. But we will not use this term, although some deserve to be classified as traitors, since we are not driven by enmity or the desire to crush the aristocracy, but by feelings of the deepest reverence and respect for the aristocracy, which is only partly restrained due to the fact that the interests The state is dearer to us than the interests of any private individual, no matter how close he may be to the throne, and no matter what family relationship he may have with His Majesty .”
“It seems to me that the cardinal betrayed his soul when he expressed confidence that all the careerists surrounding the King did not think of harming him,” Aramis objected. “The whole history of conspiracies around the French throne is that the most noble people and those closest to the throne were only busy trying to inflict as much damage as possible on the King in the hope of gaining something for themselves. First of all, these were the closest relatives of the King or his favorites. Take the same Saint-Mars with his conspiracy against the cardinal. By the way, d'Artagnan, do you know if he is a relative of our current commandant of the Bastille?
“A distant relative,” answered d’Artagnan. “Our de Saint-Mars, if you remember, served in the musketeers at the same time as us, but he never stood as close to the throne as Saint-Mars, who attempted the life of Cardinal Richelieu.
“I’ll tell you some details about this story that you don’t even suspect,” Aramis grinned. - After all, he was called the Chief, and he was actually the chief on almost all issues in the state. And Richelieu himself contributed greatly to his rise. So he suffered so much to get rid of his dependence on his benefactor that he was extremely hasty with his plot. If he had waited another month and a half, he would have safely waited for the natural death of the great cardinal, and would have been what he wanted to become. Instead, he lost his head, and even dragged the unfortunate de Tou with him to the next world.
“Aramis, this story of yours would be extremely interesting to listen to, especially if you tell us about your role in these events,” Athos said with a smile. - But, as far as I know, you do not like to talk about your role in the most important events taking place in France, and perhaps throughout Europe.
“If you want me to also talk about my role, then you will have to wait a few years,” Aramis replied. — While some people involved in these events are alive, it is better to hold off on frank memories.
“In that case, let’s continue to listen to d’Artagnan’s memories,” said Athos.
“I continue,” answered d’Artagnan. “Then His Eminence said the following. “So, as you see, His Majesty has absolutely no one to rely on - there are potential enemies all around, selfish people who demand rewards for those services that they only intend to provide to the King, and having received the reward, they immediately forget about their intentions, because they no longer have to count on the King's repeated generosity, which, no matter how great, cannot be unlimited. Numerous dukes and princes who want to chop off a fatter piece for themselves, to tear France into small appanage principalities, constantly counting and weighing the favors that others have received, and therefore are not satisfied with those that they themselves have received! Princes and dukes, hoping in times of unrest to so aggravate the position of the King as to force His Majesty to buy the loyalty of these nobles with more and more positions, land plots, giving them cities and fortresses, appointing them governors and marshals! And add here the eternal Spain - this our ally, with whom we are connected by a double dynastic marriage. There is no doubt about the friendship and loyalty of the Emperor of Spain, whose sister has the honor of being His Majesty's consort and our Queen, and the Emperor himself has honored His Majesty's sister by marriage, thus making her Empress. Could there be a more reliable ally than one bound by double ties of kinship? And yet, it was not for nothing that the late King, the father of the current one, the Great Henry IV, warned against such a marriage, saying that Spain’s rivalry with France is such that no marriages will make it our ally!”
- And he was damn right, glorious King Henry IV ! - Aramis exclaimed. “If you only knew how much strength, how much cunning I used, what connections I used to make Spain turn its face to France!” And all this is almost to no avail!
- As far as I can tell, not at all without result! - D'Artagnan objected. “It seems to me that you have achieved the impossible, Aramis!”
“That’s true, but I was going to achieve the unthinkable, and I didn’t succeed,” Aramis answered, gathering wrinkles on his aristocratic forehead.
“And yet, d’Artagnan, I beg you, continue,” said Athos. “You have an excellent memory, and, besides, it seems to me that you even use the intonations of a great cardinal.” I see him as if alive in your presentation, your story is magnificent.
- So, the cardinal said that Henry IV already argued that Spain would never become our ally, no matter what dynastic marriages we strive to achieve this. He further said: “Add also England, which competes with us everywhere and in everything, wanting to tear off the lands adjacent to the coast, German principalities, Muslim states in the east, and who knows what else? The throne and France must be defended against all this. Who will do this? King? There is no doubt that only His Majesty can bring order to these tangled matters. But let us not rely too much on His omnipotence in these matters. Of course, His Majesty is happily married to the august Queen Anne of Austria. Worthy in all respects, certainly faithful and devoted in all respects to His Majesty, she, nevertheless, repeatedly committed such offenses that are not even befitting a simply married woman, especially the Queen of France. Do you know how many times Prince Gaston d'Orl;ans, the younger brother of the King, gave his consent to the coup, which was supposed to consist in the physical removal of the King and the occupation of the throne by the Prince of Orl;ans through marriage with the supposed widow of the King - Anne of Austria? Of course, we should not suspect either the Prince or the Queen that they really intended to carry out such a monstrous coup! But we know well that they were more than once the ideological inspirers of the preparation of such a coup and kept this preparation secret, whereas, of course, their duty would be to not allow even the thought of such a coup, and if suddenly someone planned such a thing , they should have prevented this and notified the King and his first minister of such sad events."
“There were eight such conspiracies,” said Aramis. — And each time the ideological inspirer was the Duchess de Chevreuse.
After these words, Athos looked very carefully at Aramis, but said nothing.
“Yes, Aramis, you are probably better informed than anyone about the exact number of such conspiracies and their ideological inspirers,” agreed d’Artagnan. - Moreover, once we all had to participate in preventing such a conspiracy from being revealed.
- What are you talking about, d'Artagnan! - Aramis exclaimed. “The enterprise in which we participated was just a small love affair of the Queen, who first committed a rash act, then repented of it, and finally wished that her rashness would have no consequences for her personally. A dozen killed cardinal's guards do not count.
- That's right, my friend! - D'Artagnan agreed. - Looking into the past, I have a different assessment of our exploits and our failures, our victories and defeats, but I don’t regret anything, damn it.
“We did what we had to do, and we did it damn well!” - Porthos picked up. “And if someone got in our way, so much the worse for them.”
“Continue, d’Artagnan, your extremely interesting story,” asked Athos.
“Having stated what I said, the cardinal added the following,” d’Artagnan continued his story. “He said: “Therefore, we can hardly hope for decisive action by the King in the field of foreign policy. He should bring order to his family! I'm tired. I don’t know how much more time the Lord will give me - five years or five months. Perhaps only a year? We also need to think about successors. There is a successor to the throne by the grace of God. But he is young, and the Prince, the king's brother, Gaston d'Orl;ans, is too ambitious. You cannot even imagine how much harm he caused the King with his endless plots. Each time the conspiracy had the goal, as I already said, of nothing less than eliminating the King, marrying his widow, Anna of Austria, and taking the throne. But its initial stage was always directed against me personally, since I always served as an obstacle to both the Prince and the Queen in such a matter. If some of the conspirators sometimes believed that the only purpose of the conspiracy was my physical elimination, and that it would be limited to my removal or removal, and that would be the end of it, then Her Majesty Queen Anne always knew the true purpose of these conspiracies, and despite this she supported them. How many were there? I'm already tired of counting. Those nobles - aristocrats who joined these conspiracies, sometimes had to pay with their heads, but the members of the Royal Family, of course, did not suffer. Remember this, my friend! Justice should not concern the members of the Royal Family, their fate should be in the hands of the King, and only in his hands. If God ever allows a civil court to decide the Prince's fate, it will mean the end of the monarchy. The King may be next. I hope that no monarch of France will ever make such a mistake!”
“He hoped so in vain,” Aramis objected. - But please, continue!
“He further said: “So, neither Anne of Austria nor Gaston of Orleans should under any circumstances be condemned. However, the King can expel the Queen, which he thought of doing several times, but I dissuaded him each time. As a woman she is not worthy of pardon, but as a Spanish Princess, being in exile, she can do more harm to the monarchy than being here, under the supervision of the King. And her expulsion could finally put the King at odds not only with Spain, but also with the Pope. But the King does not want a quarrel with the Pope. Do you know what he answered not more than a year ago, when his minions offered him my murder? Yes, imagine, Monsieur de Treville would have to arrest me and kill me “while trying to resist,” and although they know very well that I do not carry weapons with me and cannot make any attempt at resistance, the explanations on this matter were so It is clear that you can be sure that this order would mean my death. So, the King, in response to the proposal to kill me, replied: “He is a priest and a cardinal. I will be excommunicated." Therefore, I was not killed only because I am a priest and a cardinal, and many years of service to His Majesty means nothing. You understand now, I hope that it is dangerous to keep the Queen at a distance, so she must be forgiven and left close to the throne under the tireless supervision of the King. And simple respect for a woman obliges us to show tolerance for her small sins, which, if she were a man, would have to be punished by death, because they are directed against the life of the King. I do not take my life into account - unless it should be taken into account that if it ends as a result of another coup, then there will be no one to stand guard and protect the life of the King, which as a result may be hanging by a thread. It is fear for the fate of the King that makes me worry about my own safety.”
“He was certainly a great man and a great statesman,” said Athos. — Your story lifts the veil on this secret. Continue, please.
— I continue, speaking on behalf of the cardinal. He further said: “ How many enemies I have! No one understands my plans, even the King, recognizing them as great, does not take the trouble to delve into them, let alone evaluate them. Alsace and Lorraine have finally become French."
— The struggle for these lands between us and our neighbors will not stop for a long time! - Aramis objected.
“That’s true,” agreed d’Artagnan. “He went on to say: “La Rochelle is taken, the rebels are forgiven and become the best servants of the King. Including Cardinal de Rohan. Do you know that in the fight against the Spaniards, when they sent a French nobleman as a parliamentarian, he ordered the traitor to be hanged, because traitors do not have titles? Yes exactly. But de Rohan himself was on the side of the rebel La Rochelle, and, therefore, was also a traitor - a traitor who was forgiven at my urgent request. We would never have taken La Rochelle, because the British helped it from the sea, if I had not proposed to build a dam and cut off the fortress from the sea. Do you know who told me? Alexander the Great! Yes, my friend, reading can be very useful."
“Speaking of dams,” said Aramis. — Did you know that Holland is mostly located below sea level, and it is mainly saved by its high and strong dams? If the French army occupies these territories, after which the Dutch violate the integrity of their dams, the entire French army risks being under water, and then the end of the great power!
“This consideration is very important,” agreed d’Artagnan. “It must certainly be conveyed to Monsieur de Turenne, as well as to His Majesty.”
- Do you see, friends, how useful it is sometimes to remember the words of wise rulers of the past? - asked Athos. “Now, d’Artagnan, we will not allow you not to finish your most interesting story.”
“But let me at least have something to eat,” objected d’Artagnan. “While I was talking, you continued to eat, now I want to eat, and you tell me something.”
“It’s better for all of us to just think about your words, while you have a snack,” Athos replied.

Chapter XXVI. Continuation of memories of Richelieu

Having refreshed himself, d'Artagnan continued his story.
“So, friends, now I’m full and ready to continue the memories, if you’re not tired of me,” he said. - After the above maxims, His Eminence said: “Most nobles neglect history and philosophy, and therefore they are not fit for politics. However, Alexander’s cruelty should serve us as a lesson that under no circumstances should we follow. If Alexander treated the inhabitants of cities and fortresses who resisted him very cruelly, then we must remember that we live in the enlightened seventeenth century, and should not shed the blood of Christians if only this can be avoided. Even in the case when our enemies are the Huguenots, who profess their own supposed religion, but in fact are heretics, we must remember that they are citizens of great France, and instead of physically destroying them, as was practiced by King Charles IX, strive to bring them to the bosom of the true church, as required by the spirit and letter of Holy Scripture. Thus, from books one must be able to glean not only what they call for or what is recommended in them, but sometimes see the mistakes of their author and be able to do the opposite. History is rich not only in positive examples, but also in negative ones, and I cannot say which of them is more useful for us. You, young man, are first and foremost a military man. Should you read books, you think? Even if so, you should still be very attentive to the political processes in the state, otherwise your sword may accidentally serve not to the greater glory of the throne, but to its shame. Beware of serving the wrong side! How difficult it was sometimes for me to make a choice between the Queen Mother, to whom I owe both my rise and all my misfortunes, and the King, who sometimes yielded to his mother in everything. For the last time he said that he owed more to France than to his mother. And this was my salvation, because the Queen demanded my expulsion, which, of course, would be followed by physical destruction. But I didn't think about myself. I thought about the greatness of France. And what? They even blame me for the creation of the French Academy! And who? First of all, the writers themselves! Oh, fate! Who else, if not me, cared about the prosperity of literature? And isn’t art and culture alone capable of raising France to unattainable heights? I awarded pensions to writers, it was I who spotted Corneille! Will the King pay these pensions after my death? I doubt! Why does he need this? Does he understand that all that remains of us is our image created by writers?”
“Fouquet also lured writers,” Aramis added. - First of all, Lafontaine. Did La Fontaine remember this in at least one of his works?
“You’re right, Aramis,” agreed d’Artagnan. - But I continue. “What remains of Alexander the Great? - the cardinal asked and then answered himself. - Books written about him, and books written by him about himself. And from Julius Caesar? The same! Kings don't write memoirs these days. They don't lead armies either. What are they doing? Intrigues. Instead of looking at the map of the country every day and wondering where troubles are coming from, they lay out playing cards with their favorites. Favoritism is the greatest disaster, my young friend! My father served Henry III. It was he who first informed His Majesty the King of Poland, who he was then, that the French throne had become vacant, for King Charles IX had suddenly died. If the Polish nobility had found out about this earlier, they would not have released the King from Poland, and if he had been late, the throne would have already been occupied by someone from Guise, or worse. He, warned in time, simply fled from his Polish kingdom and would have abandoned the Polish throne in order to take the French throne in time. If he had not been warned in time, he might not have made it in time. What service did my father provide? Is being a bishop such a great reward for this and many other services? Of course not! And so I had to become a bishop after the death of my father, because my older brother chose a military career, and if I had decided the same as he did, the family could have remained in poverty, because we would have simply lost this bishopric. It was difficult at my age to convince the Pope to approve me. Do you know how old I am? That's it. I took credit for the missing years. No one will find a single metric about those who were born in Poitou during the years of my birth. Twenty years of metrics were confiscated. If you take out one page, you can understand what year it belongs to. It's the same with the whole book. No, if you cover your tracks, then do it properly. This is a lesson for you, young man. And now I myself distribute bishoprics and cardinal’s hats also very much depend on my favor.”
Here d'Artagnan interrupted himself.
“In this the cardinal and I are alike,” he said. - Do you know, friends, that I myself also handed out titles of nobility? Of course, the letters were signed by the King, but my influence on these decisions was quite high. But if you scratch myself, then my nobility may seem dubious to some. The name d'Artagnan passed on to my father on my mother's side!
- Dear friend, you have given this name such shine that it is higher than many noble names with a pedigree of two dozen generations! - Athos answered.
- How to know, how to know? - said d'Artagnan doubtfully. - In any case, I was satisfied with it in the form in which I inherited it from my father. So I continue. “Poor Father Joseph! - exclaimed the cardinal. “He never agreed to accept the rank of cardinal, no matter how hard I tried to persuade him. But if anyone was worthy of this rank, it was he. But he preferred the gray capuchin robe. He did not want to burden himself with a title that entailed responsibilities that he could not perform. How many would hesitate to face such a prospect because of such considerations? Who thinks about responsibilities these days? Everyone only thinks about privileges. They tear up posts - minister, judge, treasurer - not wanting to work, but only dreaming of the income and position that are associated with these posts! Will this situation ever change? I doubt. And you know what's sad? Many posts are given out without merit at all. Or rather, for those merits that I’m ashamed to mention. Did you know that Henry III was surrounded by men who performed the role of women in every sense in relation to him? These mistresses, or lovers, dominated the whole country. As a result, he died without an heir, and the Valois dynasty was interrupted. Well, what about the current kings? His Majesty King Charles I of England had Buckingham as his mistress, who became Duke for the same services. He pushed the king around like no woman ever pushed around a man. He took England into his hands, and, I believe, God himself directed the hand of a certain Puritan Felton against this atheist.”
“You and I know who directed Felton’s hand!” - Aramis answered. - My lady, may she burn in hell for her atrocities!
“I have no doubt that she is there,” agreed Porthos.
“I suppose that hell is full, while there are hardly more than four people in heaven,” answered Aramis.
- Jesus, Mary, Joan of Arc, who is the fourth? - asked Athos.
- I have to think! - Aramis answered. - Maybe Joseph?
- Wait a minute! - exclaimed Porthos. - What about the Popes? Those who have already died?
“I don’t think so,” Aramis objected. - If earthly paperwork has no more than a recommendatory value there, then I don’t think so. D'Artagnan, continue your story, please!
“I continue,” answered d’Artagnan. “The cardinal then said: “How do you think the notorious Saint-Mars became chief of horsemen? For the same services rendered by him to His Highness. And after all, this same Saint-Mars owes all his rise to me, who introduced him to the King without at all thinking about such a development of events - he persuaded the King to kill me, and when the King refused, citing the fact that the Pope would excommunicate him, Saint-Mars involved me in their conspiracy of the same Anna of Austria and Gaston of Orleans, who again intended, following my removal, to eliminate the King in order to marry and jointly occupy the French throne. Needless to say, the Lord does not condemn this sin of Sodom for nothing! For if the lust aroused by a woman in a man gives her some power over him, then this evil inevitably has to be tolerated, since there is no other way for heirs to appear. In addition, a woman’s opportunities and ambitions in politics are limited, and often do not extend beyond the desires for a career for her own husband. The vanity and possibilities of a man in a skirt are limitless, and the harm caused by sodomites under the king is excessive! And I would like to say a few more words about duels.”
“That’s interesting to listen to,” Porthos perked up.
- “My dear young man! - the cardinal told me. “You are an ardent person, probably good with a sword, as they reported to me about you.” You are violating my edict without even thinking about what considerations dictated it. Firstly, it is dictated by the commandments of the Lord. Thou shalt not kill is one of the main commandments. Whatever the insult, it does not justify murder. Moreover, the culprit is not always killed, but the one who seeks justice comes out unharmed. Do you claim that in this way you cast lots to fate, and, they say, it is in the power of the Lord to punish the guilty and protect the innocent? So why are you training day after day? Do you therefore not trust the Lord’s decision? Wouldn't it be equally absurd for both to throw themselves into the water and leave it to God to decide who should sink and who should swim? What kind of ridiculous traditions are these? Secondly, simple love for humanity also requires us to resolutely condemn these murders. Thirdly, we, as you know, are constantly forced to defend ourselves from an external enemy and also suppress rebellions within the country as they arise. To do this, the King needs loyal nobles who wield a sword. Isn't it sad that many thousands of them die in duels every year in a completely absurd way? If they must lay down their lives for the sake of honor, then is there any higher honor than to serve the King, and is there a more beautiful death than on the battlefield in defense of the fatherland? Fourthly, what is a duel if not an attempt to independently carry out a trial? Therefore, a duel is an encroachment on the prerogatives of royal power. If an offense has been caused, you should seek justice from the King if you are an aristocrat, or from the courts if your position does not allow you to appeal to the King. Every nobleman, every citizen knows where he should turn for justice. And, of course, it is not a sword or a musket that will help in this matter. Why am I telling you this?
“D’Artagnan, with your memories you wanted to distract us from sad thoughts due to the fact that we had to organize two duels within two days with the saddest outcome for our enemies,” Athos said sadly. — Meanwhile, you brought strong arguments from Cardinal Richelieu against duels. In light of what has been said, our actions seem to me like two murders.
“Murders committed according to all the rules of noble honor are duels,” answered d’Artagnan. - The only difference is that in this case both combatants have a certain chance of becoming both a victim and a killer. Consequently, one murderer kills another, and this, you see, contains a little less evil than in the case when one murderer kills another person who could not become a murderer under any circumstances. Besides, Athos, we are soldiers, damn it! In battles we killed enemies who were enemies only because they were citizens of another country, and defended the interests of our state or our religion as zealously as we did on our part. I believe that among the soldiers who fell in battle from my sword there are many more honest, noble and in all respects decent people than among those whom I killed in duels. As for the last two cases, these are obvious scoundrels who fully deserved a shameful execution, while we gave them the opportunity to die with honor as real nobles.
- And it seemed to me that in recent years you have become almost a pacifist! - Aramis said in surprise.
“That’s true, Aramis, but there’s a lot in that “almost”!” - answered d'Artagnan. “When it comes to the enemies of France or those who are making attempts on the lives of those dear to me, this “almost” turns into complete denial.
- But finish your wonderful story! - said Aramis.
“I’ve almost finished it,” answered d’Artagnan. - What followed were insignificant phrases that were of no interest to you. His Eminence said: “It seems to me that our destinies are interconnected. I am the first minister under the current King. And the future King may need your devotion, your sword and your mind. I, the youngest son, at one time received the bishopric with great difficulty, due to problems relating to my insufficient age. Nowadays I myself distribute cardinal's hats. You, the youngest son, inherited the nobility and the name d'Artagnan on your mother's side, and so did your mother. Perhaps someday you yourself will distribute letters of nobility - it all depends on you, young man! Your destiny is at the tip of your sword, just think carefully about where to point it!” This ended his monologue. I thanked the cardinal for his valuable instructions and hastened to retreat. As I approached the door, I almost stepped on the tail of one of the cardinal's cats. Fortunately, I noticed it in time, otherwise I would have angered His Eminence, and then I would have been in trouble.
- The fate of the first sword of France depended on the cat's tail! - exclaimed Porthos.
“It happens, dear Porthos, that the fate of an even larger state depends on even less,” answered Aramis.
“Damn it, your story is as interesting as it is long,” said Porthos. — While listening to you, I even forgot to have a snack, and now I feel some feeling of hunger!
“Perhaps, Porthos, you feel not hungry, but thirsty?” - Aramis asked with a smile. “You didn’t forget to eat while d’Artagnan was talking, but you left the cup with the magnificent Anjou completely unnoticed.”
- You're damn right, Aramis! - Porthos exclaimed and emptied his voluminous goblet in three gulps, after which he filled it again. - I propose to drink to the great cardinal who put together a great country! And although he, of course, did not go to heaven, let them not fry him too much in hell!
The friends silently supported their beloved friend's toast, emptying their cups in memory of the great and terrible Cardinal Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu.
Over these and other conversations, the friends quietly spent time on the road and soon arrived at the shores of their native France, which three of them had not seen for two years.

Chapter XXVII. Royal Council

The Dutch War was in some sense initiated by Louis XIV . Shortly before the start of hostilities in the northwestern direction, Louis gathered his military leaders for a military council. Present were Philippe I of Orleans, Louis II de Bourbon-Cond;, Henri de Turenne, Sebastien de Vauban, Francois de Cr;quy, Francois Henri de Luxembourg, Friedrich von Schomberg, Jean d'Estr;e, Louis Victor de Vivon, Abraham Duquesne, Colbert, as well as Secretary of the King, Hubert.
- Gentlemen! - the King began. — I have been told many times about the importance of maintaining balance in Europe. What kind of balance are we talking about? They told me about some kind of diplomatic balance. This is bullshit. There is only one balance - military. Everything else depends on this main balance. But have you ever wondered what balance is? Let's take this globe.
With these words, the King approached the large globe.
— Scientists say that if you put a small ball, like this pearl, on the very top of this globe, then it will be in equilibrium, and, therefore, can lie in this place for as long as desired.
With these words, Louis placed a round pearl on the top of a sphere representing a model of the Earth.
- Is it so? - Louis asked, looking around at those present. — How reliable is this balance?
With these words, Louis lightly struck the globe with his finger, after which the pearl rolled off the globe onto the floor.
Hubert immediately jumped up, picked up the pearl and, with a bow, placed it on a small table.
“So, we see that equilibrium is a very unstable state of things,” Louis solemnly concluded. - So why strive to preserve something that cannot be preserved for a long time, that threatens sudden disaster and problem? After all, you can never predict exactly where such a pearl will roll, that is, on which side will the scales tip after the balance is disrupted?
Philippe d'Orl;ans bowed to the King with delight, after which all those present were forced to repeat this gesture.
- I can't rely on chance! - the King said clearly. - France is the stronghold of Catholic Europe, the Pope supports us, while countries overrun by heretics are preparing all sorts of intrigues against us. But look what's happening! The Duke of Lorraine is seeking an alliance with Holland! Is this conceivable? The House of Lorraine has always boasted of its ardent adherence to Catholicism. It is quite obvious that the Gizas are committed only to their irrepressible thirst for power, and, consequently, to unrest. I will destroy the very concept of the Duchy of Lorraine. Lorraine is an integral part of France, as is Alsace. These upstarts of Giza imagined themselves equal to the princes of the royal house, and they are about to declare something more. I have endured their brazen antics enough. When they hid behind the struggle for true religion, I mean, of course, loyalty to the Catholic Church, it looked almost decent, at least outwardly. Now, when they sided with the heretics, this goes beyond all boundaries of decency. And these gentlemen European politicians want me to respect the mythical balance of power? Balance of diplomatic power between supporters of the true faith of the Lord and heretics? Should I rejoice that Europe is overrun by heretical countries, and that their diplomatic influence roughly coincides with that of the Catholic world?
All those present, following Philippe of Orleans, depicted indignation on their faces towards the heretical countries of Europe.
- And then there’s Spain! - Louis said angrily. - A country that simply must be a stronghold of Catholicism! And suddenly this state enters into a shameful alliance with the state of heretics, with Holland! Why? Because weakening France is more important for them than strengthening Catholicism in Europe!
The present military leaders tried to portray even more anger on their faces, this time towards Spain.
“While our cousin Charles II will help us contain Holland at sea, we must finally deal with Lorraine and the Lorraine upstarts, after which we will jointly shorten Holland.” Yes, gentlemen, Amsterdam must bow to Paris!
Louis's determination was determined by two factors. First, by paying his cousin, Charles II, two million livres for a secret treaty between France and England, Louis secured his military support. Secondly, Louis managed to conclude a Franco-Swedish treaty. In addition, he managed to form alliances with Cologne and M;nster , as well as sign a neutrality treaty with the Holy Roman Empire .
“What we have, gentlemen, Monsieur Colbert will report to you,” Louis finally said. - Please, Lord Minister.
- Your Majesty! - Colbert turned to the King. - Gentlemen! At present we have one hundred seventeen thousand infantry and twenty-five thousand cavalry. At sea we have thirty ships of the first rank, in addition, England has promised to support us with seventy ships. The English regiments that will be provided to us will also help us in Holland. In addition, we have twenty thousand Swiss, five Savoy regiments, twenty thousand soldiers from Cologne and Munster.
- Wonderful! - exclaimed Philippe d'Orl;ans.
Henri de Turenne confirmed his approval with a bow of his head. The rest of those present also expressed their approval.
“We are facing a confrontation with a coalition led by William of Orange,” Colbert continued. Along with Spain, Holland will probably be supported by Denmark, as well as the German princes and the House of Lorraine. We count on the neutrality of the Holy Roman Empire, but this neutrality is quite fragile, so we must be prepared for the fact that this unreliable state in all respects will side with our enemy.
“Unreliable states join the winner,” Louis said sharply.
“In that case, Your Majesty, fate itself tells us to become the winner,” Colbert answered with a bow.
“This is the kind of balance I wish for in Europe!” - said Louis, grabbing the pearl from the table and holding it tightly in his fist. “Such a balance does not threaten us with any surprises!” No unpredictable changes in the balance of power! - With these words, the King raised his hand with a pearl clenched in his fist above his head.

Chapter XXVIII. Europe in flames of war

By the time the friends arrived in France on the ship "Griffin", the situation in Europe was as follows. The main opponents in this confrontation were Louis XIV and William of Orange. Our army has already captured Lorraine, and the King has declared Duke Charles of Lorraine an outlaw. Austria, despite Wilhelm’s attempts to win it over to his side, remained aloof from this conflict, focusing more on solving its problems with the Ottoman Empire, which, with the encouragement of Louis, launched a campaign against it. And although Wilhelm managed to draw some small German principalities into his alliance, as a result of which the entire German Empire declared war on us, our success on the Rhine and beyond was so noticeable that panic gripped Holland. The genius of the commander Viscount de Turenne showed itself extremely clearly in this war. The armies under his leadership occupied the Brandenburg cities. The Duchy of Cleves was thus practically conquered, the approaches to the United Provinces were exposed, Emmerich, Wesel, and Rheinberg capitulated.
The millions spent by Louis to secure an alliance with Charles II were not wasted, as a joint Anglo-French fleet attacked the squadron led by Admiral Ruyter, shaking Dutch supremacy at sea. Louis offered peace to William, which was rejected. Inspired by the successes on the Rhine, Prince Conde immediately proposed an attack on Holland, but the other commanders did not support this plan. The cautious Louvois proposed to refrain from actively occupying Holland, knowing the fervor and determination with which the Dutch continued fierce resistance even in a completely hopeless situation. Soon France had to strengthen the army on the Rhine, since the Elector of Brandenburg decided to support Holland with active actions in the west with his twenty thousand detachment, which he sent to Westphalia. Thus, France could not send all its troops to Amsterdam, nor could it send its best commander, Turenne, there. The Viscount had to hold off the Elector and his allies on the Rhine. Louis returned to Paris; the war in Holland was led mainly by Marshal de Luxembourg.
Aramis, through his sources of information, learned about the situation as a whole, as well as the whereabouts of Louis, from which it followed that the friends should head to Paris. Indeed, if Philip moved of his own free will, and not under the compulsion of any third parties, all his interests should have been concentrated in Paris.
While our heroes are galloping to Paris, we’ll tell you what happened to Philip.

Chapter XXIX. Philippe away from France

During the two years that Philip spent away from France as an honored guest or, rather, an honorary prisoner of the hospitable d'Artagnan, who provided everyone with spacious rooms in his house in Monqueville, Philip read a lot and thought a lot. The house had an excellent library, partly left over from its former owner, General Monk, partly replenished through the efforts of the new owner, d'Artagnan. In addition, at the request of Philip, new books were subscribed, mainly on diplomacy, military art, philosophy, economics, and politics. D'Artagnan and his friends reasoned that Philip could rightfully claim the royal throne of France, and although fate had deprived him of this share, he had the right to receive an appropriate education, or, more precisely, self-education. Friends did not rule out that at the next turn of the wheel of Fortune, Philip might again take the place of his brother, although, of course, they did not plan to participate in the operation to replace the King. They were convinced that fate has its own laws, and since they had neither the right to decide this issue, nor sufficient arguments for choice, except those that played a decisive role two years ago, they preferred to trust fate, but be prepared for any turn . The only thing they, of course, could not allow was an open confrontation between the two brothers, which would inevitably lead to a civil war, and, consequently, to a huge number of victims among their compatriots.
Philip's thoughts wandered among various possibilities that could be realized at the whim of fate. What he feared most was becoming a prisoner in an iron mask again. He thought more than once that he would prefer death to such a situation. On the other hand, he was grateful to fate for the opportunity to experience life as the King of France, even if only for a short time. And although he now knew absolutely exactly what he had been deprived of due to the whim of fate or, more precisely, the bizarre political will of the great Cardinal Richelieu, he did not repent of this experience, but, on the contrary, believed that it was much better than not knowing his origins , not knowing his rights and languishing in prison all his life, not even knowing what his fault was, and why he alone suffered such an evil fate. Now he understood that considerations of higher expediency could matter more than the rights and desires of one person, even if that person had a right to the greatest crown in Europe.
The Musketeers repeatedly told Philip about the possibility of intrigue on the part of those who accidentally penetrate into the Great Secret, and he decided for himself that he would rather die or agree to eternal imprisonment than become a toy in the hands of political intriguers of any stripe. However, imprisonment in prison now seemed to him a distant and almost unreal memory, so accustomed was he to that relatively small freedom, which, nevertheless, could not be compared with imprisonment in the Pignerol fortress.
As a rule, Philip quietly enjoyed reading, talking with his guards, trying to be as gentle as possible, breaking away from these activities only to eat, sleep and other needs, and to look at the wonderful natural landscape that opened before him from all sides. Contemplation of nature distracted him from all everyday problems and calmed him down. One could say that Philip was almost happy and aspired to almost nothing, if not for the loneliness that he experienced even when in the company of such noble nobles as d'Artagnan, Comte de La F;re, Baron du Valon and occasionally the Duke of Alameda came to visit them. As he watched the developing relationships between the captain and Suzanne Campredon, and between the baron and Agnes Campbell, Miss Grefton's aunt, who had already become Madame de Bragelonne or Miss Baths, he thought of himself as a person whom fate had allowed only for a brief moment to touch true love.
Despite the fact that, playing the role of the King of France, he could have almost any court beauty, and almost did, only one woman remained in his heart, the sister of the Comte de Guiche, the daughter of Marshal Antoine III de Gramont, Catherine Charlotte de Gramont , Duchess Monaco. She was married, she was a stranger, but Philip felt that her soul belonged to him. Throughout the eight months that he occupied the French throne, he invariably remembered her, and almost all of this time he devoted to becoming as close to her as possible. The Duke of Monaco was forced to retreat under the pressure of such extraordinary attention on the part of the King to his wife and wisely retired to his duchy. There was never any conversation between Philip and Charlotte about this man, as if he did not even exist in the world. Philip is accustomed to considering Charlotte his own, for which we ask, however, not to judge him, since in order to judge him, one must first be in his place, that is, in the place of a man who could never consider anything his own except his own memories and dreams. Even those objects that surrounded him in his captivity could be taken away from him at any time forever and without explaining the reasons for such actions, therefore life itself taught him to value today, today’s moment, and consider everything that he can reach today as his own, regardless of whether it will be yours tomorrow, and also regardless of who owns this item by right of ownership. Thus, if today Charlotte reciprocated his feelings, even the most restrained and modest, then today she belonged to him, and what will happen tomorrow, let tomorrow deal with that.
On the day of the attack, Philip also sat on a bench, dividing his time between reading and contemplating nature. The bandits appeared so unexpectedly that, without having time to offer any resistance, he found himself tied up and carried like a bale onto one of the horses. It is obvious that the pirates conspired in advance with two English servants hired for different needs. Philippe heard two shots and saw Bazin fall, he tried to protest, but he had a disgusting gag in his mouth, so he could not utter any sounds other than a muffled grunt. He also saw that the criminals had set fire to the captain's beautiful house and stables. He regretted the magnificent library, which was about to perish in the fire, but, remembering Bazin, he was even more upset.
Then the attackers further humiliated him by putting a rag bag on his head, through which, however, one could breathe, but which did not allow him to see anything, and to top off all the misfortunes, it was made of rough canvas, so it caused unpleasant sensations of irritation and tingling. the delicate aristocratic skin of the prince.
Unable to resist, Philip gave in to his fate for a time, promising himself to escape at the first opportunity, or allow himself to be killed, so as not to become a toy in the hands of political adventurers, whoever they were.
On his arrival in Edinburgh, the prince was placed in some cell or prison, where the bag was removed from his head.
“Whoever you are, sir, your life is safe,” a man with an angry face, apparently a Dutchman, told him. “Our plans are only to obtain a ransom for you, but I will not hide that the ransom will be large, so we will give you to those who will pay more.” If no one gives the ransom, then we will think about how to use you. I'm sure we'll find a great use for you! Now you can sit back and relax, dinner will be served to you soon. There is a bed and some bedding here; I can’t offer you anything better, since we have few people, and we need to guard you as best as possible. This cell is quite suitable for our purposes. Don't try to escape from here, as it is impossible.
Philip was so indignant that he did not respond to these impudent speeches, which, however, did not touch the callous heart of his new jailer.
Philip threw himself onto the bed in despair and closed his eyes, lost in his own thoughts.
“As I feared, they want to make me a bargaining chip in someone else’s game! — Philip thought sadly. - For me this is unacceptable. It was decided that at the first opportunity I would seek death. It’s best if I get shot while trying to escape!”
As a true Catholic, Philip rejected suicide. He made a promise to himself to act as arrogant as possible, to try to avoid communication with his captors and to give himself an indifferent appearance, no matter what happened nearby.
“Whoever opens these doors, I won’t move,” he thought. “If they want me to be somewhere else, that’s their problem, not mine.” If they start torturing me, I’ll try to be persistent, and if they kill me, I’ll accept my fate with dignity!”
Dusk came, followed by deep night, Philip did not sleep and did not make any movements, trying to renounce earthly existence.
After night fell, Philip suddenly heard the bolt on his door being carefully opened.
Despite the fact that Philip intended not to react to anything, he suddenly thought that only the enemies of his captors could open the bolt so carefully, therefore the situation deserves his attention. He thought that perhaps d'Artagnan and his friends had come to his rescue?
The door opened, and Philip, in the light of a flickering candle, saw the face that he least expected to see here and now.

Chapter XXX. Awakening sleeping feelings

“Dear Catherine! Forgive me for calling you that, because Katharina Charlotte is too long, and the princess is too formal. We were so friendly when we both held positions as ladies-in-waiting for Madame, and you were always so kind to me, asking me to contact you easily, so I hope that two years of separation have not built a wall of alienation between us? I still love you as my very best friend, and I hope that you treat me no worse. I am writing to you because I am unable to contain the surging feelings. I remember how brilliant and brief your romance with E.V. was. and I also remember the blessings that you showered on me at this happy time. I also remember how E.V. changed towards you extremely suddenly, I also remember how hastily you left the court, retiring to your duchy of Monaco. You can’t imagine how many tears I shed, mourning the separation from you. Of course, the attitude towards me at court has changed dramatically, because I am a friend of E.V.’s favorite. (I hope you will forgive me these impudent words?) turned back into a simple maid of honor, and a former one at that, because Madame died so suddenly that we were essentially left without anything to do, our positions themselves ceased to exist. I won’t tell you with what efforts I gained a foothold at court. I will only say that Mr. K. helped me in this, although I also regularly had to help Mr. K. in some ways. And yet his attention to me was rare and insufficient for me to consider my life settled. The Duke d'E* noticed me, this handsome man in every way. I’ll say without undue modesty, this handsome guy has now become my tame one, and I turn him around as I please. As a result of this, K.’s help and his attention to me increased, but your Jeanette still could not consider herself settled. Fortunately, the Duchesse de Ch* also graced me with her attention. This respectable woman, God knows what age, manages to be at the very center of the most important political events, or, to put it simply, the most desperate intrigues, that I both rejoice at her disposition towards me and fear it at the same time, since she has an inexplicable influence on E.V. , however, everyone around is interpreting that friendship with her is dangerous, like juggling a lit brand in a gunpowder warehouse. I don’t know, I haven’t tried juggling, let street actors do these things! I want to tell you that around E.V. a new intrigue is brewing. E.V. became interested in the prisoners whom he placed in B * just at the time when he sharply lost interest in you for no reason. This alarmed me, but I would have ignored it if not for two other events that prove the importance of the events taking place. Firstly, Mr. K. became extremely interested in what E.V. was interested in. Secondly, the Duchess also became interested in the interests of E.V. and the interests of Mr. Minister. Everything is intertwined into some kind of tangle that I can’t untangle. If only I had your mind! I would probably figure it out and probably get some benefit out of it. For now, it's just a bunch of jumbled information from me. If you were here, I would tell you more, but it's hard to trust the mail with something that only you and I should know. Taking this opportunity, I am sending you a young man who will deliver this letter. I trust him, although, however, it may be in vain. Oh, I'm so gullible! By all means I would like to see you again and hug you. Maybe that’s the only reason I’m writing you this passionate letter.
I hope you still love your friend Jeannette de Bachelet as much as she loves you. I hug you a thousand times.
P. _ S. _ I hope, dear, that you will take measures so that your husband does not read this letter? He is a wonderful person, but our affairs with you do not concern him! Hugs."

The Princess of Monaco, of course, understood that E.V. means His Majesty, K. - Colbert, Sh* - de Chevreuse, and d'E* - d'Epernon, B* - Bastille. She re-read the letter several times and forgotten feelings stirred in her chest. Eight months of reckless love with the King of France did not pass without a trace for her. Any maid of honor would be delighted with this position and be proud of it for life. But the princess firmly believed that these happy months were not spent with Louis XIV , she saw her mysterious Philip, whom she had met as a child, this mysterious prisoner, whose fate deeply shook her soul, and his big eyes and delicate curls enchanted her soul from the first glance. This young man was so similar in appearance to the King, and at the same time was so different inwardly! He did not demand anything from Charlotte, and gave her his all. One far from wonderful day, the King expressed complete disdain for Charlotte, he changed radically and immediately. Charlotte realized that this was a different person. She saw Louis XIV again , she realized that her Philip had disappeared. From her father, Marshal de Gramont, she learned that a certain Eustache Doge was imprisoned in the Bastille. Her heart told her that these events were somehow connected. All these two years she tried to solve the riddle of the transformation of Louis into Philip and the reverse transformation of Philip into Louis, but this riddle was too difficult for her. Every day, a dozen handkerchiefs absorbed her tears, gradually she resigned herself to the inevitable, but there was a glimmer of hope in her that someday she would find out what happened to Philip, would be able to see him and talk to him.
Charlotte's relationship with the prince, her legal husband, remained smooth, calm and did not foretell anything bad or anything good. In fact, the marital relationship has become a purely economic union. Obviously, the prince would consider himself insulted if his rival were not the King of France, but many nobles would consider such an insult from the King an honor for themselves, and some would try to extract as many benefits from this situation as possible. The prince was not like that. He bore his cross with dignity, without showing that he had changed towards his wife, but in reality they became strangers, connected only by common children and common possessions, a common name and a common title.
“I have to find out everything! - Charlotte said to herself. - There is only one person in France who knows everything, even what no one else knows. And fortunately, this person can share his secrets for money.”
Charlotte took out the box with her jewelry, which made up her dowry. These jewels were part of her capital received from her father; the prince would never demand an account of these trinkets from her.
“Tomorrow I’m going to Paris,” Charlotte briefly informed her husband, who did not react to this message.
The next day Charlotte left for Paris.
Upon arrival, she immediately went to the Louvre and knocked on a door she knew well.

“Duchess,” said Charlotte. - I'm interested in one person. I hope you can help me find out something about him.
“I can guess who you’re interested in,” answered the Duchess de Chevreuse, peering carefully at the box in the princess’s hands. “I think I could tell you something.”
“I’m listening to you,” said the princess, putting the box on the duchess’s table.
“The person you are interested in is now in Scotland, in the town of Monkville,” said the duchess, moving the box towards her. — On the banks of the River Clyde. At Monsieur d'Artagnan's.

Meanwhile, the person who wrote the letter and signed it with two letters “A.D.” read a short note: “I accept your offer, I will arrive later. Yes."

Chapter XXXI. Miraculous Rescue

The princess went to Scotland, accompanied by only one maid named Josepha. Dressed in men's clothes, both ladies made their journey with the speed and tirelessness characteristic of men rushing to catch their luck. Having enough personal funds, the princess hired a high-speed ship, and upon arrival in Scotland she bought two of the best horses, asked about the road and headed to Montville on horseback.
All the way she thought about what she would say to Philip. At times she thought that her action was pure madness, but sometimes she believed that she was acting completely naturally, and any other behavior would be wrong in this situation. But at the same time, it never occurred to the princess to turn around her horses and go back home to Monaco. Regarding how she would behave upon meeting, she thought only by looking at herself as if from the outside, through the eyes of a stranger. She knew that no matter what plans she made, in reality she would act as her heart told her, but, however, it did not matter at all how she would act and what she would say. Now the main thing was to see him.
Approaching Monqueville, the princess's house, which was apparently the house in which Philip lives. She spurred her horse, but at that moment she heard two shots. Her heart told her that this might be connected with danger for her Philip. At first, the princess spurred her horse even harder, but immediately caught herself and slowed down, deciding that if Philip was attacked by robbers, then their forces were great, and it would not cost them anything to deal with the princess and her companion, whereas if the princess carefully found out , what happened, and will remain unnoticed by the attackers, then, perhaps, she will be able to save Philip. Despite her strong concern about Philip's fate, the princess understood that he was of much greater value alive than dead, so she convinced herself that there was no need to fear for Philip's life.
Getting off her horse, the princess left her in the care of Josepha, and she herself went on reconnaissance.
Sneaking through the forest almost to the house itself, the princess saw a terrible picture. The house, which had apparently been Philip's home for the past two years, was in flames, set on fire from all four corners. A stable was also on fire nearby. The princess also saw a small detachment that captured a man and a young woman. The princess recognized Philip in the man.
A plan for further action matured in her head instantly. She will indeed keep an eye on these robbers, secretly following them at a safe distance. If she is spotted, she will say that she is lost and is looking for the way to the nearest city.
So she did.
Following the robbers, the princess and Josepha ended up in Edinburgh.
It must be said that Josepha was distinguished by her quick wit and lively mind; she perfectly understood the goals of her patroness’s trip and took all her experiences and concerns to heart. Acting deftly and flexibly, she learned that the pirates had decided to lock Philip in St. Giles, in one of the cells. That same night, Josephine managed, by bribing the servants, to add sleeping pills to the wine of Philip’s guards, after which the princess and her managed to get to the door of the locked room. Fortunately, there was no lock on the door, as it was locked from the outside with a strong iron bolt. The bolt did not budge at first because it seemed to have been rarely used and was slightly rusty. In addition, the princess was afraid of waking up the guards with loud noises, so they acted very carefully.
When the ladies finally mastered the bolt, the princess opened the doors and saw Philip’s unshaven face. It was undoubtedly him. Even though he looked extremely similar to the King, Charlotte recognized him instantly.
- Princess! You? - Philip exclaimed.
- Quiet, monsignor! — the princess hastily answered, putting a finger to her lips.
Fortunately, the sleeping pills were good, so Philip’s cry did not wake the sleeping guards.
“We must flee immediately, monsignor,” said the princess.
Philip obediently followed Charlotte. While in captivity, he almost promised himself that he would rather die than voluntarily follow his captors, but he did not imagine such a possibility as meeting with the Princess of Monaco. Philip would have happily followed Charlotte even if he knew for sure that this road would lead him straight to hell. Even if he had been told that the next ten steps would be the last in his life, he would have taken them, holding the hand of the one about whom all his thoughts were in the last two years of separation, as well as in the previous eight months of illegal reign, as well as on throughout all the years of cruel imprisonment - from the very moment when he first saw her as a little girl.
Philip's heart was beating so loudly that he thought those around him could hear its rhythmic beating. It seemed to him that this knock could wake up the sleeping guards.
Feeling the warmth of the princess’s hand, Philip calmed down and followed her with a pure heart.
Josepha, however, did not lose her head. She calmly closed the doors and pulled the bolt, not at all afraid of noise, since she was convinced that the guards were fast asleep, and open doors would too quickly attract the attention of the guards and force them to rush in pursuit, when, perhaps, even five minutes could be decisive for success escape.
Two hours later, the high-speed ship carried Philip, Charlotte and Josepha to the shores of France.
“Do you want me to come to France again, Charlotte?” - asked Philip. “I will obey any of your wishes, but don’t I risk being identified there?”
- Dear Philip! - Charlotte answered. — We are not going to Paris, but to Monaco, and this is not quite France. Nothing will threaten you there except my love.
- You convinced me! - Philip exclaimed, pressing Charlotte to his heart.
“And about your resemblance to the King, let me tell you a story that the Marquise de Savigny once told me.”
“I’ll be happy to listen to any story from your lips, Charlotte,” Philip answered.
- So listen. One day, the Marquis de Wardes was hunting in his forests and met a forester. He was struck by the amazing resemblance to himself. “Tell me, my dear,” the Duke turned to this man. “Wasn’t it possible that your mother was a servant in the house of the Marquis de Wardes?” The Marquis was referring to his father's house. “No, sir,” answered the forester. “My mother has never been to the house of the Marquis de Wardes or even nearby.” But my father in his youth was a stable boy for the Marquise de Wardes.”
“Are you hinting, princess, that not every similarity indicates kinship?” - asked Philip.
“I think that the story of the Marquise de Savigny is not relevant to your situation, but it occurred to me that the first reason that comes to mind when finding an extreme similarity between two people is not always the true one,” replied Charlotte.
“This reminds me of a story I read about in a book,” Philip answered.
- Well, tell me! - Charlotte exclaimed.
— One sultan of one Muslim state learned that a rumor had spread among his subjects that he was not the son of his father, the sultan, but the son of a simple pastry chef. Then he invited one famous astrologer and demanded that he find out who his father was. The astrologer looked at the stars for a long time and checked with star charts, laid out some figures and whispered some spells, after which he firmly said: “Your father is the Sultan of our state, whose throne you have inherited!” The Sultan was so pleased with this answer and so proud that he ordered the astrologer to be rewarded. He ordered three huge cakes to be given to him.
- Very funny! - Charlotte laughed. - What did you learn from this story?
“Since I now know for sure who my father is, I promised myself to be worthy of this fate and to act as my father’s son should act,” Philip answered. “I must always think about the good of France and put this good above my own happiness.” Therefore, I decided that if my captors offered me any deal directed against France or against my brother, King Louis XIV , I would rather allow myself to be killed than agree. And if this doesn’t help, I’m ready to kill myself, but not cause a civil war in France.
“You are a great man, Philip, and I am grateful to fate for bringing me to you!” - Charlotte exclaimed. — Fortunately, your stay in Monaco will not harm France in any way.
After these words, Philip gently hugged Charlotte and kissed her.

Chapter XXXII. Unexpected meeting

May our dear readers forgive us for not following the chronology in the presentation of events. The events we talk about are so often intertwined in complex ways that it is not possible to tell everything at once.
We will tell you about what happened when our friends were still pursuing the Black Fox ship in the hope of saving Philip.
Upon arrival in France, Philip, Charlotte and Josepha headed to Monaco, where the prince received them as if nothing had happened. Charlotte was in no hurry to introduce her guest's wife, and he was in no hurry to get to know him. There was such a calm estrangement in their family life that the prince allowed the princess to do as she pleased, provided that she did not meddle in his affairs.
Prince Louis I of Monaco , Duke of Valentinois, was not outwardly jealous, which was a consequence of the fact that inwardly he was extremely jealous. Having learned that his wife was not faithful to him, he burned out so much that for him she simply ceased to exist.
Life gave him many blows, but this blow was the hardest.
By the time we are writing about, the princely couple had already given birth to six children, the first of whom, Antoine, was to inherit the title of Prince of Monaco, the daughters Marie-Therese-Charlotte, Jeanne-Marie, Therese-Marie-Aurelia and Anna-Hippolyta inherited the beauty of his mother and the noble features of his father, but in relation to his youngest son, Francois-Honor;, the prince was not sure of his paternity. Therefore, he concentrated his love on the first five children, treated his youngest son coolly but with sufficient care, but completely forbade himself to show at least some concern towards his wife, who, having once failed to justify his trust, lost his love, which is why he was jealous it went out, just like a fireplace goes out, having burned up all the wood that was in it. Outwardly, the prince maintained the appearance of a happy family and expected the same from his wife, however, he did not demand anything from her.
To maintain appearances, Charlotte placed Philip in a small hunting lodge, and Josepha spread a rumor among the courtiers that he was a bankrupt distant relative. Since Philip changed his hairstyle, grew a mustache and beard in the style of Henry IV , his grandfather, his resemblance to the King could only be noticed by a person who knew Louis XIV well by sight, and only with very close communication with Philip, which the cautious prince carefully avoided. We cannot describe how the courtiers and ordinary servants perceived this rumor, since we do not know this, and we would never dare to invent anything about what we do not know for certain, for this is not the principle of our creativity. Charlotte and Philip spent time walking together along the sea coast and through coastal forests, not thinking about anything bad, and drawing pleasure from simply contemplating each other, although, however, their relationship was not purely platonic.
This idyll was disrupted by one event, which we cannot remain silent about due to the consequences it had.
IV , Duke of Lorraine, arrived in the Principality of Monaco on a visit .
The prince, of course, received the duke with all due honors.
“I am happy to host the Grand Duke of Lorraine,” said the prince after the usual ceremonies. - Let me ask you what brought you to our wilderness?
- Dear Prince, I have always dreamed of visiting your beautiful principality and paying my respects to the Prince of Monaco, Duke of Valentinois! - answered the Duke. “In our difficult times, there are so few joys left that the joy of visiting a worthy ruler and admiring the wonderful nature, wonderful view of the sea, as well as magnificent buildings cannot but be a sufficient reason for my visit.
“Thank you, Duke, for such a flattering assessment of my humble principality,” replied the prince. “It seems to me that Lorraine is also an example of a worthy duchy, and your ducal palace, which I, unfortunately, did not have the honor of visiting, I believe, is no worse than mine.”
“Each palace has its own advantages and disadvantages, just as every duchy and principality has strengths and weaknesses,” the duke answered modestly. “We, petty rulers, should stick together in order not to be offended if necessary and, if necessary, to give a decisive rebuff to attempts to commit injustice against us.”
- If I understand you correctly, Duke, are you offering me an alliance against our King Louis XIV ? - asked the prince.
“I would not rush to such conclusions,” the Duke objected. - Does any alliance really have to be against someone? Is it really not enough for our union to serve only as mutual support for you and me?
“Any alliance in support is invariably an alliance against someone or something,” the prince objected. - Since the Principality of Monaco and the Duchy of Lorraine are currently part of France, the only union that is possible for you and me is an alliance with our sovereign, the King of France. Any alliance that does not include the King is an alliance against the King.
“I definitely didn’t mean anything like that!” - objected Charles of Lorraine. - Why does everyone always assume that if the Duke of Lorraine seeks friendship with someone, then it follows that he is plotting something against the King?
“Probably because it has always been like this,” answered the prince. “However, I am not asserting anything at all, I just asked a question about what kind of alliance you are offering me.”
“As I already said, I would propose a treaty of mutual assistance,” replied Karl.
“My principality and your duchy do not have common borders, but only have borders with the rest of France,” the prince objected. - Therefore, any help that could be provided to you must come, first of all, from France, unless we are talking about help against France, that is, about an alliance against the King.
“As I already said, it was not about an alliance against the King,” replied Charles. - However, since you started talking about this, then why don’t you and I help each other even if the King on some issue is not with us, but against us?
“So, we began to call a spade a spade,” the prince nodded. “I was right in believing that you were offering me an alliance against the King, and I have already given you my answer.”
“I heard and greatly appreciated your devotion to the King, but perhaps in some circumstances it is unnecessary?” - asked Karl.
-What are you talking about, Duke? - the prince asked dryly.
“I’m saying that the King of France does not always act fairly towards his best subjects, and that in this case it would be nice to show the King in his place,” the Duke finally said.
“I refuse to understand your words, Duke,” answered the prince. — Could you formulate your theses more specifically?
“Should the King be forgiven for the insult that he dared to inflict on such a noble person as Your Grace?” - asked Karl.
“Before you continue your explanations, I would like to give my own explanations on some issues,” answered the prince. “You probably believe that the Prince of Monaco does not see insults when they are inflicted on him, or is he ready to forgive anyone for any insult?” I hasten to inform you that there are some types of actions that should be regarded as an insult when such actions come from equal or approximately equal persons. I am talking, for example, of actions on the part of a duke, prince or marquis, count or baron towards a person of similar status, or even simply about the actions of one nobleman towards another. If these actions are offensive, then it is clear how a person of honor should react to them, no matter what edicts this person is bound by. The ban on dueling, introduced by Cardinal Richelieu, and ratified by Louis XIII , is still in effect, it was confirmed by the minister-Cardinal Mazarin and King Louis XIV . But no King can prohibit a nobleman from defending his honor. That's all I wanted to say about the insult of a nobleman by another nobleman. However, there is a certain type of action which, if the King deigns to carry it out, is not an insult to the nobleman. Whatever comes from the King comes from his divine authority, and therefore cannot be an insult. Just as you cannot be offended by Divine Providence, you also cannot be offended by the decisions of the King. Not seeing any insults in the King’s actions, a decent nobleman sees no reason to be offended, and, therefore, there is no need to defend his honor with a sword in hand.
“You are apparently absolutely right, prince,” replied the duke with a smile that meant “Nothing like that could happen to me, so I don’t need such a conciliatory morality.”
“I didn’t finish, Duke,” said the prince. “I said that a person like me sees no offense in the actions committed by the King. But such a person is not at all obliged to forgive insults from any other person who stands at least one step below the King. Even a prince like me will not forgive any insult. Therefore, having made this warning, I would like to return to the statement which you, Duke, seemed to me to be about to make. It seemed to me that this statement, which you did not make, but are about to make, may contain a hint of some circumstances that should either be decisively rejected, or they could be discussed elsewhere and in the manner befitting nobles who care about their honor .
“Prince, I didn’t mean to say anything like that,” said the Duke, trying to give his tone as gentle an intonation as possible. - If I wanted to say that time and fate sometimes provide opportunities to teach the King a lesson for some ignoble actions, I meant a purely hypothetical situation, without hinting at anything specific. I did not in any way intend to pronounce my judgment on any matter, I came to seek friendship and support, and if for any reason I was misunderstood, then I offer my humble apologies and would like to take my leave here.
“Thank you, Duke, for the clarification and for your answer,” replied the prince. “Would you like to stay with me for dinner?”
“I am grateful to you for your hospitality,” said the Duke. - I'm in a hurry at the moment. While traveling to places where I would hope to make friends in the upcoming business, I do not have the opportunity to stay anywhere.
After this, the prince and duke exchanged pleasantries very respectfully and coolly and parted.
Leaving the prince's palace, the duke saw that the princess was walking arm in arm with some nobleman. By pure chance, Philip found himself too close to the Duke and did not have time to move his face away. Looking into Philip's face, the Duke grew cold. He recognized the King of France. Since he had heard that the King had a short affair with the princess two years ago, he decided that the King had secretly arrived in the Principality of Monaco to continue this affair. But he was firmly convinced that the King was now in Paris. Charles sent a messenger to Paris so that he would find out where the King was and where exactly he was today and what he was doing. He also specifically said that very reliable evidence is needed; one should not be satisfied with unverified rumors about where he actually was. At the same time, the Duke left a clever spy named Armand so that he could find out everything about this man. He would have suffered enough to find out everything in detail himself, but affairs in the west of the country, in Lorraine, called him. Therefore he was forced to leave.
However, Charles had already guessed that he had not met the King, but a man extremely similar to him, since he knew that Louis could not grow a beard and mustache so quickly a la Henry IV . Therefore, little by little a plan began to mature in the Duke’s head, so far only in general terms. Karl realized that this man, who so surprisingly resembles the King, but is not the King of France, Louis XIV , did not appear in Monaco by chance. This unknown nobleman cannot be a random person, he arrived here secretly, and only those people who treat him like a nobleman know everything about his origin. Karl decided that he should also find out everything about this man, and then he would know how to proceed. But in any case, the existence of a man so similar to the King opened up unprecedented opportunities for such a powerful man as Charles of Lorraine, and such an unscrupulous ruler as any Duke of Lorraine was.

Chapter XXXIII. Charles of Lorraine

Charles of Lorraine was not so simple as to believe in the coincidental resemblance of a certain nobleman to the King. The discrepancy between the hairstyle, mustache and beard style only increased his suspicions. Indeed, if someone sought to resemble the King, this person, most likely, on the contrary, tried to achieve the highest similarity in hairstyle, mustache and beard, while this person sought to disguise his similarity as much as possible. Therefore, either it was the King himself, who used extremely skillful means to deceive random people who might meet and identify him, or this man, by virtue of his nature, possessed such a resemblance that at the moment he was hindered. Charles did not lose sight of the fact that despite the fact that he knew the King very well, the nobleman he met did not seem to know the Duke of Lorraine at all. Therefore, it was not the King.
We obviously need to tell our readers a little about Karl to make the rest of the story more understandable.
Charles IV, now the Duke of Lorraine, due to his nobility was a frequent guest at the French court, one can say that he received his upbringing there. For this reason he was a childhood companion of Louis XIII, the parent of the present King. They lived in the Saint-Germain Palace, where the illegitimate children of Henry IV were also raised. Karl shared with Louis his hobbies in music, drawing, and the art of war. The friends loved weapons and often shot birds with a bow and arquebus for fun. After the Catholic fanatic Fran;ois Ravaillac killed King Henry IV of France on May 14, 1610, on the Rue de la Ferronry, the eight-year-old Dauphin became King Louis XIII only nominally, and his mother's favorite, Concino Concini, Marshal d'Ancre, ruled the country. Charles shared Louis's indignation about this and approved of his decision to get rid of the hated Italian. Therefore, when fifteen-year-old Louis XIII in 1617 ordered the murder of his mother's favorite Concino Concini and the execution of his wife Galigai, Charles was one of those who was the first to congratulate Louis on this event.
From his parents, Charles received, as a complement to his upbringing at court, eternal dissatisfaction with his actual position and constantly hidden claims to something more. This, unfortunately, often happens: people standing half a step lower than the monarch experience intense envy and are tormented by eternal dissatisfaction with fate, while people standing at the foot of the hierarchical ladder are quite happy if they manage to at least not go down, but even a slight rise makes them happy for the rest of their lives.
However, the title of Duke of Lorraine was not easy for Charles. Despite the fact that upon his arrival in Lorraine following the death of Duke Ren; II, Charles declared himself heir to the title in accordance with the Duke's will, his uncle Henry II tried to bypass his nephew in favor of his daughter Nicole. Of course, this was unfair, since, according to the will, only the order of inheritance through the male line was assumed, however, Nicole was a closer relative of Rene II, which made it possible to assert that Charles had a controversial right. Enmity with his uncle Henry II did not promise an easy victory and led to the fact that Charles was forced to leave France and enter military service with Emperor Ferdinand II, for whom he fought in the Battle of White Mountain near Prague (November 8, 1620).
However, Charles did not leave the desire to get the Duchy of Lorraine for himself. The reluctance to miss out on what Karl considered rightfully his forced him to make concessions for the sake of his main goal. After lengthy negotiations, he finally married his cousin Nicole in 1621, precisely in order to gain the desired power over Lorraine only thanks to his wife. Fortunately for Charles, his uncle Henry II died three years later. Charles, who all this time had to be content with the humiliating position of duke-spouse, that is, in fact, co-ruler of his own wife, finally decided to establish his right. To this end, in November 1625, Charles's father, Fran;ois de Vaudemont, citing the will of Ren; II, demanded this duchy for himself in the Estates General of Lorraine. The Estates General of Lorraine accepted his right, so formally Fran;ois de Vaudemont became Duke of Lorraine on November 21, 1625 under the name Fran;ois II, and five days later he abdicated this rank in favor of his son, who finally received the ducal throne for himself, establishing himself on it under the name Charles IV, thus finally ousting his wife from rule.
Since Louis XIII did not have an heir for a long time due to several miscarriages of the Queen, and also, as they said, due to the considerable coldness of relations between the royal couple, this created the illusion that the royal throne was accessible to many of the King’s relatives who stood close to this throne. The King's poor health also contributed to an exorbitant increase in ambition, primarily on the part of the King's brother, the Duke of Anjou (later the Duke of Orleans), as well as the Count of Soissons, the Comte de Moret and many others.
Plots aimed at the physical elimination of the first minister, Cardinal Richelieu, almost always also aimed at the elimination of the King. Despite the fact that the main protagonists in exposing such conspiracies were named various individuals, such as de Saint-Mars, de Chalets and others, in fact, the true inspirers of all these conspiracies were the closest relatives of the King, first of all, his brother Philippe, Duke of Orleans , also his wife, Queen Anne of Austria, as well as representatives of the House of Lorraine and the House of Rohan. To both of these houses belonged the Duchess de Chevreuse, n;e de Rohan, in her second marriage the wife of Claude of Lorraine, Duke of Chevreuse. In addition, by her first marriage she was the widow of the Duke de Luynes, the favorite of Louis XIII, as a result of which she herself was a close friend of Queen Anne. Thus, it was not necessary to have a great analytical mind to understand that all these conspirators were always united by one thing: the Duchess de Chevreuse herself, who, oddly enough, after the failure of all these conspiracies and the execution of their minor participants, emerged unscathed from any such situation . The fact is that the King was extremely lenient towards his relatives, and even the all-powerful Cardinal Richelieu did not risk attacking the main culprits and ideological inspirers of these conspiracies, such as the King’s brother and his wife. In relation to the Duchess de Chevreuse, the cardinal sometimes hoped that he would still be able to get even with her, but the clever Maria found leverage over the subtle politician, showing him in practice that friendship with her was more profitable than enmity, although just as dangerous. Charles of Lorraine, a relative of the Duchess through her second husband, of course, also knew how to remain in the shadows without missing out on his own benefits. If these two had united more decisively, the fate of France might have been different, however, as experience shows, the husband's relatives are not always close in spirit to his widow. One way or another, the Duchess de Chevreuse, cleverly taking advantage of the discord and disagreements in the royal family, never decided to get close to Charles of Lorraine, just as Charles, trying to fish in the troubled waters of intrigue, did not share his plans and information with the Duchess de Chevreuse. We can say that fate itself protected France from the union of these two intriguers.
As far as possible, Charles maintained that share of Lorraine's independence from France, which he managed to maintain, concluding temporary and shaky alliances with neighboring states, Louis XIII was angry at this because he was not ready to accept the way of acting and thinking of Charles's cousin, wanting to completely subjugate Lorraine to the French throne. For this reason, Charles secretly supported any opponents of Cardinal Richelieu, providing them with information, lending them money and providing them with refuge.
Under the influence of the all-powerful Cardinal Richelieu, French policy was aimed at strengthening the state and expanding the eastern borders of the kingdom to the Rhine. As a result, France annexed Franche-Comt;, Alsace and Lorraine. Against his wishes, Charles became more dependent on Louis than he would have liked. He continued to seek allies against the King outside and inside France. Despite the fact that traditionally the House of Lorraine supported the most extreme representatives of the Catholic Church, who most decisively fought against any heresy, taking up arms primarily against the Huguenots, now Charles IV, convinced that he would not receive support from Bavaria and Austria, turned his attention to former opponents, and thus began to seek an alliance with his sworn enemies, the very Huguenots whom his ancestors persecuted mercilessly and uncompromisingly. Charles began to enter into alliances with England and Savoy.
In September 1629, Gaston d'Orl;ans, the king's brother, fled to Lorraine and, without the consent of Louis XIII, married Margarita, Charles's sister, there. This was a great victory for Karl.
In the spring of 1631, King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden landed with his army in Germany, after which Charles IV sent an army to support the emperor. This was a mistake, since Charles actually openly declared his enmity with Louis, with whom he had once been friendly. As a result of this mistake, Louis XIII occupied Lorraine in June 1632. Broken, Karl had no choice but to sign a humiliating peace treaty. He ignored this agreement with all his might, violating it at every opportunity. As a result of this, Louis was again forced to use force, after which in September 1633 our troops again captured Lorraine. This forced Charles IV to renounce the title of Duke of Lorraine in January 1634 in favor of his brother Nicholas II Fran;ois. Charles, deprived of his dukedom, joined the imperial forces and fought with little success against Sweden and later against France.
In 1635, Charles tried unsuccessfully to recapture the duchy, and even won a series of victories in 1638-1640. This made it possible to resume negotiations with Louis. Under the new treaty, France returned the duchy to him under a French protectorate on the condition that he not enter into an alliance with Austria. However, Charles continued to act against Richelieu and against Louis, including by participating in the conspiracy of Louis de Bourbon-Cond;. When the plot was discovered, Charles fled from almost certain arrest by order of Richelieu. He then entered military service again and in November 1643 took part in the Battle of Tuttlingen against France.
After the death of Richelieu, Charles remained an irreconcilable enemy of Louis XIII, and after the death of Louis himself, which soon followed, Charles retained his enmity with the Dauphin, as well as with Cardinal Mazarin, who actually ruled France.
The Peace of Westphalia, concluded without the participation of Charles, included as its condition the official subordination of the three Lorraine bishoprics to the French crown: Toul, Metz, Verdun. His attempt to influence the outcome of this peace in negotiations with Cardinal Mazarin failed. Therefore, Charles again took military action against France and in 1652 he seriously threatened Paris. However, due to a shaky position, Charles lost the trust of both of the warring parties, since he tried to negotiate simultaneously with Mazarin and with the Fronde. In this respect, he was the complete opposite of Jean-Fran;ois-Paul de Gondi, who so cleverly flirted with Mazarin, and with Queen Anne, and with the Fronde, that in the end he was very successful, making a career for himself and finally receiving the cardinal's hat from his hands Pope Innocent X in 1651. Here it would be appropriate to remember that the said Gondi, a former coadjutor, and now Cardinal de Retz, led a far from cardinal’s lifestyle, he was a very secular man, as they say, a gallant gentleman, and one of his mistresses was the daughter of the Duchess de Chevreuse. This once again confirms our idea that if Charles of Lorraine had gotten closer to his relative the Duchess de Chevreuse, the fate of France could have been completely different.
Because Charles acted without such important support, one of his failures was to be arrested by the Spanish authorities, as Spain considered him to be the reason for the failure of the rebellion. Thus, Charles was arrested on January 25, 1654 in Brussels and taken to the Alcazar of Toledo. However, the military successes of his brother Nicholas II Fran;ois returned Charles's freedom on October 15, 1659, and according to the Treaty of Vincennes of February 28, 1661, the Duchy of Lorraine was returned to him. At first, Charles began to engage in completely peaceful affairs, for example, he began to put the roads in Lorraine and Bar in order, for which he tightened taxes in his possessions, already destroyed by the Thirty Years' War. He tried to make peace with Louis XIV, transferring to France, for a million thalers and the title of prince of the French house, the rights to the Lorraine throne with the promise to disband his army. However, as always, Karl refused to actually fulfill the obligations that he signed in the agreement. So in 1669, he refused to comply with Louis XIV’s proposal to disband the army, as a result of which the King again sent troops to Lorraine, which they occupied in the summer of 1670. Charles IV was again forced to act to protect his rapidly diminishing rights and privileges, so he again entered the imperial service to fight against France. In search of new allies, he secretly arrived in Monaco, where he saw Philip.

Chapter XXXIV. Fox and Marten

Having received information from his people that the King was calmly staying in Paris during a strange meeting in Monaco, Charles IV himself decided to secretly arrive in Paris in order to clarify the information from the source that was the most reliable, although not the cheapest.
The Duchess de Chevreuse came out of her dressing room and calmly sat down in her favorite chair, intending to read a few pages from Nicolo Machiavelli at night. Suddenly, she realized that something had changed in her luxurious boudoir. She looked rather in surprise than in fear at the dark end of the room, which, for reasons of economy, was not illuminated by candles, and noticed some kind of shadow there.
A nobleman was sitting calmly in the guest chair.
“Don’t be afraid, duchess, it’s me, Charles of Lorraine,” said the uninvited guest.
“We must get rid of the habit of keeping doors unlocked,” the duchess said calmly, more to herself than to the mysterious visitor. - What do you need from me, Charles of Lorraine?
- Why so formal, cousin? - asked Karl. “I dropped in like a kin to the charming widow of our beloved Claude of Lorraine, and you immediately ask from the door what I want.” Perhaps I would like to inquire about the health of my dear relative and wish her long life? Or maybe have a cup of coffee with the marzipan cookies that our dear Claude loved so much?
- Tell stories! — the Duchess grinned. “No one ever comes to Maria de Chevreuse to inquire about her health, much less to wish her long life.” But many want her life to end as soon as possible. As for coffee and cookies, this is not a tavern. I would, of course, treat you to dinner if I were going to dinner myself, but the doctors told me not to eat before bed, so the only thing I can regal you with is an old woman’s lamentations about failing health and rising prices.
“And such a conversation will suit me,” Karl agreed condescendingly. — Tell us about your health, do you need anything? What items have increased in price, and how have your expenses increased as a result, dear cousin?
“So I believed that you were interested in my health and my needs!” - the duchess answered with a laugh. “You, dear Duke, have so much to do with your duchy that you shouldn’t even come to Paris unless absolutely necessary.” And to drop by, as you say, to see your cousin for a cup of coffee and marzipan cookies is an excessive luxury for you, who are so busy and so businesslike in everything and always. There is something you need to know from me. But I don’t know anything about your affairs in Lorraine!
“I myself know everything there is to know about my affairs in Lorraine,” Karl objected with a laugh. “And all this information is expressed in one phrase: “Everything is bad.” Therefore, I have nothing to ask you, dear Duchess.
“It means that you are interested in affairs in Paris, since you came here and showed up to me,” concluded the duchess. “But I’m completely retired.”
- Of course, Duchess! - Karl agreed. “Politics doesn’t interest me, because in this field I failed on all sides. The only thing I am looking for is reassurance in a close family circle, a simple private life.
“So you are interested in the King’s family affairs,” said the Duchess and nodded. “But I can’t help you in these matters either.” I am not aware of anything and am glad that I am not being kicked out of the Louvre, where I can live with relative savings, since maintaining the palace has become too expensive for me.
“Dear cousin, I take your problems to heart and am ready to help you in your troubles,” said Karl. “Although I myself am now in straitened circumstances, I sincerely seek your friendship and would like to begin by presenting you with this family heirloom of the House of Lorraine in memory of our dear Claude of Lorraine, whose widow you are.”
With these words, Karl took a box from his pocket and placed it on the table in front of the duchess.
He expected the Duchess to immediately open it and find a magnificent diamond ring, but the Duchess accepted the gift with her characteristic combination of arrogance, pride and gratitude, making it clear that regardless of the value of this gift, she took it for granted and did not rushes to familiarize itself with the contents and express gratitude in any form.
“My dear cousin, since you insist on this definition of the degree of our relationship,” she said. “I loved and still love my dear Claude too much to renounce my kinship with the House of Lorraine.” Every relic of this house is priceless to me, regardless of the monetary value of its value. I'm in no hurry to find out what's in this box. If there is even a simple dried orange blossom flower, I highly value this gift, as if there were a diamond the size of a walnut in this box.
“Of course, there’s not a diamond the size of a walnut, but it’s not a dried flower either,” Karl muttered, embarrassed. — This box contains...
- Don't, don't say it! - the duchess interrupted him. “I already said that I appreciate your gift beyond all measure!” It’s as if you gave me a reliquary with holy relics. After all, such a gift is not measured by the price of the frame and precious stones. I repeat, I accept your gift with gratitude. I am grateful to you beyond measure, what else do you want from me?
“What a cheat! - thought Karl. “She took a ring worth a hundred thousand livres and didn’t blink an eye, and even presented the matter in such a way that she didn’t owe me anything, as if I had presented her with a dried orange blossom flower!”
- Duchess! - Karl finally said. - You are absolutely right! The value of my gift is not in its weight or in the size of the diamonds, but in the fact that it is a family heirloom of the Lorraine house. By accepting this gift, you, I hope, have confirmed your belonging to this house, and therefore I hope to talk with you in a kindred way about some matters.
“I’m listening to you,” answered the duchess, and her answer read: “But I don’t promise you anything.”
“I would like to know about the man I met in Monaco,” said Karl and looked carefully into the duchess’s face.
— I’ve never been to Monaco! - answered the duchess. - It 'warm over there? What's the nature like there? They say there is a wonderful view of the sea?
— The sea? — Karl asked absentmindedly. - What does the sea have to do with it? I didn't pay attention to him. I'm talking about a man, a nobleman.
“Are there nobles in this wilderness?” - asked the duchess with ostentatious surprise.
“There are plenty of nobles at the prince’s court,” the duke answered with a smile.
“Oh, yes, there is a prince there,” said the duchess and shrugged her shoulders. - So what kind of nobleman?
“He looks a lot like someone,” said Karl. - So similar that I would say that it is him. But it wasn't him.
“You speak in riddles, Duke,” said the Duchess. - Someone looks like someone else. What should I say to this? Who looks like? Who does he look like?
“If he looked like a face even a little less significant, I would call this face,” answered Karl. “But I don’t dare name the person this nobleman looked like.”
- That's it! - answered the duchess. - Suppose you met such a nobleman. What do I have to do with it?
“I asked myself: “Am I imagining things?” - Karl continued. “And I couldn’t answer this question either positively or negatively.”
“And you came to me for an answer, Duke,” summed up the Duchess. - Why?
“If I haven’t imagined it, then there are such important circumstances that Queen Anne’s best friend cannot but know about,” answered Charles. “If she doesn’t know anything about it, then I just imagined it, and I should throw this episode out of my head.”
- Queen Anne's best friend! - exclaimed the Duchess sarcastically. “Yes, I always wished well to our good Queen and did everything in my power for her, but I received nothing in return.” If this is called being a best friend, then, if you please, I was her best friend.
“That’s exactly what I meant,” Karl agreed. “So tell me, duchess, did I imagine this or not?”
- Of course, it was an idea, Duke! - answered the duchess. - Could the resemblance you talk about really exist? This nobleman, in this case, should be the same age as the one he resembles! After such a long period of time, someone would have paid attention to this long ago, and it would undoubtedly have been revealed.
“So, Duchess, you firmly assert that such a person does not exist?” - asked Karl.
“As decisively as I can,” agreed the duchess. - If I understood you correctly about who this person is like. However, in any case, I am not aware of anything.
“Thank you, Duchess,” replied Karl. - It was very nice to meet you.
“It’s a pity that I can’t offer you coffee and marzipan cookies, Duke,” replied the Duchess. “Thank you for returning the family heirloom of the House of Lorraine to my home,” she said and placed her palm on the ring box.
“You’re welcome,” Karl answered gloomily. - It's my duty. Let me take my leave.
“The old cheat undoubtedly knows something about this matter! - thought Karl. - She's hiding something. I couldn’t approach her because she expects to get more from the other party!”
“So Philip has arrived in Monaco,” thought the Duchess. - And Charles of Lorraine saw him. The King must be warned immediately."
After this, the Duchess rang the bell for a cup of coffee and a plate of marzipan cookies to be brought to her, then she opened the box and began to examine the gifted ring with the eyes of a connoisseur.
“One hundred thousand livres, no less,” she said to herself with pleasure.

Chapter XXXV. Marten and the King

The Duchess de Chevreuse leisurely drank coffee with marzipan cookies, and then went to the King.
Despite the rather late hour, the King immediately responded to the report that the Duchess had appeared to him and ordered to let her in.
- Your Majesty, I have two unpleasant news! - said the duchess.
“It’s a pity that unpleasant news comes at this time of day, Duchess,” replied the King. “I’m afraid I’m in for a sleepless night.” But I am grateful to you for your haste to communicate them to me. I think they're worth the haste. Speak up.
- Philip is in France! “He’s in Monaco,” replied the Duchess.
“This is very unpleasant news,” agreed the King. — I hope the second news is not so bad?
“She is much worse, Your Majesty,” replied the Duchess. - The second news is that Charles of Lorraine saw Philip and is convinced that there is something behind it.
- How do you know about this? - asked Louis.
“He just visited me and tried to find out what kind of person he was,” said the duchess.
“Therefore, you gave me three pieces of news,” said the King. — The third news is that Charles of Lorraine is in Paris.
“Quite right, Your Majesty, but I don’t know how long he will stay here,” the duchess agreed. “It is very likely that he has already left Paris.”
“Quite likely,” the King admitted. “Well, if he’s here, that means my police are doing a bad job, worse than they should.”
“It’s not for me to judge,” the duchess answered modestly. “I think Karl will try to use Philip for his own purposes.”
“We must stop him from doing this,” agreed the King. - How I miss d'Artagnan!
“I believe he will soon arrive in France,” replied the Duchess.
“Duchess, if you learn of his arrival, or the arrival of any of these four, inform me immediately!” - said the King. - If you are lucky enough to see them, tell them that I am their friend, they are not in danger from me.
“I will be glad to serve Your Majesty in such a matter,” replied the duchess.
“Thank you, Duchess,” said the King. - Your service will not go without gratitude, rest assured. Tomorrow I will order Colbert to give you the appropriate amount.
“Your Majesty is extremely kind,” said the Duchess and bowed. “I dare say that I am not doing this for money, but in memory of my dear friend, your mother, the Queen.”
“Of course,” replied the King. “But you won’t refuse the reward.”
“I will not refuse, Your Majesty,” answered the duchess. “I think I’ve tired you.” Let me digress.
“Thank you, duchess, you are free,” Louis replied.

After this, he ordered that Chancellor Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Barbesieux, and his son, Minister of War Fran;ois-Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, come to him tomorrow morning.

Chapter XXXVI. Father and son Le Tellier

Chancellor and Minister of War, Michel Le Tellier repeatedly proved his loyalty and competence to Louis XIV . His son, Fran;ois-Michel Le Tellier, was appointed Secretary of State for Military Affairs. Louis realized that he would have to entrust his secret to trustworthy people, so he chose the father and son of Le Tellier, since it was they who he trusted more than anyone else after Captain d' was no longer with him Artagnan, and besides, taking into account the fact that d'Artagnan's devotion had its limits. However, Louis realized that it would be better for him not to force the captain to cross these boundaries, but he had no choice when he had to seek protection from the Bishop of Vannes. Louis was also well aware that, with all the loyalty of the Le Tellier family, they could not do anything to save him from the d'Herblay plot, firstly, since they would not have discovered it, and secondly, since they would not have been able to act so decisively and effectively, as d'Artagnan acted, being virtually alone in the face of several enemies. One should, of course, add to D'Artagnan's asset the fact that, while defending Louis, he violated the plans of Aramis and Porthos, that is, to some extent he took the side of the King against his friends. But for d'Artagnan such a position was possible only so long as his actions did not endanger the lives of these friends, and not an inch further. The captain's loyalty cracked precisely at the moment when Louis entrusted him with the destruction of Aramis and Porthos . If the King had limited himself to using it only to protect himself from the insidious plans of Aramis, d'Artagnan would have remained loyal to Louis to the end. In addition, Louis realized that in fact Colbert forced him to act so rudely and thereby lose such an invaluable servant, at the same time extremely intelligent, insightful, quick-witted, and at the same time a brave, devoted and skillful warrior. Realizing Colbert's usefulness in financial matters, as well as in matters of supplying the army and even in matters of creating a fleet that was truly strong and effective, the King could not help but see Colbert's excessive curiosity, which, of course, was fueled by his mercantile and ambitious aspirations, while d' The King did not see Artagnan having such aspirations. Or, in any case, if the captain of the musketeers was ambitious or mercantile like any courtier, he never put his personal ambitions above the duty of loyalty to the King, above the honor of an officer, a nobleman, a courtier, above those ethical principles that were assumed in any nobleman, but , unfortunately, very rarely took place even among the best representatives of the nobility.
Under no circumstances would Louis have entrusted his secret to Le Tellier if he had d'Artagnan, and d'Artagnan, not offended by mistrust, not offended by the fact that he was surrounded by Colbert's spies, who had higher secret powers than those who were handed over to the captain publicly. If time could be turned back, Louis would rather forgive Aramis and Porthos than lose d'Artagnan. And then, obviously, there would not have been these eight months spent in the abbey, as well as in long wanderings along the road to the abbey under the escort of d'Artagnan and back without any fellow travelers.
Louis learned a lot during these eight months, he became different. And this other Louis was forced to call on Chancellor Le Tellier to solve the problem. The Chancellor's son, being Secretary of State, would still have learned from his father about the secret entrusted to him, so it would have been much better if he had learned this secret from the King himself, having previously promised to keep it. However, Louis believed that the best solution would be to solve the problem with the help of Le Tellier's father and son, without introducing them to the essence of the problem. He thought about this all night, without closing his eyes and not even trying to sleep. Therefore, he did not go to bed, remaining in his favorite chair, from time to time making some notes, sketches, drawing diagrams and tables, which he then tore into small pieces.
When Le Tellier's father and son appeared in the King's office at the appointed time and bowed to the chairs offered to them, Louis tried to explain their task to them as clearly as possible, without revealing as much as possible all the details of the problem that had arisen.
“Mr. Minister, Mister Secretary of State, I called you in order to clarify some of the features of our struggle for a strong France,” said Louis.
Father and son Le Tellier bowed in response. Secretary of State Fran;ois-Michel Le Tellier took out a pen, an inkwell and a folder with papers.
“I ask you, gentlemen, no notes,” Louis objected, after which Fran;ois-Michel put away the writing materials and his face took on the same expression of respectful attention that was already on his father’s face.
- Gentlemen! The eastern provinces, Alsace and Lorraine, have long been the cause of our constant anxiety. I will say without mincing words that the problems from these territories sometimes exceed the problems generated by neighboring countries, even when they take an extremely unfriendly position. And although we have now annexed Alsace and Lorraine as securely as possible, these lands have not ceased to be a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment. The rebellious Charles IV constantly deceived us, and I expect this from him in the future as well. We tried to solve this problem peacefully, but numerous agreements concluded were ignored by him. We gave him a million thalers and the title of prince of the royal house only so that he would disband his army and submit, but it was all in vain. He remains France's most dangerous enemy. He should be captured and arrested. His place is in the Bastille. If he resists arrest and is killed while resisting or attempting to escape, I will not be angry with those who are forced to do so.
Michel Le Tellier nodded significantly. The Chancellor had a talent for making facial expressions that meant a lot more was on his mind than was in his head. This forced us to suspect in him an extraordinary mind, exceeding the one that the chancellor actually possessed. Without in any way belittling his mental abilities, we only note that he was able to create an opinion about these mental abilities that was much greater than what could be formed by analyzing his actual affairs.
Looking at this intelligent face, the King even thought for a moment that Le Tellier knew everything about the situation, however, since he had known Le Tellier for quite a long time, he was aware of this feature of his chancellor's grimace, so he continued.
“I have information that Charles of Lorraine has conceived a daring intrigue, a vile conspiracy, not disdaining any methods,” continued the King. “For these purposes, he is preparing to enlist the support of the most unexpected allies. And that is not all. I can expect that this scoundrel has prepared and will try to use an impostor claiming the throne of France.
- This is high treason, Your Majesty! - exclaimed the chancellor. “For such plans alone he deserves the death penalty.”
“That’s right, gentlemen,” agreed the King. “As you know, we must complete our military affairs in Holland, but the situation is such that we cannot relax in relation to Lorraine. Therefore, at this time I need not only loyal and brave commanders in the north, but also loyal and reliable people in the east.
“Your Majesty, any attempt at rebellion in the east will be suppressed,” answered Le Tellier the elder, rising from his chair.
“Okay, but that’s not all,” Louis continued. “I must give you additional instructions for the most unforeseen and exceptional case.” Remember the password: “Happy is the King with such servants.”
“Happy is the King with such servants,” repeated both Le Telliers.
“I hope you won’t need this password,” Louis continued. “But in the extremely unlikely event that you doubt your King’s orders, you can ask me for this password.” My answer, “Happy is the King with such servants,” should dispel any doubts you may have.
“I cannot imagine a situation where we could doubt Your Majesty’s order,” said Le Tellier the elder.
“Such a situation may arise due to circumstances that you should not yet know about,” said Louis. — Charles IV is treacherous. He is going to find an impostor who, as you may think, will have the right to give you orders.
“We obey no one except Your Majesty,” answered Le Tellier the elder. “If Your Majesty orders the arrest of anyone, even your Serene Brother Philip, we will carry out this order without hesitation.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” replied the King, “but the question is not to arrest my brother.” Just remember that the password given to you can eliminate any doubts, regardless of the reasons why they might arise. I command you to memorize this password and remember its importance, even if now it seems to you that it is of no use.
“We understand everything, Your Majesty,” the chancellor answered with such an important look that Louis again thought for a second that he understood more than he should.
“So, my order is that Charles of Lorraine be arrested and taken to the Bastille, alive or dead,” Louis concluded. - No one and nothing should interfere with you in this matter. Even I myself will not be able to cancel this order of mine if I do not say the password. Do you understand this?
“Even Your Majesty will not cancel the order for the arrest of Charles of Lorraine if he does not pronounce the password “Happy is the King with such servants,” said Francois-Michel.
“Okay, I’m satisfied,” Louis nodded. - You can go and carry out my orders.


Chapter XXXVII. Queen's kitty

Colbert, according to the King's orders, was to establish the whereabouts of d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis. For this purpose, he used his network of spies. He already knew that they had arrived in France and were apparently heading to Paris. But he knew for sure that there was no face with them that looked like a relative of the King, and he also remembered that he was forbidden to think about this face, and for this reason he thought about him more and more. You cannot forbid someone to think about someone or something, because such a prohibition only increases curiosity and encourages you to think about a forbidden topic much more intensely and more often than if there was no such prohibition.
The secretary came in and reported Preval's arrival.
- A! My dear Martin! Come in! Colbert said. - What news?
“Monsignor, the Queen’s cat again forced me to look into a certain office...” answered the dwarf.
- So, so, you say, the Queen’s cat? Colbert shook his head. “Where did she take you this time?”
- Right there, monsignor! - exclaimed Preval. “This cat was so fond of running into His Majesty’s office that I was forced to look there so that Her Majesty would not lose her pet and worry about her.
“So it’s a cat,” Colbert replied, nodding his agreement to accept this hypothesis as a working one. “Is that all you wanted to tell me?”
“That’s it, monsignor, and I ask you to forgive me for the fact that I again involuntarily overheard a certain conversation,” answered Preval, pretending that he was ready to end his visit to the minister here.
- In order to stand up for you before the King on occasion, I must know what exactly you heard, dear Martin! - Colbert replied, accepting Pr;val's game. - If you heard some nonsense, then, probably, your indelicacy does not amount to a big sin.
“It’s not for me to judge whether what I heard was nonsense,” answered Preval. “Let me, monsignor, tell you what I heard completely against my will, and let me ask you to resolve this difficult question by considering how guilty I am before His Majesty?”
“I’m listening to you, my dear, just don’t hide anything,” Colbert answered and prepared to listen with utmost attention.
“The situation was that the day before, the Duchess de Chevreuse came to see His Majesty again,” answered Pr;val.
- And for this reason you decided to look after the cat as carefully as possible, I understand! Colbert said. “The next day, while trying to return the cat to its place, you accidentally ended up in His Majesty’s office. So what did you hear?
“His Majesty gave Mr. Chancellor Le Tellier and his son somewhat unusual assignments,” answered Pr;val. - That is, the instructions were, at first glance, the most ordinary, but the form in which he gave them was somehow strange.
“Let me judge for myself what was unusual and what was ordinary in these instructions, just tell me what you, such a scoundrel, heard through the fault of this naughty cat,” Colbert replied.
“The king ordered to find and arrest Charles of Lorraine,” answered Preval.
“I don’t see anything unusual in this,” Colbert replied. — Charles IV of Lorraine has long been asking to be arrested.
“The king also hinted that if the duke resists arrest or tries to escape, then it is quite acceptable to kill him,” Preval added.
“Well, killing a state criminal while trying to escape or resisting the King’s officers is quite logical,” Colbert noted. - The King's orders must be carried out promptly and with the utmost precision, otherwise those who disobey will bear full responsibility for any consequences of such disobedience.
“The king also reported that Charles of Lorraine was planning to use for his own purposes an impostor claiming the throne of France,” said Pr;val.
- What else? Colbert asked quickly.
“The king gave the chancellor and his son a certain password in case of emergency,” Preval added.
- What kind of password is that? For some kind of extreme case? - Colbert said insinuatingly.
- Let me say it verbatim, the way I remembered His Majesty’s words? asked Pr;val.
- Of course! Colbert exclaimed.
“The king said the following: “I hope you will not need this password. But in the extremely unlikely event that you doubt your King's command, you may ask me for this password. My answer, “Happy is the King with such servants,” should dispel any doubts you may have.
- Happy is the King with such servants? - Colbert asked.
“This phrase is a secret password,” Preval confirmed. “The King further said: “The password given to you will be able to eliminate any doubts, regardless of the reasons why they might arise. I command you to memorize this password and remember its importance, even if now it seems to you that it is of no use. My order is that Charles of Lorraine be arrested and brought to the Bastille, alive or dead. No one and nothing should stop you in this matter. Even I myself will not be able to cancel this order of mine if I do not say the password.”
“This is not clear, therefore, it is very important,” Colbert said thoughtfully. -What else did you hear?
“I would just like to add that at the very beginning of the conversation, the King forbade recording this conversation,” Preval replied.
- Why didn’t you tell me about this right away? - Colbert exclaimed with ostentatious irritation. “After all, as you understand, I questioned you only to decide whether the conversation you accidentally overheard was important or not important, in order to assess the degree of guilt that lies with you!” If you had immediately said that His Majesty asked not to take notes, I would have immediately told you that the conversation is important.
“Please forgive me my stupidity, monsignor,” answered Pr;val. “It turns out that if I had said this right away, I wouldn’t have to retell the rest of the conversation I accidentally overheard.”
“Exactly so, dear Martin, exactly so!” Colbert agreed. - Be more careful in future. However, it’s okay that you told me this. After all, I am actually the right hand of His Majesty. Telling me about what you heard is almost the same as telling it to the King himself. Therefore, from now on, do as your pure soul and open heart tell you. Now, please, forget this whole conversation, and I will help you with this. Take this wallet, it will help you forget what you heard.
“I already forgot, monsignor,” answered Pr;val.
“Go, my dear,” said Colbert. - I still have a lot of things to do.
After Pr;val left, Colbert became thoughtful.
“A man who resembles the King or his brother can lay claim to the French throne. Who is this? - Colbert thought. - The King's older brother? Unthinkable! A more worthy sideline heir? Especially! The eldest male descendant of the last King is the most worthy candidate, provided he is alive. Thus, only the younger brother of the King, that is, Monsieur, Duke of Orleans, Philippe of Bourbon, can claim the French throne. But this mysterious man is someone else! Okay, we'll deal with that later. Now we know that this man can fall under the influence of Charles of Lorraine, and in this case the King gave the password to his faithful minister Le Tellier and his son. But he didn’t tell me this password! Therefore, he doubts my loyalty? Perhaps I myself am to blame for my interference in this matter! But in any case, I’m not on the same path with Charles of Lorraine! This means I must prove my loyalty to the King. The best option would be to make your own efforts to arrest Charles of Lorraine. I must do this before the officers sent for this purpose by Minister Le Tellier. And for this I have a good opportunity if I involve in this the case of d'Artagnan and his friends, these, as His Majesty called them, Athos, Porthos and Aramis! They seem to be heading to Paris, and I shouldn’t miss them.”
At that moment, his secretary Lucien entered Colbert's office.
“Monsignor,” he said. - His Majesty demands you immediately. He sent a courier.

Chapter XXXVIII. King

- Mister Colbert, is there anything you want to tell me? - Louis asked Colbert as soon as he appeared before him.
“I have many instructions from Your Majesty and many matters in connection with them,” answered the minister. “I would save Your Majesty from listening to boring information on these routine matters if Your Majesty would hint to me which question out of this many is of the greatest interest to you.”
“I instructed you to know at any moment where Messrs. d’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis are, and to provide me with this information at my first request,” the King recalled. - I'm listening to you.
“These four are currently heading to Paris,” Colbert replied.
“This information is not accurate enough,” the King objected. -Where exactly are they now?
“They have now left Aubergenville and will therefore be in Paris in the next three or four hours,” Colbert answered almost at random, since he knew from experience that an erroneous answer is better than no answer.
“Okay, we’ll check it out,” agreed the King. “Make sure that as soon as these four arrive in Paris, they are immediately invited to see me at the Louvre.”
- It will be done, Your Majesty! Colbert replied.
— Did you understand the meaning of the word “invited” well, Mr. Minister? - inquired the King. — I didn’t say “delivered” or “dragged by force.” I said "invited". This means that the said four nobles must come to me of their own free will without any fear of persecution from any officials of my kingdom. You shouldn't even offer them an honor guard, lest they think it's an escort. They should simply receive a verbal invitation to an audience, as if they were foreign ambassadors from a state friendly to us. No violence, no actions or words that could be considered an insult to their honor and dignity. Do you understand me?
“I understand you, Your Majesty,” Colbert replied.
“After this invitation, no spies or spies should follow them within five hundred paces,” continued the King. “It would be better if they didn’t exist at all, but I understand perfectly well that this is impossible for you.” So, no closer than five hundred steps. And here's another thing. When entering the King's office, nobles usually leave their swords behind. Now, no person should suggest that they leave their weapons in my waiting room. The only thing you are allowed to do is to lead them casually to the sword stands, which they can use if they deem it necessary. If they decide to come to me without taking off their swords, no one should prevent this.
“But, Your Majesty, this privilege does not even apply to all royals!” - Colbert stammered. - Only Monsieur can...
“To hell with Monsieur,” the King waved him off. - I'm talking about these nobles. You must not try to take away their swords, because they must not for one moment think that they are about to be arrested, or even deprived of their weapons. It is important. I hope you understand.
“Your Majesty, everything will be done exactly,” Colbert replied. - However…
- What? - the King was surprised. - Do you allow yourself this “however” in the presence of your King?
“I wanted to remind you of Your Majesty’s safety,” Colbert said timidly.
“For twenty years My Majesty’s safety rested at the end of the sword of one of them, the captain of the royal musketeers.” For twenty years he himself accepted swords from the hands of the nobles who came to me, including princes, dukes and peers,” replied the King. “I will not stoop to distrust this man.” If I am destined to die from d'Artagnan's sword, I will humbly accept this fate, however, I assure you, such a death will never threaten me. Under no circumstances.
“But the other three…” Colbert muttered.
“The other three will also never do anything like that,” answered the King. “Especially the Comte de La F;re.” However, so do the others. My life is inviolable for them, I am convinced of this from personal experience. In addition, even if we imagine that one of the three would at least somehow want to encroach on me, in the presence of d'Artagnan, none of them would do this, and would not be able to even if they wanted to. The captain is enough to hold off a dozen conspirators, and his influence over these three guarantees my safety beyond all measures. Mr. Colbert, your concern for my safety is appropriate always and everywhere, but only except in this case. In the meantime, these four are going to Paris, tell me, Mr. Colbert, why do you think they are heading here?
“I don’t know that, Your Majesty,” Colbert replied.
“And I believe that they are going to Paris, hoping to meet here the person about whom you made inquiries contrary to my prohibition, and in order to protect me from any troubles in connection with this person’s stay in Paris,” said the King. “Now I would like to ask you, what do you think, Mr. Minister, for what reasons did this man find himself outside the sphere of influence of these four nobles and undertook a trip to France on his own or on someone else’s initiative?”
“I don’t know, Your Majesty,” Colbert said again.
— Don’t you think that the reason could have been the intervention of third parties who found out something they weren’t supposed to know? - asked the King.
“I cannot rule it out, Your Majesty,” Colbert said.
- And how could these persons know about this, in your opinion, Mr. Colbert? - asked the King.
“I don’t know,” Colbert said again, breaking out in a cold sweat.
“Let’s think together,” Louis continued. “So, you send two spies to Scotland with instructions to find out everything possible about this person.” And after exactly the same time that it takes for the men you sent to reach Scotland, this man leaves his place of residence, where he was, I believe, under the careful supervision of these four nobles, and undertakes a journey, either alone or with the help of someone else, to France. Don't you see the connection between these two facts, Mr. Colbert?
“I hope there is no connection between these facts,” Colbert stammered in fear.
“Quite right, you should hope so, because if your hope is not justified, and if I learn that the reason for this man’s arrival in France is your insatiable curiosity and carelessness or the betrayal of two spies you sent, then we will talk about it a little.” in details.
“I understand you, Your Majesty,” Colbert said.
“Go and bring me these four nobles, Monsieur Colbert,” said Louis, making it clear that the audience was over.

“They should not come to the Louvre! - Colbert said to himself. “These four will definitely make me feel guilty.” It cannot be ruled out that the reason is indeed the trip of these two idiots! These four must never meet the King. Never".

After this, Louis visited the Duchess de Chevreuse.
“Duchess,” he said. “In the current situation, I consider these noisy and scandalous four nobles my allies. I mean your friend, as I understand it, the Comte de La F;re, and also your apparently former friend d'Herblay, as well as my former captain of the musketeers d'Artagnan and their mutual friend, that corpulent Baron du Valon .
“They have always been Your Majesty’s friends,” said the Duchess.
“Believe me, duchess, not always,” Louis objected. “I had good reason to execute all four of them, and probably if I had done it, I would have regretted it, but it is much more likely that my life would have been calmer and safer. And believe me, Duchess, I had enough reasons for such a decision to execute each of them not just once, but four or five times. But that's all in the past. I think I understand their motives, their way of thinking and can accept them. Anyway, I need them now.
- So call them, Your Majesty! - answered the duchess.
“This is not required, they are already heading towards me,” answered the King.
- What's the problem? - the duchess was surprised.
“It seems to me that there may be obstacles on their way that will prevent them from arriving safely at the Louvre,” said the King. “I ordered that M. Colbert conduct them to me with maximum honor and safety for them, but his last look, not even a look, but a figure, the way he pulled his head into his shoulders, walking away from me, made me doubt that that my order will be carried out exactly.
“If the King cannot control his ministers, what can an old widow do?” - asked the duchess, clearly asking for a compliment.
“You, madam, do not at all correspond to the disparaging name that you invented for yourself!” - Louis objected, understanding the Duchess’s desire to hear a compliment from the King’s lips. - You, Duchess, have always been one of the first beauties at court, and you can still serve as a standard of beauty and style.
“Thank you, Your Majesty, you are extremely kind,” replied the Duchess, blushing. “I could perhaps ask my cousin the Comte de Rochefort to go and meet them.”
“They are already not far from Paris and are expected in the next two to three hours,” the King clarified.
“The Comte de Rochefort, by a lucky chance, was going to visit me in the next half hour,” answered the duchess. “I will immediately send him to meet our good friends.”
- Well, Duchess, I thank you! - exclaimed the King. - I am pleased with your help.
— Would you like some marzipan cookies? - asked the duchess.
- Thank you! - said Louis, taking two cookies from a bowl, strewn with marzipan, nuts and candied fruits. - They are magnificent as always.
 
Chapter XXXIX. Colbert

Colbert did not invite d'Epernon to his place, but hurried to go to him.
- Duke! - he said from the doorway. “We don’t have much time, so let me skip the usual greetings and abstract conversations.”
“I’m listening to you, Monsieur Colbert,” said the Duke d’Epernon, nodding.
“The man who pretty much ruined your career at court, Captain d’Artagnan, is heading to Paris, and will be here very soon.”
“Didn’t he die in Holland?” - asked the Duke, without expressing any surprise or showing any interest.
“No, it was a shameful farce,” Colbert replied. - Quite in the spirit of these four rebels. False death, flight abroad and high treason - this is the sequence of actions of these former musketeers, who imagine themselves to be God knows who.
“Well, that’s funny, but nothing more,” replied the Duke. - What do I care about all this?
“Let me remind you that if it weren’t for this same d’Artagnan, two years ago you would have been the captain of the royal musketeers, and now you would probably be the marshal of France,” answered Colbert.
“I inherited from my father the position of commander of the royal guard and by no means aspire to be the marshal of France,” d’Epernon answered coldly.
“ There is some difference between the guards and the royal musketeers,” Colbert replied. — The Guard is just the army elite, and the royal musketeers are the closest servants of the King. Remember that de Luynes was only a chamberlain, training birds for the King, he became the head of the royal hunt, and this gave him the title of constable, which is higher than Marshal of France! De Saint-Mars was just the main stablemaster, but became simply the Main, in fact the main man in France!
“Do you want to tempt me with the fate of de Luynes or de Saint-Mars?” - d'Epernon burst out laughing. - One of them died from excesses at the age of forty-three, the other was executed at the age of twenty-two!
- They missed their opportunities, but what were they! - Colbert objected, biting his tongue. - However, if my conversation is not interesting to you, I have many other things to do.
“I’m not a vengeful person,” objected d’Epernon, “and I have nothing to take revenge on d’Artagnan for, whether he’s alive or just pretending to be alive, whether he died or just cleverly played a prank on everyone.” To hell with this sly guy. I don't care about him. I'm not interested in the past.
“I understand you, Monsieur Duke, you are interested in the future,” Colbert replied. “Well, I can promise you my assistance in any matters that you may have in the future.”
“Now that’s a conversation,” the Duke perked up. - So, you want to send d'Artagnan to the next world, and in return you promise anything? So did he annoy you?
“He hasn’t annoyed me yet, but maybe,” Colbert answered with a sigh.
- How much can I trust your verbal open promissory note? - asked the Duke. - The word of a nobleman?
“If we talk about an open bill, then I have to negotiate the terms,” Colbert replied. “The Count de La F;re, Baron du Valon and the Abbot Chevalier d’Herblay are also traveling with d’Artagnan. None of these four should make it to the Louvre.
“The price for your vague promises is quite high,” d’Epernon chuckled. - Why don’t you order your spies to deal with these four?
“I won’t have time,” Colbert replied. “Besides, they won’t do it with due care.” It is necessary that everything looks like a simple accident. Unforeseen quarrel. Careless words, a duel, a sad result.
“Dueling, as you remember, was prohibited by the edict of King Louis III , and His Majesty King Louis XIV confirmed and approved this edict,” the duke objected. “Are you inciting me to commit a capital crime?”
- Duel? Did I say duel? - Colbert caught himself. - No, what are you talking about! An ordinary skirmish! Excited people rashly pulled out weapons... Unintentional blows... Such circumstances can serve as a basis for leniency. And a duel is a cold-blooded duel. In addition, we cannot afford a duel, because it is necessary that these four do not reach the King today.
- How do you know that they will go to the King today? - asked d'Epernon.
“Because I must convey to them an invitation to an audience,” Colbert replied. “I must hurry, but I will try to hurry as slowly as possible, so that, unfortunately, I will not be in time to meet them.”
“It seems to me that you are in a hopeless situation, Mr. Minister,” the Duke chuckled. “In such a situation, I could demand anything from you.” I don’t know why you can’t allow these four to meet the King, but apparently your reasons are quite compelling!
— Do you prefer gold? Colbert asked.
“No, I agree to your promise of career support, I will be content with the word of a nobleman, although this matter is not to my liking,” answered the Duke. “I don’t like this matter, but, frankly speaking, I would rather choose you as allies than these four former musketeers.”
- Well, hands down! Colbert was delighted. - Don’t take too many people so as not to arouse suspicion, but don’t limit yourself to a small number of people, since these four are excellent swordsmen.
- You seem to be undertaking to teach me how to settle such matters? - asked d'Epernon.
- In no way! Colbert replied. “I rely entirely on you, dear Duke.”
 
Chapter XL. Rochefort

The Duchess de Chevreuse glanced at her watch. It had been an hour since she had been expecting Count Rochefort, but he had not come. This was a shame, because she promised the King his help.
An adventurer, like many nobles of those times, the Count de Rochefort was busy with other matters at that moment. To understand the reason for this, let's tell a little about the history of this remarkable person.
The Comte de Rochefort entered the service of Cardinal de Richelieu at a young age thanks to a successful trick in which he captured an enemy officer, taking advantage of his carelessness. This officer, having fun with his mistress, was tracked down by the young man and taken by surprise when he had not only no weapons, but also no clothes. Taking the officer's weapon, young Charles-C;sar Rochefort took the officer and his mistress to Lokat to his military commander, Governor de Saint-Aunay. The governor appreciated the young man's feat, especially since the captured officer turned out to be a lieutenant on special assignments and some enemy secret documents were found in his captured belongings. Monsieur de Saint-Aunay reported the young man’s feat to the cardinal, who summoned him to his place. Seeing how young young Rochefort was, Richelieu admired this feat even more and decided to take the young man into his service as a page. Rochefort, delighted with such trust, tried to please his benefactor, as a result of which he gradually turned into a trusted person carrying out the most delicate assignments. Rochefort's fate would have been happy and successful, but to his misfortune, his father acquired four sons and a couple of daughters from his third wife, so the son from his first wife, who died during childbirth, did not occupy him. That is why the eldest son, Charles-Cesar, did not receive any capital from his parent, and although the cardinal appreciated Rochefort’s services and rewarded him quite generously, unfortunately for the count, this was not enough for the count to make a decent fortune for himself. And yet, gradually the count became a noticeable and important dignitary, an indispensable servant of the great cardinal, his right hand. So, for example, the count very willingly helped Richelieu in stopping the conspiracies drawn up by Queen Anne, including helping to discredit her in the eyes of the King. His activities would have been successful if not for the opposition of d'Artagnan and his friends. However, after the musketeers took revenge on his comrade Milady Winter for a series of bloody atrocities committed by her, they dispersed to their estates, not wanting to serve the weak and unprincipled Louis XIV, who either set up de Treville’s musketeers to fight the cardinal’s guards, or punished them for this fight. Only d'Artagnan remained in the royal service. Count de Rochefort entered into duels with him several times on the affairs of the cardinal, in which each time they turned out to be opponents by the will of fate, and each time d'Artagnan wounded Rochefort in the battle with him, but the wounds were light, Rochefort was easily healed. However, the great Richelieu soon died, so Rochefort lost his source of income. The father's inheritance was too meager, in addition, the father, offended by the fact that the count was not too willing to share his income with his parent and with his sons from his third wife, disinherited his eldest son, Charles-Cesar, but not by any special order , but simply by transferring all the money and rights to real estate to his younger sons. However, Rochefort still received his title of count, which was, perhaps, more important than money.
The Count tried to find a new sovereign for himself by turning to the Duke of Orleans, but the King's brother knew Rochefort too well as a henchman of the Cardinal, whom he hated, since the Cardinal always successfully uncovered and stopped all the conspiracies drawn up by the Duke together with the Queen, the Duchess de Chevreuse and other nobles involved in their intrigues. Soon King Louis XIII also died, chaos reigned in the country, since too many princes and dukes considered only themselves worthy of raising the young King and, accordingly, occupying the main position in the state, and therefore playing the main role in it.
Then Rochefort turned his attention to the Duke de Beaufort, the grandson of Henry IV from the illegitimate son of the King and Gabrielle d'Estr;es, who at that time was gaining increasing influence due to the instability of royal rule under the young Louis XIV , when power formally belonged to Queen Anne, but in fact In fact, many fought for it. These many included the Duke of Orl;ans, brother of Louis XIII and uncle of Louis XIV , Prince of Cond;, Jean-Fran;ois-Paul de Gondi, later known as Cardinal de Retz, Duke of Rohan, brother of the Duchess of Chevreuse, Chavigny, Prince of Conti and many others. If it were not for the cunning and extreme resourcefulness of Cardinal Mazarin, who was appointed First Minister by Louis XIII , the chaos that engulfed France could have lasted longer and caused an even longer and bloodier civil war. Mazarin managed to gain the trust of Queen Anne so much that he even subsequently entered into a secret marriage with her. He dealt with his enemies and ill-wishers as they deserved, deceiving some, bribing others, giving way to others for a while, now leaving Paris and even France, now entering it with troops, now taking the Queen and the young King out of Paris, now solemnly returning them supposedly at the unanimous request of the Parisians. Breaking enemy alliances and creating his own, Mazarin finally strengthened the power of Queen Anne and King Louis XIV , establishing his own power over the Queen, thereby crushing all of France under himself. After this, Mazarin began to deal with his enemies and ill-wishers, as a result of which the Duke de Beaufort ended up in prison, as a result of which Rochefort again lost his patron. Rochefort himself spent some time in the Bastille, since Mazarin considered him his enemy, however, he soon managed to escape, after which Rochefort also contributed to the escape of the Duke of Beaufort from the fortress in which he was imprisoned. The freed Duke de Beaufort soon managed to make peace with Mazarin and Queen Anne, he even received command of the naval forces of France, however, as we remember, he died during a sortie from the fortress of Candia, which ended his bright but chaotic life. Rochefort was again left without a patron and this time offered his services to Mazarin, who finally appreciated his dexterity and devotion to each new owner. The death of Mazarin again left Rochefort without a sovereign, however, by this time he had already managed to accumulate a relatively good capital for himself, so he no longer began to look for a new owner. However, over time the capital has almost dried up. The Count did not want to serve the King, because, as he understood, such a service could not bring in sufficient income, since there were too many nobles ready to serve the King, and Colbert, who was famous for his extreme stinginess, was entrusted with paying for such a service. In addition, the services that Rochefort could provide were services of a special kind; he was a specialist in very delicate assignments, the essence of which was to eliminate undesirable persons or, less often, to protect desirable people, as well as to secretly find out something or secretly tell someone something. In other words, Rochefort’s profession was espionage and conspiracies; Rochefort did not consider it possible to offer his services of this kind to His Majesty, in which, most likely, he was greatly mistaken, because spies and conspirators are always needed, and people of this profession will never be left without work. One way or another, the count decided to look for sources of income on the side that was more disadvantaged and, therefore, as he believed, more generous. This is how fate brought Count Rochefort together with Charles of Lorraine.
It was the meeting with Charles of Lorraine that prevented Count Rochefort from appearing at the appointed meeting with his cousin, Duchess de Chevreuse. Thus, the Duchess was deprived of the opportunity to provide any assistance to the Comte de La F;re and his friends. However, she was more upset that she might disappoint the King. The Duchess was not so sentimental as to be saddened by the impossibility of saving her former lover Aramis, although she was almost sad about the possibility of the death of the Comte de La F;re. We speak of this “almost,” which would be too little for any normal woman, but for a woman like the Duchesse de Chevreuse, almost being upset was too much.

Chapter XLI. Duke d'Epernon

The Duke quickly entered the guards' barracks.
- Eight of the best fencers are behind me quickly, with swords, on the best horses and behind me! - he ordered.
The lieutenant pointed his finger at himself, then at the seven guardsmen of his choice in turn, the chosen guardsmen silently followed the Duke's order with him.
Five minutes later the cavalcade headed for the northwestern gate of Paris.
“Lieutenant de Folleville, we must protect the King from four state criminals,” said the Duke. “But we won’t arrest them, because they should be killed, all four of them.”
- Just take it and kill it? - asked the lieutenant.
“We must present everything as a random skirmish,” replied the Duke. — A task for everyone. Come up with any reasons for a quarrel, including anything. A mockery, an awkward question, a rude tone, inappropriate clothing, anything will do.
“You can shout that you recognize your wife’s ex-lover,” suggested the lieutenant.
“It will do,” agreed the Duke, “just think of a name in advance and shout it, then passers-by will pay less attention.” It’s even better to first pretend to be a friendly meeting, and only then pretend that there was a quarrel. In such cases, no one will definitely interfere. If they don’t answer, you should say: “Michel, dear, don’t you recognize your friend Jean-Paul?” Or something similar.
“Since there are only four of them, such a skirmish would be a shame for us,” said the lieutenant. “If only four of us take part in the battle, then all of them will not necessarily die in the skirmish.”
“I have provided for it,” replied the Duke. —Four of you will fight, the other four must load their muskets in advance. After your opponents have unsheathed their swords, each of the second row must mark a target and shoot at the first opportunity. Don't miss, gentlemen guardsmen! There will be no second salvo, it will draw too much attention to the incident. However, if at least two of your opponents are wounded, all that remains is to finish them all off with swords. I hope you have no objections to this plan?
After these words, one young guardsman in the back row winced contemptuously, because he did not like the assignment he had started. However, he remained silent because he was on duty.
“So, Lieutenant de Folleville, you and these three will fight with swords,” said the Duke, pointing to those who rode ahead. “The other four, load the muskets.” You will ride behind, three horse lengths behind.
The young man obeyed and loaded his musket.
- There they are, I see them! - the Duke finally said. “You know what to do, and I will come to you if any problems arise.” For now, proceed without me. March, march!

Indeed, at that moment d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis appeared on Temple Street near its intersection with Povliz Street. Unexpectedly, a cavalcade of seven guardsmen, led, in addition, by a lieutenant, rode out to meet them.
- It looks like this is the captain of the musketeers d'Artagnan! - exclaimed the lieutenant.
At these words, the young guardsman in the rear guard shuddered and carefully peered into the faces of the oncoming horsemen.
- Lieutenant de Folleville! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - Glad to see you!
- And I heard that you were killed in battles with Holland! - answered the lieutenant. - And you, as I now see, are apparently an ordinary deserter?
After these words, d’Artagnan’s cheekbones began to play, however, he restrained himself and looked into the face of Athos, whose eyes said: “This is a provocation, control yourself, my friend.”
“I just received a temporary leave from the King himself,” answered d’Artagnan in a peaceful tone.
- Leave during battle is given only to the sick, wounded or cowards! - answered the lieutenant. - Moreover, the cowards are sent to the nearest aspen!
“You’re right, Follville,” agreed d’Artagnan. “But there were no cowards in my regiment, and I was wounded so seriously that I was taken from the battlefield unconscious and without the slightest hope that I would survive.
- What are you explaining to him? - asked Porthos, unable to stand such a skirmish. - There was one word that needed explanation!
“Porthos, my friend, let your old colleagues exchange news calmly,” said Athos, taking Porthos by the hand. “Our good friends have the right to a question or two, don’t they?”
- Friends? - Porthos asked incredulously, who was about to put his right hand on the hilt of the sword, but restrained himself. - Well, if they are friends, let them chat.
“Maybe friends,” the lieutenant continued, “or maybe not.” To do this, we would need to clarify something.
“Gentlemen, you will certainly ask us many questions, but a little later,” said Athos. “We are currently in a hurry to attend to urgent matters.”
“And I consider the most urgent matter to be ascertaining the circumstances of your disappearance from the battlefield,” the lieutenant continued.
“We will present them to you in writing,” Aramis intervened. “Gentlemen, we are in a hurry on state business, so anyone who detains us risks appearing before the royal tribunal.”
- Damn it, is this a threat? - exclaimed the lieutenant.
“Not at all, gentlemen, this is just a warning,” Aramis answered calmly.
- Yes, they laugh at us! - shouted Follville, drawing his sword from its sheath.
This movement of his served as a sign to the other three guardsmen from the first rank, and three more swords were instantly drawn from their scabbards and pointed at d'Artagnan and his friends.
At that moment, Aramis quickly rode forward and stood sideways, shielding his three friends.
- What a pity, gentlemen, that I am bound by a vow! - he exclaimed. “I’m very sorry, but I cannot draw my sword against my compatriots unless necessary, and it seems to me that there is no such need.” I suggest discussing the situation calmly, without excessive heat. Gentlemen, you don’t want to violate the royal edict?
“Mr. Saint, if you do not answer for your words with a sword in your hands, so much the worse for you, since we did not take a vow not to draw weapons against traitors!” - the lieutenant exclaimed and looked expressively at the three guardsmen who had drawn their swords but were in no hurry to use them.
“I think I recognize this priest!” - exclaimed one of the guards. “This scoundrel made indecent proposals to my wife!”
“Judging by your face, my dear, I doubt that your wife is so good that I would be tempted by her,” answered Aramis. “However, if the question is about the lady’s honor, I will probably break my vow.” Then you are mine!
- Thank God, we are finally fighting! - Porthos exclaimed, drawing his sword. “And then I thought that the matter would end with the impudent chatter of these presumptuous suckers!”
- I ask you to dismount, gentlemen! - Athos exclaimed. “I invite two of you to speak with me in the language of a sword!”
- We will kill you without leaving our saddles! - answered the lieutenant. - Swords for battle!
- Well, so much the better, rascals! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “Now I will make you swallow your words and, to be sure, I will pierce your throat so that you will never insult an honest officer again!”
After these words, the lieutenant and four guardsmen, as if on command, each attacked their opponent. D'Artagnan instantly repulsed the lieutenant's sword and, with the same movement, plunged his sword into Follville's throat a third of its length. Athos knocked the sword out of his opponent and pierced him right through the right shoulder. Porthos struck his opponent with such force with his sword that he flew out of the saddle and, hitting his head on the pavement, remained unconscious. Aramis hit his opponent's sword with a screw motion so deftly that it flew up, after which he caught it by the hilt and put both swords to the chest of the discouraged guardsman.
At that moment, a musket shot sounded from behind the guardsman, knocking off Aramis’ hat, after which the friends heard a cry: “Look out!”
Then three more shots were fired, almost simultaneously. One of the shots cut off the ear of Porthos's horse, another grazed Athos' temple. It became clear that four other guardsmen had discharged their muskets. But the fourth shot was aimed in the other direction. Instead of shooting at d'Artagnan, the fourth guard shot in the arm of one of his comrades, and threw his hat into the face of another, which was the reason for their miss.
- What are you doing, Perren? - exclaimed the guardsman, clutching his wounded hand, from which the musket had fallen.
- No one will shoot my father with a treacherous shot from behind! - exclaimed Fran;ois Perrin.
- Francois, my son! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - Hug me!
“Gentlemen, give up,” Athos said calmly. - Give us your swords and muskets!
Indeed, of the four attackers, one was killed, another was seriously wounded, the third lay unconscious on the pavement, and the fourth was disarmed. The four remaining had their muskets already unloaded, in addition, Francois went over to the side of the musketeers, so the guardsmen were now three against five. Realizing the pointlessness of the battle, they abandoned their swords and muskets. Francois calmly collected them, as well as the lieutenant’s sword and the sword of the unconscious guardsman, and handed over the entire collected arsenal to Porthos.
“And now, gentlemen, I want to know on whose orders you attacked us,” said d’Artagnan.
“It was an accidental skirmish,” answered one of the guards. “It was Lieutenant Follville who started it, and all the responsibility lies with him.” We were simply following his orders, you saw for yourself!
D'Artagnan glanced at Francois, who shook his head.
“Okay, we’ll figure it out later,” said d’Artagnan. - Go to the barracks. Your swords will remain with us.
At that moment the Duke d'Epernon came around the corner.
- What does it mean? - he exclaimed. - By what right did you disarm my guards? Give them back their swords immediately!
“These gentlemen violated the royal edict,” d’Artagnan answered calmly. “Their swords will be returned to them by the Minister of War Le Tellier by order of the King of France, if His Majesty deems it possible to forgive them.”
- How dare you? - exclaimed d'Epernon. - These people obey only me!
“This simplifies our task and answers the question on whose orders they attacked us,” answered d’Artagnan. - I hope, Duke, your sword is with you? And if you are so lenient towards violations of the royal edict, can we discuss this issue with a different argument?
-What are you watching, idiots? - d'Epernon addressed his guards. - Grab them and kill them!
“We were defeated in a fair fight,” said one of the guards, “if an attack by eight against four can be called fair.” The matter is over. We will not attack these nobles who could have killed us but did not.
- Traitors! - d'Epernon croaked. “You will go to the guardhouse if you do not obey me and arrest these four!”
- Mister Duke! - exclaimed one of the guards. “I have served the King honestly all my life, and no one has ever had reason to call me a traitor.” Today’s whole adventure smacks more of betrayal, but I agreed to it, seeing you as my boss. Your insult relieves me of my duty to serve you, and therefore I challenge you to a duel in connection with the insult you have inflicted on me.
“Are you crazy, de Planche!” - exclaimed d'Epernon. - I'll have you hanged!
- Monsieur du Valon, I ask you to return my sword! - de Planche turned to Porthos. - The nobleman's word: I will not turn it against you and your friends.
Porthos looked at Athos and, receiving an approving look from him, returned his sword to the guardsman.
“I ask you to continue your journey, gentlemen,” said de Planche. “I have one thing left that I can handle myself.”
D'Artagnan nodded and all five, including Francois, galloped towards the Louvre.

Chapter XLII. Rochefort and Charles of Lorraine

Count Rochefort met with Charles of Lorraine in the palace of Anne Marie Louise d'Orl;ans, Duchess of Montpensier, for we cannot call her luxurious abode home. This duchess was perhaps the most active participant in the Fronde, but now she has retired, or successfully pretended that she had ceased to be interested in politics. She belonged to that class of lady who would be easier to kill than to stop poking her nose into other people's affairs, and, moreover, to stop intriguing. The Duchess de Chevreuse, known to us, belonged to the same class of people.
Charles was received in this palace like any oppositionist, since the duchess remained dissatisfied with her defeat in the affairs of the Fronde. However, she told Karl that she was not at all interested in political affairs, so she provided a large hall for negotiations, where no one could hear the interlocutors, so they could communicate quite freely on any topic. The Duchess herself said that she had planned a trip to her friend, the Chevalier de Lauzun, for that evening, so she left the entire palace to Charles to manage in her absence in the palace, as if he were its owner.
“Count, I heard that you are not averse to entering into an alliance with some French nobleman,” began the cautious Karl.
“Duke, you can be more precise without risking offending me,” Rochefort replied. “As you know, I am not rich, so I have always sought well-paid service from a noble and wealthy nobleman.” I served the great Cardinal Richelieu, I also served the Duke de Beaufort, and carried out delicate assignments for Cardinal Mazarin. My services were paid for the most part relatively generously only by the great Richelieu, since de Beaufort was not rich, and Mazarin was extremely stingy. Therefore, even now I would not refuse to join the union, as you call it, but I would prefer to call it service, since the union is based on political or other interests, while service implies submission in exchange for a decent salary.
“Well, thank you for your frankness, Count,” said Karl. “I have both the means and the desire to adequately pay for your services.”
“Wonderful,” answered the count. “It remains to be seen what they will be.”
“I propose to make efforts to regain Lorraine, meaning sufficient sovereignty over these territories, the return of the right to maintain one’s own army to ensure personal safety and to maintain order and obedience in this territory. Of course, I also plan to restore the rights to tax revenues collected in Lorraine and Alsace, as well as other rights that the Dukes of Lorraine traditionally had in these territories.
“Your thought is clear, and your desires are explainable,” Rochefort agreed. “However, I don’t fully understand the methods for solving your problem, and I also don’t see my role in this activity yet, because solving these problems requires influence on His Majesty, which I have never had, and, moreover, I don’t have now, and I don’t.” is foreseen in the future.
“This question, fortunately, has a solution,” said the Duke. “But before I explain my plans to you, I must secure your consent, because, as you understand, it is one thing to share plans with an ally, and a completely different thing to reveal your plans to a stranger.” If you agree, we will discuss the details of this case.
- So, you have a plan, I admit it, but I have not yet heard the answer to the question of what my responsibilities might be? - asked Rochefort.
“The matter is extremely simple,” answered Karl. “To solve my problems, I will need to meet with one nobleman, even if he himself does not want to participate in this meeting, and convince him to participate in this matter, even if he does not consider it advisable for himself . Further, as a result of my efforts aimed at ensuring that this nobleman has sufficient power to solve my problems , he will acquire this power, which may be sufficient to refuse to fulfill his obligations towards me. In this case, I will need a person who could convince him to fulfill his obligations.
“You want to carry out a coup d’etat, monsignor,” Rochefort replied. - At the same time, you obviously understand the impossibility of taking the French throne yourself, and therefore you fear that the person who occupied it will not want to consider himself obliged to you, so your efforts will be in vain?
“This sounds surprising, but the methods I am counting on do not imply any hype at all, and even, I would say, there will not be any coup d’etat, strictly speaking,” the Duke objected.
“That sounds extremely fantastic, Duke,” replied Rochefort. “Also, if you correctly understood my description of my situation, you would understand that my plans include slightly increasing my wealth, however, I in no way plan to participate in any adventures that could lead me to scaffold.
“As I understand it, we didn’t agree,” said Karl sadly. “Perhaps after my idea succeeds, I can offer you safe service in my duchy that would not violate your principles.”
“It is quite possible, Duke, but you are in vain plying me with unrealistic promises in order to secure my silence,” replied the Count. - In any case, I’m not going to tell anyone about our conversation, you can be completely calm about this.
“Okay, Count,” replied the Duke. “Perhaps you can recommend to me one of your acquaintances for this delicate matter?”
“France is full of scoundrels, Duke, so you can easily find helpers,” answered the count. “I’m not delighted with our King, but the defeat in the Fronde taught me that all other contenders for the French crown are inferior to the legitimate authority in everything.” Therefore, I recommend that you also come to terms with your lot, which is not so bad. Now let me take my leave.
“I wish you luck, Count,” replied the Duke. “I wish you to find a worthy sovereign and become rich in his service.”
Rochefort bowed and left the Duchess's palace.

Now I invite our dear readers to be transported to one of the small rooms of this palace. Here, among expensive carpets, the Duchess of Montpensier sat on a charming couch. She listened carefully to the sounds coming from the ear canal, specially designed in such a clever way that through it the slightest sound from the meeting room could be heard. Thus, she heard the entire conversation from the first word to the last.
- How interesting! - she said to herself. — Charles of Lorraine is plotting to replace Louis with someone else and hopes to do it effectively and quietly! Who besides the Duke of Orleans can now lay claim to the French throne? But it’s not vacant! The throne will only be vacated with the death of the King, which is not expected! I have to solve this puzzle!
After this, the duchess, as promised, went to her dear friend Chevalier de Lauzun.
 
Chapter XLIII. Cousin and Cousin

After leaving the palace of the Duchess of Montpensier, Rochefort went to his cousin, the Duchess de Chevreuse.
- You're late, Count! - exclaimed the Duchess.
“I beg your pardon, Duchess, but, as they say, better late than never,” answered the Count.
“In this case, this saying may not apply,” sighed the Duchess. “I would say that in this case, late is the same as never.”
“You won’t want to communicate with me just because I showed up a few hours later than promised?” - the count was surprised.
“If you had come on time, you could have saved four people from certain death,” the duchess sighed. “Moreover, it seems that I still treat one of them too leniently, while the other of them is extremely attentive to me and I, perhaps, would be glad if you managed to save him.”
“It seems to me that I could have guessed who these people were if, unfortunately, I had not known that three of these four were already, alas, dead,” Rochefort replied.
“No, Count,” the Duchess objected. “Your guess is absolutely correct, you apparently thought about the Chevalier d’Herblay and the Comte de La F;re, as well as their friends Captain d’Artagnan and Baron du Valon.” And you hit the nail on the head, since I had these four nobles in mind.
“Didn’t three of the named persons die?” - Rochefort perked up.
“Now, alas, perhaps all four died, but only today,” the duchess sighed.
- I don’t understand anything, please explain clearly, I beg you! - answered the count.
“Count, it’s a long time to explain,” said the duchess impatiently. - Know that all three whom you thought were dead were alive, and all four were heading to the Louvre to receive the King. But today a vile assassination attempt was probably being prepared on them, because there is someone influential who would not want them to get to the Louvre.
- And you wanted me to save them? - asked Rochefort.
“I wanted you to at least warn them, they would save themselves,” answered the duchess. “These people are not the kind that need defenders.” Just timely information is what could save them.
“You are right, duchess, but in this case one should not assume that they necessarily died, knowing what kind of people they are and how much they can stand up for themselves,” answered the count. - But how could they incur the wrath of some influential person?
“More about that later, Count,” answered the Duchess. - This is not my secret.
“Well, I understand,” Rochefort agreed. “Today I also learned some secret, which I didn’t have the intelligence to solve, but I can’t share it even with you, because I’m bound by a word.”
“Count, perhaps someday we will have the opportunity to reflect on our secrets, but now I must rush to the King to tell him that I could not warn these four nobles about the danger that threatened them,” said the Duchess.
“I won’t detain you, duchess,” Rochefort replied and, taking his leave, left her chambers.

Chapter XLIV. Meeting in two years

“Father, I will leave you,” Francois said to the captain when the friends saw the Louvre in the distance.
“Yes, my son, go to the barracks,” answered d’Artagnan and heartily hugged his son.
Soon Athos, Porthos, Aramis and d'Artagnan drove up to the Louvre.
Minister Colbert personally met them at the entrance.
- Gentlemen, I was waiting for you! - he said. - His Majesty invites you to his place.
“Hello, Monsieur Colbert,” said d’Artagnan coldly. - Were you waiting for us? But somehow, in the bustle, we forgot to warn you about our arrival.
“But I could not help but know about your arrival because of my position,” the minister replied. — You checked in at customs in Le Havre.
“We are glad to accept the King’s invitation,” said Athos.
— I hope we are not late for lunch? - Porthos grinned.
“In any case, we have something to talk about with His Majesty,” added Aramis.
“I’m so glad that the rumors about your death turned out to be false, Monsieur d’Artagnan!” Colbert said. - After all, I was so upset, considering you dead!
“Your disappointment is quite understandable, Monsieur Minister,” answered d’Artagnan. “After all, you had to entrust the command of my company of musketeers to your brother, Monsieur Colbert-Maulevrier!” If I had not been wounded almost mortally, so that my position became vacant, your brother would not have been the commander of the black musketeers.
- What kind of black musketeers are they? - Porthos asked while Colbert put a sour smile on his face.
“The name is given by the color of the horses,” answered Aramis. — All the musketeers of this company have black horses.
— Are there any other musketeers, with horses of a different color? - Porthos asked, grinning.
“There are also gray musketeers,” Athos explained.
“His Majesty took command of the company of gray musketeers personally, which proves how important this post is,” explained d’Artagnan.
- I like that! - exclaimed Porthos. “If I hadn’t been Baron du Valon, I would have joined the company of gray musketeers.”
“There are barons, marquises, and counts in this company,” Athos smiled.
“It only means that in such a crowd of marquises and counts, it is difficult for a simple baron to distinguish himself to become a duke and peer,” answered Porthos.
“I knew one gentleman who acquired a pedigree, from which it followed that he could be called Your Highness, however, this seemed not enough to him, and he ordered the servants to call him “Your Royal Highness,” for which he was sentenced to a fine of one hundred thousand pistoles , and he got off easy,” d’Artagnan grinned. - However, talk aside, we are already at the King’s door.
The secretary reported to Louis about the arrival of the nobles he was expecting, after which he bowed and invited them into the office.
Colbert delicately led his friends to the sword rack. Porthos looked anxiously at the counter and made a faint hint of a gesture indicating an intention to remove the sword, after which he looked into the face of Athos. Athos nodded, took off his sword and carefully placed it on the counter, Porthos did the same. Aramis looked into the eyes of d'Artagnan, who patted him on the shoulder, adjusted Aramis's sword so that it took on a more formal position and turned his back to the counter, also adjusted his sword, after which he decisively stepped towards the doors of the office. On the threshold of the office, he took off his hat, took it in his hands and put his hand on the door handle; his friends also took off their hats and approached the doors to the office.
Colbert looked in annoyance at the stand, where there were only two swords, and not four, and walked up to the doors, intending to enter after the musketeers.
- Mister Minister! - said d'Artagnan. “We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for escorting us to His Majesty’s office.” During my two years of absence, I almost forgot the way to this door and, perhaps, would have gotten lost if not for your help. Thank you again!
After that, d'Artagnan decisively opened the doors, letting his comrades go forward, went in himself and closed the doors right in front of Colbert's nose, after which he turned to face the King and gave him the lowest curtsy.
- Your Majesty! - said d'Artagnan solemnly. “We are happy to show you our loyal respects.” I also ask you to forgive me for not having the honor of dying from a Dutch cannonball near Maastricht! Also, on behalf of Monsieur du Valon, I ask you to forgive him for not being crushed by a huge stone in the Lokmaria cave! And on behalf of the Comte de La Fere I offer my deepest apologies for the fact that he was not poisoned in the fortress in Candia, and I ask you to believe that it was not his fault. There was no malice or insidious betrayal in the fact that we all turned out to be alive by a lucky chance; it all happened by pure chance. This won't happen again! Next time under similar circumstances, I promise you to die for real, as befits a loyal soldier of Your Majesty.
“Quiet your fountain, captain, and let me get in a word,” the King answered with a laugh. “You did well to stay alive, but I’m not happy that you missed someone.”
“That’s true, Your Majesty,” Athos answered for everyone. “We are guilty, and we are here to correct our mistake or to suffer a well-deserved punishment for it if we fail.
- We will find him! - Porthos objected.
“Yes, Your Majesty, we will find him and nothing will threaten you,” Aramis answered, squeezing the ring on his right hand.
“I see that it’s not only Monsieur d’Artagnan who is talkative in the presence of his King,” Louis chuckled. “I attribute this to the fact that you lived for two years in the wilderness, in Scotland, and learned how to behave at the court of the most brilliant kingdom in Europe.”
“That’s right, Your Majesty, we have turned into louts,” d’Artagnan answered for everyone and bowed low, showing that he was ready to listen.
His three friends also bowed, after which their faces took on an expression of respectful attention.
“Gentlemen, I intended to talk to you about something,” said Louis, “But I changed my mind.”
At these words, the King put his finger to his lips and looked around his office with an expressive look.
“You have come a long way, and I believe you are hungry,” continued the King. “At the same time, it’s just lunch time.” Monsieur de Saint-Aignan is busy with preparations for tomorrow's hunt, and the rest of my usual companions have also disappeared somewhere. Won't you keep me company?
The friends bowed to the King, expressing gratitude and agreement. Louis rang the bell.
“Eugene,” he said to the secretary who came in. “Tell me to set a table for five in the very center of the clearing of my summer garden.” And warn that the tablecloth on the table is exactly the size of the table. If it hangs over the edges more than an inch, the butler will be punished.
The secretary bowed and left.
“We have a few minutes, gentlemen,” said Louis. - Let me invite you to look at some trinkets in the next room.
The king stood up and with his own hand opened the doors to the room adjacent to the study, which even d'Artagnan had never been to. They entered a small but magnificent hall, decorated like a weapons room. In the center of the hall there was a small table on which four swords lay.
“Comte de La F;re,” said the King. “I remember that two and a half years ago you broke your sword before my eyes.”
“I had reasons for this, Your Majesty,” Athos replied.
“I believe that these reasons have been eliminated,” continued the King. “I would like to present you with this sword and ask you to remember by whom and under what circumstances it was presented to you.”
With these words, the King took one of the swords and handed it to Athos. The hilt of the sword was decorated with diamonds, and on the guard was written: “To the Comte de La F;re, Knight of the Order of the Garter and Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece from Louis XIV .”
Athos reverently took the sword, kissed its blade and tucked it into his belt, as he unfastened his sword along with its scabbard.
- Baron du Valon de Pierrefonds de Brassier! - continued the King. “I see you left your sword in my waiting room.” Take this one instead.
The king took the next sword, also decorated with diamonds, on the guard of which was the inscription “To Baron du Valon de Pierrefonds de Brassier from Louis XIV .”
The emotional giant fell to his knees in front of the King, wiping a tear from his right cheek.
- Your Majesty! - he said. “I was so upset that I unwittingly offended you!” Please forgive me for everything!
With these words, he accepted the sword, kissed it and also tucked it into his belt.
- Mister Duke! - Louis turned to Aramis. “You came here with weapons that were made in Spain.” Despite my marriage to a Spanish princess, I was unable to make Spain our faithful ally. However, we appreciate your contribution to strengthening cooperation with Spain, although not as effective as we would like, but quite significant, as a result of which Spain remained neutral for a long time, contrary to the own aspirations of the King of Spain, and also continues some trade relations now with us. However, it is inappropriate for you, a subject of France, to carry a Spanish sword with you.
With these words, he handed Aramis a sword, equally elegantly decorated with diamonds, on the guard of which was written "To the Duke of Alameda, the Chevalier d'Herblay from Louis XIV with full pardon."
- Thank Your Majesty! - said Aramis, who drew attention to the postscript to the dedicatory inscription and kissed the sword in this place. “I ask you to take the Spanish sword away from me as soon as possible, since I believe I will never need it again.”
The king nodded his head, took his sword from Aramis's hands and put it on the table, where before that lay the swords that he had already distributed.
“Monsieur d’Artagnan, it’s your turn,” said Louis. - Before presenting you with this sword, I ask you to give me your sword for my weapons museum. This sword will be the jewel of my collection, it will adorn it as the sword of one of the best warriors, the best swordsman of France, the best servant of my mother Queen Anne and my, I hope, most devoted captain of the musketeers.
- She is yours, Your Majesty! - answered d'Artagnan, unfastening the sword and handing it to the King.
Louis respectfully accepted d'Artagnan's sword and placed it next to Aramis' sword.
“Let me present you with this noble weapon with gratitude for your forty years of service to the royal house of France!” - the King said solemnly.
- Thank you, Your Majesty! - answered d'Artagnan. - Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
D'Artagnan's sword was the same as the other swords and contained a similar inscription.
“This is the best gift I have ever had the honor of receiving and the best reward for my service, Your Majesty!”
“You have a short memory, Monsieur d’Artagnan,” objected the King. - You forgot one more thing.
With these words, the King took a small oblong box from a nearby table.
“You left this near Maastricht, Monsieur d’Artagnan,” said the King. - This is an unforgivable oversight, such things should not be thrown around!
With these words, the King handed d'Artagnan a box containing the baton of the Marshal of France.
- Your Majesty! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “A cannonball fired from a Dutch cannon prevented me from holding this thing in my hands.” But now that I have received it from your hands, it will only be taken away from me along with my life!
“Gentlemen, I have finished with the tasks that I had to do before dinner, and now, I believe, the table is set,” answered the King with a benevolent nod.
With these words he left the armory, and his friends followed him. Indeed, the King, due to his status, could not say: “Please come to the table.” Having once invited him to dine with him, he had already shown his guests a high honor. Etiquette did not allow him to humiliate himself by repeating the invitation, which, of course, all the nobles were aware of.
Soon the King and his four guests were sitting at a table in the middle of the lawn, where no one could overhear their conversation.
The King's secretary Eugene followed Louis, leaving the reception room at the mercy of Colbert for some time. When Eugene disappeared behind the doors, Colbert opened the doors of the office, from which Pr;val emerged with an expression of complete helplessness.
- Well, what did the cat whisper this time? Colbert asked.
“Nothing significant,” answered Pr;val. “The king only gave each one a sword and gave d’Artagnan something in addition to what he lost at Maastricht.”
- Nothing significant?! Colbert exclaimed. - What a blockhead... this cat of yours! Thank you Preval, your information is very useful. Payment is made to the secretary as usual.
After these words, Colbert went to his room with an absent-minded look.

Chapter XLV. Dinner with the King

Louis ordered to cover the table with a small tablecloth so that no one would try to hide under the table. The table stood in the center of a large clearing on a raised platform; Louis had sent away the serving lackeys, so no one could hear what the King and his four guests were discussing.
“So, gentlemen, you broke your promise and my order, you took some street tramp to the Bastille, and my brother Philip was taken by you to Scotland,” said the King. “I gave you swords as a sign that I do not blame you for this offense, or rather, I have forgiven it and invite you to serve me.” When you accepted the swords, you understood this, of course.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Athos answered for everyone.
“Having every reason to assume that you did not exclude in the future again the illegal replacement of me with my brother, I will not develop this idea further, so as not to quarrel between us,” continued the King.
“We didn’t plan this, but we didn’t rule it out, Your Majesty,” answered d’Artagnan.
“Thank you for your frankness,” Louis said with a grin. “If you denied it, I still wouldn’t believe it.”
“The main consideration for our actions was that we do not dare commit violence against your father’s son, Your Majesty,” said d’Artagnan. - You could see this earlier.
“Yes, I knew that, and I should have predicted exactly this decision of yours,” Louis agreed. “We won’t discuss what happened because this matter is a thing of the past.” Let's start with how and for what reasons Philip went to France, and without you.
“He was kidnapped from us,” Aramis answered. “At the same time, innocent people suffered.” I lost my true friend.
- Kidnapped from you? - the King was surprised. - How many were there?
“There weren’t many of them, but we left for a while, trusting two hired Scots and three of our friends,” answered d’Artagnan. — More precisely, one friend and two women. These two Scots seemed quite honest, and for two years they served us faithfully. But they were seduced by Dutch pirates and went over to their side.
— Dutch pirates? - the King was surprised. - How did these people know about Philip?
“They didn’t know everything,” said d’Artagnan. “They only knew that among us there was a man very similar to the King of France or his brother. Their leader described the situation in these terms when we took him prisoner.
— Captured? — the King perked up. - Where is he now? And where are the rest of the pirates?
“You can be completely calm, Your Majesty,” Aramis intervened in the conversation. - All the pirates who were privy to the secret drowned along with the ship, which was hit by Baron du Valon from a cannon; two Scottish traitors were also killed earlier.
- Baron, you are absolutely a magnificent warrior! - exclaimed the King. - It seems you wanted to become a duke?
“It can wait, Your Majesty,” said the flattered Porthos calmly, for whom such a real opportunity to finally become a duke was itself a reward. However, he has already lost interest in this former dream of his.
“Your dream will definitely come true, you just have to stop wishing for it,” thought d’Artagnan. “This applies to both the Duchy of Porthos and my marshalship!”
-What happened to the pirate captain? - Louis continued his questions.
“Their leader was killed by the same Baron du Valon in a duel,” said Aramis.
“We disagreed about the euphony of the Dutch language,” Porthos clarified, after which he popped another piece of suckling pig with horseradish into his mouth and washed it down with a good cup of Burgundy.
“We have decided that the edict on duels, ratified by Your Majesty, does not apply to Edinburgh,” d’Artagnan added his comment.
“There are cases when violation of the edict is allowed even outside of Edinburgh,” Louis agreed. “I will not blame you for this duel, Mister Baron, since you fought a pirate, and a Dutch one at that.” Who gave this information to the pirates?
“Two envoys from France, Your Majesty, whose ship the pirates captured,” said d’Artagnan. “I think I can guess who sent them, although, God forbid, I don’t know how this man knew about this secret.”
“I know this for sure, Colbert sent them, and I know what exactly he knows,” said Louis. “He knows very little.” But it is enough to initiate these unrest due to one’s carelessness and excessive curiosity. What's with these two?
“Let’s go feed the fish,” answered Aramis. “But this was without our intervention; the pirates themselves decided to deal with them as soon as they learned their secret.
“Well, the secret has hardly spread,” the King concluded.
“Everyone who is initiated into it, except us, is dead,” said d’Artagnan.
“Alas, not all,” Louis objected. “Besides you, me and Philip himself, and even if you don’t count Fouquet, who is in the Bastille, and the Duchess de Chevreuse, who does not bother me, there are several more people.”
“The Duchess should not be discounted,” Aramis delicately corrected the King. “If it benefits her, she will share this secret with anyone.”
“You are right, Duke, but I believe that it will not be beneficial for her,” said Louis. - However, you should keep an eye on her. But there is one more person who poses the greatest danger.
- Colbert? - asked d'Artagnan.
“I’ll take on Colbert,” Louis waved him off. - I'm talking about Charles IV of Lorraine.
- How did he find out about Philip? - asked Athos.
- Where exactly did he see him? - asked Aramis.
“This needs to be clarified,” said the King. “And his plans must be thwarted.” This will be your new service, gentlemen.
“Continue to dinner, gentlemen, you are out of the way,” answered the King. - Sit down, sit down. But I’m already full, and I still have other things to do.
“Can I involve one or two guardsmen in this matter?” - asked d'Artagnan.
- What conversation? - answered the King. - After all, you are a marshal! Just act delicately and do not expand the circle of those initiated into the secret.
After that, Louis threw the napkin, which had been lying on his lap until then, onto the table, and resolutely stood up from the table. The four friends also immediately stood up.
“So I consider you in the service from this moment,” the King summed up the conversation.
The four former musketeers bowed to the King and, after he left, sat down at the table again. However, the dinner was continued mainly by Porthos alone, except for a few truffles, destroyed by d'Artagnan with an air of deep thoughtfulness. After Porthos had also had his fill, the friends stood up from the table.
- We had a good meal! - said Porthos, looking around at the remaining magnificent dishes that he could no longer finish. - We have a wonderful King! Great table, great wine! I'm happy! And, most importantly, no seafood!
“I believe Philip is in Monaco, and Charles saw him there,” said Aramis. “But at present Charles must be in Lorraine, since he must command the troops in his struggle against France.”
“That means we must separate,” said d'Artagnan. - Someone should go to Monaco, and someone to Lorraine. Shall we cast lots?
“We will not cast lots,” answered Athos. “You are the best person to deal with the problems in Monaco, d’Artagnan, and if you need an assistant, take Francois with you.” And the three of us will go to Lorraine.
“This is a good decision,” Aramis agreed.
- So we're breaking up again? - said d'Artagnan. - Remember, when we are not together, luck turns away from us.
“We are not parting forever and not forever,” answered Athos. “And we are doing a common cause, which means that we are still one for all.”
- And all for one! - echoed d'Artagnan, Porthos and Aramis.

Chapter XLVI. General and King

Athos, Porthos and Aramis stopped at Planchet and agreed to go to Lorraine the next morning. Everyone had their own plans for the evening. Aramis told his friends that he intended to visit someone. Athos responded by saying that he had similar plans. Porthos, without having any specific plans, nevertheless stated that he also intended to see someone.
We will not hide from our readers that Porthos ended up seeing a plump boar with prunes, truffles, apples and horseradish, which was prepared for him in Planchet’s kitchen and which he and Planchet finished with with the support of a couple of bottles of Muscat de Frontignan .
Aramis went to the King, confident that the meeting would take place despite the fact that he had not agreed on it. Indeed, after the King was informed of Aramis’s arrival, Louis replied that he would receive him in ten minutes.
Nine and a half minutes later the bell rang, and the secretary who had visited the King came out and announced that His Majesty was inviting the guest to take a walk in the summer garden.
Aramis respectfully followed Louis into the garden, where they sat on a bench away from any tall vegetation. Taught by the experience of eavesdropping on the conversation of Mademoiselle de La Valli;re, Louis avoided important conversations in nature near bushes and trees, preferring open spaces where no spy or just a curious idle courtier could resolutely hide.
“Dear Duke, I am very sorry that you no longer represent the Spanish court at my court,” said the King.
“Your Majesty, I represent something more,” Aramis replied. - Do you know who Giovanni Paolo Oliva is?
 “As far as I know, this is a general of the Jesuit Order,” replied Louis.
“Your information is not accurate, Your Majesty,” Aramis replied. “Father Oliva is only my confidant, and I am the general.” For greater freedom of action, I asked him to represent me in all matters in which I am not personally interested, but those matters in which I am personally interested are decided only by myself, without any representatives or deputies. Thus, allow me to introduce myself in my new capacity: General of the Jesuit Order, elected after the previous head of the Order passed on to a better world, and I am not talking about the venerable Holy Father, known as Goswin Nickel, but about an almost unknown Franciscan, who was, in fact, my predecessor. His name speaks volumes about who Goswin Nickel really was. Nickel means "Nobody". The true head of the Jesuit Order, the man who made decisions and ruled everyone, is known to an extremely small number of initiates. This is how I am in this rank today. The General of the Order always knows some signs and words, owns a certain code, and also, for representation, has this ring, symbolizing his power.
With these words, Aramis showed Louis his ring, received from the Franciscan.
“Even if someone takes this ring from me by force, it will not give him anything without the appropriate knowledge, however, the presence of the ring simplifies the procedure for me to present myself to those who are not sufficiently privy to the secrets of the Order, but from whom I require immediate and complete obedience.
- Complete obedience? - the King was surprised.
“Complete, Your Majesty,” confirmed Aramis. - Let me quote you from memory some selected paragraphs of the Order's charter. “Upon his election, the General of the Order receives full power over the Society and over all its members, no matter where they are and no matter what rank and position they hold. His power should extend to the point that he can, if he finds it necessary for the glory of God, recall and reassign even those members who are sent on assignment from the Pope himself.”
- I did not know it! - exclaimed the King.
“Let me continue,” said Aramis. - “The General or his delegates must have the power to exempt all members of the Society from all sins committed before and after joining the Order from all spiritual and secular punishments, even from excommunication.”
“If everything you say is true, Duke, then your power is quite great in Europe!” — the King admired, still retaining doubt.
“No ifs, Your Majesty,” Aramis replied. — I am only selectively quoting to you the bull of Pope Paul III , which was ratified by all subsequent Popes. Let's continue. “Not a single member of the Order should confess to anyone except the general and those authorized by him; especially, under no circumstances should you confess to priests and monks of other orders. Likewise, no one who has once entered the Order, no matter what degree he holds in it, neither a professional, nor a coadjutor, nor a simple student, can leave the Order or move to another Order other than the Cartesian one without the permission of the general. Anyone who violates this prohibition can be personally or through authorized representatives persecuted as an apostate, captured and imprisoned, and secular authorities are obliged to assist him in this. All members of the Order, as well as its property, income and possessions, are not subject to the jurisdiction, supervision and judgment of bishops and archbishops and are under the special protection of the papal throne.”
“I didn’t know about such privileges of your Order!” - exclaimed Louis.
“I told you only some fragments of this bull. I must also say that there has not yet been a case of anyone moving from our Order to the Carthusian. Here's another thing. “Neither bishops nor prelates in general can excommunicate Jesuits or even laymen for devotion to the Society, and if they did this, their excommunication should be considered invalid.”
“With such power, you could easily reconcile England with the Vatican!” - exclaimed the King. - Or, on the contrary, create a quarrel!
“And not only England,” Aramis agreed. - Spain and even Portugal can change their attitude towards the Pope as a result of certain influences, both for the better and for the worse. You need me, Your Majesty, and, frankly, I count on your help. If we come to an agreement, this will be the best guarantee that Philip will never take your place.
- What else? - Louis asked sharply. -You dare threaten me?
“Not in the least, because I accepted your gift,” Aramis answered softly. “I took the sword you presented to me.” This means that I have agreed to return to the service of the King of France. But I was obliged to warn you, Your Majesty, that my supreme superior is nominally the Pope, until the Order decides that he should be replaced. In fact, my highest superior is the Council of the Order, despite the fact that for each member of our Order the highest superior is myself. Thus, only the Lord and my personal ideas about what is useful for the Order are above me.
- How even?! - exclaimed the King.
“Exactly so, Your Majesty, and this should not upset you,” answered Aramis. - Formally, I obey the Pope only to a very small extent, and not even the Pope himself, but his official bulls. But a bull we don’t like can be repealed. If the current Pope does not abolish it, then his successor will abolish it. Is it so important to you that the current Pope remains on the sacred throne as long as possible?
- I do not understand! - Louis answered.
- Your Majesty, think about who he is? - asked Aramis. “You yourself were against his election and at one time you instructed all the cardinals of France accordingly so that they would vote against him, isn’t that right?”
— The voting results are kept secret! - Louis objected.
“There are secrets that remain secrets for everyone except the general of the Jesuit Order,” Aramis objected. - You agreed with his election only after he made some promises, which he then did not fulfill. In response to Your Majesty's support for this man through the French clergy, Pope Innocent XI refused to confirm the bishops you had appointed. As a result, thirty-five of our dioceses found themselves without bishops! It's time for you to act more forcefully against him. It's time for us to act together, Your Majesty. You are on the line of secular power, I am on the line of the Order.
Louis looked at Aramis carefully.
“It seems to me that either not everything you said is true, or I’m sleeping and having an extremely unusual dream,” he finally said.
“This is not a dream, but reality, Your Majesty, and I told you the pure truth,” Aramis objected. “Just take it for granted that one person whom you considered your subject turned out to be so influential that he can argue with the Pope himself, whom you are forced to obey in some matters.” France needs greater independence from the Vatican, or it needs the person who occupies the Holy See to be more of a friend of France than its current holder. Let's combine our efforts. In this case, I am extremely interested in helping you in everything.
— Maybe the current Pope also has a twin brother, and you intend to replace him if necessary? - Louis asked with a laugh, internally shuddering at the blasphemous question he asked.
“Everything is much simpler, Your Majesty,” Aramis answered. “Such a complex scheme is impossible in this case, but it is not necessary, since I do not inherit the papal throne by right of birth.” And where elections take place, it is always possible to influence each elector and achieve the desired result. You just need to have enough leverage to influence the cardinals. I have them, Your Majesty. Some of the leverage is in your hands, as you yourself know. This means that our union will be stronger than me alone without an ally, or, God forbid, with an enemy in your person. If you and I had discussed this topic two and a half years ago, perhaps Philip would have remained in the place where he was placed by Cardinal Richelieu, and you would never have learned about the secret that you had to learn about so unpleasantly way for you.
“You should have talked to me about this, Duke,” exclaimed Louis. - Why didn’t you do this?
“Because, firstly, I was not a duke, but only a bishop, although I was already a general of the Order,” answered Aramis. - For such an audience tet - a - tet I would have to open up to people to whom I shouldn’t open up. Secondly, the path I chose seemed more reliable to me.
- What makes you think that this path is now less reliable? - asked Louis.
“My friend, Monsieur d'Artagnan,” answered Aramis. “For six months, with just a couple of important pieces of advice and a couple of books thrown in, he prepared Philip for the role that he then allowed him to play. The Philip who ascended your throne could no longer become my puppet; he intended to become an independent and independent King of France. If you choose between independent and independent Kings, I choose you, Your Majesty.
“This calms me down somewhat, but I still don’t dare to completely trust you and believe all the fantastic things that I heard from you,” said the King. “I want you to be able to understand me and not take my words personally.” In such matters the King of France should not be overly gullible.
“I can show you a document that will remove any doubts,” Aramis said coldly. - Of course, I will ask you to return this document to me.
After that, Aramis took out a leather envelope from his pocket, from which he extracted a parchment document with an intricate seal.
Louis examined the parchment carefully and returned it to Aramis with respect.
“Monsieur Duke, I recognize you as a general of the Jesuit Order and am grateful to you for the offer you have made,” he said. “I hope that our union will contribute to the strengthening of France and the spread of true Catholicism in Europe.”
“We have agreed, Your Majesty, consider that our alliance is concluded and sealed with mutual promises,” Aramis answered solemnly. — The most important alliances are not written down on paper, but are concluded orally. I ask you, in the presence of strangers, to maintain the distance between us that should exist if I were not who I am.
Louis nodded, after which Aramis bowed and left the King, who motioned for the servants standing at a respectful distance to come and bring him refreshments.

Chapter XLVII. Count and Duchess

Meanwhile, Athos visited the Countess de Chevreuse. Despite the fact that, while living in the Louvre, the duchess did not lock the doors and did not keep servants or footmen, except for two maids, Athos respectfully knocked.
- Come in, whoever you are! - the duchess responded.
“It’s me, Count de La F;re, Duchess,” answered Athos, entering the luxurious reception hall of the Duchess.
“And I’m wondering who it could be!” - exclaimed the Duchess. “I think it’s too late for a petitioner, too early for a lover, and suddenly I remember that I can no longer have either petitioners or lovers, at my age!”
“Duchess, I am neither one nor the other,” Athos smiled.
- And in vain, Count! - answered the duchess. “In my opinion, you would be perfect for both of these roles if you came to me, however, my doors are always open for you, so you came on time, and I will repeat this whenever you come to visit me.”
“I’m very flattered, duchess,” the count replied with a bow. — I am also very glad to visit you.
- Amazing! - answered the Duchess with a charming smile. - What business brought you to me?
- Case? - Athos asked in surprise. “Do I look like a man who comes to a brilliant woman like you with some business?” It would offend you and cast a shadow on me. The only thing, as you say, that I could come to you with is to pay my respects, inquire about my health and have the pleasure of seeing you again.
“You are either an extremely skillful flatterer, Count, or an amazingly sincere person,” noted the Duchess. - Reason tells me the first, but my feelings command me to believe in the second.
“Trust your feelings, duchess, and you will never be deceived,” answered the count. - If, as luck would have it, someday you should be convinced that you should not have trusted your feelings, you will have nothing to blame yourself for. If you stop trusting your feelings, and then find out that you were wrong in this decision, you will have no excuse to yourself.
“An interesting philosophy,” the duchess noted. “You should meet La Rochefoucauld and exchange your philosophical views, because one philosopher is good, but two philosophers are excellent.”
“I’m afraid I’m not in danger of meeting La Rochefoucauld,” Athos answered with a smile. “Such a chance meeting is more likely to happen to our friend d’Herblay than to me.”
- Oh, you pricked me, Count! - the duchess laughed and lightly slapped him on the hand with her fan. “Are you implying that Aramis and La Rochefoucauld are visiting the same lady?”
“I don’t know anything about this,” Athos lied carelessly.
- Well, of course! - the duchess objected. “After all, everyone knows that our mischievous Aramis visits the Duchess de Longueville, which is also the sin of La Rochefoucauld.” If they don’t meet in the Duchess’s reception room, who knows? So, if they do not meet there, then each of them spent so much time in her boudoir that the whole world was divided in opinion about who gave birth to the charming Charles-Paris. Everyone except the duchess's husband agrees that his father is not the duchess's legal husband, Henry II de Longueville, but the world is divided into two camps, some claim that his father is Fran;ois VI de La Rochefoucauld, Prince de Marcillac, others that Bishop of Van, Duke d'Alameda, Chevalier d'Herblay. As for Anna Genevieve de Bourbon-Cond; de Longueville herself, I believe that she herself does not know this, or prefers to assure all three of their paternity, including her own husband.
“Beautiful children are born not only as a result of the parties fulfilling their marital duty in marriage, for which I thank fate,” answered Athos. “However, say whatever you want, duchess, because I came to admire you and listen to your voice.”
“And a minute before that you said that you came only to pay respects!” - the duchess laughed.
“I came to see you, and the difference in terminology is such a small thing that I hope you will forgive me,” Athos justified himself.
“So, you, Count, have absolutely nothing to do with me?” - asked the duchess.
“Definitely none, except those I mentioned,” answered Athos.
- Then what explains your visit right now, neither earlier nor later? - asked the duchess, still doubting the veracity of Athos.
“Only because I came to Paris for one day and one night, and tomorrow at dawn I am leaving it, I don’t know for how long,” answered the count. - It may well be that forever.
“How sad,” sighed the duchess. - Does it mean we will never see each other again?
“Only the Lord knows that,” answered Athos.
- So I’m not included in your life plans? - the duchess asked bluntly.
“A man of my age and with my habits, duchess, does not suit any matrimonial plans, and any other plans for such a brilliant woman as you would be reckless,” answered Athos.
“Ah, Count, if all the people on earth were as decent as you, the population of the earth would soon end,” sighed the duchess.
“Fortunately, there are people of a completely different kind who will not let this happen,” Athos picked up the joke. - At least not in France, where there are so many incentives for procreation.
— Would you like some marzipan cookies? - asked the duchess with some embarrassment.
“A treat from your hands is always welcome for me, even if you sprinkled poison on it before my eyes,” answered the count.
- Oh, don't be afraid, Count! I have never been a poisoner, although on my life’s path I sometimes met people who should have been poisoned. “But I am not going to acquire this vice, which does not bring any joy,” exclaimed the Duchess. “And I prefer only those vices that bring pleasure, immediately or later.” However, it is likely that satisfied revenge can serve as a source of joy. But don’t be afraid, I repeat, Count, not you! You have given me great pleasure twice. And if I don’t say anything about the first time, then the second time is worth remembering forever. Our son, the Count, is magnificent, and his brilliant upbringing is entirely your fault.
“Know, duchess, that today he has become captain of the ship St. David and bears the name Captain Baths in the English manner,” answered Athos. — By the way, he intends to get married.
- What good news! - exclaimed the Duchess. - Give him my maternal blessing! I will prepare my wedding gift for him, and it is your responsibility to tell me the address to which I can send it.
“I thank you on his behalf, duchess,” Athos said with a smile.
“And you could tell me that you came just like that, without any special business, when you had such wonderful news for me?” - said the duchess with ostentatious capriciousness and this time touched Athos’s hand not with a fan, but with her hand. - Count, remember that, having such news, you are simply obliged to inform me of it at the first opportunity.
“That was the first opportunity,” answered Athos.
“Okay, I believe you,” agreed the duchess. “I’ll bring cookies now, and you, Count, for now think about whether you have any other news for me, or perhaps you would like to know some news from me?”
When the duchess returned with the cookies, the count respectfully took the treat from the saucer and looked into the duchess's face with some tenderness.
“You don’t treat all visitors,” he said. “I am especially flattered that you brought it yourself, without sending for it.”
“Not all of them, Count,” agreed the Duchess. “I refused this to one impudent person even though he asked for it.”
“That’s good to hear,” said Athos. “However, I’m not pleased to know that impudent people are visiting you.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that, he won’t come to me again,” answered the duchess. “The Duchess de Chevreuse knows how to brush off insolent people, so Charles of Lorraine will never come to see me again.”
- Charles of Lorraine? - asked Athos. - How strange! This doesn't seem like a coincidence.
“Yes, Count, Charles of Lorraine,” said the Duchess. — Strange coincidences rarely happen in life , so if you are also interested in Charles of Lorraine, it is probably in connection with the same matter for which he came to me.
—What business did he come to you for? - asked Athos.
“Count, you make me think that your visit was not an ordinary visit and that you still came to me for information,” said the duchess, feigning offense.
“To prove to you that you are wrong, I will now finish this magnificent cookie, kiss your hand and take my leave,” answered Athos.
“Don’t do that,” the Duchess objected. “I believe you that your coming was not intended to learn something important from me.” And in order for you to believe that I am your friend, I will tell you everything I know about this matter, without demanding anything from you in return, not even a promise to keep this secret. Use the knowledge you receive from me as you see fit.
“I don’t want to know anything except that your attitude towards me has not changed because of my interest in the arrival of Charles of Lorraine,” Athos objected.
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” the duchess said firmly. “It’s important that I intend to tell you everything I know, so please listen to me.”
“I’m listening to you,” said the count.
“I believe you know that our King Louis XIV has a twin brother,” said the Duchess, causing Athos to shudder. “I am aware that you know this secret, since it was you and three of your friends who lived with him for the last two years in Scotland in the town of Monkville.”
Athos looked at the duchess in surprise.
“Oh, don’t be surprised, Count, I know more significant secrets, but let’s continue,” the Duchess grinned. —Louis-Philippe, this is how this brother of the King was christened, although no one knows about it, not even himself, believing that his name is simply Philippe. Recently the King, who believed that Louis Philippe was in the Bastille, decided to find out more about his fate, for which purpose he first sent the Duke d'Epernon to meet the prisoner known as Marciali, and then me to meet the prisoner recorded under named after Eustache Doge. Our King knows that I am privy to the secret and trusts me. Somehow, M. Colbert, with the help of his spies, learned about these two trips. Also, apparently, with the help of spies directly in the Louvre, I believe it was the dwarf Pr;val, Colbert learned about the whereabouts of Louis Philippe, without knowing for sure who he was and what his secret was. Therefore, Colbert decided, with the help of his envoys, to find out what kind of secret was hidden in Monkville, in Scotland. These envoys, apparently, were outbid or intimidated by someone, but one way or another this led to the kidnapping of Philip.
“You are amazingly knowledgeable, Duchess!” - Athos exclaimed.
“That’s not all, Count,” answered the Duchess de Chevreuse. “Louis-Philippe managed to escape from his kidnappers, as far as I can tell, and I was involved in this.” I informed another person about his whereabouts, about whom I know for sure that he was not indifferent. This man helped Louis Philippe escape. Do you want to know this man's name, Count?
“Yes, duchess,” said Athos.
“Princess of Monaco, Catherine-Charlotte,” the Duchess announced solemnly. “She brought him to her place in Monaco and settled him somewhere, apparently, close to her. I suppose that Charles of Lorraine saw him and noticed his extraordinary resemblance to the King. Realizing that it could not be Louis XIV , he plotted to use this man to his advantage. Of course, he wants to get Lorraine back, and if possible, chop off another piece of other lands. This is all clear.
- So, he came to you for help? - asked Athos.
“He wanted to know who Philip was,” the duchess waved him off. “I didn’t tell him anything, but from his questions I guessed what was happening.
- How wrong Aramis was! - Athos exclaimed.
- What exactly was our dear d’Herblay mistaken about? - asked the duchess.
“He said that the threads of history are in his hands, but I see that some of these threads are in completely different hands, in yours, duchess,” said Athos.
“Just don’t even think about saying that this makes you like my hands less,” the duchess said with coquetry.
“I won’t say anything, I’ll just kiss your hands,” said Athos and solemnly carried out his threat.
- Oh, Count, why don’t we throw all this politics out of our heads and devote our time to simple human joys? - said the duchess, trembling.
“If the Lord helps us to rid France of civil war, which could be unleashed as a result of the fact that such a solid contender for her throne as Louis Philippe emerges from the shadows, we will return to this conversation, duchess,” answered Athos.
- Do you promise me this? - asked the duchess.
“I already said this once, therefore, I promised,” answered Athos. “Now allow me to deviate and leave you, Duchess.”
- Are you leaving already? - the duchess asked absently.
“I would not like to compromise you, duchess,” answered Athos.
- Why? - the duchess asked in a whisper.

May our readers forgive me, I cannot continue my story, since I myself do not know whether the Count de La F;re took his leave after these words, or stayed with the duchess for some more time. I can only say that Comte de La F;re showed up for breakfast at Planchet’s without being late.

Chapter XLVIII. Father and son

That same evening, d'Artagnan went to the barracks, where he again met Francois.
“Fran;ois, my son, we are going to Monaco tomorrow morning,” d’Artagnan told the young man.
“Father, I won’t have time to get my leave,” Francois objected. “Besides, now is wartime, and I may simply not get it.”
“This is not a request and you will not have a vacation,” answered d’Artagnan. — The Marshal of France is addressing you with an official order.
At the same time, the marshal’s tone was as indifferent and calm, as if he were reporting how the weather had changed. Francois looked carefully into his father’s face and saw that he was glowing with pride, which he could not hide despite all his futile efforts.
“Father, I have always been proud of you, but today an occasion has arisen that is too significant not to celebrate!”
“I think so too, Francois, but the situation is complicated by the fact that, firstly, we have an urgent order from the King, and secondly, all the friends with whom I would like to celebrate this event, with the exception of you, suddenly discovered that “They have urgent business for this evening,” answered d’Artagnan sadly. “However, they all settled at Planchet, so whatever business they have, I assume they will spend the night where they are staying.” True, I have doubts about Aramis, but I am confident in Athos and Porthos. Come too.
- May I refer to the order of the Marshal of France to obtain permission to come into your possession, father? - asked Francois. — And for how long should I seek permission for absence?
“You will simply notify your immediate superior, the Duke d'Epernon, that Marshal Charles d'Artagnan is withdrawing you for an indefinite period to perform an important state task with the sanction of His Majesty,” answered the father. - By the way, take with you another brave guardsman from those who are smarter and more skillful. Brilliant fencing and shooting skills are a must. This order applies to him. We won't need more people.
“I will be glad to serve under your command, father,” answered Francois. - Out of pure curiosity, I’ll ask why you don’t take musketeers?
“I can use the musketeers without His Majesty’s sanction, but I would not like to advertise my return too much,” answered the marshal. “Besides, having taken command of the musketeers, I won’t be able to part with them as easily as I would like.” Parting with the musketeers is more difficult for me than parting with the love of my life. However, this was the love of my life - the musketeers, brave and noble friends! Is it possible, having once joined this valiant brotherhood, to leave them? But times are changing, I’m old, it’s time for me to settle down, and maybe start writing memoirs, which, however, cannot be shown to anyone. So I confess to you, my son, I am not going to be the current Marshal of France for a long time, I plan to either die for her or finally retire. The second is preferable for me personally, although I could probably name a few people who would prefer the first in relation to me, so much do they want my death. And would you believe it, son, when I think about these people, sometimes it seems to me that they are not so wrong in their desires. However, away with the lyrics! I reminded myself of the Athos of our youth, for whom, after a fit of frankness, ostentatious fun and recklessness invariably followed. Well, being like Athos in his youth is not a bad thing. Yes, my son, as soon as I appear in the musketeers’ barracks, I swear by my sword, it will no longer be possible to get me out of there! Damn it, I remain a musketeer to the tips of my mustache, and always will be! I'd better not lead them! I don’t plan to part with you, Francois, and, besides, in you I see an indispensable assistant in our business, and since the success of our expedition is important not for me personally, but for our glorious France, I believe that our trip will help you in your future career. And besides, isn’t it happiness to serve the Fatherland, which is in danger?
“You’re right, father,” agreed Francois. - Just tell me, is the Fatherland in danger now?
“Since you and I got down to business, son, there is no danger,” d’Artagnan smiled. - After all, we will save him. In addition, in another place and by other methods, our friends Athos, Porthos, and Aramis will solve the same problem. Without this, the danger I speak of would be serious.
“By the way, I will not be able to ask the Duke d’Epernon for time off, since he is not currently in command of the royal guards,” answered Francois.
- Is that so? - The marshal was surprised. - For what reason?
“He suddenly fell ill, father,” answered Fran;ois.
“I understand,” d’Artagnan nodded. “I believe his illness is called de Planche?”
“The Duke slipped, fell and was dangerously injured,” answered Fran;ois.
“Yes, I understand, he fell on the sword of a guardsman named de Planche, if I remember his name correctly,” d’Artagnan clarified.
“We can assume that everything was exactly like that,” agreed Francois.
“Well, he’s a good guardsman, this same de Planche,” noted d’Artagnan. - By the way, maybe you can take him as your partner?
“That’s exactly what I wanted to suggest, father!” - answered Francois. “He will now need some important assignment away from the Louvre and from the Duke d'Epernon, if he recovers, in order to avoid punishment for turning so carelessly that the Duke fell right on his sword.” In the Bois de Boulogne, in the presence of two seconds, who could confirm that de Blanche acted according to the rules and even tried to be extremely careful so that the Duke’s wound was not fatal, while risking his own life. But still, the Duke will need at least a month to recover.
“I understand,” agreed d’Artagnan. “Well, it’s decided, de Planche is coming with us.”

In the evening, d'Artagnan and Francois went to Planchet's for dinner, where, to their surprise, they found, in addition to Planchet and Porthos, Aramis, but did not find Athos.
- I hope Athos is okay? - D'Artagnan asked worriedly.
“You don’t have to worry, d’Artagnan,” Aramis replied. “If Athos had been attacked, he would have put up such resistance that rumors of this skirmish would probably have already reached us. I assume he was simply visiting someone and apparently stayed the night.
“As far as I know, Athos has no friends in Paris,” objected d’Artagnan.
“You don’t admit that Athos visited a woman?” - Aramis asked with a smile.
- Athos? A woman? - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - Are you joking!
“I understand that after my lady, Athos’s desire for the fair sex has weakened somewhat,” answered Aramis. “But where did the Viscount de Bragelonne come from?”
“You’re right, Aramis,” said d’Artagnan. - You completely calmed me down.
“It’s a great pity that Athos won’t be at the table, but, my friends, why are we standing when we can sit down, and why aren’t we eating when we can have a snack?!” - Porthos finally exclaimed. - Will we finally celebrate your new position as Marshal of France, d'Artagnan, or will we just chat without getting our throats wet? My throat is already so dry!
“It seemed to me, Porthos, that you had already had a good meal at Planchet’s?” - asked d'Artagnan, smiling.
“It was a rehearsal,” Porthos replied.

Chapter XLIX. New commander of the guards

The king that same evening received Chancellor Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Barb;sieux, and his son, Minister of War Fran;ois-Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois.
“Your Majesty, we believe that Charles of Lorraine is currently in Lorraine in his palace,” the chancellor reported.
- Do you need further instructions to arrest him? - the King asked dryly.
“Your order is already being executed, the appropriate escort has already been sent,” answered the Minister of War.
- Escort? God! After all, I ordered that my order be carried out personally! - Louis cried. “If I wanted you to send a convoy to arrest Charles of Lorraine, I would not explain to you in such detail the importance of his arrest and would not give you the password.”
“I’m going to catch up with the convoy and will go after it right now,” replied the Marquis de Louvois, realizing his mistake.
- What are you doing with me, wasting time? - interrupted the marquise Louis.
“We just wanted to know who should be appointed to the position of commander of the royal guard?” — the Minister of War hastened to justify himself.
“But these functions are performed by d’Epernon, aren’t they?” - the King was surprised.
“Unfortunately, the Duke fell very badly and was seriously injured,” de Louvois clarified. “I’m afraid he won’t get better soon, if at all.”
- What is this? Duel!? - exclaimed the King. - Who dared?
“We still believe that this is an accident,” the chancellor intervened. - D'Epernon himself claims that he fell from his horse. However, we will investigate.
“Okay, investigate this matter,” the King said dissatisfied. - And who do you propose for his position?
- We would like to know if Your Majesty has any wishes? - asked the chancellor.
“You are such an experienced boss, Monsieur Marquis,” Louis objected, “and you still haven’t learned how to resolve personnel and other important issues when visiting the King.” Remember that coming to me and asking me for a solution to a problem that has arisen in front of you is a sign of your incompetence. After all, it is not I who is the Minister of War, but your son, the Marquis de Louvois. And it’s not me who is the chancellor, but you, Marquis de Barbesieux! If you come to me to solve a problem, you should come with a ready-made draft solution so that I can approve it if I like it, or reject it if I don’t like it. Go and think!
“We have a proposal for a candidate,” the Minister of War said hastily.
At these words, the Chancellor looked at his son in surprise, trying not to let the King notice this look.
- Offer? Wonderful! - Louis exclaimed more favorably. - Who is this?
“Comte de Rochefort,” said de Louvois.
- Comte de Rochefort? - the King was surprised. — And you also recommend him, Mister Chancellor?
- Yes, Your Majesty, I highly recommend it! - picked up the chancellor, who had never thought of this idea before.
“Well, if you both recommend it,” Louis answered thoughtfully. “Although, it seems to me that for some time he was in opposition to my mother the Queen.” And to Cardinal Mazarin. But then, it seems, he made peace with both? I don't know if your candidacy is good. However, since your opinion is unanimous, I approve your decision. From now on, the Count de Rochefort is the head of the royal guard.

Chapter L. Trip to Monaco

Arriving at Planche in the morning to say goodbye to friends before traveling to Monaco, d'Artagnan, Fran;ois and de Planche learned that Athos, Porthos and Aramis had already left, as Athos had told his friends some news, after which they had breakfast very quickly. Planchet barely had time to give them some food supplies for the journey, which he prudently packed in saddlebags. The good Planchet provided d'Artagnan and his companions with similar bags.
“If I do not return, my dear Planchet, I have appointed Francois as my heir, keep this in mind,” said d’Artagnan. “However, in the fire in Monkville, almost everything I had was burned, including my will.
“Your account in my establishment has not only been preserved, but also increased,” Planchet replied. “However, I firmly believe that you will return.” Is your current trip much more dangerous than all those from which you returned safe and sound?
“I don’t think she’s more dangerous,” answered d’Artagnan. “But I’m not getting any younger with age, and someday I’ll have to meet my fate.” I'm not eternal!
“But this is the first time I’ve heard such predictions from you, Monsieur d’Artagnan!” - Planchet said in surprise. - But you have been through such complex alterations!
“My dear, I became sentimental after all of France wrote me down as dead,” answered d’Artagnan with a sad smile. “I can’t go against the opinion of the whole country.”
Having embraced the old servant, who had become almost a friend, d'Artagnan cheerfully jumped into the saddle, Francois and de Planche followed his example, after which all three headed for Monaco.
“Monsieur Marshal,” Francois turned to his father. - How dangerous is our mission?
- Why do you ask, Francois? - D'Artagnan asked in response and looked into his son's face. - I never asked this question.
“I asked only to know what weapon to keep at hand in the first place,” answered Fran;ois.
“That’s another matter,” said d’Artagnan, calming down. “But I cannot say in advance what weapons we will need first of all.” Just in case, be prepared to use everything, including your fists, and if necessary, then everything that comes to hand. I remember from past fights that Porthos in this case was very indiscriminate. If his sword breaks, he can fight with a shaft, a cobblestone, a candelabra, a tavern bench, or even a table. With a blacksmith's sledgehammer he can fence as if it were a simple sword!
“I’ll try to follow his example, although I can hardly fence with a sledgehammer,” Francois answered with a laugh.
- Excellent, my son! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “But still try not to get killed.” Of course, you are not eternal, but not now. Just not under my command! And not in front of my eyes, damn it! Wait until I die, at least. But remember that trying to save your life does not mean avoiding danger. To do this, you just need to think for at least a moment before acting, if you have one. The trouble is that I often didn’t even have this moment. So, let us serve France, and if we have to die, we will die, but on the condition that I get ahead of you at least for a moment. But no, damn it, we won’t die, Francois, brave people are spared by both the bullet and the sword.
- When will I find out what our task is? - asked Francois.
“Right now,” answered d’Artagnan. - Listen to me, too, de Planche. Next to the Princess of Monaco is a nobleman, who, most likely, they will try to take away by cunning or force. You will recognize him, Francois, because he is almost the same nobleman whom we took to Pignerol, Francois. Let's just say that it looks like he is. You understand me?
“Yes, Mister Marshal,” answered Francois.
“This man must be safe and under our control,” the marshal continued. - If this is unattainable, in the most extreme case, we should not release him into the hands of the conspirators, if we cannot save him, we must kill him... Although if this happens, after that I will put a bullet in my forehead. So it will be better if we still don’t allow it to be stolen.
- We will do it, father! - exclaimed Francois.
“You can trust us,” said de Planche.
- Why didn’t we take a larger detachment? - asked Francois. — Is the mission secret?
“Yes, it’s secret,” confirmed d’Artagnan. “But if it took a whole army to succeed, I would take it.” However, our success depends on how carefully we act. A large group of people will only attract unnecessary attention, and we will not solve our problem.
Fran;ois and de Planche nodded and for some time the riders rode in silence.

We will spare readers the retelling of all the conversations that the travelers had and the description of the road, the inns and all the minor incidents along the way to Monaco. However, we will stop at one visit.

Approaching a familiar village, d'Artagnan said that he would visit a friend. The house that the marshal decided to visit was the same house that our readers had already met. A Hindu named Gotan Kumar lived there.
When d'Artagnan visited the Indian, he, as always, was meditating. However, our Gascon already knew that he could ask the Indian questions, which he could answer with gestures, and if asked well, then with words.
“Peace be with you, Gotan Kumar,” said d’Artagnan, entering the house.
The Hindu lowered his eyelashes, which meant “Peace to you too, d’Artagnan, wherever you go.”
“Listen, teacher,” said d’Artagnan, who was not at all a student of the Hindu, but knew that such an address was practiced when talking with Indian yogis. “I need to know something; sometimes I can’t sleep without an explanation for this strange phenomenon.”
The Hindu looked into the eyes of his interlocutor, which meant: “If you want to ask a question, ask, and spare me the prefaces and apologies, my time is valuable.”
“I asked you for indelible tattoo powder, and you gave it to me,” said d’Artagnan. - Why did she go away so quickly? You lied to me?
“I didn’t deceive the captain,” answered the Hindu. “I was saving him from himself.”
- Explain! - D'Artagnan demanded.
“The captain’s tongue said one thing, but his eyes said something else,” said the Indian. “The captain asked for a permanent tattoo, but his eyes told me that the captain wasn’t sure about it.” I realized that the question is very important, and an important question requires important decisions, that is, ones that are not made rashly. A permanent tattoo is too serious as it is permanent. Therefore, before making a final tattoo, a temporary one should be made, and only if after wearing this tattoo a person does not change his mind, then after two weeks a fixing substance is applied on top of it, which makes this tattoo permanent. If the fixing agent is not used, then the tattoo will come off by itself in three to four weeks without leaving any traces.
- You tricked me, Gotan Kumar! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - But I'm not angry. What's done is done, and perhaps your decision saved France. Or maybe it doomed her to death. In any case, nothing can be changed now. You should change your name, the name “Destiny” would suit you better.
“I told you a name that indicates my origin.” Gotan Kumar means son of Gotan locality. But in this area my name was Daiva Pusha-Kara. - answered the Indian. - This cannot be translated into French, but approximately it is something like fate.
“Well,” said d’Artagnan, “then I will thank my fate with these twenty pistoles.” In other times I would give more, but now I am experiencing temporary difficulties. Farewell Gotan Kumar, Daiva Pusha Kara.
With these words, d'Artagnan placed twenty pistoles on the table, bowed and left their hut.

After some time, d'Artagnan and his companions approached the capital of the Principality of Monaco. There were two roads leading into the city.
“We cannot afford to miss the one we came for if he is still here,” said d’Artagnan. - So let's do it this way. I will take the left road, and you, Francois and de Planche will take the right. If you see suspicious people - horsemen or a carriage in which a prisoner can be transported, one of you should go after it, the other should find me at the entrance to the city and report it, after which we will set off in pursuit. If I see something like this, then I will not come to the meeting. In this case, you must return along the road I will take and catch up with me. I will leave signs for you, and those of you who will follow a carriage or convoy should do the same if they meet on your way.

After this, our heroes separated, and d'Artagnan rode alone along the left road. It was beginning to get dark, but the capital was already not far away. It would seem that the trip to Monaco will end without incident. The road forked again, but d'Artagnan knew these places. While the wide road made a big detour, the narrow road cut it short, but was too inconvenient for a carriage or a group of riders, although one rider could pass along it. D'Artagnan decided that the narrow road would hardly allow a carriage to travel, so if he wanted to avoid missing Philip's possible kidnappers, he should take the wide road, even though it was longer and the trip would take longer. The marshal spurred his horse and raised it to a gallop.
When the bypass road almost ended and met a narrow short road, d'Artagnan automatically glanced at it, and at the same moment he saw a painfully familiar object in the bushes. It was the barrel of a musket. D'Artagnan immediately reared his horse, shielding himself from a musket bullet with his body. A shot rang out and the horse fell onto the road.
D'Artagnan fell and hit his head hard. He looked with difficulty in the direction where the bullet had come from and it seemed to him that Milady, the same Lady Winter who poisoned Constance, came out from behind the bushes!
- Milady? - whispered d'Artagnan, who was dizzy from the blow. - This is destiny!
However, it was not Milady who emerged from the bushes, but Olivia du Trabuson. She approached with a second musket aimed at the prone marshal. D'Artagnan tried to get up, but could not because the horse was crushing his leg. He also could not reach the musket.
- Finally, I will take revenge on you for all your misfortunes! - Olivia exclaimed.
- Well, my lady! - answered d'Artagnan, blood streaming down his face from the wound caused by the fall. “Apparently, the Lord decided to punish me and take my life in payment for yours.” He resurrected you and sent you to carry out the sentence. I assure you, I am ready to die. I ask you to punish only me, my friends are not guilty of anything. May your revenge be fulfilled.
- He's delusional! Olivia exclaimed, shrugging. - Hey, d'Artagnan! Wake up! I would like you to realize that your imminent death is approaching! - she said, turning to d'Artagnan. — Revenge is especially sweet when its victim realizes its imminent arrival and begs for mercy.
“I will not beg for mercy, my lady,” replied d’Artagnan, who in vain continued to try not to lose consciousness and free himself from under the horse. “Since the Lord has deprived me of the opportunity to defend myself, may His will be done.”
- What kind of milady! - Olivia was indignant. - However, perhaps you are not delusional, but are being cunning with me? Either way, you'll be dead in a minute.
With these words, Olivia approached d'Artagnan at a distance of one and a half steps, which was enough to completely eliminate the possibility of a miss, but also did not allow d'Artagnan to try to resist. She took aim at her opponent's face.
“It’s curious to look into the eyes of death,” said d’Artagnan, looking into the center of the musket barrel. “I didn’t know it would end like this.”
A second later a shot rang out.

Chapter LI. Order to arrest

A convoy of sixty men, led by the Colonel of the Guard, the Marquis d'Arcy, arrived in Nancy, the capital of Lorraine. The Marquis felt uncomfortable, because if the Duke decided to show disobedience, the forces would be unequal. However, there was a significant contingent of the royal army nearby under the command of the Prince de Cond;. Of course, the Marquis sent a messenger with a warning that if he did not make himself known within 24 hours, His Majesty should be notified of the disobedience of Charles of Lorraine, which, apparently, would lead to a new stage in the internecine war. Feeling the support of France and its troops behind him, the Marquis nevertheless understood that in Lorraine his military strength was seen as insignificant. However, the Marquis hoped for obedience on the part of the Duke, since otherwise it threatened war, as a result of which troubles could spread not only to Charles himself, but also to all members of his family.
- I am glad to welcome such a distinguished guest as the Marquis d'Arcy! — Karl said solemnly with a radiant look. - What, however, does your presence with such a representative cavalcade owe to?
“I’m afraid my visit will not please you, Duke,” said the Marquis. “I am coming to you on a matter of extreme importance.”
“Won’t you have dinner before talking about business, Marquis?” - the Duke asked with a smile.
“Under other circumstances, I would not refuse your hospitality, Duke, but I’m afraid that under these circumstances I should not abuse your kindness,” the Marquis rejected the Duke’s offer. “The matter for which I arrived is not conducive to table conversations, since I arrived to arrest you by order of His Majesty King Louis XIV of France .”
- Tell me, Marquis, how long has it been since you saw His Majesty? - asked the Duke.
“I believe that the answer to this question does not matter at all, Duke, since I am obliged to carry out the order, please forgive me,” replied the Marquis.
“The reason I ask is that I believe you received this order not personally from the hands of His Majesty, but through some intermediary, right?” - Karl asked with a smile.
“I have in my hands an order from the Minister of War, Francois-Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois,” answered the Marquis. - Mr. Minister said that the order was given personally by His Majesty.
“Maybe so,” Karl answered. “But perhaps it would be better if you and I ask ourselves whether His Majesty’s order is still in effect?”
“Who are you going to ask, Duke?” - asked the marquis in bewilderment.
At that moment, the doors at the back of the hall opened and the King of France himself came out.
“Marquis, thank you for your service, but I cancel my order to arrest Duke Charles II of Lorraine,” said the King. “So if you do not accept the Duke’s invitation to dinner, I will not detain you.”
—Will Your Majesty need a convoy or something else? - the Marquis asked in surprise.
“Thank you, Marquis, I said that you are free,” replied the King.
The Marquis bowed to the King in bewilderment and backed away towards the exit.

“I did as you wanted, Duke,” said Philip when the Marquis left the palace of the Duke of Lorraine. “I hope you will now give me and Catherine Charlotte freedom?”
“I will definitely give you complete freedom, monsignor,” answered the duke. “I am even ready to submit to you as my sovereign.” But I need assurances that you will not do anything extremely undesirable to me or my family.
“I will give you any guarantees in exchange for our freedom,” said Philip.
“Not so, monsignor,” Karl objected. - The only guarantee can be Princess Catherine Charlotte de Gramont, Princess of Monaco. Therefore, she will remain for some time in a place that I cannot tell you about. After all, you care about her well-being? And me too. Therefore, our goals are the same. By the way, I asked you not only to send the Marquis out, but also to do everything possible so that he returns to Paris as late as possible.
- What could I do about it? - asked Philip.
“We should come up with some business for him in Dijon, or even better, in Lyon,” Karl grumbled.
“You should have come up with this order in advance and warned me about it,” Philip said proudly.
- Monsignor, I ask you to be my ally if you really care about the fate of the Princess of Monaco! - Karl answered, barely hiding his irritation, however, trying to seem moderately respectful.
Philip silently turned away from Karl and went to the window.
“Perhaps he should have been ordered to arrest the Duke of Lorraine? - thought Philip. - No, it was dangerous. After all, he warned me that his servants already had orders in hand, in case I did not obey, to deal with Katherine Charlotte. Apparently, this is a determined man and he will stop at nothing. Well, let's hope that I can come to an agreement with him. After that, we will leave France with her forever. I will ask d'Artagnan and his friends to find me another place to live where no one will find us."

Meanwhile, the Marquis d'Arcy left the palace of the Duke of Lorraine and ordered the convoy to return to Paris. He was so upset by the failure of his mission that he did not even think about feeding the soldiers before the campaign, deciding that he would have dinner with the soldiers at the nearest inn outside the city.

Chapter LII. Monaco Mission Failure

Let's return to the shot that sounded when Olivia du Trabuson aimed her second musket at d'Artagnan's face. May the readers forgive me for interrupting the story of what happened to our hero. Now I must tell you what happened after the fatal shot was fired.
So, Olivia pointed the musket at d'Artagnan's face, after which a shot was fired, Olivia dropped the musket and fell to the ground.
“Charles, I knew that you shouldn’t be released alone!” - D'Artagnan heard a familiar voice.
- Suzanne! - exclaimed the Gascon. - Thunder strike me! Suzanne! You couldn't come at a better time!
“Yes, it is I, your Suzanne,” answered the lady, who discharged her musket at Olivia, for it was Mademoiselle Suzanne Campredon.
— Is this bandit alive? - asked d'Artagnan.
- I hope not! - Suzanne answered. - Do you regret this? You, Charles, became such a desperate pacifist after you were almost killed by a cannonball at Maastricht that I don’t understand how you managed to get a marshal’s baton! And it’s not surprising that you couldn’t keep it for more than five minutes!
- You are mistaken, my dear! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “The King of France himself kept the rod for me.” But help me pull my leg out from under my horse!
Mademoiselle Suzanne asked to help her dear Charles, but first decided to make sure that the scoundrel who intended to kill him was no longer dangerous. Therefore, she carefully, holding the second musket at the ready, approached Olivia du Trabuson. Although Suzanne didn't know where to aim because she didn't have time to think, it hit Olivia's chest, making the wound extremely dangerous.
- Madam, do you need help? Suzanne asked Olivia. “If you throw away your musket, I may be able to save your life, or at least ease your suffering.”
- Go to hell with your dear Charles! Olivia croaked. - See you in hell! We'll talk there...
She probably wanted to say something else, but the fury with which she tried to shout out her curses made her wound open even more, blood gushed to the ground, and Olivia gave up the ghost.
After that, Suzanne picked up a thick stick on the side of the road to slip it under the horse's carcass and help d'Artagnan pull out his leg. If it weren’t for the spur, he would have managed it himself, however, the spur stuck into the ground so unsuccessfully and the horse crushed his leg that the Marshal of France simply needed help. Soon he was on his feet and hugging his savior.
- Suzanne, you are saving my life for the second time! - he said. My whole life, without a trace, already belonged to you, but now every hour of mine on this sinful earth is your merit. All the feats that I will accomplish, I will accomplish thanks to you and in your honor, and if after completing our mission the Lord leaves me a few years, or months, or days, or at least hours...
- I'll take everything that's left! - said Suzanne. - D'Artagnan, you are mine, and remember this! I'm not saying that you are only mine, since d'Artagnan's sword will always belong to France and the King, but your heart...
We don't know what Suzanne wanted to say, because d'Artagnan covered her mouth with his lips, sealing his tender and long kiss on it.
D'Artagnan arrived at the meeting place with Francois and de Planche with a slight delay, which we explain by the fact that his horse was killed, so the two of them had to ride on Suzanne's horse. Perhaps a picky reader, armed with a chronometer, would ask us where another half hour went, and also asked why a spot of trampled grass formed in a roadside clearing, to which we cannot give an answer, since, as we said, we have already arrived twilight, and we cannot accurately describe what exactly happened that evening near the deserted road at the entrance to Monaco. To the same readers who decide to accuse our hero of losing his speed when carrying out an urgent mission on behalf of the King, we will argue that d'Artagnan simply had to show signs of attention to his beautiful Mademoiselle Suzanne, who abandoned peaceful Scotland, crossed the strait on the nearest passing ship and undertook a very successful search for her lover, finding him at the right time and arriving in time with such necessary help, which we have already described at the beginning of this chapter.
Francois and de Planche, according to the instructions of the marshal, after the time of waiting had expired, headed along the road along which he was supposed to arrive at Monaco, so that they met him and Suzanne on the outskirts of the city.
Arriving in Monaco, d'Artagnan and his companions learned that the Princess of Monaco had been missing for several days. In order to find out this, no sophisticated espionage techniques were required, since the princess was the most famous person in the principality, with the exception of her husband, and the most adored ruler for all times of the existence of the principality, and although her husband did not consider it necessary to interfere in her affairs , she still considered it her duty to inform him of upcoming absences, as was the case during her trip to Scotland, just as the prince behaved very correctly in public and showed concern for his wife. A few days ago, a frightened Josepha came running to him and reported that the princess had been kidnapped by some intruders. Clever Josepha kept silent about the fact that Philip was also kidnapped along with her, suggesting that the prince did not care about him and would not do anything to search for him.
Since the princess was the mother of their joint children, the prince continued to love her, if not with the love of a beloved man, then with the love of a relative, a family member. He felt with particular urgency the need to find her and announced a search, so any visitor to any tavern in Monaco knew about the disappearance of the princess. That evening, d'Artagnan found Josepha and, together with Suzanne, spoke to her. The quick-witted Josepha, who recognized Suzanne as a captive of the Dutch pirates, gained confidence in her and told her in spirit everything she knew about Philip and Catherine Charlotte. On this basis, d'Artagnan realized that he and his companions should also go to Nancy as quickly as possible.

Perhaps our readers will say that this chapter is too short, but believe me, if we could describe all the words Suzanne whispered to Charles on the side of the road, and those words that he whispered in response in her ear, this chapter could to argue with the longest chapter of our novel.

Chapter LIII. Conversation on the way to Nancy

Since d'Artagnan was a good Christian, he could not help but take care of Olivia's funeral. At the tavern where they stopped for the night, he hired two workers, bought a piece of fabric for a shroud from a nearby shop, asked a carpenter to make him a semblance of a cross, and on Suzanne’s horse headed to the place where he had left Olivia the day before, having previously covered her with branches. to prevent the corpse from being desecrated by scavengers.
While the gravediggers were digging a hole, d'Artagnan explored the nearby forest and, to his delight, found Olivia's horse tied not far from the place where she had set up an ambush. Reasoning that this horse was his war trophy, he took it instead of his own horse. Since Olivia's saddle was a lady's, he gave it to the grave diggers, also allowing them to skin his slain horse.
- Yes, it’s not just the skin! - exclaimed one of the workers. “Here horse meat will come in handy.”
- For God's sake, I beg you, this is without me! - answered d'Artagnan. “After all, he was my comrade in arms, although not for long.” Musketeers do not eat dead horses.
“It seems that you have never participated in the defense of a fortress without a sufficient amount of food,” said one of the older workers.
- Over the past forty years, you cannot name a single campaign with the capture or defense of a fortress by the forces of the French army, where I did not take part! - D'Artagnan objected. “And I pray to God that the French army will never find itself in a situation where its soldiers would have to eat their horses.”
“I’m afraid the Lord won’t hear you, Mr. Officer,” the elderly worker said sadly.
“It’s clear from everything that you are a veteran,” said d’Artagnan. - Where did you serve?
“I fought under the command of many military leaders,” the veteran answered. “I started under the command of M. de Jussac, and finished under the command of the Prince of Cond;, until a bullet crushed three fingers on my right hand. Haven't you and I met? It seems to me that your face is familiar to me.
“We’ve hardly met,” answered d’Artagnan, turning away and glad that it was already quite dark.
Indeed, he reasoned that whoever this veteran was, enemy or friend, it would be better if he did not recognize him.

Returning to the inn, d'Artagnan put Olivia's horse under his own saddle in the stable and announced that there was no longer any need to buy a new horse to replace the dead one.
- Is this Olivia's horse? - asked Francois. - Why didn’t you take him away right away?
- Damn it! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - Because it didn’t occur to me! I'm definitely getting old! Suzanne and I were riding on the same horse when we could have found Olivia's horse! He should have been picked up right away. After all, having encroached on my life, she actually declared war on me, and, therefore, her horse would be my trophy!
“Charles, it was my trophy,” Suzanne smiled.
“Your trophy is my heart, my dear, but I really don’t understand why I didn’t immediately think of the horse?” - D'Artagnan did not let up.
- Apparently, for the reason that it was more pleasant for you to ride on the same horse with me? - Suzanne asked with a smile.
- Exactly! - exclaimed the Gascon. “It is for this reason that I forgot about this trophy.”

The next morning all four went to Nancy.
On the way, d'Artagnan decided to talk with de Planche to get to know him better.
“I still don’t know your name, Monsieur de Planche,” he said.
“Sergeant Gaspard de Planche is at your service, Mister Marshal,” replied de Planche.
“It’s funny that your name is similar to the name of one of my friends, Planchet,” said d’Artagnan.
— Is he also a nobleman? asked de Planche. - What places is he from?
“Oh, no, he is not a nobleman, but don’t judge people by their pedigree,” answered d’Artagnan. “I could name many commoners who are more noble in heart than other nobles, and also very many nobles, even princes, whose soul is lower than the most insignificant of commoners.” Human destiny is like a river. The sources of the river can be the cleanest and most transparent, but the lower reaches are a continuous stinking slurry. The exact same thing can be said about some pedigrees. Some people have ancestors who were glorious, noble and kind-hearted, but their descendants may turn out to be pitiful nonentities.
“It happens like that,” agreed de Planche. - But it happens the other way around.
- So I’m talking about the same thing! - D'Artagnan picked up. - Why have you been so silent and thoughtful all this time, if it’s not a secret?
“I have reason for sadness regarding one of my distant relatives,” responded de Planche. “But if we go to Nancy, perhaps I will meet him and be able to help him.”
“Tell me about this relative of yours,” said d’Artagnan. “Perhaps if you can’t help him, we can solve his problem together?” Especially if he deserves help.
“Oh, he certainly deserves sympathy and help,” replied de Planche. - If you want, I will tell you his story. My relative's name is Jules de Brion. He's not rich. One day, a villain named Monba gained his trust. Although he introduced himself as de Montbat, I doubt he is a nobleman. However, it doesn't matter. He met Jules by chance, or maybe his acquaintance was arranged, now it’s difficult to find out about it. Little by little he asked the young man about where he was from, and having learned that he was from near Lengon, he also called himself his countryman. Having endeared himself to Jules, he casually offered to get acquainted, hearing the name de Brion, he also asked about his father’s name. Hearing the first and last name, he exclaimed that this was just a happy accident. He stated that he had been looking for his father for many years, and was glad that now he would finally be able to see him. The young man sadly replied that this was impossible, since his father had died long ago. The scoundrel feigned sincere grief and said that he had never been able to repay his debt to his father. After all, once in childhood, his father allegedly saved his life when he fell from the bank into a deep stream, almost a river, and almost drowned, but Jules’ father ran up and bent down a small tree, the branches of which this swindler supposedly managed to grab onto. Having gained Jules’ trust, this villain said that he saw almost his son in the young man’s face, and was simply obliged to help him with something. He allegedly remembered that by the way he was entrusted with one delicate matter, a widower asked him to help sell a house and magnificent lands, and the price in this case was very attractive. The fact is that he simply wants to get rid of the house and this land, since everything in it reminds him of his precious wife. He has decided to go to his son on the other side of France, and does not want to wait a single day, since he sees that he is wasting away here alone. The swindler Monba told Jules that a house and lands could be bought for the price of only one house, and even then for almost half the price of a house. And the land will be a free application. Trusting Jules replied that he had no money. Then the matter developed as follows. The swindler is distressed because here, supposedly, only ten thousand pistoles need to be obtained, while this house and land could easily go for forty thousand pistoles, and if you wait and find a good buyer, then for fifty thousand. He advises borrowing from someone. Jules says that he has no friends from whom he could borrow ten thousand pistoles. He says that this amount would hardly be collected if his mother decided to sell her personal annuity. The scammer says this is the perfect solution. Mother will sell the rent, with this money they will buy land and a house, in two or three months he will easily sell this property for fifty thousand, then he will be able to buy his mother twice as much rent for twenty thousand, and he will still have thirty thousand left. The young man hesitates, then the scammer says that it is a pity, because the Lord himself arranged this meeting so that he could finally repay the son of his benefactor with good, but, apparently, nothing can be done. He parts with a sigh and says that he will wait until tomorrow, tells where he can be found, but if he doesn’t wait, then this profitable business will go to another person. He says that it’s a pity, he found one buyer who, without bargaining, lays out this amount, and even a commission for this swindler himself of five percent, but he knows about him that he is an unworthy person and does not deserve such luck at all. The young man decided to see his mother and consult, the mother certainly believed and sold her annuity, gave all the money to the young man and the next day the deal was completed. The fraudster promised that documents on ownership of the land and house would be available later, but for now he only gave a receipt for receiving the money. He also said that the documents would indicate that the land and the house were worth forty thousand pistoles, which would make it easier for him to sell this property for this price, and the seller himself needed this, since his wife was very attached to this house and indicated in her will, which prohibits the sale of house and land for less than forty thousand pistoles. The bill of sale, which the fraudster shows to the young man, states that the transaction price is forty thousand pistoles. Here he shows a preliminary purchase and sale agreement from other buyers who are allegedly ready to buy this property for fifty thousand, but later, in a month and on the condition that they will be allowed to pay this money in installments within two months. The young man is happy that he is almost guaranteed to get rich. Later, the swindler Monba tells Jules that in order to receive money, the land and house must be transferred to the buyers, he asks him to write a receipt as if he received the entire amount and has no claims, and in exchange he will receive a receipt stating that the missing forty thousand will be paid to him in the manner they agreed upon. A young man writes such a receipt. After this, the buyers disappear. But another man appears who reports that he has bought the young man’s debt and demands it back. He says that the deal is canceled because the bill of sale was not drawn up according to the rules, and demands that the fifty thousand pistoles received by the young man, according to the receipt, be returned to him. Otherwise, the young man will be sent to prison. He turns in horror to his benefactor, who feigns suffering and reproaches himself for failing his benefactor’s son. But he says that he has that kind of money, but it is with one of his friends who lives in Nancy. You just need to urgently go there and return with money. The provided deferment is quite enough for the trip. The young man says that he does not have money for such a trip, to which the scammer replies that there is an option. He tells him: “You and I will approach a major we know, he will draw up a fictitious agreement that we allegedly enlisted in the army in Charles of Lorraine, then we will receive money for travel to the army’s location. There we will receive the required amount from my friend, as well as money to return travel expenses and terminate the contract, and money for the return journey. After that, we will return to Paris, pay off the debt and return 10 thousand pistoles to your mother, and also add another two thousand so that she does not feel deceived.” Jules agreed, as a result he was recruited into the army of Charles of Lorraine, and his imaginary benefactor, having handed him over to the major, disappears, apparently having received a commission for the recruited soldier.
- Damn it, how many scoundrels are still trampling the soil of France! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “My dear Gaspard, we will certainly help this relative of yours, Jules de Brion, just teach him not to be so trusting of strangers anymore!”

Chapter LIV. Meeting in Metz

Passing through Metz, Athos, Porthos and Aramis met a convoy of sixty guardsmen led by the Marquis d'Arcy.
Athos raised his sword in salute to the convoy, but Colonel D'Arcy did not seem to take any notice of this.
- We salute you, Colonel D'Arcy! - exclaimed Aramis, who knew the Marquis. — May I talk to you about an issue related to your trip?
“My trip was undertaken on behalf of His Majesty and I intend to give a report on it only to him, as well as to the Minister of War,” answered the Marquis in an even voice, since he did not intend to start duels from scratch, but he considered it beneath his dignity to stop to talk with three horsemen, leading sixty warriors.
“We have an order from His Majesty, which probably concerns you as well,” Aramis objected.
Hearing this, the Marquis gave the command to stop and drove up to Aramis.
- What kind of order is this, and how does it affect me? - he asked.
“It’s simple,” Aramis answered. - Athos, would you show the order to the Marquis?
“With pleasure,” Athos replied and took out the document he had received from Louis before leaving.

The document read:
 
“By this document, the Marshal of France, the Comte d'Artagnan, as well as any of the three persons accompanying him, the Comte de La F;re, the Duke d'Alameda d'Herblay and the Baron du Valon de Pierrefonds de Brassier, are authorized to act by order of the King and in his name interests. They are given the right to arrest in the name of the King any person on French territory. They are obliged to give an account of their actions only to the King of France.

Signed: King Louis XIV of France »

“Your powers are quite significant, although we do not see among you the Marshal of France, Mr. Comte d’Artagnan,” agreed the Marquis. “Besides, I don’t understand what this paper has to do with me?” I hope you're not going to arrest me?
I said the last words to the marquis with a smile.
“Of course not, Marquis,” answered Aramis. - But, as I see, you did not follow the order of the King of France.
Hearing these words, the Marquis sharply placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword.
- Explain yourself, Duke! - he exclaimed, not hiding his irritation. — Such accusations should not be thrown in the face without sufficient grounds!
The Marquis's guards also tensed up and prepared, if necessary, to come to the aid of their colonel and arrest the three troublemakers.
“As far as I can tell, Marquis, you were ordered to arrest Charles of Lorraine,” Aramis said calmly. “Judging by the direction of your movement, you have already been to Nancy, and yet you have not arrested the Duke, have you?”
“The order was cancelled,” the Marquis grumbled displeasedly, removing his hand from the hilt of his sword.
“This order could not be canceled,” Athos objected.
“At least, by no one except the King of France,” added Aramis.
“It was the King of France who canceled it,” answered the Marquis.
— Do you have a written order to cancel the order for the arrest of Charles of Lorraine? - asked Aramis.
“His Majesty canceled his order personally,” said the Marquis, beginning to lose patience. “I hope this satisfies your curiosity?” I intend to continue on my way.
Athos and Aramis looked at each other, and Porthos grinned and twirled his mustache.
“So you claim to have seen His Majesty in Nancy,” said Aramis. - In this case, you have two options for further action. The first option is that you return to Paris, report everything that happened to the one who sent you, after which you are punished for not following the King’s order, or...
“I cannot carry out the King’s order, which was canceled by the King himself!” - the Marquis exploded.
“Let me continue,” Aramis continued coolly. “Or, I say, you have another course of action.” We invite you to return with us to Nancy and carry out the King’s orders, after which His Majesty, I believe, will thank you handsomely for your faithful service.
- I do not understand anything! - objected the Marquis.
“In that case, you don’t have to understand, just trust us and the document we showed you,” said Athos.
“Sorry, gentlemen,” the Marquis objected. “I believe that your document was written before I received His Majesty’s explicit order.” The latest order may cancel all previous ones. His Majesty ordered me to leave for Paris with my convoy, which I intend to do exactly. I have the honor to bow!
After these words, the Marquis gave the order to continue moving, mentally cursing himself for wasting time talking with the three horsemen, regardless of what rights the King had given them, and convincing himself that these rights were in no way related to his mission, which was completed by order of Louis.
- Blockhead! - said Porthos after the cavalcade, led by the Marquis, had driven off to a sufficient distance so as not to hear this assessment. The friends’ plans did not include wasting time on unnecessary duels with their compatriots.
“You gave an extremely accurate description of the Marquis d'Arcy, Porthos,” Aramis noted.
“Perhaps rude, but fundamentally quite thorough,” Athos agreed.
“The three of us were going to act,” Porthos answered. “Nothing changed our intentions.” Help from this stubborn guy would hardly help us much.
“You’re right, Porthos,” said Aramis. “Sixty men against Charles of Lorraine is nothing, and when moving through Lorraine it is too large a convoy to hope to move about without attracting attention.” But still, having a fifth of the company with you is not so bad!
“We could take a whole company, or even more, if we wanted!” - said Porthos. - But for some reason we didn’t do this?
“Precisely because it is unnecessary for our mission,” Athos answered for Aramis.
“It’s just a pity that d’Artagnan’s trip to Monaco didn’t make any sense,” Aramis said sadly. “If he were with us, it wouldn’t be superfluous.”
“He will soon catch up with us and join us,” said Porthos without a shadow of doubt.

After this, the friends continued on their way to Nancy.

Chapter LV. Nobility, power and strength

When the friends arrived in Nancy, the Duke of Lorraine, having learned the names of the visitors, ordered to invite them to the reception hall.
- What do I owe to the arrival of such noble nobles to me? asked the Duke after exchanging formal greetings.
“Duke, we have arrived on an extremely important matter,” Athos answered for everyone. - We are aware that you have a person visiting, and perhaps in captivity, whom we ask to be released so that she can leave France, where it is extremely undesirable for her to remain, both for this person herself and for France .
- You speak in riddles, Count! - answered the Duke. - A person? What person?
“You understand perfectly well who we are talking about,” answered Athos. - A man who is extremely similar to the King of France, nevertheless, is not him. It is, therefore, in the interests of the peace of the state that he should be removed from the borders of this country, where his presence may be misinterpreted by those who may take him for something other than what he really is.
“Now it’s become a little more clear, however, you continue to speak in riddles,” Karl grinned. “Isn’t it better to speak directly without hints or equivocations?”
“Okay,” answered Athos. - I'll tell you straight. The resemblance of the man you are holding to the King is so great that there may be a danger of an attempt with his help to shake the throne of France. We intend to take this man.
“Suppose such a person is visiting me,” said Karl. “I’m only saying for now: “Let’s assume”! I have neither admitted nor disputed this assertion. If so. By what right do you demand that it be issued to you? By what right do you consider it possible for yourself to control the fate of this person? Finally, why do you think that he, if he is one of my guests, will want to follow you, and will not prefer to continue to stay as my guest? Finally, as far as I can tell, you know too much about this matter and tell me too little. Things won't work that way!
“I’ll start in order,” answered Athos. - Let your “suppose” remain on your conscience. We know for certain that this person is with you and we believe that he is forced to carry out at least some of your orders. This worries not only us, but we have the highest authority in this regard. In this document you will find the answer to the question by what right we demand his extradition, and to the question of why we can control his fate, and to the question of what we should do, regardless of whether he wants to follow us , or refuse to do so.
After these words, Athos handed over to Charles a document, which he had already presented to the Marquis d'Arcy, who met him on the road.
Let us remind our readers that the specified document, written in his own hand and signed by the King of France, sealed with his seal, contained the following text:
“By this document, the Marshal of France, the Comte d'Artagnan, as well as any of the three persons accompanying him, the Comte de La F;re, the Duke d'Alameda d'Herblay and the Baron du Valon de Pierrefonds de Brassier, are authorized to act by order of the King and in his name interests. They are given the right to arrest in the name of the King any person on French territory. They are obliged to give an account of their actions only to the King of France.”
Karl took the document with surprise and began to read it, grunting from time to time and as if mechanically pacing around the room. Having reached the last lines, he approached the fireplace, after which he looked up at Athos and, as if by accident, dropped the document from his hands, while he tried to make the document fall into the very center of the blazing woodpile.
- Oh, what a pity! - Karl exclaimed. “It seems I inadvertently dropped one of the papers I was just reading!” However, it was probably not a very important document! In any case, any paper can be written again if necessary. So what were you talking about, Count?
“Duke, you dared to destroy the King’s order,” Athos answered in an even voice. “On this basis we are arresting you.”
“To arrest me, gentlemen, you need to have the appropriate order, which you don’t have at the moment,” Karl answered coolly. “Or you need superior strength, which you also don’t have.” At worst, any other power over me would suit you, but you don’t have that either. Therefore, I suggest that you go back to where you came from before I use against you the order, force and power that I have in sufficient quantity against you here and now, when you are in Lorraine, in the house of Charles of Lorraine, Duke and, therefore, the sovereign master of this duchy.
“You obviously forgot, Duke, that Lorraine is part of France?” - asked Athos, taking his sword with his hand.
“I’ll break his neck now,” said Porthos, causing Karl to shudder and automatically grab his neck, after which his hand reached for the bell used to call the servants.
- Wait a bit! - Aramis exclaimed. “Don’t rush, Porthos, and you, Duke, don’t rush to call your servants.” Look here for starters.
After these words, Aramis showed Charles his ring as a general of the Jesuit Order.
“I know that you are not only a devout Catholic, but also a member of the valiant Order of the Jesuits, Duke of Lorraine,” continued Aramis. - I am the general of this Order. I remind you that, according to the charter, the power of the general of the Order is higher than the secular power, and any member of the Order is obliged to obey the general unquestioningly and in everything, even if his orders contradict the orders of representatives of the secular government. This charter was consecrated by the Pope. So, submit. If you rebel against your King, submit to the authority of God.
“Will you allow me to take a closer look at your symbol of general power, Your Eminence?” - Karl asked in a voice expressing resignation, taking a large magnifying glass from the mantelpiece to examine small details.
“You can take a look,” Aramis answered, took the ring off his finger and handed it to Karl.
“Yes, undoubtedly, this is exactly the ring that I have already seen twice,” answered Karl. - The owner of this ring is indeed a general of the Jesuit Order, unless it is stolen or taken away by force or cunning. Do you seriously think that I will believe you that you are a general of the Order just because you have this thing?
“I also possess certain secret knowledge and know certain secret signs that can remove any doubt from any person standing high enough in the hierarchical ladder of the Order,” answered Aramis. “Now return the ring and obey the general’s demand.”
- In no case! - Karl exclaimed. - In this game, the stakes are too high for me to just give everything to someone just because he has some kind of ring! This ring is now mine, therefore if you believe that the possession of the ring is proof of the possession of the power of a general, therefore, from this moment I become a general of the Jesuit Order, and on the basis of this power I command you to leave.
“I’ll still break his neck,” said Porthos.
“Wait, Porthos, don’t worry, it will be done in time,” Aramis stopped him. - Charles the Second of Lorraine! - he continued, turning to the Duke. “You committed an extremely daring crime.” By deception, you have temporarily taken possession of a ring that cannot belong to you. The penalty for this is death. All I can do is pray for the peace of your soul. I warn you that the Order does not forgive such great sacrilege as you have allowed yourself. Know that death has already begun its hunt for you. I am ready to accept from your hands the ring which belongs to me by right of election, and I will try to beg for you forgiveness for your greatest sin, provided that you immediately return this ring to me, immediately release Philip, remove any obstacle that holds him here, and submit to all my orders. Perhaps I will even get you released from custody and retain your title of Duke of Lorraine, although I assure you it will not be easy.
- You are laughing at me? - Karl exclaimed. - God, how insignificant and funny you are!
With these words, Karl grabbed a bell from the table and rang it as hard as he could. Twelve guards immediately entered the hall.
- Take them! - Karl ordered, pointing to his guests. “And don’t even think about resisting,” he added, looking at Athos, Porthos and Aramis. “If you resist, you still won’t win, but then, I promise you, a lot of people whose fate you care about will suffer.” I hope you understand who I'm talking about.
“I can easily kill six,” said Porthos. - There are three people left for your share. This is sheer nonsense!
- I don’t know, really, is it worth it? - Aramis asked Athos.
- Don't try! - Karl exclaimed. “My castle is filled with my people, you still can’t escape from here.”
“I wouldn’t mind looking at the inside of Charles of Lorraine’s casemates,” said Athos. - This is purely historical interest. After admiring their interior, we will definitely leave there.
Charles's guards had already approached and pointed their swords at Athos, Porthos and Aramis.
“We leave our swords here,” said Athos, taking off the sword and putting it on the table by the fireplace, “and we ask you to take care of them.” We will still need them, and, besides, these are very important swords for us. We intend to pick them up no later than four, no, three days.
“We will take them in three days, Mister Duke, but by this time you will no longer be alive,” Aramis clarified.
- Go away! - exclaimed the Duke. - To their casemates! Each one in a separate cell!
After the guards had taken Athos, Porthos and Aramis away, Charles happily examined the three swords that appeared on his table by the fireplace, then took a magnifying glass and very carefully examined Aramis’ ring, which he had already put on his right hand.
- General of the Jesuit Order! - Karl exclaimed, imitating Aramis' voice. - Just think, someone else has turned up here! Now I am a general of the Jesuit Order!
After that, Karl stretched out his hand and admired the ring on the middle finger of his right hand. The ring was magnificent, its diamonds sparkled in the sun.

Chapter LVI. Cunning vs Brute Strength

Aramis set himself the task of getting a good night's sleep in the dungeon in which he was imprisoned. He told himself to throw all problems out of his head and give his brilliant head a rest. As for Athos, he was convinced that Raoul had chosen the right path in life and was internally prepared for any turns in his own destiny. Porthos was somewhat upset that he was not fed before going to bed, but he sensibly reasoned that sleep is the best cure for hunger, although not effective enough, so within five minutes after he assumed a horizontal position, his cell began to be filled with loud snoring.
At five o'clock in the morning, the doors of Aramis' cell opened and two armed men entered, one of whom could easily be recognized as a nobleman and an officer, and the other as an ordinary guard.
“The monsignor demands you!” - said the officer. - Let's go, quickly!
Aramis smiled and followed the guards with a light heart.
- Scoundrel! You have spoiled me! - Karl exclaimed as soon as Aramis entered the luxurious bedroom where the Duke lay in bed.
Around Karl there were various bottles, mainly wine. Bloody sweat was running down his face, his breathing was ragged, his whole body was trembling, and his eyes were twitching nervously. Everything indicated that the Duke was seized by a serious illness.
“I hope you didn’t drink too much of this wine?” - Aramis asked coldly.
- Damn the wine! It doesn't even fit into me! - the Duke growled. - Tell me immediately what kind of damage you brought on me, how you managed it, and how I can recover from it!
“I told you that you committed a crime, and that the Order will punish you for it,” Aramis answered calmly. - Tomorrow morning you will most likely be dead, unless... However, unlikely! No, you will undoubtedly be dead by tomorrow morning.
- What kind of “if only”?! - Karl seethed. - Tell me everything you know about my illness! Or I'll have you skinned and roasted over low heat!
“I am not afraid of death, I have the means to avoid pain, but even if I do not use them, I am ready to endure any pain, since I am a true Jesuit, with all the ensuing consequences of this,” answered Aramis. “Try to make peace with me, and then perhaps I will spare you a painful death, or at least give you as much relief and respite as possible.” If you concentrate on taking revenge on me, your fate will be deplorable, such that I would not wish such torment as awaits you on any enemy.
- Fine! - Karl wheezed. - I'm ready to make a truce. I am ready to admit that I lost and accept your rules of the game if you give me a cure for the disease that tormented me all night, but first tell me how you managed to send it to me.
“Let everyone come out,” said Aramis.
Karl made a sign for the guards and the doctor to leave the room.
“Your blood is infected with a deadly poison, for which, however, there is an antidote,” said Aramis. - In order for you to believe me that this is not a coincidence, I am ready to tell you how the infection occurred, since knowing the method will no longer help you save yourself without entering into an agreement with me and fully complying with the conditions that I will set for you . First, return to me what does not belong to you. For now I’m not talking about a person, but about a thing. Give me back the ring of the General of the Order.
Karl, with great regret, took the general's ring from his finger and gave it to Aramis. The prelate carefully examined the ring, after which he made some manipulations with it with his dexterous fingers and put the ring on the middle finger of his right hand.
“I will tell you the reason for your illness,” said Aramis. “You didn’t listen to me carefully.” But I said that not only the ring gives me my power, but also important secret knowledge. There are many of them, and you will not be able to force them out of me. Now I will share with you only one of the most insignificant secrets, so that you understand that the Jesuit Order does not make such primitive mistakes as you hoped for. The ring that you temporarily acquired through dishonest means has an important feature. Outwardly, it remained the same as I received it from my predecessor, but I remade it, stuffing it with a special filling. The best Swiss craftsmen made a special mechanism for it, using the inventions of the brilliant Dutch mechanic Christiaan Huygens, according to my special order. A very precise clock mechanism is placed inside the ring. There are no other such mechanisms anywhere else in the world. What is there is much more complex than any watch mechanisms you might have ever seen, and the parts for this mechanism were simultaneously made according to Huygens' drawings by the best jewelers from all over the world, not knowing the purposes for which they were making them. The mechanism was assembled by the inventor himself using the best magnifying glasses. This mechanism continuously keeps accurate time. Once a day, it must be wound up so that it does not stop, turning the gear wheel, which looks like an ordinary ornament around the stone. Without knowing how to handle this ring, you will never be able to start this mechanism.
- To hell with this ring! - Karl exclaimed. - Tell me about my illness!
“That’s what I do,” Aramis continued. — So, the mechanism inside the ring must be wound regularly, once a day. “If you don’t do this, then you absolutely cannot wear it on your finger.” The fact is that if you do not wind the watch, then a day after the last winding, a miniature needle with deadly poison is released from inside the ring, which, striking the skin of the finger, will inject a microscopic dose of poison, after which the needle will move to the opposite microscopic depression on the ring. The scratch it makes as it scratches across your finger is so insignificant that you will hardly feel it. But the poison is so strong that you will not be saved from a painful death unless you take the antidote.
- Yes, yes, the antidote! - Karl exclaimed. - Hurry up and give it to me!
“So, I took measures so that any person who took possession of this ring and did not know its secret, who dared to wear it on his finger, would be doomed to death,” Aramis continued as if nothing had happened.
- To hell with explanations, give me the antidote! - continued the Duke.
“You will have to listen to my words and try to convince me that it is advisable to give you an antidote,” Aramis replied. “Otherwise we won’t agree.” So, I equipped the ring with such a clever mechanism that if anyone were to remove it after it had worked, that person would not be able to find anything suspicious about it. If the mechanism in the ring is not returned to its original state after this, then after some time the main stone on it will turn so that none of those initiated into the secrets of the Jesuit Order will recognize the owner of the ring as a general of the Order. Thus, from the very beginning you should have believed me that by force you will not be able, even after taking this ring from me, to usurp my power and use it against me and my friends.
- Insidious Jesuit! - Karl exclaimed with hatred.
“A Jesuit, smart and prudent,” Aramis corrected Karl and, raising his left eyebrow, bowed with an ironic smile. - What did you want? So that the Jesuits simply carry some trinkets with them and obey the first scoundrel who, by cunning or force, takes possession of some trinkets? It's funny, really!
- Medicine! - Karl wheezed. - Hurry up and give me some medicine.
“Okay,” Aramis said and nodded his head. “You invited me a little late and we don’t have much time to argue with you.” Therefore, I will meet you halfway. I will give you a medicine that will delay your death for at least a day, but no more. If you behave well, you will receive the rest of the dose. If not, you will die within a day.
After these words, Aramis performed some more secret manipulations with his ring, using his strong and sharp nails, after which a microscopic tablet, smaller than a grain of rice, rolled out onto his palm.
“Swallow this right now, without washing it down with water,” Aramis ordered. “You will soon feel relief, but remember that this dose will only delay your death by a day.”
Karl carefully took the medicine offered to him and swallowed it.
“Now you have enough time to calmly listen to my conditions,” Aramis continued. - Know that you need to take the antidote in sufficient doses every month. Once you stop taking it, you will die. Do not try to find it or find out its composition, it is known only to me, like the composition of the poison that you received as punishment for an attempt on the power of the General of the Order. Therefore, from now on and forever, your life is in my hands.
Karl sighed sadly.
- Can you and I agree that you give me a dose, say, for five or ten years in advance? - he asked.
“That’s impossible,” answered Aramis. “However, even if I wanted to, I can’t give you such a large dose, and besides, the medicine will spoil after three months of storage,” he lied.
“Okay,” the Duke answered obediently. “I will release you and your friends and return your swords to you, provided that you promise to supply me with this medicine in a timely manner.”
“I dictate the terms here,” Aramis objected. “Of course, you must return freedom and swords to me and my friends, in addition, you must let us go with the man about whom we had a very interesting conversation yesterday.” In addition, you and I will try to forget about your disobedience to the general of the Order, and in the future you will completely obey your general as you should have done if you were a member of the Order. In this case, I will regularly supply you with the necessary medicine and then you will be able to live as many more years as the Lord allows you.
Karl chewed his lips displeasedly. At that moment, he hated Aramis not so much for the inconvenience caused, but for the need to admit defeat.
“So that you have no doubt that we can come to an agreement, Duke, I offer you another ring,” said Aramis, taking a small ring with a blue stone from his left hand and placing it on Karl’s palm. “Under this stone there is medicine that will last you for a month.” Try to remove it without my help. But I warn you, if you use brute force, the granule will be crushed and mixed with a deadly poison of a different nature. In this case, the antidote will turn into poison. In this case, I will not be able to get you the necessary dose before you die. So it is not only completely pointless, but also dangerous for your life to try to take this ring away from me and turn to jewelers for help or try to remove the stone yourself using any tools. You won't get the cure, you'll destroy it. Only I can save you and only voluntarily. The medicine is in your hands, in the palm of your hand, but you cannot use it without my help. After you fulfill the conditions I set, I will extract this antidote and give it to you, so that you can forget about the problem for a whole month.
After that, Aramis took the ring back and put it on the finger of his left hand.
- What will happen to me after this? - asked Karl. - Will you give me this medicine tomorrow?
“My consent depends on your behavior,” answered Aramis.
- If I accept your conditions completely, will you promise to regularly supply me with the necessary medications? - asked the Duke.
“I myself, of course, will not visit you unless absolutely necessary,” answered Aramis. - But be completely calm about this. I will find a way to supply you with medicine in a timely manner and in the required quantities. In exchange for your goodwill and obedience.
“One more word,” said Karl, who had already felt the effect of the medicine and stopped choking and trembling. “You have come to arrest me.” Do you insist on fulfilling this intention?
“We came to pick up the person you are holding, and in case of your disobedience, arrest you and still take him,” Aramis answered. “Your complete obedience makes your arrest unnecessary.” Your destruction of His Majesty's order appears to have occurred by accident, so we will try to persuade His Majesty to forgive you for this oversight.
“Okay,” Carl sighed. “But won’t you demand from me tomorrow something beyond what is agreed upon now?” Do you give me your word that the conditions you voiced will not be supplemented by other conditions, and that your promise will be fulfilled regularly and strictly?
“I will,” said Aramis recklessly. “I have my word of honor that I will not add anything to these conditions either tomorrow or later.” Your obedience to the General of the Order will not extend to your property and your rights which you now possess. But disobedience in newly emerging emergency cases will be regarded as termination of the oral agreement concluded between us.
- Remember that you gave your word of honor! - said Karl.
After this, the Duke took the bell and rang it. A doctor, a security officer and a guard entered the room and led Aramis to the patient.
“Mr. Doctor, thank you, I don’t need you anymore, you will receive payment from the secretary,” said the Duke, after which the doctor bowed and left the room.
“This man is free,” Karl said to the remaining guards, pointing to Aramis. “Also bring here the other two nobles arrested yesterday.” They are also free to pick up their swords. In addition, Lieutenant, invite the gentleman who lives in the left wing apartment here.
The officer and guard bowed and left.

Five minutes later, Athos and Porthos appeared before Aramis and Charles.
“We are all free, friends,” said Aramis.
“Aramis, I hope the cost of our freedom was not excessive?” - asked Athos.
“I presented the Duke with some arguments in favor of cooperation with us, which he found convincing,” Aramis replied.
“No matter how you reached the agreement, I believe that you did not have to sacrifice your honor,” said Athos. “We are therefore extremely grateful to you.”
-What are you talking about, my dear Athos? - Aramis waved him off. -Have you forgotten our motto?
“I never forget him,” answered Athos. “But this does not change my sincere desire to thank you and hug you.”
- Damn it, I don’t know how to speak so beautifully, so write these words down to me too! - exclaimed Porthos. - Let's hug!
The friends embraced, showing a certain caution towards Porthos, remembering his remarkable strength.
- Philip? - Athos asked quietly.
“He’ll be with us now,” Aramis answered also quietly.
Athos nodded and bowed to Charles of Lorraine.
“I can’t say that we liked your hospitality, but perhaps you simply didn’t have more comfortable bedrooms for us, Duke?” - he said. “We leave you with a light heart and are so fed up with your hospitality that, apparently, we will never use it again, don’t blame me.”
Soon an officer appeared at the door, followed by Louis-Philippe silently entering the room. Seeing Athos, Porthos and Aramis, he was delighted, but did not say a word.

A few minutes later, Athos, Porthos, Aramis and Philip jumped on their horses and rode out of the gates of the ducal palace. Before leaving completely, Aramis directed his horse towards Karl, who was standing next to him. He made some manipulations with his ring on his left hand, after which a granule twice the size of a grain of rice appeared in his right hand. He passed this pellet to Carl, who immediately swallowed it.

-Where are we going? - asked Philip, who had remained silent until then.
“First of all, get away from here,” Aramis answered. “Then we'll decide where we should all go.”
- Wait, but I can’t just leave the Duke of Lorraine! - Philip exclaimed.
- For what reason, monsignor? - asked Athos.
- The Duke is holding Catherine Charlotte, Princess of Monaco, by force! - Philip answered and blushed.
“Perhaps, to solve the problem that has arisen, we can use the same arguments with which you, Aramis, managed to persuade the Duke to let us and Philip go?” - asked Porthos.
“Having discussed all the terms of our deal, I gave my word of honor that no additional demands would be added to them,” Aramis said sadly.
“In that case, this is not discussed,” Athos agreed.
“I obeyed the demands of Charles of Lorraine only in the hope that it would help me rescue Catherine Charlotte!” - Philip exclaimed. - I don’t need anything else! Was it all in vain? I must return to the Duke!
“You must remain free, and we will try to solve this problem in another way,” answered Aramis. - I’ll have to dodge, since I didn’t take such a possibility into account in my plan for our common liberation, which seemed brilliant to me.
“Your plan was probably brilliant, Aramis, and it’s not your fault that this plan, unfortunately, did not take into account the very circumstance that none of us, except d’Artagnan, ever takes into account,” said Athos.
- What did I forget? - asked Aramis.
“You have forgotten about love,” answered Athos. “In all our plans, friends, love may often have been the means, sometimes it has been the goal, but I believe it has never been an obstacle.” Well, let's go meet d'Artagnan to return here and finish what we started!

Chapter LVII. Punishing the innocent and rewarding the innocent

The Minister of War, Fran;ois-Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, is known to have followed the Marquis d'Arcy in order to better ensure the execution of the King's order. However, only when he was in His Majesty’s reception room did the minister hurry. When he left the Louvre, first of all, he decided to get ready for a long journey. After he had gathered, and his personal guard had also gathered, he decided to add to it a sufficient army with which it would be possible not only to arrest Charles of Lorraine, but also to re-conquer all of Lorraine . We will not condemn him, since everyone knows that the life of the Minister of War is especially priceless during war, therefore no human resources aimed at protecting this person are superfluous. So, having lost a lot of time, but, we remind you, not in vain, Le Tellier the Younger, also known as the Marquis de Louvois, left, in his opinion, with not too much of a delay after leaving on his instructions from the Marquis d'Arcy. Therefore, perhaps our readers will be surprised that he met the Marquis d'Arcy almost at the entrance to Paris. In other words, while de Louvois was preparing to leave for Nancy, d'Arcy had already returned from there. Although we do not find an explanation for this fact, we only tell the reader what happened, and in those few cases where we cannot give an explanation for the events described, we simply describe them without any explanation. So, be that as it may, while the Minister of War was preparing to leave for Nancy, Colonel Marquis d'Arcy had already managed to visit Nancy and return to Paris.
Having met the army led by the Minister of War, the colonel greeted its commander and approached him to give an account of the failed mission.
- Colonel, I don’t see the Duke of Lorraine with you, whom you were supposed to arrest! - exclaimed the minister. - Did you really let him escape?
“I arrived in Nancy and paid a visit to the Duke of Lorraine with the aim of arresting him,” answered the colonel. — The Duke replied that this order had been cancelled. Indeed, the King himself canceled this order, so I was forced to return.
- This can’t be! - the minister was surprised. “Did the Duke really present you with a written order to cancel the arrest order?” It must have been a fake document. Such a document simply cannot exist!
“The Duke did not present me with an order to cancel,” replied the colonel. “The Duke hosted His Majesty, who deigned to come out to me and confirm the Duke’s words that the order for his arrest had been cancelled. After this, His Majesty ordered me to return to Paris.
- Tell me, Colonel, did any other of your people see the King in the Duke’s house? - asked the minister, anxiously peering into the colonel’s face and looking for signs of some kind of mental illness.
“I was alone, because the Duke did not intend to resist,” answered the colonel.
- So, none of your people can confirm your words? - asked the minister.
- Sire, I myself am capable of answering for my words! - answered the colonel, straightening up in the saddle and trying to give his posture a proud look. - If my words cause doubts in you, I ask you to accept my resignation!
“Colonel, I cannot doubt your words, since you say that you saw the King in Nancy, but let me note that this simply cannot be,” the minister objected. “At the same time that you were in Nancy, I was in the Louvre and saw His Majesty and had the good fortune to listen to his instructions, and also had a conversation on other related topics. I would be glad to believe your words, but in this case I must stop believing my own eyes. In addition, hundreds of people can confirm that the King is in the Louvre and has been there all these days, while you, having sixty guards, cannot present a single person who would confirm your words. I'll have to ask you for your sword, Colonel.
D'Arcy silently pulled his sword out of its scabbard and handed it to the adjutant who had arrived at the minister's sign.
- Am I under arrest, sir? - he asked coldly.
“You are detained until all the circumstances are clarified,” the minister also answered coldly.
After this, the minister ordered the cavalcade he led to turn around and return to Paris.
An hour later, the minister, together with the colonel, came to receive the King.
Louis was very surprised at the minister’s quick return and wished to receive him immediately.
-Have you already arrested the Duke of Lorraine? - he asked. - Where is he? In the Bastille?
“Your Majesty, he is not arrested,” the minister replied.
“Then what are you doing here?” - Louis asked in irritation. “You don’t understand my order?” Have you decided to convince me that you are not in your position? Well, I'll find someone else to fill this position.
- Your Majesty, allow me to justify myself! - the minister exclaimed in despair. - I beg you, listen to the Marquis d'Arcy!
“Marquis, I’m listening to you,” answered the King and looked at the colonel with attention.
“Your Majesty, I am not guilty of anything,” said the colonel. “I just followed all your instructions exactly.” Since Your Majesty informed me that you had canceled the arrest order for the Duke of Lorraine and ordered me to return to Paris, that is exactly what I did.
“So, you claim that I canceled my own order for the arrest of the Duke of Lorraine,” the King said more calmly, beginning to understand what had really happened. - How did I cancel it, in writing or orally?
“You were visiting the Duke, came out and informed me of the cancellation of the order and your order for me to immediately return to Paris,” answered the colonel.
- Do you hear, Luvois? - said Louis. - I warned you that this is not an easy matter! And so I gave you additional instructions that you should follow!
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the minister confirmed, not understanding what he was talking about.
“Tell me, Colonel,” the King turned to the Marquis d’Arcy, “you, of course, asked him, that is, asked me to name the password that would confirm my order to cancel the order for the arrest of Charles the Fourth of Lorraine?”
- Password? muttered D'Arcy. - Should I have asked you for the password?
- Exactly! - Louis answered. “Or didn’t the minister tell you about this?”
With these words, the King looked intently into the minister's eyes.
- Tell me, de Louvois, you didn’t forget to give the password to Colonel D’Arcy? - he asked sternly. “After all, I clearly told you that even if I myself try to cancel the order to arrest the Duke of Lorraine, this order will be invalid if I do not give the password!” Do you remember this? Have you communicated this condition to your envoy?
After these words, Louis also looked intently at the colonel, after which he again looked into the minister’s face.
“I'm dead! - thought Louvois. “I didn’t tell D’Arcy about this!” What should I do? But, by the way, who besides me and D'Arcy knows that I didn't tell him this? And who will the King trust more, me or him? Eh, don’t die!”
- Yes, Colonel! - the minister exclaimed at the same moment. “How could you not ask His Majesty for the password I told you?”
— The password you told me, Mr. Minister? - the colonel asked again, not understanding anything.
- Well, yes, of course! - the minister exclaimed without the slightest shadow of doubt. - Remember! After all, I told you that His Majesty’s order should be carried out in any case, and no written or even oral order from His Majesty can cancel this order to arrest the Duke! I told you that in the unlikely event that His Majesty suddenly decided to cancel this order, then this decision should be considered invalid unless His Majesty said the password!
- What password are you talking about, Mr. Minister? - D'Arcy asked in surprise.
- Remember! - the minister exclaimed with ostentatious irritation. - After all, I told you that His Majesty will say: “Happy is the King with such servants”! If this phrase is not uttered, then, therefore, His Majesty is canceling this order for appearances, but in fact this order should be executed!
“You told him that, de Louvois, did you really say that?” - asked Louis. - You instructed him well enough, but he did not follow your instructions? Is that so, Mr. Colonel?
“I beg your pardon, Your Majesty, I don’t remember such instructions,” said D’Arcy, embarrassed.
- Ha! So that's it! - exclaimed the minister. “I remember a month or so ago, a colonel told me that you, D’Arcy, were beginning to experience memory lapses.” I didn't believe him, but it turns out he was right! Your memory is really starting to fail!
-Who is this colonel? - asked D'Arcy, internally filled with rage, but realizing that in the presence of the King one should show restraint of all emotions. - Could you tell me his name?
- So that you challenge him to a duel? - exclaimed the minister. - Never! It doesn’t matter at all from whom exactly I learned this, because now I myself see that memory lapses happen to you! I was right to tell you to give up your sword!
“Did you tell the colonel to give him his sword?” - asked the King. - So you arrested him? Or were you removed from your position? Even before talking to me?
“I suspected that the colonel was guilty of not following your order, Your Majesty,” the minister replied. “I never thought that he forgot to request the password, but now everything has become clear, and the colonel’s guilt has been confirmed.”
“Well, Colonel, you should go under house arrest,” the King said dryly. “I advise you to invite a doctor and ask him for some potions to restore your memory.” If your memory is restored, perhaps you will still serve your King, say, with the rank of captain. And you, Minister, I have nothing to reproach, however, the job has not been completed, and you have to personally bring it to the end. I hope you have understood the importance of confirming the cancellation of the arrest order for the Duke with a password.
“I cannot instruct him to arrest Philip, because it would sound absurd! - thought Louis. “I can’t tell him to arrest me if I don’t give the password!” He will think that his King has gone mad!”
“I order you not only to arrest Charles of Lorraine, but also to immediately send me a messenger with the news that this matter is completed, and until my arrival, blockade the Duke’s palace, not letting anyone out or letting anyone in,” he said. “At the same time, I prohibit any communication with anyone you find in the palace.” Whoever is there, without the password, he must not leave the palace before I arrive. Even if it is the Pope himself, if he does not give the password, he must remain in the palace. Do you understand me?
“Yes, Your Majesty,” replied de Louvois. “I must arrest Charles of Lorraine and take him under escort to the Bastille, and in the meantime the Duke’s palace must be blocked, no one has the right to leave it unless he gives you the password you have given.”
- Tell me, what, in your opinion, is more important - to deliver Charles of Lorraine to the Bastille, or not to let anyone else out of the Duke's palace? - asked the King.
- Both are important, Your Majesty! - answered the minister.
“I agree,” replied the King. “But with which group of troops will you remain until I arrive in Nantes?” Will you accompany Charles to the Bastille, or will you lead the army that blocks the Duke's palace?
“I suppose I should remain with the most significant contingent of troops,” replied the minister. “I must lead the army that is blockading the palace of the Duke of Lorraine.”
“That’s right,” agreed the King. - You understood me correctly, Mr. Minister, I am pleased.
- I am glad to serve Your Majesty! - the minister exclaimed joyfully.
“It’s a strange thing, Mr. Minister,” Louis said thoughtfully. “When you receive an order from me and tell me how well you understood it, you seem to me to be a quite intelligent person.”
At these words, de Louvois bowed to the King.
“I would like to have the same feeling when you report on how you fulfilled my order,” the King said with a sigh.
- I will try to carry out your order, Your Majesty, as accurately as possible! - answered de Louvois.
The king nodded and indicated that the audience was over.

Chapter LVIII. On the way to Nantes

D'Artagnan, Francois, Suzanne and de Planche, meanwhile, were moving towards Nantes. Francois was glad to have instructive conversations with his father and asked him a question regarding the political situation in France. While Suzanne questioned de Planche about his unfortunate relative, d'Artagnan decided to share some of his views with Francois, experiencing a hitherto unfamiliar feeling of a father's responsibility for the fate of his son, and gradually being carried away by the role of an older mentor.
“The international situation is always complicated, and there is no point in discussing it,” answered the marshal. “We are among our own people, so, of course, we can discuss something, but it’s better not to do it.” Let's say there is a military conflict. In order to understand how it will end, it is enough to imagine for a moment that the ultimate dream of each of the warring parties will come true. At the same time, it is necessary to understand whether the loser and his allies will accept such an end to the war? If they don’t reconcile themselves, then what will it lead to and how it could end. Almost no one ever succeeded in destroying all enemies. The last such enemies to be completely destroyed were the Neanderthals. You should also understand that a dream is a dream because it is not destined to come true. Suppose we completely occupy Holland. Will it become French? Never! Now suppose that the Dutch completely expel us from the territory of their country. Will they chase us into our territory? Very doubtful. Consequently, this war will end with the expulsion of our troops from Dutch territory completely. Now let's look at the conflict in Alsace and Lorraine. Let us assume that these provinces have finally become ours. Will the Dukes of Lorraine calm down after this? I'm sure not. Will the King have the courage to exterminate this family to the roots? After all, they are relatives of the royal family, so I rule that out. Consequently, Lorraine and Alsace will continue to remain a source of conflict and rebellion. And they will constantly turn to neighboring small German states for support. The population of these places is mixed, there are both French and Germans. Consequently, this problem can only be solved if more French people live there than Germans. Until then, this area will give rise to constant military conflicts, and the Dukes of Lorraine will never stop intriguing. However, I am inclined to believe that the German states would rather renounce their claims to this fertile land than France agree to let it go from their hands. Therefore, whatever you say, Lorraine and Alsace will ultimately be ours. When this will happen, I don't know. Perhaps a hundred years after us, or maybe two hundred or even three hundred. However, Francois, I will give you one piece of advice. You can listen to any opinion on any political issue, but you should not contradict. Stay calm, my son, and to do this, maintain the appearance of neutrality. And this is only possible if you manage to demonstrate ignorance of the issues that are being discussed in front of you. I have always tried to adhere to this line of behavior, although, God knows, I have not always succeeded. The fact is that, unfortunately, I already have my own opinion on almost any issue of our time, and since I consider it mine, I am not going to share it with anyone. Do you know what they call an exchange of opinions? You go to a noble dignitary higher than you with your opinion, and you leave him with his opinion. But since there are a lot of dignitaries higher than you and me, we cannot change our opinions like gloves just because from time to time we meet one or another higher dignitary! Therefore, accept my rule and you will stay alive. Listen to everyone, but don’t express your opinion to anyone on such a sensitive topic. And, besides, keep in mind that the more attentively the interlocutor listens to you, the more dangerous he is, since he does not object, but is busy remembering your words. But in such subtle matters there are almost never two completely coinciding opinions. Therefore, if they don’t object to you, it means they are not sincere with you. This means that the interlocutor remembers your words in order to use them against you. Our weapon is not words, but the sword, my son! Let us remain faithful to her and leave intrigues to such people as Richelieu, Mazarin, Colbert and, of course, our dear Aramis. For we are not going to share the fate of Concino Concini, Nicolas Fouquet, Henri de Talleyrand-P;rigord de Chalet, Henri Coifier de Ruze de Saint-Mars and other politicians who rose extremely high only to be overthrown from this height.
“It turns out, father, that we should be willing to go into battle, regardless of whether we agree with the goal that this battle is pursuing?” - asked Francois.
“This is the only thing that remains for a military man, from the lowest rank to the minister of war,” answered d’Artagnan. “As soon as you start thinking about the expediency of a battle, you cease to be a military man.” It was for this reason that I allowed myself not to return to military service after recovery, although a marshal’s baton awaited me at home.
“But you came back, father, and accepted this marshal’s baton, didn’t you?” - asked Francois.
“I simply had no choice,” d’Artagnan answered with a sigh. “I made such a mess that it would have been difficult even for the King and all his ministers combined to sort it out without my help.” I came here not to make a career, but to atone for my sins, my son. As soon as I finish this matter, I intend to disappear not only from the political scene, but also from the military and secular ones. I will leave France in every sense.
“We have to hope that it will take you a lot of time, father, to complete your mission, because only in this case we won’t have to part too quickly,” said Francois.
“I would like to make amends as soon as possible, because before that my soul is not in the right place,” objected d’Artagnan. “I’m starting to fear that I will be killed before I complete my mission, and a military man who is afraid of death is a bad military man.” You don't want me to lose my self-respect, do you? Therefore, the speedy completion of this matter is the best thing that can happen to us, and this is exactly what I wish with all my heart.
“What should be the outcome of your mission, father?” - asked Francois.
“The man who now poses a danger to France must be far enough from its borders, and he must be happy enough not to think about returning,” answered the marshal. “You need circumstances in which the very thought of returning should seem absurd to him.”
- What are these circumstances? - Francois asked.
“I thought about it a lot,” answered d’Artagnan. “At first it seemed to me that this was a prosperous and happy life surrounded by friends. Now I'm not sure about this. It seems to me that there is only one way to make a person give up all ambitions, give up power, fame and wealth.
- Is this love, father? - Francois guessed.
“Perhaps, perhaps, my son,” answered d’Artagnan. - In any case, this means seems to me quite strong, although I do not know a single example where love would keep a person from striving for power or wealth. In addition, I do not know of a single example where love retained its strength throughout a person’s entire life. In any case, if we talk about mutual love.
- Do you think that mutual love is weaker than unrequited love, father? - Francois was surprised.
“I’m not the only one who thinks so,” said d’Artagnan with a sigh. “That was also the opinion of one very intelligent Englishman named William Shakespeare.” And it seems to me, damn him, that he was right. Just don't tell Suzanne about this!
-You don’t love her? - asked Francois.
“I love her more than life itself and would not hesitate to give my life for her,” answered d’Artagnan. “And I pray to heaven that it will always be like this, as long as my heart beats and as long as the blood flows in my veins.” But…
- But?
“But I cannot forget a lady whom I loved in the days of my youth,” the Gascon sighed.
— Was your love unrequited? - Francois suggested.
“Not at all,” answered d’Artagnan. “She was quite happy, but very short-lived.” My Constance is dead, poor thing. We managed to enjoy each other and did not have time to get one iota closer to indifference, that terrible rust that corrodes any strong feeling.
“Are you afraid that indifference will arise between you and Suzanne?” - asked Francois.
“I’m mortally afraid,” admitted d’Artagnan. “I would like our love to be an exception, and to differ in this sense from all the examples that I know.” But I left Suzanne without any doubt to fulfill my duty. This is a very flattering characterization of my sense of duty, and if it were otherwise, I would put a bullet in my forehead, however, I must confess that my love is not such as to tie me to the place where my beloved resides.
- So you never left your beloved, whom you remember, for a minute? - asked Francois.
- Hell no! - D'Artagnan objected. “We almost never saw her.” Our meetings can be counted on the fingers of one hand, and three fingers are not needed!
“Then the love of your youth was not all-consuming either, father,” said Francois.
“You’re probably right, but my heart doesn’t know this and tells me something completely different,” the Gascon sighed.
“I think that in your heart the image of the beloved of your youth has united with the image of Suzanne, and you love her no less than that lady,” said Francois. “And I also want to think that in this all-consuming love there is a particle of feelings towards my mother.”
After these words, d'Artagnan looked into Francois's face and wanted to hug him and press him to his chest. Francois also looked into his father’s face and saw that tears were shining in the corners of his eyes.
“You’re right, Francois, it is,” said d’Artagnan, “I’m becoming sentimental!” I guess it's old age.
- Why don’t you want to attribute your sentimentality to mental maturity? - asked Francois. “I have tired you with questions, father, and Mademoiselle Suzanne, it seems to me, is tired of communicating with de Planche.” While we are talking, she looked back at you four times.
D'Artagnan patted Francois on the shoulder and gave his horse spurs in order to catch up with Suzanne and start with her a meaningless but very important conversation, which are all conversations between loving people, no matter what age they are.

Chapter LIX. Travel companions
 
After some time, d'Artagnan and his companions caught up with Minister de Louvois and his army. Among them was also the new commander of the guards, the Duke de Rochefort. Since de Louvois was aware of d'Artagnan's new appointment as Marshal of France, and he had also been given the highest royal commission, he greeted the Marshal favorably. When the minister learned that the marshal and his companions were also heading to Nantes, he offered to join the army and conduct the journey in a joint conversation. Something told the minister that their missions were somehow connected, and he expected to receive useful information from the marshal.
“My dear Monsieur Minister,” said d’Artagnan, “you are undoubtedly heading to Nantes in order to arrest the Duke of Lorraine.”
This sounded not as a question, but as a statement, so de Louvois was once again convinced of d'Artagnan's knowledge of the affairs of the King.
“Yes, as you know, count, this is a very delicate matter,” de Louvois said at random, hoping to get the marshal to talk and learn something new and important.
- Very much, Monsieur Marquis, very much! - D'Artagnan responded.
“But I intend to carry it out strictly and with the utmost precision!” - exclaimed de Louvois, just in case, and looked expressively at d'Artagnan.
- Oh, I have no doubt about your diligence! - D'Artagnan replied, wanting to compliment the minister. “His Majesty is simply lucky to have servants like you, Marquis!”
- Oh, Count! Did you also receive this password from the King? - exclaimed de Louvois, who did not pay attention to the inaccurate coincidence of the phrase spoken by d'Artagnan with the password invented by Louis.
“Of course,” answered the cunning Gascon, who did not understand what was being said, but decided to play along with the minister, just in case. “Actually, I know at least three of the most important passwords and five passwords of ordinary importance, just in case,” he added casually.
“You probably carried out especially secret orders for the King more than once or twice!” - the minister exclaimed with respect.
“Not without that,” agreed d’Artagnan. “As you know, for the last two years everyone thought I was dead. This was necessary to carry out a top-secret mission on special instructions from His Majesty.
The minister once again looked at d'Artagnan with respect.
— And this mission brought you the title of Marshal of France? - he asked.
“Not quite, Marquis,” answered d’Artagnan. “I received the marshal’s baton earlier, just two years ago, but the celebration on this occasion had to be postponed for two years precisely because of this mission. By the way, why didn’t you give me feedback in response to the password I said? After all, it was a test!
- Examination? - asked de Louvois.
- Well, yes, check! - said d'Artagnan without blinking an eye. - After all, when you hear a password, you’re supposed to give a secret response to it!
“But His Majesty did not give any feedback,” de Louvois said in confusion.
“Of course,” agreed d’Artagnan. — In some cases, the review is not called. These are precisely those cases when the response to a password is its exact repetition, word for word. You had to repeat word for word the very password that His Majesty gave you.
- Oh, I understand! - guessed de Louvois. - That is, I should have told you in response: “Happy is the King with such servants,” wasn’t it?
“Yes, it is very important to repeat the password in response exactly as you just did, without changing a single word, without adding or subtracting a single syllable,” said d’Artagnan.
- But that’s exactly what I said! - exclaimed de Louvois. - I said “Happy is the King with such servants”!
“But the first time you added “Isn’t it?” - clarified d'Artagnan. - You shouldn't have added the phrase "isn't it" after saying the password if the password does not include that "isn't it" and if the password includes "isn't it" then you should have added that phrase a second time. But the password doesn't include the phrase "Isn't it true", does it?
- Yes exactly! - agreed de Louvois, who was completely confused.
“So, I ask you, Marquis, tell me the password in response exactly as you should have said it, without adding or subtracting a single word, because it’s not difficult,” asked d’Artagnan, beaming with such a benevolent smile that he Louvois simply could not be angry with him and did not dare refuse him.
“Happy is the King with such servants,” de Louvois said very slowly, separating each word with long pauses.
- Excellent, Mr. Minister! - exclaimed the Gascon. “You masterfully master the ability to use passwords assigned by His Majesty himself!” I will certainly report to him about the accuracy with which you carry out his special assignment.
- Indeed? - de Louvois perked up.
- Absolutely! - confirmed d'Artagnan. “And now I ask you not to use this password unless absolutely necessary, because this is the password from the King of France himself!”
“Yes, you’re right,” de Louvois agreed.
“Tell me, Mr. Minister, now that we have exchanged the password and feedback and are finally convinced that we are carrying out the same order of His Majesty, your mission is not only to arrest the Duke of Lorraine?” - asked d'Artagnan. “After all, you must be entrusted with certain actions in relation to other persons located in the Duke’s palace?”
- The true truth! - de Louvois perked up. “I must create a cordon around the palace and not let anyone out until His Majesty arrives!”
“Yes, that’s right,” agreed d’Artagnan. “And, of course, His Majesty will tell you his password upon arrival.” If he does not tell you this password, you are ordered not to obey even His Majesty.
- It turns out that you know exactly my instructions! - de Louvois was delighted. - Explain to me what its secret meaning is? Why does the King order me to disobey the King unless he tells me the password that he himself told me?
“I can, of course, explain to you the reason for this order,” said d’Artagnan thoughtfully.
- Well, well, I'm listening! - exclaimed de Louvois.
“But in this case I will have to arrest you and imprison you in the Bastille,” said d’Artagnan and smiled. - Forever.
- Forever? - asked de Louvois.
“Yes, until the end of your life,” confirmed d’Artagnan. - Or stab you with my sword. In any case, this is the only condition under which I can reveal to you the details of this secret.
“And you would dare to do this in front of my army?” - asked de Louvois with disbelief. “After all, you would have been torn to pieces by my soldiers.”
“I readily believe,” agreed d’Artagnan. “But this consideration would not deter me from fulfilling my duty, and that would be precisely this, you can believe me.”
“I see it is in our interests that each of us keep our secrets,” said de Louvois after some reflection. - In any case, you keep your secrets, and I will keep mine.
“That’s right,” agreed d’Artagnan. “I assure you, your secrets do not interest me.”
“Everything you knew, you’ve already told me,” he thought. “You can hardly tell me anything important beyond that.”

Chapter LX. Nancy

In Nancy, d'Artagnan met Athos, Porthos and Aramis, who could not help but pay attention to the arrival of such a brilliant army, and decided to look for their friend among the officers.
Aramis informed d'Artagnan of the results of their actions. It was obvious that the arrest of Charles of Lorraine was no longer urgently necessary, since Philip was released, however, due to the fact that Philip considered his fate connected with the fate of Catherine Charlotte, Princess of Monaco, and did not agree to leave Nancy without rescuing her from captivity treacherous Duke, the situation did not seem so clear to d'Artagnan.
“I tried to explain to Philip that the more interest he shows in the princess, the more difficult it is to save her,” Aramis said with bewilderment. “After all, if he had shown indifference to her, Karl would have considered keeping her in captivity useless, not to mention the fact that it was dangerous for him, since he would acquire an additional influential enemy in the person of the Prince of Monaco. But Philip does not agree to leave Nancy in any way; he believes that our duty is to free her.
“And he’s absolutely right, Aramis!” - answered d'Artagnan. - I would have done the same thing! Remember how all three of you went with me on a long journey in order to rescue Constance from the hands of my lady!
“Personally, I set out in the hope of catching my lady and tearing the poisonous sting out of the mouth of this snake,” Aramis answered, shrugging his shoulders.
“You are slandering yourself, my friend,” objected d’Artagnan. “You shared with me the dangers of this adventure, as well as the dangers of previous trips, out of a sense of friendship. Do you remember how, before his trip to England, Athos asked who needed it - me or the Queen. When I said that the Queen needed it, all three of you remained indifferent to my request, but when I added that I needed it, you all decided that you would go with me.
- Yes, those were very fun times! - exclaimed Porthos.
“And we were so young and desperate,” Athos agreed.
- Have we really grown so old that we cannot understand the love of a young man? - asked d'Artagnan.
“All love is a delusion, since the lover does not see the shortcomings of the object of his love, or, more precisely, perceives everything, even its shortcomings, as advantages,” Athos noted philosophically.
“Perhaps so, damn it, but this delusion is the best thing that can happen to a person throughout his life, isn’t it?!” - D'Artagnan answered warmly.
“I see, my friend, you still haven’t lost the ability to feel something like that, so with you, d’Artagnan, this best thing, apparently, can still happen in the future, or rather, we must think that it has already happened to you in the present,” said Athos.
“Don’t pretend to be an old man, Athos, it suited you when you were thirty-seven, but now it doesn’t suit you, because God forbid, we will believe that you have become an old man,” objected d’Artagnan. - I am convinced that all is not lost with you. And someday, perhaps, you will meet your new love.
“This is not about me, because we are now deciding what to do with Philip,” Athos waved it off, although the observant d’Artagnan noticed that his words probably hit the target.
“We will proceed from the fact that our tasks include the inevitable release of the Princess of Monaco from the hands of the Duke of Lorraine,” said Aramis. - If the Marquis de Louvois arrests the Duke, and then the army that arrived with him blocks all the entrances and exits from his palace, does this make our task easier, or more difficult?
“This, I believe, is already being done, or will be done in the near future,” answered d’Artagnan. “While you and I are discussing the situation, de Louvois is in a hurry to make amends for his mistake, since the Marquis d'Arcy, whom he sent, did not fulfill his task.
“He was interrupted by Philip, whom he mistook for the King,” said Athos.
“The king gave de Louvois a password for this case, which had to be pronounced when changing any of the king’s orders,” answered d’Artagnan. “As far as I understand, even in order to cancel the order for the arrest of the Duke of Lorraine, he had to pronounce this password.
- Do you know him? - Aramis asked quickly.
“Yes, I recognized him by chance,” said d’Artagnan. - It goes like this: “Happy is the King with such servants.”
“I think that de Louvois forgot to give the password to the Marquis d'Arcy, and that is why Philip and the Duke managed to trick the Marquis,” Aramis guessed. “It turns out that D'Arcy is not such a fool as we took him for.” This epithet should be applied to another person.
“So, having the password, we must enter the Duke’s palace and find out where he is keeping the Princess of Monaco,” said d’Artagnan. “If she is there, then with the help of the password we will take her out of the palace and the issue will be resolved.”
- What if she’s not there? - asked Porthos. - Are we going to turn the palace upside down and cause a real destruction there?
“No, in this case we will look for another way to solve our problem,” said d’Artagnan.
“It’s a pity,” Porthos sighed. - We could have some fun.
“But we haven’t decided yet whether we will prevent the duke’s arrest, or whether we will rescue him?” - asked Athos.
“Strictly speaking, this is none of our business,” said Aramis. “Until now, I thought that I had reached an agreement with the Duke, but two facts were revealed. First, keeping the Princess of Monaco in captivity. Secondly, the probable arrest of the Duke himself. In new circumstances there may be new solutions.

Chapter LXI. Duchess of Lorraine

Charles of Lorraine, at the age of sixty-one, married for the fourth time to the young Marie-Louise d'Aspremont, who was only fourteen years old at the time of the wedding. The Duke's new wife was twelve years younger than her stepdaughter. Now she was twenty-three, and her husband Karl was seventy years old. And despite this, the Duke remained cheerful and vain, active and sometimes reckless, as our readers could already see. Karl's cheerfulness was such that Marie-Louise still had good reasons for jealousy. Another in her place, apparently, herself made the elderly husband worry about the safety of his wife’s honor in the face of so many temptations, which were a sufficient number of young courtiers surrounded by the Duke, but Marie-Louise did not know other men except the Duke, she saw in him a noble lord, her husband given by God, and since the Lord did not send them children in this fourth marriage for the Duke, all her thoughts and worries were concentrated in him. She was afraid of losing him, knowing the customs of this gallant age, so she watched with jealous attention any woman who appeared in Karl’s field of vision. For this reason, of course, she learned that a young woman had appeared in the palace, who was treated like a princess, but whose freedom was clearly taken away, and this excited her extremely. In those times that we are writing about, even noble nobles sometimes entered into marriages that they could not qualify for for one reason or another, committing kidnapping and violence, after which the poor captive was left with either death, disgrace, or marriage with her captors , and not surprisingly, they most often chose the latter option. This is how many marriages were concluded that would have been impossible if someone had inquired about the opinion and desire of the bride. They made mistresses in much the same way.
So, Marie-Louise was very jealous of her husband, Charles of Lorraine. She did not pay attention to the captive Philip, whose face was hidden from everyone, but she was extremely hurt by the appearance of the captive Catherine Charlotte, whom she was not familiar with, but whose slender figure she had already seen. Of course, she concluded that Karl had decided to take a mistress, so she began to spy on everyone who maintained contact with the captive, that is, the maids who brought her food and performed other duties.
When her husband was arrested, Marie-Louise decided that this woman was to blame for this event, and would have hated her even more if it had been possible. The Marquis de Louvois did not search the Duke's palace because he was not authorized to do so. Therefore, the Princess of Monaco remained a captive, since none of the servants involved in her maintenance received orders canceling the established regime of treatment of her. Therefore, the princess herself had no idea that such serious changes had occurred in the fate of her jailer.
Louise realized that while her husband was away, no matter how sad it was, since she was unable to free him, then she could at least try to get rid of her rival, for which she decided to first find out everything about this woman , and if she turns out to be beautiful, then perhaps she would be ready to take extreme measures. She thought about disfiguring her rival's face by inflicting an ugly wound on her face, or throwing acetic acid in her face, and perhaps even killing her, or, in extreme cases, throwing her out of the palace. Choosing a moment when no one would notice her, Marie-Louise approached the door, holding a sharp dagger in her hands, and pulled back the bolt on the door where the captive was languishing.
At first, the princess did not pay attention to Marie-Louise who came to her, deciding that it was just another maid, but turning to her, she recognized her as a noble lady and at the same moment noticed a dagger in her hand.
-Have you come to kill me, madam? - she said. - Well, I'm ready for this. This is very merciful of you now that I have been torn away from my home, from my husband and from my children, and on top of that, my beloved has been taken away. Kill me, I'm not going to oppose your decision.
- Who you are? - asked Marie-Louise. “Why is my husband keeping you captive here?”
- Your husband? - Catherine Charlotte, in turn, was surprised. “If your husband kidnapped me, ask him yourself why he did it!” I don’t know who kidnapped me, I didn’t even see the faces of my kidnappers, because they were wearing masks. At the same time, I am convinced that they acted on the instructions of some nobleman, since the place where I am kept indicates this. Now I am convinced of this. So, this is your husband! Well, madam, I congratulate you on the fact that your husband is the kidnapper of the Princess of Monaco!
— Princess of Monaco? - Marie-Louise exclaimed, not believing her ears. “Are you the same Catherine Charlotte de Gramont who turned the head of the King of France two years ago?” And now you have seduced my husband as well?
- As for the King of France, things are not quite like that, however, think what you want about me. But I didn’t seduce your husband, I don’t even know who he is, and I’ve never seen him,” answered Catherine Charlotte.
“My husband is Charles II, Duke of Lorraine,” Marie-Louise said proudly. - I don’t believe you that you don’t know him!
- Charles the Second of Lorraine?! - Catherine Charlotte exclaimed in horror. - Of course, I know him, but not in the sense that you mean by it. This old man came to my husband and asked for his support in the fight for his dukedom not so long ago, but my husband refused to get involved in this adventure. Is this why he kidnapped me? What deceit, what baseness! I had a better opinion of this man.
— Are you saying that he came to your husband asking for support and was refused? - asked Marie-Louise. “It was probably then that he saw you and fell in love, although I don’t understand why he chose you over me.” Men's tastes are sometimes simply amazing! They are drawn to variety even if their subject on the side is ten years older than their legal spouse! What bad taste!
“Charles of Lorraine has seen me countless times,” answered the princess. “And he never showed any interest in me.” Believe me, madam, this trip could not be the reason for his falling in love. Besides, I didn’t see him during this trip.
- How do you know that he came to your husband and asked him for support? - Marie-Louise doubted.
“My husband does not hide such news from me,” answered Catherine Charlotte. “In recent years, we rarely coo like lovers, but we remained friends, and everything that could somehow interest or entertain me, he tells me, just as I tell him.
“Then why did he kidnap you?” - Marie-Louise insisted.
- I wish I knew! After all, I have already advised you, madam, to ask him this question yourself,” answered the princess. - However, I have one guess. I believe he kidnapped me in order to dictate terms to my great friend.
- Your great friend? - the duchess mimicked. “Who is he, this great friend of yours, that the Duke of Lorraine would be interested in dictating his terms to him?” Are you referring to His Majesty King Louis XIV ?
“Almost so,” the princess answered simply. “My greatest friend is not exactly the King of France, but, believe me, he is in no way inferior to him in anything, and in my opinion, even superior to him in everything.”
- How dare you say such insolence about the King of France, that some nobleman can surpass him in everything? — the Duchess was more surprised than indignant.
“Believe me, in this case this is not insolence at all,” the princess objected. “This case is precisely one where such a comparison is permissible, it cannot be condemned for it, since the person I am talking about is no lower than the King of France in his origin, so my comparison does not humiliate anyone.
- So you are talking about Philippe d'Orl;ans? — the duchess expressed her guess.
“You almost guessed right, duchess, but at the same time you are still far from the truth,” answered the princess. - Since your spouse probably penetrated into the secret of this person, you could ask him about everything, in which case your jealousy towards me would disappear like smoke, since you would agree with me that manipulating this person is for your a husband is much more important than adding me to another of your male victories.
“I can’t ask him because he was arrested by order of the King,” Marie-Louise answered in despair.
“In that case, you can only find out the truth from me,” said the princess. “But I’m not sure that I have the right to tell you this terrible secret.”
“I guess that this man has some power,” said the duchess. “Not long ago an army of sixty men arrived to arrest Charles, but they left empty-handed after he showed them his guest, or perhaps his prisoner.
“You can have no doubt that this was the reason why they left with nothing,” confirmed the princess. “Your husband keeps my friend captive not only as a guarantee of his safety, but also as a source of future elevation, provided he submits.” Unfortunately, he loves me too much to remain intractable. That's the whole secret of my stay here.
“I would believe you, but two days ago Karl released this man, despite the fact that only three nobles came for him,” the duchess objected. “These nobles spent the night in rooms that serve as casemates for disobedient servants and vassals, after which they were released the next morning and, in addition, took this prisoner with them.
“This is very strange,” said the princess. - Did he really leave, leaving me to fend for myself?
“If, as you say, he loves you, then he will come back for you,” said the duchess. “And in this case, if he has sufficient power to override the King’s orders, he will be able to facilitate the release of my husband.” So, your freedom in exchange for Carl's freedom is a pretty good deal for all of us.
- What do you propose, madam? - asked the princess.
“For starters, I’m not going to let you go until I get my husband in return,” answered the duchess, and left the room, locking the doors behind her.
The princess did not have time, and would not have been able to stop her, since the duchess was still armed with a dagger, and besides, she was in her palace, so as soon as she shouted to the servants, the princess would have been grabbed and locked up, not paying attention to her resistance and protests.

Chapter LXII. Duke's Palace

Marie-Louise decided to try to find the people who took Philip away, realizing that this person could assist in the release of her husband Charles of Lorraine. To this end, she got dressed and, accompanied by two servants, prepared to leave the palace to go in a carriage in search.
At each door, as it turned out, there were guards, not letting anyone out. This outraged the Duchess incredibly, but she was informed that this was the King's order, and she must remain calm until His Majesty arrived. In impotent indignation, the duchess returned to her chambers.
At the same time, d'Artagnan, leaving Suzanne under the care of friends, and releasing Francois and de Planche to their native Guards regiment, which, under the command of Count Rochefort, arrived in Nancy, went on reconnaissance to the Duke's palace. There he met the Marquis de Louvois, who comfortably settled in one of the small houses adjacent to the palace, which allowed him to lead the army that surrounded the palace, without burdening himself with the hospitality of the house, the owner of which he arrested and intended to send to Paris, to the Bastille.
- Good morning, Mr. Minister! - D'Artagnan greeted the Marquis.
- Good morning, Mister Marshal! - answered the marquis.
— Through which gate is it more convenient to enter the palace? - inquired d'Artagnan.
“It makes no difference, since at the present moment no one can enter or leave it, according to His Majesty’s orders,” replied the Marquis.
- How long will this situation continue? - asked d'Artagnan.
“Until the arrival of His Majesty,” the Marquis answered with a proud smile. “I will ensure that His Majesty’s orders are carried out with precision.”
- Happy is the King with such servants! - D'Artagnan said to this.
“You are right, Count, I am a worthy servant of His Majesty, which I have proven more than once,” the Marquis answered proudly.
“This is certainly true, but in this case I said the password,” the marshal clarified.
- Password? - The Marquis was surprised. - What password? Oh yes, the password! Well, we both know that you know him and I know him. Why was it said?
“In order, of course, to confirm that I have the right to do what I intend, namely: to visit the Duke’s palace in order to carry out the special instructions of His Majesty,” explained d’Artagnan. - You don’t have to respond to my password with your review, because, as you correctly noted, we both know that we both know the password.
— Do I understand correctly that by uttering the password, you are hinting that you have some special powers from His Majesty? - the Marquis inquired with some doubt.
“Quite right, Monsieur Minister,” agreed d’Artagnan. “And I also believe that the fact that this password has also been given to you proves that you, like me, are endowed with the highest confidence of His Majesty to carry out a special secret mission to save France.”
- Special trust in a special mission? - asked the Marquis. “Of course, I enjoy the special trust of His Majesty, you can rest assured of that!”
“Consequently, you and I, Monsieur Marquis, have an extremely important responsibility,” said d’Artagnan in a conspiratorial tone. “First of all, and this is the most important thing, it is necessary to examine all the papers of the Duke of Lorraine to identify all his secret connections and to reveal his conspiracy against the King. I will not hide that this is the most responsible and most important assignment. The second thing is to register all the persons present in the palace at the time of the Duke's arrest. This task is routine and not so responsible and important, however, it also needs to be done. So, we have two important things to do and there are two of us. What will we do, Mr. Minister?
- Of course, I have to carry out the most important and most responsible task, because I am the Minister of War! - answered the marquis.
- You're right! How could I not have guessed it myself! This is exactly how it is! - D'Artagnan exclaimed and looked at the minister with a face expressing sincere delight. - Besides, who else but you can sort out all the possible confusing papers! As for me, I am far from loving reading. I'm used to communicating with real people.
“Well, that’s what we’ll do,” the minister answered graciously.
“I advise you to take at least four soldiers with you so that you have someone to carry the papers out of the palace and load them into a carriage, which should be sent to the Louvre personally by the King,” added d’Artagnan. “It’s better to take eight people, because suddenly someone decides to attack you to take revenge for the arrest of their sovereign.”
After these words, the minister decided to take twelve armed guards with him and moved to the duke's palace.
- Don’t you need security, Mister Marshal? - asked the marquis.
“My personal guard is always with me,” answered d’Artagnan and patted his sword. - I won't need more.
After this, the minister, accompanied by his personal guard, and the marshal, accompanied by his personal sword, entered the duke's palace and began their duties, which d'Artagnan had invented for this occasion.
- Dearest! - D'Artagnan turned to the butler. “Mr. Minister of War is heading to the Duke’s office to carry out His Majesty’s orders. Show him the way and send me some servant with whom I can explore the rest of the palace and take a census of those present. The strictest order of the King.
The butler nodded silently and went to carry out d'Artagnan's command, realizing that it was useless to argue, since the convoy around the entire palace spoke for itself most eloquently and convincingly, that the arriving officers should be obeyed.
A minute later, one of the servants approached d'Artagnan.
“I am interested in a noble lady being held here by force,” he said. “If you take me to her immediately, I may be able to ensure that you are not hanged along with all the other servants of the state criminal.”
- Mr. Officer! - the servant begged. - I have absolutely nothing to do with this! I am just the monsignor's servant, doing the simplest job. I'm a peddler.
- Food delivery person? - asked d'Artagnan.
“In a sense, quite the opposite,” the servant answered quietly. — My duty is to take out and wash the chamber pots and clean the most dirty places.
“If so, then I can convince the royal prosecutor not to hang you as a malicious conspirator, but just shoot you,” d’Artagnan reassured the servant. “But if you cooperate with the investigation, you will be left alive and will probably even be allowed to receive the salary you have earned, which, I believe, your master owes you for the month, but only on condition of complete obedience.” So you know what needs to be done.
“If you are talking about the lady who was brought a week ago and is being kept in the right wing of the palace, then of course I will take you to her door!” - said the dumbfounded servant.
- Let's go, and don't try to be cunning with me! - D'Artagnan ordered and patted his sword with his hand, and also cocked the trigger of one of the pistols he had grabbed.

Approaching the doors behind which the Princess of Monaco was locked, d'Artagnan discovered that in addition to the bolt, there was a large lock hanging on them.
“Open it,” the marshal ordered.
- But I don’t have the keys! - answered the servant. - The duchess probably has the keys to this castle!
- Why are you lying, idiot? - D'Artagnan was indignant. - How do you take out the chamber pots if you don’t have the keys to this room?
“This room has never been locked,” answered the servant. “It could only be locked with a bolt, and one of the Duke’s soldiers was always on duty at the door. They let me in for the need that I fulfilled. This castle appeared after yesterday, that is, either in the evening, or at night, or this morning.
“Then bring your mistress here, the Duchess of Lorraine, or I will break down this door,” said d’Artagnan. “If you bring someone else instead of the Duchess, I will personally make sure that you are not just hanged, but first quartered, then burned, and then what remains is hanged.” You understood me?
“But the duchess will not listen to me and will not come here at my request,” the frightened servant timidly objected.
“Well, then take me to her,” agreed d’Artagnan. “I’ll find arguments to convince her to obey the orders of the King of France, transmitted by the secret executor of his will in my person.”
On trembling legs, the servant escorted d'Artagnan to the duchess's apartment.

Chapter LXIII. Duchess

“Duchess, allow me to introduce myself, Marshal of France Charles Ogier de Bats de Castelmore Count d'Artagnan,” said our Gascon. “I come from the Montesquiou-Fezansac family, but this relationship honors them rather than me. If I seemed immodest to you, it is only so that you know who you are talking to, and our conversation would be as productive and brief as possible.
“I have certainly heard about you, Count,” replied the Duchess. - However, I did not expect from such a gallant knight, count and marshal, such tactlessness as you allowed yourself - to come to me without an invitation.
“Let me remind you, madam, that we are all currently on the soil of France, where His Majesty King Louis XIV of France is at home everywhere,” objected d’Artagnan. “On this basis, the owner of this land sent me here to resolve delicate matters on which the fate of France may depend.” Thus, I am here at the invitation of the owner of this land and, therefore, of this palace, while you, madam, can, under certain conditions, forever cease to have anything to do with this palace. Your husband, as you apparently know, by his actions angered His Majesty, since he committed a crime against the state. If he is not executed, as someone more distinguished than your husband was once executed for a crime, perhaps less than that charged to him, then, I dare to suggest, he, in all likelihood, will have to spend the rest of his days in the Bastille, or some other prison However, this won't be for long.
- And I have to listen to all this?! - Marie-Louise was indignant.
“Not necessarily, madame,” replied d’Artagnan. “You should listen to me only if you want to ease the fate of your husband, since I am the only person in all of France who can intercede for him before His Majesty in this matter, and perhaps I can even do something.” more essential for this.
“I understand what you’re talking about,” the duchess said thoughtfully. “You came to blackmail me in order to get something important that you could not take away from my husband with brute force.”
“Quite the opposite, duchess,” objected d’Artagnan. “I came to convince your family, that is, you and your husband, to stop cherishing the hope of building their well-being by blackmailing His Majesty, and for this I would ask you to facilitate the speedy release of the Princess of Monaco, who, of course, is being held in your palace , and I even know which room.
- If you know where it is kept, and if you have power on your side, take it! - the duchess exclaimed with bitterness. - What do you want from me?
“I can take her away with the help of an armed group of guards by breaking down the doors, and I, of course, will do this if you and I do not agree,” answered d’Artagnan. “However, before declaring war, it is advisable to make sure that all diplomatic methods have already exhausted themselves. It seems to me very undesirable to act with brute force, which will undoubtedly lead to publicity of the fact that your husband forcibly abducted and held captive such a noble lady as Princess I of Monaco, the eldest daughter of the famous Antoine III de Gramont and his no less noble wife, Fran;oise-Marguerite du Plessis Chivret, niece of the Cardinal de Richelieu. Out of respect for her elder brother, Armand de Gramont, Comte de Guiche, whom I considered my friend until he died tragically in one of the battles, and also out of respect for the memory of Princess Henrietta Stuart, daughter of King Charles I of England and sister of the current King of England, Charles II., who was a very good friend of the said Comte de Guichou, I beg you to do your best not to cast any shadow on this magnificent noble lady. I'm sure we'll come to an agreement. You will give me the key to the door behind which the said princess is locked, I will invite her to lean on my hand and leave your insufficiently hospitable palace, after which we, perhaps, will retain the most cordial memories of this acquaintance, and in this case I will try to use everything my influence in mitigating the fate of your foolish husband, who is so thoroughly bogged down in a conspiracy aimed at overthrowing the rightful King that he, I believe, will very, very much need my intercession.
“I will allow you to take the Princess of Monaco if you return my husband to me,” the duchess said firmly.
- Is that so? - D'Artagnan was surprised. - You seem to have decided that there is a bargaining going on here?
“I told you my conditions,” Marie-Louise snapped. - If they don't suit you, use force.
“To act by force is my profession, duchess,” said d’Artagnan. “So, I see that diplomatic methods have exhausted themselves, so I’m starting to use military methods.”
After these words, the marshal politely bowed to the duchess and left her room, closing the doors behind him.
- Won't they hang me? - asked the servant, who had been standing under the doors all this time and probably overheard the conversation.
“No, my dear,” answered d’Artagnan. “You personally will just be shot, and everyone else who is holed up in this palace, of course, will be hanged.” I'll put in a good word for you, since after all, you helped me with something.
- Mister Marshal! - exclaimed the servant. - Let me try to persuade the duchess!
“You yourself said that she wouldn’t listen to you,” d’Artagnan was surprised.
“I am ready to take the risk because I have no other choice,” said the servant.
- You are a nice fellow, what is your name? - asked the marshal.
“My name is Daniel Galliano,” answered the servant.
“So, Daniel,” said d’Artagnan. - Just start knocking on whichever door you like less. Do this for five to ten minutes.
“As you order,” Daniel agreed. - What will happen then?
“Your duchess will come to her senses,” answered d’Artagnan. “She will come out of her room and offer me what I asked of her.”
Daniel approached one of the doors and began to furiously knock on it with his foot. Almost immediately the doors to the Duchess's office opened and Marie-Louise came out.
- Count, wait! - she said. “I think that diplomatic methods have not yet exhausted themselves.
“I’m listening to you, duchess,” answered d’Artagnan.
“I will release your princess immediately, but in return I ask your count’s word that you will do everything possible to alleviate the fate of my husband,” she said.
“To do everything possible for your husband’s fate is too much,” answered d’Artagnan. - Because for me almost nothing is impossible. Are you going to insist that I give him the best fate I can? So you will ask me to separate Lorraine from France, to annex Alsace and a quarter of German lands?
- Do you want to say that this is in your power? - asked the duchess and could not help but smile.
“I myself don’t know whether it’s in my power or not, but I don’t intend to promise anything like that,” d’Artagnan waved it off. - “Everything in my power” is too much for me to make such promises to anyone. I'm not some Colbert. Let's talk about something simpler. For example, I can get him released, but only this time and only until he gets into some trouble again.
- But this is much less than what I would like to ask you for! - exclaimed the Duchess.
- You see! - answered d'Artagnan. - And at the same time, the specified promise is much less than what you actually asked for! I cannot make such promises left and right. Doing everything in my power for your spouse is extremely much!
“Well, I completely believe you in that case,” said the Duchess.
After these words, she took a key from her belt and placed it on d'Artagnan's palm.
“Be calm, duchess,” said d’Artagnan, lightly shaking Marie-Louise’s hand. — I am able to appreciate voluntary cooperation. The request of a young and pretty woman allows me to get much more from me than blackmail and threats. I meant that blackmail and threats have no effect on me at all, they only provoke me. Everyone who threatened me, with very few exceptions, in any case, everyone whom I could challenge to a duel, did not even have time to regret their inflexibility. In this case I'm talking about men. As for women, after one old story, I became insensitive to their pretense and lying tears. I am ready to yield only to an open request if it does not go against my duty and my honor.
“Then do the little that you agreed to promise me, Mister Count!” - said the duchess and retired to her room.
“That’s it, buddy,” d’Artagnan turned to Daniel. “There are only two things keeping me here.” First and foremost, I must take your prisoner. The second thing is that I need a list of who is currently in the palace, without excluding anyone. The lady I am about to take away should not be on this list. Can you provide me with such a list?
- Yes, Your Grace! - Daniel exclaimed. “I’ll ask the clerk to prepare this list as soon as possible.” What will happen to me? And with all of us?
“If in half an hour the list is handed over to me through the guard standing at the front entrance, then you will all be forgiven,” answered d’Artagnan.
- We won’t be executed?! - Daniel exclaimed, not believing his ears.
- Why do you think I need a list? - answered d'Artagnan. - Use your brains, dumbass! I ask you for a list of those for whom I will seek a full pardon. If you miss even someone who is in the palace, this person will be executed through your fault, since he will not be included in the list of those pardoned. Do you understand the importance of your assignment?
- Don’t hesitate, I will include everyone who is in the palace on the list, I won’t miss anyone! - Daniel exclaimed.
“Well done,” replied d’Artagnan. “You hand over the list and say that it is intended for Mister Marshal of France.” Be careful not to get confused.
“I’m immediately running to the clerk to prepare this list!” - Daniel exclaimed and, with the permission of the Marshal of France, he went to where he had promised to go.
The marshal himself solemnly freed the Princess of Monaco, after which, using the password, he left the Duke’s palace and brought the princess to the tavern where his friends were staying, and where Philip had been all this time, hiding from those who could identify him as the King of France.
“My friends,” said d’Artagnan. “I tried to avoid the fuss during the release of the princess, but at the same time I bound myself with a promise to facilitate the release of Charles of Lorraine.
- How can we do this? - Aramis was surprised.
“We only need Philip to give the password to the Minister, the Marquis of Louvois, and then say that he cancels his order to arrest Charles of Lorraine and lets him go home.”
- What will happen to Louvois after this? - asked Athos.
“To be honest, I don’t know,” answered d’Artagnan. “But if His Majesty gets rid of one idiot in his ministry, I don’t mind.”
“Life has taught me, dear friend, that fools are not expelled from ministries as often as they should be,” Aramis said thoughtfully.

Chapter LXIV. Aramis' objections
 
“My friends,” said Athos. “If we use Monsignor Louis-Philippe’s resemblance to Louis XIV , as well as the fact that we learned the password, in order to free Charles of Lorraine, we will show black ingratitude towards the King. In this case, we must at least send back the swords given to us to His Majesty and thereby refuse the honor of being in his service.
- To quarrel with the King of France again! - Porthos sighed. “But we just made peace with him.”
“But we returned to France only to protect Louis!” - Aramis exclaimed. “It’s unwise to quarrel with someone you’ve decided to help.”
“I agree with you, and I also find your objections sound,” replied d’Artagnan. - But what should we do? After all, it makes no sense to deprive a seventy-year-old man of his freedom, from whom we have already taken out the sting, since we have taken away the means for his intrigues. In addition, I promised the duchess to help free her husband.
“You’ll definitely come up with something, d’Artagnan,” said Porthos.
“You should always keep your promises,” said Athos.
“That’s true,” agreed Aramis. “For this reason, you should never make any promises to anyone. Especially to women, because they always hear four times what you promise.
“I thought that the most misogynist in our company was Athos, and now I see, Aramis, that you have surpassed him?” - D'Artagnan was surprised. - It seemed to me that you loved women.
“I don’t love women, but communication with women, and then only until it goes beyond some boundaries predetermined by me,” Aramis clarified. - As soon as a woman begins to consider you her property, that is, ten minutes after the closest communication that can occur between a man and a woman, you should immediately run as far away from her as possible.
“Aramis, but your friendship with the seamstress Marie Michon, it seems to me, lasted longer than you say, didn’t it?” - D'Artagnan said with a smile.
- Oh, Marie Michonne! — Aramis smiled indulgently. — I was young and enthusiastic. It took a long time, I admit. But in the end we broke up. I don't like standing in line. Marie Aim;e de Rohan-Montbazon, Duchess of Chevreuse in this sense was good only for short-term meetings.
- Do you want to say that she had two gentlemen at the same time? - asked Athos.
“Two gentlemen is not a line yet,” Aramis waved him off. “Along with her husband, the Duke de Chevreuse, this lady managed to simultaneously flirt with so many men that I find it difficult to remember them all.” This circle also included La Porte, a distant relative of Cardinal de Richelieu, who was assigned by him as a valet-spy to the Queen, but thanks to Mary, he completely defected to the camp of the conspirators, headed, most often, by her...
— Is La Porte a distant relative of Richelieu? - Athos was surprised.
“ The mother of the Duke de Richelieu is Suzanne de La Porte, the daughter of a lawyer of the Parisian parliament who received nobility,” answered Aramis.
- So you're saying that Chevreuse had an affair with him? - asked Porthos.
- If only he! - Aramis answered with a sigh. — This list also includes La Rochefoucauld, as well as the Count of Holland, Ambassador Extraordinary of England, or, as he was more often called, Count Holland.
- Is this the one who came to France with Buckingham? - Athos clarified. - It seems he was married?
“The Duchess de Chevreuse was also married, as was Buckingham himself,” answered Aramis. —Who did it bother and when?
- But Buckingham, apparently, did not love his wife enough, since he turned his attention to our Queen? - asked Athos.
- I beg you, Athos! - Aramis grinned. — Did Buckingham pay attention to the Queen? Who told you this? The situation was completely different. Maria de Chevreuse, together with Count Holland, decided to bring Anne of Austria and Buckingham together, conceived it and did it. The Duchess de Chevreuse, or Chevrette, as the Queen called her, considering her her closest friend, described to the Queen as best she could all the virtues of Buckingham, and meanwhile her friend Count Holland, who was also Buckingham’s closest friend, described to the Duke the virtues of Anne of Austria. This couple sparked and fueled the mutual interest of the Duke and Queen. It was a great plan. It should be taken into account that our Queen could, if she wished, turn as she pleased both her weak-willed husband, King Louis XIII , and the first minister, Cardinal Richelieu, and Buckingham, for his part, was the favorite and first minister of two English Kings, first James I , then Charles I , and I would even call him a member of this family in senses that are not usually discussed, that is, he was the ruler of England to a greater extent than these two Kings combined. So it turns out that Chevrette and Count Holland planned to create such an alliance that would be the strongest alliance in all of Europe if it took place. At the same time, of course, they thought of remaining the most important and irreplaceable confidantes for both high-ranking persons, that is, becoming those without whom this all-powerful couple could not do! Not a bad idea, right? However, this experience was no longer a novelty for Chevrette, since her first husband, first a falconer and later the constable of France, Charles d'Albert de Luynes, dominated Louis XIII, that is, again, he turned him around as he wanted, while she herself, at that time Madame de Luynes dominated Anne of Austria in the same way. Suffice it to say that Queen Anne gave all the diamonds remaining from the executed wife of Concino Concini, Marshal d'Ancre, from the famous Leonora Dori Galigai, to her friend Chevrette. She herself did not have such an arsenal of diamonds as Chevrette had accumulated. When she, hiding from Richelieu, sent her jewels to her friend La Rochefoucauld for safekeeping, the value of these jewels amounted to more than two hundred thousand livres, according to La Rochefoucauld himself, but I am convinced that a competent jeweler would have valued them at twice that price. However, de Luyne passed away, and Chevrette remained with Queen Anne, her influence on the Queen was great, but the Queen’s influence on French politics and, consequently, on finances gradually weakened to almost zero. Naturally, Chevrette always dreamed of reviving her influence on the royal family as a whole, and not just on Anna alone, in order to return to the pinnacle of power and skim off the cream of life! Therefore, I consider the joint project of Chevrette and Holland, aimed at pimping Buckingham and Anna, to be entirely Maria’s idea.
“Nevertheless, a completely sincere romance arose between Koreva and the Duke, and we ourselves participated in saving the Queen’s honor, by the way, not without your active participation, Aramis,” Athos objected.
“This affair could not help but happen if both creators of this adultery had sufficient opportunity to fully contribute to its development,” answered Aramis. - To remove all witnesses in order to leave Anne and Buckingham alone and without witnesses - this was their favorite technique, and one day it led to such a scene that became known to the whole court. Taking advantage of the fact that no one could see them in the garden gazebo, surrounded on all sides by green hedges, Chevrette and Holland strolled around the nearest turn, thereby forming a kind of guard over their solitude. Therefore, Buckingham decided to prove to Anna not only his love, but also his masculinity. However, he was awkward and ridiculous. Anna expected only tenderness and affection, while the playful Buckingham hastened to try to extract all the benefits from this solitude, and went on the attack so decisively that he even scratched our Queen’s thighs with the diamonds on the braid of his pants. However, this is apparently the only physical result, along with the fact that he managed to create some disorder in the Queen’s clothes, which she had to hastily remove with her own hands. The Queen screamed in surprise, to which Chevrette and Holland tried to ignore, but she then screamed more urgently, calling for help from her equestrian. She even reprimanded him for leaving her alone, thus giving him reason to doubt her loyalty to His Majesty.
“So it turns out that the Queen didn’t love Buckingham?” - asked Porthos.
“Oh, I didn’t say that,” Aramis objected. “She once said that if it were possible to love another man besides her own husband, then she would undoubtedly choose Buckingham. But she perceived his overly decisive steps negatively, since she later inhaled: “Oh, if only men weren’t so rude!”
- It turns out that if he had acted not so decisively, but gradually, he would have succeeded in his desires? - asked Athos.
“Buckingham understood that he would not have another chance,” answered Aramis. “If he had shown more patience and tenderness, he would have completely captured the Queen’s heart, but he needed not only her heartfelt attraction, but also physical evidence of his complete victory over her as a woman. However, he already captured her heart, so they had platonic love, you can be sure. I even believe that if Buckingham had been given a second chance in similar circumstances, the Queen would not have made a fuss, but we cannot know that. She was a true Catholic, and while Louis XIII was alive, I believe she remained physically faithful to him, but she never had spiritual intimacy with him, so in her thoughts she could love anyone, which she probably did.
“But your story was not about the Queen, but about the Duchess de Chevreuse,” said Athos. — You accused her of having too many connections, although those you mentioned can hardly be called a “queue.”
“Athos, you have always been so aloof from this topic, but, as I see, the story of Mary’s life interests you, contrary to your traditional views on this topic,” Aramis said with a smile. - However, your interest is understandable. I noticed that Raoul is very similar not only to you, but also to the Duchess. Therefore, you can probably name someone who once placed his pillow next to the head of the beautiful duchess.

(The translator would have thought that the term “Realized his masculinity” or something similar would have been more appropriate, but in this case Dumas used an allegory widely used in the time of Louis XIV - translator 's note).

“I did not take a vow of celibacy,” Athos smiled, “and I am glad that breaking this vow gave me such a magnificent son.”
“I join you in your joy, Athos,” answered Aramis. “And, believe me, in relation to the Duchess, I can no longer have a feeling of jealousy, either in the past, or in the present, or in the future.” It's all because of Buckingham.
- Because of Buckingham? - Athos was surprised. - Is he also one of her heart secrets?
“You didn’t know that, Athos?” - asked Aramis. - Well, nevertheless, it is so. The Duchess visited England at the invitation of Buckingham, representing the Queen herself there. The Duke took it that way, so he gave her a truly royal reception. So solemnly and pompously, luxuriously and richly as the Duchess de Chevreuse and the two ladies accompanying her were received in England, only the Queen of France should have been received, and no one else. Of course, Chevrette swam. But Buckingham also got into the role. Apparently, he decided that the duchess fully represented Anne of Austria in every sense, including as a messenger of her love, so he completed his masculine attack, and this time he did not meet such decisive resistance as he had been shown Anna herself in the notorious garden gazebo. For this reason, Earl Holland, whose rights to Chevrette's attention in England were infringed, fell out with both Chevrette herself and Buckingham. I believe that the Queen also lost interest in her closest friend precisely for this reason. However, the cooling happened much later. Apparently, Cardinal Richelieu only presented the Queen with evidence of this adultery at the right time and in the right circumstances in order to finally quarrel between her and Chevrette. This was his small revenge for the network of conspiracies in which Mary involved many times more the Queen herself, and the King’s brother, the Duke of Orleans, and other princes and high-ranking nobles, whose names you know very well.
“The Cardinal, who had many spies, even in England, was, of course, aware of such matters,” Athos said thoughtfully.
“It wasn’t only Milady who spied for the cardinal in England,” Aramis agreed. “I have carefully studied the history of this case and I can assure you that no less than ten spies were acting in the interests of Richelieu in London at that time, the most famous of whom was the Countess of Carlyle. She helped Milady in all her affairs, including the matter with the pendants.
“And you believe that the cardinal knew about the connection between the Duchess de Chevreuse and Buckingham, and told the Queen about it?” - asked Athos.
“Not only did he know about it, and not only did he tell the Queen about it, he told other people about it, and even came up with a witty pun on the subject,” Aramis answered.
- What kind of pun? - asked Porthos.
“In a letter to Schomberg, he wrote: “The English are called old goats because some of them frolicked with one of our goats,” said Aramis.
At these words, Porthos and d'Artagnan burst out laughing, and Athos became sad.

(Buckingham - Bouquinquan - in this case is consonant with the word old goat - bouquin , bouc - as well as Chevrette, as Anne of Austria called the Duchess - Chevrette - means “little goat”. Translator’s note).

“The Bishop of Mandy wrote that it seemed to him that the duchess and the two ladies accompanying her arrived in England not to settle questions about religious tolerance, but to settle questions regarding brothels,” Aramis continued in a harsh voice, from which d'Artagnan realized that Aramis was directing this anger at the Duchess, first of all, at himself.
- My friends! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - If you wanted to convince me not to make promises to women, you almost convinced me for the future, however, this does not cancel the promises I have already made. Besides, we have nothing to do with the adultery of any ladies who, perhaps, are too tired of their husbands. In any adultery, both spouses are to blame.
“We weren’t discussing adultery, my friend,” Athos objected. “They could still be understood and forgiven.” We talked about women cheating on their lovers, which is absolutely disgusting.
- Don’t we men cheat on our mistresses? - asked d'Artagnan. “Can we really not forgive them for the ways in which they are so similar to us?”
“Men bear the brunt of military campaigns,” Porthos grumbled. - And there is nothing wrong with sometimes they say no, no, yes and yes.
“And women bear the brunt of waiting for a man in home solitude,” objected d’Artagnan.
“Well, this doesn’t apply to the Goat we were talking about,” Aramis smiled. “However, from your face, d’Artagnan, I guess that you have already thought of a way out of this situation.” Tell us how we can fulfill your promise to the wife of Charles of Lorraine, and at the same time not quarrel with the King of France?

Chapter LXV. Performance for the minister

Some time later, a guard knocked on the house where Minister de Louvois was staying and reported that Marshal d'Artagnan was asking to receive him and his four companions. One of the companions was wearing a steel-colored cloth mask that covered his entire face.
- Why such ceremonies? - de Louvois was surprised, coming out to meet the marshal and his companions. - We are all our own - service people! Marshal, you can come to me without a report!
“Mister Minister, I ask that all people be removed in order to receive me and my companions without witnesses,” said d’Artagnan. - This is a matter of national importance.
“Well, Count, this is, of course, quite unusual, because my adjutant is always with me, as is my secretary,” answered the Marquis. “But if you insist, I am ready to remove all my people.”
“I insist, Marquis,” said d’Artagnan.
“He insists,” Porthos assented and looked expressively into the minister’s eyes.
Seeing Porthos’s large face on his huge body very close to his face, the minister involuntarily shuddered and doubted the advisability of eliminating his guards, however, knowing that d’Artagnan was the King’s special confidant, he did not dare to show signs of cowardice.
“This conversation is only for the initiated,” said Athos with a soft smile.
“Porthos, it seems you frightened Mr. Minister,” Aramis said with a grin, all four laughed, after which the minister also laughed, although in his heart he was not laughing.
“If d’Artagnan wanted to kill me, he could easily do it,” thought the minister. “And if he wants to arrest me, he will not succeed even with these four companions, since there are people loyal to me everywhere.”
After these thoughts, de Louvois actually realized that his visitors were joking, he laughed sincerely and signaled to the secretary, adjutant and guards to leave.
As soon as only the minister and his guests remained in the room, the man in the mask took it off and showed his face.
- Your Majesty! - exclaimed de Louvois, recognizing the King. - What a surprise and what an honor! I will immediately order...
“Monsieur Marquis,” said Louis Philippe, for it was he. - I arrived incognito, and also incognito I will leave you very soon. I want to make sure how accurately you understand my instructions and how accurately you follow them.
- Your Majesty, I am glad to receive you here, and I ask you to forgive me for the inappropriate atmosphere, I will now order that everything necessary be prepared...
“No need, Louvois, I said that I’m here simply, without rank, incognito,” Louis-Philippe objected. - Listen to me carefully and answer my questions.
“Yes, yes, of course,” stammered the Marquis.
- Do you confirm that if I order you to release Charles of Lorraine without giving the password, you will refuse to do so? - asked Louis Philippe.
The minister broke out in a cold sweat. He remembered that the King had ordered in this case to refuse to carry out such an order, even if it came from the King himself, but at the same time he was afraid to contradict the King.
“I confirm that such an order was issued by you,” he said, not yet knowing what to do if the King nevertheless demands the release of Charles.
“It’s okay, don’t worry,” said Philip. - I am not going to cancel my order without telling you the password , and, in addition, in order for you to calm down on this matter, I will tell you the password. It goes like this: “Happy is the King with such servants!”
- “Happy is the King with such servants!” - confirmed de Louvois. - Exactly.
“Well, we’ve sorted it out,” said Philip, sitting down in a chair, which the minister helpfully pulled up. - Now let's talk about this. You, as I understand it, have not yet managed to send Karl under escort to Paris?
“It will be sent immediately,” de Louvois stammered. — There was only a slight delay in preparing the carriage, since the existing carriages did not have bars. I didn’t dare send him in a carriage without bars so that he wouldn’t run away.
“Don’t worry, Marquis, you’re doing great,” Louis-Philippe reassured the minister again. “I would only like to take advantage of the delay that has arisen in order to speak with Charles of Lorraine in your presence and in the presence of these gentlemen, after which you will send him, but quietly, so that as few people as possible know about the arrest of the Duke.”
“I will have him delivered at once,” exclaimed de Louvois.
“Not before I put on this mask again,” said Louis-Philippe. “I don’t want your soldiers to see me.” When it is delivered, have the guards leave the room and wait outside the door, and after we talk, they will take it away.

After Louis Philippe's orders had been carried out exactly, resulting in Charles of Lorraine standing before him, the prince took off his mask.
- Charles of Lorraine! - he said, turning to the prisoner. “I am here to soften your fate and even, perhaps, return your freedom, but it will not be returned to you at this moment.” If you will humble yourself and accept my power over you, I recommend that you listen to me carefully. In this case, you will soon be released, you will be able to return to your palace, and I have already made sure that rumors of your arrest do not spread beyond your home. If you show disobedience, I cannot even promise you the preservation of your life.
“You are not who you say you are,” said Karl. “I don’t think this conversation makes any sense.”
“Okay, I understand what you mean, but you are wrong,” said Philip. “Before I continue my conversation with you, I ask Mr. Minister of War, Marquis de Louvois, to tell you about the extraordinary order that I gave him in the Louvre, as well as about the dialogue that we had before your arrival.
“Do I dare in your presence?” said de Louvois.
“I order you,” Philip answered.
“Before sending me to arrest M. Duke of Lorraine, you, Your Majesty, told me a certain password...” said de Louvois.
“There’s no need to name him, it’s enough that I told him,” Philip interrupted the minister. - Tell me why I gave it to you?
“You said that I would have to arrest Mister Duke, and this order cannot be canceled even by you, unless you first tell me this password,” said the minister, who understood nothing of what was happening.
- That's right, Marquis. Even I myself, without knowing the password, could not cancel the order for your arrest,” Philip confirmed. “Do you understand, Duke, the deep essence of this order?” - Philip asked and looked at Karl extremely arrogantly.
“I suppose so,” said Karl, and bowed his head.
- Tell me, Mr. Minister, did I tell you exactly this password? - Philip asked the minister.
- Yes, word for word! - confirmed de Louvois.
“I hope, Duke, you understand the significance of this fact,” Philip noted. “So, I assume you have no doubt about who you are talking to, and therefore what is my power over you?” I believe you will take back what you said about me not being who I say I am.
Instead of answering, the Duke knelt on one knee.
- Okay, I'm happy! - Philip answered. - You can get up from your knees. So, you are guilty before me and you know about your guilt, it is undeniable. I intended to punish you seriously. But I can forgive you. However, remember this well, I am not going to decide your fate here and now. You will be taken to the Louvre, where I will have a conversation with you again, if I wish. As a reminder to myself of this intention, I will give you a petition for your freedom, written by Marshal d'Artagnan, which I have not yet read, and do not intend to read while staying here incognito. However, the marshal and his friends assure me that, having studied it in detail, I will most likely forgive you completely. Well, I don't mind, but Mister Marshal has a condition. He wants to stand up for one of his friends, a guardsman named de Planche, who is extremely offended by you. The fact is that a young relative of this guardsman, Jules de Brion, was deceived by your recruiter of soldiers named Monba. You must terminate the illegal recruitment of Jules de Brion and punish the swindler Monb. You must also compensate Jules de Brion for the money that your recruiter Monba tricked him out of, and also compensate for moral damages, say, in the amount of a fifth of this amount. After that, deal with your Monba as much as you like.
“I will immediately write an order on this matter if my power in my duchy is retained,” said the duke.
“You are only temporarily arrested for now, consider that you are just detained to talk with me in the Louvre, or in the Bastille, I will decide this in Paris,” answered Philip. “Thus, all your rights as a Duke remain unless you are tried and sentenced.” Everything depends on my conversation with you in Paris, remember this. You will have to tell me absolutely everything, and in particular, retell verbatim this conversation we had with you, because until the very minute of this conversation I intend to forget it and not remember it, since I am not pleased to remember the betrayal of my vassals.
“I will carry out your orders exactly, Your Majesty,” replied the Duke.
“Also remember the promise you made to the Duke of Alameda,” Philip added. “This man is in my service, as are the three other nobles present here, so everything that comes from them comes from me.” Remember this!
The Duke again bent one knee.
“Okay, I’m satisfied,” Philip answered. - Count de La F;re, did you want to add something to my words?
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for allowing me to add a few words,” said the count and bowed with dignity. “I want to console the Duke by informing him that in return for the opportunity to make a personal inspection of his casemates and even spend the night in them, he is being given an equally educational opportunity to become acquainted with the casemates of the Bastille. I ask you, Duke, to consider this only as a return courtesy, which will allow you to also satisfy your curiosity and compare your casemates with His Majesty’s casemates. Don’t linger there, Duke, so try to convince His Majesty when talking in Paris that you are no longer harboring those plans for which you were arrested, I hope, temporarily.
“You, monsignor, apparently also wanted to tell the Duke of Lorraine something?” - Philip asked, turning to Aramis.
“For my part, I want to remind the Duke of the agreement reached and, as a gesture of goodwill, give him another portion of the medicine, which he should take exactly twenty-eight days from now,” said Aramis. “I keep my promises, so keep yours too.”
After these words, Aramis handed the Duke a small box, which the Duke gladly accepted from Aramis.
- Mister Marshal? - asked Philip.
“Here is a letter with my petition for you,” said d’Artagnan. “If the issue with Jules de Brion is settled, I am ready to leave you this letter so that you can hand it over to His Majesty directly in Paris.”
The Duke took the letter in his hands and read it carefully.
“Thank you, Count,” said the Duke, having finished reading. “You really stand up for me very convincingly.” “I will immediately write the promised order as soon as I receive paper and pen.”
- Mister Baron, would you like to say your parting words to the Duke of Lorraine? - asked Philip.
“Monsieur Duke, I am not angry that the bed provided for me for the night was too short and narrow, and there was no mattress on the bed,” answered Porthos. - What happened, happened. I’m also not angry that we had to go to bed hungry, not even having a glass of Bourgogne before bed. My parting words are simple. Respect and appreciate your King and don't eat seafood. If my friends want your freedom, then that's what I want too. God bless you!

After this, the Duke wrote an order to eliminate injustice in relation to Jules de Brion, they exchanged documents with d'Artagnan, Philip put on his mask and all five left the house in which the Minister of War de Louvois was temporarily staying.
“Well, it seems that we have done everything that is necessary for the good and peace of France,” said Athos. -Where are we going now?
“We have accomplished only what is necessary for the happiness of the King, as well as for the happiness and peace of mind of Monsignor the Prince,” answered d’Artagnan. “But we have not yet done everything in our power for the happiness and tranquility of France.” The fate of the kingdom is now being decided in Holland.
—Are you talking about continuing the war? - asked Aramis. - What can we do about this problem for the happiness and peace of France?
“We can finish it,” answered d’Artagnan. - After all, I am now a marshal, and practically the King of France is with us!
- Do you want to win it? - asked Athos.
“I didn’t say that,” answered d’Artagnan.
- I'm afraid to ask, do you want to lose it? - asked Aramis.
“Not only did I not say this, but I didn’t even think about it!” - answered d'Artagnan.
-Are you going to make peace? - asked Porthos.
“Peace is concluded by monarchs, not marshals,” objected d’Artagnan.
“So how the hell do you want to end this war?” - asked Aramis.
“Your Eminence, Mister Bishop, General of the Jesuit Order, you swear not like a prelate, but like a real musketeer,” said d’Artagnan reproachfully.
- I am a musketeer! - Aramis answered. - Until the last drop of blood and until the last breath! So what are we going to do?
“First we are going to Holland,” answered d’Artagnan. - And we’ll see from there.
- Together with your ladies? - asked Porthos.
“We will ask the Princess of Monaco and Suzanne to wait for us in a place more suitable for ladies,” answered d’Artagnan. - I'll try to persuade them.
- Don’t try, you won’t succeed! - Athos said with a laugh. “These ladies are not the kind of people who can be persuaded to do something like that.” I think that the Princess of Monaco will give a hundred points ahead to the Duchess de Montpensier herself, and as for Suzanne de Campredon, no comparisons will do.
“You’re right, Athos, I also don’t hope to persuade them to stay safe,” d’Artagnan agreed. “I just said that I would try to do it.” If I don’t even try to persuade them, because I will never forgive myself for this, and if I don’t succeed, then we can only rely on our luck, on our courage and on our friendship.
- And on our swords! - exclaimed Porthos.
- Well, as always, one for all? - asked Aramis.
- And all for one! - Athos, Porthos and d'Artagnan answered unanimously, as well as Philip who joined them, who had already learned the value of this motto of the musketeers and learned it.

Chapter LXVI . Causes of the war with the Spanish Netherlands, part 1

So that our dear readers do not rack their brains about how our friends could quickly move from Lorraine to Holland, let us explain that in those times about which we are talking, the Spanish Netherlands, or Spanish Holland, was called the territory that, for the most part, starting in 1830 it formed what is now Belgium. This territory was controlled by Spain, thus France bordered Spain not only in the south, but also in the north. In the north-west there was a fairly large, strong and influential state of Luxembourg. The history of confrontation between the strongest and most influential states in Europe began with Charlemagne’s division of his possessions between his sons, as a result of which our poor France found itself surrounded by states ruled by the Habsburg dynasty. All attempts to establish peace through marriages connecting the ruling houses of these states gave a very short and unstable result, since the peace established with such difficulty was disrupted due to differences in religious, economic, military, geopolitical and dynastic interests. Despite the close relationship between the ruling houses of the largest European states, Europe was constantly engulfed in wars, and it cannot be argued that religious considerations were the main ones in these wars. Thus, Catholic states easily entered into alliances with states where reformist religion predominated in order to more successfully confront their brothers in faith.
Let us recall that the French royal dynasty was connected by close blood ties with the houses of Italy, Spain, and England.
King Henry II was married to Catherine de Medici, who bore him five sons, three of whom were to reign (the second son, Louis, died at the age of one year), as well as daughters Elizabeth, Claude, Margot, who later became queen, Victoria (who lived only one and a half month) and Zhanna (who was stillborn). The house of the Dukes of Florence was influential due to the fact that Catherine's father, Lorenzo II, was the nephew of Pope Giovanni de' Medici Leo X. This marriage did not bring dynastic benefits, since the influence of the Florentine house quickly faded. At first, the Queen was considered infertile for a long time because she could not produce an heir. For this reason (and perhaps not only for this reason), the King also visited other women, so that the birth of the King’s illegitimate child in 1537 led many to believe that Catherine was infertile. This could be sufficient grounds for divorce; many advised the king to annul the marriage. However, Catherine finally managed to get pregnant. The heir, born on January 20, 1544, was named Francis in honor of his ruling grandfather, which pleased the King very much, who even shed tears of happiness when he learned about it. After Catherine’s first pregnancy, she no longer had problems conceiving. The birth of four more boys strengthened the Valois dynasty, and Catherine herself, as a result, seemingly strengthened her position at the French court; no one then imagined that Catherine’s sons would be the last French Kings of the Valois dynasty.
In 1556, during the next birth, Catherine was supposed to give birth to twins, but due to the weakness of the then medicine after the birth of Victoria, the second of the twins died in the womb. In order to remove the dead baby, the obstetricians, saving the life of the woman in labor, were forced to break her legs. Nevertheless, the baby was christened Jeanne and buried with due honors. However, the second girl, Victoria, was destined to live only a month and a half.
After such a difficult birth, doctors recommended that the royal couple refrain from conceiving new children, as a result of which King Henry II stopped visiting his wife’s bedroom and devoted all his masculine gallantry to his favorite Diana de Poitiers. The children of this relationship, Fran;oise de Breze and Louise de Breze, also entered the already extensive circle of the royal family. Fran;oise married Robert de La Marque, Duke of Bouillon, and Louise married Claude of Lorraine, Marquis de Mayenne, whom our dear readers may remember from the book “The Forty-Five,” since the Marquis de Mayenne had a passionate desire to kill the jester Henry III Jean-Antoine d'Angleret, better known as Chicot. This same Chicot was the maternal grandfather of the Chevalier d'Herblay, better known to our readers under the name of Aramis.
So, since Henry II switched his attention to Diane de Poitiers, Catherine, despite the fact that she brilliantly fulfilled the main mission of the Queen, giving the King five male children, found herself in the humiliating position of an abandoned woman, she was extremely infringed on in her rights while she was alive husband, King Henry II, who openly made his mistress Diane de Poitiers the de facto Queen. This was all the more humiliating because, being the legal wife, Queen Catherine de Medici was forced to please even this mistress and hide her resentment and hatred.
The position of the favorite and mistress of the King's heart for Diana de Poitiers ended in 1559, when Henry II was accidentally killed at a tournament by the Comte de Montgomery. The king, who received a fatal wound to the eye with a piece of a spear, was still alive when Queen Catherine de Medici had already ordered Diana to leave Paris, having first given away all the jewelry given to her by Henry. This was in accordance with the ancient tradition: with the death of the King, all his gifts were returned to the royal treasury, this rule made no exceptions even for members of the royal family, his wife and children. Diana de Poitiers tried to object, hoping that the King would recover, but was forced to return everything the next day, on the day of the death of Henry II.
After Henry II, the eldest son of Catherine and Henry, Francis II , was proclaimed King , whom the Guises managed to marry Mary Steward, daughter of King James V of England and his French wife Marie of Guise. Thus, the wife of Francis II was directly related to the Lorraine house, and could also formally claim to inherit the English crown. This intricate dynastic marriage promised an incredible rise for the Valois dynasty and was attractive to both the Dukes of Lorraine and England. However, Francis II died at a young age, childless, and the crown went to his brother Charles IX , who was also very dependent on the will of his mother, Catherine de Medici. Apparently, God cursed the Valois dynasty, since none of the sons of Catherine de Medici left legitimate male heirs, so the crown of France passed to the closest relative, Henry of Bourbon of Navarre, the closest relative of the King in the male line, and also his son-in-law, since he was married to Catherine and Henry II's daughter Margaret. It must be said that Henry II was very supportive of his young namesake. When Antoine de Bourbon first brought him to court, the King said: “I will be your father,” to which the impudent Henry objected: “I already have a father,” and pointed to Antoine, King of Navarre. Henry II was not at all offended and said: “Then I will be your father-in-law,” to which Henry respectfully agreed, kneeling. After this, the question of marriage between Guernich of Navarre and Margaret of Valois was a settled matter.
The crown that fell from the hands of the last of the Valois, Henry III , Henry IV received not only by right of closest kinship, and not only as the son-in-law of the Queen Mother, but also in full accordance with the last will of Henry III himself , who called him brother. His mother-in-law, Catherine de Medici, did not oppose this either, because, contrary to common sense and the difference in age, she did not experience maternal feelings for her son-in-law.
Catherine, burning with passion for her young son-in-law, saved him from the Guises, who hated him as the main military leader and formal leader of the Huguenots. Several times she directly hinted at this to Henry. Once at a reception, when Henry was still just the King of small Navarre, she told him that she could satisfy his every desire, and he could have anything he saw next to him. Her whole look urged him to be daring. Henry replied: “There is nothing in this hall that I would dream of.” A similar situation was repeated later under other circumstances, but instead of hating Henry, Catherine only began to treat her own daughter Margot worse, seeing her as a rival. Truly, the feelings of some women are inscrutable!
However, despite the support of Catherine de Medici, in order to become King of France, Henry had to convert to the Catholic faith, publicly renouncing the Huguenot religion. However, Henry, who after this became known as Henry IV , tried with all his might to introduce religious tolerance and for these purposes even issued the Edict of Nantes, allowing the Huguenots to practice their religion, but not in the capital or in major cities of France. The fortified city of La Rochelle became the actual capital of the Huguenots. Since Queen Margot was childless, which was probably facilitated by her extremely turbulent and varied personal life in her youth, including the use of all kinds of ways to get rid of an unwanted fetus, Henry divorced his barren wife and took Marie de Medici as his wife. The new Queen, an Italian, like Catherine de Medici, had to some extent the family characteristics of this house. In turn, Maria de' Medici was the sixth child (and sixth daughter) of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Francesco I, and his wife Joanna of Austria, Archduchess of Austria.
King Henry IV was truly a gallant man. From his legal wife Marie de Medici he had six children: Louis XIII the Just, King of France; Elizabeth de Bourbon (Isabelle of France), Queen of Spain, married to Philip IV, King of Spain; Christina de Bourbon, Duchess of Savoy, who married Victor Amadeus I Duke of Savoy; Nicolas de Bourbon, Duke of Orleans, who died at the age of four; Gaston d'Orl;ans, Duke of Orl;ans; married first to Marie de Bourbon-Monpensier, daughter of Henry de Montpensier; in his second marriage he was married to Margaret, Princess of Lorraine and Henrietta Maria de Bourbon, Queen of England; married to Charles I Stuart, King of England.
From this our readers see how the ruling families of Europe were intertwined.
In addition, the gallant King Henry IV left children from his morganatic relationship.
Three children were given to the glorious King by Gabrielle d'Estr;es, not counting a stillborn son from 1599: Cesar, Duke de Vend;me, who married Fran;oise of Lorraine; Catherine Henrietta, known as "Mademoiselle de Vend;me" who married Charles II of Lorraine, Duke d'Elboeuf, Comte d'Arlencourt, who had six children in their marriage, and Alexandre de Vend;me, known as "Chevalier de Vend;me", Grand Prior of Malta order, who in 1626 participated in a conspiracy against Cardinal Richelieu, for which he was imprisoned in Vincennes Castle, where he died.
Henriette d'Entragues gave Henry two children: Henri de Bourbon, Duke de Verneuil, Bishop of Metz and Gabrielle Angelique de Verneuil (21 January 1603-1627), wife of the Duke d'Epernon.
The King also had children from other favorites: Antoine de Bourbon (1607-1632), Count de Moret, abbot of the monastery of Saint-Etienne, born from the lovely Jacqueline de Bayle de Moret,
Jeanne Battista de Bourbon (1608-1670), abbess of Fontevraud, who was given to the King by Charlotte Desessart, Maria Henrietta de Bourbon, abbess of the Abbey of Chelles, also from Charlotte Desessart; Marthe Marie de B;arn, who married Daniel Dupuis, lord of Portet, and also a son, Gideon, by Esther Imbert, who died at the age of one year. The most famous favorites of the King who did not leave him any offspring: Florette de Nerac, Charlotte de Sauve, Francoise de Montmorency-Fosseux, Diane d'Andouin ("Beautiful Corisande"), Antoinette de Pont, Marie-Francoise de La Bourdesiere, Marie-Charlotte de Balzac d'Entragues, Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency. All these ladies tried very hard to make the King happy with offspring, but they either failed to conceive, or their children died in early infancy. The reliably confirmed list of Henry IV 's lovers consists of 32 noble ladies, not counting two legitimate wives. However, the loving King was destined to die not at the hands of his deceived cuckolded husband, but at the dagger of the Catholic fanatic Francois Ravaillac.
So, as we see, the glorious King left quite a few people who could proudly claim that the blood of the great King Henry IV flows in their veins , but only the eldest of the legitimate sons, Louis, received the crown of France on this basis. The rest of the offspring of the great King only posed a problem for the first minister of France, Cardinal Richelieu, who devoted his whole life to creating a strong kingdom in which everything would obey the single will of the monarch. Having instead of this ideal a whole camarilla of dukes and princes who claimed their share of power, he managed to rein them all in during the not so long period of his reign, building a single and almost indestructible system of monarchy, subordinate to the single will of the King. This activity of his was hampered not only by his enemies, but also by people who called him friends, and most of all this purposeful activity of the great cardinal was hampered by the one who was most interested in it and should, it would seem, be the most helpful to it. This man, this main obstacle to Richelieu’s activities, was Louis XIII himself . The most important hindering factor was his leniency towards the machinations of his brother, Gaston d'Orl;ans, and his wife, Anne of Austria. However, let's put everything in order.
After the treacherous murder of Henry IV by Ravaillac, France was ruled for some time by his crowned widow, Queen Marie de' Medici, relying on her lover, the Italian Concino Concini, Marshal d'Ancre. This was all the easier for the Queen because she raised her son, Louis, to be weak-willed and docile just so that he would not interfere with his mother’s sole reign, as her relative and predecessor, Queen Mother Catherine de’ Medici, had done in her time.
Therefore, immediately after the death of Henry IV, the political direction of the ruling circles of France changed. The line of so-called saints prevailed, who, in contrast to the comrades-in-arms of Henry IV , relied on an alliance with the House of Habsburg. It was in order to create the closest ties, in particular with Spain, that Marie de Medici achieved a double marriage between the heirs of the French and Spanish crowns. Dauphin Louis received as his wife the daughter of King Philip III of Spain , Anna of Austria, who received this prefix as a sign that she was also the heir to the Austrian throne on her mother’s side. At the same time, the Dauphin of Spain, the future Philip IV , received Henry IV's daughter , Elizabeth (Isabelle) de Bourbon, as his wife. It would seem that France and Spain have now become forever allies. But it only seemed so.
Marie de Medici’s plans did not at all include giving the young Louis XIII full power. She was going to continue to rule with the help of her favorite Concino Concini, but on April 24, 1617, the captain of the royal guard de Vitry, on the orders of Louis XIII , killed the all-powerful marshal. The fact that he was accompanied by two hundred armed nobles did not save the marshal. De Vitry and his two sons, hiding pistols under their cloaks, let the marshal go ahead, cutting him off from his retinue of bodyguards, after which they killed him on the spot. Contrary to fears, when the marshal fell and cries of “Long live the King!” were proclaimed, the guards did not offer any resistance and did not attempt to capture the conspirators. At this point, Louis XIII became the de facto king of France, he arrested the wife of Marshal d'Ancres, and also placed his own mother, Queen Marie de' Medici, under house arrest.
After Louis became the de facto King of France, he ruled the country for some time with the help of his favorite de Luynes, however, he devoted more time to entertainment, his favorite of which was hunting.
De Luigne introduced Louis to the Bishop of Luson, the future Cardinal Richelieu. In addition, the bishop also gained the confidence of Maria de Medici, who liked him very much. We cannot exclude the possibility that an extremely trusting relationship was established between the future Cardinal Richelieu and the Queen Mother, which in other circumstances we would call family if we were not talking about a royal person. However, Marie de Medici soon ceased to be a bridge to the pinnacle of power for Richelieu, but turned into a burden. For a long time, Louis himself treated him with great distrust precisely because Richelieu was for some time a close friend and assistant to the Queen. Nevertheless, Richelieu’s talent and efficiency helped him achieve what he wanted and take the highest place in the hierarchy of France that he could lay claim to. If at first the King reluctantly signed recommendations for the appointment of Richelieu as a cardinal, sent to the Pope, and attached secret instructions to them, in which he asked the Pope to refuse this appointment, then when he saw that Richelieu did not get along with Marie de Medici and was completely ready to serve only him, Louis , he, in a completely different tone, sincerely and without secret additions, renewed this petition, which this time was granted by the Pope, as a result of which Bishop Richelieu of Luzon became a Cardinal.
In full accordance with Richelieu's plans, Louis XIII reoriented his policy towards rapprochement with England, for which Henrietta Maria, the King's sister, was married to Charles I , King of England.

Chapter LXVII. Causes of the war with the Spanish Netherlands, part 2

Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu made his way to power with great zeal and with great difficulty. His father, Fran;ois du Plessis, chief provost of France, served Henry III of Valois and was with him on the day of his assassination. In the service of the new King, Henry IV of Bourbon, Francois du Plessis distinguished himself in several battles and became the captain of the royal bodyguard, but on July 19, 1590, at the age of forty-two, he passed away, leaving five-year-old Armand Jean, as well as his brothers and sisters, in the care of his wife, Suzanne, n;e de La Porte. By this time, Armand Jean had an older brother, twelve-year-old Henri, and nine-year-old brother and sister - twins - Alphonse-Louis and Isabelle, as well as younger sisters, four-year-old Fran;oise and three-year-old Nicole. For some time, Armand Jean was educated at the family castle of Richelieu, after which he was sent to the College of Navarre, where he studied rhetoric, philosophy and other sciences. Having graduated from college in 1600 and received the title of Marquis du Chillou, he entered the military academy, but two years later, due to the refusal of his elder brother Alphonse to take monastic vows, he was forced to become the bishop of Luzon so that the hereditary position, the possession of which was the property of the family, would not disappear, and the income from this position made it possible to support the entire family, so it was impossible to allow this position to go into the wrong hands. Armand received the position of bishop without reaching the required age for this, however, the Pope, to whom Armand confessed this only after his confirmation in it, when the Pope asked if the new bishop had something to report, having heard such a revelation, released him this sin, noting that since the young man showed sufficiently deep knowledge that elevates him above his peers, it would only be fair to receive the title of bishop before his peers. May our readers forgive us for this excursion into the youth of the great cardinal, since this will allow us to better understand his character, and, consequently, the struggle that he waged throughout his life.
Without going further into the details of the life of this great man, we will only say that he devoted all his efforts to concentrating power in France in single hands, the hands of the King, who, due to his weakness, did not want and could not dispose of this power properly. Therefore, Richelieu himself, as first minister, did what the monarch should have done. He cared about the strength of the state, about its prosperity, about its unity and about economic and military development, without which it was simply impossible to exist in those days, and, probably, in the future no state will do without it, since all international treaties are respected only as long as both sides are strong enough to demand their compliance. During his reign, Richelieu concluded seventy-four international treaties, including four with England, twelve with Holland, fifteen with the German principalities, six with Sweden, twelve with Savoy, six with the Pope, four with Lorraine, one - with Switzerland, one - with Portugal, two - with the rebels of Catalonia and Roussillon, one - with Russia and two - with Morocco. All these treaties were, in one way or another, aimed at strengthening France and weakening the Habsburg coalition opposing it.
The main opponent of these treaties and this policy was Queen Anne of Austria, who by origin belonged to the Habsburg court and sought to promote the strengthening of the power of her relatives contrary to the interests of her own kingdom. Despite the fact that Richelieu was Anna’s confessor, that is, he was supposed to have the greatest influence on her through the Catholic faith, Anna opposed everything that came from him and looked for any way to eliminate him, usually physically. Her main ally in this was the King's brother, Duke Gaston of Orleans. Having learned that the goal of the first of the largest conspiracies, known as the Chalet conspiracy, was not only the elimination of Richelieu, but also the elimination of Louis XIII himself, followed by the marriage of Anna and Gaston with the aim of the accession of this couple, Louis did not believe Anna’s assurances that she was not was privy to these details of the plan, after which trust was forever lost between Louis and Anna. Remaining barren for a long time, Anne lived under the threat of divorce with the consent of the Pope, since the highest mission of any Queen is to ensure the continuation of the dynasty, that is, at a minimum, she had to give birth to one male child, which did not happen for a long time. For this reason, numerous relatives of the King believed that the throne could be vacant at any moment due to some misfortune with the King, which prompted them to tirelessly intrigue, dividing this prize that had not yet fallen out as if the throne was already empty. Louis XIII himself from time to time showed keen interest in this dangerous game . It seemed that he was sometimes even on the side of the conspirators, because he dreamed of getting rid of the tyranny of the all-powerful first minister - or so, in any case, it seemed to everyone around him, including his wife and brother. In fact, Louis could not sympathize with the conspirators, firstly, since conspiracies, as a rule, were aimed not only at Richelieu, but also at Louis himself, and secondly, Richelieu cleverly used the most difficult historical moments, including moments after the revelation of another conspiracy in order to demonstratively propose to the King to relinquish all responsibilities for governing the state to Richelieu. Louis, who at that very moment understood that he owed his salvation only to the cardinal, received huge piles of documents requiring analysis and decision-making on them, to which Richelieu dropped a comment, the essence of which boiled down to the fact that, sparing His Majesty’s precious time, he brought only the most urgent matters that need to be resolved as quickly as possible. As a result, the same thing was repeated: the frightened Louis begged Richelieu not to resign and endowed him with even greater powers than he had before the conspiracy was exposed.
Another curious fact remains that it was always possible to expose conspiracies drawn up, it would seem, very carefully, by decisive and active people, solely by chance. In one case, de Chalet himself inadvertently boasted about the upcoming murder of the cardinal and his role in this matter to his uncle, who immediately rushed to inform the cardinal about this. In another case, during the de Saint-Mars conspiracy, the cardinal inexplicably took possession of a copy and even the original of the agreement between the conspirators and Spain, in which Gaston of Orleans promised, having become governor, to return to Spain all the lands conquered by Louis . Historians are breaking their spears, putting forward one version after another about how Richelieu received this treaty. The assumptions about a crashed ship, an intercepted courier, and so on and so forth were used. Historians have overlooked several important facts. Firstly, absolutely all conspiracies against Richelieu were exposed before the moment when events could have become fatal for the one against whom they were directed. Secondly, the reason for the exposure of these conspiracies was always an extremely happy coincidence of circumstances (or unlucky for those who sympathized with these conspiracies). Thirdly, in all cases, the most active initiators (but never the executors) of these conspiracies were the King’s wife, Anna of Austria, and the King’s brother, the Duke of Orleans. Fourthly, in all cases, both of these persons, standing closest to the throne, actively repented and were always forgiven by the King at the lowest request of the cardinal. So, a strange picture arises - the two royal persons who could receive, it would seem, the greatest benefits from the conspiracy, themselves never did anything to carry out the conspiracies, but always did everything possible to incite other conspirators to them. The Cardinal, who, it would seem, should have understood perfectly well that as long as these two people exist and as long as they retain their position under the King, their actual power, and while their potential power is many times higher in the event of the success of such conspiracies, until then, life itself the cardinal remained in incredible danger.
Let's consider an interesting episode of the alleged attempt on the life of a cardinal in Amiens. Historians claim that the Duke of Orleans and the Count of Soissons intended to kill the cardinal. To do this, they had to wait for the case when the cardinal himself would be unarmed, and at the same time Louis would not be nearby, since in the presence of the King the conspirators would not dare to kill the cardinal. What happened next was a fantastic scene. Twice within three days the cardinal was defenseless, surrounded by his enemies, while the King himself was far away. This is exactly the situation the conspirators were waiting for. But, oddly enough, the King’s brother, Gaston of Orleans, who was supposed to give a sign to the conspirators, never gave this sign. Unable to withstand the nervous tension, he went to his place in Blois. Of course, this time too all the conspirators were exposed, Gaston and Anna repented and were forgiven, the rest of the conspirators were punished. The punishment for everyone else except Anna and Gaston consisted of either execution or imprisonment, from which not all of those punished were released. The most severe punishment for Gaston and Anna was short-term exile.
Historians explain this by the fact that until Anna brought an heir, she was not only the wife of the King, but also the only hope for the appearance of an heir, and Gaston was formally the heir to the crown, therefore he could not be severely punished in accordance with the severity of his guilt.
We ask our dear readers to forgive us our insolence, but, comparing all these facts, we see several mysteries that are easily solved if we assume that both Gaston d'Orl;ans and Anna of Austria were the very persons who revealed to the cardinal the essence of the conspiracies and names conspirators even before the cardinal “accidentally” discovered these conspiracies in other ways and “miraculously” escaped death. As the Queen's confessor, the cardinal regularly talked with her, and the conversation had to take place without witnesses, and the cardinal had the right to ask the most delicate questions, while Anna was obliged to answer extremely frankly. Perhaps naive Anna believed that by talking about her tacit approval of the conspiracy, or at least the non-disclosure of the conspiracy, which she supposedly accidentally learned about, she hoped that if she did not name any names, the cardinal would not guess what and who they were talking about, but due to his duties as a confessor, he will guide her on the true path and forgive her sins that have already been committed and those for which she was just preparing. We can hardly call Anna of Austria so naive that she recklessly trusted the secret of confession and for this reason, although she was sincere with the cardinal, she did not see any harm in this sincerity for the conspirators. Let us remember that Anna was a devoutly believing Catholic, so she would not have dared to deceive the confessor. Consequently, she had to make a choice between eternal fiery hell for deceit in confession or revealing the conspiracy in confession and eternal salvation. If Anna could not and did not want to confess to the cardinal, she could probably get the King to replace her confessor, whom her mother-in-law, Maria de Medici, imposed on her. It would probably only be pleasant for Louis to cancel another order of the Queen Mother, proving his truly royal will. If she did not refuse the cardinal as a confessor, therefore, there were reasons for this. And we see one very important reason for this - the need to be sure that she will invariably be forgiven by the King due to the intercession of the cardinal. It remains to understand the reason for this constant intercession of the one at whom these conspiracies were directed. If we assume that Anna of Austria was an involuntary or, even more so, voluntary source of information about all the dangers of conspiracies, then it becomes clear that the cardinal was vitally interested in preserving not only Anna’s life and freedom, but also her high position under the King. The fact that Anne should bring an heir to the crown was hardly significant for the cardinal, since until the heir was born, there were grounds to suspect Anne of infertility, and in this case the Pope would easily grant a divorce and deliverance from the Queen, constantly hatching plans for murder would be a blessing for the cardinal. And after the birth of the heir, the need for the Queen to remain near the King all the more disappeared. So, the explanations given by historians about the reasons for the cardinal’s intercession with the King on behalf of the Queen do not stand up to criticism, whereas if we assume that the cardinal saw in her a voluntary or involuntary source of timely information about impending conspiracies, then such behavior of the cardinal looks quite reasonable and justified. Exactly the same considerations come to mind in relation to the Duke of Orleans. The fact that before the birth of the Dauphin he was considered the heir to the throne did not make him inviolable. On the contrary, it made him the most dangerous for the King. And after the birth of the Dauphin, the Duke was no longer the heir to the throne, so there was no need to take him into account. History provides many examples when the monarch dealt with a rebellious wife and even with his own eldest son, so the extraordinary favor and constant forgiveness towards his completely unloved wife and far from beloved brother on the part of Louis can be explained as a concession to the cardinal, and nothing else. If Richelieu had insisted on house arrest or even imprisonment in any of the castles of the Queen and Monsieur, he, apparently, could have persuaded Louis to such a decision, especially since in all such conspiracies it was planned, at a minimum, to overthrow Louis himself , and a detailed investigation always showed that the conspirators did not exclude, and even directly planned, the murder of the King.
Assuming for a moment that we are right, we will no longer be surprised that Gaston d'Orl;ans did not give the command to kill the cardinal when all the circumstances were favorable to this, taking into account that the conspirators were waiting for precisely such circumstances, and specifically acted in such a way that similar circumstances arose. For Gaston, who entered into a secret agreement with Richelieu, according to which the King’s brother undertook to personally not participate in the conspiracies, but to pretend that he supported them, in order to know everything possible from the conspiracies themselves and about the conspirators, while for this Richelieu would have guaranteed Gaston personal safety and even, to a large extent, the preservation of all privileges, for such a Gaston, we repeat, his behavior was quite natural. In this case, the behavior of Richelieu was also natural, who was not afraid to be left alone with his enemies, since he knew very well that not everyone with whom he was left alone were in fact his enemies.
We would only like to add to the picture we have drawn that it is absurd to claim that the conspirators were prevented by the presence of the King to assassinate Richelieu, since their plans included the murder not only of Richelieu, but also of the King himself. If they decided to kill both of them, then the order of the murder would no longer matter. On the contrary, in this case they could be sure that they would kill both rulers who interfere with the execution of their plans. In this case, they could not fear that the King would punish them for killing the cardinal, since they were going to deal with the King as well. Therefore, it turns out that the conspirators did not actually plan to kill the King, but they only planned the murder of Cardinal Richelieu. Where did the information come from each time that the conspirators also planned to kill the King, if in fact they were only attempting to kill the cardinal? The answer is simple. This conclusion was made on the basis of the confessions of the repentant pseudo-leaders of the conspiracy, Queen Anne and Gaston of Orleans. Heading for the sake of ideological conspirators such as de Chalet, de Saint-Mars and others, they brought them to a situation where they were completely discredited, and there was no problem proving their guilt, and then gave testimony according to which the conspiracy extended not only on the cardinal, but also on the King himself. With the help of such conspiracies, the cardinal achieved several important results. First, he got rid of potential enemies. Secondly, he avoided danger in a timely manner. Thirdly, each time the revelation of the conspiracy strengthened his position under Louis. Fourthly, he also acquired power over Anna and Gaston.
We could, of course, assume that a certain statesman was so narrow-minded that, having the power to deal with his enemies, and realizing that their actions regularly threatened his life, nevertheless, he not only spared them, but also saved them by interceding for them before the King, but we cannot assume such short-sightedness in a man like Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu.
This man did not just lead the King of France, and did not even just lead the politics of France. We are talking now about a man who shaped the history of Europe from the capture of the Huguenot stronghold, the fortress of La Rochelle in 1628, until the very last day of his life, that is, until December 4, 1642, when he left this mortal coil at the age of 57 and 3 months.
This man drew up a decree that gave noble privileges to merchants, provided that they maintained a ship with a displacement of at least two hundred tons for trade needs for at least five years. These privileges passed to the entire family upon the death of such merchants, provided that at least one of the heirs continued their business. Before Richelieu, it was humiliating for nobles to engage in trade and other profitable business; Richelieu elevated this occupation to the rank of honorable, giving the right to nobility. Before Richelieu, officer positions could only be obtained for nobility; Richelieu introduced a system according to which “a soldier, based on his merits, can rise to the positions and ranks of squad leaders, from rank to rank, up to captain, and even further, if he turns out to be worthy,” as stated in Article 229 of the Michaud Code, compiled at the behest of the cardinal. This man captured all the outlying fortresses and ordered them to be razed to the ground, sparing, however, the historical sights in them, destroying only the defensive structures and filling up the ditches. These measures applied only to those fortresses that had defensive structures facing the territory of France, and did not apply to fortresses serving to defend the territory of France from an external enemy.
Richelieu received the cardinal's robe, sent by the Pope, from the hands of the papal legate Giulio Mazarin. This same papal legate, Giulio Mazarin, arrived as papal envoy to baptize the young Dauphin, the future Louis XIV . This same Mazarin arrived to present peace proposals from Spain, knowing that Richelieu would reject them, and when asked whether Mazarin expected that the proposals would be accepted, he replied that he did not hope for such a thing.
- Why did you come then? - Richelieu asked in surprise.
- In order to see the great man once again! - Mazarin answered and bowed his head in front of the cardinal.
Richelieu could not help but notice such a person, and when his faithful friend Father Joseph, called the gray cardinal, died, Richelieu remembered Mazarin and took him into his service, and, dying, bequeathed the cunning Italian to the King as the best replacement for himself.
Of course, having become first minister, Cardinal Mazarin fully continued the policy of his predecessor, Cardinal Richelieu.
This is the reason why France never ceased to gain strength due to the impulse of centralization that Richelieu set. Instead of elected governors, the provinces were ruled by governors appointed by the first minister and therefore completely subordinate to him, therefore, instead of a patchwork quilt, each patch of which was ruled by its own duke or margrave, France acquired the features of a single state that would not allow itself to be offended by its neighbors, which were Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. An empire that is essentially the German Empire.
Richelieu suppressed the Huguenots in his own country, but did not destroy them, but only subdued them, eliminating their isolated freemen. At the same time, he actively used the Huguenots of other countries and entire Huguenot countries to fight the Habsburg encirclement.
It is not surprising that such a person radically intervened in the fate of two twins born on the French throne, leaving one as the Dauphin and heir to the French crown, while dooming the second to eternal imprisonment and obscurity.
It is also not surprising that such a person concluded treaties against those who threatened the freedom and independence of France, while not shying away from concluding treaties with them, his enemies, if it was beneficial here and now.
Since in 1635 the Holy Roman Empire invaded the territory of the Trier region, with which France had a treaty, and since, according to this treaty, France was obliged to defend this territory, the French war with the Spanish Netherlands broke out, which was called the Thirty Years' War, since it lasted for thirty years. years.
This war was decided to end by d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis, as well as the King's brother, Louis Philippe, who, by the will of fate, had to share their campaign in Spanish Holland for the reason that the Marshal of France, Count Charles d'Artagnan, decided so.

Chapter LXVIII. Evening visit

The Duchess de Chevreuse was slightly bored, since nothing had disturbed her now measured, but previously very hectic life for two weeks. Therefore, she perked up when she heard that the doors of her luxurious home in one of the wings of the Louvre, provided to her by the King, opened and Louis XIV himself appeared in them .
- Ah, Your Majesty! - exclaimed the Duchess. - What a surprise and what a joy! Unfortunately, I have nothing to treat you with, and I am not fully dressed for such a visit.
“These are trifles, duchess,” the King waved him off. “I came to talk casually, without rank, in a family way, as if I were talking to my mother’s best friend.”
“For me, nothing could be more flattering and at the same time more pleasant than such a visit!” - exclaimed the duchess, anticipating some kind of intrigue, or, at least, hoping to hear new information that might prove useful, or at least interesting.
- Duchess, since by chance you are privy to the most important secret of the royal house, and my trust in you was justified by the most active help at the very moment when I most needed it, I would without fear talk with you about some subjects related with her, but lately it seems to me that in the Louvre even the walls have ears.
“Drive away the dwarf Pr;val, Your Majesty, and your secrets will be safer,” advised the duchess.
“The Louvre is simply teeming with spies like Preval,” the King objected. “Pr;val is already good because I know to whom he conveys what he manages to find out, and in this case I can use him for my own purposes, in addition to his desire. If I drive him away, two others, more dexterous, will appear in his place, about whom I will not know who they serve and for what purpose. However, you are right, Preval went too far. But if you know about him, perhaps you can name others?
- My God! - exclaimed the Duchess. - Take the lists of your courtiers, here you will have a list of spies who eavesdrop and sniff out everything possible.
- Who do they work for, Duchess? - asked the King without a shadow of surprise.
“Each has its own master, or even two or even three,” said the duchess, shrugging her shoulders. — It would be easier to list those who do not work for anyone but themselves.
- Are there such people too? - asked the King.
“There are not so many people at Your Majesty’s court who do not report anything to anyone about what they have learned by accident or on purpose,” answered the duchess. — Apart from me, who does not share information with anyone without sufficient grounds, I would only name Comte d'Artagnan and, perhaps, Colbert. However, I can’t vouch for the second one, because it is quite likely that he also forms some kind of coalition, and in this case he is simply obliged to share some confidential information.
- It turns out that we are not destined to talk without someone overhearing us? - asked the King, looking around the walls of the apartment, especially looking at the curtains and closets.
- Oh, be calm, no one is listening to me! - exclaimed the Duchess. - The whole world already considers Maria de Chevreuse a broken card, and no one is interested in me.
“In that case, I would like to discuss a letter with you, but there is no need to read it out loud,” said Louis. - This is the letter, it was brought for me by one person whom I ordered to arrest. You will understand who we are talking about from the text of this letter.
“Even without looking at the letter, I realized that we were talking about a rebellious old man,” answered the duchess, after which, with just her lips, in a barely audible whisper, she added: “Charles of Lorraine.”
“That’s right,” the King confirmed and handed the duchess the letter.
This letter was addressed to His Royal Majesty and signed by Marshal d'Artagnan.
The Duchess unfolded the paper and read the following.

“Your Royal Majesty!

IV of Lorraine , detained on suspicion of conspiracy intentions , who, if necessary, will confirm the veracity of the facts I present.
Having discovered a person who could serve as a means for rebellion, let's call him F., the mentioned Charles, apparently, had no other goals than regaining full power over the Duchy of Lorraine. Charles II recognizes this intention as illegal, since he agrees that after March 29, 1641, in accordance with the agreement signed in Paris between the Duke of Lorraine and your father, King Louis XIII, the Duchy of Lorraine is a full vassal of France.
The Duke admits that he had no other intentions, and he completely abandoned this intention under the pressure of circumstances that occurred as a result of the visit of his gentlemen Comte de La F;re, Duke d'Alameda and Baron du Valon. Mr. F., who could contribute to this daring plan, voluntarily left the duke's palace, where he was held by force, as well as by the threat of harm to the lady, towards whom the said F. has a strong spiritual inclination. Currently, this lady has also received her freedom, so the Duke is deprived of any means to continue the rebellion. In addition, the Duke of Alameda confirmed and strengthened his authority and his undisputed power over the actions of Duke Charles of Lorraine, which power Charles unconditionally and unconditionally recognizes.
In connection with these circumstances, I can guarantee complete obedience to Your Majesty the Duke in the future, as well as a guarantee that the information known to you will be preserved and not disseminated even among the closest persons, including the Duke’s wife.
Regarding Mr. F., I inform you that his arrival in France was against his will, as a result of the betrayal of envoys sent without your permission to investigate the circumstances of the case by an official known to you in a state known to you.
Mr. F.'s stay in France will end as quickly as possible, immediately after he has settled his personal questions, relating only to his heartfelt affection and friendly feelings towards the said lady. Both defendants in this case, Mr. F. and his lady, do not have any ambitions in politics, and therefore do not pose any danger to the monarchy.
I ask your permission to act according to circumstances for the good of France and inform you that even with all the possibilities to resolve all issues at my own discretion, including issues under the jurisdiction of the Minister of War, the Marquis de Louvois, because happy is the King with such servants! - Mister Marquis recognized the possibility and necessity of obeying, we, however, did not use these circumstances for any interference in the course of events, did not dare to use them to cancel any of the highest orders, decisions and orders, and left everything solely at the discretion the one who is destined by the Lord to decide the fate of the state and its subjects.
If, taking into account the above circumstances, Your Majesty deems it possible to restore the Duke's freedom, we will accept this circumstance as the happiest for him and will be glad to establish peace among the highest nobility of France. If, in addition to what has been said, Your Majesty finds the Duke guilty and rejects our humble petition, may the King’s justice be done!

I remain devoted to you
Marshal of France Charles d'Artagnan."
 
“D’Artagnan and Aramis wrote this letter together,” said the duchess. — Some phrases were clearly written by Aramis.
After this, the Duchess marked several lines on the letter with her fingernail.
- What do you say to this, Duchess? - asked the King.
“Let Charles go home,” answered Maria de Chevreuse. “I will be happy at least once in my life to stand up for my distant relative through the line of the Dukes of Lorraine, although, Lord knows, none of them deserve it.”

“Duchess, are you suggesting that I release a man who appears to be using every means at his disposal to cause me the greatest harm?” - asked the King.
- Can you, Your Majesty, publicly indict Charles, revealing all the details of this case? - asked the duchess.
- In no case! - exclaimed the King.
“If this is not done, your subjects will perceive reprisals against the Duke, or even his arrest, as arbitrary,” noted the Duchess. “They shouldn’t give them a reason to doubt the justice of Your Majesty, because your father was called Louis the Just.” You don't want to be called Louis the Unjust, do you?
“This is very undesirable,” said the King thoughtfully.
“Even if Charles starts a battle against you with his troops, this will not cause significant damage to your reputation, Your Majesty,” the duchess continued. “Not to mention the fact that he is already old and his time is coming to an end, even if he leads the army, his far from brilliant commands will contribute more to his defeat than to victories . If his young and ambitious son Charles-Henri is at the head of his army, it will be much more difficult to cope with him.
“There is a lot of truth in your words,” the King agreed.
“If Aramis claims that he controls Charles, I believe him,” summed up the duchess. “I almost never believe men when they talk about their feelings, but Aramis is the kind of person who often in conversations downplays his power and influence on people and his awareness, but never exaggerates it. You have the opportunity to act generously, as the great Cardinal Richelieu sometimes did. Take advantage of this opportunity.
“You call Richelieu a great cardinal and talk about his generosity, duchess?” - the King was surprised. “As far as we know, an irreconcilable war was constantly going on between you and him, or am I mistaken?”
- Ah, the war with de Richelieu is a family matter! — the Duchess de Chevreuse waved it off, but, noticing the bewilderment in Louis’s eyes, she added, “How?” Did you not know that the cardinal's niece was married to the nephew of de Luynes, my first husband, in 1622? After all, only after this gesture of reconciliation did your father King Louis XIII confirm his petition to the Pope to appoint Richelieu a cardinal and transfer to him the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Vaust and the deanery of Saint-Martin-de-Tours in Paris. Until then, your royal father signed such petitions only at the insistence of the Queen Mother, Marie de' Medici, but accompanied these petitions with secret annexes in which he begged the Pope to refuse him this request, because he feared the exorbitant growth of Richelieu's power through joining the Council of State. So my family greatly contributed to the career of the ungrateful cardinal. Why ungrateful? I’m not talking about his constant persecution of me personally, I’m ready to forgive him for this, however, I’m not sure. But he defeated La Rochelle! But the commander-in-chief in La Rochelle was Duke Henri II de Rohan, my cousin! Don’t forget that I am nee de Rohan-Montbazon, the daughter of a representative of the senior branch of the de Rohan family! And yet you should give him his due, he created the France that your father left you. A single state, a monarchy ruled by one King.
“My mother, Cardinal Mazarin, the Duke d'Epernon, the father of the current d'Epernon, and even I had to do a lot to ensure that France completely submitted to me,” Louis noted.
“And if it were not for the efforts of Cardinal Richelieu, then, one might say, there would not have been that very France that your mother, Cardinal Mazarin and you forced to submit to yourself,” said the duchess. “He made it united, ready to obey a single sovereign, while he accepted it in the form of many fragmented duchies, each of which was headed by rebellious princes and dukes who consider themselves entitled to defend their own opinion on any, even the most petty issue. I forgave Richelieu the very day he died, and a month later I realized that it was I who should have asked for his forgiveness.
“Well, you have convinced me, Duchess,” said the King. - I will free Charles of Lorraine. Thank you for your advice and great conversation.
After these words, Louis left and went to his room.

Chapter LXIX. Release of the rebel

The next day, the King ordered to invite the person who was appointed head of the escort accompanying the arrested Charles of Lorraine.
When Francois entered the King's office, Louis looked at him in surprise.
“Your Majesty, allow me to introduce myself, Second Lieutenant Francois Perrin, arrived on your orders,” Francois reported.
- Ensign? - Louis was surprised. - Only? And the Minister of War entrusted you with accompanying the arrested Duke of Lorraine?
“The Duke wanted to entrust this mission to the Comte de Rochefort, but the Count said that his new appointment as commander of a guards regiment during that difficult period when France was at war did not allow him to move so long and far from the unit entrusted to him, and recommended me for this mission,” Francois answered cheerfully.
“I demanded from the minister that this mission be carried out by the most reliable person!” - said the King with irritation. “He has a lot of reliable people at his disposal, whom I know personally, and he entrusts this matter to a person I don’t even know!”
“Your Majesty, I followed all the instructions prescribed to me exactly, the arrested person was brought to you for interrogation and is now in the Bastille,” Francois said quietly but persistently, after which he humbly knelt before the King. “If I made any mistakes in carrying out this mission, I ask that you punish me, but I would be extremely grateful if first, if possible, I would know what they were.”
“I didn’t mean to say that you are guilty of anything,” the King said more softly. - Stand up. I'm not going to punish you because it's not your fault. I'm just surprised that the minister entrusted the most important mission to a person I don't know.
“Now you know me,” said Fran;ois, who had already risen from his knees, but at these words he bowed so submissively that his words sounded much less impudent than they might have sounded without this gesture of complete submission.
“You are quite daring and ambitious, but I even like it, because from your accent I understand that you are a Gascon, a fellow countryman of my royal grandfather,” said the King. “You remind me damn well of Comte d’Artagnan.”
“My mother also said that I am very similar to my father,” Francois answered modestly.
—Are you the son of Marshal d'Artagnan? - Louis asked in surprise. “In that case, I understand the Minister of War and Count Rochefort and approve of their choice.” But does d'Artagnan have a family?
“Yes, Your Majesty, the count has a family, but I do not have the honor of being the count’s legitimate son,” said Francois. “The connection of my parents, from which I was born, was not sanctified by the Catholic Church, but only by love, that is, by a deity three times older. They were married by Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and I owe my existence to her alone. But I was born in marriage and have reason to bear a noble surname.
“You are not only efficient, but also witty, I like it,” noted the King, who was pleased with the justification of the love affair, which he himself very often needed, at least to himself, due to his exorbitant love of love, which he inherited from his loving grandfather and in which his father was not seen. “Well, I hope that you will carry out my instructions exactly, Lieutenant.”
“Second lieutenant, Your Majesty,” Francois clarified almost in a whisper, daring to correct the King himself.
“So, Lieutenant,” said Louis, emphasizing the word “lieutenant,” “you will have to secretly deliver Charles of Lorraine back, and then release him so that there will be no talk about his arrest.”
“It’s an honor, I’m happy to serve Your Majesty!” - answered Francois, which meant both that he understood, appreciated and thanked the King for the promotion, and that he would carry out the order as accurately as possible.
“Here is the order,” the King continued calmly, “all that remains is to write your name in the place where it is said about who is entrusted with carrying out this order.” Tell me, Francois, do you currently have your patent for the rank of junior lieutenant?
- Yes, Your Majesty! - answered Francois.
“Come on,” Louis said dryly.
Having received the patent, he crossed out the word “junior” in it and put his signature next to it.
“There’s a war going on, Lieutenant,” he said. — Let’s not waste time re-registering patents properly. If necessary, give this document for exchange for the lieutenant's patent, however, this is not necessary, it is valid in this form.
“It’s a thousand times better because it has your signature on it!” - Francois exclaimed joyfully, after which he bowed with the dignity befitting the new rank of lieutenant, that is, two inches lower than before, and left.

- Courteous fellow! - the King said to himself. “If his father had even a fraction of his courtesy, he would have become a marshal much sooner.” I hope his politeness in the palace does not affect his determination in battle. But we will soon find out.

Francois carried out the King’s orders exactly, so as soon as the carriage reached Nantes, Charles of Lorraine was quietly returned to his palace, and Francois presented a full report on the fulfillment of the mission entrusted to him and the King’s order to his immediate superior, Count de Rochefort, to whom he also showed the corrections on the patent made by Louis XIV . The Count heartily congratulated the young man on his promotion and conveyed all the news to Minister de Louvois.
By this time, d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, Aramis, Francois and Suzanne were no longer in Nantes, as they were moving towards their intended goal in the Spanish part of Holland.

 Chapter LXX. Spanish Netherlands

While our friends are heading to the southern part of Holland, we will tell our readers about where, in fact, they are going, why and what could await them there.
Spanish Holland, or the Spanish Netherlands, is the southern part of Holland, which was under Spanish rule for quite some time, however, this power gradually began to come apart at the seams due to the enormous work that Richelieu did and Mazarin continued. This work was aimed at dividing the strongest Habsburg alliance, which included the Holy Roman Empire (that is, the unification of the German states and Italy), Spain and Austria. In order for France to free itself from the ring of strong states claiming unconditional dominance in Europe, Richelieu agreed to the closest cooperation with Protestant countries. The result was that he almost succeeded in carrying out his plan, and Mazarin, in full accordance with the course planned by Richelieu, brought this activity to such a state that Spain could no longer so firmly hold hegemony in its hands over the southern part of Holland. All that remained was to wrest this territory from the power of Spain, after which, if not to take possession of it, then at least to ensure that this state ceased to be in fact a Spanish colony.
Thus, the Spanish Netherlands became the scene of most of the European wars of the described time, which was for them a tragic consequence of their geographical location and the historical dominance of Spain. Since the weakening Spain could no longer effectively defend its colonial possessions, this resulted in a series of territorial concessions to its stronger neighbors.
From 1635 to 1659, the Franco-Spanish War had already taken place, some of the battles took place on the territory of the Spanish Netherlands, and according to the results of the Pyrenean Peace Treaty, Spain ceded to France the county of Artois and a number of adjacent territories, part of Flanders with a number of fortresses, the cities of Landrecy and Les Quesnoy in Gennegau, Thionville, Montm;dy and other fortresses in the Duchy of Luxembourg, as well as the cities of Marienburg, Philippeville and Aven between the Sambre and Meuse rivers. But that was not the end of the matter.
In that part of Holland that remained under Spanish protectorate, anti-French passions flared up, and provocations were constantly carried out from this territory. Among other things, such a provocation was support for attempts to secede from France with the help of local military groups on the part of those local rulers who did not accept their new position as vassals of the French crown. As we have seen, one of these active and rebellious rulers was Charles of Lorraine.
Louis XIV in this case acted exactly on the advice of Richelieu, who left his political testament to his father, King Louis XIII , where, in particular, the great cardinal wrote:

“Nothing is more necessary in government than foresight, since with its help one can easily prevent those disasters, the consequences of which cannot be eliminated except through great efforts. Just as a doctor who prefers to prevent diseases, knowing that this is easier than treating them, so government ministers are obliged to provide information and remind their sovereign that it is much more important to foresee the future than to talk about the present, and that, as with diseases, so Likewise, with the enemies of the state, it is more useful to anticipate their machinations and come out to meet them, preventing their execution, than to allow their attack, and then with great effort drive them out, getting rid of their invasion.”

The great Richelieu said that you need to sleep like a lion, without closing your eyes, keeping them open, in order to anticipate any danger, since troubles, unnoticeable at first, later become the most important. He also said: “Kings need to be very careful in the treaties they make, but when they are already made, they must observe them religiously.” He further wrote in his political will: “The sovereign must be strong by the strength of his borders. You would have to be devoid of reason not to know how important it is for great states to have their borders highly fortified.” “A fairly fortified border can deprive enemies of the desire to undertake enterprises against the state, or at least stop their raids and desires, if they are so bold that they will come with open force. The most powerful state in the world cannot boast that it enjoys reliable peace if it is not able to protect itself at all times from a sudden invasion and from an unexpected attack.”

In particular, Spanish-Dutch dominion at sea had already become unbearable for France, which also wanted to develop a fleet to acquire new colonies. In this struggle for the colonies of the new land, Spain, Portugal, England, France and Holland desperately competed with each other.
Richelieu created the French fleet virtually from scratch. When he took office as First Minister, France did not have a single warship in the Atlantic or English Channel, and only ten galleys in the Mediterranean. By 1635, the French fleet already included three squadrons in the Atlantic, one sailing squadron and 20 galleys in the Mediterranean. Mazarin and Colbert continued to increase the fleet.
In his political will, the cardinal wrote: “The power of arms requires not only that the sovereign be strong on land, but also that he be numerous at sea. The sea is the power of all inheritances, which all autocrats for the most part achieve, and yet the rights of each to it are least clear. In a word, the ancient rights of this dominion are strength, not proof; one must be strong in order to enter into this inheritance.”
For these purposes, he introduced the already mentioned Michaud Code, according to which ordinary subjects of “every rank” received all the privileges of the nobility if they maintained a ship with a displacement of more than 200 tons for more than five years in a row. This contributed to the development of the French fleet. Spain in the south and Spanish Holland in the north of France sought to suppress the maritime ambitions of France, which the King could no longer tolerate.
The War of Devolution (1667-1668), the Dutch War (1672-1678), the Franco-Spanish War (1683-1684) - these armed conflicts and the two subsequent ones took place in the lands of the Spanish Netherlands. After each, the country lost part of its territory.
During the time we are talking about, the French army showed itself to be as effective as possible, which threatened Holland with complete defeat. In desperation, not counting on the force of arms, in the fall of 1672 the population of Holland opened the floodgates, and water flooded the country. The offensive of the French troops became impossible.
Prince William of Orange, Count John Moritz of Nassau, General Wurtz and Count Hoorn, however, occupied and blocked the roads to Amsterdam. But Holland also desperately resisted in the lands that remained unflooded. Having received reinforcements from Monterey, Viceroy of the Spanish Netherlands, and having recruited 21 thousand soldiers at his side, William decided to go on the offensive. He penetrated as far as Maastricht, which was besieged by our troops, and took Fort Valkenburg. From here he moved to Charleroi, besieged this city, but could not take possession of it.
In the last days of December 1672, taking advantage of the cold weather, Marshal Luxembourg moved towards The Hague. The water that covered the entire country turned into such a thick icy crust that not only could the troops walk along narrow dams, but the cavalry was able to directly cross the frozen lowlands.

Chapter LXXI. The Last Masquerade

- Do you notice something strange, my friends? - asked d'Artagnan, peering into the distance with concern.
- Do you mean the march of our cavalry on the ice? - Aramis inquired. “This maneuver will probably be unpleasant for the Dutch.” They thought that the water released from the open dams would make the trek impossible, but fortunately the cold froze the water, turning it into ice, so the Dutch plans were thwarted.
“Ice is a rather slippery road for cavalry,” Athos said doubtfully, peering at the tracks on the ice, covered with a light coating of frost. — Excellent winter spikes are needed on horse shoes. I'm not convinced that this is how it was done.
“Our valiant cavalry will show these Dutch what’s what!” - Porthos said with delight.
“Look at the sky, gentlemen,” continued d’Artagnan. — The clouds are torn into long stripes. The wind is changing. It blew from the mainland, but soon the wind will change, the bulk of the air will arrive here from the west, that is, from the sea.
- Are you sure? - Aramis asked hastily and began to look at the clouds with concern.
“This is very bad news,” Athos said with annoyance.
- Why the hell do we care about the direction of the wind, damn it? - Porthos was surprised.
- Let's go quickly to the commander! - Aramis ordered. “We can’t waste a minute.”
- Together? - Athos was surprised. - Are both Philip and Suzanne with us?
- The only way! - D'Artagnan exclaimed and gave spurs to his horse.
The others galloped after.

As soon as the travelers approached the military camp, d'Artagnan guessed from the royal flag the tent in which the commander-in-chief was staying. Approaching closer, he was convinced that he was not mistaken when he saw that this tent was guarded by a special detachment.
- Where are you going? - asked the major, the commander of the guard of the marshal's tent, to d'Artagnan.
“Marshal d’Artagnan wants to speak urgently with Marshal Luxembourg,” answered d’Artagnan.
- Marshal d'Artagnan? — the head of security asked with a laugh. - I don’t know that. Gentlemen, such jokes are not appropriate here. Marshal d'Artagnan, as far as I know, died two years ago near Maastrich.
- Damn it, I don’t know you, but you should know me! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. -You don’t recognize me?
“I did not know the count, so even if you returned from the other world, I cannot recognize you, since I do not know you,” answered the major.
-Who is the marshal's adjutant? - asked d'Artagnan. “He must know me, no matter who he is!”
“The adjutant is currently carrying out the marshal’s instructions, I won’t tell you anything more, since I should not disclose confidential information to anyone,” answered the major.
- Listen, Major, will this convince you? - asked d'Artagnan, taking out the marshal's baton from the top of his boot, and the patent of the Marshal of France from the inner pocket of his doublet.
“Wait, I’ll report you to Marshal Luxembourg,” the major answered, after which he entered the tent.
Three minutes later, he looked out of the tent and waved his hand, inviting d'Artagnan to come inside.
- Marshal Luxembourg, we have little time, so I would like to get down to business right away! - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
- Dear Count! - exclaimed Luxemburg. “I’m glad that the rumors about your death turned out to be false!” Tell me how it all happened? Where have you been and why did you finally show up?
- To hell with stories about the past, let's discuss the future! - D'Artagnan answered impatiently. “I beg you, urgently call your cavalry back!”
“Impossible, Count,” Luxemburg answered coldly. “The order to attack was given based on all considerations of strategy and tactics, and it will be executed in the most appropriate manner.” Retreat is impossible.
- Dear Francois-Henri de Montmorency-Boutville, Duke of Pinet-Luxembourg, I’m not joking! - cried d'Artagnan. - In the very near future the wind will change to the west!
“Well, the wind from the sea is no worse than the wind from the mainland,” Luxemburg calmly objected.
“These places are usually extremely warm for the latitude at which these lands are located,” d’Artagnan continued to insist. - Do you know why this happens?
“My brave soldiers can fight in any cold,” answered the marshal. - They are hardened, well dressed, they are not afraid of frost.
“It’s not the frost they should be afraid of, but the thaw!” - continued d'Artagnan. - The wind from the sea will bring warmth, the ice will melt, and the cavalry will drown.
“You exaggerate the danger, my friend,” the marshal objected in a soothing tone. — I personally checked the strength of the ice. I ordered a hole to be drilled. At this point the ice is at least three feet thick. This is quite enough to support riders.
“Air from the sea will easily melt this ice,” d’Artagnan stubbornly continued to argue.
“Listen, Count,” Luxemburg said softly. “I understand that you have been away for a long time, and you certainly want to lead a large army in order, so to speak, to confirm your high military career in practice. But you are too late, my dear. Everything has already been done before you and without your help. Soon we will occupy all of Spanish Holland, after which, of course, we will secure new territories with an appropriate peace treaty. Your presence here is not required. Go, take a rest from the road, I will arrange for you and your companions to be provided with a comfortable tent. I invite you to the military council tomorrow, where we will discuss all your concerns.
“I just wanted to warn you that you could make a colossal mistake,” d’Artagnan continued.
“You succeeded, Count,” replied Luxemburg. - You warned me. This means that you successfully completed the task that you set for yourself. I will make further decisions myself, and I promise that I will take your warnings into account.
“Just one word, Duke,” said d’Artagnan with a faint hope of winning this strange dispute. - Warm current. Gulf Stream. Thanks to this current, the sea air is extremely warm.
“You will tell this to the admiral, dear count,” answered the marshal. - We are land people, we do not study ocean currents. Thank you, Count, for your advice, and now, please forgive me, I’m busy. See you tomorrow at the military council.
D'Artagnan left Luxembourg's tent in a rage.
— What are the results of the meeting? - asked Athos.
- Zero, damn it! - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
“So we will have to do what we tried with all our might not to do, and the very thing that you, d’Artagnan, almost promised His Majesty not to do under any circumstances, such was the spirit of your letter,” he said with a smile. Aramis. “We simply must use this last resort to save the cavalry, don’t we?”
D'Artagnan glanced at Athos.
“There is no other way,” agreed Athos.
“Come on, monsignor,” said d’Artagnan, turning to Philip. “You must force the Marshal of Luxembourg to recall the cavalry back, but I beg you, make sure that the rumor of your presence here does not spread beyond the Duke’s tent.”

“Monsieur d’Artagnan, you can’t go there,” said the major, when d’Artagnan and Philippe, who was again wearing his rag mask, approached the Duke of Luxembourg’s tent. “The Marshal ordered that you not be allowed to see him today, since he has important matters to attend to.”
“I give my word of honor that if the marshal knew what news this gentleman whom I am accompanying brought him, he would instantly receive both of us,” said d’Artagnan. “If I turn out to be wrong, you can take my marshal’s baton and do with it as you please.”
With these words, d'Artagnan put his marshal's baton into the hand of the stunned major and, taking advantage of his confusion, entered the tent, leading Philippe behind him.
“I said that all conversations with you are finished for today, Mister Count!” - the Duke said displeasedly.
“I assume this doesn’t apply to me?” - Philip asked, taking off his mask and walking closer to the light.
- Your Majesty! Are you here?! What a joy! - exclaimed Luxemburg.
“Please be quiet, Duke,” said Philip. “I am making a detour with a minimum convoy incognito for reasons of the highest national importance. So I ask you to speak quietly. However, I will speak, and you – listen and do it.
- Yes, Your Majesty, I’m all attention! - Luxemburg replied.
“You are in vain, Duke, to neglect the advice of Marshal d’Artagnan,” said Philip. - While retaining and confirming all your powers to conduct military operations here in Holland, I still insist that you immediately carry out the proposal, no, the order of Marshal d'Artagnan, as if you had received it from me. You will immediately recall my cavalry, sending this order with such messengers who rush faster than the wind on the fastest and lightest horses. I give you two minutes to write the appropriate order.
- Yes, Your Majesty! - answered the marshal.
“You’ve already wasted ten precious seconds on this answer.” I said immediately! - Philip said in a tone that did not tolerate objections, after which he put on his mask and left the tent.
The marshal immediately wrote the order and gave it to d'Artagnan.
- Fine! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “I will go with this order myself, and you write two more copies and send two quick messengers after me in case something happens to me.”
After this, d'Artagnan quickly left the tent, leaving it, he took his marshal's baton from the hands of the stunned major and dashingly jumped into the saddle.
- I'm going to return the cavalry! - he shouted to his friends, waving an order.
- We're all going! - exclaimed Porthos.
“No, Porthos,” Aramis objected. “You are too heavy, and the ice will soon begin to thin out.” We have to let him go alone.
D'Artagnan nodded to his friends, made a sign meaning that he asked them to wait for him and protect Philip and Suzanne, and gave spurs to his horse.
- I'm going with him! - exclaimed Suzanne and quickly galloped after d'Artagnan.
- Wait, madam, where are you going? - Aramis exclaimed.
“ It’s no use, my friend,” answered Athos and took Aramis by the hand. “We will not be able to overcome the force that carried her away.” Yes, this is not necessary.

Chapter LXXII. On thin ice

D'Artagnan quickly rushed across the thin ice in the direction of the tracks of the French cavalry. He figured that the cavalry formation would still move much slower than one horseman in a hurry. In addition, the cavalry did not move in the usual marching formation, but in battle formation. The chances of returning the cavalry regiment before the ice ceased to withstand were quite good, considering that the regiment had only set out on the march that morning. Hurrying to save his compatriots, the marshal never even looked back, so he did not know that Suzanne was galloping after him and was gradually falling behind him a little. He mistakenly believed that she stayed with his friends and did not hear the clatter of hooves from behind, which was drowned out by the loud and heavy breathing of the horse and the beating of the rider’s heart, which echoed with dull beats in his ears.
After several hours of riding, d'Artagnan finally saw the rear ranks of the regiment ahead of him. Hoping that he would be heard, he fired from his musket, but the wind carried the sounds to the side and none of the horsemen looked back. D'Artagnan decided to let his horse go from a trot to a gallop, despite the fact that the poor animal was already pretty tired. Suddenly, d'Artagnan's horse broke through the ice with its hind legs, after which both horse and rider plunged into the water. Fortunately, it was not too deep, so the horse, instinctively pushing off with its hind legs from the bottom, was able to emerge together with the rider into the resulting wormwood. The marshal's saddle was heavy, his boots took on water, and his ammunition was wet. D'Artagnan managed to grab a dagger from his boot and plunged it halfway into the ice, which helped him not to go under the ice while the unfortunate animal struggled in the water, trying to climb with its front legs onto the brittle ice along the edges of the hole. The marshal tried to grab the handle of the dagger and get out onto the ice, but at that time the blade of the dagger broke. Now only a small fragment of the blade was sticking out of the handle, which d'Artagnan again forcefully drove into the ice and tried to catch his breath and think about the situation.
- Charles, hold on! - exclaimed Suzanne, who was two hundred meters away from him. - I'm coming to you!
- Suzanna, be careful, don’t get close to the ravine! - D'Artagnan shouted. - Don't come closer than a dozen feet!
- How can I save you? - exclaimed Suzanne.
“You don’t have to save me, my dear,” D’Artagnan shouted. - Catch up with the cavalry and give them the order of their commander-in-chief.
- Where is this order? - asked Suzanne.
“I’ll throw it to you now,” answered d’Artagnan.
Taking the hilt of the dagger with his left hand, he took out an order from the inner pocket of his camisole, which, although damaged by water, retained its inscription, signature and seal.
- Catch it, Suzanne! - D'Artagnan shouted and, putting the order into his leather glove, put it all on the ice and pushed it towards Suzanne.
“I can’t leave you without help, Charles!” - Suzanne begged.
“Darling, you will help me a lot if you immediately deliver the order of Marshal Luxembourg to the commander of the cavalry regiment!” - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “I beg you, dear, don’t waste time.” The ice will soon become very thin!
“With tears in her eyes, Suzanne again jumped onto her horse and galloped off to catch up with the French cavalry.

D'Artagnan caught his breath and again tried to get out of the resulting ravine on his own. The ice in the place where he stuck the broken dagger was too thin, so after d'Artagnan transferred all his weight to the edge of the ice, it broke off.
D'Artagnan began, holding onto the ice, to gradually move along the hole in the ice, looking for the edge where the ice would be thicker. Soon it seemed to him that he had found the desired edge and he again made an attempt to get out of the ice trap. This time he managed to pull himself up without breaking the ice. Having climbed to the surface, d'Artagnan looked back at his faithful horse, who could not get out because he could not perch on the surface of the ice with his front legs. Risking falling into the wormwood again, d'Artagnan took the bridle in his hands and pulled the horse to the edge that seemed to him thicker than the others.
“Be patient, my friend,” said d’Artagnan. “If Suzanne turns them around, help will come soon.”

Soon Suzanne caught up with the cavalry regiment.
- Order from the commander-in-chief! - she shouted, waving an order.
- Who are you, madam? - asked one of the cavalrymen in the back rows.
“I’m bringing you an order from the commander-in-chief, Marshal Luxembourg, to return immediately, since the ice will soon melt!” - Suzanne shouted back.
The cavalrymen quickly conveyed the message to the colonel along the chain, after which the regiment stopped.
- Where is the order? - asked the colonel, who drove up to Suzanne.
“Here he is, Colonel,” answered Suzanne. - Sorry he's wet. There behind, Marshal of France d'Artagnan fell through the ice on his horse. I beg you, help him.
- Four cavalrymen - to the aid of the marshal! - the colonel ordered, after which he familiarized himself with the order. “Madam, you brought this order very timely,” he added after reading it. “We noticed that the ice was unreliable, but without an order we could not go back without permission.” We hoped that we would be able to reach solid land before the ice became so thin that we could go no further.
After this, the colonel gave the order to quickly return.
Suzanne immediately turned around and hastily galloped off to save her dear Charles.
When she saw five horsemen riding towards them, among whom she saw d'Artagnan, her heart began to beat joyfully.
- Charles, you were saved! - she exclaimed joyfully.
“We only saved the marshal’s horse,” answered one of the cavalrymen. “There was no need to save the marshal, since he saved himself.”
- Gentlemen, you have done an enormous amount for me! - D'Artagnan objected. “You saved my horse, which is very dear to me, as well as the sword given to me personally by His Majesty, which, fortunately, was fastened to the saddle.”
“You are alive, my dear Charles, thank God, I’m so glad!” - Suzanne did not let up, hugging and kissing d'Artagnan in front of everyone. - Gentlemen, I thank you for saving him!
“It is we, madam, who should thank you for our salvation,” answered the colonel. “If you had not brought this order, our fate, apparently, would have been extremely deplorable.”
- Charles, did you drown your marshal's baton? - Suzanne whispered.
“Fortunately, no,” answered d’Artagnan. “I dropped it at first, but it’s made of wood, so it didn’t sink.” I remembered about him only after we saved the horse together.
- You have always been like this, Charles! - exclaimed Suzanne. “You love horses more than any inanimate objects, even such as a marshal’s baton!”
“My excuse is that I love you, Suzanne, more than horses,” d’Artagnan smiled.
- Really? - Suzanne exclaimed with a smile. “Coming from any other person, this would sound rude, but knowing how much you adore horses, I understand that this is the best compliment.” Surely you wouldn’t say that you love women more than horses?
- Never! - D'Artagnan agreed. “No woman but you, Suzanne, can compete with my love of horses.”
“I know that, Charles,” said Suzanne. “That’s why I perceive your words as saying that you don’t love a single woman in the world more than me.” I'm right?
- You are right more than ever! - D'Artagnan answered seriously.
“Charles, I’m afraid that being in cold water will not do you any good,” Suzanne said worriedly. - How would you not get sick after this involuntary bathing?
“Don’t worry, Suzanne,” replied d’Artagnan. - I'm already warmed up. In addition, under the saddle of my faithful horse in my bag there is a miraculous balm according to the recipe of my good mother.
“Will you wipe yourself with it, Charles?” - asked Suzanne.
“Not this time,” answered d’Artagnan. — A more radical way of using it is required.
Suzanne burst out laughing and playfully shook her finger at her adored Marshal of France.

After the regiment arrived on solid ground, it was obvious to everyone how timely the order to return was. Indeed, on the way back, the ice broke several times under some of the horsemen, but since the cavalrymen were already prepared for such a turn of events, the losers were quickly removed by joint efforts from the ice trap along with the horse, using bundles of bridles prepared for this case, which greatly helped the cavalrymen save the marshal's horse.
D'Artagnan really wanted to approach the Marshal of Luxembourg and ask the question: “Well, which of us was right, Duke?” however, he restrained himself. The joy of saving the cavalry regiment drowned out his pride, wounded in the previous conversation, since his Gascon pride was completely satisfied by the knowledge that the Duke himself understood that he was wrong.
In the tent provided to his friends, d'Artagnan changed his clothes, putting on what the major had brought him, with whom he had previously had difficult conversations in front of the marshal's tent.
“The Marshal of Luxembourg ordered these clothes, this bottle of cognac to be given to you, and also asked me to convey his apologies for not heeding your advice,” said the major. “He would come to you personally, but he is currently busy with an urgent military council.”
“Tell Monsieur Marshal that I am grateful to him for everything and his apology has been accepted,” answered d’Artagnan.
“D’Artagnan,” said Athos after the Gascon had completely changed clothes and finally warmed up. - It seems you were going to stop the war? Can you tell us how you are going to do this?
“We have done more, friends,” said d’Artagnan. — We saved the cavalry regiment. And let those who started it stop the war. For our part, we have created the conditions for peaceful negotiations.
“If you allow me, friends, I will try to do something about this using my connections,” said Aramis. - But for this I will have to leave you for a while.
- Go, Aramis, with God! - said Athos. - May heaven help you in your efforts!
“Heaven helps those who have enough helpers on earth,” answered Aramis.
- What about Philip? - asked Porthos.
“Philip will return to Monaco, where a lady who recently returned there is waiting for him,” answered Athos.
- So what is next? - asked Aramis.
- My friends! - Philip exclaimed. “I would like to take advantage of your wonderful experience and fake my death in the eyes of all those who are watching my fate against my wishes. This is a great way to hide from all ill-wishers and then lead a calm and happy life as a simple private person.
“But you seem to have already sorted out your feelings, and, if I’m not mistaken, you link your happiness only with the possibility of being in the princess’s company?” - asked d'Artagnan.
“That’s right, Count,” Philip answered. “She liked my idea too.” She also intends to fake her death, after which we want to retire to a place that will not be known to anyone except you, our best friends.
“Listen to my advice, monsignor,” said Athos. - After everyone believes in your death, go as far as you can, and do not tell your location not only to your enemies, but also to us, your friends. Don't tell anyone about him. We don't want to know him. This is the only way we can be calm for your future life and for your joint happiness.
“I agree with Athos,” said d’Artagnan.
“I also agree, it’s reasonable,” Aramis agreed thoughtfully.
- Well, if all my friends say that it will be better this way, I also join their opinion! - exclaimed Porthos. - But only on the condition that before parting we drink a bottle of good wine for forgiveness!
“Since you all advise the same thing, I will do as you say,” said Philip.

In the evening, Aramis approached one of the officers of the Marshal of Luxembourg.
“Camille,” he said. — Make sure that these letters are delivered to the specified addresses. And here's another thing. Did you see the man who arrived with us, who was wearing a metallic-colored cloth mask?
“Yes, monsignor,” Camille replied.
“I must always know where this man is and what he is doing,” said Aramis. — Information about him should be collected by people whose existence he should not know. These must be members of the order from among the initiates of the first level, the total number of these people should not exceed five. They can alternate, depending on what will be more convenient for the better execution of this order. I also need to know everything about the lady who will share life with this man.
“Everything will be done, monsignor,” Camille replied.

A month later, the King's secretary said that a parcel had arrived from Holland addressed to the King, containing four swords with hilts decorated with diamonds.

- So, they fulfilled all their obligations to me and all four are asking for resignation! - Louis said quietly to himself. “Well, I accept their resignation.” Today I received proof that the monarchy is no longer threatened by the danger they came to France to eliminate. And today I lost four of my best servants. I will have to make peace with Spanish Holland.

At this point I must pause.

Chapter LXXIII. Far from France

I intend to continue to tell our dear readers how the fate of d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis, as well as Suzanne, Philip and Charlotte. But, anticipating the interest of my dear readers in what happened to Philip, I can for now preliminary report that ten months later Aramis received a letter with the following content.

“Monsignor!
Madame gave birth to a daughter, who was named Amelia.
The prince pretends that he considers this daughter his own.”

A few months after this, Aramis received the following letter.

"Monsignor,
Amelia died from an illness apparently related to pulmonary disease. It is impossible to exclude the intervention of outside forces, perhaps at the direction of the prince.”

Some time after these events, another letter contained the following text.

"Monsignor,
The prince mourns the death of his wife Charlotte. The funeral was modest. Apparently, even the prince himself does not know that in the coffin lies a masterfully executed wax model, which cannot be distinguished from the princess even with the closest study. Probably a maid named Josepha helped in this matter. The coffin was lowered into the family crypt of the princes of Monaco. Charlotte disappeared with the very person whose movements we are tracking according to your instructions. Their location is as follows."
What followed were mysterious symbols, the meaning of which could only be understood by two people in the Jesuit Order - Aramis himself, as well as Giovanni Paolo Oliva, known as the general of the Jesuit Order, who performed these functions officially, while Aramis retained the actual control of the Order.

All letters addressed to Aramis were signed: “Monsignor Antonio Pignatelli.”
Who is this mysterious Antonio Pignatelli and why Aramis was called by this name in subsequent years, our readers will learn about this from the next book.
For now, I just want to inform our readers that d'Artagnan did not get sick or die after swimming in icy water in Holland. Returning to Scotland, d'Artagnan learned that Bazin had recovered, although he became very weak in health, but remained in good spirits. He was also surprised to discover a newly rebuilt house in the village of Monkville. The source of this remained unknown to d'Artagnan for a long time, since he believed that this generous patron of the arts was Porthos. However, the baron admitted that, although he really had such plans, he could not and would not have had time to organize everything so perfectly, since he participated in the campaigns with Athos, Aramis and d'Artagnan. Then d'Artagnan asked Athos if he was involved in the restoration of Monqueville, to which Athos replied:
“I had an order left from a dying man, which I was going to carry out if my health and the years of life allotted to me allowed me.” If fulfilled, one of the points of this order was to pay the costs of restoring Monqueville. But I cannot yet boast of completing this assignment, so the source of this money is not known to me. Perhaps Aramis did it?
“If not Porthos and not you, Athos, then, of course, Aramis,” agreed d’Artagnan. “But I haven’t heard from him for a long time.”
—Have you asked Bazin about this? - asked Athos.
“Bazin claims that he has no connection with Aramis,” answered d’Artagnan.
Thus, d'Artagnan and Suzanne Campredon and Porthos and Agnes Campbell, as well as Bazin and Grimaud, comfortably settled down in the newly rebuilt Montville. As for Athos, he went on some business, about which he told d'Artagnan that this was the very promise he had made to the dying man, and as soon as it was fulfilled, he would be happy to return to Monqueville.
“Tell me, Athos,” asked d’Artagnan. —Have you thought about joining your destiny with some woman?
- God be with you, d'Artagnan! - Athos laughed. “There is no woman in the world with whom I would want to connect my life, even though I cannot guarantee that I will live at least another year or two!” I don’t want to overshadow even such a small thing with responsibility for the fate of a woman and the difficulties that come with living together with Eva’s daughter.
- What can you say about the Duchess de Chevreuse? - asked d'Artagnan. “It seemed to me that you liked her, and something elusive arose between you.”
— Duchess de Chevreuse? - asked Athos. “For Athos this is too much, and for the Comte de La F;re it is too little.”
 
Chapter LXXIV. Lyrical digression from the author

As soon as I finished my novel, I gave the last chapters to the copyist and looked forward to having a complete copy, so that, on occasion, I could present my masterpiece to my little tormentor, the Marquise Dionne de Livry. I decided to send her the manuscript of the second book by courier, wait three weeks, during which I assumed she would read my work, and then asked to visit her.
“Dear marquise,” I said after exchanging traditional greetings, to which I added the most fantastic compliments. “I am grateful to you for encouraging me to write this book; I finally finished this titanic work and came to listen to your verdict. I hope you will be lenient.
— You are our dear writer! - answered the marquise. “I have long since lost interest in these adventure novels, or, as you call them, adventure novels.” I especially find so-called historical novels boring. They have nothing to do with history. If you read anything on this topic, then memoirs, for example, the notes of Madame Sevigneux, or the memoirs of Cardinal Retz, or, at worst, La Rochefoucauld or Bourdeil.
“Are you saying that you haven’t read my book?” — I asked confused.
- Well, why? - objected the marquise. “At least out of respect for you, and also in memory of our past friendship, I could not help but pay attention to your work. I read the book, of course.
I really didn’t like her term “past friendship”, and even more I didn’t like the coldness with which she responded to my new book.
“Tell me, for God’s sake, what impression did my book make on you?” - I asked.
“I have to make something clear,” said the Marquise in the tone in which elderly teachers speak to naughty pupils. “In the days of my youth, I was really interested in novels like yours.” It seemed to me that I was finding grains of historical truth in them. But I'm disappointed. You took the fake memoirs written in the name of the Comte de Rochefort and the Comte d'Artagnan, selected the best parts from them and added a fair amount of your imagination.
— Why fake memoirs? - I was amazed. - And why do you claim that I used these memoirs for my books?
“Judge for yourself, Mr. Writer,” continued my inquisitor in a dress. - They are fake for the reason that they were written by Gasien de Courtille de Sandre. Moreover, if Captain d'Artagnan was a real historical figure, then Count de Rochefort is a completely fictional character.
“Excuse me, Marquise,” I objected, “where did you get the idea that this man is the author of the mentioned memoirs?”
“They have already been published, and meticulous historians have gotten to the bottom of the authorship,” the marquise waved it off. - That’s not the point. From the three-volume book about d'Artagnan you took the most decent of his adventures, and also took some other heroes from there, although you changed the names of some. So the three Gascon brothers Athos, Porthos and Aramis turned into people who were not related by any kinship and were not even Gascons. Fat Vallon from the episode in the book about Rochefort, where the Duke of Orleans ate a hot omelet from his bare stomach, merged with the image of Porthos, and began to be called du Vallon. De Troisville turned into de Treville, de B;maux turned into de Bezmeaux, Mademoiselle de La Valli;re's fianc;, young l'Etrouville, turned into the son of Athos Raoul de Bragelon, but if in de Courtille he simply took ill and died of grief, then in yours he rushed off to war to die. You transferred the story of the Count de Rochefort's father with his second marriage to Madeleine de Caumont, who had a mark on her shoulder in the form of a lily, into the story of Athos with his unsuccessful marriage to my lady. You borrowed Courtille's view of Richelieu, Mazarin, Fouquet, Colbert, and the subjective assessment of these people that de Courtille gave them has nothing in common with historical truth. In reality, Fouquet was not as noble as you write, Mazarin was not as greedy, Richelieu was not as in love with Queen Anne, and Colbert was not as evil and, by the way, was not as omnipotent as you describe him. You have almost completely forgotten about the Minister of War Le Tellier and his son, the Marquis de Lavoie.
“Enough, enough,” I couldn’t resist. - I got it. You didn't like my new novel.
- Don't be offended, Monsieur Dumas! - said the marquise and looked at me with her expressive eyes.
After that, she put her gentle hands on my shoulders and planted a kiss on my cheek.
“Your novel is wonderful, but, sorry, not for me,” she said, after which it seemed to me that my heart was being torn in two.
“You want to say that you have outgrown my creativity,” I summed up sadly.
“You could say so,” agreed the marquise. - However, I would not use such a term. I don’t claim that I have become intellectually superior, I just went in a different direction in my development. Would you like to go horseback riding with me?
“Sorry, marquise, my build doesn’t allow me to get involved in this wonderful sport,” I answered.
“Then let’s go have breakfast,” said the marquise.
After these words of hers, I didn’t start talking about the book anymore.
We had a good time, except for the feeling that I had wasted a year and a half of my life.
Arriving home, I sat down at the table and wrote a letter to my publisher that I was withdrawing my novel. I do not want its publication for the reason that with my final novel “The Vicomte de Bragelonne or another ten years later” I said about my heroes everything that I wanted to say about them.
Just think about it! My beloved Comte de La F;re, Baron du Valon and Chevalier d'Herblay can be compared with the sketchy Gascon brothers Athos, Porthos and Aramis from de Courtille's vulgar little book! However, the truth lies in the middle. Being a Gascon, Jean-Armand du Peyret, Comte de Treville, did recruit musketeers primarily from among the Gascons, so many of them were relatives, even if distant. Thus, at least three relatives of d'Artagnan served in the musketeers, and at least two under the same surname, and one under the surname Castelmore. Frankly, I considered the memoirs of Charles d'Artagnan and the memoirs of Count Rochefort to be authentic. The vile de Courtille de Sandre tricked me! After all, using memoirs is not at all the same as using fiction. A writer has the right to use historical evidence in his historical novel! But it turned out that these memoirs were false, in addition, they belonged to the pen of one novelist, and on top of everything else, she stated that the Comte de Rochefort was a fictitious person!
I dare to argue that the Marquis de Rochefort, Marshal of France, was a close friend of Monsieur Le Tellier and Monsieur de Louvois, to whose patronage he owed his rapid rise, as Saint-Simon wrote. Death found him in 1676 on his way to the army, the command of which he was to take over. I am only guilty of this: since my Rochefort is more like the hero of the mentioned memoirs, and not the hero of the memoirs of Saint-Simon, I therefore used the name of Count Charles-C;sar de Rochefort, as in the memoirs, and not the Marquis Henri-Louis d'Aloyny de Rochefort, a marshal who served under the Viscount de Turenne. However, the memoirs also say that the mentioned de Rochefort served with de Turenne, so this is the same historical person. But I was unable to argue with the Marchioness. I was humiliated by such a low assessment of my knowledge of history and my talent as a novelist. After all, from the memoirs I only took the era, and a few names of the heroes, as well as several events in their schematic presentation. If you put all the lines inspired by these memoirs together, there would hardly be a dozen pages!
However, most of all I was humiliated by the fact that it in vain seemed to me that my intelligence, erudition and talent aroused some feelings in the marquise for me as a man, because now it was completely obvious that this was not the case.
I wanted to burn my folder in my heart, but I thought that maybe I could correct something in this book and give it new life. I didn't want to think about it at that moment. I'll just put the folder with the novel out of sight. I think I’ll throw it on the mezzanine, as soon as I finish writing this sheet.
That is why this novel has never been published, and, I believe, will never be published. It simply does not exist for my readers, because it exists only in my memory and in that nondescript folder in which I ordered it to remain, at least until the end of my days.
However, the marquise still has one copy of my novel, and the publisher also has the first chapters, to whom I ordered to send me back the first parts of the manuscript so that I could destroy them. As for the copy left with the Marquise, I hope that someday she will decide to re-read this novel. If she changes her mind about it, I might give it to the publisher again.
Now I will add this line, put the sheets of paper in a folder, tightly tie the strings on it and the folder will go to the distant mezzanine. Farewell, my dear d'Artagnan! Farewell to you too, Athos, Porthos, Aramis! Farewell Kings and princes, ministers and cardinals, marquises and counts, dukes and duchesses, servants and lackeys, farewell musketeers of the King!

Three days later, I woke up in the middle of the night and went to my desk, took a blank sheet of paper and wrote on it: “Chapter LXXIV. Cardinal."
Then I made myself some coffee and started writing further.
Marquise, you did not defeat me. I gave up the idea of winning your heart, your soul, your attention to me, an elderly writer, endlessly in love with the images created by my imagination. But I didn't lose myself. I must complete the plan that I nurtured in my head under the impression of an unforgettable conversation with you. I am writing not for you, not for the current marquise, but for that girl with sparkling eyes who voraciously read my novels and excitedly discussed them with me.
    
Chapter LXXV. Cardinal

The cardinal received an envelope on which was written: “To Mr. Antonio Pignatelli, Cardinal Priest of San Pancrazio Fuori le Mura.” In the place where the sender's address is indicated, it was said: “France, Paris, Louvre, Louis.”
The Cardinal carefully opened the envelope and took out a sheet of paper covered with French letters that were well known to him, but which did not form words in any known language. It was a code.
The cardinal easily read the following text:

"Monsieur d'Herblay!
I urgently need your help.
I've already had two heart attacks. The doctor said that the third attack would be the last, as a result of which I would die.
This could happen at any time, although I am hoping for a few weeks to get things in order as best as possible. These are the times that the state cannot be subjected to such shocks that will inevitably occur with a change of monarch. France can only be saved by Louis Philippe if he continues the line that I have successfully implemented for so many years.
I hope that you know where it is and can quickly deliver it to me at the Louvre. Don't accept any excuses. He is the son of France, and France needs him. This is my request, and at the same time my order to him, since he remains a subject of the country that gave him life, even if it treated him unfairly, but, as you know, Fate, not without your help and not without the help of your friends, corrected this injustice as best it could.
So, I'm waiting for my brother to give him everything I have - France.
There is no need to say that his arrival should be done secretly, but do not delay, since I do not know how many more days the Lord will allow me.
In the small envelope enclosed in this letter you will find all the documents you need for unimpeded passage through any checkpoints, including security at the Louvre. These documents indicate that your companion is free to remain masked throughout as he travels incognito under my orders.
Louis"

The cardinal thoughtfully folded the piece of paper back into the envelope and hid it on his chest in the inner pocket of his robe.
He then wrote several letters and ordered the secretary to urgently send them to the addresses indicated on the envelopes.
He also ordered one of his trusted people to be invited to him.
“Giovanni,” he said to the man who came to him, “urgently find at this address the person whose appearance is described here.” You must deliver it to me as soon as possible. Tell him that a certain Aramis wants to see him on an important state matter. Talk to him in French.
Giovanni Albonello bowed, took the envelope with papers containing the information specified by the cardinal and left the cardinal’s chambers.

Ten days later, Aramis, along with Philip and the ten guards accompanying them, drove up to the main entrance to the Louvre. As before, Philip was forced to wear a mask. However, Aramis was also wearing a mask, which did not arouse any suspicion, since in Italy it was customary to travel in masks.
The security let the delegation through, looking at the documents presented by Aramis, who at the same time took off his mask. No one paid attention to the fact that Philip remained in the mask, considering this to be the forgetfulness of Aramis’s companion.
The King's secretary showed some concern, but Aramis showed him a document, which completely reassured him, since it stated that His Majesty's guest should remain masked, and the document itself bore the signature and seal of the King.
Louis received Aramis and Philippe immediately.
The King's face was sallow in color, there were black circles under his eyes, he coughed very often and for a long time into a handkerchief, on which Aramis noticed traces of blood.
Entering the office, Philip took off his mask and bowed to Louis XIV .
- I'm glad you made it! - exclaimed Louis. - I'm really very sick. My brother! France needs you! We must rid the country of the turmoil of civil war. If I don’t have time to tell you everything I have to tell you, in this case I will leave you my notes, which I have been making for you for two weeks now. I beg you, I beg you, agree. If you have arrived, I believe you already agree. If something stops you or worries you, ask, don’t be shy!
- My brother and my King! - Philip answered. “God knows, I didn’t prepare for this role.” For many years now I have been leading a simple, private life, far from politics. I found happiness, I learned love, I was happy. If Katherine Charlotte had not died of illness six months ago, I would still be happy now, and I would not have agreed to come here. I, of course, wish the good of France and would like to remain a good loyal subject, but I would consider that years of imprisonment give me the right to personal family happiness. However, my beloved is no longer in this world, so I am ready to devote myself entirely to what you, my brother and master, order me to do. However, I pray to God that your doctor is wrong and that you continue to be King of France!
“I am extremely pleased to hear about your consent, my brother, and I, like you, mourn the death of Charlotte.” She was a wonderful woman, smart and beautiful, and I believe that you were happy, my brother. - Louis answered. “But there can be no mistake, I am truly mortally ill.” I weighed and thought about everything for a long time. I myself would be glad to know that the throne of France will be taken by my legitimate descendant and heir. But now is not the time to change the monarch. You know what things are like in Europe, and if you don’t know, you will read about it in the notes that I have compiled for you. Embrace me and take France from my hands.
Philip wiped a tear from his eye and threw himself into Louis's arms.
“Tell me, my brother, that you forgive me for the misfortunes that you were forced to endure, although not at my request, since other people made this difficult decision,” said Louis. “This decision was made by our father, King Louis XIII , the first minister, Cardinal Richelieu, and our mother, Queen Anne of Austria.
“I have no one and nothing to forgive, because I understand the necessity of everything that happened,” Philip answered. “But if, my brother, you need to hear this, I speak with a pure heart.” I forgive everyone involved in all the vicissitudes of my fate, I forgive them their guilt in the past and future, I do not blame anyone, and I do not hold a grudge against anyone.
“I needed these words, my brother!” - exclaimed Louis. - Monsieur d'Herblay, you are tired from the road. Apartments have been prepared for you. I ask you to leave Philip and me. I must hand over all matters to him, after which I will retire to a place where no one will find me, however, not for long, since my doctor does not give me hope for more than a month, and even then only in the best case.
Aramis bowed to Louis and Philip and left.
“My brother, you are probably also tired from the journey,” said Louis. “In the next room you will find dinner and bed, as well as those papers that you should read in order to take my place on the throne of France.”
“I still can’t believe that this is really happening,” said Philip. “I forgot to think about the French throne for a long time.”
“Life sometimes presents the most unexpected surprises, my brother,” Louis answered with a sigh. - Rest. We'll talk tomorrow morning.

Chapter LXXVI. Iron mask

Philip proceeded to the office at his disposal. A sumptuous dinner was indeed laid on the table. On a small table lay folders with sheets of paper covered in the King’s handwriting. In the bedroom adjacent to the office there was a made bed.
Philip slowly ate dinner, opened the first folder, read ten pages, after which he felt very tired and wanted to sleep.
Soon he was sleeping soundly on the bed provided to him.
Half an hour after Philippe fell asleep, Louis entered his bedroom. There were no longer any signs of illness on his face. He made sure that Philip was sleeping soundly, after which he put on a mask made of thick fabric, covering Philip’s entire face.
Louis then went out and called his secretary.
- He is here? - asked Louis.
- Yes, Your Majesty! - answered the secretary.
“Let him come in,” the King ordered.
De Bezmeaux entered Louis's office.
“Monsieur de Bezmeaux,” said the King. — You see a man in a mask on this bed. He is fast asleep, having taken a good dose of sleeping pills. Now I will explain to you your duties, after which you will bring here the four guardsmen who you were supposed to bring with you, and you will carry out my order with the utmost precision. So, you must take the man who sleeps on this bed, and without wasting time take him to the Bastille, after which you must transfer him to the care of Monsieur de Saint-Mars in exchange for the prisoner Eustache Dauger held there. The documents that you will now receive from me say that you are to interrogate Eustache Dauger in a separate room without witnesses, after which he will have to return to his place. You will have to take Eustache Dauger and return this prisoner to de Saint-Mars in his place. In case de Saint-Mars notices the substitution, you will show him the corresponding order, which says that the prisoner you brought is Eustache Doger, while the prisoner previously held should be removed from the Bastille and handed over to you. From this moment on, the prisoner you take will be held in the Bastille under the name Eustache Doge, and all the precautions that were previously applied to Eustache Doge will be applied to him. If you need to show the relevant documents to de Saint-Mars, then after Mister de Saint-Mars has read these instructions, he must carry out this order of mine and return these papers to you, which you will immediately burn in the fireplace. Is this clear to you?
“Yes, Your Majesty,” replied Bezmo.
“So, here is the man who should be kept in the Bastille under the name Eustache Doge.” - Louis repeated. “This man must wear an iron mask whenever there is even the slightest chance that anyone can see him, including de Saint-Mars himself.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Bezmo repeated.
“If everything is clear to you, go ahead,” said the King.
- Your Majesty, where would you order the prisoner who is now in the Bastille under the name Eustache Doge to be taken? - asked Bezmo. - After all, we will have to remove him from the Bastille?
“Quite right, Monsieur de Bezmeaux,” said Louis. - It's good that you reminded me. This man should not remain in the Bastille. You must remove it.
- Take it away, very good! - said de Bezmo. - I got it. We must remove him from the Bastille.
“Yes, remove it from the Bastille,” confirmed the King. - And generally remove it.
“Of course, confiscate,” repeated de Bezmeaux. - And where to?
- Oh, don't worry about that! - answered the King. - This is a hanged man and a thief. You must rid the earth of it. It would be best to just throw it into the Seine, and to prevent it from floating up, tie something heavy to your feet. Well, I don't know, maybe a sandbag. What do you want. At your discretion. Just throw it somewhere deep enough, for example, from some bridge.
“Everything will be done, Your Majesty,” replied de Bezmeaux.
“Listen, de Bezmo,” said the King. — The water in the Seine is very cold now. To prevent the poor guy from suffering, shoot him before throwing him into the water.
“Everything will be done, Your Majesty,” de Bezmo answered again.
“And don’t even think about stopping anywhere on the way to the Bastille, Monsieur de Bezmeaux!” - the King admonished him. “In particular, don’t even think about losing a prisoner on the way to the Bastille!”
“It will be done, Your Majesty,” answered de Bezmo for the third time.

When de Bezmeaux took Philip with the help of four guards and left, the King called the secretary again.
- Is D'Epernon here? - he asked.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” replied the secretary.
- Let him come in.
The Duke entered and bowed to the King.
- How are you, Duke? - asked Louis.
“Thank you, Your Majesty, excellent,” replied d’Epernon.
“I hope you’re not angry that your position went to Count Rochefort?” - asked Louis. - In your new appointment as a general for special assignments, you get no less, and I think your troubles have decreased, haven’t you?
- Absolutely so, Your Majesty! - the Duke agreed. - I'm not complaining.
“Today I have one special task for you,” said Louis. — Take about ten well-armed guards with you. Now M. de Bezmo's carriage will take one prisoner to the Bastille. I hope that M. de Bezmo will cope with this assignment. The carriage should not stop anywhere along the way. Make sure that no one gets out of the carriage. If anyone comes out or someone is taken out, kill them all. Both those who left and those who stayed.
“I understand you, Your Majesty,” replied the Duke.
“The carriage will have to take the prisoner to the Bastille, and if they carry out this order exactly, do not interfere with them,” continued the King. - Wait until they go back.
“It will be done, Your Majesty,” said the Duke.
“They will drive onto the bridge, after which they will take the bound man out of the carriage,” said the King. “They will have to untie him and let him go.” If they don’t do this, but deal with him, for example, throw him into the water... Then kill them all.
“It will be done, Your Majesty,” said the Duke.

“Well, I returned it to the box and destroyed the key,” thought Philip, wiping off the remnants of the makeup that made him look sickly. “Now Mr. Aramis will never know where and how Philip is hiding, and now I have reliably protected myself from the danger that has kept me awake for so many years.” That vile Bezmo was a Jesuit. Surely he participated in a conspiracy against me and contributed to the release of Philip from the Bastille. We should have gotten rid of him a long time ago.”

Chapter LXXVII. General of the Order

While d'Epernon was in the King's office, and the guards were carefully carrying the sleeping Philip, de Bezmo, walking behind them, was stopped by a well-known insinuating voice.
- Don't rush, Bezmo! - said this voice. “This man should be transferred not to your carriage, but to mine, please kindly arrange for this clarification.”
- But this is impossible, Monsieur d'Herblay! - objected Bezmo, who turned towards the voice and recognized his interlocutor. “I am following His Majesty’s orders!”
“In all other matters you must obey His Majesty, of course, but not in those cases when the general of the Order of Jesus demands otherwise from you,” Aramis objected firmly. “You apparently forgot that the power of the General of the Order is higher than any secular power, and disobedience to him is tantamount to disobedience to the Pope. Are you rebelling against the authority of the Pope? Are you rebelling against the Lord, Mr. Bezmo?
“You are inciting me to revolt, Monsieur d’Herblay,” de Bezmo muttered.
“Just call me Monsignor Cardinal,” Aramis clarified. - Choose, Monsieur de Bezmeaux. If you disobey the King, the worst case scenario is that you will be arrested.
- In the worst case scenario, I will be executed! - Bezmo exclaimed.
“Even if it were so, however, I doubt it, but even if you are executed, then only in a few days you will appear before St. Peter, who, of course, will send you to heaven forever and ever, as a person who suffered for the faith, - Aramis objected. “If you do not listen to me, today you will forever be transported to the underworld, and no one will be able to get you out of there until the Last Judgment.
- But still, how can I disobey the King? - Bezmo did not let up.
“Great, Bezmo, we are no longer discussing the question of whether you will disobey the King or not, but just how exactly you will do it,” answered Aramis. - Everything is very simple. There are only five of you and your guardsmen here. At the exit of the palace you will be met by ten of my men, each of whom is worth two of yours, since they understand what they are fighting for. So you simply give in to force.
- Am I giving in to violence? - asked Bezmo, taken aback.
“You can use that word if you like,” Aramis agreed condescendingly. “And, believe me, you are saving your soul by doing so.”
- But how should I proceed next? - asked Bezmo. “After all, I have clear instructions on how to deal with this prisoner.”
“We’ll do it very simply,” Aramis answered. “Instead of your prisoner, I will go in your carriage, and on the way you will tell me the assignment that you received in all details.” Then we will think together about what is best for you to do so that no one accuses you of anything.
De Bezmeaux motioned for the guards to place Philip carefully in Aramis's carriage, guarded by ten of his guards, whereupon Aramis gave his men instructions where they should take their sleeping passenger and entered Bezmeaux's carriage. Four guardsmen rode on horseback as an escort.
“Mr. Bezmo, if you are now thinking about arresting me or killing me, leave this thought,” said Aramis.
- I didn’t think about it! - Bezmo exclaimed.
“I believe you told the truth, but I warned you just in case,” Aramis replied. “If you ever have such a thought, banish it for the sake of saving your soul.” So what was the order?
Bezmo outlined the essence of the order to Aramis and was about to show the papers, but Aramis gently removed Bezmo’s hand.
- I believe you, Mr. Bezmo! - he said. - Why should I read these documents? They are meant for the fireplace after you have completed your destiny, aren't they?
“How can I carry out this order if I now do not have a prisoner whom I must leave in the Bastille under the name of Eustache Dauger?” - asked Bezmo.
“You have been ordered to interrogate Eustache Doget, you will do it.” You are ordered to return the prisoner de Saint-Mars without him noticing the substitution. You will do this too, since you will return this same prisoner,” Aramis replied.
- Indeed! - Bezmo exclaimed. “They will bring me a man in a mask, and I will return him to Saint-Mars!” There will be no objections from this side.
“You won’t even need to show the King’s orders other than the order that you interrogate the prisoner,” Aramis confirmed. - All you have to do is talk to this prisoner, after which you will return him to Saint-Mars.
- What should I talk about with this prisoner? - asked Bezmo.
“What were you going to talk to him about if you hadn’t met me?” - asked Aramis.
“Nothing,” answered Bezmo. “I would simply replace him with the prisoner the King gave me.”
“You would need them to change their clothes,” Aramis clarified. “You would have to wake the prisoner, and he would resist.” You could not cope with this task alone, Mr. Bezmo.
“But I have four guardsmen with me,” Bezmo clarified.
“Have you been given permission to make these guards witnesses to your exchange?” - Aramis asked and looked into Bezmo’s eyes.
“No,” answered Bezmo, “but I could not have coped with this task without them.”
“In that case, you would get not one, but five extra witnesses,” Aramis said thoughtfully. — After such a castling, all five would become dangerous for the state. All five will need to be removed.
- What do you mean remove? - asked Bezmo. “Who are you talking about, Monsignor Cardinal?”
“What I’m saying, Mr. Bezmo, is that after completing your mission, you become unnecessary to the King, but at the same time you remain forever extremely dangerous witnesses to an action that no one should know about.” Therefore, you are not needed.
- Do you want to say that after this all of us will be dismissed? - Bezmo said with a trembling voice, who was not afraid of this at all, but was afraid to admit to himself what he was beginning to guess.
“This can be called resignation, Mr. Bezmo,” agreed Aramis. “You’re right, the King won’t arrest you or execute you, but you won’t see tomorrow.” Just like your guards.
- My God! - Bezmo exclaimed. - What should I do?
“Obey me in everything, my old comrade,” said Aramis. - Remember that in the time of Louis XIII , you and I were simple musketeers of the King, and we got out of worse troubles.
“I will follow all your instructions exactly, Monsignor Cardinal,” Bezmo said firmly.
- You show Saint-Mars a document giving you the right to interrogate the prisoner, after which, in the presence of Saint-Mars himself, ask the prisoner only whether he is well fed, whether he is given books to read, whether his bed and clothes are good. Having received his answers, whatever they may be, you will thank Saint-Mars and leave the Bastille.
“This is quite possible to do, but what if the King asks Saint-Mars how exactly I talked with this prisoner?” - asked Bezmo.
“He won’t ask,” Aramis answered firmly. - Next you will leave the Bastille, but will not go back to Paris. You will not have a passenger whom you are ordered to throw into the Seine. We will all go together towards the Vincennes Castle. I prefer to ride, and I advise you to do the same. We will leave two of your guards in the Bastille. To do this, leave them on guard at the entrance to the fortress and tell them to go home half an hour after our departure.
“Do you think we will be followed?” - asked Bezmo.
“I know that,” Aramis replied. - However, look around if you don’t believe it.
“I believe you,” Bezmo said firmly. - When should I return home?
“To your guards – that same night, to you – the later, the better,” answered Aramis. — I would recommend no earlier than a month.
- A whole month away from home?! - Bezmo exclaimed.
“You’re right, it’s better in two months,” said Aramis. “However, if you are in a hurry to see St. Peter, you can do as you please.”
“I will do exactly as you order me, Monsignor Cardinal,” said Bezmo.
“I just recommend that you do this,” Aramis answered. “I ordered you only in relation to your prisoner, and you carried out my order, so in your further actions you are in no way connected, except that I also do not recommend that you tell anyone about our meeting.”
Bezmo nodded, because he could no longer speak from an overabundance of feelings.

When the carriage arrived at the Bastille, Bezmeaux left two guardsmen to guard the gates, so that they could later escape without arousing the suspicions of those watching them.
At the Bastille, de Bezmo said that he had been ordered to inquire whether the prisoner Eustache Dauger had any claims regarding his detention, presented only the order of the King instructing him to interrogate this prisoner, after which he asked him through the cell door several meaningless questions that he Aramis suggested. After thanking Saint-Mars, Bezmeaux left the Bastille.
After this, Aramis, Bezmo and two guardsmen jumped on their horses and rode as an escort to the carriage, the driver of which was ordered to drive it in the direction of the Castle of Vincennes.
- Papers from the King! - Bezmo remembered. - They must be destroyed!
“Give them to me, I will do it as soon as possible,” answered Aramis.
Bezmo hesitated.
“Give them to me,” Aramis said firmly and authoritatively, after which Bezmo gave the entire package with the King’s orders to Aramis.
Having traveled about a quarter of a mile, Aramis told Bezmault to give orders to the coachman to drive the carriage to Bezmault's house, while the four horsemen continued in the direction of the Ch;teau de Vincennes.
Having driven another half a mile, Aramis told de Bezmo that, at his sign, everyone should disperse in different directions and drive as fast as they can, without looking back. At the next intersection, he waved his hand and galloped along the leftmost road, without looking back and no longer worrying about his companions.

 Chapter LXXVIII. Duke d'Epernon

The next day the Duke d'Epernon came to the King.
“So, Duke, did you follow my orders exactly?” - asked the King.
“Yes, Your Majesty, exactly,” replied the Duke.
— I hope that your guards were not seriously injured? - Louis inquired.
“No injuries at all, Your Majesty,” replied the Duke. “After all, we didn’t have to fight.”
- So how did you not have to fight? - Louis was surprised. “Do you mean to say that when the carriage drove onto the bridge on its return, they did not throw their prisoner into the water?”
“The carriage did not enter the bridge at all, Your Majesty,” answered d’Epernon.
- How did they get back if the carriage did not cross the Seine? - the King was surprised.
“They didn’t come back,” answered the Duke. — After de Bezmeaux left the Bastille, the carriage, along with the four riders accompanying it, drove further towards the Vincennes Castle.
— And no one was disembarked from the carriage? - asked the King.
“No one, Your Majesty,” answered the Duke.
- What happened next? - asked Louis.
— After traveling about a quarter of a mile, the carriage turned left, and the riders continued to go straight.
“Which of them did you follow, Duke?” - asked the King.
“I had ten people, I took six with me to pursue the carriage, and sent four after the horsemen,” answered the Duke.
“Reasonable,” agreed the King. - What happened next?
“Noticing that the carriage was returning to Paris in a roundabout way, we hoped that it would cross the Seine and drive onto some bridge.
- So-so! - exclaimed Louis. - What happened next?
“The carriage arrived at de Bezmeaux’s house without having to cross the Seine,” answered the Duke. “We followed her all the way to the house.” There was no one in the carriage, only one coachman, who parked the carriage and went to the servants' house, probably to sleep.
- Damn Jesuit! - exclaimed the King. - He tricked me! What can you tell me about the riders?
“They drove together for about half a mile, after which suddenly, as if on cue, they parted in different directions and got lost in the darkness of the narrow and dirty country streets,” answered the Duke.
“Your people didn’t track down or apprehend any of them?” - asked the King.
“Your Majesty, we have not received such an order,” replied d’Epernon. “There was only an order to kill them all if they threw a person from the bridge into the river.” This did not happen. I ordered that the riders be watched as closely as possible, in case three of them decided to kill and throw the fourth into the water. But since they each went their separate ways, my people complied with your order not to do anything if they did not commit the said crime.
“You are absolutely right, Duke,” said the King. - Thank you, I won’t keep you any longer.

“In essence, d’Epernon is right,” thought Louis. “I did not foresee such behavior and did not give instructions for this case.” And what could be done? Apparently, the prisoner whom Bezmeaux was supposed to remove from the Bastille remained there. This can only mean that Philip was not taken there. And if so, killing these four innocent guardsmen would make no sense. Thank you, Lord, for not allowing the crime to happen.”

Chapter LXXIX. Awakening

When Philip woke up, Aramis was sitting at the head of his bed.
- What's happened? - asked Philip. - Where I am? And why are you here?
“If I had not intercepted you, monsignor, you would have woken up in the Bastille,” said Aramis. - Here, read this.
With these words, Aramis conveyed to Philip the King's orders, which he had received from de Bezmo.
- What is this? - asked Philip, reading the documents in surprise.
“Monsieur de Bezmeaux, your former jailer, was ordered to take you sleeping to the Bastille, where he left you under the name of Eustache Doget,” answered Aramis. “Now there is a criminal there under this name who deserved the death penalty for his robberies and violence, we placed him last time in your place so that Louis would not look for you and you would have the opportunity to live a simple life as a private person.” As you can see, your brother will not calm down until you find yourself in the Bastille again.
- Did I encroach on his power? — Philip was surprised. - Did I threaten his peace of mind? After all, I voluntarily retired forever, left him to his fate, and devoted myself only to my little joys of the free life of a private person!
“Your brother did not believe in your final abandonment of political ambitions,” Aramis replied. “By his crime against you, he proved that he is unworthy to occupy the position he occupies.”
“Mr. Cardinal, aren’t you tired of juggling with my fate?” - Philip asked in irritation. “I have already occupied the throne of France twice under the guise of Louis, my brother. I am tired of this. This extremely precarious position does not suit me; I prefer the simple life of a private citizen.
“That is your right, if that is your choice, monsignor,” Aramis agreed. “Do you think your brother will leave you alone?”
“I hope so,” Philip said hesitantly.
“I would like to share your hope, monsignor,” Aramis said thoughtfully. - In any case, there are now two options left for us. Either we secretly, like criminals, leave France forever, after which you must try never to be found by any spies of Louis and Colbert, while I must take measures so that my position in Europe serves as sufficient protection from the persecution of the King of France. It's difficult, but it's possible, believe me. The second way is for Louis to leave the throne, which you will take instead of him, now finally, forever and irrevocably.
“In that case, explain to me, Monsieur d’Herblay, why you chose Louis at that fateful hour, when your choice could have influenced the destinies of us all, and why now you choose me?” - asked Philip.
“The minute you said that you would remove Colbert and return Fouquet, I realized that your reign could be disastrous for France,” answered Aramis.
- But this is exactly what you yourself sought, isn’t it? - asked Philip.
“I was blind, and I did not know enough either Colbert or Fouquet,” answered Aramis. “On the day when I took the fatal steps to restore to you the throne that was taken from you in infancy, Fouquet was my friend and Colbert was my enemy.
- What happened since then? - asked Philip.
“A real politician should have neither friends nor enemies,” answered Aramis. - I became a real politician.
“Your friends of the past, Messrs. d’Artagnan, the Comte de La F;re and the Baron du Valon are no longer your friends?” - asked Philip.
“Oh no, these people cannot be called such a common word, because for me they are much more than friends,” Aramis objected. - They are part of me. I would rather lose my right hand than harm any of them. But I was talking about other friends. Fouquet was the man who did good for me out of a simple feeling of goodwill and goodwill towards me, and I considered it necessary to thank him in kind, or even more. Colbert thwarted my plans, so I counted him among my enemies. But I realized that Fouquet was robbing the country and his monarch, and doing it with such grace that it seemed like a natural service he was rendering to the state. Colbert, on the other hand, cared about strengthening the state, but did it so clumsily that it looked like violence against the country. During those two years while you remained King and gave Colbert freedom of action while Fouquet was in the Bastille, I had the opportunity to see how wrong I was.
-Who did you see in this treacherous minister, the savior of France? - asked Philip.
“I saw in him the successor to the work of three great figures of France - your grandfather Henry IV , Cardinal Richelieu, and Cardinal Mazarin,” answered Aramis.
- What a strange choice! — Philip was surprised. - It seemed to me that you despised Mazarin and fought with Richelieu, while you put them on the same level as my grandfather, King Henry IV !
“We fought Richelieu for the simple reason that I chose the Queen’s side against the King,” Aramis answered. “Fate decreed that d’Artagnan chose this side, and, consequently, both Athos and Porthos joined us out of a sense of friendship.”
“Explain to me, monsignor, why you chose the side of the Queen, my mother, and why you thus opposed the King, my father?” - Philip asked in bewilderment.
- To your father? - asked Aramis. - Monsignor, you should know. Louis XIII was not the son of Henry IV , but you are the grandson of King Henry IV , also because you are not the son of Louis XIII .
“You have now accused my mother and my grandmother of a terrible crime!” - Philip exclaimed. - For me to believe you, you must show me irrefutable evidence of these statements!
“I have them, monsignor,” Aramis replied. - And I will present them to you.
- If what you say is true, then whose son is Louis XIII , and whose son am I? - asked Philip.
“You will find out everything, I promise you,” Aramis answered. “I revealed this secret to you only to explain that your mother’s attempts to remove Louis XIII from the throne were not an empty whim of a woman striving for power. If your grandfather, Henry IV , were alive, he would approve of such a coup, since it would undo the consequences of another coup, which was carried out by the mother of Louis XIII , Queen Marie de' Medici, along with her lover Marshal d'Ancre, also known as Concino Concini .
- So this means he was the father of Louis XIII ? - asked Philip.
“No, his father was her other lover, whose name you will learn from the documents that I will give you,” Aramis answered. — Queen Marie de' Medici had legitimate children from the King, but they did not include Louis XIII , nor did his brother Gaston d'Orl;ans. As for King Henry IV , he had a sufficient number of male children who could have been legitimized and taken the throne of France if he had followed through with all his plans. Unfortunately, the Queen knew about her husband's plans and made sure they did not come true. In this she was assisted by the father of the current Duke d'Epernon, who was also called the Duke d'Epernon. These dukes, like the Dukes of Lorraine, bring nothing but misfortune to the royal house of France.
“Why are you telling me this, Monsieur d’Herblay?” - asked Philip. “I get the feeling that you enjoy digging through the dirty laundry of the royal dynasty.” But this does not at all contribute to my desire to take the French throne!
“Believe me, monsignor, it’s as unpleasant for me to say this as it is for you, but without knowledge of the secret motives and secret springs of the state machine, you are doomed to be broken and crushed like roadside trash,” Aramis answered. “A lot became clear to me when I penetrated these secrets. And the fact that the hand of the King’s killer can sometimes be directed by the one who stands at the very throne, and the fact that entire nations can go to war against each other only because one duke in love failed to achieve adultery from a high-ranking person, or because some -then the royal bastard realized that his rights to the throne were much more solid than the rights of the one who currently occupied it. These are the hidden springs of the monarchy.
“God, I hate hearing about all this,” Philip sighed.
“Admit, however, monsignor, that I sometimes give extremely useful advice,” Aramis objected.
-What do you mean, cardinal? - asked Philip.
“I advised you to tell the King that the Princess of Monaco has died,” Aramis reminded. “This allowed you to save her from persecution by the spies of Louis and Colbert, because, you can rest assured, you were extremely convincing, and Louis believed you.” If you had told him that you could not accept his offer because you preferred to live out the rest of your days with your Katherine Charlotte, you can be sure that today she would be wanted throughout Europe, and perhaps tomorrow she would already be dead , or at least imprisoned in some fortress from which it would be extremely difficult to free her.
“You are right, Monsignor Cardinal, but let me ask, does this mean that you knew in advance that Louis was plotting a vile deception?” - asked Philip.
“No, monsignor, I didn’t know that,” answered Aramis. “But I allowed this to happen and took my measures in order to protect you and your love in this case.”
“I am extremely grateful to you for this, Monsieur d’Herblay!” - Philip exclaimed.
- Do you believe me, monsignor? - asked Aramis. “Do you believe me that I will not offer you anything unworthy or dangerous, and before deciding to persuade you to an adventure similar to the one we committed in the Fouquet Palace, I will weigh all the dangers a thousand times, I will try to eliminate all the pitfalls , and I will make such an offer only if I am sure that it will be better not only for France, but also for you personally?
“I believe you, Mr. Aramis,” answered Philip. “Let me hug you as a sign of how much I believe in you.”
“Let me kiss your hand, monsignor,” Aramis replied. - This will be more correct.

Chapter LXXX. Louis

Louis was in despair. He recalled his life, which flashed by like one day. He thought about the mistakes he seemed to have made and the plans that didn't work out. He also recalled his fleeting infatuation with beautiful ladies, as well as his sincere love for some of them. He admitted to himself that many of his connections were not even worth remembering, so they were hardly worth making.
He also thought about which people he brought closer to himself and which he removed from himself, which he showered with favors and which he subjected to disgrace. Perhaps the mercies they received were not always fully deserved by these people, and, moreover, perhaps those who were punished did not always deserve them to the fullest extent in which they fell upon them. But Louis had no doubt that he was right. He recalled a document drawn up by adherents of the Catholic religion at the dawn of the split of Europe into two opposing camps, Catholics and Huguenots. This document stated that it was much more important to punish all the guilty than to ensure that no innocent were harmed. This opinion was accompanied by the political testament of Cardinal Richelieu, the first minister of Louis XIII , who wrote that in relation to private individuals and in relation to crimes against the person, it is much more important to exclude the punishment of the innocent than to punish all the guilty, and for this reason, in case of doubt about guilt It is better to forgive the defendant, since the evidence of guilt is insufficient, than to punish him despite the fact that guilt is not sufficiently proven. In the case of guilt against a private individual, it is better that the guilty person escape punishment than that the innocent person be punished. But with regard to guilt against the state and the political system, against the monarchy or against one of its key pillars - religion, Richelieu warned the King and his descendants that punishing the guilty is much more important than freeing the innocent from punishment. In this case, he said that suspicion alone was quite enough for punishment, and for this reason, Richelieu advocated execution much more often than pardon. This belief of his was not confirmed only in relation to the King’s closest relatives, such as the King’s brother, Gaston of Orleans, and the King’s wife, Queen Anne of Austria. Richelieu did not think about punishing even the illegitimate children of Henry IV and their descendants; in his eyes, such a relationship, undoubted from a biological point of view, but not so obvious from a legal point of view, no longer protected such persons from the punitive hand of justice.
Louis was tormented by doubts to what extent the cruel measures against Louis Philippe, his own twin brother, a relative of his own, closer than whom it would be impossible to imagine, were justified. “According to God’s laws, a twin brother is a second me,” Louis thought. “Is it possible that I ordered myself, or a part of myself, to be sent to the Bastille?”
Louis Philippe was the legitimate son of the royal couple, with all the ensuing consequences. He was born into the marriage of a crowned couple. He was sent by God, Louis had no doubt about that. If the Lord sends all the children born in this world, then with regard to the sons of the royal couple there can be no doubt about this. No one can raise a hand against the son of the royal couple. This law protected him, Louis, but why was this law not observed in relation to his second self, in relation to Louis Philippe?
Louis’s moral torment came for a reason, since the time has come when any person thinks about his life, evaluates his actions, and does it impartially, because he realizes that if previously he could deceive others and even himself, now there is no longer any there's no point in lying to yourself.
Louis was aware of this. He understood that his actions were not always humanly blameless, that in the eyes of God he was probably guilty. Thousands of lives of his subjects could not serve as a basis for his moral torment, since these were his subjects, the power over whose life and death was given to him by right of birth and by right of inheritance to the throne, but Louis-Philippe, his twin brother, was not included in circle of such people. To encroach on his freedom was a crime that had no analogues in the history of France and even in world history. In any case, even if they existed, Louis did not know of such examples. On top of that, he had a terrible headache. The bright light of the candles irritated him. He called and ordered the extra candles to be blown out, leaving only a candlestick with four candles on his desk, and ordered him to be left alone. Trying to remember something good, bright and joyful to cheer himself up, he could not achieve serenity. The memory of Louise de La Valli;re made him remember Raoul de Bragelonne, the unpleasant conversation with the Comte de La F;re, and other troubles that followed this outburst of sincere love, which left him with five children, of whom only two remained alive. Maria Anne and Louis, of course, were his joy, but the unfortunate Charles, who lived for just over a year, as well as Philip and Louis, who lived for less than a year, probably showed him with their short lives that God did not approve of this extramarital affair. After God took all three of their children together, Louise decided to give birth again in the same fateful year that took their last two children together. A year later, she gave birth to a boy and even decided to give him the same name that her deceased eldest son bore. Did the Lord forgive them? Will he allow these children to live to adulthood? Did the death of their first three children atone for their sin with Louise?
Louis knew that Philip had a child from Katherine Charlotte, who also died at the age of one and a half years. “The Lord even punishes us equally for the same sins,” thought Louis. “But Philip might not have been punished, since more is asked of those who are given more!” Why did the Lord ask my unfortunate brother as strictly as he did me? Or is it true that twin brothers are not two different people, but one in two persons? How guilty in this case am I before him, that is, before myself! And now it’s difficult to fix anything, since what I did has separated us forever.”
Louis closed his eyes and indulged in feelings rather than thoughts.
Suddenly he heard the doors of his office open and someone entered.
Louis turned his head and saw himself. He did not immediately realize that his brother, Louis-Philippe, had come to him.

Chapter LXXXI. Brothers

“My brother, I came to surrender myself to your will,” said Philip. - I do this deliberately. I don’t want to be a toy of random people and I don’t want to be afraid of random events. I understand all your concerns and recognize them as valid. Therefore, I acknowledge that the peace and well-being of France and the monarchy depend on circumstances over which we may be beyond our control. I prefer to rule over these circumstances, so from now on and forever I commit myself into your hands, into the hands of my rightful King, crowned according to all the rules. I recognize your power over me, and I will consider anyone who tries to facilitate my escape from the place that you determine for me to be my future place of residence not only your enemy, but also my own.
- My brother, Philip! - exclaimed Louis. -Will you forgive me?
“Your Majesty, I haven’t finished yet,” Philip continued. “I would like to confirm what I said earlier that I forgive you for all your actions towards me, both in the past, in the present and in the future. Whatever you decide to do, I recognize it as legal and necessary for the good of the state. If you order me to drink poison, I will do it with peace of mind and with gratitude that my fate has finally been determined. If you order me to stay in the Bastille, I will obey with the same joy. If you order me to leave France, I will go where you order me, accompanied by the guards you provide me. I don't have any conditions for myself. I am ready to obey any of your orders.
After these words, Philip knelt down and bowed his head in front of Philip.
- My brother! - exclaimed Louis. - Get up immediately! What makes you humiliate yourself so much in front of me? After all, we are equal! You and I are one!
“I’ve heard this many times, but I don’t understand it,” Philip answered coldly, yielding to Louis’s insistence and rising from his knees. “We have different bodies, different souls, different passions and different lives. You are the King of France, I am a state criminal. While I was in the Bastille I was just a miserable prisoner, but after I agreed to replace you in your place, I became involved in a conspiracy against my King, so if I deserve death, I will accept it with humility.
- Enough, what you are saying is not at all what I would like to hear! - Louis exclaimed impatiently. “I ask you, my brother, forget what happened to you after I sent you to this bedroom, inviting you to have dinner, rest and sleep.” I was wrong. I treated you meanly, insidiously, as I should not have done.
“I already said that I don’t blame you for this,” Philip answered coldly.
“I don’t care about that, the main thing for me is that I condemn myself for this weakness!” - exclaimed Louis. “I would like to receive your forgiveness, but I cannot demand it.” And you cannot forgive me so quickly, because you know what I intended to do to you.
“You wanted to do to me what I now want you to do,” Philip answered. “I must hide my face forever from everyone.” I could find myself in a situation where I would be buried alive in one of the prisons against my will. Perhaps I would suffer from this. I would suffer from the awareness of my own naivety and your cunning. But I surrender voluntarily, so I will not suffer either from my naivety or from the awareness of your treachery. Your action will not be treacherous, since I surrender myself to you consciously. And my actions will not be naive, since I am not deceived, but act out of mature reflection.
“What did d’Herblay tell you that made you decide to commit such a strange and terrible act, a crime against yourself?” - asked Louis.
“Monsieur d'Herblay considers himself a friend to me,” answered Philippe. “It was not at his request that I came to you, my brother, but contrary to his wishes and plans.” But you're right, he told me something that made me think about our fate on this sinful earth much more deeply than ever before. His confessions stirred up all my feelings. I suddenly realized what a cruel and at the same time funny game we are all playing. We strive to control events, while events control us. We consider ourselves masters of life, but we are all toys in the hands of God. Fate disposes of us according to its arbitrariness, and we depend on its whims no less than a dry straw in a sandy desert depends on the whims of the wind.
“My brother, enough philosophy, I listened to you, listen to me too,” Louis objected. “You said about Fate or Divine Providence, perhaps that’s what I wanted to tell you.” Do you believe me after all the deception I have committed against you?
“I believe you, my brother and my King,” Philip answered. “I would rather be deceived a thousand times than lose faith in those whom I should trust most.” We have neither father nor mother left, we cannot trust our confessors, so who else should I trust if not you? I believe you, no matter what you say.
“Then know, my brother Philip, that Fate or God’s providence is much more sophisticated than we imagine,” Louis said solemnly. “When I composed a fairy tale for you about my illness, I had no idea how prophetic it could turn out to be.” The Lord punished me for this lie! What I came up with in order to lure you to France and protect myself forever from the danger of being secretly kidnapped so that you could replace me, happened by the will of God, and I think I will not be mistaken if I assume that this is God's punishment for the deception that I committed against you.
- Are you saying that it has happened? - Philip asked worriedly. - But you claimed that you were terminally ill!
“That’s exactly what I said yesterday, and that’s exactly what happened today,” Louis replied. “I spoke about two attacks, and that was a lie, but today there were two such strong attacks that even without doctors I can say with confidence that I will not be able to survive a third such attack.
- My God! - Philip exclaimed in confusion.
“This is the pure truth, my brother,” said Louis. “The rest was true even without this illness.” The truth is that the political and military situation in the country and in Europe is very difficult, and in this situation a change of monarch in France is highly undesirable. This will cause another civil war, and this one will also cause an attack on France by Spain, Holland, Germany, Luxembourg. We will lose Lorraine, Savoy will be abandoned from us, we may even lose Monaco. It's all true. My heirs will not be able to save the state, and I have very little time left. That for which you were sacrificed by Cardinal Richelieu now demands that I be sacrificed.
“I can’t believe this,” Philip whispered.
“You believed it when it was a lie, so believe it now when I tell the pure truth,” replied Louis.
- But can you speak with such confidence about your health and not be deceived? - asked Philip.
- Oh yes, believe me, I know myself! - Louis answered. “However, even if I was deceived, and my illness turned out to be not fatal, I still made a decision, and I will not back down from it. Just promise me that you will take care of my children as if they were your children!
“Sir, I promise you this before God,” said Philip and, bending his knee, kissed Louis’s hand.
- I believe you, brother! - Louis answered.
“Will you allow me to retire to the room you sent me to yesterday?” - asked Philip. “Are your notes still there for me?”
“Yes, my brother,” replied Louis. - After all, when I wrote them, I assumed that they might be seriously needed. Many times I tried to leave the throne to you, and was preparing for this, but yesterday an eclipse came over me. I was afraid to part with everything that tied me to life and that made up my whole life. Today everything has changed. Life is leaving me, and I want to thank it for everything, I want to leave behind a strong country, and I want my children to be happy. I don’t want discord among them, I don’t want the princes standing next to the throne to make bargaining chips out of them in the struggle for power. And I shudder at the thought that the crown of France could pass into the hands of Philip, our younger brother. He is not created for this, it is better for him to remain in the position in which he is now.
“I can’t believe this isn’t happening in a dream,” said Philip.
- Do you know how the heart hurts? - asked Louis.
“It aches, giving way to the deepest melancholy,” said Philip.
“My soul hurts so much,” Louis objected. - I'm talking about something else. For many years now I have been tormented by various diseases, for which doctors give me painkillers, but do not give me treatment. All these diseases are serious, but you can live with them. Today I know that my current illness is not like that. She will take my life. Now it's time for me to think about the afterlife. I want my soul not to be burdened by the sin that our parents and the cardinal took upon themselves. I want to be freed from this sin. My decision is final. Take my rings with which I seal my letters, take everything, take my palace, my throne, my France. All this is yours by right. I voluntarily and irrevocably transfer all this to you, my brother. Take also my name, because you were also called Louis-Philippe. Drop Philippe and just be Louis, Louis XIV . From now on, you are me, and I am you. Hug me, my brother!
Philip hugged Louis. For a second he thought that perhaps Louis had a dagger hidden in his sleeve, and perhaps this was the last moment in his life.
“Even if it were so! - he thought. “I’m deliberately doing this!”
He hugged Louis tightly in a brotherly manner and closed his eyes, preparing to be stabbed in the back.
But there was no blow.
- So I'll go to this room? - asked Philip.
“No, Your Majesty,” replied Louis. - From this moment on, you are King Louis XIV of France, and I am your unknown twin brother, who will soon depart to a better world. Now the entire Louvre is your home, and leave that room to me. You will take my notes from there, but leave me your bed, which has become a trap for you. Forgive me.
After these words, Louis awkwardly knelt down and kissed Philip's hand.
- Good morning, Your Majesty! - Louis said to Philippe.
In response, Philip opened his arms and hugged Louis tightly in a brotherly manner.
- I will try to live up to your expectations, brother! - he whispered in Louis' ear, because he felt that his voice would tremble if he tried to speak out loud.

In the evening, Philip went to bed in the King's bed.
“So now I am the King,” he thought. - What a pity Louis! What is this sudden illness that struck him one day?”
Philip closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Various images, vague and unclear, swam before his mind's eye. He was almost falling asleep, but suddenly he shuddered and opened his eyes.
- Can't be! - he whispered in the silence of the night. - Really?.. Aramis? No no! This can't be true.

Philip tried to fall asleep, but for a long time he turned from side to side, and sleep never came. Only at dawn did he fall into a deep sleep. This is how the new and at the same time the former King of France, Philip, called Louis the Fourteenth, spent that night.


Chapter LXXXII. Hidden meaning and undercurrents of Clio

Philip suspected that Aramis somehow intervened in events in such a way that King Louis IV , his brother, so amazingly similar to himself, did not accidentally fall ill with a deadly disease. How could Aramis poison the King? It seemed unthinkable.
But even if Aramis had accomplished this, how could he have instilled in the King the idea of returning Philip to the throne of France?
If the King died, his young Dauphin would become the new King, but, of course, he would not yet be able to rule. Consequently, the King's brother, Philip, Prince of Orleans, would become regent. Of course, such a development of events was for Louis the collapse of all his affairs, a turn of policy in the direction opposite to where France was successively led by his grandfather, Henry IV , then Richelieu, Mazarin and Colbert, who were the de facto rulers of the country. Allow the country to be turned into a farce? Even on his deathbed, Louis would not agree to this; he would do everything in his power to prevent this.
In addition, Louis, like Philip, knew a terrible family secret. This secret was that King Louis XIII , considered the father of Louis XIV , was not really him, but he was also not the son of King Henry IV , which was officially recognized.
But at the same time, Louis XIV was still the grandson of Henry IV
This meant that Louis-Philippe, Louis's twin brother, was also the grandson of Henry IV , while Philippe d'Orl;ans was the King's brother only through his mother, since he was, in fact, the son of Louis XIII . If power had passed to Philip, even temporarily, this would have meant in reality that instead of the descendants of the Bourbons, the descendants of one of the Tuscan lovers of Maria de Medici appeared on the throne.
Dauphin Louis was born quite recently, in 1661, and was thus still only the only hope for the true preservation of the dynasty. This child could have died in early childhood, especially considering how desirable his death would have been for Philip of Orleans, who in this case would have become King of France.
“Yes,” thought Louis-Philippe, “my brother could not have acted differently in this situation. He saved his son by handing over the throne to me.”
But if Louis's action is predictable, then perhaps Aramis could have predicted it too? And in this case, did it affect the health of the King?
What actually happened to Louis? Is Aramis really involved in this unexpected illness of his? And did he finally die?
I could write a third volume of this book.
Perhaps I will do so, but in front of me lies a voluminous work that was written in secret script, and which was deciphered only recently. This is a gift to me from one of the legates of the current Pope, who asked that his name not be used.
Some of it turned out to be written in Spanish, some in Italian, and some in French. Some chapters are written in Latin. But they were all encrypted with a very intricate code. The result of deciphering this work and translating all chapters into French lies before me.
I will not hide that I used part of the manuscript to write this novel, which I entitled “D'Artagnan and the Iron Mask, or two more years later.”
But the manuscript is too voluminous, too detailed, I could only shorten some of its passages in order to make it into a book that could be presented to the readers.
I might enclose the last part of this manuscript so that readers may know the ending of this story.
But who am I to dissect the memoirs of a witness to the most interesting and important historical events? In addition, he was not only a witness, but also a creator of history, together with his friends - Athos, Porthos and d'Artagnan.
I decided that I should only slightly literary process this manuscript, removing only those points that would be incomprehensible to the modern reader, adding only the most necessary comments, and publishing it under the new title “Memoirs of Aramis.”
Of course, the sequence of presentation in this case will be disrupted, and only from the last books will readers be able to find out what really happened, why and when Charles of Lorraine died, whether the Duke de Beaufort actually died, and if he died, then how it happened that his body was not found. They will find out if Aramis has finally become a cardinal and even, as he dreamed, the Pope?
I don't want to get ahead of myself. If I have already decided to process this manuscript and publish it almost without changes, regardless of whether I believe everything that is written in it or not. It would be wrong to do otherwise.
From these memoirs, from what I have already read, I see that events do not always have the meaning that we see in them, that what seems to be the cause is not always what it is. In human society, in this conglomerate of people making various efforts aimed at completely different goals, the main driving forces sometimes turn out to be not those forces at all that are only overly ambitious and completely mistaken in believing that they are guiding the course of history. Human society is often compared to an anthill. Oh, how wrong these people are! In an anthill, all the actions of individual ants are subordinate to the main goal, a single idea; in the seeming chaos there is incredible order. This chaos will give birth to harmony. In human society, the opposite is true - chaos will be born from apparent order. Or maybe this is also order, but exactly the one that is sought by those who actually control the world order?
Who knows! I can only say that if there ever were people who controlled history, then Aramis was one of them. This man was truly the favorite of Clio, the muse of history.
So, it's decided, I'll stop working on the novel Two More Years Later and start editing The Memoirs of Aramis.

 
Translator's comment

Today I received a letter from France, from the city of Clermont-Ferrand, with the following content.

“Dear Professor Vadim Zhmud!
In connection with your purchase of the manuscript entitled “Deux ans plus tard par Alex Dumas,” I am pleased to inform you that in the Lyon branch of our used bookstore there is a manuscript by the same author entitled “Trois Henry. Manuscrit d'Alexandre Dumas. Version definitive". The manuscript is accompanied by a document certifying its authenticity, signed by two experts: Professor Thierry Esconte from the Sorbonne and Professor Jean-Jacques Dumanche from Lyon. Their signatures were certified by a notary, Maitre Champigny from Lyon. The director of the branch kindly offers you this manuscript for only forty-five thousand euros. He assures that the price of the manuscript at the last auction was set at forty-eight thousand euros, but the then director of the branch refused to sell this manuscript for the offered price, considering it too low, and withdrew this lot from the auction, paying a fine for removing the lot after bidding in in the amount of one and a half thousand euros from our own funds. Therefore, the proposed transaction seems to us very attractive to you, since we greatly respect your interest in ancient French manuscripts. Note that this manuscript contains a book by the great master Alexandre Dumas about King Henry of Navarre, how he took the French throne under the name Henry the Fourth, and also about the conspiracy as a result of which King Henry was killed by a treacherous blow of a knife. In conclusion, it is said that this book is a continuation of the famous trilogy, published under the titles “Queen Margot”, “Countess de Monsoreau” and “Forty-Five”, contains a story about real historical figures such as Henry of Navarre, Henry the Third, Henry of Lorraine, Chicot, d'Epernon and others, as well as persons who, apparently, do not really exist, are literary heroes. This manuscript is not of interest as a historical source, since it talks about events that the author could not witness, however, it is of obvious literary interest.
We ask that you let us know as soon as possible whether you are interested in purchasing this manuscript at the suggested price. The price includes shipping this manuscript to you and insuring this postage. Documents about the examination performed are included in the kit you purchase.
We are also happy to announce that if you purchase this manuscript, you will be awarded 450 bonuses from our store, which corresponds to 450 euros on your next purchase.
Sincerely
Store director."

After reading this letter I am overcome with mixed feelings.
On the one hand, in front of me lies a stack of sheets that have not yet been translated. As far as I understand, these sheets are Aramis's story about the events that happened to him during those two periods when the adventures of the four friends fell out of the attention of the author, Alexandre Dumas. The logic of the presentation falls apart, so it would be better if this part of the manuscript, after translation, was entitled “Memoirs of Aramis.” Currently, I am tired of translation; many important matters have remained forgotten and urgently require my return to them. Therefore, it seems unreasonable to me to take on the work of translating another voluminous manuscript. I haven’t even finished this manuscript yet, and I’m already pretty tired.
Another point is to indicate that the attached manuscript is accompanied by documents on the examination performed in relation to it.
I had great doubts, because no such documents were attached to the manuscript I bought. Apparently, I should order an examination of this manuscript before continuing its translation.
But what should the store director answer? Am I missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? But on the other hand, perhaps the first manuscript was a fake, and the second one too?

I need to take a break...

Translator's afterword. Career and death of d'Artagnan

Wikipedia has an article "D'Artagnan ".
Perhaps, in this case, there is no need to write about it, much less argue?
There is plenty of literature written about this historical figure, as well as about his literary image. Since the great novelist Alexandre Dumas forever linked his image with the image of the mysterious “Iron Mask,” interest in this hero increased further.
Apparently, the most reliable source is the research of Jean-Christian Petifis. Two of his books are called that way, “D'Artagnan” and “The Iron Mask.”
Numerous filmmakers make numerous films and TV series about this hero, and such film adaptations do not always include his famous literary friends Athos, Porthos and Aramis, the historical prototypes of which are indicated by some researchers, but these references are very doubtful. D'Artagnan was a real historical figure, although, of course, not quite the same as Alexandre Dumas portrayed him.
It is believed that Dumas wrote the novel The Three Musketeers based on the forged memoirs of Gacien de Courtille de Sandre.
For this reason, historians have developed a very dismissive attitude towards the novel itself. Of course, they are right that one should not look for historical truth in a work of adventure genre fiction.
However, Dumas' genius lies in his ability to write a person's character and reveal it in non-trivial circumstances. Perhaps that is why the d'Artagnan in his portrayal is much more similar to the real historical d'Artagnan than the d'Artagnan in the fake memoirs of de Courtille de Sandre? Moreover, not slightly more similar, but in fact it must be admitted that the “dramatic” writer Dumas and the “historical researcher” Ptifis described the same person in the same way, while Sandr described a completely different person. Dumas's talent is that he can devote five or six volumes to revealing a character, or he can reveal the character of the character being described in one paragraph. Along with the fact that the theme of Napoleon constantly occupied Alexandre Dumas, and he returned to this theme again and again, even in those works that, it would seem, are not directly related to Napoleon, like the famous novel “The Count of Monte Cristo,” Dumas is also the same could not leave the theme of the musketeers, which was extremely close to him. Even when publishing a book of fairy tales, he calls it “Tales of Aramis” or “Tales of the Musketeer.” He returns to the theme of the “Iron Mask” in the two-volume novel “The Princess of Monaco”, and to the image of Richelieu in the novel “The Red Sphinx”. It seems that he wanted to present the entire history of France through the adventures of various heroes and through their encounters with real historical figures.
So real historical kings, princes and dukes easily converse with fictitious persons, and real historical persons find themselves in circumstances that actually happened to them as a result of the actions of similar fictional literary heroes. These fictitious heroes, as well as sometimes historical heroes who perform fictitious deeds, exercise a powerful influence on the course of history.
In this sense, Dumas professed the theory of small causes, which in modern literature is known as the “Butterfly Effect”. It would seem that if Superintendent of Finance Nicolas Fouquet had not written the ill-fated letter to Louise de La Valliere at the insistence of Aramis, then King Louis XIV would not have arrested him, and the whole history of France could have developed in a different way. Such random actions drive the entire story, and Dumas sometimes weaves the fabric of his tale very carefully to demonstrate how these hidden mechanisms of fate work. From the point of view of fiction, especially the adventure genre, this technique is extremely productive. After all, the same superheroes from modern action films sometimes “save the world” from all sorts of global misfortunes - an asteroid, a planetary virus, universal terrorists and other villains or misfortunes that threaten the universal destruction of the entire planet or encroach, no more, no less, on the entire world order .
The writers of Dumas’s time had never had such a scale of imagination; they had not reached such impudence, but Dumas was quite bold for his time, giving his fictional hero Aramis the not at all fictional position of general of the Jesuit Order, despite the fact that all the generals of the Jesuit Order were famous by name.
This did not bother Dumas, just as Aramis’s promise that the Pope would die according to the orders of Aramis’ predecessor in this position did not bother him. No matter how much we leaf through history, we cannot point to the violent death of the Pope at the time of Aramis's action (and the time can be determined quite accurately, since this supposedly happened in the very years when Cardinal Mazarin died). We cannot point to a supposedly natural death, attributing it to the secret actions of the Jesuits (for example, poison).
Indeed, Mazarin died in 1661. In 1655, Pope Innocent X died at the age of 79 years and 7 months. This event can hardly be attributed to the activities of the general of the Jesuit Order. His successor, Alexander VII, served as Pope until 1667. He condemned 45 points of the Jesuit provisions. Perhaps Dumas meant the death of this Pope by the Jesuits? Death at the age of 68 can hardly be considered violent in those days. But it is known that although this Pope condemned the 45 points of Jesuit morality, he was very supportive of the Jesuits. He ensured that the Jesuits were allowed to return to the Venetian territories from which they had been expelled in 1606. Would the Jesuits remove such a Pope? This Pope was not too eager to engage in matters of strengthening the power of Catholicism; he preferred literature, philosophy, poetry, and strived for a moderately luxurious life in a state of complete peace of mind, and not for strengthening personal power, and especially not for suppressing the Jesuits. The next Pope in line, Clement IX, also died at the age of 69, remaining Pope for only two years. He patronized the arts - music, painting, sculpture, was very friendly towards France, the loss of the fortress of Candia upset him so much that he took ill and then died. The next Pope, Clement X, died at the age of 86 from gout, which also can hardly be attributed to the Jesuits.
If we now turn to the list of generals of the Jesuit Order, then there were not a single Frenchman among them, and in particular in the second half of the 17th century, we will see the following characters:
- Francesco Piccolomini - Italy, from December 21, 1649 to June 17, 1651;
- Alessandro Gottifredi – Italy, until March 12, 1652;
- Goswin Nickel – Germany, until July 31, 1664,
- Giovanni Paolo Oliva – Italy, before November 26, 1681,
- Charles de Noyel – Belgium, until December 12, 1686,
- Tirso Gonzalez – Spain, until October 27, 1705.
As we see, if we assume with a stretch that Aramis became a general of the Order under the name Giovanni Paolo Oliva, then he would have to pose as an Italian, while he, being a Frenchman, allegedly performed the functions of a Spanish envoy. This goes far beyond the acceptable assumption. Therefore, Dumas, at the end of the novel “The Vicomte de Bragelonne,” reports that Aramis is the actual general of the Order, while the one whom everyone considers such is only his puppet, a protege who will be ready at any moment to lay down his power in favor of Aramis. It is very difficult for even the most naive reader of a historical novel to believe in this.

Now let's return to d'Artagnan's career, which seems unreal to many. Dumas, as we remember, reports that d'Artagnan received the rank of Marshal of France and at that very moment died from a cannonball during the siege of Maastricht. Since we do not find his name in the list of marshals of France, Dumas, as he apparently believed, gave an explanation for this fact that he allegedly simply did not have time to take up his post.
But if the order appointing him Marshal of France had been signed, he would definitely have been on this list, even if he had not had time to assume this position due to death, especially heroic death in battle.
Pope Urban VII was pope for only 13 days, Boniface VI for 15 days, and seven other popes were pontiffs for very short periods, from 17 to 33 days. On the basis of their too short tenure as pontiff, no one thought of excluding them from the list of popes.
Of course, if d'Artagnan had been appointed Marshal of France, this appointment would have remained in history.

On Wikipedia we find the following information: “On January 15, 1667, d’Artagnan was officially promoted to the rank of captain-lieutenant of the musketeers, in fact the commander of the first company, since the king was the nominal captain. Under his leadership, the company became an exemplary military unit, in which many young nobles not only from France, but also from abroad sought to gain military experience. In 1667, for his services during the siege of the city of Lille, he was appointed its governor. As governor, d'Artagnan failed to gain popularity, so he sought to return to the army. He succeeded when Louis XIV fought the Dutch Republic in the Franco-Dutch War. In 1672 he received the rank of “field marshal” (major general).” It turns out that d'Artagnan held the position of mole marshal for a whole year, after which he died. The following is said about his death: "D'Artagnan was killed by a bullet in the head (according to the testimony of Lord Alington) at the siege of Maastricht, June 25, 1673, during a fierce battle for one of the fortifications, in a reckless attack across open ground, organized by the young Duke of Monmouth." .
Let us remind you that a field marshal is just a “field marshal”, since field in French is also translated as Field, the same word is in English, in German – Feld. If the Russian translations of the book said that d'Artagnan reached the rank of field marshal, this would even be perceived as a rank higher than marshal. Still, in France, a field marshal is the lowest level of the possible gradations of marshals, corresponding to a major general. It is not surprising that a man who actually led five or six hundred royal musketeers, that is, the guards, bodyguards of the King, who formally reported directly to the King, in the event of a military campaign, receives under his command more than a thousand cavalrymen and, accordingly, is appointed field marshal.

For example, de Treville, who led these same musketeers before d'Artagnan, became extremely close to the king. Queen Anne of Austria herself tried to involve him in the Saint-Mars plot aimed at destroying the cardinal and overthrowing (and murdering) the king himself, Louis XIII, although this second ultimate goal was not revealed to all participants in the conspiracy. De Treville wisely refused to participate in this conspiracy, but he did not reveal this conspiracy. For exactly the same “crime,” that is, for failure to inform, de Saint-Mars’ friend, de Thou, was beheaded. Note that at the time of the conspiracy, Saint-Mars himself was one of the most powerful people in France, his power exceeded the power of Cardinal Richelieu, and could only be compared with the power of the king himself. One is also left wondering why de Saint-Mars conceived and participated in this conspiracy? He only needed to wait a little, a few months later Richelieu died of his own death! It is very likely that Richelieu himself, through secret springs, pushed de Saint-Mars into the conspiracy and dealt with him. After all, if he had not done this, then after the death of Richelieu the king, of course, would have been completely under the influence of de Saint-Mars, which would have meant a turn in the entire policy of France towards the “saints”, that is, it would have been a course towards an alliance with Spain and with the Holy Roman Empire, with which Richelieu himself fought tooth and nail to ensure greater power for France and its independence from this Catholic bloc surrounding France on all sides. So, this conspiracy turned out to be most beneficial to the one against whom it was directed!
De Treville did not get involved in it, but what is more important for us is that he was invited to this conspiracy.

Why are we surprised by the fact that d'Artagnan was quite close to the king and had a fairly high position in the French army? This position was secured to him by his personal devotion to the king.

Danilovich Menshikov, Grigory Grigorievich Orlov, Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin and many others to extremely high military positions in many countries.
In the book “Henry IV ” Alexandre Dumas mentions Monsieur de Preslen, who was the captain of the guard for Henry the Fourth, and then became the marshal of France. This is a completely similar career! For those who still doubt the possibility of such a career take-off, we will not cite de Saint-Mars, Luynes and the like as examples, but simply recall that Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev’s personal pilot Boris Bugaev became the Minister of Civil Aviation. So why shouldn't the head of the King's personal bodyguards become a Marshal of France? What's surprising here?

By the way, de Courtille de Sandre hints that d'Artagnan carried out a lot of delicate assignments for Mazarin and the king. At that time there were no concepts of “resident”, or “spy”, or “intelligence officer”, from which it does not at all follow that there were no secret assignments. Let us remember that Milady, shown in the novel “The Three Musketeers,” is based on a real historical person, Countess Carlyle. This lady was a spy for the cardinal. We can say that at a certain stage of his career, d'Artagnan very likely carried out orders from Mazarin and the king, which we would today call espionage. This is the order to go to England and report what is happening there in the political arena when the execution of Charles the First was being prepared. Dumas's friends accompany D'Artagnan on this trip and together they try to save the unfortunate king. It is unlikely that Cardinal Mazarin could entrust such a task to a secret envoy, but this cannot be ruled out. The assertion that Mazarin was interested in the death of Charles the First, of course, should be attributed to the imagination of Dumas. Most likely, the cunning cardinal would be able to benefit from any state of affairs, but given the kinship of the French royal house with the English house, he would most likely be interested in restoring the Stuarts to the throne of England (which is de facto, but not yet de juro was already Great Britain, that is, it included Scotland under one hand of the king). We, meanwhile, can in many respects trust de Courtille de Sandre, since he was a contemporary of d'Artagnan and Rochefort, he himself sat in the Bastille, unlike Dumas, he described not events distant from him, but events that he witnessed or witnesses whom he might personally know. It is important. And the possibility that d'Artagnan once carried out special assignments for the cardinal and (or) the king does not degrade his image, but, in our opinion, elevates it. This says that he served the monarchy not only with a sword, not only as the leader of a military formation, but also as a reasonable information collector, resourceful enough to secretly hide under someone else's guise in an enemy environment, a sort of Stirlitz of the seventeenth century, and, moreover, possessing considerable analytical talents in order to understand what information should be collected and how to summarize it. Dumas also hints at this when the king sends d'Artagnan to go to the Belle-Ile fortress and find out what's what, and also when he uses him as a kind of Sherlock Holmes to investigate the duel with the Comte de Guiche.

It is no coincidence that “D’Artagnan’s death was perceived as a great grief at court and in the army, where he was endlessly respected,” as Wikipedia reports. It further says: “According to Pelisson, Louis XIV was very saddened by the loss of such a servant and said that he was “almost the only man who managed to make people love himself without doing anything for them that would oblige them to do so,” and according to According to d'Aligny's testimony, the king wrote to the queen: "Madame, I have lost d'Artagnan, whom I trusted in the highest degree and who was suitable for any service." Marshal d'Estrade, who served under d'Artagnan for many years, later said: "Better Frenchmen are hard to find."
 
Now let us turn to the testimony of Jean-Christian Petifis, who was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor for a series of works on history. This meticulous French researcher of history and the smartest and most interesting writer reports that d'Artagnan received the rank of lieutenant general. Bearing in mind that this title corresponds to the “field marshal”, as we said above, we can only say that Dumas made a very slight mistake in the terminology.
For example, how many of our readers (except those who served) will be able to distinguish a major general from an army general? But between the major general there are two more steps - lieutenant general and colonel general!
In most countries, a marshal is higher than the senior rank of general, but lower than the rank of generalissimo, but in France in those years there was no generalissimo, and before the time described in Dumas’ novels of this series, France had the rank of constable, which was abolished shortly before. There were several gradations of the rank of marshal.
During Napoleon's time the situation had already changed. Therefore, we think we will forgive Alexandre Dumas, the son of a Napoleonic field general, for this small discrepancy.

Let us read together further from Ptifis, which reading is informative and interesting. He reports that d'Artagnan's appointment as major general was his last promotion, but it had nothing to do with the obligation to go to war, unlike the version given by Dumas. D'Artagnan received this appointment a year before his death.
For nearly a year he held the office of governor of Lilleme, which had been previously occupied by Marshal d'Humieres, and which he handed over back to this same marshal because it did not suit his taste. He asked to go to war. He did not want to be governor; he was not satisfied with this position, in which he felt out of place. It is obvious that King Louis XIV was extremely merciful to d'Artagnan, and, obviously, not for his beautiful eyes, but for his real merits. But let us note for ourselves that he held the post of marshal governor.

There is an aphorism: “A military officer is a person who, in peacetime, receives money for sending you to the front in case of war.” This cannot in any way be attributed to d'Artagnan; he was the first to rush to where it was most dangerous.

Our hero died due to, so to speak, “stupidity of command.” This command, apparently, should have been transferred to d’Artagnan, but he was in a subordinate position. That is, in terms of intelligence and experience, he could and should have occupied a higher position than he did.
So I would ask our readers to set aside the irony of d'Artagnan's meteoric career. That day he was not on duty, he intended to rest and had the right to do so, but seeing how difficult the position of the troops was, and how it could worsen in the future if nothing was done, he rushed into battle, where he found his death.

Ptifis talks about the clash between Montbron and d'Artagnan regarding how the troops should be further controlled.
The point was that Montbron proposed to build a defensive embankment in front of the captured ravelin, while d'Artagnan proposed to give the soldiers a little rest one at a time, and build the embankment when it gets dark. His reasoning was that such actions in daylight would be costly, meaning the loss of soldiers from shelling or from enemy counterattacks.
His words were: “You are dragging us into a disastrous business.”
Three hours later, the palisade was erected, but a fierce battle broke out on the ravelin, still held by the Dutch. Major General d'Artagnan with his musketeers remained in the rearguard, according to what was prescribed to him by the highest military authorities, not intending to interfere, but closely watched the progress of the battles.
At the end of dinner he said: “Look, there’s fire on that ravelin! We should recapture the ravelin before the enemy gains a foothold there!”
The Dutch made several forays and eventually drove the French from their positions, thus undoing all the gains of the day. They should have launched a counterattack and recaptured the positions, but the soldiers were exhausted and were in dire need of reinforcements.
Despite the fact that, according to the schedule, on this day, June 25, d'Artagnan was not “on duty” and expected to rest, having every right to do so, he learned about the rapid retreat of the guard, left his companions and headed to Monmouth headquarters. There he saw how confused Monmouth, Lafeyade and most of all Montbron, who himself was to blame for the failure, were. Despite the fact that nothing obligated Montbron to resume the fight, he decided to correct the situation, i.e. according to Lord Alington, “he behaved with rare bravado.” He sent musketeers into battle and decided to entrust M. d'Aligny with the command of thirty musketeers and sixty grenadiers.
At this very time, d'Artagnan led his men to the very barrier that had been lost, because instead of better defending it, Montbron ordered the embankment to be strengthened in broad daylight in front of the enemy's eyes. This counterattack required moving across open ground.
The Duke of Monmouth, son of the English king Charles II, completed the disastrous operation with his personal impatience.
Instead of going down into the trenches and thus reaching the fortification, which should have been stormed, he preferred to move along the top, where the place was very narrow, so that the enemies could shoot the attackers one by one.
This attack was pure madness.
When the Duke wanted to personally lead this attack, d'Artagnan tried to stop him.
– Through open areas?! - he exclaimed. – Don’t think so, my prince! That would be stupid carelessness! We will be killed before we reach our goal!
“It doesn’t matter, we don’t have time,” replied the son of Charles II.
He drew his sword and hastily rushed to the attack.
D'Artagnan stopped him with a gesture and the following words:
– In that case, I’m with you!
In this mad attack, Ravelin was again repulsed, although many of the musketeers were killed. D'Artagnan was also found among the dead. He was shot in the head. He was identified by his weapon.
It also took considerable courage to carry d'Artagnan's body from the battlefield. Four of those who tried to do this were killed by enemy bullets. The first quartermaster of the company, M. de Saint-L;ger, managed to do this. As a reward for this, King Louis XIV granted him 30 thousand livres.
This shows how much the king valued his marshal. We call it this word deliberately.
We also draw the attention of our readers to the fact that, according to eyewitnesses, d'Artagnan was identified by his weapon, since his face was crushed beyond recognition.
This apparently led Dumas to believe that he was killed by a cannonball hitting him in the head, which was not true. However, many military leaders found their death in this way, so we note that this is possible.
This also allowed, apparently, in the latest version the writer to offer a different interpretation of events. Indeed, if d'Artagnan was identified only by his weapon, then such an identification should be considered not very reliable, because in battle you can sometimes lose a weapon and use another - captured from the enemy, or picked up from the hands of a killed or wounded man. Since Pelisson writes that after this attack, many of the musketeers, killed or survived, had their weapons damaged, “the swords were bent, covered in blood right up to the hilts,” therefore, it is not surprising that someone who was on their feet could have caught a sword that fell from the hands of a seriously wounded but living fighter. Therefore, the version that d'Artagnan was not killed, but only seriously wounded or shell-shocked, after which he dropped his sword, which was picked up by another musketeer, who was killed by a shot in the head, and who was buried with honors like d'Artagnan, does not look so fantastic , while d'Artagnan himself, perhaps, came to his senses in the night and got out, or, perhaps, was captured. No matter how fantastic such a version may seem, it can be used by a writer with not too much of a stretch, although, of course, it is most likely that d'Artagnan really died in this battle, and, perhaps, he was identified not only by his weapon, but also by clothing, and by other signs.

But can we, on this basis, deprive the author of the right to fantasy?