Memoirs of Aramis, Book 4

Annotation

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

The fourth book of Aramis's memoirs begins where the action of the novel "Twenty Years Later" begins. The Musketeers meet together only twenty years after they separated. The year is 1649. Retelling the book “Twenty Years Later” is pointless and useless.
But the genre of memoirs has its own laws. Aramis is familiar with the book “Twenty Years Later,” which, according to the preface to the trilogy, is the memoirs of the Count de La F;re, that is, Athos, but Aramis logically irrefutably proved that this trilogy cannot belong to the pen of Athos. He believes that these memoirs were written by his servant, Grimaud, whom Athos forbade to talk without proper reasons, as a result of which he decided to start writing diaries, and when he became acquainted with Athos’s extensive library, he himself became an inveterate graphomaniac.
But Grimaud was not so familiar with the reasons for the actions of the musketeers, with their military exploits, and in some places he gets confused with the facts. This certainly did not go unnoticed by Aramis.
Since Aramis is methodical in his descriptions, he gave in the third volume a description of what happened during the time when our heroes did not see each other, that is, from 1629 to 1649. After reading the third volume, you will be able to understand why King Charles the First of England found himself confronting his own people, having neither an army, nor money, nor a sufficient number of devoted servants, and also why similar events almost happened in France. In the fourth book, Aramis set out what he considered important to state, bearing in mind that the “Memoirs of Grimaud,” that is, the book “Twenty Years After,” may be accessible to the reader, and he himself consulted the presentation of some events in it, although he perceived it critically .
Enjoy reading!
You will find chapters 1 – 44 in the first book, chapters 45 – 92 in the second book, chapters 93 – 133 in the third book.

Preface by the author

The third book ended the account of events when Mordaunt, Milady's son, arrived at Cromwell and helped him defeat the opposition in order to deal with the Earl of Suffolk, the closest friend, assistant and adviser of King Charles I. It also describes some of the events that led England into a state of civil war, in which the King at first thought that he was winning, but this was followed by the second stage of this war or even a second civil war, in which Fate finally turned away from the English monarch. Meanwhile, Mordaunt is burning with the desire to take revenge for the death of his mother and for his unfortunate fate to everyone whom he considers guilty of this. The list of those to whom he has already taken revenge includes several random people - priests and judges, as well as the Count de Ronchamp and Milady's former maid, Katie. Revenge on this girl was realized simply because, as Mordaunt learned, his mother hated her for something and wanted to take revenge on her. Without going into the reasons for this hatred, he tried to kill her, for which he shot at the window of the castle of the Duchess de Chevreuse. The Duchess immediately called a doctor, who said that the girl’s life was hanging by a thread, but he would do everything possible to save her. Aramis received news from the Duchess that there was an assassination attempt on his prot;g;, but it seems she will live and is gradually recovering. Aramis, on instructions from the Jesuit Order, decided to organize de Beaufort's escape and attracted Athos to his side, as well as d'Artagnan's former servant, Planchet. In Paris, passions are running high, everyone anticipates the possibility of an imminent revolt of the mob, which went down in history as the Fronde.


Chapter 134

Cardinal Mazarin, a forty-seven-year-old man, a year younger than Queen Anne, sat in his office and thought painfully. A wave of discontent arose against him and the Queen among the people, which was no longer unnoticeable, and would be completely unthinkable to ignore. It was necessary to launch a pre-emptive strike. This wave should have been split first into at least two, then even smaller - into four, into eight, and so on.
“However, four are enough ,” Mazarin said to himself so quietly that no one could overhear him. “Even a quarter of the entire nation is no longer a majority, and if this quarter does not begin to become overgrown with sympathizers, like a snowball, then it will be easy to deal with.” "Divide and rule". This wisdom is worth repeating daily! Instead, it seems Anna and I have already made a mistake. Instead of dividing, we allowed forces to unite that, it would seem, should not have united under any circumstances. Just think about it! The princes of the blood unite with the mob against their rightful Queen and regent, against the young King Louis XIV !
Mazarin wanted to add “against his first minister,” meaning himself, but did not even say it in a whisper, alone with himself. This thought was too painful.
They accused him of being a foreigner! Just think about it! As if the Queen were not a foreigner! After all, she belongs to the hated Habsburg family, and it is she who protects France and the French from the tyranny of her family, which owns the Great Roman Empire, that is, Spain, Italy, the German states and both Hollands! She even opposes her own brother, and only because it was he, Mazarin, who taught her to do so. The two foreigners ruling the kingdom are the most ardent patriots of France, the future monarch is growing up, the young King, who, in essence, is also three-quarters a foreigner! Why does this worthless mob evaluate a person not by his actions, but by his origin?
“Princes, dukes and peers, marshals and marquises, counts and barons, nobles, industrialists and merchants, large landowners, clergy, townspeople and peasants,” Mazarin continued to reason quietly. “A very significant part of all these classes rallied around the idea of overthrowing the first minister. Someone is writing pamphlets against the cardinal and distributing them among the people. This needs to end! The great Richelieu would send everyone to the Bastille for such pamphlets, both those who write them and those who read them! And those who reason would simply be executed! And no trouble! Richelieu executed Montmorency, and no one dared to say a word! And I’m only temporary – not for long! - detained the Duke de Beaufort, who had clearly attempted murder, he was openly preparing to hire killers for me! And how did it end? There was such a noise as if I had executed a dozen princes! But I wasn’t the one who planted him! The order has been signed by the Queen! You see, I raised taxes! Did I do this? Address your claims to your beloved parliament! Although it is made up of donkeys, even they understand that you cannot wage war without money, and the money in the treasury comes only from taxes! So what do you want from me? Or are you proposing to make peace? Nonsense! Will not work! As soon as the countries around us feel that we do not have enough money for the war, they will simply eat us up! Yes, yes, they will eat it with all its giblets! The north of the country will go to Holland, the northwest to England, the south to Spain, and the east to Germany. That's all! And there will be a shred of France left, less than the Duchy of Anjou! Is this what you want, gentlemen rebels?
It is necessary to quarrel between them. The Queen, of course, is right that you should attract as many friends as possible to your side, but what kind of friends are they who remain friends only as long as they receive a regular salary, or while they hope for something even more significant? The salary begins to seem insufficient, hopes no longer fully satisfy such friends, they demand everything immediately! And where can you get this “everything” if there is a war and there is not enough money for the most necessary things - for weapons, for gunpowder, for fodder! Even soldiers’ salaries can be delayed for some time, but food for soldiers, food for horses, gunpowder and bullets for guns and muskets cannot be delayed! If we were to advance, the army could feed itself with what it could requisition from the conquered territories! But it’s only easy to move the border on a map, but on the ground it all costs blood, sweat, gunpowder and bullets! The Roman army fed itself while it advanced, and how long did it last? There was nowhere to advance, and the empire collapsed! Where would you like to advance in modern Europe? Thank God that we still have the great Conde, who is advancing! And there is also the Viscount de Turenne. Two generals fighting for an idea is not too little, but not too much either! Split! Introduce into their camp authoritative people who will go over to the right side at the right moment! But where can I get them? I remember that the Count de Rochefort really wanted to please me and cajoled me into taking him into his service. Well, he served Richelieu very well, as they say. De Chalet's conspiracy was exposed! It costs a lot! And he was very young! What's next? It seems that he failed to cope with a basic task. But there was something to be done - to detain four musketeers on the road from Paris to London and back! Three were detained almost at the exit, and the fourth escaped! The noble man was apparently a rogue! I would like something like this to work for me! And if I had a dozen such people, I would completely destroy this damned spirit of opposition, brought either from England or from Venice! So, Rochefort. The Queen hates him, and rightly so, but if he served Richelieu faithfully, why shouldn’t he serve me faithfully? What difference does it make to him what the name of the first minister, cardinal, member of the Royal Council is? Richelieu or Mazarin, what's the difference? Richelieu was French! So what? Ravaillac was also French! Does this make you feel better? And Jacques Cl;ment was French! Feel better?
At that moment, Fran;ois de Comenges de Guiteau, captain of the Queen's guard and Royal Advisor, a man of sixty-nine years old, appeared at the door.
“Tell me, Guiteau, do you know the Comte de Rochefort well?” - he asked.
“It seems to me that he was devoted to Cardinal Richelieu,” Guiteau replied. “The great cardinal valued him very much.” But in the last four years I haven't heard anything about him.
“It doesn’t matter, because I didn’t ask you where he is,” Mazarin waved him off. “I want to know your opinion: will de Rochefort serve me as faithfully?”
“I can’t know that, monsignor,” Guiteau replied. “If you know where to find him, it’s probably best to call him and ask him this question.”
“Thank you, Guiteau, if I need advice on what to do, I will ask your advice,” the cardinal tried to answer as gently as possible. - But at the moment I am asking you not for advice, but for information regarding how reliable this person is, and can he be faithful?
“This man may be faithful, but that does not mean that he will serve you faithfully,” Guiteau replied. “The Cardinal paid his special agents generously, and, in addition, provided assistance to the Count’s brothers several times. Rochefort was not cheap for the great cardinal.
Mazarin winced when he heard about the “great cardinal” for the second time, which meant that Guiteau did not consider Mazarin great, and used this attribute as a distinctive one.
“Why invent adjectives for names when the names themselves exist? - He thought. - If in front of him, meaning de Treville, I called him Great Captain, how would he feel? Oh, these French!”
“So, Cominges, you think that Rochefort can be useful to me,” Mazarin summed up. If he does not agree to serve me faithfully, perhaps he is able to give me some reliable information about other applicants?
— What kind of service are we talking about, monseigneur? - Guiteau asked with a hint of jealousy in his voice.
- Don’t worry, we are not talking about replacing you, because you cope with your responsibilities perfectly! - Mazarin hastened to console Guiteau. “There are some matters that you would not entrust to a Royal Advisor, but for which you need a loyal, honest and courageous person.
“The monsignor has such people,” Guiteau replied. - Take, for example, the lieutenant of the musketeers, Monsieur d'Artagnan, who is now on duty at your door.
- D'Artagnan, you say? - asked Mazarin. “I think I heard something interesting about him out of the corner of my ear.” Can you remind me what it was?
“If the monsignor is going to talk with the Comte de Rochefort, then I believe that he will tell you better than me about the shortcomings of this man,” Guiteau replied. “I don’t know any about him, or I know, but they are very insignificant, about which there is nothing to talk about, but his merits are the most significant for a soldier.” Honest, loyal, brave, smart, excellent fencing with all types of piercing and cutting weapons, also wields a musket, pistol, and is an excellent horseman.
— In general, like all your guards, including you? - Mazarin added with a slight hint of question.
“No worse than me, and certainly much above the average level of skill,” answered Guiteau, flattered. — He defeated several of the best fencers in Paris with ease.
- But duels are prohibited? - Mazarin was surprised.
— Duels, of course, are prohibited, but clashes with whom didn’t happen? - Guiteau answered.
— Skirmishes? - asked Mazarin. - Oh, yes, skirmishes. Una scaramuccia non e un duello.
“Exactly so, monsignor,” Guiteau agreed. — A skirmish is not a duel.
“Thank you, Guiteau, you helped me a lot ,” said Mazarin. - Be so kind as to invite this same lieutenant d'Artagnan to me.
When d'Artagnan entered, the cardinal was finishing writing a few lines on a piece of paper. After that, he put his signature and seal and handed the sheet to the lieutenant.
“Monsieur d'Artagnan ,” he said, “go immediately to the Bastille and bring from there the person referred to in this order.” Take a carriage with barred windows and the necessary convoy, the prisoner must not escape, you answer to me for him with your head.
D'Artagnan took the letter, saluted, turned around and left the office. Immediately Mazarin heard his authoritative but calm voice:
- Four musketeers in a convoy, a carriage, my horse.
Five minutes later, the cardinal heard the sound of retreating hooves and carriage wheels.

Chapter 135

Since the letter was not sealed, d'Artagnan looked into it to find out the name of the prisoner whom he was ordered to deliver. As soon as he read the name of the Comte de Rochefort, a cold sweat broke out in him, and a series of names appeared in his head, the first of which was the name of Constance. Then he remembered Milady, and finally the “Stranger of Meng,” as he called Rochefort until fate told him his true name.
“Now this is a man in my complete power,” he thought. “I could shoot him by telling the cardinal that the prisoner was killed while trying to escape.” My musketeers would not betray me. But nonsense! Is it worthy to kill a person who is completely in your power? Twenty years ago I would have paid dearly for such an opportunity, while the memories of Constance would not have allowed me to talk about what is worthy and what is not worthy in relation to this enemy! I must be getting old! Now I am my own Athos! Wow! The officer is guided by moral principles! However, on the advice of Aramis, I inflicted very painful wounds on him three times, each of which he had to heal for at least a month and a half! I would have struck two or three more, but I was tired of this game of cat and mouse. When you know that your opponent is weaker than you, the thought of a duel with him becomes disgusting. Indeed, it’s time for me to forgive him! After all, he simply served his boss, just as we served ours. Fate assigned Richelieu to him, and de Treville and Dezzesar to us! To each his own. Is this worth fighting over for the rest of your life? I should have killed him in the third duel, I shouldn’t have listened to Aramis! I’ve decided I’ll treat him like a stranger.”
Upon arrival at the Bastille, d'Artagnan presented the warrant to the commandant, who was Monsieur du Tremblay, brother of Father Joseph, friend and mentor of Cardinal Richelieu, who had long since died.
When Rochefort was brought in, the prisoner and the convoy commander met their eyes, both pretended not to know each other, or did not recognize each other.
The lieutenant motioned for Rochefort to follow him, and the prisoner calmly obeyed.
- Goodbye, Monsieur d'Artagnan! - exclaimed du Tremblay.
“Not until after death,” answered the captain. - But it would be better even later!
Du Tremblay only smiled, because he was already accustomed to such jokes from people leaving him, and he knew very well that he would meet many of them, either as escorts or as escorts. These two states are so close to each other that people sometimes do not even notice how they are moving from one of them to the second.
Having seated Rochefort in the carriage, d'Artagnan himself took a seat opposite him, explaining to his guards that this was the order. However, he did this more for Rochefort than for the soldiers, who were accustomed to blindly obeying their lieutenant, without asking unnecessary questions.
When the carriage started, d'Artagnan uttered an almost forgotten phrase.
- My God! - he said. - The stranger from Meng, damn him! Once upon a time, in pursuit of you, I ran into three whole duels, and it was only by miracle that I was not killed in them.
“And they would have killed you if the cardinal’s guards had not prevented you!” - Rochefort replied, after which he turned to face d'Artagnan. His face was serious, but wrinkles treacherously gathered in the outer corners of his eyes, revealing his humorous mood.
- Nice joke, considering that it's true! - the Gascon burst out laughing. “It turns out that from the very beginning I owe my life to the gentlemen of the cardinal’s guards?”
“Not only with life, but also with friendship with three magnificent musketeers,” confirmed Rochefort. I've met people for whom friendship is more important than life, so that's not small either.
- Damn it, you're right, Rochefort! - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
He painfully wanted to hug Athos, who always smelled of gunpowder and Burgundy, Porthos, who smelled of fried onions, fried game and gunpowder, and Aramis, who smelled of Cologne water and, again, gunpowder.
In his hearts, d'Artagnan extended his hand to Rochefort, who shook it with pleasure.
- Away with the old enmity, Lieutenant! - he exclaimed. “Even if tomorrow you command my execution, I forgive you in advance.”
“I do not command executions,” answered d’Artagnan. “And besides, Mazarin doesn’t execute anyone.”
- He probably knows very well that being imprisoned in the Bastille, without knowing the reasons for this imprisonment, can be much worse than being shot? - asked Rochefort.
“I would not dare to dispute that,” replied d’Artagnan. - So you really don’t know why you were imprisoned?
- I have no idea! - Rochefort replied.
“Perhaps you were too active in your dislike of the current cardinal?” - asked d'Artagnan.
— How active must such manifestations be for a person to be thrown into the Bastille for them without presenting guilt or announcing a period of imprisonment?
“At different times, in different ways,” d’Artagnan answered philosophically. - At all times, if you don’t want to love someone who can put you in the Bastille, then it’s better not to love him somewhere alone, without witnesses. And if you love as you loved Richelieu, then love him clearly, clearly and effectively. But not the other way around.
“But in that case, half of France would already be sitting in the Bastille or other fortresses!” - exclaimed Rochefort.
- Who told you that this is not so? - D'Artagnan objected with a smile. - Or that it won't happen in some foreseeable future? Did you count and make observations? There was no information about this in the place where I am taking you from!
- Is it so bad? - Rochefort was surprised.
“No, I’m joking, of course,” answered d’Artagnan. - However, the Duke de Beaufort...
- Beaufort? Really? - Rochefort was surprised.
- What about Beaufort? - asked d'Artagnan. - Did I tell you anything about him?
“No, of course, I’m just talking to myself,” Rochefort replied and nodded with understanding.
- However, you are sad in vain! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - If you are being taken from the Bastille to the Louvre, you must admit that this road is much more pleasant and promising than the return road from the Louvre to Paris. It is likely that there will be no way back at all! Perhaps the cardinal needs you?
“If the offer is worthwhile, I’ll probably agree to it,” Rochefort answered cheerfully.
—What do you call a worthwhile proposal? - inquired d'Artagnan.
“Well, at least one that begins with the words “From now on you are free, Monsieur de Rochefort,” answered the count. - Actually, the rest is not so important.
“In our time, everything is possible,” answered d’Artagnan. “It is even possible that things will turn out in such a way that Mazarin’s first order for you will be to take me to your place in the Bastille.”
- Do you know that you are guilty of some kind? - Rochefort was surprised.
- Of course not! - answered d'Artagnan. - But you didn’t know and don’t know any guilt behind you, according to you, which didn’t stop you from getting into the Bastille and serving a whole... How long did you sit there?
“Four years and three months and eighteen days, if you count as one day half of today’s day and half of my day, and unless they bring me back,” Rochefort answered.
“It’s a bit long,” agreed d’Artagnan. — Especially considering that the range of entertainment in this establishment is not very diverse.
“Yes, not too diverse,” confirmed Rochefort. —Thinking, looking at the walls and ceiling, and coming up with abusive nicknames for the Italian. I don’t know how to rhyme, I’m lazy to write on the walls, so that’s all.
“Don’t despair, something tells me that your fate will soon change for the better,” d’Artagnan lied, wanting to cheer up his old enemy, towards whom he no longer harbored a shadow of enmity.
“Thank you for this lie, which gives a drop of hope,” Rochefort replied. “I promise you that if fate sends me freedom, I will thank you, and if something bad happens, I will not share it with you.”
“Extremely noble of you, Count,” replied d’Artagnan. - Deal! If Mazarin makes you a marshal, you will take me as a general.
Here both interlocutors burst out laughing, after which they noticed that they had almost arrived at the Louvre.

I will not retell Rochefort's conversation with Mazarin. Rochefort recounted it to Athos several times, so Grimaud heard and wrote down this conversation quite accurately.
Mazarin learned from Rochefort that d'Artagnan was a brave warrior, that he had three equally brave friends, whom he chose not to name, after which he hinted to the count that he was imprisoned because he refused to go to Brussels on the Queen's business, which actually reminded him that he had refused to go secretly to Brussels on Mazarin's business as his spy, for fear of being recognized and exposed. Mazarin hinted to Rochefort that he could gain freedom if he agreed to serve him faithfully. When Rochefort learned that this service would consist of guarding the Duke de Beaufort so that he would not escape from the fortress at Vincennes, Rochefort decisively refused, saying that he considered himself a friend of de Beaufort.
“But the one who agreed to serve the King should have no other friends except the friends of the King, just as there should be no other enemies except the enemies of the King!” - exclaimed Mazarin.
- Will the King give me orders or you, monsignor? - de Rochefort asked tactlessly.
“There was no need to drag this old fool out of the Bastille,” thought Mazarin. “It should be left there forever.”
Mazarin irritably rang the bell, after which his secretary Bernouin entered the room.
“Our guest needs rest ,” he said. “Dear Bernouin, please arrange for him to be given a separate room.”
“In the Bastille,” he added with only his lips, looking into Bernouin’s eyes.
At the same time with this gesture, he took from his pocket an order, which he had prudently prepared in advance in anticipation of Rochefort, and handed it to Bernouin.
Bernouin bowed in understanding and went out to call the convoy.
Seeing that he was being led into the same carriage with the same escort, Rochefort cheered up. He decided to wait for the carriage to pass through the market square, and then call on the crowd on it to help him, informing them that he was a victim of Mazarin’s tyranny. His plan, as we know, was a great success. In addition, Planchet was in the crowd that attacked the convoy to free Rochefort, who led it. Recognizing Rochefort and remembering that we had talked about this man, he not only provided him with refuge, but also brought him together with me and Athos.
When I learned from Rochefort that Mazarin had offered him to guard the Duke de Beaufort, and that Rochefort refused, I expressed my surprise and indignation.
- Why did you refuse?! - I exclaimed. “If Mazarin had entrusted you with guarding the Duke de Beaufort, our plan to arrange his escape would have easily succeeded!” Couldn't have asked for better!
“I was probably stupid,” Rochefort agreed. “But I couldn’t have known that in such a matter I would have comrades like you!”
“If Mazarin had entrusted me with guarding Beaufort, I would have arranged his escape without any assistants at all,” I answered.
— And would thereby violate the oath? - asked Athos.
- Not at all! - I objected. “I would only swear allegiance to the King!”
- But the King is a child, the country is ruled by the Queen, you should at least swear allegiance to her too, but she signed the order for the arrest of Beaufort! - Athos clarified. - No, Aramis, you wouldn't do that! Serving the Queen would have made it impossible for you to participate in the liberation of Beaufort!
“Are our servants allowed to deceive the jailers?” - I asked.
“Our servants are not nobles, and they do not take an oath,” answered Athos.
- Therefore, treachery is allowed to commoners, but stratagem is not allowed to nobles? - I clarified.
“Yes, my friend, yes,” answered Athos.
- Positively, Athos, you are incorrigible! - I exclaimed. — A conspiracy is the same as war, and in war all means are good. Read at least the “Strategems” of Sextus Julius Frontinus!
—Have you read Frontin? - Athos was surprised.
“I stole this book from d’Artagnan as a souvenir before we parted,” I admitted. - True, I immediately admitted this to him, but when he learned about it, he gave it to me, saying that he did not need it, since he had already learned it by heart. In fact, it was thoroughly read and covered with notes and comments.
—And you also learned it by heart? - asked Athos.
“Not really,” I tried to lie, but meeting Athos’s sharp gaze, I admitted. “Yes, I memorized not only it, but also d’Artagnan’s notes, which I consider very witty.”
“In this case, you remember that in the fourth book there is a fourth chapter called “On Justice,” said Athos. - It says that justice and nobility can sometimes achieve more than the cunning and deception of the enemy.
“Then you must remember that this chapter contains only two examples, while other chapters give up to one and a half dozen examples, so among about sixty dozen chapters, this chapter is the smallest, insignificant,” I answered. —There are about a thousand examples of the effectiveness of treachery in this book. And there are only two examples of the usefulness of nobility.
- And what do they say? - asked Athos.
“If you please,” I replied. — The first example tells about the betrayal of a teacher who took the children out of the besieged fortress under the pretext of a walk, after which he offered them to the besieging commander, Kamil, saying that with such hostages they would be able to demand any ransom from the besieged, including forcing them to surrender. Kamil was indignant at such treachery and ordered the children to drive the teacher back to the fortress with rods to be punished by their fellow citizens. The besieged admired Kamil's justice and generosity and agreed to surrender on terms that were lenient for them.
- A wonderful example! - Athos confirmed.
— The second example tells how the personal physician of King Pyrrhus came to the Roman commander Fabricius with an offer to poison the king for a decent reward. Fabricius exposed this traitor to Cyrus, which was the reason for the conclusion of an alliance agreement between Fabricius and Cyrus.
- Just two examples, you say? - asked Athos. “And it seems to me that these two examples of nobility are worth all the thousand examples of the usefulness of deceit!” Agree, victory achieved through nobility is the most important thing in life, after which you can die in peace. And a victory achieved by deceit is something that would be disgusting to even remember!
I did not argue with Athos, although I did not agree with him. I remembered how Claudius Nero, who defeated the Punics under the leadership of Hasdrubal, threw Hasdrubal's head into Hannibal's camp, as a result of which Hannibal, overcome with grief over his murdered brother, was unable to effectively command, which brought victory to Claudius Nero. This gesture saved a lot of effort and time, and saved many soldiers on both sides from unnecessary death. Of course, Athos would not approve of such a method. He needs to fight “with white gloves,” notifying the enemy of his every intention. Comte de La Fere will never become not only a marshal or a general, but even a captain. There is nothing to be done with such manners in war.

Chapter 136

When d'Artagnan was informed that Rochefort, who was being escorted back to the Bastille, had been freed by the rioting mob, he became thoughtful.
“Of course, it’s nice that such a kind gentleman chose to stop enjoying the even more kind hospitality of the First Minister ,” he said to himself. “But there is something to be wary of in this matter.” Firstly, if the people are so excited that their rage has overcome their cowardice, the same thing can happen here as in England. Secondly, Mazarin will be beside himself, he will demand that my musketeers be punished. Thirdly, I myself am the instigator of this matter, since I hinted to Rochefort that the people were dissatisfied with the cardinal, and, in addition, I sent four recruits for the convoy, and did not go with them myself, apparently hoping in my heart for just such an outcome. Fifthly, these four young guards still need to be taught a lesson for the future, but I do not wish them harm.
He thought for a few more minutes, after which he beamed and ordered the adjutant to call to him those four who had missed Rochefort, yielding to the onslaught of the crowd.
“So, you lost a prisoner who was supposed to be escorted to the Bastille,” he threw a harsh accusation in the face of the recruits standing at attention in front of him. - Do you know what you are entitled to for this?
Since the lieutenant was not addressing anyone in particular, all four remained silent, lowering their eyes even lower to the floor.
- Stand still when they talk to you, and keep your eyes on me! - said d'Artagnan, without raising his voice, but in such a tone that it seemed to the recruits that God himself was speaking to them.
- Here you are, Jonsu, what do you think I should do with you? - he asked the first musketeer in the row.
- Shoot? — the recruit asked, trying not to show fear.
“That’s the minimum,” agreed d’Artagnan. - And even worse. Mark Antony used decimation in such cases. Do you know what decimation is?
- No way! — all four answered in unison.
- Especially! - D'Artagnan was inspired. — Decimation is the execution of every tenth person by lot. Do you realize?
- Yes sir! - the recruits answered.
“Yes, sir,” continued the lieutenant. “But one day, when Anthony threatened one of his legions, which did not fight courageously enough and suffered defeat for this reason, that he would disband it and deprive it of its banner, all the legionnaires, as one, begged him to subject the legion to decimation, but not to disband it. So, as you can see, decimation is not the worst thing. So, I should prepare ten lots, one of which has a mark, and invite the four of you to draw one of them at random. The one who draws the lot with the mark will be in trouble.
The soldiers were silent, not daring to argue with their lieutenant.
“But I’m fair,” d’Artagnan objected to himself. “I cannot execute a tenth of you, since there are only four of you.” And although each of you would have in this case a chance of getting your bullet equal to one in ten, I still do not intend under any circumstances to lose a quarter of my soldiers where it would be enough to limit myself to a tenth. Therefore, we will proceed as follows. As soon as there are exactly ten people guilty of something like this, I will force all of you to draw this lot, and then one of the ten will answer for the misdeeds of the entire ten. But remember, if there is no such misconduct within the next two months, no, six months, however, no, within a year, in which case I will close your account and forget about what happened. Got it? So, pray that no more musketeer, under any circumstances, will falter or betray his duty. This is your salvation. Remember this. If one of you is guilty again, then he will draw two lots! Do you understand everything?
- Yes sir! - the recruits answered again.
“Go, and remember what I told you ,” said the Gascon and dismissed the musketeers with a wave of his hand.

“Monsieur d’Artagnan, His Eminence Cardinal Mazarin demands you to come to him ,” said Bernouin, who entered the barracks.
The lieutenant nodded and headed towards Mazarin.

- Mister Lieutenant, explain to me how it happened that the prisoner Comte de Rochefort escaped on his way to the Bastille? - asked the cardinal.
“From somewhere Rochefort learned that the streets were full of dissatisfied citizens,” answered d’Artagnan.
“Perhaps I let him know about this in our conversation ,” Mazarin said with some confusion and bit his mustache in annoyance.
“Forgive me, monsignor, I did not assume that he received such information, otherwise I would personally have led the escort of him back to the Bastille ,” said d’Artagnan. “I plead guilty and ask that you punish me.”
Mazarin liked the fact that the lieutenant behaved exactly the same as Mazarin himself behaved when communicating with the Queen, so he looked more kindly at d'Artagnan .
“Do you think that if you had been in charge of the convoy, the prisoner would not have been able to escape?” - asked the cardinal.
“He didn’t run away on the way to the Louvre!” - answered the Gascon.
—Will you reveal your escort methods? - asked Mazarin. “Why couldn’t he have escaped from you?”
“Because I got into the carriage with my prisoner and pointed a pistol at him, warning him that if he tried to escape or made even a sound on the road, I would shoot him,” answered d’Artagnan. “And also because this prisoner already knew that I don’t mince words, so if I told him that I would shoot him if he tried to escape, then that’s exactly what I would have done.”
- You are a serious person, Mister Lieutenant! - Mazarin said with admiration. - I need people like this!
“But it seems that I am already in the service of His Royal Majesty, and therefore, by duty, I am also subordinate to the First Minister ,” said d’Artagnan.
“This is somewhat different from what I mean,” the cardinal clarified. “I had in mind a special kind of assignment that is given only to extremely brave, intelligent and devoted people and, of course, is rewarded in a completely different way.
“I am in the service of the King, so I cannot transfer to any other service, monsignor, with all due respect, I’m sorry, I have to refuse,” said the Gascon.
“But the King is a child, you must obey the Queen, who is also the sovereign sole regent, the head of the Royal Council,” corrected Lieutenant Mazarin.
“I agree with your clarification, monsignor,” replied d’Artagnan.
“And what will you answer me if the Queen herself confirms to you that my proposal also comes from her, and that your consent is as desirable to her as it is to me?” - asked the cardinal.
“In this case, I will be free to agree to your proposal,” replied d’Artagnan. “Then I will ask you what my service will consist of, and what conditions Your Eminence offers me.”
- Just “agree”? - Mazarin was surprised. “Aren’t you obligated to obey your Queen?”
“Transition to service in another capacity is not an obligation, monsignor,” answered d’Artagnan. “As you know, the Duke de La Rochefoucauld refused to accept the general’s position from the hands of Cardinal Richelieu, and he did not have anything for it. Such examples are not isolated. If what is required of me is not to my liking, I will prefer to resign.
- And you are a tough nut to crack, Mister Lieutenant! - said Mazarin, admiring his prudence and courage even more. -But I still ask you to give me a report on what penalties you imposed on those musketeers who could not bring their escort to their destination?
“I subjected them to decimation,” answered d’Artagnan shortly.
- Decimation?! - Mazarin exclaimed in horror. — Following the example of the ancient Romans? If I'm not mistaken, this means...
“Yes, monsignor,” answered d’Artagnan. - There is a war going on. According to the laws of war, an officer has power over his subordinates until his very life.
- Horrible! - exclaimed Mazarin.
“War is always horror,” answered d’Artagnan. “Now you have no doubt that I would have shot Rochefort or any other prisoner in his place at the slightest attempt to escape.”
-Lo giuro sul diavolo, I have no doubt in your determination! - exclaimed Mazarin. - But decimation! You are a very determined person, Monsieur d'Artagnan! Answer me one more question. Why didn’t any of your escorts follow your example and get into the carriage next to the escort?
“They wouldn’t dare ride in the same carriage with the count,” answered the lieutenant. “And even if they dared, they probably wouldn’t have decided to shoot him at the first attempt to escape.” After all, in this matter, delay is like death. Even a couple of seconds in such a task can take away the chance of getting it done. However, now, after the decimation, any musketeer will do in similar circumstances the same thing that I would do, because I taught them a lesson.
“Yes, a lesson, and a very clear one,” Mazarin agreed. - But why do you say that they would not dare to get into the carriage with the count, but you dared? You're not a count yet, are you?
“You’re right, monsignor, I’m not a count yet,” answered d’Artagnan, emphasizing the words “not yet.”
- Oh, that's what it's all about? - Mazarin perked up. — Would you like to become a count?
“I can’t say that this is my cherished dream, but if I were a count, it would be easier for me to carry out such missions,” answered d’Artagnan. - In modern times, when dukes and princes are arrested, a nobleman who does not want to be called a jailer had better remain polite with those whom he has to escort, and for this he must have the right to sit in the same carriage not on the basis of an arrest warrant, but on the basis of equal or at least commensurate noble dignity. But I don't chase titles. I will be completely satisfied with decent payment for the services that will be required of me.
“Well, at least honestly, frankly and bluntly,” Mazarin agreed. “Well, I’m hiring you, as well as three of your friends, about whom I’ve heard a lot, for a special service.” We will discuss the terms later when they appear before me. And do not worry, I will provide you with proof that my will is exactly in accordance with the will of the Queen, and that in coming to my special service you will act in accordance with her wishes.
“Monsignor is talking about the three musketeers with whom I happened to serve about twenty years ago?” - asked d'Artagnan.
- Can you name me others who are no less worthy than them? - Mazarin answered the question with a question.
“I’m at a loss, but we haven’t seen each other for twenty years, and I don’t know where to look for them,” answered the Gascon.
“You will find them, because the Queen asks for it, and this will be my first order,” answered the cardinal. “I give you a week for this and a hundred pistoles for travel expenses; you set off immediately.”
“If a week is not enough, monsignor, what should I do?” — the lieutenant specified. — Should I continue the search or return with those I can find?
“Come back even if you don’t find anyone,” Mazarin replied. “In exactly a week I will need you and your comrades, but I need you yourself in any case.”
“What conditions can I offer on your behalf to my comrades in order to convince them to enter your service?” - asked d'Artagnan.
“Promise what you consider necessary, in accordance with their character and hopes,” answered Mazarin. - Of course, without going beyond the limits of reason.
The lieutenant bowed and left.

“However, when they promise anything, this can often indicate that these promises are worthless, since no one is going to fulfill them! - thought d'Artagnan. “I would prefer a clear price list for services and rewards for them, and I believe both Porthos and Aramis would agree with me.” As for Athos, I don't think he can be bought, and besides, I doubt that he has retained his former physical form. He always drank more than we did, and after Milady’s execution he seemed to lose heart completely.”

Chapter 137

The Duchess de Longueville, my Angers, conveyed to me through reliable persons that she wants to meet with me in order to coordinate some of our actions on the initiative we have taken. In her letter between the lines, I read another reason for our meeting. Of course, I myself was not going to refuse the most pleasant part of our sweet conversation, our tete-a-tete rendezvous, and even, I admit, maybe it was precisely this that was the main reason for my visit. Either way, both of these things fascinated me.
I had no idea that the letter was a forgery, since I was not yet familiar with Ange’s handwriting. This letter was prepared and delivered for me through bribed people by Duke Fran;ois La Rochefoucauld, who was jealous of me for the duchess, wanting to take the place with her that she chose to give me. This Duke, who is also Prince Marcillac, had, of course, enough of his own people to organize an ambush and simply waylay me and shoot me like a wild boar, or stab me to death. If the fight had been fair and open, I could have defeated not only him, but perhaps several attackers at the same time. But not a single person can escape from a treacherous bullet fired at dusk, especially from several bullets from several pistols. And it’s unlikely to save your life when you’re attacked in the night by a dozen killers whose existence you don’t even suspect.
Before me lies Grimaud's second book, entitled "Twenty Years Later." Well, he described the episode of how La Rochefoucauld ambushed me, and how d'Artagnan unwittingly saved me, quite accurately. And the point here is probably not only that d'Artagnan and I recalled many events, including this one, while in Monqueville, but also, of course, that Planchet retold him what he knew. But Planchet knew nothing about our conversation with d'Artagnan, so here Grimaud conveyed only the part of our conversation that we recalled.
Grimaud believed that I had long lived in the monastery in the neighborhood where d'Artagnan found me. He's wrong. Only shortly before this, I agreed that several rooms on the second floor would be given to me, using my connections with the Order. I told Bazin to furnish them according to my taste. Only during the daytime could I get there through the first floor. At night it was necessary to enter using a ladder, but I sometimes used a rope ladder so that it could be easily pulled up and thereby eliminate unexpected visits from uninvited visitors, while the ladder was securely locked in the barn.
So, the duke's mercenaries mistook d'Artagnan for me, but having realized their mistake, they went to Paris, believing that they had hopelessly missed me this time. I actually jumped on Planchet's horse and told him to continue riding without making any noise. He, I believe, recognized me; of course, his doubts disappeared when I myself told him my name.
He only told d'Artagnan that there was a man sitting behind him, remembering that I had told him not to tell d'Artagnan about our agreement, and therefore decided not to accept the responsibility of exposing my incognito even to his former master.
Of course, I accepted my friend, and now once again my savior, with open arms. To be honest, if d'Artagnan admitted that for him, serving Cardinal Mazarin is an accomplished choice from which he will not depart, and, as a consequence, that he categorically would not want me to join the opposite side, I would most likely would have given up the thought of the actions that Athos, Rochefort, and I subsequently took. Friendship with him was more valuable to me, even if he had not saved my life so successfully. I wanted to hug him and thank him for saving me from the bottom of my heart. But I restrained myself. In our youth we hide our feelings, but in old age we become sentimental and show our moods too clearly and vividly, just when no one around us is interested in these feelings of ours. Of course, in those forty years, it seemed to me that I was already a mature person. How wrong I was! If only I could get my sixty back now, what stupid things I would still have time to do! At the age of forty, only a naive forty-year-old youth can think that life is over!
So, we discussed the ambush that La Rochefoucauld set on me, and I was embarrassed to thank d’Artagnan simply - cordially and with feeling. It must be said that in battle it is not customary to thank those who saved you, and I probably still felt like I was in battle.
By the way, Grimaud mistakenly calls Marcillac by the name Marcillac, just as he mistakenly calls Monsieur d'Aiguillon Madame d'Aiguillon.
D'Artagnan expressed his suspicion that I was the lover of the Duchess de Longueville, and I refuted this idea. What else was there left to do? Confess ? This is not my secret, and I don’t tell women’s secrets even to my best friends! To reinforce my active denial, I even sang some humorous song about Angers, but I saw that the cunning Gascon did not believe me. Well, in any case, I didn’t let it slip, and suspicions are not yet complete certainty, and if recognition puts an end to it, then any denial, at least, leaves room for doubt. We had a good discussion on many topics, giving vent to our mood, which dinner and wine helped to lift. I tried to eat and drink as little as possible, since I was anticipating another dinner, with Ange, but I had to eat and drink something so as not to arouse suspicion in my guest, and so that he would not feel uncomfortable. After all, it would be impolite to turn a joint feast into feeding a guest, as they say, “eat and leave.” This doesn't happen between friends.
D'Artagnan noticed everything. He noticed that I was not in poverty; I had to chalk it up to fees for poetry and sermons. It seems that he didn't believe that either.
I foresaw that he would ask about the reasons for the duel in which I asked him to take part as a second, so I was the first to start a conversation with him about it and explained this duel as some trivial reason. It seems that he didn’t believe me about that either.
When d'Artagnan said: “I am entrusted with finding my comrades, and I started with you,” I understood who entrusted him with this task.
I didn’t think that this choice was so important for him, and I thought that this was a one-time assignment that he would perfectly complete without me or without Athos, and I realized that there was no point in going to Porthos. I decided that if I had already gotten ahead of him and attracted Athos to my side, it would be fair if Porthos was with him. It never occurred to me that our goals could be so diametrically opposed that we would collide head-on! Indeed, in all France there was only one man who could stop me, and that was D'Artagnan, while in all France there was only one man who could stop him, and that was Athos. Fate at that hour distributed us equally into two opposing camps, doing to us exactly the same as it did to all the people of the kingdom. If they say that there is no greater misfortune than a civil war in which one half of the population fights against the other half, but I can say that the division of friends like us into two opposing camps is a commensurate misfortune, at least for them .
We discussed the political situation in the state a little, and since d'Artagnan did not praise Mazarin very much, and I would even say that he criticized him in some ways, I convinced myself that my friend's service in the ranks of the cardinal was a temporary matter and is not based on complete acceptance of this politician and full loyalty to his orders. In some ways, I ended up being right.
D'Artagnan told me something that Grimaud did not write about. This is a deep understanding of the entire political situation that has developed in the Louvre.
I have already outlined some of this information in previous chapters.
The Queen with her children, the King and the Prince, settled down in the Louvre. A more reliable place would be the arsenal, but moving there would mean expressing fear of one's own subjects, as well as showing counter-belligerence towards them. Military advisers recommended this to her, but the subtle politician Mazarin dissuaded her from such a decision. D'Artagnan had already noticed how excited the people were and foresaw the storm. He told me that the Comte de Rochefort was in the Bastille, and, as he learned, had been liberated by the rioting mob while he was being escorted back to the Bastille from the Louvre, where Mazarin had ordered him to be taken for a private conversation.
- What could Mazarin talk about with Rochefort? - I was surprised.
“Probably wanted to find out some secrets of Cardinal Richelieu from him,” answered d’Artagnan.
- Maybe he wanted to know from him his personal opinion about some people, for example, about us? - I asked, since I had already met the Count and knew almost everything about this conversation first hand.
“No, I don’t think so,” answered d’Artagnan. - What is the point of asking a person who spent four years in the Bastille for an opinion about any people? Yes, after such a pastime, it is not surprising if a person has the most unfavorable opinion about any person who has been free all this time! Personally, if I spent that long in the Bastille, I would declare that the world is filled with nonentities!
- And would you extend this statement to your friends? On me? To Athos and Porthos? - I asked.
- God forbid! - the Gascon burst out laughing. - Of course not! Being in prison would not have changed my attitude towards my friends, but I do not think that Mazarin asked Rochefort about his friends. And did he have them?
- For example, Milady? - I asked.
- Cross yourself, Aramis, and rinse your mouth with holy water! - D'Artagnan replied, dismissing my words. - Why did you suddenly decide at night to remember the one who, I believe, now has a permanent place of residence in Hell with Satan?
“There is no point in guessing about the content of the conversation between Mazarin and Rochefort,” I answered.
“I can say that it was after this conversation that I was instructed to find my friends,” answered the Gascon.
“So it was Mazarin who instructed you to find us?” “I asked in the most innocent tone and saw the annoyance in d’Artagnan’s face.
- Why do you think so? - he objected indignantly. “You know that I am a lieutenant of the royal musketeers, therefore I serve the King and Queen.” Only she can give me instructions, although, of course, she can convey her orders to me through whomever she authorizes. Sometimes through Guiteau, sometimes through Chancellor S;guier.
“Sometimes through Mazarin,” I added.
- This Mazarin was given to you! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - Yes, if you want, and through him too, because he is the first minister. But to tell you the truth, I prefer to obey the Viscount de Turenne.
— He seems to be far from Paris? - I asked.
“For now, yes,” he agreed. “ But if I have to go to war again, I couldn’t wish for a better boss.”
- So, you wanted to invite me to war? - I asked.
- No way! - D'Artagnan objected. “I thought we could find a decent business in Paris.”
- At Mazarin's? - I asked.
“Damn it, Aramis, you pronounce this name in such a tone that it becomes more and more disgusting to my ears,” answered the Gascon. “I ask you not to call it in front of me anymore, otherwise I will hate this name so much that upon arrival in Paris I will try to persuade His Eminence to change his name for the reason that I don’t like it too much!”
- This will completely ruin France! - I exclaimed.
- Why? - D'Artagnan was surprised.
- Because he will gladly accept your offer, on the basis of which he will ask the Queen for some dukedom as a gift, so that from now on he will be called by the name of this duchy! - I answered. “Would you like him to take possession of a new duchy, hastily put together from several marquisates?”
- God forbid! - D'Artagnan exclaimed, and we both laughed.
“Well, dear Aramis, thank you for the treat, I guess it’s time ,” said my friend. - By the way, can you tell me how to find Porthos?
“He settled on his estate du Valon, and bought the neighboring estate de Brassier,” I answered. - So he is now called Chevalier du Valon de Brassier.
“Thank you again,” replied d’Artagnan.
We exchanged a few more meaningless phrases and then parted.

Chapter 138

I had no doubt that d'Artagnan would be able to persuade Porthos to join him and enter the service of Mazarin. And so it happened. D'Artagnan promised Porthos a baronial title.
After this, d'Artagnan went to Athos, met Raoul there, and was refused by Athos.
After this, he returned to Paris and, together with Porthos, attended a reception with Mazarin.
In the meantime, Athos and Rochefort prepared and carried out the escape of the Duke de Beaufort, and personally I was not as pleased to free Beaufort as I was to joyfully annoy Mazarin. Athos was guided by opposite feelings, and Rochefort divided mine to an even greater extent than I experienced them. Athos entrusted Raoul to the care of Marie de Chevreuse, introducing her to him after an intriguing story about his miraculous birth. The Duchess was embarrassed and delighted to learn that the boy born to her and thrown to the village priest, whom she considered his father, as it turned out, had as his father such a noble nobleman, who, moreover, took custody of him, raised and educated him and ensured his future by transferring the Viscountcy of Bragelonne to him. Maria expressed her desire and readiness to take care of the future fate of Raoul, which she did, agreeing on an officer position for him.
Grimaud gave free rein to his imagination in his memoirs. He did not have to demonstrate any particularly amazing character traits; he was accepted into the service anyway, since I obtained for him a letter of recommendation from a person who could not be suspected of sympathy for Beaufort. The Order has truly amazing capabilities. All the demonstrated qualities of character would not have helped Grimaud without such a recommendation, and if it was available, they no longer meant anything.
He also allowed himself to get pretty creative with a tennis ball, in which letters were allegedly transmitted from Rochefort to Beaufort and back. Why such difficulties when such letters were easily conveyed by Grimaud himself? I will answer one thing. He had read a lot of adventure novels in Athos's library, and could not help but incorporate such tricks into his narrative. Of course, since in these chapters he himself was the protagonist of the action, how could he describe this episode with boring words talking about even more boring things? There are a lot of exaggerations and fabrications in this chapter. How, for example, could Beaufort sew up a torn ball so that it looks like a whole one? However, the story became more entertaining from these absurd inventions of the merry and silent Grimaud, let’s forgive him for that.
The thin Grimaud was thoughtfully equipped with a fake belly made of cotton wool. We had to first feed him a little so that his face would gain some weight, so that the fake belly would pass for a real one. Chavigny was used to seeing Grimaud with a small belly, so when we needed to move the ladder, daggers and gag, we used Grimaud's fake belly as a container for these things.
We came up with the following scheme. Grimaud almost immediately admitted to Beaufort that he was his accomplice and was preparing an escape. First he brought a rope ladder, which Beaufort hid in the pillow, the feathers from which Grimaud placed in his empty stomach and carried out. The ladder turned out to be larger than the volume of Grimaud's belly, so we had to cut it in half, and Athos showed Grimaud what kind of knots should be used to tie the two resulting sections so that the resulting knots would support Beaufort's weight. There were no problems with moving the gag. The daggers turned out to be more difficult to transfer, and for this purpose we intended to use a pie, but abandoned this idea, since the weight of the daggers was much greater than the weight of the pie, so the guards checking everything that was handed over to the prisoner would doubt such a transfer, they They would certainly have opened the pie. But since all the preparations for the pie had already been done, Beaufort came up with the idea of playing a funny joke on Chavigny, and we supported him in this. Athos, who, as I already said, was extremely scrupulous, was especially pleased with this reception. This joke allowed Beaufort to, as it were, warn Chavigny about the impending escape, which lifted the stone from the overly refined soul of Athos.
So, the pie was brought, but if there was a secret filling in it, it consisted of a sleeping pill, which was placed in the part of the pie above which there was a shamrock made of dough. The part of the pie that was intended for the Duke de Beaufort was decorated with a lily, and Athos knew nothing about the filling.
On the day of the escape, indeed, all the guards were sent away, except for Grimaud and La Rame, the evening was to be devoted to cake and wine.
When the pie was on the table, La Rame, tasting its delicious aroma, decided to show off to Beaufort.
- Monsignor, do you see how we are trying to provide you with the best conditions? - he said. “Can you ask for anything better, staying in such comfortable rooms, having everything you need, and receiving such wonderful pies as this one?” Its magical aroma convinces me that you won't have to complain about its taste!
“I consider this pie one of the most delicious in France, without even trying it,” answered Beaufort.
- Is that so? - La Rame was surprised. - Without even trying? Why so?
“Because with the help of this pie I will tell you about one of my forty ways to leave this castle and stop abusing your hospitality,” answered Beaufort.
— Is there really a magic carpet hidden in the pie from Arabian fairy tales? - La Rame asked with a laugh.
“Perhaps so,” Beaufort answered mysteriously.
La Rame became wary.
-Are you planning to escape using the pie? - he asked with an ostentatious laugh, although he felt that he was no longer in the mood for jokes.
“I intend to explain to you how the pie can help you escape,” Beaufort clarified. “Let’s assume that this pie contains something that will help me leave your hospitable fortress.”
- Flying horse? - La Rame laughed.
- Well, why does it have to be a horse? - Beaufort objected with a smile. “A rope ladder would be enough.”
- And is she there? - asked La Rame with fear.
- Don't know! - answered Beaufort. - And what do you think? Maybe we should cut it open and take a look?
Wary, La Rame took possession of the pie with the intention of not allowing Beaufort to take possession of the rope ladder if it suddenly ended up inside the pie. Having cut the pie, he saw the usual filling in it.
- Ugh, well, you scared me! - he said with relief. “I thought you were really up to something!”
“I planned to introduce you to one of the ways to escape and enjoy the pie,” replied Beaufort. “I hope you won’t challenge my right to that piece above which the lily sign is visible?” After all, this is a symbol of the Bourbons.
“This piece is rightfully yours, and I’ll take the piece with the shamrock for myself,” replied La Rame.
“Well, let’s have a drink and try this pie that doesn’t have a rope ladder in it!” - Beaufort proclaimed.
Having waited until La Rame had finished with his piece, stuffed with sleeping pills along with the excellent filling, Beaufort decided to continue discussing the topic of escape.
“And admit, dear La Rama, that the assumption that a rope ladder is hidden in the pie scared you pretty much ,” he said.
“I was somewhat discouraged, I admit, I have nothing to be afraid of,” La Rame waved it off. - After all, for this you would have to enter into confrontation with me and Grimaud!
“It wouldn’t be easy,” Beaufort agreed. “So, you’re not afraid that I might have a ladder?”
“According to common sense, this would be unpleasant, but not fatal, we would cope with such a complication,” replied La Rame.
“Are you saying that there are guards under my window even now, at night, who will grab me if I go down the rope ladder?”
- Guards? - La Rame asked in surprise. - What guard? But excuse me, you don’t have stairs!
“I inform you that I have it,” answered Beaufort. “And I do this only out of the courtesy of one of the nobles, who would like you to be notified of this before I begin to act and introduce you to other items necessary for my escape.”
La Rame, who at that moment was wiping his mouth with a napkin, almost choked.
- So you have it? - he exclaimed. - But where?
“Well, at least in this pillow,” answered Beaufort, took a pillow from his bed, tore the pillowcase and took out from it a long rope ladder, consisting of two securely tied pieces.
- Damn it, Grimaud! - exclaimed La Rame. - Why are you standing there! Take it from him!
Grimaud approached La Rama and put a dagger to his chest, which appeared in his hand from nowhere.
- Mouth! - he said, taking a pear out of his pocket with his other hand.
- What does he want? - asked the surprised La Rame, turning to Beaufort.
“My taciturn friend suggests that you open your mouth wider so that he can stick this pear into it so that you don’t scream,” answered Beaufort. “Don’t be afraid, its shape is chosen so skillfully that it will deprive you of the ability to scream, but will not prevent you from breathing.”
- Mouth! - Grimaud repeated more insistently.
At the sight of a dagger pointed at his throat, it makes sense for La Rama to obey. Grimaud put a pear in his mouth, after which he tied his hands behind his back, also tied his legs, and tied La Rame to Beaufort's bed.
“You will not have to suffer long from the inconvenience of your position ,” said Beaufort. - Very soon you will fall asleep. The half of the pie that you got contained a fair dose of sleeping pills. This will justify you in the eyes of Chavigny, since you can easily prove it, just take the remains of your pie for analysis.
La Rame, meanwhile, had indeed already become quite lethargic and was soon overcome by sleep.
Using the keys from La Rame's pocket and the rope ladder, Beaufort and Grimaud easily left the cell, went out into the fortress courtyard, threw the ladder over the wall and, making sure that it was sufficiently secured on the opposite side, secured it on their side as well. This allowed them to climb up the wall and down the other side.
At the bottom we were already waiting for them with Athos and Rochefort, as well as with guards in case of pursuit and two extra horses - for Beaufort and for Grimaud. The fugitives did not put on spurs; it was a pity to waste time on this, since they had to leave the castle as soon as possible. Knowing this, Athos ordered the use of special stirrups, which had extensions that replaced spurs. The horses were already warmed up, so we immediately rushed into a gallop.

Chapter 139

As I learned later, at this very time d'Artagnan and Porthos arrived at Mazarin. The Cardinal managed to meet Porthos and admire his article, after which he only exchanged a few phrases with them, from where he learned that d'Artagnan wanted to become a captain, and Porthos a baron. The cardinal was going to entrust them with the protection of the Duke de Beaufort, but the conversation had not yet ended when a messenger arrived with the message that Beaufort had fled.
Mazarin, having received the message, was terribly confused. He stood silently for a minute and re-read the message three times.
— Did the monsignor receive bad news? - inquired d'Artagnan, in order to somehow remind himself.
“Terrible,” answered Mazarin. - Beaufort fled. The state is in danger. Everything is very bad.
— Will the monsignor order to catch up and re-arrest the fugitive? - asked d'Artagnan as if they were talking about whether the cardinal wanted a glass of water.
- Do you think this is possible? - Mazarin asked with surprise and timid hope.
“Every minute of delay reduces the chances of success, and every unnecessary word as well,” answered d’Artagnan laconically.
- In that case, go ahead! - exclaimed Mazarin. “Your wishes will be fulfilled if you arrest him.”
D'Artagnan bowed quickly, grabbed Porthos by the hand and pulled him along.

We expected that a pursuit was possible, but we did not expect that it would begin to catch up with us so soon, and, most importantly, we did not expect that it would be so invincible. In an effort to quickly get the Duke as far away from danger as possible, we did not expect to get involved in a battle with people catching up with us, but relied on the running speed of our horses, as well as on the bases that we had prepared in advance in order to quickly change horses and not reduce the pace of our escape. However, those catching up appeared too quickly, and we did not have time to figure anything out when two of our rearguard were knocked off their horses by two well-aimed shots from the Mazarinists who were catching up with us. There was no way to inquire about their fate; perhaps they were killed, or perhaps only wounded, or perhaps only their horses were wounded or killed.
However, the horses of our pursuers were extremely tired, while at that moment we were already riding on fresh horses, which we had managed to change twice. Therefore, we easily broke away from our pursuers.
Without slowing down, we reached the next stop. Since at the beginning there were twelve horsemen together with the Duke, a dozen saddled horses were prepared for us in advance. Two horses turned out to be extra.
“Shouldn’t we shoot two extra horses, Athos?” - I asked. “You shouldn’t give your pursuers a chance to change horses!”
- Do you want to take the lives of such good horses who are not guilty of anything? - asked Athos. “Are you afraid that the two horsemen who are lucky enough to catch up with us might be a problem for us, who are ten?”
“Let me at least cut their girth ,” I said.
- Don’t waste time, Aramis, everyone is already in the saddle, let’s go! - Athos exclaimed and gave spurs to his horse, after which everyone else, including myself, was forced to immediately follow him.
But an hour later Athos had to repent of his mercy towards the horses. Our pursuers, who were galloping in our tracks, naturally found these two fresh horses and took advantage of them. Despite the fact that the horses were entrusted to people loyal to us, d'Artagnan found arguments that forced the grooms to give in to his demand to give him these horses.
“Only two horsemen are chasing us!” - Athos exclaimed. - Shouldn't we take the fight to them?
- If you do this, do it immediately! - I answered. “If we approach the city, these horsemen will be able to find fresh horses again, and, in addition, be reinforced with additional soldiers, if they have Mazarin’s order with them!”
“You’re right, Aramis,” answered Athos. - Are we going back?
- Count, I ask you and your friend not to leave me! - Beaufort exclaimed. “We have enough other fighters with us.”
And he made a sign to the horsemen galloping in the rearguard to return and stop the Mazarinists who were chasing us. Dusk had begun, and we could only see a silhouette of the horsemen, and even then not always, so sometimes only the clatter of hooves informed us of the pursuit. We had no doubt that our friends would stop the two horsemen who were chasing after us, ten of us, it was not clear what we were counting on.
We almost calmed down and even slowed down slightly to allow our friends to catch up with us, but when, as we thought, we should see these friends, we recognized in them those two stubborn Mazarinists who were chasing us with inhuman tenacity.
We had to repeat this maneuver, but Athos suggested sending not two of our comrades, but three, towards the pursuit. Only five of us continued to run.
And yet, half an hour later we again saw the horsemen catching up with us.
“Aramis, there’s nothing to do!” - Athos exclaimed. “You and I will have to stop these persistent pursuers.” Monsignor, together with Rochefort and Grimaud, continue on your way, you are already close to the border. Don't worry about Aramis and me. We will stop them.
After that, we turned our horses and rode towards two mysterious horsemen.
As soon as we saw the silhouettes of two pursuers, we shot at them, but, as it turned out, they also shot at us almost at the same moment.
Noticing how the barrels of muskets flashed in the light of the dim Moon, Athos and I mechanically raised our horses on their hind legs, so that the mighty animals shielded us from the bullet with their chests. Surprisingly, our pursuers did exactly the same, so that at dusk we were forced to free our legs from the stirrups as quickly as possible and take up the fight. The sword blades flashed.
- Damn it, what a hand! - exclaimed Athos' rival, and I recognized d'Artagnan's voice.
- D'Artagnan, is that you? - Athos shouted loudly.
- Athos! Can't be! - Athos’s opponent and mine, in whom I recognized the bass voice of Porthos, exclaimed simultaneously.
- Porthos! - I exclaimed.
- Swords in the sheath, friends, swords in the sheath! - Athos shouted and we all obeyed this strong-willed order.
- Devil take my fate! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “In all of France there are only two people who could stop Porthos and me, and it was they who stood in our way!”
“It seems, d’Artagnan, that you regret not killing me?” - Athos asked in his characteristic fatherly tone. “If you insist, it’s not too late to do it.”
“How could you think that I’m capable of this?” - D'Artagnan asked calmly.
“It seems my barony has floated away from me forever?” - Porthos asked. - Well, to hell with him! I needed it only in order to communicate on an equal footing with my neighbors, about whom I really don’t care. Meeting with good old friends is much more pleasant for me.
“This meeting will not be long, Porthos,” answered d’Artagnan. “Our chase is over, and with it our meeting.” All we have to do is return and report the failure, and Athos and Aramis, I believe, will wish to continue to accompany their duke.
“I feel that in your heart there remains bitter disappointment and resentment towards us ,” said Athos. “We won’t discuss anything now and won’t decide anything.” I propose to meet a little later in Paris and talk so that there are no omissions left between us.
- Yes, such a meeting is necessary! - D’Artagnan confirmed, and it seemed to me that I heard annoyance, resentment, and irritation in his voice.
“We should have shot the two extra horses,” I whispered to Athos.
Athos patted my hand, from which I did not understand whether he agreed with me, or whether he wanted to make it clear that it was pointless to resist fate in such a situation, and our collision was inevitable.
— Is Royal Square suitable for you? - asked d'Artagnan.
“So be it,” Athos answered for both of us.
- When? - asked d'Artagnan.
“Tomorrow evening, at ten,” answered Athos.
“Accepted,” agreed d’Artagnan. - Let's go, Porthos.
He didn’t say, “See you later, friends,” and Athos and I didn’t say anything like that either.
When describing these events, Grimaud added that Athos gave his friends two magnificent horses. Nonsense, Athos would have had nowhere to take them. He also added that Rochefort appeared out of nowhere and asked to tell Mazarin that he was not old yet. Also nonsense. Rochefort was with the Duke at the time, but even if he had returned, this additional mockery would not have occurred to him, just as the thought would not have occurred to him that d'Artagnan, preoccupied with how to justify his failure to Mazarin , will convey mocking messages to Mazarin from his enemies.
Our dear Grimaud! It would be better for you to stick to the truth and read less adventure novels! As for the sweet meeting between Grimaud and Mousqueton, this is also a fiction. Heavy Blunderbuss had seriously lagged behind d'Artagnan and Porthos for a long time and could not possibly have caught up with them by the time of our meeting. In any case, I didn't see him.
I don’t know how d’Artagnan and Porthos justified themselves before Mazarin, but we decided not to try to catch up with Beaufort, since he no longer needed our services.
To my proposal to try to join him, Athos answered simply and convincingly.
“As long as the Duke needed us, our presence with him was appropriate and even necessary ,” he said. “The Duke is safe, he is tired, he needs rest and time to gather his people and draw up a plan for further action.” We actually demonstrated to him that we are ready to take his side. Trying to catch his eye now would mean that we expect a reward for our actions. But we don’t need a reward, because if we acted not out of conviction, but for a reward, we would be little different from merchants, or, at best, from hired Swiss, ready to fight against their own homeland for a handful of coins.
I did not entirely share the opinion of Athos, believing that we could form the staff of the duke’s military council, and it was not at all necessary to serve for free, since Beaufort was not poor. But, remembering that within 24 hours we should be in Paris to meet with friends whom I was almost ready to consider just former friends, and also realizing that by the time we needed to set off, the Duke would hardly wake up, and that we also needed rest, I realized that, by setting the date for this meeting, Athos had deprived us of the opportunity to see the Duke, and did it deliberately.
We should have headed for Paris almost immediately. It is a great pity that we did not go together, all four of us, but it was impossible in the mood in which each of us was, each in his own way and each for his own reasons. Moreover, if d'Artagnan and Porthos had returned to Paris in our company, the question would legitimately arise as to why they did not arrest us. Yes, I would not dare to make such a trip, admitting that they could try to do it. I admit I was wrong. Our friendship did not end, it only reached a time of great testing. I should have believed in the strength of our friends' friendship and in my own affection for them, but I believed in neither.
Well, I trust these sheets with my repentance.

Chapter 140

In pursuit of Beaufort, d'Artagnan seems to have knocked down Councilor Brussels. It would be more accurate to say that he only scared him, rushing past like lightning, and the recoiling adviser stumbled and plopped down on the pavement. This bookworm, who grew old among the papers in the dust of the Grand Chamber, who, as I have already said, believed that disobedience to the sovereign in some cases could be considered the best way to serve the state, composed or, more likely, read somewhere this thesis, this paradox , and was just looking for an opportunity to put it into practice.
He considers this incident to be a confirmation of his own expectation of how the machine of state suppression will fall with all its might on this noble old man, who is trying with all his might to do everything possible to complicate the work of any authorities. We must give him his due, he was quite successful in his sabotage, since with its help he gained the support of the most angry part of the population, with which he took the position of adviser to the Grand Chamber. Living under a monarchy, he tried his best to be a republican, and it seemed to him that he was succeeding, even if only in words.
His undoubted advantage was selflessness, so he spent all his salary mainly on alms, which excluded the possibility of bribing him even in theory.
Mazarin remembered all Richelieu’s aphorisms, among which was this: “Buying loyalty by handing out positions and money left and right is a good way to ensure peace of mind.” But in the case of Brussels, bribery was impossible, which set the first minister even more against the adviser. Brussels opposed any tax proposed by the cardinal, and soon became accustomed to protesting in principle against any proposal by Mazarin. Due not so much to his eloquence as to the authority of Brussels that had developed over decades, as unshakable as it was baseless, each of his objections was a big problem for Mazarin.
The reputation of the incorruptible was mistakenly identified with the reputation of the wise, the city’s respect for him reached the level of worship, and at the same time Brussels avoided meetings with the Queen and the cardinal, which excluded any compromises or, at worst, discussions with the exchange of arguments, where it was more important not to express one’s own opinion, but listen to the opponent’s opinion. It must be said that the Queen did not intend to conduct discussions of this kind, so the confrontation between the monarchy and parliament grew from hostility into enmity, from enmity into a secret war, and from a secret war threatened to develop into a clear and open war, as happened in England.
Against the backdrop of deteriorating conditions on the battle fronts, the confrontation in Paris began to intensify, as both opposing sides began to blame the other side for these troubles, directly or indirectly.
Spain, meanwhile, realized that in order to influence the Queen, who was descended from their Spanish dynasty, she was forced to accept the fact that no queen of France was as much a French Queen as Anne of Austria was. Realizing this, the King of Spain began to send agents to France acting to the detriment of his own sister, Queen Anne. These agents distributed pamphlets and proclamations ridiculing Mazarin, and at the same time the Queen. Pamphlets in verse and prose were attributed to the Queen and the first Minister of Communications, far beyond the boundaries of the political union, they were presented in an extremely unsightly light, using for these purposes not any facts, but, most likely, the satires and pamphlets of Pietro Aretino, an Italian satirist of the past sixteenth century, depicting all human vices and attributing them to the papal court. A whole genre of songs arose, called “mazarinade”. I have collected probably the most complete collection of these Mazarinades, but I will not cite a single one of them in these memoirs, since they are all false, or, in any case, were ten years ahead in their descriptions of the closeness between the Queen and Mazarin, which at that time The time not only did not exist, but there could not have been the slightest hint about it, both of these politicians were so preoccupied with political affairs. I can’t guarantee that the cardinal didn’t have a crazy idea to get closer to the Queen, but if anything like that happened, it was only in his wildest dreams. The Queen behaved exactly as the Dowager Queen Mother should have behaved; she devoted herself entirely to governing the state and caring for the children - the King and Little Monsieur, as the King's brother was then called, to distinguish him from his uncle, Gaston of Orleans, who had the title Monsieur, that is, “Brother of the King.”
I have already written that after the four Supreme Houses decided to establish a fifth body without the permission of the Queen, this outraged her to the core. She regarded this act as an attempt to create a republic within the monarchy. Four councilors were arrested by order of the Regent, and among them Brussels.
When news of Beaufort's escape reached Paris, combined with the news of the arrest of the councilors, this news excited the city to an extreme degree. The coadjutor, as far as I know, added fuel to the fire, even incurring very significant costs, distributing a fair amount of personal funds to support the rebels.
It should be noted that Paris did not rebel against the King, it was indignant only against Mazarin, but the Queen attributed this indignation, of course, to her own account too. She was not so wrong, there was also a lot of insult in the chanted mazarinades addressed to her, but Parliament continued to maintain a reserved respect for the Regent, and the whole city still felt the King as its monarch, whose legitimacy was not subject to the slightest doubt. The uprising was not aimed at overthrowing the King, nor was it aimed at overthrowing the Queen, but the mob, excited by the rebellious dukes and princes, demanded the abolition of arrests, changes in some tax laws and dreamed of Mazarin’s resignation.
On the advice of Mazarin, the Queen agreed with great difficulty to some concessions, but did not agree to release Councilor Brussels and three others. The concessions only calmed the people for a short time, since the agents of Spain and the servants of the princes inspired the Parisians who were susceptible to agitation that these concessions only proved the rightness of the rebels and demonstrated their strength. The new movement began to be called the Fronde, which symbolized the sling - the weapon of the poorest townspeople. One joker expressed himself in such a spirit that he would like to make such a large slingshot, with such a powerful and large bowstring, to put Mazarin in it, so that he would fly out of Paris like a cork from a bottle of overheated sparkling wine.
The name stuck. The gendarmerie acted in a way that could not have been more stupid. Fearing the movement of large crowds of people or, perhaps, cavalry or carts with weapons, the chief of police ordered the main streets to be blocked with chains. The effect of this measure was the opposite of what was expected. These chains, first of all, prevented the passage of carriages, including military and court carriages, and also interfered with the march of troops through the streets. Of course, the Queen would not have fired at her citizens, but several cannons loaded with grapeshot and driven through the main streets of Paris would have silenced the popular unrest for a long time without firing a single shot, but the chains made this impossible.
The people quickly realized what was happening. I attribute this to the fact that among the people there were leaders who themselves had served in the army in the past, or at least served as orderlies under officers, such as Planchet.
Our good Planchet quickly achieved the unofficial rank of lieutenant in the people's militia. It was these commanders who ordered not to interfere with the police hanging these chains, but, on the contrary, to help them. People turned cobblestones out of the pavement and built barricades. Everything that could be found was used, but it was not simple haphazard clutter; if such a thing existed, it was only at first. Under the leadership of experienced soldiers, the townspeople built barricades like insurmountable fortress walls: in the center there was earth, along the edges they were lined with stones, they also had loopholes, it was impossible to bypass such a barricade, since they stretched from one house on the left to another house on the right.
I was informed that the coadjutor Paul de Gondi was the initiator of this revolt of the Parisians. I'm familiar with this theory. Rumors about this were spread by Paul de Gondi himself. But in fact, the revolt occurred spontaneously, although, frankly speaking, the coadjutor tried to lead this rebellion, and, in any case, contributed to its first steps with all his might. That is why he spread the rumor that he held in his hands all the threads of control of the Fronde.
For that matter, we were the instigators of the Fronde: me, Athos and Rochefort, who pulled Beaufort out of the Vincennes castle, and involuntarily d'Artagnan, who frightened Brussels so much that he so strongly activated his forces to oppose the first minister and the Queen that he called their dissatisfaction, which was followed by his arrest.
So, I do not recognize the coadjutor as the creator of the Fronde.
Knowing about the instructions from the Order, I believe that it was the Jesuit Order that gave the corresponding instructions not only to me, but also to its other members, and what the instructions were to them, I can only guess. I did not know all the members of the Order at that time, but Paul de Gondi was a member, so his actions were undoubtedly dictated by the Order, and probably coincided with his personal plans regarding how to achieve the cardinal's hat, which many had. in his family, and on this basis the Bishop of Paris considered himself eminently worthy of this honor. Just as Porthos sought the baronial title, and d'Artagnan the position of captain of the royal musketeers, Gondi sought the rank of cardinal, in which only the Queen could assist him in France. It is therefore not surprising that Gondi sought leverage over Queen Anne.

Chapter 141

We barely reached Paris and had only time to rest a little when it was time to get ready for a meeting with d'Artagnan and Porthos.
“Let’s leave our swords and pistols at this hotel and go to the meeting ,” said Athos.
“Allow me, dear friend, to suggest not to disarm,” I objected. “To begin with, we are rebels, and any person we meet may turn out to be an enemy, especially a soldier or an officer.”
- I hope you are not extending this statement to our friends? - asked Athos.
- Why, exactly? - I objected. “They are in the service of Mazarin, we are the enemies of Mazarin, they may well receive orders to arrest us.”
“In that case, I feel sorry for them ,” said Athos. “I wouldn’t want to be in their place.”
- Is this the only thing that upsets you? - I inquired.
- Of course! - Athos answered. - After all, they will be forced to disobey their master! I wouldn't want to be in their place!
“But they may prefer to obey, can’t they?” - I asked.
“In that case, I feel even more sorry for them ,” said Athos in an even sadder tone.
“But, you see, in this case the weapon will be quite useful to us ,” I said.
- For what, Aramis? - Athos was surprised. “If I did not want to raise my sword against my friends in order to protect the Duke de Beaufort, do you really think that I will raise it to protect my own life?” Life is nothing compared to honor; is it worth betraying friendship for such a trifle?
“If duty is more valuable to you than life, then I am forced to remind you that we promised Beaufort and some others to take part in a matter in which we are all bound, if not by an oath, then by common beliefs and common knowledge of plans of action!” - I exclaimed. “Our comrades are counting on us, and we cannot afford to just quit this case.” Even our death is not a good enough reason if we deliberately refused to defend our life. After all, this is tantamount to flight, and flight is tantamount to cowardice.
“Your logic is so resourceful that I wondered if you learned it from the Jesuits?” - Athos said with a smile. - Don't be offended, my friend! If you believe that our lives do not belong to us, and that for this reason we are obliged to carry weapons, I am ready to submit to your arguments, but I warn you that I do this under duress, and my heart breaks at the thought that these weapons can to be interpreted by our friends as a means of protection against them. I hope they don’t think that we are capable of turning it against our friends?
“And I hope that they won’t force us to do this, but I can’t be completely sure of that,” I answered.
“If this happens, then I would prefer to die from a blow from a sword than to at least injure any of them ,” said Athos.
“In any case, the sword can be used to parry blows without delivering your own ,” I said.
“Okay, I agreed,” answered Athos. “But you won’t force me to take pistols.” We're leaving in an hour.
He then left the room and, as far as I could observe, sought out Bazin, after which he gave him some errand and handed him a pistol or so.
I accepted Athos’s terms with regret, but I myself stocked up on pistols. I took them not to defend myself against d'Artagnan and Porthos, but in case they brought additional guards with them to arrest us. I did not dare express this suspicion to Athos, and I did the right thing. Today I am ashamed that I could think so about our friends.
However, a minute before leaving, I felt ashamed, and I handed the pistols to Bazin, telling him to give them to us only if, in addition to d'Artagnan, Porthos and Planchet, other people also came to the meeting. Bazin took this instruction calmly, without unnecessary emotions or questions.
Before leaving, Athos looked again at Bazin.
“Go ahead, Aramis, I’ll catch up with you ,” he said.
I waited for him no more than a minute, after which Athos left the hotel, and, as it seemed to me, his face shone with joy.
On Royal Square we saw our friends on horseback. D'Artagnan and Porthos had swords sticking out from under their cloaks, and Planchet, like Bazin, had two pistols in his belt.
It was not convenient to talk in the square, and I suggested going into the summer garden at the Rohan mansion, where they knew me, since I was a friend of the Duchess de Chevreuse, n;e de Rohan.
The watchman Leon knew me well, so there was no need to contact the owners of the mansion, who, among other things, were absent. Leon demanded a promise from me that we were not meeting for a duel. I made this promise to him, although I was not sure that the meeting would not turn into a skirmish, and besides, Leon received a pistol from me. I read doubt in his eyes, but he did not dare say that he did not believe me.
When the four of us entered the garden, I locked the bars, leaving behind it Grimaud and Planchet with their pistols. Moving away from the lattice deeper into the garden, I noticed that Grimaud and Planchet were keeping a distance from each other, showing caution, but, hiding behind a bush, I looked through the foliage behind them and saw that they calmly approached each other and shook hands and started a leisurely conversation.
“Our servants trust each other more than we do,” I thought. - This is because they have nothing to share. So shouldn’t we take an example from them?”
Sighing, I slowly walked to the place where Athos, Porthos and d'Artagnan were already waiting for me.
We sat on benches opposite each other.
“Gentlemen,” said Athos, “we met in order to clarify all the misunderstandings that may hinder our friendship, so as not to allow them to destroy it.” If anyone wants to speak up, now is the time. I'm glad that neither of us avoided the meeting, which proves that our friendship is still alive.
- Do you want an honest and frank conversation, Count? - answered d'Artagnan, - Or are you expecting return compliments from us in the same spirit?
“I want nothing more than an honest and frank conversation,” answered Athos. “I see that you want to reproach us, me and Aramis, for something.” What have we done wrong to you, d'Artagnan?
“First, I would like to get an answer from you, Count ,” said d’Artagnan. “I came to you in your castle of Brajelon and made you a very specific and clear offer. Instead of answering me as a friend that you have already committed yourself to other obligations that are incompatible with my proposal, and which are even completely opposite to them, you told me a bunch of other reasons for refraining from my proposal. I left you confident in your neutrality, after which I greet you as an enemy! If you had informed me of your obligations, perhaps this would not have happened!
“D’Artagnan,” said Athos thoughtfully. “During our meeting with you, I could not even imagine that my frankness or lack thereof could have such a significant impact on our destinies. You present it in a completely new light. I am ready to admit that from this position my behavior is not entirely impeccable from the position of friendship. But you must agree, nevertheless, that if I have already given obligations to another party, then among these obligations there is also an obligation not to disclose the plans of my comrades-in-arms.
“That’s right,” answered d’Artagnan. “Such arguments are quite in the spirit of Aramis, but from you, Comte de La F;re, I did not expect anything like this.” You, who strive to inform even the enemy of the blows you are going to inflict on him, treated me as a person who does not deserve even a drop of your trust.
“I must regretfully admit that you are at least partially right,” Athos agreed.
His soft tone puzzled d'Artagnan, his ardor instantly cooled by at least half.
“Forgive me too, Athos,” answered d’Artagnan in some confusion, and this “Athos” sounded much more cordial than the previous “Comte de La F;re.” - But you yourself asked to express your complaints very frankly. I promise you to listen to your frank complaints and answer them as calmly as you do.
“I assume that your complaints against me are approximately the same?” - I asked. “In that case, my answer will be exactly the same.”
- Yes, what is there! - D'Artagnan waved him off. “To be honest, I didn’t expect anything else from you, Aramis, and I admit, you didn’t really manage to deceive me.”
“Well, I’m glad that you seem to have forgiven me ,” I said. “But I don’t feel any guilt, and therefore I don’t need your forgiveness.” You invited me to serve Mazarin, I replied that I would never serve him, but I was quite ready to join those who were against him. We even had a good laugh at the prospect of Mazarin instructing you to arrest me. You had your secret, we had ours. We didn't share them, it just proves that we can keep secrets.
“I do not blame you for anything ,” said d’Artagnan, “since your actions are quite worthy of a pet of the Jesuits.”
And although d'Artagnan was quite right, the tone in which he said this provoked both him and me. He put his hand on the hilt of his sword, perhaps just mechanically. But this did not escape my attention; I repeated this gesture as slowly but definitely as possible. I think my left eyebrow raised slightly. A moment later we both jumped to our feet. A second later, Porthos also jumped up.
Athos, cool as a rock, continued to sit.
- It seems that you are all ready to leave, each to do his own thing? - he said deliberately slowly and almost even imposingly. “But we haven’t finished the conversation.” Sit down, gentlemen, please.
“I won’t sit down until I get an answer that satisfies me!” - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
- Did you ask a question? - Athos asked in an even softer and calmer voice.
D'Artagnan wanted to answer something sharply, but gradually calmed down.
“My friends, we all came here, not yet cooled down after yesterday’s adventure ,” he said. “You and I, d’Artagnan, have already made mutual apologies to each other, and if they did not reassure you, therefore, you consider my words not sincere.” In this case, I apologize again and do not make any excuses for myself.
“I think, Count, that when I had the chance to prove myself in a worthy cause, the first thing I remembered was that I have three friends who might also find this business interesting,” answered d’Artagnan. “And so the first thing I did was find each of them and made each of them an unequivocal offer, which any of you could accept or refuse. And I never expected that even earlier it occurred to two of you to enter into a similar event on the opposite side, and not one of you thought that we could fight together on the side that you chose before me. I wouldn't do that to you, that's all.
“We knew that you were in the service of Mazarin, and we could not hope that you would join us ,” I said.
“You knew, Monsieur Abb;, that I am in the service of the King,” d’Artagnan answered sharply. “And you knew very well that the King and the cardinal are far from the same thing!” In any case, twenty years ago, when we were performing great feats, we all looked at this issue the same way!
“You probably didn’t fully understand me,” I objected with embarrassment, realizing that he was right.
“It’s hard to understand a person who hasn’t yet decided who he is, an abbot or a musketeer!” - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “And I really can’t understand musketeers pretending to be abbots, and abbots pretending to be musketeers.” Here,” he added, pointing to Porthos, “is a man who shares my opinion.”
Porthos apparently did not know how to respond to this, so he simply straightened his hat and stood up proudly.
- Oh, how about that? - I exclaimed.
This phrase offended me greatly, because d'Artagnan stabbed me where it hurt the most. It was for this duality that I despised the Parisian coadjutor Paul de Gondi, sometimes forgetting that I myself was not far behind him.
Without realizing my actions, I drew the sword three inches from its sheath. D'Artagnan jumped back and took the sword firmly in his hand, but did not withdraw it an inch.
Then Athos calmly said:
“Aramis, do you intend to draw the sword from its scabbard, of course, only in order to break it?” - he asked.
I froze and looked at him in bewilderment.
“It is not proper for a nobleman to sheathe a sword that has already been drawn even an inch without using it,” Athos said calmly. “You weren’t going to turn it on one of your friends, I hope, and besides the three of us, I don’t see anyone here.” Therefore, you decided to break it as a sign of despair. I share this impulse of yours. Break your sword.
I hesitated, not wanting to submit to this absurd proposal, but also not wanting to turn it against d'Artagnan or Porthos.
“Well, your idea is to my heart, dear Aramis,” Athos continued in the same even and calm voice. “I think I’ll break my sword too.”
After these words, he broke his sword on his knee without removing it from its sheath, after which he contemptuously threw the fragments aside.
“It’s much easier to talk to friends without this burden ,” he said. - Thank you for the idea, Aramis. Well, break your sword too.
Seeing that I was still standing indecisively, he said firmly: “This is how it should be, this is how I want it. Break your sword, my friend."
I obeyed, then crossed my arms and raised my head proudly.
D'Artagnan assumed exactly the same pose, without touching the sword. Looking at him, Porthos did the same.
“Never,” said Athos solemnly, “I swear before God, I will never cross my sword with any of you.” What does Mazarin mean to us, to us who did not submit even to such a man as Richelieu! Do you want to serve him? That's your business! We will not help you, but we will not become your enemies, my friends! D'Artagnan, Porthos, forgive us that our paths have crossed, but rest assured that our swords will not cross.
He looked at me so eloquently that I repeated his words almost word for word.
- Then I’ll tell you too! - cried d'Artagnan. “Athos, you said exactly what I was going to say, and I don’t understand why I didn’t start our meeting with similar words.” I also want to take an oath. I swear that I will give the last drop of my blood, the last living scrap of my flesh, to preserve the respect of a man like you, Athos, and the friendship of a man like you, Aramis, and like you, Porthos.
“And I ,” said Porthos, “I don’t swear to anything, but I haven’t loved anyone as much as I love you, devil, damn me!” If I had to fight against one of you, I would rather let myself be pierced through, because I can’t imagine life without you!
We all hugged each other in our hearts.
“By the way, you and Aramis didn’t take anything from Porthos and me,” d’Artagnan said cheerfully after some reflection.
- How so? - I was surprised. - After all, we did not allow you to carry out Mazarin’s instructions! Consequently, we have deprived you of the opportunity to receive the desired reward.
“But this opportunity itself arose only thanks to your actions,” answered d’Artagnan. “So you only took away from us the opportunity that you yourself created.” We're even, after all.
After these words, we all laughed together, and this laughter after the pathos put everything in its place, we were again our old friends, Athos, Porthos, Aramis and d'Artagnan, the same ones who defended the honor of the Queen and plotted against Cardinal Richelieu.
- D'Artagnan, did Porthos really break and throw away his family sword? - Porthos whispered in the Gascon’s ear, but his whisper was such that both Athos and I heard it.
“It was just one of her copies for everyday use,” Athos answered with a smile.
- So that Athos uses counterfeits? - D'Artagnan was surprised. - I don’t believe this! Athos, admit it! You knew that you would not draw your sword against us, and therefore you took a training rapier to this meeting! I'm right?
Athos smiled softly, and Porthos laughed heartily.
“So that’s why he sent Bazin somewhere! — I realized belatedly. - He sent him for a training rapier! Athos didn’t even think that there would be a drag with Porthos and d’Artagnan!”
After this, d'Artagnan took his sword out of its sheath and showed that instead of a whole sword in the scabbard, he had a blunt piece, no longer than a third of an ordinary sword.
“Porthos, show him ,” said d’Artagnan.
Porthos showed his sword, which turned out to be a training rapier, moreover, half the length of his usual sword, very blunt at the end.
- Have you agreed? - I exclaimed. - If it came to swords, would it turn into buffoonery?
“Better buffoonery than a duel to the death with a friend,” Porthos muttered cheerfully.
“You didn’t trust us, Aramis,” answered d’Artagnan. “And I didn’t trust myself more than you or Athos.” You know the Gascon ardor. And Porthos did the same thing on his own initiative, and I only found out about it by chance.
I was annoyed that out of all four, one did not trust his friends, and as a result lost his magnificent blade. Well, I myself was to blame for this, since I was the only one who feared for my life, while my friends were afraid to turn their guns on one of their friends. So it serves me right. However, I kept the guard and sheath, and soon ordered a new blade, even better.

Chapter 142

So we met together again. Could we part as if nothing had happened? Of course no. We agreed to meet the next day at the dinner table, and at this meeting there was no longer a shadow of suspicion; we were again the same inseparable friends as we had been twenty years ago.
Even with d'Artagnan's permission, I allowed myself to tell a couple of jokes about Mazarin, but the Gascon did not remain in debt, telling no less funny stories about the Duke de Beaufort. The last anecdote seemed to be about the Duke's love affairs.
- If we talk about love adventures, then I heard the funniest joke in the last ten years just recently! - said d'Artagnan, but suddenly, looking at me, he stopped short.
- Why are you silent? - asked Porthos, who was already prepared to hear something especially funny.
“I suddenly realized that I had forgotten the last couple of words of this anecdote, and that was where all the salt was ,” said d’Artagnan.
“How unfortunate,” Porthos grumbled.
“If you have forgotten this couple of words, don’t try to remember,” Athos answered softly. - Your memory itself will tell you what you have forgotten, if it is important to you, and if something is forgotten, then so be it.
From d'Artagnan's confused look, I realized that the anecdote he wanted to tell concerned the Duchess de Longueville, and I even guessed which one, since the indication of the last two words left no doubt on this topic. I appreciated my friend's delicacy and was glad that he caught it in time. It seems that Athos also perfectly understood the reason for d’Artagnan’s “weak memory,” and only Porthos accepted this explanation at face value. After this, the conversation turned to more serious topics, as Athos himself decided to defuse some of the tension from d'Artagnan's hesitation.
“There are topics that are better not to touch upon, but it seems to me useful to remember one of these topics, although it is completely unpleasant for me ,” he said. “I’ve thought a lot ever since we arbitrarily took upon ourselves the mission of providence.
“You are talking about Milady ,” I said, and it was not a question.
“Fortunately, she is in Hell, and she will not return from there ,” Porthos said with a grin and gulped down another cup of wine.
“Sometimes it seems to me that they sometimes return from there ,” said Athos seriously. - If not herself, then her spirit. I am overcome by strange dreams, a heavy premonition of trouble.
“If it depends on Satan that she remains in Hell forever,” continued Porthos, “then I am ready to supply him with a couple of boxes of Burgundy so that she will remain there until the Last Judgment.”
I involuntarily crossed myself.
“Don’t joke, Porthos,” responded Athos. “There are some objects that are dangerous to joke with.”
- Athos, have you become superstitious? - D'Artagnan was surprised. - I would never have thought that you were capable of such a thing!
“I didn’t expect anything like that from myself,” answered Athos. “It’s probably some kind of guilt that’s eating away at my soul.”
- There is no reason to remember Milady! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - If we ourselves do not remember her, nothing will remind us of this fiend of Hell, rest assured!
At that moment Bazin entered the tavern.
“There is a letter for you, Your Holiness ,” he said and respectfully placed the sealed letter on the table next to me.
- Holiness? - asked d'Artagnan.
“Don’t pay attention,” I replied. — Bazin has absolutely no understanding of regalia and constantly exaggerates.
“With such connections in heaven, we are not afraid of any people from Hell,” d’Artagnan exclaimed and burst out laughing, but Athos’s stern look stopped his merriment.
“This, I believe, is from one of my parishioners ,” I said, covering the letter with a handkerchief. - I’ll read it later.
“The parishioners or parishioners will wait, of course,” d’Artagnan agreed and winked at me.
I took the letter along with the handkerchief and put it in my breast pocket.
At that moment, the doors of the tavern opened and Grimaud entered, covered in dust and sweat, which indicated that he was driving without sparing his horse.
“Gentlemen, he has come, and he is hunting for you ,” said Grimaud.
- Who? - Athos asked, and I noticed how pale his face became.
“Son of Milady,” answered Grimaud. — Disguised as an Augustinian monk. Killed the Lille executioner. A dagger to the heart.
Grimaud was extremely verbose compared to his usual manner of expression, which Athos had instilled in him. This indicated the seriousness of the situation.
All four of us jumped up as if on command.
- Raoul? - asked Athos.
“I saw him, but none of them knows the other,” Grimaud answered.
We sat down at the table again, but none of us wanted to eat or drink anymore.
“Gentlemen, we are paying too much attention to some boy ,” I said. - Stop thinking about it! Would you like me to read to you what a parishioner or parishioner writes to me?
“Well, perhaps that’s interesting,” replied d’Artagnan. - But first, read it yourself; if it contains some kind of secret, for example, the secret of confession, do not read this letter aloud to us.
“I have no secrets from my friends, but you are right, d’Artagnan, the secret of confession should be respected, although parishioners, of course, do not confess in letters ,” I said. “Of course, I was going to read this letter myself first.”
I took out the envelope, opened it and read it, after which I could not speak for about a minute.
“This is a letter from the Duchess de Chevreuse ,” I said. — She writes that Milady’s son visited her. During his first visit, he tried to kill her maid Katie, who you probably remember was Milady's former maid. The wound was severe, but she recovered. The other day, Katie was walking in the courtyard in one of the dresses that the Duchess gave her. Probably Milady's son mistook her for the duchess and fired two pistols through the fence. This time the doctor couldn't do anything. Katie died. The killer escaped.

“Well, it seems to me that Satan released the spirit of Milady in the body of her son,” said Athos.
Our feast ended, we went outside to discuss the current situation.

Chapter 143

I turn to the thirty-ninth chapter of the memoirs written by Grimaud, entitled “Twenty Years After.” The events he describes refer to the time of the Fronde, which began in 1648 and lasted until 1649. Grimaud erroneously reports that during the beginning of the Fronde, the daughter of Charles the First of England, Henrietta, being with her mother in France and heatedly discussing the political situation in England with her, prayed that everything would be fine with her father. Let this romantic fantasy remain on Grimaud's conscience. Henrietta was born in 1644, during the period described she was four years old. Yes, she was with her mother at the court of our king, she was nicknamed “kitty,” that is, “Minetta.” It is sad to remember her; at the age of twenty-six years and four days, she died mysteriously, being already married to Monsieur, Philippe d'Orl;ans. I have something to remember about Madame, as she was called at that time, the title given to the wife of the King’s elder brother. I'll tell you more about her. Yes, she had an intrigue with the Comte de Guiche, the son of Marshal de Gramont. But one should not assume that at four years old she was in love with him. This scene was born entirely in the mind of Grimaud, and it is only his imagination that we have to thank for it. De Guiche was eleven years old at this time. Even if I agreed to admit that Henrietta was already in love with de Guiche, which I still do not intend to agree with, then even less will I agree with the fact that de Guiche fought at that time under the flag of the Prince of Cond;. And no matter how much Grimaud would like to attribute to de Guiche any feats in the period he describes, the truth is dearer to me, so I must report that although de Guiche was later a brave warrior, he first distinguished himself in Flanders, during the siege of Landrecy in 1655 , and then during the siege of Valenciennes in 1656 and during the capture of Dunkirchen in 1658. In the year 1648 described, he was only preparing for military service, that is, he improved in horse riding, fencing, musket and pistol shooting, and nothing more.
To what has been said, I will add that together with Queen Henrietta of England, eighteen-year-old Charles, the second son of Charles the First, was at that time still only the Prince of Wales, heir to the throne, since his elder brother died on the same day on which he was born, May 13. 1629. This heir to the throne of England subsequently managed to return his father's throne, but in those days no one expected this, but, alas, it was already possible to foresee the loss of the throne by his father Charles the First. But even at this time, no one had yet imagined that tragic outcome in the fate of this monarch. I have already reported earlier that England was gripped by rebellion, the position of the King of England was difficult, but all parties still recognized him as the King, their sovereign, it was only about limiting his rights, curbing his omnipotence, only partially and only for a while. The tragedy lay in the fact that the King did not want to agree to this and did not make any compromises, or, more precisely, all the compromises that he seemed to make turned out to be only ploys to delay time, since the King categorically refused all his promises at the slightest opportunity.
The king corresponded with his wife until the last opportunity and consulted with her in everything, so that she shares with him moral responsibility for what happened in England. No matter how narrow-minded her advice was, the King, deprived of the opportunity to consult with her, began to act so unreasonably that against this background of his actions even the Queen’s advice looked quite tolerable.
However, Grimaud described something relatively correctly in his novel. The queen in exile, the sister of our King Louis XIII , and, therefore, the aunt of King Louis XIV , Henrietta Maria of France, received a letter that was brought to her by our familiar Lord Winter. Only Queen Henrietta did not live in a monastery, she had her own court, made up of many Englishmen who emigrated to France, which was somewhat burdensome for the far from abundant treasury of France of that period.
Of course, the Queen did not utter the phrase that Grimaud put into her mouth: “Your mother no longer has a throne, a husband, a son, funds, or friends.”
She would not have spoken such sad words to her four-year-old daughter, in addition, she still had children, and not one son, but three - the Karl I mentioned, as well as Jacob and Henry, and, in addition, daughters, Maria, Elizabeth and Henrietta.
Karl and Henrietta were with her here in France.
Perhaps, with some third feeling, she suddenly realized that her husband could lose not only two crowns - England and Scotland, but also his life? Who knows! Things haven't come to that yet. But I am ready to agree that the anxiety of a loving wife could tell her that such an outcome was possible.
Lord Winter, indeed, brought Queen Henrietta a letter from her husband, King Charles, and this letter was not a joyful one. It is possible that she offered prayers for him to live, even if it meant he had to cease being King. If so, then the King should have heard these prayers of hers and acted differently, and not at all the way he acted.
Lord Winter asked the Queen to find out France's intentions regarding the support of King Charles.
This dialogue was written, as I have already said, on the basis of more fantasy than knowledge of the true state of affairs. Mazarin already determined the policy of the state, but power formally and actually remained in the hands of Queen Anne, who, if she listened to the advice of the cardinal, it was only for the reason that she never had to regret it. The Cardinal passionately wanted to help Charles regain the throne, however, he had enough sources of information that pointed him to two circumstances. Firstly, it was impossible to deal with King Charles in anything at all, since his word was worth nothing, so little did he care about keeping his promises. Secondly, as a result of this first reason, in England itself there were fewer and fewer people with at least some power who would still want to deal with the King. The minimum that could be aimed at was the removal of the King from political power for ten years, but due to the fact that Charles once again demonstrated himself as a person who does not keep his word, parliament has already decided to double this period, that is, to maintain peace with parliament The king should have voluntarily retired from political affairs for twenty years, after which, according to the agreement that he was asked to sign, this power would be returned to him in its entirety. Karl did not even want to read this new agreement. And this was one of his last mistakes, and, in any case, one of the fatal mistakes in a series of fatal mistakes that this monarch made with such extraordinary consistency, as if he himself had set the goal of achieving his own defeat on all counts.
Grimaud writes that Lord Winter came to the Queen so that she would ask Mazarin for support for her husband. Does he really believe that state affairs are done this way? Mazarin monitored the situation in England and, of course, made some political decisions in this regard. The problem was that in France at that time there was turmoil, the power of the Queen and Mazarin was extremely shaky, as I already wrote. It was undermined by the princes of the blood, the parliament, and many others, including Athos and me.
In addition, France continued to wage war with Spain.
What kind of help to England could we talk about then? About the military? The Queen and the Cardinal were constantly forced to decide whether to withdraw some troops from the front in order to protect their power in Paris! About financial? Due to the ongoing war, and also due to the fact that the Cardinal and the Queen constantly had to attract the wavering and at least neutralize opponents, and all this was done mainly with the help of very large financial expenditures, Mazarin simply did not have the means to help England, but, in addition, such costs would never have paid off, since it was already obvious that there was no way to restore Charles the First to the throne as a sovereign monarch. And who will give money to the King, who spent sums incommensurably larger than he could now ask from all potential creditors collectively, and spent it so unreasonably that it left no doubt that even if you give him ten times more than he asks, this will not change either the fate of England or the fate of the King.
Mazarin did not want to quarrel with King Charles, but he was not interested in maintaining allied relations through unilateral injections, and he had nothing to do with it.
Therefore, I do not undertake to discuss the topic of whether Queen Henrietta went to Mazarin with another request for the support of her royal husband, or did not go, but even if she did go, his answer would be obvious. The court of the English Queen at the court of France was already quite ruinous in itself, and these expenses for its maintenance, which were initially offset by the sale of some jewelry that Henrietta brought with her from England, were now no longer offset by anything. They relied on the feeling of embarrassment that Queen Anne would have felt if she had had to ask her daughter-in-law to live a little more modestly, to get rid of a surplus of courtiers, or at least not to support them at the expense of the French treasury. The Queen could not say this directly, because she would be ashamed that the King’s aunt could not live in France with the proper splendor corresponding to her status, although the Queen herself had seen much crueler times when she had no money for new bed linen, and for a dinner befitting a royal family, so that she even had to gratefully accept financial assistance from Madame d'Aiguillon and from the Vend;mes.
Grimaud's second misconception is the tale of Cromwell's letter, which he allegedly sent to Mazarin.
While King Charles was alive, Oliver Cromwell had no real power in England, he only led the cavalry that fought against the King.
When Cromwell became what he became, these were completely different times, by which time no question of saving King Charles could have arisen since Charles was no longer around by that time.
In any case, Cromwell would not have dared to write to Mazarin, and Mazarin would not have read Cromwell’s letters.
The appeal to Mazarin was signed by three people - Cromwell, Fairfax and Ayrton. These were the same three people to whom Charles the First had previously addressed a letter.
This letter had the following content.


“To His Eminence Monsignor Cardinal Mazarin, Mr. First Minister of France.
Monsignor!
Our states are too close neighbors, and are connected by very close historical and dynastic ties, as a result of which we understand that France cannot remain neutral regarding the events taking place in England. Currently, King Charles is deprived of any political power by a decision of the country's Parliament. This decision is a consequence of his unreasonable policies, which involved the country in a series of civil wars. It is obvious that the King will try again to seek help from foreign powers, as he has done before. If this happens, and if France provides military or financial support to the King, this will extremely complicate relations between our states.
On behalf of Parliament, we invite you to show wisdom and prudence and refrain from helping the King, who has been excommunicated from real political affairs by a decision of Parliament expressing the will of the nation.
We hope for your understanding. In case the Monsignor deigns to give an answer to this letter, it can be transmitted by the courier who delivered this letter.

Lord Thomas Fairfax
General Oliver Cromwell
General Henry Ayrton."

- Tell me, young man, what is your name? - Mazarin asked the courier.
“My name is Mordaunt, I am a lieutenant in General Cromwell’s cavalry,” answered the courier.
“I’m wondering if you know who exactly wrote this letter?” - asked Mazarin.
“It was compiled by my general, Sir Oliver Cromwell,” answered the man who called himself Mordaunt.
“So, Sir Oliver Cromwell,” Mazarin repeated thoughtfully. - Well, I will prepare a response to this letter. But I need to think it over and write it thoroughly and in detail. How long are you willing to wait?
“As many as you need, monsignor,” Mordaunt replied.
“The letter says that the King is deprived of political power,” Mazarin continued. - Is this really true?
“He is in the Scottish army,” replied Mordaunt.
— Will the Scots fight against English troops again? - the cardinal was surprised.
“They will not fight, but they are not going home because they have not been paid the salary promised by the King,” answered the courier. “If the King had paid them the wages he owed them, they might have continued to serve him, but he doesn’t have that kind of money, as far as I know.” If Parliament pays them this debt, then they will hand over the King to the power of Parliament.
- Very logical! - exclaimed Mazarin. - What is the amount of debt?
“Four hundred thousand pounds sterling,” replied Mordaunt.
- A very significant amount! - Mazarin exclaimed with surprise and delight. - Will parliament really pay this amount?
“I don’t know,” was the answer.
“I suppose they could pay half, promising to pay the other half after the King is handed over to them and the Scots return home,” Mazarin reasoned. “But even in this case, two hundred thousand pounds sterling is a very significant sum!” Will Parliament really pay it just to get the King at its disposal?
“Parliament will pay the debt because debts must be paid,” replied Mordaunt. - Even if the King did this duty by hiring soldiers against Parliament, then in this case Parliament recognizes the need to settle accounts with the Scottish army. In this case, it is better to pay than to continue this senseless civil war.
“Thank you, Mr. Mordaunt, the conversation with you was extremely entertaining and useful for me, and I would gladly continue it, but, alas, urgent matters await me,” Mazarin said softly. “I would ask you for three days to respond, and I suggest you wait for my answer in Boulogne-sur-Mer.” I myself do not know where I will be in the coming days, but my answer will certainly be delivered there. Therefore, you can go there even tomorrow morning.
— Will there be an answer in three days? - Mordaunt clarified.
“If it were up to me, I would answer you immediately ,” Mazarin said with a sigh. “But you need an answer not from the private person Mazarin, and not from Cardinal Mazarin, but from the first minister of France, Mazarin.” And the First Minister cannot promise anything to any foreign state without agreeing every word of such an answer with Her Majesty the Queen, Regent and Head of the Royal Council. Therefore, I would like a detailed and thorough answer to be ready in three days, but in case I am unable to speak at length and thoroughly with Her Majesty, or in case she wants to think about this matter, I ask you to wait up to five days . In any case, the answer will not be delayed for more than a week. This is what I promise you.
“So I wait a week in Boulogne-sur-Mer, and if in exactly seven days I do not receive an answer, I will assume that there will be no answer ,” said Mordaunt. -General Cromwell asked to warn you that if there is no answer at all, he, as well as Messrs. Fairfax and Ayrton, will consider that the correspondence did not take place. This will mean that this letter did not exist at all.
“Thank you for this information, Monsieur Mordaunt,” Mazarin replied. - I'll take that into account. I assure you that the answer will be, and no later than in a week, starting from this very moment.
Mordaunt looked meaningfully at the clock hanging in the cardinal's reception room, bowed and left.

Chapter 144

Queen Henrietta probably visited Mazarin and received the answer she should have received. Of course, it was that the cardinal personally takes the most ardent part in the fate of the English monarchy, and especially in the fate of the sister of King Louis XIII and her children, but at the same time the cardinal has very little means for France to provide any tangible assistance to Charles of England in curbing his own people, governed by parliament.
— Why doesn’t your husband dissolve parliament? - asked Mazarin. - Advise him about this if you correspond with him. If I am not mistaken, according to the laws of your state, in which you remain the Queen and your august husband the King, parliament exists only with the approval of the King, and the monarch has the right to dissolve it by his own decision, without explaining to anyone the reasons for such a decision.
“This is not a solution to the problem, it’s just a delay,” Henrietta sighed.
“Your Majesty, in many cases, postponing a problem is the best solution, but in the situation we are discussing, there may simply be no other solutions at all,” answered Mazarin.
“After such a decision, the nation may rebel, and Parliament will not obey it,” Henrietta suggested.
“But in this case, parliament will act clearly illegally, as any even more or less competent lawyer will know!” - exclaimed Mazarin. “I don’t understand what prevented His Majesty from making such a decision even earlier, much earlier?”
“If he dissolves this parliament, a new one will gather, which may turn out to be even worse,” Henrietta said sadly.
- Well, what are you talking about! - objected the cardinal. - No one will elect to parliament those people who worked in it in the previous convocation and brought it to its dissolution! Even if they worked flawlessly, the people remain dissatisfied with such a parliament, so the updated composition will definitely be different. Moreover, they will receive an object lesson that by acting against the King, they are hastening their own dissolution! And this, believe me, is not little!
“Perhaps you are right, monsignor, but I understand so little about politics!” - Henrietta lied. - Should I give advice to the King? He is my husband and my master, I am just his subject.
“Why is it that women, when getting married, always lie about their role in the family? - thought Mazarin. - Why do they always strive to take a dominant position, assuring everyone that they are obedient to their spouse? Why do they so like to undermine everything that is reliable and good that the institution of marriage provides, after which they present themselves as unfortunate victims of circumstances? This is a reason for all of us to beware of marriage!”
“I understand, Your Majesty, that you cannot influence your august husband,” the cardinal agreed hypocritically, knowing full well that things were completely different. - But you could pass on my advice to him, or, even better, advise it on your own.
“I came to you for help, but all I received was advice,” Henrietta sighed.
“Who knows, Your Majesty, perhaps my advice is much more valuable than a million or two million pounds sterling!” - Mazarin answered sincerely. - In any case, everything that I have, namely, the trust of our Queen and Regent in matters of domestic and foreign policy, as well as the position of First Minister, as a consequence of this trust, I have all this only thanks to the advice that I have the happiness of to give to Her Majesty due to my insignificant understanding of the situation and as a result of long deliberation using all sources of information that I manage to have.
“Couldn’t it be possible, monsignor, for your advice, worth two million pounds sterling, to be exchanged for cash, at least at a rate of two to one?” - Henrietta asked. “I could give you back your advice and get a million pounds in return?”
“You are extremely witty, Your Majesty, and I admire your resourcefulness, but, to my great regret, I do not have even a tenth of the amount you ask,” Mazarin replied with a disarming smile. “To be honest, I don’t have even a hundredth part of this money, otherwise I would immediately hand it over to you.” However, I promise you that at the earliest opportunity we will consider your request at all levels. I mean the Royal Council.
Henrietta realized that this was a final refusal.
After this, Mazarin bowed to Queen Henrietta as low as his position and rank allowed, then once again bowed his head in a small bow, making it clear that the conversation was over.
When Henrietta left, the cardinal went to Queen Anne.

“Your Majesty, I must report to you about the visit that your sister-in-law, Queen Henrietta Maria , paid me,” he said.
“You don’t have to tell me what she asked of you, provided that you, of course, refused her,” answered the Queen.
“In that case, I have nothing more to report in connection with this visit,” the cardinal smiled.
“We have so many problems with our own princes and dukes that we still need to get involved in solving the problems of foreign monarchs,” answered the Queen. “We will not help her husband, who has completely dissolved his own people, neither with money nor with troops!” We have already spent enough on maintaining her court here in Paris, so that we could also spend the money we ourselves so desperately need on such a hopeless enterprise as strengthening this house, which is falling apart on all sides and is no longer ruling at all.
“I completely agree with your opinion,” the cardinal answered with a bow, because he really agreed with him.
And how could it be otherwise, if it was he who instilled this opinion in her through gradual conversations?
- How did you get rid of her? - asked the Queen. - After all, you couldn’t give her nothing at all, or at least not promise?
“I promised her to discuss her request at the State Council,” Mazarin replied.
- Fabulous! — the Queen admired. - Formally, this is an agreement to help, but in reality it is a decisive refusal. After all, the opinion of the Royal Council is not difficult to predict! You don’t have to raise this question; anyway, the answer is clear in advance.
“Besides, I gave her advice,” Mazarin added.
“I hope she was smart enough to use it?” - asked the Queen.
“I don’t think so,” the cardinal answered doubtfully. “I advised her to tell King Charles to dissolve parliament.”
- Excellent advice! — the Queen admired. “After all, even now, when the majority of the British have taken the side of Parliament, they will not dare to go against the law, according to which the King has the right to dissolve Parliament at any time.” How did he not think of doing this himself, and why hasn’t he done it until now?
“I believe that King Charles should have done this even before Parliament sentenced Stafford to death,” Mazarin replied. “He would show his power and save a faithful person from death.” Now he can no longer have loyal people as loyal as Stafford, and no one believes in his power. And I think the reason the King does not dissolve Parliament is that if he did it now, then his sacrifice, consenting to the execution of Stafford, would become completely meaningless. In this case, he would not be able to forgive himself for this betrayal in the future. He sacrificed Stafford to the idea of reaching an agreement with Parliament, and as long as Parliament exists, this sacrifice is justified in his eyes.
“Would he really rather allow himself to be completely defeated than take one small step that would show him that he probably made a mistake in the past?” - the Queen asked in surprise. “Is it really that the opportunity to consider himself impeccable in everything is so dear to him that, in order to preserve this opportunity, he is ready to disregard the possibility of his own death?
The Cardinal looked carefully into the Queen's face, trying to find at least a share of irony in her expression, but did not find it.
“I have met monarchs, Your Majesty, who reasoned exactly like this ,” he said finally, and looked again at the Queen. “The feeling of their own rightness and innocence was so precious to them that for the sake of the pleasure of feeling it fully, they could make any sacrifices.” Any.
- How stupid people can be! - exclaimed the Queen. - But you, it seems, promised to show me the script of one play that you planned to stage. When will you show it to me?
“Your Majesty, reading scripts is the lot of actors, and royal people enjoy the play when it is completely ready for performance,” answered Mazarin. — The freshness of the perception of the plot will allow you to better enjoy the performance.
“Okay, cardinal, you convinced me,” agreed the Queen. “I look forward to the pleasure of this performance.” After all, as I could see, it will require large expenses, right?
“Oh, Your Majesty, you should not skimp on such things that can give you pleasure,” replied the cardinal. - To you, the King, Little Monsieur, and the entire court. And by the way, look at what a funny little thing they sent me for you from Italy on my orders. The jewelers there are, of course, great masters!
With these words, Mazarin took from his pocket a magnificent velvet box with an original diamond bracelet. Mazarin always ordered jewelry that looked at least twice as expensive as it cost him. This was also an integral part of his policy.

Chapter 145

Returning from Mazarin, Queen Henrietta again invited Lord Winter to her place.
“As you expected, Lord Winter, Mazarin refused me ,” she said with a sigh.
— France will not help King Charles either with money or troops? - Lord Winter inquired.
“Neither with money, nor with troops, nor with anything else,” answered the Queen with a sigh, forgetting about the advice that Mazarin had given her.
“This is very sad,” said Lord Winter. - Am I really not going to bring anything for my King from this trip?
“Bring him my greetings, my letter that I will write to him, as well as the few family jewels that I have left,” Henrietta replied. — This cross with diamonds, my ring and the star of St. Michael, which I received from my husband. They cost more than fifty thousand livres.
With these words, Henrietta handed over to Lord Winter the items she had spoken of.
“I will tell him all this,” Lord Winter replied.
“These relics are doubly dear to me; I would sooner die of hunger than decide to sell them even in the most difficult times for me,” Henrietta continued. “I held this cross in my hands during our engagement, I wore it on myself during our marriage, it is a symbol of our love, our happiness. This star and this ring are the only things I have left in memory of my husband. If there is even the slightest opportunity to preserve these relics, I will be eternally grateful to you. I mean that they will not be sold, but will only be pledged with the opportunity to later buy them back, even for triple the price. But if the salvation of the King requires that these things be sold without the possibility of returning them, do so without hesitation. No treasure can be more valuable to me than my husband. If you cannot return Charles to his throne, at least return the father to his children and the husband to his wife. I implore you to do everything possible for this.
“I would have done this even without your request, Your Majesty, but now I consider this the main goal of my life, and if achieving this goal requires my life, I will give it without hesitation!” - exclaimed Lord Winter.
- Oh, if only such people surrounded my husband! - Henrietta exclaimed. - If at least a dozen people like you were next to him, I could hope for a better outcome!
“I knew four Frenchmen who were worth at least twenty other soldiers,” Lord Winter answered sadly. “If I could find them, our quest to save the King would have a greater chance of success!”
- Why don’t you find them? - Henrietta asked.
“I don’t know where to look for them, Your Majesty,” Lord Winter replied.
- Tell me their names, maybe I can find out something about them? - asked the Queen.
“One of them was called Comte de La F;re ,” said Lord Winter.
- Count de La F;re?! - Henrietta exclaimed. “After all, he was the French ambassador at our court for some time!” I remember him very well. Ah, if I had listened to his advice, perhaps none of what is happening now would have happened! But he was recalled, and I don’t know where to look for him! Do you remember any other names?
“Another one of them was called d’Artagnan,” replied Lord Winter.
“This man is in the service of Cardinal Mazarin, and he will not be allowed to go to England,” Henrietta answered sadly. “Besides, he will not do anything without the cardinal’s order, and the cardinal will not give him an order to support my husband.” Can you name the two remaining names?
“The other two were called some strange names,” Lord Winter replied. — One was called Aramis, the other was Porthos.
“Aramis and Porthos,” said Henrietta. -No, I have never heard these names. Apparently, Fate itself has taken up arms against my husband. Nothing can save him.
“In any case, I promise you that I will do everything in my power to save him, or die with him,” replied Lord Winter. “Tomorrow early in the morning I will come for your letter, after which I will leave for England to support him, if not with five swords, then at least with one of mine.”
-Where are you staying, Lord Winter? - asked the Queen.
“At the Charlemagne Hotel,” Lord Winter answered. “As soon as I saw the name, I thought, maybe this is fate? Perhaps the shadow of Charlemagne will help Charles of England defeat his enemies? Excuse me, Your Majesty, in misfortune all people become superstitious.

Lord Winter's superstition was subjected to yet another additional test. Coming from Queen Henrietta, he is a man whom he never expected to see here in France. It was his nephew Mordaunt, who also recognized him.
Both pretended not to recognize each other. Lord Winter continued on his way, experiencing an extremely unpleasant feeling, not realizing its cause. In recent years, every meeting with this man foreshadowed great misfortune; there were no exceptions to this rule. This time, Lord Winter himself realized what kind of misfortune awaited him, he foresaw the death of King Charles, so such a meeting only strengthened him in the most terrible premonitions.
Mordaunt, on the other hand, seemed pleased with the meeting. A serpentine smile stretched his flat, pale lips.
Lord Winter thought that Mordaunt had been left far behind when he suddenly appeared around the corner of one of the houses.
- Cain! What would you do to your brother Abel? Mordaunt croaked theatrically.
- Get out of my way! - Lord Winter replied, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword. “I don’t have time for this buffoonery!”
- How is that?! - exclaimed Mordaunt. — Does the killer of his daughter-in-law want to kill her son as well? Well, go ahead! Be brave! One meanness is not enough, do another!
Lord Winter came to his senses, removed his hand from the hilt of his sword and decisively moved forward.
- From the road! - he repeated.
“Not until I have an answer to the question,” replied Mordaunt. -Where is my mother? What did you do to my mother, murderer?
“Find out for yourself,” Lord Winter answered, turning pale. - Or go down to Hell for her.
-You killed her! - exclaimed Mordaunt. - You and four French nobles are without honor and conscience! Five of us killed! More precisely, six of them. The sixth was the Bethune executioner! But he won’t execute anyone anymore! He found his destiny. The same thing awaits you, all five of you.
With these words, Mordaunt walked away, letting Lord Winter pass, after which he followed him like a shadow.
Seeing Lord Winter enter the Charlemagne Hotel, Mordaunt grinned and went his way.
Therefore, Mordaunt did not see how Lord Winter almost collided with one nobleman on the threshold, with whom he then began a conversation that, perhaps, would have been of significant interest to him.
The fact is that on the threshold of the hotel, Lord Winter met Athos, who was coming out of the door, planning to take a walk.
- Count de La F;re?! - he exclaimed.
“If I’m not mistaken, I see Lord Winter in front of me?” - Athos answered with no less surprise.
- The Lord helps us! - exclaimed Lord Winter. “An hour ago we were thinking about you, and now I found you, completely by accident, not hoping for such a miracle!”
- Who is “we” and why did you remember me, dear friend? - asked Athos.
“We” are me and Queen Henrietta,” Lord Winter answered. “First of all, tell me, Count, do you still consider me your friend?”
Instead of answering, Athos firmly shook Lord Winter's hand, after which these handshakes turned into strong friendly hugs.
- Could you doubt me? - asked Athos.
“The fact is that I wanted to ask you for a favor that not every friend can ask,” replied Lord Winter. “But before that, I must warn you of the danger.” I just met Milady's son, Mordaunt, and he threatened me that he wants to deal with us all. I mean you, the four nobles who were involved in that matter with his mother, and me. However, I don’t fear for myself as much as I do for you, since I know this little snake well and hope to ward off his blow from me.
- Why are you afraid for us? - Athos was surprised. - There are four of us, and there are five of you! Are we really going to be afraid of one young man, no matter what malice he may have towards us?
“Anger gives rise to deceit, and there is no protection from deceit,” answered Lord Winter. - No one can protect themselves from a blow that they do not expect, from a blow from around a corner, from poison or from a shot from an ambush!
“That’s all true, but we won’t hide from him!” - Athos exclaimed.
“Even if you were hiding, it would hardly help,” Lord Winter replied. “The only thing that can save you is that he doesn’t know you.” But he intends to find you through me. Therefore, our meeting poses a danger for you. I said that I was not afraid for myself, not so much because I hoped to forestall his blow, but because I no longer valued my life. I spent all my fortune to save my King, but in vain. Now I intend to give my life for him.
“And this is the matter in connection with which you mentioned me and Queen Henrietta, isn’t it?” - asked Athos. - You need helpers. People who will die with you for the King or try to save him.
“You guessed it right, Count,” Lord Winter replied. — The question, indeed, is exactly that. But dare I offer such a share to a man who lives in another country, is happy, as I hope, and has no obligations to the monarch of another state?
“Dying for the King is also happiness ,” said Athos. “And this is the duty of any true nobleman.”
“But we are talking about the King of another state,” Lord Winter clarified.
- Who cares? - asked Athos. “And besides, isn’t his wife, Queen Henrietta, the sister of our late King Louis XIII ?” As a true French nobleman, I get the opportunity to die for the King's sister, and the Queen at that! Besides, I hope that everything is not so dire, and perhaps we have a great feat ahead of us with a great result? Perhaps we can save his life? Or, in any case, we must be close to prevent an attempt on his honor! I am convinced that the King's honor is more important than even his life, and that it is greatly tested when the King is surrounded by a crowd of rebellious subjects. If the King is touched by an executioner's ax against his will, he will lose his life, but not his honor. If someone’s hand touches his face, the loss will be much greater, because it will be an attack on his honor! To protect against such attacks, any monarch must have loyal people around him. Is this what you are offering us?
“Yes, exactly that, but it is not I who propose, but Queen Henrietta,” replied Lord Winter. “If you are ready to accept this offer, I suggest you go with me to the Queen tomorrow at eight o’clock in the morning, who will personally ask you for this favor.”
“Or rather, she will allow us to take upon ourselves the honor of fulfilling this noble mission,” Athos clarified.
“You spoke about yourself in the plural twice,” Lord Winter clarified. “Can I hope that we are talking about three of your friends who will also be able to join us?”
“Only about one thing, but that will be enough,” answered Athos. “I hope to get Aramis interested in this matter.” Our other two friends are currently busy with other things.
- Well, there will be three of us, and that’s three times better than me alone! - Lord Winter agreed. - See you tomorrow, Count!
- Till tomorrow! - Athos answered and walked towards me to offer me participation in this crazy trip.

Chapter 146

Athos in his letter asked to come to him at the Charlemagne Hotel in the morning. He did not mention the sword, so I rightly concluded that we were not talking about a duel. When I saw Lord Winter with Athos, I thought that the purpose of the meeting had something to do with Mordaunt. However, it was so, although at that moment we did not suspect it.
Lord Winter led us to Queen Henrietta.
It is hardly necessary to retell the conversation with this Queen in exile, since I have already devoted attention to describing the strange situation in which she found herself.
The Queen's furnishings were not as luxurious as those at Mazarin's, where I had the opportunity to visit several times, but they were not so poor in comparison with those at Queen Anne herself that I sincerely lamented their poverty, so the phrases on this The account was invented by the dreamer Grimaud. Moreover, I knew that, modest as this arrangement was, it was entirely financed from the French treasury, which, in my opinion, was not necessary. However, I seem to have noticed that the Queen was slightly embarrassed by the insufficient luxury of her apartments, so perhaps I dropped a phrase expressing sympathy for Her Majesty, I don’t remember exactly now.
In response, the Queen told me that she had heard a lot about my alleged exploits. I attribute these words entirely to the desire to please those whom you are sending to death, without being able to pay or order to perform this hard and risky work. Therefore, I don’t even want to remember these flattering and undeserved words. These compliments made me wary. I felt that we would talk about emergency services, and I was not mistaken.
Lord Winter, in the presence of the Queen, added fuel to the fire, praising in every possible way the courage and dedication of Athos and mine, which had already begun to cause me some irritation, since I was almost already convinced that we were being manipulated.
After this artillery preparation, women's sighs and tears were used.
The heart of Athos, this stern man, constantly trying to prove to everyone that women mean nothing to him, melted like butter in a frying pan. This sentimentality of his was, of course, mixed with his admiration for royal regalia. If the Queen had ordered him to pierce his heart with a dagger here and now, he probably would have done it. However, something similar happened. The Queen turned to us with a request to save her unfortunate husband, King Charles.
Athos answered for himself and for me.
“If the lives of the three nobles standing in front of you can dry your tears, Your Majesty, dispose of them as you wish!” - he said in delight.
I almost died laughing from this performance. But I respected Athos and loved him, I could not refuse him his request. Although I must admit, there was no request. He vouched for me, that is, as usual, he disregarded my opinion and my desires. This is the whole of Athos. If an opportunity presents itself to accomplish something great and noble, he believes that every true nobleman is eager to sacrifice his life in order not to miss this chance. By inviting me to die for the King of England, he sincerely believed that he was doing me a favor.
These three have prepared a trap for me. Neither Lord Winter nor Athos told me for what purpose we are going to Queen Henrietta. As a former soldier and musketeer, I was accustomed to the idea that I would not necessarily be alive tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow. I'm not afraid of death. But I swore an oath to my King, I was obliged to serve my captain of the royal musketeers, Monsieur Jean de Peyre de Treville. I am hardly obliged to serve as zealously any royal personage, especially the queen of another state with which we were not so long ago at war. Her relationship with our King does not change anything in this matter. After all, even in France itself, the French very often had to kill each other in damned civil wars, where brother could go against brother, father against son, and son against father, and at the same time one side defended the side of one group of relatives of the King, and the other side defended the side of another groups of his relatives. These wars brought ruin and death, after which the King’s relatives made peace, and the subjects could only bury and mourn their relatives. The fact that in such wars the princes themselves sometimes die is little consolation for the people, and this almost never happened in my memory.
And wars between states were no better. After all, it was not France that fought against Spain, it was the Queen of France who fought against her brother the King of Spain, which did not prevent her from subsequently making peace with him, reconciling so completely that she even betrothed his daughter to her son, even more tightly linking the ruling families of France and Spain with dynastic marriages , that if it brought peace, it was not for long, weak, and to some extent ruinous, since that part of the money that was collected in the treasury in the form of taxes, which was not devoured by the war, was eaten up by wedding celebrations, bribes and gifts in order for this marriage , finally took place. I am not at all against dynastic marriages, because a bad peace is better than a good quarrel. Today, these dynastic marriages reconcile the parties who are on the brink of war, and tomorrow, as a result of these marriages, disputed rights of both parties to some kind of inheritance will arise, which will become the cause of a new war, even more cruel and bloody.
So, I fell into another trap, and Lord Winter, who calls me a friend, and Athos, who is such, drove me into it. Can a former musketeer answer negatively to the question whether he is ready to give his life for the Queen, asked in her presence? Of course not!
“Do us the favor, Your Majesty, by showing me and Monsieur d’Herblay how we can serve you, and we will fulfill your order even at the cost of our lives and die with your name on our lips,” said Athos .
If there was milk nearby, it would turn sour from this pompousness. In any case, I was sure of it at that moment.
- What do you say, Monsieur d'Herblay? - asked the Queen.
“And I, Your Majesty, will always follow the count wherever he goes, even to death, without a single question,” I answered her. “But if it comes to serving your Majesty, then I will try to overtake the count.”
What else could I answer her in this situation?
So we found ourselves drawn into this adventure. I knew in advance the futility of this undertaking and that we would be defeated, but I promised myself to do everything possible to save this stupid King for the sake of this tactless Queen, who realized that she had run out of compatriots for such matters, despite the fact that two dozen idlers hung around her small court in exile, among whom was her eldest son, who was at that age at which d'Artagnan was not afraid to appear for three duels in one day, a duel with me, with Porthos and with Athos. This thought made me despise the English, the best of whom were Lord Winter and Buckingham, one of whom had failed in his time to restrain his daughter-in-law, and the other to lock her up tightly enough so that she could not direct the fanatic's dagger into his chest.
After exchanging some more mutual promises and delights, we parted with the Queen, and on the threshold of her reception room, Lord Winter also left us after we had agreed on the time of the meeting. There was no need to agree on a place, since Lord Winter and Athos lived in the same hotel, where a meeting was scheduled before departure.

- Well, what do you say about this matter, dear Count? - I asked Athos after Lord Winter left.
“It’s a bad thing,” answered Athos. - There is no chance of success, the chances of dying are very high.
“But you took on it with passion ,” I said.
“As always, I would take on any noble cause, dear d’Herblay,” answered Athos. - Kings are strong with the nobility, and the nobles are strong with the Kings. This imposes mutual obligations on us. Let us support royal power with the thought that by doing so we support ourselves.
“Sounds nice ,” I said with a grin. - And how everything that sounds too beautiful contains more pomposity than truth. You agreed to this adventure only because there was no way to refuse the Queen’s request, made personally. If Lord Winter had asked you in her absence what you thought of this enterprise, perhaps your answer would have been different?
“He asked me about this yesterday, in the absence of the Queen, and my answer was positive,” answered Athos. “By the way, even then I vouched for you, Aramis.”
- Fabulous! - I exclaimed. - What if he put his request in writing and asked for an answer in three days?
“I would answer immediately, so as not to leave myself time to think,” Athos answered hotly.
“They’ll kill us there ,” I said. “Say what you want, think about it what you want, give whatever arguments you want, but they will kill us there.” It doesn't matter because I already agreed, but we will be killed there. And we will not save this ridiculous English King. I hate the English, they are rude, like all people who breathe fog, call clouds sky, heather flowers, lamb meat and drink barley beer.
“So England is the most suitable place to be killed,” answered Athos. - After all, in the country of fogs, rains and beer, it’s not at all a pity to part with life!
- You know how to console, Athos! — I laughed and hugged my friend.
“Listen, Aramis ,” said Athos seriously. - Don't consider me suicidal. But it seems to me that if we stay here in France, we risk ending up in the Bastille for facilitating the escape of the Duke de Beaufort.
“This is if the Duke does not force the cardinal to reckon with himself or does not make peace with the cardinal,” I answered.
“Don’t you think that the price of reconciliation may be the surrender of accomplices?” - asked Athos.
- So, should we leave France forever? - I asked.
“Not forever, but only until Beaufort is forgiven,” answered Athos. — The main thing is not to be the subject of bargaining at the moment when this bargaining is taking place. And for this you need to be out of reach, or, which is much better, to be where no one would think of looking for you. In this case, no one will look for us in England, and even if someone knew where we were, they would not find us there. Let's return to France quietly, without unnecessary noise, when Beaufort kneels before the King.
- So you don’t believe in his victory? - I asked. - Why then did you get involved with such enthusiasm in the matter of his release?
“Because the grandson of Henry IV should not languish in prison,” answered Athos. “Besides, I don’t like Mazarin, and I was pleased to think that you and I caused him great trouble.”
“Shouldn’t we seduce d’Artagnan and Porthos?” - I asked.
“Our trip is not official,” answered Athos. - We were entrusted with a secret that does not belong to us. We have no right to disclose it even to our best friends. In addition, they have already entered the service of Mazarin, and, therefore, are not free. So they won't be able to join us. But I didn't ask you, Aramis, are you free?
- Better late than never? - I joked. “Since I made a promise, it means I’m ready to neglect other things that I won’t have time to complete in the rest of today.”
- What is this business? - Athos asked seriously.
“Firstly, I planned to strike Coadjutor Paul de Gondi with a sword ,” I said. “He’s overshadowing me, and he’s doing it on purpose.” I think the reason is his jealousy.
“Or, more precisely, your jealousy,” Athos answered with a smile. - Come on, Aramis! We are no longer so young to fight a duel over the favors of ladies. Moreover, a duel between clergy! This is bad manners! And even between allies in our common political cause!
“Sometimes it seems to me that some ladies confuse me with him, and him with me, because we have similar figures and the same preferences,” I answered. “Or, what is more likely, he himself sometimes confuses himself with me.” As soon as some lady likes me, the very next day I meet him next to her! I am tired of this!
“You just have the same tastes,” Athos objected. - Come on, Aramis, there are enough noble beauties in France for everyone.
“There aren’t that many pretty duchesses,” I sighed.
“In that case, be satisfied with the marquises, or take a swing at the princesses ,” Athos said with a disarming smile.
“I’ll think about the second part of your proposal when and if we return from England alive,” I replied.
- What's the second thing? - asked Athos.
“Oh, an evening, or at least half a night, will be enough for me to complete this task,” I answered.
“You can see for yourself, Aramis, that the duchesses are not finished yet ,” Athos said with a grin. - If you spend the whole night on this matter, you will have to sleep at a gallop. Wouldn't it be better to put it off until you return?
“I’ll sleep off on the ship,” I answered.
“And I need to write several letters ,” said Athos.
“Me too,” I replied. “And this was the third thing I will do right now.”

Chapter 147

I visited my dear Ange and told her that perhaps I would not return, and begged her not to attribute my disappearance to my infidelity. To calm her down, I said that the only reason for my disappearance could only be my death, and that is what I mean when I say that my return could be delayed for a long time, or even forever.
Instead of being overjoyed at my unfailing love and loyalty for her, for some reason she began to sob. In annoyance, I asked what happened to her, whether she was pregnant, to which I received an affirmative answer, and then such caresses that proved two things to me. Firstly, that the father of the unborn child is, apparently, me, and secondly, she treats with the greatest caution those gates of heaven through which she was filled with the happiness of expecting this child, however, her caresses were such and were done in such a way , that I did not lose at all, and even, perhaps, gained some advantages on this night, which tradition attributes to the method of communication between lovers, widespread in our country, which I do not undertake to either confirm or dispute. These caresses were of such a kind that I felt my love for her even more strongly.
I even felt embarrassed for a few minutes that before that I had written about two dozen letters to my most devoted parishioners, that I was disappearing on business for an indefinite time, and they should not interpret my disappearance as a consequence of cooling and infidelity, but only as fatal a dangerous assignment from an extremely high-ranking person.
I believe all these parishioners were pleased and reassured by my letters. Fortunately, I did not spend much time writing them, since I did not have to invent the text, I simply wrote the first letter and ordered Bazin, who had mastered my handwriting perfectly on such assignments, to rewrite the text of this letter twenty-four more times, changing only the address in the first lines of the letter. I wrote the addresses on the envelopes myself, after which I instructed Bazin to send the letters only after I left Paris. I didn’t want to receive tearful replies before I left for England, and what’s more, I didn’t want a line of desperate visitors lining up at my humble abode.
Let all this happen in my absence.

 

Athos wrote to d'Artagnan that we were leaving on important business, that we had no time to say goodbye, and that d'Artagnan would convey greetings and friendly embraces to Porthos, and also take care of Raoul in case of emergency.
This note about Raoul explained everything to d'Artagnan.
Within an hour, Athos received a letter from him by messenger wishing him good luck and with fifty louis for our travel expenses. He apologized that he could not send more and said that we can accept them with a light heart, if pride does not allow us to accept them as a gift, then we can borrow them and give them back whenever we please, even after a hundred years .
I received from Porthos two hundred pistoles with a letter in which Porthos asked me not to talk about this money to d'Artagnan, so as not to embarrass me, and offered to divide it with Athos and use it for travel expenses. Porthos also said that I can consider this money a gift, but if Athos considers it impermissible to accept such gifts, I must tell him that he lent this money for an indefinite period.
So we could get to England without selling Queen Henrietta's family jewels. I must say, this is not the first time that ordinary nobles bear the expenses of the affairs of Kings and Queens, although it probably happened even more often that the expenses of ordinary nobles were paid by peasants, townspeople or shopkeepers, which in our country no longer surprises anyone, what has become like would be in the order of things, but I am afraid that when all these peasants, townspeople and shopkeepers count how much the affairs of the nobles who rule them and, especially, the King and Queen, cost them, they might start something worse than the Fronde, and expose The king has a bill that can only be paid with blood.
With this thought, I asked God that if this happened in France, it would happen when I had already departed to a better world. I had no idea that I myself would become a witness to similar events in the very near future in another state, namely in London.
Louis sent to us, “golden Louis”, Louis d' or , all were with a portrait of Louis XIII , there were fifty of them. It was ten ounces of pure gold. Two hundred pistoles of Porthos were in Spanish coins and amounted to another forty ounces of gold.
Even after dividing the money between two, we began to resemble money bags with pockets filled with gold. It was impossible to go to England with such a load, so Athos exchanged most of the gold for two rings with diamonds, for himself and for him, leaving only a tenth of this amount in gold, necessary for moving to England and for the first time of his stay there.
As we approached Boulogne, Lord Winter suggested that we split up so that we could arrive in the city separately.
“He’s afraid that Mordaunt, Milady’s son, will see us with him,” Athos whispered in my ear.
- What a strange superstition! - I answered.
“He takes care of us, preferring to risk only himself,” Athos explained to me. “Let’s try not to let him out of sight so that we can come to his aid if necessary.”
“It won’t be possible to do this unnoticed,” I objected. “Besides, Lord Winter has two armed servants.”
“You’re right, dear friend,” agreed Athos. - But these are just lackeys. They won't protect him. Well, in that case, I'll tell Grimaud to quietly watch him and protect him from Mordaunt. This is all the more reasonable since Grimaud knows him by sight, while we have never seen him.
He did just that.
We stopped at the Swords of the Great Henry Hotel, where we rested in order to arrive at the pier at the appointed time.
Coming out onto the dam, we noticed a ship preparing to sail, and Athos suggested that it was on it that we would travel to England.
At this time, a pale young man approached us and asked us if we had come from Paris.
“Yes, we are from Paris, sir,” answered Athos. - How can we serve you?
“Would you be so kind as to tell me, sir,” continued the young man, “is it true that Cardinal Mazarin is no longer a minister?”
“This is a strange question,” I thought. “Why should he care about this?”
“When we left, he was still the first minister,” answered Athos. “But at the moment the situation may be different. Half of Paris begs the Queen to drive him away, while the other half hopes that he will bribe her with some kind of concessions or benefits. The nobility of Paris was divided in approximately the same proportions.
“Thank you for the valuable information, gentlemen,” answered the young man and bowed away from us.
- Athos, are you completely tired of your life? - I asked the count quietly. - For such speeches you can be imprisoned in the Bastille, and this will not be the worst option!
- Who will imprison me, these or these? - Athos asked with a smile. “That half of Paris, which you and I have hitherto counted as like-minded people, will not imprison me, and as for Mazarin, he now has nothing to do with what they say about him in Boulogne!” It’s much more important to him what the Parisians want to do with him! Besides, we're leaving! So even if he is an informer, he will not have time to inform anyone on us.
“Still, I would ask you to be careful what you say and to whom,” I objected. “It seemed to me that this young man had been listening to our words and had been following us for a long time. Some words in our conversation particularly interested him. If you really want to discuss the political situation in France with some strangers, at least wait until we go out to sea on any ship standing here.
“You see a spy in any stranger,” Athos answered with a note of condescension. “We are not such significant persons that Mazarin would waste money on keeping an eye on us.”
- Who knows, dear Count! - I objected. —The former envoy of the French court to the English government is sent to England! Those who prepared and carried out the escape of the Duke de Beaufort leave France. If you find these circumstances insignificant for Cardinal Mazarin, I will remain silent.
“You’re right, dear Aramis, I’ll be more careful,” agreed Athos. - Moreover...
- What? - I asked.
“Didn’t you think that this young man looked like a person we know?” - asked Athos.
- Our friend or foe? - I asked, and suddenly stopped short. - Milady! Do you mean Milady?
“So it didn’t seem to me,” Athos answered with some relief.
“Are you glad that it’s probably him?” - I asked.
“I am glad that I was not the only one who thought this, and this means that I have not yet gone crazy with my suspicion,” answered Athos.
- Your suspicion is good! - I objected with sarcasm. “Mr. Count discusses pressing political issues with the first person he meets, for which he could be treated much worse than Beaufort!”
“But my suspicion does not concern Mazarin, but this very Mordaunt!” - Athos objected. - Don't get me wrong, he saw Raoul, he could have killed him if he knew whose son he was.
“In that case, don’t mention his name, at least here in Boulogne, in case we got it wrong,” I replied, and Athos nodded in agreement.

At that moment we saw Lord Winter heading towards us.
“Soon a boat will come for us and we will go on board that ship ,” he said, pointing to the ship that Athos and I noticed.
“All our things are with us,” answered Athos.
- And your servant Grimaud? asked Lord Winter.
“It’ll do now ,” said Athos. - And here he is, see, where you came from?
Lord Winter looked in the direction Athos was pointing and suddenly turned pale.
- Damn this bastard! - he exclaimed.
- What's the matter? - asked Athos, who, like me, knew English perfectly.
- It is he! - Lord Winter said desperately. “Everywhere I go, he follows me.” That scoundrel Mordaunt seems to have tracked not only me, but you too!
“To hell with it, we’ll leave now,” Athos waved it off.
“Do you think he won’t follow us?” asked Lord Winter.
“Something is still holding him back here,” I answered. “He asked if Mazarin was still the First Minister of France.
- So, he is carrying out some kind of assignment for Cromwell here, because he is his lieutenant! - exclaimed Lord Winter. “This scoundrel is not only our enemy, but he is also the enemy of the King.”
“So much the worse for him,” I said coldly. “This circumstance gives us another reason to crush him like a poisonous spider.”
Meanwhile, the boat from the ship arrived, Lord Winter ordered that the weapons and his luggage be transferred into it first, then all of us and our servants got into it.
The rowers sat down at the oars, and the boat began to move quickly towards our ship.
- Monk! - Grimaud exclaimed, pointing to the figure of a man standing next to the lighthouse that illuminated our path.
We looked where Grimaud was pointing.
- Mordaunt! - exclaimed Lord Winter.
“So we were not mistaken, Aramis ,” said Athos.
- Yes, it’s me, uncle! - he shouted. - I, the son of your sister-in-law, whom you vilely executed! The hour of reckoning is approaching! Now I know two of your French companions! When will you introduce me to the other two?
“Now we’ll stop this farce ,” I said, taking out a pistol and aiming at Mordaunt.
- What are you doing? - Athos exclaimed. “Are you going to shoot an unarmed man?”
“Shoot,” said Grimaud. “Count, let the next bullet go to me, if you don’t forgive me for my disobedience, but the first bullet will go to him!”
Athos turned pale.
Another second and I would have shot, but Athos grabbed the barrel of the pistol with his hand and pointed it to the side.
“You didn’t dare shoot at me!” - Mordaunt exclaimed and burst out laughing. - In vain! You will regret this, and very soon!
With these words, Mordaunt disappeared behind the lighthouse.
“We will regret this,” I said and looked expressively into Athos’s face.
- Why did you stop me from shooting?
“He was unarmed,” answered Athos.
“Like Katie, whom he shot twice, mistaking her for the Duchess of Chevreuse, and whom he killed, treacherously, vilely, from an ambush ,” I said firmly.
“Forgive me, Aramis ,” said Athos. “It seems to me that I needlessly prevented you from shooting.”
“There’s nothing to be done now,” I replied. “But next time don’t bother me.” Say whatever words you want, curse me, but don't grab my gun. Let me decide for myself how to act in such a matter, and I gladly take this sin upon my soul.
Athos gently patted my hand, and in this clap I read both regret, and apology for inappropriate scrupulosity, and approval for a future event that did not bode well for us.

Chapter 148

At the court of Queen Anne, meanwhile, events took place that brought the discontent of the Parisians closer to a stage that was called the Fronde. The arrest of the Brussels adviser greatly aroused the Parisians, who saw him as their protector, which he, of course, imagined himself to be, but which he certainly was not. The desire to stand out by clearly declaring oneself as a defender of the interests of ordinary people is inherent in many people; this has been called populism since ancient times, but how many true defenders of the interests of ordinary people does history know? Personally, I don’t know anyone other than Christ. However, he protected few people in this world, but only gave us hope for protection in the next world, the existence of which I, the person who should have convinced the whole world of this fact, began to doubt in my old age. They say that it is impossible to be more Catholic than the Pope. If only they knew that the Pope could sometimes doubt the existence of the Savior! However, these are lyrics.
I just wanted to say that Brussels almost considered himself a saint due to the sacrifice that he had to make for the sake of the Parisians, although so far all his sacrifice consisted in the fact that he obediently allowed himself to be arrested, which for several days turned him into a martyr in the name of citizens of France. At the same time, Mazarin also arrested Charton and Blancmenil, but it was the arrest of Brussels that made so much noise, turning out to be the drop that overflows the cup, the straw that breaks the camel's back.
The barricades that arose spontaneously gave citizens a deceptive appearance of some kind of protection, independence and freedom. Just as a dog behind a strong fence bravely barks at passers-by, feeling protected not only by its owner, but also by all the buildings on its territory, so the Parisians dared to raise their voices of discontent by erecting barricades, which were not easy to overcome. I will make a reservation that this was not easy only for such an empress as Queen Anne, who would never have directed cannons against the barricades. Mazarin was the same under her. After all, if only these barricades had to be destroyed, the people of Paris would find themselves in the state of a dog who suddenly discovered that the fence from behind which she was barking had suddenly disappeared, so that she was left alone with the one on whom she poured out her rage. In this situation, all factors influence her, including the feeling of danger threatening from all sides along with her own comprehensive defenselessness. And where, in this case, does the evil grin, the fury of the gaze and the warlike pose, the crown of which is a proudly raised tail, disappear?
However, the organization and courage of the crowd can replace its numbers. A hundred brave soldiers can easily resist a hundred rebels, but it can hardly cope with a thousand even relatively poorly organized townspeople, and it will not withstand tens of thousands under any circumstances. If the size of the army protecting the peace of the empress were to increase to such a level as was necessary to suppress an entire city, this would mean the beginning of a civil war, a war that had already passed its peak in England and ended with the loss of all real power by King Charles.
The example of England forced the Queen and the Cardinal to act prudently, carefully and carefully, although the Queen often lost patience and was ready to break loose, but Mazarin always showed great restraint and prudence.
Deputies from the rioting Parisians demanded the release of three members of parliament. The queen was offended, but Mazarin gently persuaded her, pointing to the example of England, and saying that she should not quarrel with parliaments and with her citizens over trifles, promising her in a whisper that he would make every effort to split this uprising majority of Parisians, after which all concessions made under this pressure can be gradually withdrawn.
Mazarin knew how to persuade. If only he was allowed to speak, he could convince many, and he always convinced the Queen, at least in his personal presence. Only in letters sometimes he failed to do this, and then only temporarily.
I remember only one case when the Queen was forced to agree to his expulsion, and although she wrote to him in encrypted letters that this was a temporary measure, as he himself taught her, recalling to him the incident with the arrest of Brussels, Mazarin could not calm down, he abandoned her letters with a plea to cancel this decree, claiming that it humiliates him in the eyes of France, in the eyes of history, makes him a criminal, destroying not only his life, but also everything that he managed to create in the matter of public administration. But this happened much later; now it was only necessary to release the members of parliament.
Contrary to expectations, the agreement to their release did not calm the Parisians, but only provoked them, they felt their strength and their appetites were in full swing. Coadjutor Paul de Gondi took a significant part in this, as well as Beaufort, acting through his proteges and friends, who had not yet risked appearing in Paris in person.
The Cardinal invited the Queen to leave Paris, and then, with the help of the army, surround it like an enemy city and force it to surrender. Her father-in-law, Henry IV , had already done this . It was not uncommon to fight against one's own cities.
Gradually, most of the nobility took up arms against Mazarin not only in words, but by creating a military coalition. It included Conde, Conti, Retz, d'Elbeuf, Longueville, Chevreuse, Montbazon, Beaufort, as well as the eldest Mademoiselle, Anne-Marie-Louise of Orleans, Duchess of Montpensier, daughter of Louis XIII's brother, Gaston of Orleans, that is, the King 's cousin Louis XIV . This is the truth of life: where else if not in your own family will you always find an enemy? Alas!
Gaston d'Orleans himself was still biding his time and demonstrating loyalty to his daughter-in-law and royal nephew, but everyone understood, knowing his character, that this was only a temporary agreement that would be interrupted as soon as he felt that switching to the other side promised him greater benefits than loyalty.
I knew something about the events taking place from informants who kept me informed of the matter, and I would have even regretted that I took part in the release of the Duke de Beaufort, but since this order came from the Order, and since participation in this event brought me closer to Duchesse de Longueville, my regrets flashed in my mind only as a slight haze, which immediately dissipated, and I remained an ardent frondeur and inveterate opponent of Mazarin.
I was sad to realize that my best friend d'Artagnan would forever remain a Mazarinist. Contrary to the legend that he himself later told me, which claimed that Mazarin found him by chance and accepted him into special service only after the beginning of the Fronde, I subsequently learned that his special service to the cardinal began much earlier. Back at the time when the winner of Rocroi, the Duke of Enghien, that is, Louis II of Bourbon, later Prince of Cond;, “The Great Cond;,” together with the King’s uncle Gaston d’Orleans, besieged Courtray, Mazarin sent d’Artagnan and him on a special mission. This mission was to keep him informed of events, especially in case these two best commanders in France decided to conspire against the King. In this case, d'Artagnan should have tried to quarrel between them, if possible, or, in any case, urgently notify the cardinal about this. Knowing the cunning mind of this Gascon, I am sure that he acted even more cunningly and did more than he was entrusted with, which, of course, he did not fail to report to his patron. I don’t know how exactly, but he probably made it so that a “cat ran” between these two commanders, and for a long time after this military campaign they could not stand each other. It is unlikely that he himself “lit up” in this matter. He probably used some military leaders, instilling in them such thoughts, as a result of which the subordinates of the Duke of Enghien too often praised Monsieur, and the subordinates of Monsieur admired the military talents of the Duke of Enghien. I bet that d'Artagnan himself remained aloof and maintained excellent relations with both, showing discreet respect and deference to both of them and to neither of them, without showing any obvious preference. As the cardinal's envoy, such behavior came naturally and easily to him.
For this reason, the cardinal's confidence in d'Artagnan was the highest. He trusted him with the most valuable things - his life, his wealth, and also, of course, the Queen and the young King, who were the guarantee of his life and his future power, so that he valued them no less than his own life.
Having completely trusted d'Artagnan and acting according to his plan, the cardinal was able to bring the Queen with the King and Little Monsieur, his brother, and also leave Paris himself so that their departure became known only when they were all already far outside Paris, at the Chateau Saint-Germain.
It was especially dangerous to take Mazarin out, but d'Artagnan coped with this too; he later boasted that for these purposes he stole the carriage of the coadjutor himself.
Following the Queen and King, the entire court arrived in Saint-Germain, except for those, of course, who openly sided with the rebel Parisians.
Saint-Germain was not ready to receive such a huge number of guests, because in those days even Kings carried furniture with them when moving from one palace to another, and during this flight it was simply impossible to do anything like that.
There was room in the castle only for the King, Queen and Monsieur, and Monsieur Gaston d'Orleans calmly went to bed, without even asking how Madame, his wife, would settle down for the night.
Everyone else had to spend the night on straw, and I heard that for an armful of straw that night they gave up to two louis! Someone made a lot of money from this!

Meanwhile we arrived in England. Immediately upon arrival, I wrote to Porthos that if he should meet anywhere a young man named Mordaunt with a hoarse voice, blond hair and thin lips reminiscent of Milady's, he should immediately break his neck, without even entering into any conversation. However, I did not object to him piercing him with a sword, but at least three times.
I also wrote a similar letter to d'Artagnan, explaining to him that it was Mordaunt who killed Catty. But at the last moment I felt sorry for my friend and did not upset him with this news, and since there was no longer any possibility of rewriting the letter, I sent my message only to Porthos.

Chapter 149

In the one hundred and twenty-fourth chapter, I already told how King Charles suffered his last defeat in that last battle in which he still led his troops as King of England.
After this, the King was escorted to Oxford, from where he managed to leave unnoticed, without a retinue, but free.
At that moment, a choice opened before him: either save freedom and life, or try to regain lost rights and privileges.
He did not hesitate for long, since in his understanding the struggle for rights and privileges was also a struggle to save honor, while the salvation of freedom and life seemed to him possible only by the loss of royal dignity.
Perhaps he remembered a letter from the King of France, Francis I , who wrote to his mother, “Everything is lost except honor.” This absurdly pompous phrase said nothing about life, but it was not yet lost! But Francis further wrote the following: “No, that’s all, here honor is lost. And what an honor if there is nothing to eat.”
King Charles should have remembered that after this letter King Francis saved his life, which subsequently allowed him to return honor, power, and privileges. But the one who has lost his life will no longer be able to regain either honor or power.
However, the truth is that King Charles was not one of those politicians who could rise after a fall and regain everything, having not so much a clear plan of action as a strong will, flexibility of mind and strength of character. Carl had none of these things, including any plan of action. He simply opposed what he considered unworthy, did not agree with what he considered humiliating, and, therefore, did not make any compromises with other people, although he seemed to make compromises with his own conscience easily and without any hesitation.
The king headed north without any goal or plan, changed his costume daily, and then settled in a roadside tavern like an ordinary traveler. But he did not hide, did not observe any rules of secrecy, so his whereabouts nevertheless became known, and Lord Winter sent a messenger here with the message that the Scots had agreed to receive him in their camp.
King Charles placed himself under the protection of the Scottish general Alexander Lieven. Officers and soldiers paid him the respect that befitted his status as royalty, since he was also hereditary King of Scotland. A guard was posted at his door, which Karl considered honorable.
The deference and formal honors given misled the King. He imagined that the Scottish army accepted him as the rightful head of this army, and that the Scots would fight for him, not sparing their lives. The situation was completely different. The Scots invited him only so that he could stay among them, not considering themselves obliged to obey him, and, on the contrary, considering it possible for themselves to control his fate, like the fate of their hostage, in order to resolve the misunderstandings that had arisen with London, with parliament and with the generals of the English army.
Karl, who did not understand this, summoned General Lieven, intending to assign another password, as he did in his army when he commanded it.
“Sorry, my lord,” General Lieven replied coldly. - Here I am the senior in rank, assigning a password for subordinates is my concern. Let me carry out my duties in the future; in this regard, I do not need anyone’s instructions.
Karl was dumbfounded by being addressed as “my lord” instead of “Your Majesty”, and even more so by the fact that he was not even allowed to complete such a formality as assigning a password.
- What are my rights in this case? - he asked, barely containing his anger.
“In any case, you can set the time for your lunch, determine those who will have the honor of sharing lunch with you, if you wish to dine more than one, and also choose dishes from the menu that our cook will bring you this very minute,” General Lieven replied. — I ask Your Majesty to forgive the small selection of dishes, we are under martial law.
This “Your Majesty,” said by Lieven when discussing the terms of the dinner, but not uttered when discussing issues of army regulations, showed the King even more the range of his competencies, but he considered it better not to resist such treatment, since he was alone against all the Scottish soldiers around him and officers. He decided to wait, hoping that gradually the Scots would realize that their King was among them, to whom they therefore must obey.
Thus, a rejected mistress still hopes to attract her former boyfriend with her charms, believing that he will not resist them, while this boyfriend has already formed an idea about her and about the price that must be paid for intimacy with her, and has decided to interrupt for himself this painful relationship, either for reasons of calculation, or based on the fact that he was convinced of the malicious nature of his girlfriend, which crossed out all her bodily advantages. A King who has lost the trust of his people is a tragic figure, but if that King is not aware of his situation, he can only inspire pity, which has nothing to do with sublime tragedy.
Such was the position of King Charles. People like Athos worshiped not the personality of the King, but the high title of the past; they were ready to serve not so much this person as the idea that the King stood above his nation, above any criticism, above any law.
This opinion in all of England was probably shared by only two people by this time - King Charles and Count de La F;re.
We arrived at the Scots' camp, myself, Athos and Lord Winter. The Scots did not prevent us from meeting the King, since they knew Lord Winter as one of his friends, and he introduced us to them.
They were sure that even if we tried to rescue the King from them, we would not succeed, because there were only three of us, not counting the servants. The King had his valet with him, who followed him everywhere out of a sense of devotion, but if he was not allowed this, he simply waited until he was allowed to serve his master again, and, as a rule, this waiting led to the result he desired.
We brought terrible news to the King. On the way to him, we managed to find out that the parliament decided to pay the Scots half of the money that King Charles owed them, on the condition that they hand over their hostage, the King, to the parliament troops. The remaining half of the debt was promised to them with the wording “at the first opportunity, if any.”
The Scots reasoned that each subsequent offer would most likely be worse than the current one, since they were running out of food, standing camp and waiting for the salary promised by Charles was fraught with a significant probability that the wait would end in nothing. Having Karl as a hostage in their camp, they counted on the possibility of bargaining with parliament, but bargaining always presupposes mutual concessions. Since they agreed to the terms offered to him, this allowed Athos to say with contempt about them that they were much better traders than warriors. Athos remained convinced that all Scots should fight as one for their King and under his leadership.
I watched this scene with sadness, I felt sorry for the King, sorry for Athos and sorry for myself that, out of a sense of false honor, I allowed myself to be drawn into this enterprise.
Still, I'm not used to being defeated. If we came to save King Charles, we must do so even at the cost of our lives, if such a sacrifice would help to accomplish it. I still think so, with the caveat that we, of course, did not need to sacrifice our lives just like that, without hope of success. I thought exactly the same thing then, and, fortunately, Athos had already internalized similar views. I'm afraid that if I had not tried to somehow influence him during our sea trip, he simply would not have agreed to somehow protect his life, and then we would not have returned to France if we had failed to save King.
The king was sleeping, but his sleep was light. As soon as we entered his tent, he opened his eyes. Since he slept without undressing, as on a military campaign, he immediately jumped to his feet.
- Glad to see you, Comte de La F;re! - he exclaimed.
Athos had already told me that he had been an envoy to the English court for some time, so it did not surprise me that the King knew him.
“Allow me, Your Majesty, to introduce you to my friend, the Chevalier d’Herblay, who, like me, has come here to serve you with all his heart ,” he said. “You can dispose of us as you wish, you can order us to die for you if necessary.”
- Thank you, gentlemen! - exclaimed the King. “This is a very valuable addition to my troops!”
“Your Majesty, I’m afraid that you are mistaken when talking about your troops ,” said Athos. —The Scots, whom you consider your army, do not consider themselves your soldiers at all. We learned about this from reliable sources on the way to you, so I’m afraid that besides the three of us, you no longer have any army left.
- What reliable sources are you talking about? - the King asked incredulously.
“Your Majesty, in your country there are people who are in the same sacred Catholic union with me ,” I said. “In this union, it is customary to provide brothers in faith with reliable information that is necessary for the common cause. Believe me, the sources of our information are the most reliable.
“I have known the Chevalier d’Herblay for a quarter of a century ,” said Athos. “During this time, he extremely rarely said: “I know,” but when he says that he knows something, believe me, one should not doubt his words, his information is always accurate and reliable.
“My Scots will hand me over to London, you say?” - asked the King with doubt mixed with grief.
“Two hundred thousand pounds sterling will be brought here soon ,” I said. “This is half the salary that you owed them for the entire time of the unrest in your kingdom.”
- Absolutely right! - Karl exclaimed. — How do you know about the size of this debt?
“I know not only that, Your Majesty ,” I said. “I was informed that quite recently a certain lieutenant from France arrived in London, who conveyed advice to Cromwell and his associates that the English parliament should offer the Scots the payment of half the debt. Mazarin claimed that the Scots would agree to hand you over to Parliament for this amount. Parliament immediately considered this issue and approved this expenditure by a majority vote. The advice turned out to be effective; the Scots actually agreed to accept half of the debt as payment for this exchange.
- My Scots sold me!? - Karl exclaimed. — Did you sell your King? Is it conceivable to sell the King as a thing?
“Remember the Savior,” I prompted. - After all, he was sold too.
- Yes you are right! - agreed the King. “If the Savior was sold for thirty pieces of silver, why should I complain that I was sold for two hundred thousand pounds sterling?” And who is that Judas who, on behalf of all my Scots, concluded this shameful deal?
“General Lieven is in charge of everything here,” answered Athos. “He expresses the opinion of the entire army of Scots.” This vile bargaining was conducted with him, he personally agreed to this deal, on his own behalf, and on behalf of the Scots subordinate to him.
- General Lieven! - Karl exclaimed. “Pretending deference and respect, demonstrating outward devotion, he basely betrayed me, Judas!” May the curse of the Lord be on his head!
I don’t know in what actions of General Lieven King Charles saw loyalty, but I did not argue, and, like Athos, I bowed respectfully before Charles, expressing with all my appearance my condemnation of General Lieven and regret about what had happened.
- What should I do? - the King finally asked after he had calmed down a little and began to think logically.
- In the eyes of the Scots, Your Majesty, you are a guarantee that they will receive the promised money. The money has not yet arrived, so now the Scots are guarding you ,” said Athos. - They guard, not as servants of their master, not as soldiers of their commander, but as merchants their goods, like a jealous husband his wife, for them you are the embodiment of the money whose arrival they are waiting for. As soon as the deal takes place, parliamentary troops will guard you. The Scots don't hate you, but the troops of Parliament probably do. I believe there is no time to waste. It will not be easy to escape from the hands of the Scots, but if this fails, it will be simply impossible to escape from the hands of General Cromwell's army.
“Are you suggesting that we try to leave the camp right now?” - asked the King. - With whom? Lord Winter, can your regiment be relied upon?
“My regiment is long gone, Your Majesty,” replied Lord Winter. “There won’t even be a company of warriors loyal to me, and, therefore, to you, and maybe even less.”
- How many people do you trust as completely as you trust yourself? - asked the King.
“I don’t have any,” Lord Winter replied. “If they had, would I have gone to France to persuade these two noble nobles to join me?” The three of us are all I can offer you, Your Majesty.
“That means four of us will break through,” Athos summed up. “We still have a couple of servants, and you, Your Majesty, have a valet.”
- Seven people, three of whom have no military experience! - answered the King with a sigh.
“No matter how many of us there are, we must act,” I answered. - Salvation will not come on its own.
“Get on your horse, Your Majesty, and ride with us,” said Athos. “We will cross the Tyne and reach Scotland and be safe.”
“Are you of the same opinion, Winter?” - asked the king.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Winter answered.
- And you, d'Herblay? - he turned to me.
“Also, Your Majesty,” I replied.
“One of us will put on your cloak and cockade and mount your horse ,” said Athos. “You must take our cloak and one of the horses we arrived on.” If the Scots decide to shoot, they will be deceived.
“Dear Count,” I objected. “Their Majesty is the key to getting money for them.” They won't shoot the King they sold alive.
“Unless Cromwell told them that he would pay the same, or even more, for the dead King.”
“According to my information, Cromwell is not like that,” I replied. “He will not hire the King’s killers, and will not pay for his death.” Moreover, parliament will not approve of this.
- How do you know? asked Lord Winter.
Athos looked at him eloquently.
“Oh, yes, you said so,” he agreed. - From your sources.
“In that case, changing clothes is canceled ,” said Athos. “Your Majesty, your retinue will take more risks than you.” This suits us. Let's go no later than this evening, as soon as it begins to get dark, although I would prefer to go immediately.
“Have it your way,” the King agreed. “Lord Winter, I ask you to reconnoiter the situation and order the servants of our horses to be as close to the exit of the tent as possible.”
Lord Winter left the King's tent.
“If d’Artagnan had been in his place, he would not have hesitated for a second, and he would have managed to break through even several hundred soldiers,” I thought. “This King thinks a lot, thinks for a long time, and acts very slowly.”
“Sire, our horses, like the horses of our friends, are ready ,” he said. “We can only leave the tent and jump into the saddles together as quickly as possible.” Let's take the road north.
We left the tent and were about to jump on our horses when Athos stopped us.
- It's too late, gentlemen! - he said. - Look in the direction where we were going to break through.
Along the road going north, the troops of the London Parliament were approaching us.
- Let's go in the opposite direction! - exclaimed the King.
- Do you see, Your Majesty, this haze across the entire horizon? - asked Athos. — Parliamentary troops are approaching from all sides. We are surrounded. Someone warned them that you might try to escape.
— Probably the same lieutenant who brought Mazarin’s advice from France? - asked the King with contempt.
“Mordaunt...” whispered Lord Winter.
“Let's go back to my tent ,” said the King. “This is the last piece of land in my state that still belongs to me.” But, as you can see, soon I won’t have that either.

Chapter 150

“Your Majesty,” Athos addressed the King. “We won’t be able to break through all these ranks of soldiers now, during the day, but perhaps we will succeed later.”
—Are you suggesting that we run away in shame? - asked the King.
“At all times, escaping from a vile ambush through the ranks of enemies with weapons in hand is called an attack, not a flight,” Athos objected. “If we still managed to save you and rescue you from the protection of the army of parliament, in whose hands you seem to inevitably end up in the very near future, where should we direct our path?” Do you still have a safe enough refuge in England?
“Alas, no,” answered the King. “On the tenth of June I wrote to all the commandants of the fortresses who were still faithful to me, asking them to surrender their fortresses to the troops of the parliament.
- What made you do this, my King?! - exclaimed Lord Winter.
“I tried to stop the bloodshed and hoped to reach an agreement with parliament,” answered the King. “I appealed to Parliament with a demand that they send me as soon as possible the conditions for my return to London with the restoration of all my rights. For the sake of achieving agreement and peace, I even promised to stop negotiations with the Irish.
- And you stopped them, Your Majesty? asked Lord Winter.
“I told Lord Ormond to stop them,” the King answered evasively.
— Because you found another way to continue them and another person more suitable for this purpose? - Lord Winter suggested, trying to soften the essence of the reproach with the softness of his intonation.
“I don’t trust anyone anymore and prefer to negotiate in person,” answered the King. - With the Irish, with the Scots, with the English, with Parliament, what is the difference, in essence? I have become convinced that those whom I entrust to negotiate on my behalf seem to promise more than I entrusted them with, or perhaps poorly explain the rights on which my demands are based. These people do not have enough flexibility on those issues on which concessions could be made, but they concede where it is absolutely impossible to concede.
“In other words, none of your trusted representatives understands with sufficient clarity all your demands and wishes,” Lord Winter prompted and looked at Athos and me.
Athos and I looked at each other, letting each other know that the King himself probably did not know what exactly he was seeking, negotiating with everyone, and achieving nothing with any of those who participated in them.
“Perhaps His Highness the Prince of Wales could negotiate better?” - asked Athos.
“After he surrendered Bristol, I don’t trust him,” Karl snapped. “It would have been better for him to die defending this city.”
“But this is your son and heir,” Athos said softly.
“All the more so, he should have lived up to this high position, as well as the title of Generalissimo, which I awarded him,” answered the King. - And then, he could be taken hostage in order to dictate terms to me. It would be better if he remained outside England.
“Now this is really better ,” I said. - So, there are no reliable fortresses left on the territory of England for Your Majesty. The only thing left to do is leave her. Where?
“I would dream of being united with my family,” Karl answered. - Since the Queen is in France, my choice is obvious.
“I’m afraid Mazarin will hand you over to the English parliament, just as the Scots promised to do, and as they will do immediately upon the arrival of the army of parliament and money.”
- Mazarin? - the King was indignant. - What does Mazarin have to do with it? I'm going to go to my relatives, my wife and her brother's widow!
“Unfortunately, the policy of France is still determined by its first minister, Cardinal Mazarin,” I answered. “He doesn’t like your august wife’s stay in Paris, but he tolerates this circumstance, since she is in her homeland, in the country where she was born, where the King is her nephew, and the Queen Regent, as you rightly noted, is her widow.” brother But you are the sovereign of another kingdom, and if the parliament, which in your absence will represent the highest and only power in the country, demands your extradition, Mazarin will satisfy this demand.
- Do you believe that he is capable of entering into negotiations with the rebels and satisfying their illegal demands? - Karl exclaimed.
“If you secretly leave your country, it will remain a monarchy without a monarch, Parliament will declare you an outlaw, and then this very Parliament will become the legal authority in England.”
— It turns out that a monarchy remains a monarchy only as long as there is a monarch in it? - the King said thoughtfully. “And I can’t, having gathered troops, go to war against the rebels to restore my legitimate power?”
“You can, if you can recruit these troops,” I answered. “And in this case, you will need to defeat your own people, drown the country in blood, destroying every trace of rebellion.” And then the monarchy will be revived.
“But I already fought against the army of the English Parliament with the help of the Scottish army, and also with the support of the Irish!” - objected the King.
“Your troops did not win, Your Majesty,” Athos answered softly. “And the remnants of these troops, as you see, do not consider you their military leader, although, fortunately, they still recognize you as their King.” But a King without power, a King who must obey parliament.
“Why don’t you, Your Majesty, issue a decree dissolving your parliament?” - I asked.
“You see, Chevalier d'Herblay, in this case I would have to recognize all my attempts to establish mutual understanding with this parliament as erroneous ,” said the King. “And also admit that all my sacrifices were in vain.” A new parliament would have to be elected, and who knows what it would be like? Wouldn't it be worse than what we have?
“You would gain time, and besides, he could become more loyal to Your Majesty, because the country is tired of the civil war ,” I said.
The king impatiently jumped up from his camp chair, and we, who had been standing nearby all this time, were forced by his gesture to take even more respectful poses.
Meanwhile, the king turned to the window of his tent.
“Aramis, you tire the King with your questions,” Athos whispered to me. “You cannot demand anything from the monarch, and even asking him questions is an unforgivable tactlessness.”
I shrugged and also looked out the window.
“It seems they have finally arrived ,” said the King. - Now there will be at least some certainty, which in any case is worse than complete uncertainty.
“I would prefer if they stayed until the morning,” I whispered to Athos. “In this case, we would have the night at our disposal, and there, who knows, maybe we would be able to deceive the guards or kill them.”
“Before I am arrested, I would like to do one more thing, gentlemen ,” said the King.
He took the Order of the Holy Spirit from his neck and placed it around Lord Winter's neck.
After this, he took two ribbons of the Order of the Garter from his casket and approached Athos.
“Comte de La F;re, I thank you for the service you perform under me and for the loyalty that I find in you,” he said solemnly. - I knight you and honor you with this Order.
“We haven’t done anything for you yet, Your Majesty,” Athos objected. “In addition, these awards can only be given to royalty.”
“You forget that I am still the King, and the King can make any person a duke, peer and prince,” Charles objected. - The nobility of your hearts, the nobility of intentions, loyalty when no one remained faithful, all this gives me grounds for such a decision. Moreover, it is possible that I will have no other opportunity to thank you when you prove your devotion not only by your readiness to sacrifice your life for me, but also by doing for me what no other Englishman, except Lord Winter present here, has already done. not ready to fulfill even just one intention. In short, this is what I want, this is what I decided, and I won’t accept refusal.
Athos reverently knelt on one knee and kissed the hem of the King's robe, who had placed the Order of the Garter around his neck.
After this, the same procedure was repeated with me.
“That’s it now ,” said the King. “With only three devoted friends in front of me, I managed to thank each of them, so I had no more important things to do today.
At that moment, the doors of the tent opened and an English officer entered, accompanied by six other officers. In the opening of the canvas doors it was clear that a significant number of soldiers and officers still remained outside the walls of the tent.
“Your Majesty, deign to follow with us to London ,” said the officer.
The king nodded silently and left the tent, accompanied by this convoy that had arrived from London.
- Who is this man? - Athos asked Lord Winter.
“General Oliver Cromwell,” replied Lord Winter.
- What will happen to us? - I asked Athos.
“We have not yet been told that we are prisoners, so I believe we can go wherever we wish,” Lord Winter replied. “And I want to follow my King and, if possible, save him, and if not, then share his fate.”
With these words, Lord Winter left the tent.
At the same moment, a pistol shot rang out, and Lord Winter fell as if knocked down.
Athos and I, who were about to follow him, automatically ducked down and looked in the direction from which the shot came.
“Mordaunt,” I whispered to Athos. - Mordaunt again. Fiend of Hell. What a pity that you did not allow me to kill him, dear Athos. But it's okay, I'll fix this mistake.
“Wait, Aramis,” Athos objected. “If you kill their lieutenant, we will be torn to pieces, and we will no longer be able to help the King, whom we came here to save!”
“If we had killed him earlier, perhaps we would not have had to save the King,” I objected. “As you wish, Athos, but I’ll shoot this bastard!”
I raised the pistol again to aim from a sitting position, but at the very moment when I was about to fire a shot, or rather, a second earlier, an officer of the French Guard entered the tent.
- Gentlemen officers! You are under arrest, I declare you our prisoners! - he said loudly in English, and I immediately recognized the familiar voice of d'Artagnan. - Athos, Aramis, give up, damn you, otherwise they will kill you! - he added in French.
Following him, Porthos entered the tent.
- We surrender! - Athos said loudly in English, handing the sword to d'Artagnan.
- We surrender to you, gentlemen! - I said the same thing, handing over my sword and both of our pistols to Porthos.
- Gentlemen! - cried d'Artagnan, turning to the officers around the tent. - These two noblemen are our prisoners, according to the laws of war they belong to us, and only to us. Besides, they are our fellow countrymen. We intend to obtain a ransom for them, so I ask you not to encroach on their lives and health. We will look after them ourselves.
At this moment Mordaunt approached us.
“Monsieur d'Artagnan, I respect your rank as envoy of the First Minister of France, and I find your demands fair and well founded ,” he said. -Won't you give me your prisoners? I guarantee you that your reward will be worth it, or even more than what you could get for them as a ransom.
“Thank you, Mr. Mordaunt, but I’m not used to receiving what I’m not entitled to, and life has also taught me not to let go of what’s mine in pursuit of something more,” objected d’Artagnan. “You may notice that these people are extremely distinguished, since each of them wears the Order of the Garter on his chest.” Let me doubt that you will be able to offer us the ransom for them that Monsieur du Valon and I intend to receive for them in our homeland. So we are forced to refuse your flattering offer, and I repeat that these people are our prisoners, so I will not allow anyone to encroach on their life and health. I'm not kidding, if any of them gets even one scratch, I will challenge the culprit to a duel, and my sword has never known defeat in a single duel!
“You need real money instead of the officer’s word ,” said Mordaunt and his thin lips stretched into a nasty smile. - Okay, I'll give you money, not a promise. You'll just have to wait a little.
“And Monsieur du Valon and I are in no hurry, Monsieur Mordaunt,” answered d’Artagnan and bowed politely to the lieutenant.
In impotent anger, Mordaunt turned and walked towards his general.
- Listen, d'Artagnan, this is my lady's son! - I whispered.
“I know,” he replied.
“I will definitely break his neck,” added Porthos. - But a little later.
“They are right ,” said Athos. “If we kill him now and here, we are lost.” And our mission will fail.
- What the hell is the other mission? - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
“To save King Charles,” Athos answered modestly.
- Seriously? - D'Artagnan was surprised. - And you crossed the English Channel for this? So this is the trip you wrote about in that letter!
“It is the duty of every nobleman to support the King ,” said Athos.
“I see,” replied d’Artagnan. - Don't continue. Tell me better, how exactly were you going to save him, together, without us, in this vile, foggy England?
“We hoped that chance would show us a way,” I answered calmly.
“Well, okay, chance in the person of me and in the person of Monsieur Porthos stands before you here, and he cannot tell you anything useful ,” said d’Artagnan.
  “This is because our business has not yet become your business ,” said Athos.
“That’s where you are wrong, dear friend,” answered d’Artagnan. - Since the time of that famous failed duel, our business is always our business. One for all, and all for one, have you forgotten? I will be pleased to save the King, if only because Mordaunt passionately desires his death. Let us take revenge on him for the death of Lord Winter, and for all his vile deeds! By the way, poor Winter should have a Christian burial. This rabble won't do it. I see Grimaud and Blaisois are with you, Blunderbuss will be of no use. Let Grimaud and Blaisois bury him.
“And let Blunderbuss take and keep for the King the Order of the Holy Spirit, which the King took from his neck half an hour ago ,” said Athos. “If we fail to return it to the King, we will hand it over to the Queen, or the Prince of Wales.”
After this, Athos ordered Grimaud and Blaisois to bury Lord Winter, and to give the money found on him to the first Catholic church for a funeral service for the soul of the unfortunate Lord Winter, who was killed by the treacherous shot of his own pupil, who was listed as a nephew and was far from being such in reality.

Chapter 151

“The General invites you to dine with him ,” said Mordaunt, returning after a conversation with Cromwell.
“Give him our deepest gratitude, but we prefer to guard our prisoners, and we will dine with them,” answered d’Artagnan.
“You can leave them in the care of my people,” Mordaunt replied. - I will give you such guards that they will not be able to escape.
“Thank you again, Lieutenant, but we prefer to do our own work,” d’Artagnan replied, giving Mordaunt a dazzling smile.
“I swear on my honor, I will ransom these two prisoners from you at any price!” - exclaimed Mordaunt.
“I beg the lieutenant to save his honor for a more opportune occasion, because we are not at all inclined to resolve this issue in the way you propose to us,” answered d’Artagnan with an even more dazzling smile, revealing almost all of his strong Gascon teeth. - Agree that we have the right to dispose of our prisoners as we please.
After that, he made a moderately polite bow, turned around and left, making further negotiations on this topic impossible.
Entering the tent where we were all waiting for him, he gave vent to his feelings.
- Damn this puppy! - he exclaimed. - This bastard wants to get you at any cost!
“Your prisoners belong to you, don’t they?” - I clarified.
“That’s true, but there are two circumstances,” objected d’Artagnan. - Firstly, this Mordaunt is not just a lieutenant, but, it seems, General Cromwell’s aide-de-camp, and certainly his favorite. And Cromwell is in charge here.
“This is unpleasant,” Athos noted.
“Secondly, we received an order from Cardinal Mazarin to obey this Mordaunt in everything, in writing, and, moreover, this little snake knows about it,” continued d’Artagnan.
“In that case, you should give us to him, since he wants it,” answered Athos.
- Athos! I am begging you! - answered d'Artagnan. - Don’t be like a child anymore, my word! Your nobility would embarrass even a student at the Institute of Noble Maidens! We are friends first and foremost, and there is no point in suggesting that we should betray our friendship with the sight of Christ voluntarily going to the cross. However, no. If you were Christ, you would carry not only the cross, but also nails, and a hammer, and, perhaps, you yourself would help nail your feet to the cross! You can’t constantly exude this molasses of nobility when it’s high time for real men to discuss the situation, no matter how bitter it may be! Sometimes your nobility makes my cheekbones ache, it’s disgusting, like honey and sugar!
“Really, Athos, we are prisoners here only for show, for these damned English ,” I said.
“That’s the point, Aramis,” agreed d’Artagnan.
- Great! - exclaimed Porthos. - The four of us are together again, d'Artagnan will come up with something, and we will leave this damned England!
“But first we will try to save the King,” added Athos.
“That’s how it turns out,” answered d’Artagnan. “But first we will definitely strangle Mordaunt.”
“That’s how it turns out, but the King is a priority,” Athos objected.
- Damn it! You quickly forgot that you are our prisoners, Athos! - D'Artagnan burst out laughing. - Well, I like it better! It’s better to command us than to invite us to commit meanness towards you.
“You are our commander, d’Artagnan, this is not discussed, this has been decided once and for all, and for a long time,” Athos smiled and hugged the hot Gascon.
“Mordaunt must answer for the death of Lord Winter,” d’Artagnan snapped. “We must somehow explain to Mazarin why we left England!”
“He has other crimes, no less significant ,” I said.
“I remember,” answered d’Artagnan and turned pale.
I saw tears in the corners of his eyes and looked at his hands. His fingers dug into his palms so tightly that their tips turned white. After all, he loved Katie dearly! What a sensitive soul!
“Athos, if d’Artagnan decides that Mordaunt’s business is more urgent, we should not argue with him ,” I said.
“First of all, we should think about saving your lives, friends, and ours too ,” said d’Artagnan. “I bet Mordaunt will soon come to us with a written order from Cromwell to hand you over to him.”
- What do we do? - asked Porthos.
“I don’t care about his papers, but he will bring with him such guards that it will be difficult for us to cope with even the four of us ,” said d’Artagnan. “We must run now, every delay will only complicate this matter.” Now I will leave the tent and reconnoiter the situation. If I manage to prepare the horses, then as soon as I shout “My God,” all three of you must run out of the tent and run forward, where you will find the horses. Jump on them immediately, and we will rush in the direction I choose. The servants will catch up with us later, I will agree with them on the meeting place. If the entrance from the tent is blocked, I will shout “Lord Jesus!” In this case, cut the back wall of the tent with daggers and run there, where you will find horses. All clear? Let's repeat. I shout: “Oh my God!”, then you run out the door of the tent, I shout: “Lord Jesus!”, then you cut through the back wall and run there.
— What if it would be most convenient to cut through the side wall of the tent? - asked Porthos.
“It’s too complicated, we’ll get confused,” answered d’Artagnan. - We've had enough of two versions of our plan. We're wasting time. I went. Yes, and here's another thing. If you hear explosions or gunshots, ignore them. The signal to escape is my cry.
Athos nodded and patted d'Artagnan on the shoulder. We also nodded in agreement and began to arm ourselves, and d'Artagnan hurriedly left the tent.

After some time, we heard an explosion from the exit and the loud neighing of a dozen horses.
- Catch your horses! - d'Artagnan's voice reached us. - Look, their wagon is on fire, and they are rushing to the gunpowder warehouse! They must be stopped immediately! Jesus Christ!
Porthos, with a mighty swing of his dagger, cut the back wall of the tent so that four could pass through the resulting hole, lined up in a line.
We ran out of the tent and saw seven excellent horses, three of them were already ridden by Grimaud, Blaisois and Mousqueton, and d'Artagnan was jumping on the fourth. We didn’t keep ourselves waiting, we quickly jumped into our saddles and rushed to where the clever Gascon pointed. In the chaos that d'Artagnan organized, no one even chased us. Only after we had passed the camp and passed the sentries did the British realize that something was wrong with our escape. They sluggishly shot after us, not hoping to catch up.
We rode without looking back until the English camp was left far behind.
- Let's move to a light trot! - D'Artagnan shouted. “Otherwise we will drive our horses, and we will be easily caught on foot tomorrow after dawn.”
He was right as always, we switched to a trot.
-What were these explosions? - asked Athos.
“I drove the cart with the hay to the gunpowder warehouse and set the hay on fire with a wick and a small keg of gunpowder,” answered d’Artagnan. - Quite small, but dense. The explosion scared the horses, and they rushed off. The performance went off like clockwork.
“I can imagine how furious Mordaunt will be when he finds out that we have eluded him!” - I exclaimed.
“But he has one consolation ,” said Athos. “He was looking for four Frenchmen involved in Armentiersky. He only knew two names, mine and Aramis. Now he knows all four.
“Damn it, I’m ready to tell him my name and say that I took part in the Armantiette affair, and I don’t regret it!” - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
“And I regret that we didn’t find her bastard and break his neck ,” said Porthos.
- Porthos, would you raise your hand against a child? - asked Athos. - You are slandering yourself.
“No, of course, I wouldn’t dare to do that,” answered Porthos. - But this fact does not prevent me from regretting that we did not do this! Just think, then so many misfortunes would not have happened! If only Lord Winter were alive! If I were alive...
I took Porthos by the hand.
“Don’t continue, Porthos, you’re right ,” I said. “But we couldn’t imagine that her son would grow into such a monster!”
- Monstra pariunt monstra, - gloomily said d' Artagnan . _
- D'Artagnan, do you know Latin? - I asked.
“I think he said, ‘Monsters give birth to monsters,’” said Porthos.
- And you, Porthos? — I asked, even more surprised.
- Wasn’t it Spanish? - asked Porthos. — I have heard Spanish spoken more than once.
“It sounds a little different in Spanish,” I replied. - Los monstruos dan a luz a monstruos.
“I don’t see the difference,” Porthos answered philosophically.
 
Chapter 152

I must slightly refute Grimaud's reports in his romantic memoirs about what did not happen. I must say, I liked reading his fantasies, but they have nothing to do with reality.
Readers have probably already noticed that Grimaud's book, entitled "Twenty Years After", describes the alleged betrayal of the Scots, who "sold" their King. Grimaud did not understand the twists and turns. He only saw that money in the amount of two hundred pounds sterling had been delivered to the Scots, and it was impossible to hide this, since he was delivered in a whole convoy of carts. Since Parliament paid this sum not so much in gold as in silver, this money actually weighed two hundred thousand pounds, and was brought in boxes. The boxes were opened and money was distributed according to the statements, everyone who received a salary put his signature or put his finger smeared with ink, while others simply put a cross against their name.
The treasurers and guards who arrived with this money were forbidden to make even slightly disparaging statements about the Scottish soldiers; Parliament wanted peace with them. The English soldiers, whose salaries were also withheld, were, of course, offended to see that a settlement had been made with the Scots, although not full, but only half. Of course, they spoke in whispers among themselves about the injustice committed against them, because they were the ones who fought, and the victories over the King should be attributed to them, but the parliament decided first of all to settle accounts with the Scots. They did not care that the Scottish troops should preferably be removed back to Scotland, and their hostage, King Charles, should be taken under escort to London in order to deprive him of the opportunity to raise another army and continue the war he had started, or to declare new.
The validity and reasonableness of the government's actions never consoled those who considered themselves offended by these actions.
The accusation of the Scots that they sold their King was never heard except from the lips of Charles himself, who already had little understanding of what was happening around him.
Grimaud describes the situation as if we had remained for a long time in the presence of an army in which Mordaunt was also a lieutenant, while the King was taken to London. In his description, we left this army much later than the King, which gave us the opportunity to join the convoy that accompanied the King to London. He also depicts our attempt to kidnap the King on the way to the capital.
The truth is that Mordaunt's main purpose in being in the parliamentary army was revenge on King Charles. He could not remain in the place where the King was handed over to the army of Parliament, while the convoy took the King away. For him, the most desirable thing was the sight of the captive Karl, he did not trust anyone but himself, he would not leave this convoy under any circumstances. This young man was not stupid, he understood that in his game it was King Charles who was the biggest bet. Indeed, if Charles had regained his power, Mordaunt would not have had such ample opportunities to seek us out and pursue us with his vengeance, as if Charles had been executed, or at least completely and finally deprived of power. Having dealt with the King, Mordaunt gained even greater influence over Oliver Cromwell, while the power of Oliver Cromwell himself also increased significantly. This gave him almost unlimited opportunities to search for us throughout England and inflict reprisals on us to his liking, because he had a whole company under his command.
In addition, Mordaunt had already realized that the presence of Athos and me in England was explained by our intention to save the King. Thus, in the person of the King, Mordaunt had bait with which he could catch Athos and me, as well as D'Artagnan and Porthos, after he was convinced that we were connected by friendship, and, therefore, by common goals.
Mordaunt, therefore, had as his goal to deal with us immediately, after which he would accompany Charles to London, and when he learned of our escape, he joined the convoy for two reasons. Firstly, to personally make sure that the King will not run away anywhere, and to prevent his escape during any attempts to free him, and secondly, realizing that if he is lucky enough to meet us, it will be in the exact place where the King will be Charles.
Therefore, a situation could not arise in which the four of us could follow the convoy carrying King Charles, while Mordaunt would be somewhere else. This did not happen, of course.
By the way, Grimaud writes that d'Artagnan objected to being taught English. He didn't need to study it because he knew it. Having been in London as an envoy of Queen Anne, he realized that knowledge of this language could still be useful to him, although in the time of Buckingham in the capital all the nobles knew French, since our language was considered the language of communication for the nobility. At the time I am writing about, many older nobles also knew French, but young people had already given up learning our language, so our knowledge helped us a lot. Of all of us, only Porthos did not know English, but he knew some Spanish, apparently hoping that the Queen would someday have the honor of talking to him, and she, of course, would be pleased to hear the couple of hundred words that he managed learn while bored on your estate.
The only thing we managed to do was to secretly follow the convoy.
Grimaud writes that our friends, d'Artagnan and Porthos, decided to play the role of Cromwell's allies who captured us, and we, in his opinion, portrayed their captives by giving them our swords. This precaution would not have been successful, since in the eyes of the local population we were all foreigners. No one told them that somewhere along the roads of England two good Frenchmen were moving, having taken two unkind Frenchmen prisoner. It would be ridiculous. If Mordaunt had ordered notices to be sent out about us and our friends, then he, of course, would have guessed to indicate in them that four French nobles with three servants were wanted, he would have attached our description, and would also have added that two of these nobles may try to pose as allies of the parliamentary army, and pass off the other two as their prisoners, and that this representation should not be believed.
As for the convoy that followed the King in order to prevent him from escaping, the entire army of Parliament, sent to take him away from the Scots, had as its goal only the delivery of Charles to the capital, it had no other goals, so the whole this army was a convoy. It was completely unthinkable for four such conspicuous foreigners like us to hide in this convoy, mixed up in the crowd, and even if we had been lost in this army for several hours, we would have been immediately reported to General Cromwell, from whom he would have immediately learned about it and Mordaunt.
Well, reading the chapters describing our journey all the way to London, together with the convoy accompanying Charles, amused me a lot, and nothing more.
My memoirs do not contain fiction, so I do not intend to describe anything like that in them.
We had to make our way to London in a roundabout way, changing our appearance as radically as possible. We would have to throw away our swords, keeping only the small pistols that we hid in our clothes. We couldn’t pretend to be peasants or bourgeois, no one would believe us. We would quickly be exposed even if we tried to portray English nobles. Of all of us, only Athos spoke English without an accent, and only he could pass for a local nobleman. We really didn’t want to part with our swords, but we saw no other way out.
D'Artagnan came up with a brilliant plan that enabled us all to reach London safely and even keep our swords.
Having looked at us all with a meticulous glance, and without making an exception for himself, having for this purpose the dim mirror of one of the taverns where we stopped for the night, he said that our appearance would give us away no later than the next day.
“My friends, we all look extremely suspicious,” he concluded. “We need to change our appearance radically.” We only look like a bunch of comedians, and that is what we will portray. Athos will portray an eccentric gentleman who decided to bring his personal theater to London and show it to the local population in the hope of getting rich from some performances. Porthos, of course, will be our Hercules, he will demonstrate strength exercises. Anyone who doubts that we are a troupe of actors or acrobats, seeing his power displays, will cast aside all doubts. You, Aramis, will portray the hero-lover in the dramas of this what’s his name...
Here d'Artagnan took from his bag a tattered book, on the cover of which he saw the name he was trying to remember.
- William Shakespe! - said d'Artagnan.
“William Shakespeare,” corrected Athos.
- Especially! - D'Artagnan agreed. “It says here that these plays have rightfully been the favorite plays of the British for thirty years now.” Since the book was published twenty years ago, we can say that the British have been loving their Shakespeare for half a century. You need to learn at least one piece close to the text. At least a couple of actions. Athos, you know better about this, choose your taste, tragedy or comedy.
“If there is “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,” then I choose this one ,” said Athos. “I don’t even have to learn it by heart, since I know almost all of this drama close to the text.”
- Wonderful! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “In this case, you will not only be an eccentric nobleman who loves the theater, but also a lover of participating in theatrical productions in person!” Everyone else will have to learn this drama.
“We can say that we only recently began to stage this play, and use the services of a prompter,” Athos clarified. - Let Blaisois be our prompter.
- What does this position mean? - asked d'Artagnan.
“This is a man hiding in front of the stage and telling the actors their words ,” said Athos.
- Well, we need to buy a carriage and acting costumes, and we are a troupe of traveling actors! - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
“I will never agree to pretend to be a circus or theater actor ,” said Porthos. - This is humiliating for a nobleman.
“Do you know, Porthos, that the King himself took part in theatrical performances as an actor?” - I asked Porthos.
- Can't be! - exclaimed Porthos. - Our young King Louis XIV ?
“I can’t vouch for him, although I think that when he grows up and looks after young ladies-in-waiting, he will not give up this way of gaining their favor. But King Louis XIII practiced this. And even the great Cardinal Richelieu himself wrote plays for him!
“You convinced me, Aramis ,” said Porthos. “What is not shameful for the King is not shameful for a worthy nobleman.”
We divided the roles, which gave us many reasons to laugh and make mutual jokes. Nobody wanted to play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Even Grimaud, Blaisois and Mousqueton flatly refused.
“Let’s remove the scenes with these scoundrels,” answered d’Artagnan.
“But there are still more roles in this drama than us ,” said Athos.
“So our performance will be called “Shakespeare.” Hamlet. Selected Scenes,” d’Artagnan resolved the problem. — We will present only the most exciting scenes. And by the way, there is a sword fight scene at the end! Hamlet fights with his friend Laertes. Gentlemen, we will keep our swords with us, but from now on they are called theatrical props. We need them for the final scene!
“Bravo, d'Artagnan, but in the final scene only two fight, so that would explain the presence of two swords, but not four ,” said Athos.
- Don't find fault, Athos! - D'Artagnan waved him off. “We are inept actors, we haven’t really learned how to hold swords in our hands, you, as the owner of the theater, stocked up on two spare swords just in case.” What's suspicious here? Besides, you are a nobleman! One of the swords, or even two, may rightfully be yours. And, by the way, remember, you are such an eccentric theatergoer that under no circumstances did you agree to use training rapiers. You insist that this performance involves real swords. This is your eccentricity.
“I’ve already gotten into the role,” Athos laughed. — Theatrical art requires realism! No training foils! Only real swords! William Shakespeare would not have allowed his greatest tragic hero, Prince Hamlet, to be cut down by a wooden sword! And don't persuade me!
- Great! - D'Artagnan admired. - I believe you, Athos. By the way, come up with some names for all of us.
Athos came up with names for us that we had to learn and respond to. Since no one knew our servants by name, we did not change their names, but only replaced ours. Athos himself began to be called Mr. Atwood, I - Arnold, Porthos - Porter, and D'Artagnan - Darrick. We had no difficulty in learning these names, since Athos tried to make them slightly similar to our previous French names.
I must say that we got to London not without incident. But these adventures had nothing to do with valor, exploits and glory. It was a comical epic, overshadowed by the tragic reflections that perhaps this was not only our last journey together, but even very likely that these were our last days in this world, since we were determined to free the King and were ready to die , bringing this idea to life.

Chapter 153

Grimaud reported that Athos said that he knew London perfectly and could walk around it with his eyes closed. But he forgot to reveal the reason for this, and it is that he was an envoy for several years at the court of King Charles, I have already mentioned this.
Grimaud writes that we stopped at the Bedford Tavern. Maybe I don’t remember these details anymore, because we had no time then.
Reading this confused Grimaud, one gets the impression that as soon as the King was brought to London, he was almost immediately sentenced to execution; literally the next day, as he writes, the trial took place. He's wrong, of course.
This process of parliament deciding the fate of its King took an extremely long time. And by the time the King arrived, it was not yet clear to anyone how exactly this would end, although, of course, we were not left with the most alarming feeling for his fate. We breathed fog, were soaked in English dampness, ate tasteless food and washed it down with even more disgusting swill, which they called beer.
Meanwhile, Parliament developed a draft agreement with the King, which provided for his voluntary removal from all government for twenty years, the permanent abolition of the Anglican Episcopal Church, and the recognition of the Presbyterian Church, in accordance with the agreement between the English and the Scots. He was obliged to prohibit the performance of Catholic rites anywhere in the empire, including at court, despite the fact that the Queen was a Catholic. For twenty years, the treaty deprived the King of the right to be commander-in-chief and appoint generals and officers to leading positions. These rights were to be delegated to parliament. Parliament was supposed to have a land and naval army at its disposal; Parliament excluded the right of amnesty for seventy-one adherents of the King, which would condemn them to the punishment that Parliament would choose for them. Anyone who took up arms on the side of the King was prohibited from holding public positions and positions in the state.
With this draft treaty, a deputation of two lords and four deputies of the lower house went to the King.
If Karl had become acquainted with this agreement and rejected some of its points, these would have been at least some kind of negotiations with those who held his life in their hands and had already begun to gradually realize this. I would understand the King if he rejected this treaty after reading it.
But the King acted differently. As soon as one of the lords was about to read the draft treaty to the King, the King arrogantly interrupted him.
- Before I begin to listen to what you are going to read to me, I would like to know what it is, on what basis you are going to read it to me, and whether you have the legal authority to enter into any contracts with me or agreements that limit my rights ,” he said. “Can you refer to any article of the laws of England that gives you the right to enter into an agreement with me?”
Lord Pembroke glanced at the other delegates.
“No, sir ,” he said. “I’m afraid we cannot cite the specific article of the law on the basis of which we are acting, but due to the circumstances that have arisen at the present time ...
“With all due respect to each of you,” the King interrupted, “it would be imprudent on my part to enter into negotiations with a committee that has no legal right to do so.” No matter who you are trying to introduce here, your entire distinguished delegation can be replaced by any trumpet player.
“We came here to announce the text of this proposal ,” said Lord Pembroke, trying to control himself and continue to speak respectfully, but firmly. “We will read this document and relieve Your Majesty of our presence.”
“Well, as you can see, I don’t have any urgent matters right now ,” said Karl. “If your task is to entertain me with some reading, I will not object, but I do not promise anything.”
After that, he leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs and closed his eyes, which made it unclear whether he was listening or just thinking about something of his own.
Lord Pembroke read out a document, which, of course, was offensive to the King, who still considered himself a monarch in his state, but it was a completely reasonable solution for a person who would adequately assess the current situation. Unfortunately, the King was not like that.
“I hope that you do not expect an immediate answer to what I was forced to hear?” - asked the King. “I won’t detain you any longer, gentlemen.”
“We cannot give you more than ten days to answer,” Lord Pembroke said firmly. “If we do not receive Your Majesty’s answer within this period, we will be forced to consider that your answer is negative on all counts.”
“Okay, you will receive an answer within this time frame,” replied Karl.
He did not realize that this was his last opportunity not only to save his life, but also to maintain the status of King, even without the right to control politics for twenty years. But even twenty years sometimes pass. In any case, such an agreement would also preserve for him the right to transfer the royal dignity by inheritance to his eldest son, that is, the eldest living, since his first-born died on the same day he was born.
It seems to me that at that moment the King was least concerned about the issue of transferring the throne to his son. Was he really expecting military help from someone? From whom? The English, Irish, Scots, and Spaniards turned their backs on him. Did he expect help from France? At this very time, the French ambassador received instructions from the Queen, which, of course, were dictated by Mazarin. The French Ambassador, who had previously promised military support on behalf of France, now advised, on behalf of the Queen, the First Minister and on his own behalf, to come to terms with the situation and make peace with Parliament.
But the King did not want to understand anything, he heard, but did not listen, he was waiting for a miracle, or he believed in his fate. Let me remind you that Lord Winter managed to convey to the King a letter from his wife, Queen Henrietta, who begged him to think about them and save his life if everything else could not be saved. He seemed to have forgotten this request too.
Meanwhile, the King sent a letter to Ireland in which he called on the Irish to stand under his banner in order to restore order in the country, promising them any benefits for this. This letter became the property of parliament.
At this time, there was still no agreement in various circles of England, the army and its generals hoped to reach an agreement with the King, Parliament also hoped for a compromise, there was no real force that would set as its task the physical elimination of the monarch, but after a series of actions by Charles, almost everyone realized one simple fact, which was that no negotiations with the King would lead to anything. No agreements will be reached, he will not make any compromises and will not fulfill any promises.
At the next meeting of parliament, deputy Thomas Roth, who had previously been extremely taciturn, asked to speak.
“My Lord Chairman, our King has lately shown by all his behavior that the only worthy place for him to stay is Bedlam ,” he said. “I humbly ask you to stop discussing and composing all kinds of appeals to him containing any proposals.”
“The Emperor proved to us that he expects from us only admiration and submission,” Ayrton picked up. “But he does not fulfill the task of governing the state, so it is shifted onto all of us.”
- But to refuse agreement with the King means to destroy parliament! - exclaimed one of the members.
“We have to at least do something,” Ayrton objected. - Inaction of Parliament will destroy it even faster than lack of agreement with the King.
— What if he issues a decree dissolving parliament? - asked the same voice.
- Who will listen to him? - asked Thomas Roth. - This is now, after everything that happened!
Thomas Roth's proposal was put to a vote and prevailed by one hundred and forty votes to ninety-two. Parliament thus declared its own alienation from the King, it declared its rejection of him.
The king, as a criminal, by order of parliament, was escorted to Hearst Castle and in this uncomfortable place he first felt that he was doomed. The arrogant monarch, who had previously not seen people in his own retinue, now began to talk with his jailers, trying to win them over to his side.
“There are no laws on the basis of which a sovereign can be brought to trial by his subjects ,” he told them.
Technically he was right, but the guards were just that, guards.
For some time, passions raged between the leadership of the army and parliament, and there was no solution to the fate of the King.
Finally, the King was transported to Windsor. This move made him think that he was being taken into account again. But it was an illusion. He was transported there only to be taken from there to court.
The lower house considered the King's case in his absence and declared him the culprit of the civil war, an ally of the rebellious Scots and the initiator of the Irish rebellion against the Kingdom of England. She also proposed creating a Supreme Judicial Tribunal to try him.
This decree condemned despotism as a system of government, but continued to recognize royal power as legitimate. The monarch was thus brought to trial as a private citizen who had abused his legitimate power.
This resolution was sent to the House of Lords, which had to accept it or reject it.
Usually no more than six lords came to the meeting, but this time all sixteen came.
“Only His Majesty has the right to convene or dissolve Parliament ,” said Lord Manchester. “Consequently, it is absurd to accuse him of treason against parliament.” How can the one who creates it betray parliament? There is no parliament without the King, only the King is the source of the existence of parliament, there is no and cannot be any responsibility of the King before parliament, and, of course, the King cannot be a criminal against parliament.
The reason for such intercession was that the lords began to feel that, following the King, they too could be brought to justice.
All sixteen lords unanimously rejected this resolution of the lower house.
Almost two and a half hundred members of the lower house thus felt that their decision meant nothing if sixteen lords overturned it. Two weeks later, the gentle House decreed that the decisions of the Upper House were of no importance, and that henceforth, after God, the people alone were the only source of legitimate power in the country, and therefore the supreme power belonged to the Lower House, which was elected by the English people. Its decisions do not require approval by any other authority.
A force has appeared in the country, ready to take responsibility for the fate of the King.

Chapter 154

“After a long and bloody civil war, England was still a kingdom ,” said Athos. “But yesterday, without any bloodshed, England became a republic.” A tenth of the lower house usurped power in that house, and on its behalf usurped the power of the entire parliament, eliminating the upper house. This new structure arbitrarily placed itself above the King. Now everything is possible.
“They call themselves the people's representatives ,” said d'Artagnan.
“That’s a lie,” answered Athos. “They are only the chosen ones of the propertied classes, if it comes to that.” The middle class has risen to power. I heard that even Cromwell was horrified by what happened. Here is his statement: “He who intends to depose the King and deprive his heirs of the throne is the greatest rebel and traitor.”
“But his other statement is that he is ready to make every effort to save the King, but is not going to sacrifice his life or even his position for him,” added d’Artagnan. “He is either a monarchist pretending to be a republican when it is profitable, or a republican pretending to be a monarchist when otherwise is dangerous.” And most likely he himself has not yet decided who he is.
“He has Mordaunt as his adjutant-adviser, and he is an obvious republican!” - said Athos.
“He just hates King Charles,” I clarified. “It does not at all follow from this that he seeks to transfer power to the people or to any collegial structure. He wouldn't mind Oliver Cromwell being the new King, or anyone who would listen to at least some of his advice.
“It’s disgusting when scorpions like Mordaunt get the opportunity to influence the fate of the state!” - Porthos grumbled. “Only a country as rotten as the Army can allow itself to be ruled by such scoundrels.”
- Dear Porthos, you don’t know history well! - I objected. “Any scoundrel has a thousand times more chance of reaching the top of power than a decent person.” That is why history is replete with examples of the power of scoundrels, while we owe examples of the power of good and decent monarchs only to children's fairy tales.
“Tomorrow the King will be tried ,” said d’Artagnan. “There will be a lot of people, and there will, of course, be enough guards to rule out any attempts to free him.” But we should try to get to this gathering, if only to keep abreast of further events, and also, perhaps, to track down Mordaunt, who, of course, will certainly be there. It's dangerous, damn it, but if we don't undertake such sorties, then why are we even rotting in this musty, foggy city and in this damp, cold country?
“You’re right, d’Artagnan, but we shouldn’t appear there in the guise of provincial actors!” - said Athos. “We should take on the appearance of ordinary English townspeople.”
“Well, that’s true, because if we are recognized there, but we manage to hide, we can transform back into provincial actors,” answered d’Artagnan. “We need clothes that can be easily removed and disposed of if necessary, in order to confuse the pursuers.” Some kind of cloaks or something like that.
“Do you know, gentlemen, that amazing things happen in London?” - I asked. “According to my information, almost all the lords, most of the nobles, and almost all the lawyers left the city. All of them are probably afraid to participate in this trial of their own King, realizing that history could turn against them in the very near future.
- Or maybe they are simply disgusted to participate in this crime? - asked Athos.
“It may be so,” I agreed. - One does not exclude the other.
“Well, that’s an idea ,” said d’Artagnan. “This means that we need to try to ensure that all the executioners also disappear from London, in the event that this unjust court nevertheless sentences the King to death.”
- Do you really allow such blasphemy? - Athos exclaimed.
“I would be glad to think of people better than they are, as you do, Athos,” answered d’Artagnan. “But simple prudence demands otherwise from me.” And life experience suggests that sometimes it is better to think worse about people than they deserve. In any case, in such difficult situations as we find ourselves in.
- How many executioners are there in London? - asked Athos. - Will we be able to remove everyone, including their henchmen? And, for God's sake, don't kill them!
“We must find out as quickly as possible, how many there are, and how many assistants and deputies they can have,” answered d’Artagnan. “I didn’t intend to kill the executioners.” For such a gloomy country as England seems to me, executioners are apparently a very important component of their social structure. Sooner or later, this republic, created yesterday, will collapse. And then these executioners will be in great demand. So we'll just tie them up gently and store them in some basement.
“It wouldn’t be bad for them to sit in a cellar full of wine, sausages and hams!” - Porthos exclaimed and winked at me.
- Well, Grimaud and I spent more than a week in such a basement and we are not tormented by regret about the aimless days we spent! - said Athos with a laugh. “In those years of our youth, this was an exceptional opportunity to taste such a variety of pickles, smoked foods and wines!” I haven’t tried some types of wine since then. If I pass by this inn, perhaps I’ll give the innkeeper another five or six pistoles in memory of his hospitality.
“It was forced, and the vile innkeeper, who dared to claim that your pistols were fake, paid for his meanness and vileness!” - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “Besides, I paid all his expenses in connection with your stay in his bins.” Better give these pistols to those who can tell us how many executioners there are in London and where to look for them.
“I continue to believe that parliament, even in its most truncated form, will not dare to sentence the King to death ,” said Athos.
- Read the accusations against the King that are written in leaflets posted all over London! - said d'Artagnan. - And who came up with the idea of spreading slander against the defendants even before the start of the trial?! This trial will be under the yoke of public opinion; they will not dare to justify the King, fearing the people's anger. Those who would like to vote for his acquittal simply do not dare to appear in court.
“Or they won’t be allowed in there ,” I said, and, unfortunately, I was right.
We did not yet know that this method of putting up leaflets was invented and first used by Mordaunt. And we did not know that the texts of the leaflets, one of which was read by d'Artagnan, were compiled by Cromwell with the most active help of Mordaunt.
In London, copies of hundreds of different pamphlets were passed from hand to hand. Some of them persistently demanded the trial and execution of the King. Others called for his acquittal. I personally wrote some of these pamphlets demanding the acquittal of the King, passing them on to one of my acquaintances, a member of the Order. Of course, the Order was interested in preserving the life of the King, since whatever he was, it was the last stronghold of true religion in England. Despite all my surprise at the certain illogicality of the King’s actions, I remained his adherent, since he was my co-religionist, the husband of my King’s sister, in other words, he was sympathetic to me like any ally, whether in glory and power, or in infamy and insignificance. I honestly made every effort to save him, and would have done this even if I had not been bound by the promise I made to his wife, Queen Henrietta.
My pamphlets, I dare to hope, were bold, witty and convincing. It was probably they who prompted some lords to leave London. Unhappy ones! It would be better if they had the courage to attend this wrongful trial and express their opinion. Perhaps then the verdict would have been different?
In any case, as a result of my literary works, I saw that even Thomas Fairfax and Heinrich Wen openly spoke out against the trial of the King. As for Oliver Cromwell, he trusted that the Lord would tell them the right decision. Well, in this case, the King would have to be judged not by parliament, but by a commission of church leaders, wouldn’t it? However, the Catholic Church was rejected by the English people, and one would not expect leniency towards the Catholic King from a gathering of Protestants.
So, like d'Artagnan, I expected the worst.

The tribunal meeting began with a prayer service, in which the Protestant priests asked the Lord to guide parliament on the right path, to show His mercy and justice to everyone.
Not a bad performance, saturated with hypocrisy and lies!
As soon as the prayer service ended, the officer on duty reported that the King would soon be taken to Westminister.
Cromwell addressed those present.
“We should decide that we will answer the question, by whose authority are we judging him, by whose authority?” - he said.
“In the name of the lower house, representing the entire parliament, that is, in the name of the entire people of England,” answered Heinrich Martin.
Silence reigned. No one supported this proposal, but no one objected. Everyone was frightened by the responsibility they had taken upon themselves.
Presiding officer John Bradshaw, dressed in a judge's robe, solemnly entered the hall. In front of him were carried a sword and a staff, symbolizing justice and punishment. These symbols, which in themselves evoked an eerie foreboding, were solemnly placed on a table covered with an expensive Turkish carpet to match the color of Judge Bradshaw's chair, upholstered in blood-red velvet. The secretary sat down on a bench near the dais on which the judge sat. The members of the tribunal sat on benches, which were covered with cloth of the same blood-red color. The feeling of impending bloodshed was felt in everything. It even seemed to me that the whole hall was saturated with the smell of blood, so familiar to any soldier.
Spectators poured into the hall, rushing to take better seats, but as soon as they entered the room, they immediately felt timid, fell silent and tried to move to their seats as quietly as possible. There was an ominous silence in the hall, such as happens at a funeral service, although the King was not yet dead, but it seemed that he no longer belonged to this world, and that the ominous hand of death had entered this hall ahead of him.
As soon as the spectators were seated, ranks of soldiers entered the hall, who were supposed to ensure order and prevent any excesses.
Then the King was brought in.
Having a short figure, he stood so straight that he seemed to have become taller. With all his appearance he showed his contempt for everyone present. He was dressed all in black, with only silver lace trim decorating his collar and cuffs. In his hand he held an expensive ivory cane, with a round head decorated with diamonds, shining brightly from the slightest ray of light. On his head was a black hat with a silver braid and a small but luxurious black feather. He was elegance itself, which had condescended to descend into a pool of blood and hatred. He sat down on a chair upholstered in red velvet, the same as the one on which the judge sat, but as a sign of his royal dignity he left on his hat. His seat was just one step away from that of the chief prosecutor, John Cook.
Bradshaw began the jury roll call. There were one hundred and thirty-five people on the list.
The first to be named was Thomas Fairfax.
A masked woman shouted:
“He’s smart enough not to come here!”
“This is Lady Fairfax, wife of Thomas Fairfax,” Athos whispered in my ear.
Bradshaw shuddered and looked at this brave lady, but, probably out of fear that the worst might happen, he pretended that nothing special had happened.
He continued to call out the jurors from the list as if nothing had happened, in an even, dispassionate voice. Only sixty-seven people were present, less than half the list.
The tribunal should have been declared incompetent due to the lack of a quorum, but Bradshaw pretended that everything was in order. Having finished with the list of those present, he stood up and looked at the King.
- Charles Steward, King of England! - he said, while Karl did not move his ear, continuing to look at the knob of his cane and admiring the play of light in it. “The communities of England, represented in Parliament, deeply imbued with a consciousness of the misfortunes to which the English people were subjected, believing that you were the main culprit of them, decided to prosecute these crimes in court. For this purpose they established this supreme court, before which you have now appeared. You will now hear the accusations that are brought against you.
There was a pause. The king was not going to answer.
Bradshaw sat down in his chair with an important look. As the pause continued, Bradshaw motioned for Attorney General John Cook to read the indictment.
John Cook was about to get up, but at that moment the King extended his cane and gently touched his shoulder.
“Be quiet,” he said quietly.
The prosecutor, without having time to say a word, sat back, believing that the King wanted to say something.
At this time, the head of the cane suddenly fell off and fell to the floor.
The king expected someone from those present to pick it up and give it to him, but no one dared to provide him with this service, no one moved from their place. At the King’s feet lay a diamond ball, the cost of which was no less than two hundred thousand livres. But the King was not interested in its cost, it was his favorite cane, he was going to look at the play of light in these diamonds all the time while the trial was going on, in their beauty he drew his courage and his carelessness, now this ball lay at his feet, but the King considered it beneath his dignity to raise it. However, there was no one who would dare to serve it to him, at least among those who were sitting in the front rows.
Athos rushed forward, but we, me and d'Artagnan, grabbed him by the arms and pulled him back.
-Are you crazy? - I whispered in his ear.
“Sorry,” Athos whispered in response. - God, what a shame! Will no one do this service for him?
It did not escape the King's gaze that someone in the second row made a movement to serve him. He looked at Athos, then at me, and, without a doubt, recognized us. His face brightened.
He bent down and picked up the head of his cane himself, but this gesture of submission to fate influenced his further behavior. He was embarrassed, gave up the idea of forbidding the attorney general to speak, and only slowly screwed the knob back onto the cane.
John Cook read the verdict of guilty, which listed Charles Stewart's crimes in the eyes of the tribunal. He reported that Charles was guilty of lawlessness and arbitrariness, of organizing intervention, of starting a civil war, of tyranny, of violating treaties, and so on. After this, Cook demanded that the King be brought to trial as a tyrant, state criminal and murderer.
The last word seemed to greatly amuse the King. He was ready to hear to himself that he was a tyrant, that he was a state criminal, but the word “murderer” did not suit him. He could be guilty of the death of his subjects, but the direct perpetrator of the crimes is usually called a murderer. It seems that even while leading his army, King Charles never personally killed anyone.
A contemptuous smile appeared on the King’s face; he even laughed silently in response to this ridiculous accusation.
Bradshaw turned to the King.
- My lord, have you heard what the communities of England accuse you of? - he asked. — The court is awaiting your response.
It was probably at this point that Charles realized that he should have dissolved parliament. He had the right to do so. But he did not have the right to call on the Scots, Irish or French for help, thereby starting a civil war in his own state. Just as he had no right to send English troops against Scotland before. Probably, but he realized this guilt, but guilt only before his conscience and before God, since even at that hour he did not consider anyone the right to judge him, since they were all his subjects, and, therefore, were obliged to obey him, unconditionally and unconditionally . That's how he was raised.
“I would like to know by what authority I was called here?” - he said, forgetting that even before the reading of the charges began, he was told who this tribunal represented.
One could agree with this or disagree, but the answer was given to him even before he asked the question.
“More recently, I negotiated with parliament on peace terms, and we have already agreed on almost everything,” he continued. — Why did the results of these negotiations lead to nothing? And what is this new tribunal to which, in your opinion, I am obliged to answer questions that, in my opinion, only my conscience and the Lord have the right to ask me?
“You, Your Majesty, have probably forgotten that words have already been spoken to you which told you whose power we represent here and on what basis,” replied Bradshaw. “In that case, I will repeat that we represent the authority of the people of England, who elected you to be Kings, and thus judge in their name.”
“The people of England did not elect me as King, but received me as such by right of inheritance of royal power,” the King objected. - Do you see? You confuse events, get confused in legal concepts, violate the laws of the country in which you live! When I asked by what right you demand an answer from me, I meant a legal right, undeniable from a legal point of view. I recognize that power can be not only legal, but also illegal. Such is the power of force, the power of thieves and robbers, the power of those who captured their rightful ruler by force of arms and are preparing to hold a trial against him. But I asked you not about this form of power, but about legal power from the point of view of the laws of England, where you and I have the honor to reside.
“As I have already said, the power of the tribunal is legitimate, since the tribunal was created by Parliament, elected by the people of England,” Bradshaw repeated.
- I object! - answered the King. — Parliament must be approved by the King, without this it is not parliament. Consequently, Parliament is obliged to obey the King in everything, its function is only to give advice and prepare proposals, which the King has the right to take into account or not accept. Therefore, the King is under no circumstances subject to Parliament, and Parliament under no circumstances can create any tribunal or court that would have the right to try the King.
After these words, Karl again began to examine the head of his cane.
“If you do not accept the legitimacy of this tribunal, then the tribunal will continue the process against you,” Bradshaw replied. “You were given the opportunity to respond to the accusations and justify yourself, but you did not take advantage of this opportunity. The Tribunal interprets this to mean that you have nothing to argue against the charges.
“I have something to object to,” answered the King. “But before I object to specific accusations, I object to your right to make these accusations and even to your right to formulate them against me for reading before anyone.” England has never been a voting Kingdom. You probably confused it with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or some other country? For a thousand years England has been a hereditary kingdom. My right is vested in me by my birth, and I am your King, for which I owe neither to you nor to the people of England. By what authority am I called here, except for the power of the strength of your soldiers, who for some unknown reason obey you and not me? By what authority did the lower house declare itself independent from the decisions of the upper house? Only I, your King, can reform the structure of state power. I alone can issue a decree according to which the decisions of the lower house should not be supported by the upper house, and come into force even in the absence of such approval. I alone can allow you to make decisions even when less than half of your payroll is actually present. I alone can condemn myself, but I can also pardon any criminal in England, including myself. Even if your illegal gathering has the audacity to pass any sentence on me, the stroke of a pen is enough for me to annul it, to pardon myself, regardless of whether you like it or not.
I glanced at Athos's face and saw a tear in the corner of his eyes. Well, that's exactly what I expected from our romantic friend.
Bradshaw understood that technically the King was right all around. But he also understood that if he agreed with him, it would mean a death sentence for him, and for the prosecutor general, and, perhaps, for all those who had gathered here to judge the King. After all, if the King’s power is recognized as legal, which it was, then this whole trial against him becomes illegal, they are all state criminals, from which it follows how they must be dealt with. Therefore, Bradshaw had no choice but to stand his ground.
“Okay, sir ,” he said. - If this is all you wanted to say in your defense, the court will take your opinion into account. The court has heard you, your further presence in court is not required. Take the prisoner away. The trial is postponed until Monday; I declare the court session closed.
The king left, accompanied by an escort. Serenity was reflected on his face. He probably thought that his arguments, so weighty in the eyes of Athos, and perhaps equally weighty in the eyes of those lawyers and lords who hastened to leave London, were convincing also for the members of the tribunal who listened to him.
He did not take into account that he gave them a choice - to recognize him as right and themselves as state criminals, or to recognize him as a state criminal and themselves as a legal tribunal. He did not give them the opportunity to justify him without thereby condemning themselves. It seemed to him that they should recognize the immutability of his arguments, the correctness of his logic, even if at the same time they would have to send themselves to the gallows. How little did he know human souls, this unfortunate King Charles!

Chapter 155

We returned to the tavern in a depressed state of mind.
“To tell the truth,” said d’Artagnan, “if frivolity and imprudence are to be punished, then this unfortunate King deserves some kind of punishment.” But the punishment to which he was subjected today is already quite cruel, especially for a man accustomed from birth to command and consider all citizens of his country, first as his future subjects, and then as actually such.
“In any case,” I replied, “it is not the King who should be punished, but his ministers, since the first law of the English constitution says: “The King cannot make mistakes.”
“And according to this law, all members of today’s tribunal must be punished in the most severe manner,” Athos added.
“As for me ,” said Porthos, “I would be ready to strangle this judge and his prosecutor.” If you weren’t with me, and such an act threatened to punish only me alone, by God, I would have done it, after which I would have crushed two or three more stupid heads from among the King’s opponents, and tried to arrange his escape.
“Sounds wonderful, dear Porthos,” replied d’Artagnan. “But his escape is a disaster if it doesn’t look like a disappearance.” Half of London will rush to look for or catch up with him, so it will be impossible to hide. If we are going to arrange his escape, then do it in such a way as to have at least a couple of hours left to hide, to disappear into the London fog. That's it, my friends, we need a tunnel or something like that.
“The verdict has not yet been passed, and I continue to believe that they will come to their senses ,” said Athos.
“As much as you like, dear Athos, faith gives strength in a desperate situation ,” said d’Artagnan. “But those who rely only on blind faith risk great disappointment when their faith is not justified.
“D’Artagnan, don’t waste your time going to this shameful tribunal ,” I said. - It will be better if you devote all the time we have to thinking in order to develop a plan for our actions. We all believe in you.
“Yes, I myself don’t want to attend this circus with a tragic ending,” answered d’Artagnan. - But we must be aware of events.
“It’s enough that Aramis and I will be forced to drink this bitter cup to the bottom ,” said Athos. “Porthos shouldn’t go to the rest of the meetings either.” Even I could hardly restrain myself from doing what our mighty friend said. All together we will do stupid things that will not save the unfortunate King and will close the slightest opportunity for us to make other attempts.
- What should I do? - asked Porthos.
“You need to stay in good shape, dear Porthos ,” said d’Artagnan. — You haven’t trained for a long time. Go to the loaders' duel and break a couple of noses or jaws there. I heard that a tradition of fist fighting was emerging in England, which they adopted from the Irish. This will allow you to let off steam, otherwise, as I see, your hands are shaking with anger. And try to make friends, or better yet, fans. We will need this to find out how many executioners there are in London and where they live. Say that you are a circus strongman from Calais, a great friend of the English. And take Grimaud with you as your translator.
 “Roll up a couple of English jaws, I like that ,” said Porthos.
“But don’t kill them, otherwise we’ll have problems,” added d’Artagnan. “In this backward England, in the event of a fatal outcome of any battle, even the most noble, an investigation of all the circumstances will certainly begin in order to find and punish the perpetrators, and if the perpetrators are not found, they will not rest until they punish someone, at least the witnesses. And don’t fight anywhere except in areas specially designated for this. It must be somewhere near the port, because that's where the stevedores hang out and have adopted this Irish tradition.
So, only Athos and I went to the next meeting.
This lawless trial dragged on for several days. The prosecutor read out to the King a long list of accusations; the King replied that he did not recognize the right of the accusers to bring them forward. Bradshaw repeated the same phrase about the powers of the tribunal, which everyone present had already learned by heart.
For the most part, the King had to sit and listen to the stream of accusations. At first he refused to take them away, explaining the reason for his actions. Finally, he realized that it would be better if he answered on all counts, but no one wanted to listen to him, since the accusers expected a repetition of the statements that the King was not subject to this tribunal, and the justice of this statement only irritated everyone present except us with Athos, and perhaps a few more people who do not share a common hatred for the King.
It was dangerous to speak out in defense of the King, but that would not stop Athos. The tribunal procedure did not allow statements by those present; only members of the tribunal could speak. So the King received no support from anyone. Everyone turned against him, realizing that his victory would be their decisive and final defeat.
At the fifth meeting, the King finally asked to speak.
“I ask permission to make an important statement, which I hope will put everything in its place ,” he said. - I will try to be brief, speak to the point and not give any reason to interrupt me.
“You will be allowed to speak when it’s your turn, in accordance with the procedure,” answered the chairman. - First you must listen to all the accusations.
- But who came up with such a procedure? - asked the King. “After all, I won’t be able to remember all the accusations brought against me!” Wouldn't it be better if I answered them as they are voiced?
“I ask you to respect the court,” Bradshaw replied and rang the bell. - You have already been given an answer, you will be listened to in due time, later.
Bradshaw then addressed the tribunal.
“My lords, everyone is well aware that Charles Stuart, who is here before you, accused of numerous state crimes and high treason, has already been brought to court several times in order to answer the charges brought against him, brought forward on behalf of the entire English people ...
- Lie! - a woman’s cry rang out, and I recognized the unforgettable voice of Lady Fairfax. “Not even half the members of the tribunal are here!” Where do you see people? You didn’t ask the people’s opinion! Half the people of England do not share your beliefs!
Bradshaw rang the bell and then pointed her out to the soldiers.
- Take her! - said one of the officers.
- A shame! - Athos exclaimed. - Are you going to fight with weapons in your hands against a woman just because she told you what you know yourself!?
I was forced to cover Athos's mouth and force him to sit down. Fortunately, there was such a rumble and noise in the hall that none of the soldiers heard Athos’s exclamation, or, in any case, was not aware of who exactly said it.
“It’s time to end this circus,” John Cook whispered and pushed a piece of paper towards Bradshaw.
“My Lords, before me lies an act which contains the opinions of all present here ,” said Bradshaw. - This is the verdict of the tribunal.
— When did you have time to vote? - the King was surprised.
“My lords, please stand for the verdict,” Bradshaw continued, as if nothing had happened.
Everyone except the King stood up.
“I ask everyone present to stand,” Bradshaw repeated, emphasizing the word “everyone,” and looking eloquently at the King, who pretended that this could not apply to him.
- Read already! - John Cook whispered.
Bradshaw read out the wording, which no one listened to as they waited for the final phrases that formed the essence of the verdict.
“Find Carl Stewart guilty of all the charges brought against him and impose a preventive measure - the death penalty by beheading,” Bradshaw concluded, breaking out in sweat.
After that, he collapsed weakly on a chair.
“I ask everyone to sit down ,” said the secretary.
All eyes were fixed on the King.
- Sir, would you like to listen to me? - he asked, turning to the chairman.
“Sir, you will not be allowed to speak after the verdict is announced,” Bradshaw replied. - We can't talk.
“But you just said that I would still be given the word, didn’t you?” - the King was surprised. - I can not talk? But I want to talk! As you please, sir, you may pronounce the verdict, you may not listen to me, but I wish to speak, and I can speak! How so? I was not allowed to speak to answer the charges, now I am not allowed to speak after the verdict! When will they let me speak? What kind of justice is this? What, then, awaits the rest?
Bradshaw rang the bell.
“The meeting is over ,” he said. — I declare the meeting closed. I ask everyone to leave the premises.

Chapter 156

The description of the King's escape plan, which d'Artagnan drew up, and which we almost realized, is the invention of the dreamer Grimaud.
There is little truth in all this heap of fantasies. Yes, we really kidnapped the executioner in order to gain time, but in London at that time there was not one executioner, but two, and each had one assistant, that is, we had to kidnap four.
Not only did Mordaunt take part in the execution, agreeing to do this dirty work, but he also persuaded Groslow to participate as an assistant. We did not help build the execution platform. And the point here is not only that none of us had carpentry skills, which is quite natural. The point is that we would never stoop to participate in the construction of a scaffold, even if we were completely convinced that it would not be useful. This is not an activity for which we were prepared both physically and mentally.
It was impossible to make a tunnel silently. The king was guarded like the apple of his eye. Any such work would be immediately discovered. Our plan was for the King to exchange clothes with the confessor and escape.
Grimaud is also mistaken that I portrayed the priest. Poor Grimaud decided that who should portray the priest if not me, a person close to the church, the abbot. But I was an abbot of the Catholic Church. Not only did I not know the rites of the Anglican Church, but I could even give myself away by mistake. In addition, my knowledge of the English language was not so impeccable; I would have been immediately recognized by my accent. Add to this the fact that Father Jaxon was the same height and similar build to Athos, and not to me. Karl was a little shorter, but we prepared shoes with padding on the soles, so that if the King had changed his shoes and hidden these shoes under his robe, it could have worked.
And besides, Athos would never have entrusted me with a deadly mission, remaining aloof from it. If only one of us could sacrifice his life to save the King, it would have to be Athos, and he would not accept anyone's objection, and there was no point in arguing with him. But it is approximately clear what would await the one who dared, disguised as a bishop, to infiltrate the King and allow him to escape, exchanging clothes with him.
So the truth is that we kidnapped the four executioners and tried to make the King escape using this disguise.
Unfortunately, they did not take their eyes off the King; during the conversation with the confessor, two guards were present, who, however, out of delicacy, moved to the far end of the room, right to the doors. Athos managed to talk with the King, and it was then that he received information from him about the hidden treasure.
- Your Majesty! - Athos whispered in surprise. “With a million pounds, why didn’t you hire new troops with that money?” Why didn't you pay the Scots, to whom you only owed four hundred thousand? After all, in this case they would remain faithful to you! And why, in the end, didn’t you dissolve parliament at least a day before this shameful tribunal?
“Alas, Count, I did a lot of stupid things, and didn’t do much of what I should have done, but is it worth talking about it now?” - said the King. — I am used to listening to many advisers before making a decision. Smart advisers abandoned me, and I didn’t want to listen to stupid ones. But now there is no point in discussing mistakes, it’s time to talk about my sins and prepare to appear before the Creator.
“But, alas, I am not a priest ,” said Athos.
“It doesn’t matter,” replied the King. - The Lord hears anyone who speaks to him. True repentance does not lie in repenting of sins before a church minister, but in confessing them to God, and for this any interlocutor is suitable, even his absence. Let me tell you that if I am guilty of something, I still don’t understand what exactly, however, I regret all my actions that led to such a sad end. Most of all, I regret that I was unable to give my family the attention, love and care they deserved. Tell my son that I was wrong when I said that I would prefer that he die rather than give up the city. I am happy that he is alive, and I hope that in due time he will be able to inherit the real power that I lost through my negligence. He will become a king very soon, the moment the executioner’s ax touches my neck.
“Sire, I wanted to invite you to exchange clothes with me and leave this inhospitable house and this harsh city,” Athos whispered passionately.
“Impossible, Count,” answered the King. “You see that we are not alone.”
“I have two daggers, and we can easily kill them ,” said Athos.
- In no case! - Karl exclaimed. “I was called a murderer, and the injustice of this accusation was clear, it seems, to everyone present. So will I really become a real murderer just to make another attempt to save my life, an attempt most likely in vain? I will not give them the pleasure of accusing me of this crime as well. I consider all their accusations to be unfounded, but if I kill the guard with my own hands, or allow you to do this in my presence and for my salvation, I will be the first to call myself a murderer. This will not happen, Count.
With these words, the King so decisively put his hand on Athos’s right hand and shook it that the Count had no choice but to fall on one knee and kiss it, washing it with tears.
“Stand up, Count, don’t forget that you are a priest, and it’s not fitting for you to kneel before me,” the King whispered.
Fortunately, the guards did not pay attention to this episode and did not suspect anything.
“Tell my wife, the Queen, that I ask her to forgive me for everything that I am guilty of,” continued Karl. “Also convey my repentance to my children.” I have been a bad King, a bad husband and a bad father, but let them forgive me, because it is not a lack of desire that is to blame, but a lack of skill and an evil fate. Now leave me, Count, I only have to talk with the Lord, and neither the guards, nor the parliament, nor the cruel members of the tribunal can take this right from me.
Athos, in deep sorrow, bowed again before the King, and, not paying attention to his protest, kissed his hand again. At that moment the King put something into Athos's hand.
“Give this to Queen Henrietta as my last and farewell greetings ,” said the King.
Athos tried to say something, but could not, so he bowed slowly and deeply, after which he stood up and left.

Porthos collected quite complete information about the executioners. It must be said that not only stevedores hung around the ports, but also all kinds of smugglers, prostitutes, thieves and other rabble. Therefore, they were really interested in all the facts related to the judicial and executive systems, so even Porthos’ questions did not surprise anyone, especially after he gained popularity as a wrestler in a new sport.
At first, Porthos looked closely at the entertainment of the stevedores, who simply jokingly fought for the amusement of those around them and simply to give vent to strength and energy when there was no work to unload or load any vessel.
- I'll bet half a pound that the red one will win! - Porthos said loudly and put half a pound on a barrel turned upside down, which stood right there.
At first no one understood anything.
- I answer! - Grimaud suddenly answered. - Half a pound for the bearded man.
The people around began to talk quietly. Finally, one rogue approached the barrel with his half pound.
“I support the big guy ,” he said, pointing to Porthos. “I’ll add my half pound to the redhead.”
And then it began. Within a few minutes the stakes on both sides reached forty pounds. The competing red-haired loader in a greasy striped jacket and the bearded brunette in a black robe were immediately notified of the bets.
-What is our reward? - asked the redhead.
“The winner gets a tenth of the bank,” answered Porthos.
- Yes, I’ll persuade this bearded man in three seconds! - the red-haired man exclaimed.
- We'll see! - answered the bearded man.
The fight went from being a joke fight to the stage of the most serious struggle.
In the end, the bearded man won, Porthos parted with his half-pound, but Grimaud won a little more even after paying ten percent to the bearded man, since most of the bet was still placed on the redhead.
So in these friendly brawls a new participant quietly appeared - excitement. This participant almost immediately became the main one. Two new wrestlers entered the makeshift arena, and the stakes went up. Friendly fights began to take the form of professional fist fights. The barrel became the treasurer of these bets.
After the three couples finished the battle, Grimaud began to encourage Porthos to take part in the battle.
- Two pounds for you to beat that giant over there! - he said to Porthos, pointing to one loader, who was almost a full head taller than Porthos.
“And I won’t think of fighting him,” Porthos answered with ostentatious indifference.
- This is because he is stronger than you, and he will win! - said someone from the crowd.
- Okay, I'm tired of this! - said Porthos for show. - I'll go home.
“I bet three pounds against his two pounds that the giant will win!” - said the scoundrel to Porthos, who was the first to support Porthos’s bet.
Immediately others began shouting out their bets.
- Ah well? - exclaimed Porthos. - Well, you asked for it yourself! Let's just do this. There will be three rounds. After each round, bets can be added, but not removed. The winner is the one who remains on his feet!
- It's coming! - Grimaud exclaimed. “Then I’ll add three more pounds to my two!” Five pounds on you!
Porthos took off and threw away his jacket and walked out to the middle of the improvised lists.
I learned that for the first two rounds, Porthos simply easily avoided the big man’s blows, dodging them, and even missed his blows a couple of times for show. By the end of the second round, the bets on the big guy had increased to ten to one. Almost everyone was confident that the big man would win. At the end of the first and second rounds, only Grimaud increased the bets for Porthos.
The third round has begun. Porthos calmly approached the big man, not paying attention to his blows, grabbed him by the waist and lifted him above his head, after which he spun him three times and slammed him to the ground.
-Did you kill him? - Grimaud asked anxiously.
“But the jester knows him,” answered Porthos. - I think he will wake up. But I broke the heels of his ribs.
- And the head? - asked Grimaud.
“It doesn’t seem to have cracked,” Porthos answered. - Why does he need brains?
The rogue, who by that time had volunteered to be a banker, counted out his winnings to Grimaud, gave a tenth of the bet to Porthos, and distributed the remaining crumbs to those who bet on Porthos in the first round.
There was tension in the air. There were too many losers.
“That’s it, friends ,” said Porthos. “From this amount I will deduct two pounds for the torn shirt, and we will all immediately drink the rest in the nearest tavern.” I don't accept objections. You are all invited!
This unexpected move immediately dispelled the tension. The crowd shouted three times "Hurray!" in honor of the winner.
- To hell with you! - Grimaud exclaimed and added his winnings to Porthos’s reward. - Walk, walk! All wine at the expense of the winner in the battle and the winner in the bets!
It must be said that over the past three years Grimaud has not uttered as many words as he did this evening. And he was terribly ashamed of his behavior in front of Count de La Fere. Of course, for this reason he did not describe this episode in his book.
Much later I learned that the tradition of fist fighting among London longshoremen gradually spread throughout England. In 1685, rules of combat were developed that excluded many types of strikes. In the same year, this strange type of battle received an equally strange name from the English word meaning “box.” It seems, if my memory serves me right, these fights are now called “Boxing”, and no one remembers that the founder of these fights was none other than our dear friend Porthos.
During conversations in the tavern, Porthos accidentally found out everything that interested him about the London executioners and their place of residence.
Then say that Porthos is a naive and gullible giant. Firstly, he is not such a giant, if in the port of London there was a man taller than him by a whole head. Secondly, he is not so naive and gullible. After all, he deliberately gave in so that the bets on him would fall, and in time he realized that it was much easier to squander this money with those present than to take it with him.
We would never have known about this episode about Grimaud, but Porthos told me everything, and later I had the opportunity to verify from other sources that his story was exactly true.
I was glad to be distracted by this memory, since now I have to talk about the execution of the unfortunate King Charles.

Chapter 157

So, we were unable to persuade the King to escape by exchanging clothes with Athos.
D'Artagnan proposed the following plan. He proposed to get under the wooden platform on which the execution was to take place and saw down the floor in the place where the block should have been placed, in fact, making a hatch there that opened downwards. According to d'Artagnan's plan, this hatch was supposed to remain in place only due to the support standing below and holding this hatch in its original position. This support should have been knocked out at the moment when the executioner raised his ax over Karl’s head. If the hatch opens down, the block will also fall. The executioner will not be able to strike. At first it was supposed to be entrusted to Porthos to knock out the support with one blow, but Athos took this mission for himself, fearing that Porthos might hesitate, or do it a little earlier. Both would be disastrous for our plan. We agreed that as soon as the executioner took hold of the ax even before he raised it above his head, d'Artagnan and Porthos would shout the word “ Remember !”, which means “Remember!” As soon as he hears this word, Athos must knock out the subcortex of the hatch. The block will have to fall down, the execution will be delayed, and confusion will arise. In the meantime, I, disguised as a confessor instead of Father Jackson, will have to be next to the King and try, pushing the executioners, to drag him into the opened hatch.
In this case, as we hoped, with due influence on the crowd, the assembled English would have to decide that Providence itself was protecting the King, God himself had interceded for him. An unimaginable uproar would have arisen, the people would have rushed to the defense of their King, and Parliament would not have dared to continue the execution.
D'Artagnan and Porthos from opposite ends of the crowd should have outraged the crowd and raised it to riot by shouting "The Lord has interceded for our King." Porthos learned this phrase by heart and his pronunciation of this phrase was quite passable. In addition, we prepared a cloak, a hat, pistols and swords under the scaffold, so that the King, once below, having put on his cloak and armed himself, could try to jump out through the secret door that we had made, and, together with Athos and me, try to get lost in the crowd. It was, of course, a crazy plan, but we couldn’t come up with anything better. It took time to cut the floor of the scaffold and make an exit, but it was quite possible to do this at night, since no one was guarding the scaffold. When I write that we made a hatch and a door, I only say that we hired carpenters for this work, who, after its completion, were also placed with the kidnapped executioners so that they would not blurt out this secret. They were all paid quite a bit of money for their work, and so that they would not get bored, they were provided with food and drink at our expense. The hole made in the floor was skillfully hidden by the drapery, which was matched by color, but the fabric was so thin that it was not difficult to tear it. The secret door was closed with folds of the drapery that was used to decorate the scaffold, so that in order to open it, it would not even be necessary to tear this fabric, but just pull it apart.
Grimaud's fantasies that we were going to saw down the floor under the room where the King was kept, of course, remain his fantasies; it would have been impossible to do this. Reliable guards guarded not only the doors of the room where the King was kept, but the entire building, and also, of course, no one could penetrate either the rooms below or the rooms above the room where he was imprisoned.
All this was just a backup plan, since we very much hoped that in the absence of the executioners, perhaps the execution would be postponed for an indefinite time, and then, chance might give us the opportunity to kidnap the King on the way to some other place.
But fate decreed otherwise. The rumor about the disappearance of the executioners quickly reached the tribunal, and Mordaunt also learned about it. Then he, disguised as an executioner, appeared at the tribunal, offering his services. He was told that this execution required two executioners, then he replied that he would bring his assistant. This assistant, as I said, was Groslow.
Our hopes that in the morning they would announce the postponement of the execution were not justified. So, in desperation, we decided on a backup plan.
An exit was punched through the wall of the White Hall dining hall, and a specially constructed platform led from it to the scaffold. Charles came out through this passage and stepped onto the platform when he saw a crowd of fellow citizens, his former subjects, who came to admire how he would lose his life, how his head would be separated from his body by a blow from the executioner’s ax.
- Well, my faithful subjects! - he said quietly. “Today I will be the best show for you.” I will try not to disappoint you.
Frosty steam came out of thousands of mouths, but no one felt the cold. I listened to the voices around me. Some wailed, some laughed, some talked about everyday problems, such as bread prices and crop prospects. But when the King appeared in the doorway, everyone fell silent, and only here and there a whisper could be heard: “Here he is, look! King! King!"
The king was without a hat, and his hair, which had turned gray over the past few weeks, was blowing in the wind.
- Put on this hat and tuck your hair under it! - the executioner said in a hoarse voice, and this voice seemed familiar to me.
The king took a small cap from the hands of the executioner and put it on as he was ordered, exposing his neck. Then he took off his cloak and looked at the block.
“It seems to me that the scaffold is shaking ,” he said to the executioner. — Is it possible to put it so that it stands more firmly?
The executioner made a sign to his assistant, and they moved the block a meter forward, closer to the spectators, after which the executioner tried to shake the block with his hand.
“Now it stands quite firmly ,” he said. - You can rest assured.
Horror overwhelmed me. I suddenly realized that our plan had failed. What's the point of opening a hatch that doesn't have a block on it? This will not distract the executioner, will not outrage the people, our idea would turn into a farce.
I looked at d'Artagnan and then at Porthos, the same disappointment and horror that they probably read on my face were written on their faces.
We could only watch what was happening. The king said a prayer, then took from his neck the cross studded with diamonds, which Lord Winter had given him from the Queen, and kissed it, after which he handed it to me.
After that, he approached the scaffold, knelt down, put his head on the scaffold and extended his arms to the sides as a sign that he was ready to die.
The executioner immediately raised the ax, the polished metal sparkled in the dim rays of the cold English sun, a blow was heard and the head of His Majesty King Charles II of England, separated from the body, remained lying on the block. The executioner raised this head and showed it to the people.
- Here! - he shouted in a hoarse voice. - Here is the head of a state criminal!
At this time I wanted to pierce this man through, but I was dressed in church clothes and did not have a sword. A roar, like a groan, swept through the crowd. People, pushing each other aside, rushed to the scaffold to soak their handkerchiefs in the blood of their defeated monarch. Since the times of ancient Rome, the belief has been strengthened that the blood of killed criminals has healing properties.
The executioner and his assistant picked up the King's body and placed it in a coffin prepared in advance. His head was also placed there. I don’t remember how I got off the platform and approached the door behind which Athos was hiding.
“It’s all over, Athos, they’ve moved the block ,” I said. “The king himself asked to do this.”
Since the guards had already lost all interest in the place of execution, Athos came out of his hiding place unhindered, and I grabbed him with both hands, since, as it seemed to me, there was not a single blood on his face.
But his hands and forehead were covered in blood - it was the blood of the King. I wiped it with a handkerchief, because, as I thought, it was unsafe to go in such a conspicuous state. But I was wrong. On the way to the tavern we met many people whose hands were covered in blood. These were the people who managed to reach the scaffold and soak their handkerchiefs in the blood of King Charles.
“Home…” Athos whispered. - Our mission failed. We could do nothing to save His Majesty. But we don't have anything else to do here.

Chapter 158

We captured Porthos and headed to the hotel; we did not find d'Artagnan in the crowd where we expected to find him.
“I hope that the King will be buried with the honors that he deserves ,” said Athos.
“I can say that the coffin with his body will be taken to the family crypt, the lid will be nailed down and lowered into a hole ,” I said. “A simple slab with the inscription: “King Charles, 1649” will be installed above the pit. No marches are expected. This is what parliament ordered.
“They were stingy even on what they could not have denied the dead ,” Athos said bitterly.
“They are afraid of the undesirable consequences of a gathering of people at a funeral ,” I said.
“Now there is not even a nominal head of state in this country,” Athos continued to lament.
“Don’t worry about them, they will find someone to fill the vacant position,” I answered.
— Do you think that Cromwell can become King and found a new dynasty? - Athos asked with contempt.
“He has enough intelligence to cope with this position, and enough prudence not to seek to take it ,” I said. “Although, probably, many people assume just such a development of events. He will probably be offered something like Lord Protector. Perhaps not now, but a little later. First, they must play enough games with the republic, after which they, of course, will become disgusted with these games, and then they will look for a new King.
- But where is our friend d'Artagnan? - asked Athos.
“It seemed to me that he was following someone,” Porthos answered. “I wanted to catch up with him, but he disappeared from sight too quickly, and I didn’t want to lag behind both him and you.” There were two of you, so I went to you.
“Don’t worry about d’Artagnan, he won’t get lost in London ,” I told Athos.
After a while, d'Artagnan appeared at the door. He looked cheerful, as always, but I guessed from some subtle signs that he had come a long way and was apparently tired.
“Well, let’s remember the poor King with a good glass of wine and hit the road immediately ,” said Athos. - I agreed to hire a felucca, which is waiting for us from today. I hoped that we would board her together with the King, but this, alas, did not happen. All we have to do is take his last “Sorry” to the Queen and their children, those of them who took refuge in France. And return these terrible souvenirs - a cross, an order, a ring and a scarf soaked in the blood of the King.
“We will certainly do this, however, we still have business to do in this cold city,” answered d’Artagnan. “Firstly, we have not yet taken revenge on Mordaunt for the death of Lord Winter.
“Revenge is not a matter for which you should stay here,” Athos objected.
“It’s a pity, because the second case is also of the same kind,” answered d’Artagnan. “After all, secondly, I wanted to invite you to talk with the man who took on the mission of an executioner without being one, and, by the way, with his henchman.
- My friend! - Athos exclaimed. - Do you think this is possible?
“Both possible and necessary,” answered d’Artagnan. “If it weren’t for these two scoundrels, the King would have been alive for at least another day or two, and we might have been able to come up with and implement some plan to save him.” In any case, we will do a good deed if we rid this country of these two scoundrels. The executioner's work must be done by the executioners, and no one else. By the way, real executioners and their henchmen can already be released. Blunderbuss! Release them all.
Blunderbuss ordered the executioners and their assistants to leave.
- Wait a minute! - said one of them, the oldest, turning to Athos. “You think we don’t know why you kidnapped us?” Don't think that we are such fools. You wanted to save King Charles. Don't be afraid, we won't give you away. On behalf of all of us here, we are grateful to you for kidnapping us. We would not like to be involved in this matter. Believe me, you don’t know the soul of the executioner; you probably consider us all soulless monsters. But we are not like that. We simply earn our daily bread by what fate has decided has become our profession. One way or another, any government needs executioners, and will always be needed. A hundred years will pass, two hundred, maybe a thousand, but executioners will be needed.
- What convinces you of this? - I asked.
“I’m a little interested in history ,” said the executioner. “Even the most ancient books talk about executions by the verdict of rulers or governments. If our profession has not disappeared in a few thousand years, why can we expect it to disappear in a hundred or two hundred years? In any case, we have enough work for our lifetime. We are like doctors who separate a rotten limb to save the life of the entire body. Only our instruments cut off sick members not from a person, but from society. If you want to know, without our work, crime would have overwhelmed the country.
“I won’t say that I completely agree with you ,” I said, “but I won’t say that I disagree with you on everything.”
“Well, everyone has their own point of view on any subject,” the executioner concluded philosophically.
- Tell me, my dear, why would you not want to participate in the execution, which, as you understand, we are talking about? - asked d'Artagnan.
“Because such intervention is not the treatment of society, but its murder,” answered the executioner. - If a person’s arm or leg is rotting alive, it is better to cut it off, saving this person. But if he has a tumor on his head and you cut off his head, you will not save that person, you will kill him. The king was a sick part of our society, but he was its head. Cutting off a diseased head is bad treatment.
- Thank you for your opinion! - Athos exclaimed and quickly shook the executioner’s hand.
We all looked at Athos in surprise.
“Don’t be surprised, my friends ,” said Athos. “By the will of Providence, we have already linked our fate with the executioner. Life has taught me to treat people in this profession with due respect. Of course, provided that they act according to the verdict of a righteous court. The tribunal that carried out its shameful trial on the King was unjust, and the executioner who would have carried out this sentence would have stained his hands as a murderer and would have destroyed his soul. I am glad that these people understand what trouble we saved them from.
“We’ll probably go ,” said the executioner.
His colleagues nodded in approval of all his words.
- What kind of country is this, where executioners behave like nobles, and some nobles voluntarily take on the work of an executioner? - asked d'Artagnan.
“England,” Porthos answered gloomily. - What do you expect from them? If we drink beer instead of wine for another week, we ourselves will turn into God knows what.
“So, Athos, you will not linger to search for Mordaunt, and I do not understand and do not support you in this leniency, but you agree to linger to punish the voluntary executioners,” said d’Artagnan.
“It will be difficult to find them, and even, I’m afraid, impossible ,” said Athos.
“It would have been impossible if I hadn’t tracked them down,” said d’Artagnan. “Why don’t you ask where Grimaud went?” But he honestly guards them! The poor guy is probably chilled, I should take him a chicken and a bottle of wine.
- Let's go quickly! - Athos exclaimed, grabbing his sword.
- It would have been like this a long time ago! - D'Artagnan agreed.
Blaisois had already stuffed the far-fattest chicken and a half-opened bottle of wine into the bag, obeying the order he heard, since during this time even he realized that any of us should obey equally.

Athos nodded and we all went out to where d'Artagnan had taken us.
— By the way, if these executioners disperse in different directions, or simply leave, how will we know about it? - asked Athos. “After all, Grimaud will have to follow them.”
“If they separate, he must follow the leader,” answered d’Artagnan. “And so that we know where to go, he has two assistants.” This is the King's valet named Pari, and his brother. Grimaud met them among the spectators and involved them in our noble cause.
- Beautiful name! - exclaimed Porthos. - Even a very good name for an Englishman.
“He’s a Scot,” corrected d’Artagnan.
- All the better! - Porthos was delighted. — I hope that his brother’s name is also something like that, in honor of another French city? Boulogne? Dijon? Angers?
At the word “Ange” I involuntarily shuddered.
“To be honest, I didn’t have time to find out,” answered d’Artagnan.

D'Artagnan led us to a rather large stone structure on the outskirts of the city. It was not yet a castle in size, but it was no longer a house, something in between.
- How many doors does this house have? - asked Athos.
“Only two doors, and the windows are barred on the first and second floors, so they won’t be able to escape from here.” One door is guarded by Grimaud, the other by Scottish brothers.
“But here’s the front door, and I don’t see anyone here!” - exclaimed Porthos.
- I'm here! - Grimaud's voice rang out.
A moment later he appeared next to us.
-Where were you hiding? - asked Porthos.
- Hollow! - Grimaud answered and pointed to a thick tree, in which, indeed, there was a rather large hollow in which Grimaud could warm up without ceasing vigilant observation of the doors.
Athos nodded approvingly to Grimaud, and Mousqueton handed him a bag of the best chicken and the best wine.
“The Count allows you to rest and refresh yourself ,” I said to Grimaud, and Athos nodded again.
Grimaud broke off a leg of chicken and took a few sips of wine, after which he returned it all to Mousqueton.
“Scots,” he said.
- Indeed! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - I didn’t remember about them!
“That’s enough for them,” Mousqueton grumbled, broke off the second leg of the chicken and handed it to Grimaud. - Eat, buddy. You need it more. All English people eat four meals a day, so they've probably already had three lunches today. And you’re thin here, if you don’t eat, you’ll catch a cold. You know, while the fat one dries, the thin one will die! For example, I can go for a long time without eating.
- Seriously? - Grimaud asked doubtfully.
“I can, yes,” Mousqueton answered proudly. - I can, but I do not want. Why should I starve when there is food? I prefer to eat for the future so that I don’t die immediately when the food runs out, but only a little later.
“Do you see, Athos, what the cold English republican spirit does to our servants?” - asked Porthos. “They were saturated with the republican air and began to chat about anything and everything in the presence of their owners. Let's go home quickly, I can't wait to break the neck of this vile executioner.
- Nobody came out? - Athos asked Grimaud.
“No, no one came out, but one more came in,” Grimaud answered.
“So there must be three of them there,” I answered. - It's a pity that there are not four. It would be nice to fight on equal terms.
We noticed light leaking through some of the shutters. This gave us a chance to look inside to find out exactly where the executioners were, what they were doing, and how many there were. After all, it cannot be ruled out that before they arrived there were already enough people in the house to complicate our task. Of course, we would not retreat if there were even a dozen armed soldiers there, but knowing the disposition is half the battle.
So, we took turns looking into all the cracks of the window until we saw three men in one of the rooms. One of them was sitting facing the window, and we recognized him as General Oliver Cromwell. The other two sat with their backs turned, but occasionally turned their heads, so we soon identified them too. These were Captain Groslow and Mordaunt.
- God exists! - D'Artagnan whispered. “I thought that I could only take revenge on the executioner, and Mordaunt would escape punishment.” But it turns out that this executioner is Mordaunt! Well, he will answer for all his atrocities!
- Fate! - Athos whispered.

Chapter 159

I cannot relate Oliver Cromwell's conversation with Mordaunt and Groslow, since we did not hear their speeches. They spoke rather quietly, the windows were tightly closed, and we could only see those present through the cracks between the shutters.
I wish I knew the source of inspiration to which we owe the colorful description of the conversation between Cromwell and Mordaunt. I can only say that this is a figment of Grimaud’s imagination, and that the description of this dialogue incorrectly reveals the actual position of General Cromwell at that time, as well as his attitude towards everything that happened.
Cromwell believed in God's providence. If all the executioners disappeared, perhaps he would consider this a sign and seek to postpone the execution or even cancel it. It was precisely “sought”, since Cromwell was not a monarch and did not independently decide a single issue in the sphere of politics, and was not even the main commander; in parallel with him, Lord Fairfax commanded the troops, and Cromwell led only the cavalry, and even then not always. Leadership in this case means that he directed the cavalry where parliament told him to go. In the parliament itself, he was only one of its members, and not even the most active member.
Grimaud shifts all responsibility for the trick with the felucca onto Cromwell.
Don't think.
He is not the right person to plan something like this.
D'Artagnan suggested waiting for Cromwell to leave, and only then attacking the two executioners.
- After all, we are not going to take revenge on the general for the sentence passed by parliament! - he said. “We will punish only nobles who have committed an act unworthy of a nobleman.”
Athos agreed with him.
“The executioner said that the country has lost its head ,” he said. “If it also loses what should replace it, such chaos will reign that the current situation will be perceived as a golden age.” In addition, the reprisal against the general may be considered the work of the King’s relatives, suspicion will fall on them all, and innocent princes and princesses may suffer.
“Perhaps that’s exactly what I wanted to say,” said d’Artagnan with some surprise. - But I could not explain my motives as simply and convincingly as Athos did, bravo, Athos, you know England, of course, better than all of us, and your opinion on this issue is indisputable for us.
Cromwell, as we could see, soon said goodbye and left the room. We moved away from the door so that he would not notice us, and hid in the shade of bushes and trees.
As it turned out, the general had four guards, who, apparently, all this time were in another room or in a corridor where there are no windows.
When the general and his guards were out of sight, d'Artagnan was the first to emerge from the darkness.
“Well, we should assume that there are other people in the house besides the two we saw through the window, ” he said.

You secured the back door with a log found nearby and reinforced the structure with large cobblestones, which Porthos easily turned out of the ground. The door was securely fixed, so we could all burst into the front door without fear of the escape of those in the house. That's what we did.
The door could not resist the pressure of Porthos, who simply knocked the doors inward with the help of another log, which he used as a battering ram.
A crash was apparently heard in the house, and Mordaunt appeared in the opening that opened to us with a sword in his hand.
Obviously, Groslow was the guard for Cromwell, so we missed him, but we didn’t regret it too much, since it was Mordaunt who took on all the duties of the executioner, ultimately it was he who was responsible for the death of the King, and it was he who we needed .
“Let’s go into the house, lieutenant ,” said d’Artagnan. “We have an important conversation ahead of us, which I hope will not take up too much of our time.”
Mordaunt looked at us hauntedly and moved deeper into the house without objection. We followed him.
Mordaunt dramatically threw his sword onto the table.
“As I understand it, you came to kill me ,” he said. - I have already noticed, gentlemen, that you do not have the tradition of fair fights. It took six of you against her alone to kill my mother. Fortunately, I managed to get even with at least two of them. The Lille executioner and my uncle got theirs. It's a pity that there wasn't enough time to get even with each of you. Well, the force is on your side. Kill me, I'm waiting.
“You have too bad an opinion of us, as of all people in general, apparently,” objected Athos. “We didn’t attack your criminal mother with six of us, and we’re not going to do the same to you.” We couldn’t challenge a woman to a duel, but with you it’s much easier! Only one of us will fight you, and if you defeat him, you will be free to go wherever you please.
- Oh, even so! - Mordaunt rejoiced and quickly picked up his sword. “In that case, I choose you, Comte de La F;re.”
“I didn’t tell you that you would be allowed to choose,” Athos objected. “We would do you too much honor if we agreed to this.” Every decision you make is evil, we have already been able to verify this many times, so the choice will be made by lot for all of us. We'll write our names on scraps of paper, and you'll draw your opponent's name.
“Well, that’s fair ,” said Porthos.
Fortunately, there was both paper and a pen on the table. I wrote our names on identical pieces of paper. We rolled the pieces of paper into tubes, threw them into the hat and handed over Mordaunt's hat.
- Pull, sir! - I said.
- Lord, send a lot with my name into his hand! - said d'Artagnan and kissed the hilt of his sword, as if it were a crucifix.
Mordaunt pulled out a tiny roll and threw it on the table with contempt. Athos took it, unfolded it and read it.
“My friend, God has heard you ,” he said to d’Artagnan.
- Thank you! - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
We moved the table and furniture aside, there was enough space in the spacious room for a sword duel.
- Sir, defend yourself! - D'Artagnan exclaimed and the duel began.
Despite the fact that Mordaunt's sword was longer, d'Artagnan, of course, was an unsurpassed swordsman. Less than three minutes later he struck Mordaunt in the left shoulder.
- This is for the Lille executioner! - he exclaimed.
Five minutes later he pierced Mordaunt's left arm above the elbow.
- This is for Lord Winter! - he exclaimed.
Almost immediately he wounded Mordaunt in the left arm, closer to the hand.
- This is for the King! - he exclaimed.
- Wait! Mordaunt croaked. - Give me a break!
“I’m not done with you yet, little snake!” - said d'Artagnan. “You may have noticed that I only attacked my left arm, shoulder and ear!” Now the last blow remains - in the heart. And rightly so, since you struck a blow to my heart by killing Katie!
“I understand,” Mordaunt croaked. “I don’t refuse to continue the fight.” I'm just asking for a break. I ask you to bandage my wounds.
“That’s fair ,” said Athos.
- Athos, you and your ideas of nobility always create unnecessary obstacles to such simple matters! - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
“You are getting excited, my son,” Athos said affectionately. - Cool down. If he is not bandaged, he will fall exhausted, and this victory will bring you little honor.
I wanted to note that the wounds were rather terrible in appearance and painful, but did not in any way deprive Mordaunt of the opportunity to continue the fight. I understood that d'Artagnan was deliberately inflicting exactly the same wounds as he had inflicted on Rochefort. I saw that Porthos thought the same.
“It’s time to end it ,” he said. “If he doesn’t want to fight, I’ll strangle him with my bare hands.”
- Crap! - answered d'Artagnan. - Athos, you know my weak strings. When you call me “my son,” I cannot refuse you. Bandage him if you want, just make sure he doesn't put a dagger in your heart while you're busy with the bandages.
“Thank you, I’ll bandage myself ,” said Mordaunt. “But I don’t trust you, gentlemen.” I'm afraid that while I'm doing the bandaging, one of you will kill me. Could you please leave the room so that I do not fear a treacherous blow while I am unarmed?
- Insolent! - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
“Leave it,” Athos objected softly. - Let's fulfill this request of his. He's not going anywhere. There is only one door in this room, the windows are barred, and the shutters are padlocked. He won't run away.
“Okay,” said d'Artagnan. - Only out of respect for you, Athos...
- Do you have bandages? - Athos inquired kindly.
“I’ll tear a strip off my shirt,” Mordaunt replied.
We left the room, leaving Mordaunt alone.
Suddenly we heard some kind of creaking.
“He’s probably opening the wardrobe drawer in hopes of finding bandages.”
The creaking intensified.
— There is no wardrobe in the room! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - There's something wrong here! Let's go!
At that moment we heard the sound of a door slamming.
We opened the door. Mordaunt was not in the room. There were books on the floor next to the bookcase.
- This is not a closet! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - This is a secret door! He escaped!
We fiddled with the closet for about a quarter of an hour, trying to unravel its secret, but nothing came of it.
“It’s too late,” I said. “Even if we open this door, he’s no longer there, he’s disappeared.”
“Athos, your kindness...” said d’Artagnan and waved his hand.
“Well, now we’re unlikely to find him ,” I said. “But we shouldn’t linger here, because he may return accompanied by several dozen armed soldiers.”
“We need to leave,” agreed d’Artagnan.
“Felucca is waiting for us,” said Athos. - Let's go.

Chapter 160

Having instructed Grimaud to pick up Mousqueton and Blaisois and our things from the hotel and pay the owner, the four of us immediately headed to the port, where a felucca hired by Athos was waiting for us.
“Do you think the crew you hired is good enough, Athos, to take us to France?” - I asked.
“The taste of English dishes and the appearance of English women made the British the best sailors in history,” answered Athos.
- We wish we could get out of here quickly! - Porthos grumbled.

Athos found the felucca and boarded it. After a while he returned, slightly worried.
“We need to be on our guard,” he whispered to us. - I don’t like all this. I said that we were waiting for our servants, after which we would go on board. But there's a lot I don't like about this business.
- What exactly? - I asked.
“I didn’t negotiate with this person ,” he said. “But he introduced himself as the skipper's brother, saying that Skipper Rogers had fallen off the mast and broken his leg.
“It is possible that this is what happened ,” said Porthos.
“Porthos, the skipper doesn’t climb masts, he has sailors for that,” d’Artagnan objected.
“That’s absolutely true,” agreed Athos.
- Something else? - I asked.
“Attached to the stern of the felucca is a small yacht, about thirty feet long, do you see?” - he asked, pointing to the hull of the yacht, white against the background of dark water.
“We see,” I answered for everyone.
“The skipper calls it a boat and explained that it will be needed to land us on the French coast, since it does not risk entering the port,” answered Athos.
“Maybe they’re smugglers, why should we care?” - I asked.
- Let the smugglers, let them offer us to land secretly, but why does he call the yacht a boat? - asked Athos. “And the boat is kept on board the ship so that it does not interfere with the movement, but it would be difficult to lift a small yacht on board.”
“Perhaps their crew is too small to save money, and the felucca is not large enough to have a hoist?” - I asked, while d'Artagnan thoughtfully bit his lip and twirled his right mustache with his fingers.
“The yacht has a keel that will not allow us to come close to the shore if we have to land in shallow water ,” said Athos.
“Well, let’s jump into the water and wade to the shore ,” said Porthos. - I'm not afraid to get my pants wet.
“This is the first time I have seen a small pleasure yacht for five or six people used as a boat for a felucca, which is controlled by a crew of four people, not counting the skipper,” said Athos.
“All this is more than suspicious, you’re right, Athos ,” d’Artagnan finally said. “But we need to quickly get out of this dank country.” We will closely monitor the crew. We will not eat or drink anything that is offered to us for dinner today, and we will warn the servants to do the same. If we notice anything suspicious, we will put the entire crew on this yacht and cut the rope, let them swim in all four directions. If they resist, we’ll simply throw them overboard.
“The plan is good ,” I said. - But how will we get to the shores of France without a crew?
“Have you forgotten, Aramis, that Athos is a magnificent sailor?” - asked d'Artagnan. “He will be for the captain, and under his command we will somehow cope with this felucca.”
“You’re right, my friend,” agreed Athos. — In my youth I had to sail on various ships, and I became skilled in maritime affairs. We can handle this felucca.
“We must examine the entire felucca carefully ,” said d’Artagnan. - Let's do it right now so as not to waste time. As soon as Grimaud, Mousqueton and Blaisois arrive, we will set sail immediately.
We boarded and Athos informed the skipper of our desire to inspect the ship. There seemed to be nothing on board that would increase our suspicions. The ship was empty, we examined every nook and cranny. In addition to the skipper, there were four sailors on board, and one more slept in the captain's cabin, covered with a cloak over his head.
“This is Jones, he will command the ship on the night watch while I sleep ,” said the skipper. - And now he’s sleeping off. Do you want me to wake him up?
“No need,” answered Athos. - Let him sleep.
Then he went down into the hold and found something like a hatch at the bottom.
- What is this? - he asked, pointing to this hatch.
“This is a hatch into the lower compartment, where we put additional cargo, and when there is no cargo, ballast lies there,” answered the skipper. “Now there are barrels of sand there that Sam and Billy loaded there.”
“I want to take a look ,” said Athos.
He opened the hatch and made sure that there was, indeed, a cargo compartment filled with large barrels.
He illuminated these barrels with his torch and, apparently, counted them, figured something out in his mind, and then closed the hatch.
“Well, let’s wait for our servants and go ,” he said.
“We have prepared a bow cabin for you, and a stern cabin for your servants ,” said the skipper.
—Where will the crew be located? - asked Athos.
“The crew will not rest, but work, so everyone will be on deck ,” said the skipper. “And in case of rain, everyone will take shelter in my cabin.”
“Well, in that case, we occupy the bow cabin ,” said Athos and was the first to enter the indicated room.
As soon as we entered this cabin, Athos put his finger to his lips, calling us to silence.
“I was right, something is not clean here ,” he said. —Have you noticed that there are strong bolts on the cabin doors?
“Yes, it’s kind of strange,” agreed d’Artagnan.
- What's wrong with locking the cabin doors? - asked Porthos.
“Porthos, the bolts are screwed on the outside of the doors,” I explained to him. “You can’t lock yourself in these cabins, but you can lock anyone in them.” Do you understand the difference? We can be closed from the outside, but we cannot be closed from the inside.
“I believe that these valves were tightened recently, especially for our sake, unless prisoners or slaves were transported here before ,” said Athos.
“I’ll sort it out,” d’Artagnan replied.
“Besides, the skipper lied to me about the barrels,” Athos continued. “He said that two sailors put them together, and that there was sand in the barrels.” But if they contain sand, then two sailors could not handle such large barrels unless each of them had the strength of Porthos.
- What is in these barrels then? - I asked.
“Didn’t you notice how pale the skipper turned when I raised the torch to look at the barrels?” - asked Athos.
- There's gunpowder in these barrels! - D'Artagnan guessed.
- Crap! - I said. - Yes, this is a trap!
“Everything fits ,” said Athos.
- Yes, a thousand devils! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “They are going to wait until we fall asleep, put a fuse in one of the barrels, set it on fire and move onto the yacht, which is tied to the stern of the felucca!”
“Let’s kill them right now and throw them overboard,” suggested Porthos.
“They may have accomplices in the port,” answered Athos. “If we don’t like the felucca and we leave it, they might attack us.” And we don't know how many there are. If we start fighting them now, they might come to our aid. Let's wait for our servants, go out to the open sea, and then we'll deal with this crew and their skipper.
“In the heat of battle, they can shoot at the floor, and we will all fly into the air,” objected d’Artagnan. “We won’t fight them.” We will pretend to be asleep, after which we must get ahead of them and carry out their plan with the difference that we will board the yacht, and let them sail in the mined felucca.
“It might work out ,” I said.
- What do you want to do with the valve? - asked Athos.
- You'll see! - answered d'Artagnan.
With his dagger, he unscrewed the two screws that held the latch hinge, after which he stuck the tip of the dagger into the holes and widened them as far as possible. He then reattached the hinge and secured it with the same screws. From the outside it might seem that the loop was still firmly in place, but in reality it could have been easily pulled out. D'Artagnan did the same with the hinges of the second bolt, which was on the doors of the aft hold, where our servants were supposed to spend the night.
- What a magnificent dagger you have! - Athos admired. — A tool for all occasions!
“Athos, take it for yourself, I have another one in my boot, exactly the same ,” said d’Artagnan. “Put it in your belt, it won’t hurt.”
Athos did just that.
- Gentlemen! Your servants have arrived! - the skipper shouted from above. - Now they will come down to you. With your permission, we are setting sail, gentlemen. In half an hour dinner will be brought to you.
- Fine! - Athos shouted back.
Grimaud, Blaisois and Mousqueton came down the ladder towards us.
Athos beckoned to Grimaud, showed him the bolts on the doors of both holds and demonstrated that the hinge could easily be removed from its place.
Grimaud nodded in understanding.
“Don’t eat anything, don’t drink, don’t sleep ,” said Athos. - At our signal, be ready to quickly move into the yacht tied to the stern.
Grimaud, Blaisois and Mousqueton nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, the felucca set sail from the pier, and we went out into the open sea. Half an hour later, one of the sailors brought us a basket of food and three bottles of wine.
At the sight of the wine, Blaisois's eyes lit up, but Athos, waiting for the sailor to leave, took one of the bottles, knocked out the cork and poured the contents into the porthole. Grimaud did the same with the two remaining bottles. After this, the food from the baskets followed the wine.
“Grimaud, go up to the deck a little later, tell the captain that you want to admire the sunset ,” said Athos. - Walk around the deck for about twenty minutes, then say that we probably fell asleep, and you’re going to bed too. Blunderbuss, Blaisois, until Grimaud returns, stay here in the middle room. Wait until one of the crew invites you to go to your cabin to sleep. Only then go there. The door will be closed behind you. Be prepared to immediately knock out the latch and come out here.
Grimaud nodded.
“We, friends, will have to pretend to be sleeping ,” said Athos. “Porthos, please start pretending to snore.”
“I don’t know how,” Porthos objected.
- What are you saying! - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
Athos and I just smiled.
“Are you saying that I snore in my sleep?” - asked Porthos.
- Snore, and how! - answered d'Artagnan.
“But I don’t know how this happens, and I can’t make sounds like snoring when I’m awake,” Porthos objected.
“Well, then sleep for real ,” said Athos. “When it’s time to act, we’ll wake you up.”
Porthos did not take long to beg.

Chapter 161

“And yet, d’Artagnan, why don’t we try to clear the mines from the ship?” - I asked.
—Have you noticed that the barrels are tied with chains? - he asked. — Many ideas came to my mind. We could try to pull these barrels out and throw the gunpowder out the porthole. It will take a long time, we will make noise and they will attack us. We could try to break through the bottom of this lower hold, so that the water would flood the gunpowder, and after the gunpowder was wet, we could plug the breach. It's long, it's noisy, the chains will rattle. Too much fuss. You can try to kill them all, and then the presence of gunpowder does not seem to be so dangerous. But it is possible that there is an infernal machine in the underground. I thought about this possibility.
-What is an infernal machine? - I asked.
“Whatever,” answered d’Artagnan. - Alternatively, it could be a clock mechanism in which the hand, when it reaches a certain time, overturns the vessel with acid, or otherwise triggers the fuse. There are such tricky substances. I heard that chemists have discovered a metal that catches fire when it comes into contact with water. Who knows if they put something like that in there? They had enough time to prepare. Perhaps they have laid a long fuse that we cannot find, and perhaps it is already burning. In any case, I do not have the skills to clear such mines, and I have no desire to blow myself up trying to defuse it.
“You have convinced us, d’Artagnan ,” said Athos. “We are happy that among us there is such a reasonable person as you.”
“If you, Athos, had not paid attention to some oddities, we would all have been doomed,” answered d’Artagnan.
- So, we will make our way through them to board the yacht, without attaching any importance to whether the fuse will be lit or not? - I asked.
“On the contrary, we ourselves will light the fuse, and for this we should make it, or perhaps find it,” objected d’Artagnan. “I hope it’s in one of these boxes, and if not, we’ll have to make it from improvised materials.”
“D’Artagnan is right ,” said Athos. “If we don’t blow up the felucca, they’ll turn around and crush our yacht like a boar’s egg.” If we are going to leave the felucca on the yacht, we must light the fuse ourselves.
- Exactly! Look for the wick, friends! - answered d'Artagnan.
We started opening all the cabinet drawers, but we didn’t find anything.
“It’s probably already there, among the barrels, they only hid it slightly so that it wouldn’t be visible in case we want to inspect the yacht,” d’Artagnan guessed.
We opened the hatch cover and he jumped down.
- Shine it on me, Aramis, just be careful! - he said.
I brought the candle and began to hold it so that the light fell where our friend was looking. There was no wick.
- Found! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - Well, that's great! You don’t have to make an infernal machine out of candles and a bunch of gunpowder. The length of this wick will last about twenty minutes, but I don’t know how deep it will be inserted into the barrel. Just in case, I'll take it a little further. We'll have fifteen minutes, or a little more. This should be enough. As soon as Grimaud returns, we will wake up Porthos, light the fuse and break through to the stern. They won't light the fuse until they're sure we're all asleep. They planned to close the doors of our cabins, light the fuse and sail away on the yacht. We have secured the valves, but this will not be necessary. We will not wait until they come down to close the doors, we choose offensive tactics.
- Wonderful! - said Athos. “What do you think, d’Artagnan, who mined this felucca and why?”
“You yourself know this very well, dear Athos,” answered d’Artagnan. “And in case you don’t know it, I’ll tell you my version when we’re safe in the yacht that’s now tied to the stern of that unfortunate felucca.”
“Something doesn’t suit Grimaud ,” I said. - It's time for him to come back.
“We’ll wait,” answered Athos. - Soon.
Indeed, a few minutes later Grimaud came down the ladder.
- As there? - asked Athos.
“Four are on watch, one is still sleeping,” he answered.
“Pretending,” I answered. - So that we don't recognize him.
D'Artagnan nodded. I went to wake Porthos.
- Damn, I had such a great dream! - the giant muttered.
- Get up quickly if you don’t want this to be the last dream of your life! - I said.
We called the servants, d'Artagnan instructed them what they should do. Everyone received a clear task. It was clear that d'Artagnan held the entire plan of the felucca in his mind as if he had sketched it on paper and was now looking at it.
- Well, everyone is ready, everyone is armed, I’m lighting it up! - he said.
After that, he walked up to the hatch, which had been deliberately left open, lit the fuse and commanded:
- Go ahead, friends! The ladder is narrow, Aramis and I will go up first, then Athos, Porthos and the rest. I hope we can remain undetected for as long as possible. At least until at least three or four of us get up.
Fortunately, the steps of the gangway did not creak. We went up very quietly and since it was a moonless night, we managed to get on deck unnoticed.
However, under Porthos’ feet the steps still creaked quite loudly.
- For France! - D'Artagnan cried and plunged his sword into the skipper's throat.
I pierced another one, and Porthos simply threw the other overboard.
The rest huddled in the captain's cabin. The path was clear. We rushed to the stern, and quickly climbed along a shaky ladder from the stern of the felucca to the yacht. D'Artagnan cut the rope.
Three shots were fired from the side of the felucca, but all of them did not reach their targets. At that moment we heard the familiar hoarse voice of Mordaunt.
- Fools! - he shouted. - You won’t go far from us! Now we will turn around and crush you like a shell! Hey guys, let's port tack!
But as the felucca continued to move away from us, the likelihood of damage from repeated shots became less and less. It took them a while to reload their pistols, and they also had to drive the felucca to come back for us. So at worst we were threatened with one or two shots from Mordaunt into the darkness, almost at random.
Meanwhile, the distance between us was rapidly increasing. In the darkness we had almost ceased to distinguish the whitening sail of the felucca.
“It’s good that this is not a boat, but a yacht ,” said Athos. - Let's raise the sail and go to the shores of our native France.
“Don’t rush, Athos ,” said d’Artagnan. “If they thought to pull the fuse, they can still come back and carry out their threat.”
“It is so,” said Porthos calmly, distinguished by his excellent twilight vision. “They are turning around and will be here soon.”
- Damn it! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “It seems like fifteen minutes have already passed or even a little more!” Has the fuse been extinguished?
Time seemed to slow down, and the speed of the felucca increased enormously.
- Off to the oars, friends! - Athos exclaimed. “We won’t let them crush us the first time, but we’ll see!”
Felucca came dangerously close to forty toises when a deafening explosion was heard. At first we saw a bright flash and parts of the ship flying in all directions. After this, only burning wooden fragments remained on the surface, which went out with a hiss. Soon it was dark again and only the splashing of the waves could be heard.
“It’s over,” said d’Artagnan.
“Of course, you guessed that Mordaunt set this trap ,” I said. “You wanted to discuss this only when we were all safe in this very yacht.”
“Yes, friends, I didn’t want to rush into discussing this suspicion,” d’Artagnan agreed. “I thought of one or two ways to save Feluca and capture all these traitors, but I abandoned such plans.
- Why? - Athos was surprised.
“Because of you, my friend,” answered d’Artagnan. “If we had captured Mordaunt, your heart would not have been able to bear it, and I fear you would have allowed him to board the yacht and sail back to England.”
“Well, I don’t think that would be such a bad decision,” Athos replied, shrugging. “If he were destined to be saved, let him be saved.”
“That’s exactly why, Athos, I abandoned all plans that could end this way!” - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “Listen, Athos, your inexplicable weakness for this little snake surprises me!” Why were you so reluctant to fight him? I saw how upset you were when Aramis wrote your name on the piece of paper. What would you do if he pulled out your name?
“I didn’t think about it,” Athos answered. “But I admit that it would be difficult for me to fight him.” I can't explain it. Perhaps I still feel guilty towards Milady for the fact that we executed her without a trial. And therefore I feel that part of our guilt lies before him. For his unfortunate fate.
- Come on, Athos! - D'Artagnan objected. “He is an adult and bears full responsibility for his actions. It's not our fault that he grew up to be a scoundrel and a murderer! Remember Lord Winter, the King, the Lisle executioner in the end, and let me carry my pain for Katie!
“That’s right, friends ,” said Athos. “I’m guilty, but is condescension towards other people’s sins such a big sin?”
- Big Athos, very big, if innocent people die because of this leniency! - continued d'Artagnan.
“If you had let me shoot him, Lord Winter would be alive, and King Charles probably would be too ,” I said.
“Forgive me, friends, it’s my fault, but I can’t help it,” answered Athos.
- Listen, Comte de La F;re! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “I will explain to you your hesitations and immediately dispel them.” You know that Mordaunt is my lady's son. And you probably think that he could be your son? Or do you even admit that he is your son? So, I'll tell you! Lord Winter revealed this secret to me. This is not your son! This is not even the son of Lord Winter's brother! Milady gave birth to this child from a scoundrel, a thief, a robber, a drunkard and a robber. This person is nobody to you. You don't have a son named Mordaunt!
Athos was silent.
At this time, a scream was heard from the direction where the explosion occurred.
- Help! Save me, please! Count de La F;re! Don't let the son of the woman who was your wife die!
- Devil! - I exclaimed. - This baby snake did not explode along with the felucca and did not drown with its debris!
- See! - Athos exclaimed. “Fate shows mercy to him and shows us what we should do!” We can save one human life!
- You can save one tarantula, a scorpion, a poisonous echidna! - Porthos grumbled. “The best service I can give to this bastard is that I will smash his head with an oar so that he won’t suffer!”
- You're right, Porthos! - I said.
At these words, Grimaud pulled one of the oars from the rowlock and handed it to Porthos.
“Is there really nothing human left in you?” - Athos said in a trembling voice.
- Count de La F;re, have mercy on me! After all, I am so young! - Mordaunt shouted, approaching the yacht. “I haven’t lived in this world at all yet!” I grew up an orphan in the house of an uncle who hated me! You and your friends have deprived me of my mother! So show your nobility! Save my life! And I will forgive you your crime against my mother!
Tears streamed down Athos's face.
- Sail here, Mordaunt! - he said and leaned over the side of the yacht. - Give me your hand! Hold on tight!
- God, what is he doing! - exclaimed d'Artagnan, taking a musket from his belt and cocking the hammer. “The very minute he steps aboard our yacht, I will shoot him in the head, I warn you, Athos!”
“Then kill me first,” replied Athos, grasping Mordaunt tightly by the arm.
“I didn’t spend so much effort in vain to swim to you!” - exclaimed Mordaunt. - Mother, you can be proud of me! I will drag your main killer with me to the bottom!
With these words, he pushed off with his feet from the side of the yacht, dragging Athos with him into the water.
- Devil! - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
We all shouted something similar. Only Porthos alone rushed into the water without a word - to where Athos disappeared under the water, carried away by Mordaunt, who tenaciously held him by both hands.
“Porthos is a great swimmer ,” I said. - He won't drown. But what will happen to Athos?
To my shame, I could not boast of the ability to swim.
At that moment, Porthos' head appeared from the water.
- Fire! - he shouted. - Sveta!
He took a noisy breath and plunged back into the abyss of the waters.
I found a lantern under the bench and lit it, after which I tried to illuminate the place in the water where Athos, Mordaunt and Porthos had dived.
Bubbles appeared from under the water, and we feared that our friends had drowned.
Suddenly Porthos's head appeared again.
“Here,” he said. - Hold it.
He plunged into the water, and now we saw the face and hands of Athos, who was unconscious.
We all grabbed him by the arms and pulled him on board. After that, we all felt that the boat tilted slightly. It was Porthos who grabbed the side with his strong hands and climbed onto the yacht.
- We need to bring him to his senses! - D'Artagnan exclaimed and laid Athos with his chest on the bench.
A little water poured out of his mouth, after which Athos began to cough and spit out the water.
- You are alive! - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
- Alive, it seems! God bless! - I confirmed, taking off my jacket and throwing it over Athos’ shoulders.
Grimaud immediately jumped up and began to rub his master’s hands and feet, offering thanks to the Lord.
- Where? - Athos asked through a cough. - Where is he? Mordaunt?
“He won’t come up again ,” Porthos said with a smile and waved towards the water, from where he had just recently surfaced.
But he was wrong. When we looked where Porthos pointed, we saw Mordaunt's corpse floating in the waves. These movements of the water created the impression that he was still alive and trying to swim. But he was dead. Sticking out of his chest, from his very heart, was the very dagger that d'Artagnan had given to Athos the day before.
- What to do? - said Athos, as if apologizing to all of us. “I’m not ready to die so stupidly.” I have a son. I want to live.
 “Let’s give him a funeral according to maritime traditions ,” said Porthos. “There’s no need for him to swim here.”
He took the anchor, made a loop out of the rope to which it was tied, threw the loop around Mordaunt's leg, and then threw the anchor overboard.
The weight of the anchor pulled Mordaunt's corpse deep into the water.
“There will be no wreaths,” said Porthos.
“But we were left without an anchor ,” said Muston.
- Why do we need it? - I asked. — The first and last stop of this yacht is the shores of France. Athos, raise the sail and give commands! The wind is fair!

Chapter 162

The water was very cold, so Athos, in order to warm up, began to work with the sails himself, and Porthos helped him. Soon they became so warm that thick steam was rising from their clothes and there was no need to fear for their health. Nevertheless, it would be advisable for them to splash cognac or at least wine as a preventive measure. We looked under the benches and into the compartments of the yacht at the bow and stern, called banks by sailors. We found a lot of useful things there. Mordaunt made sure that the yacht had crackers, biscuits, corned beef, wine, fresh water and some other products, even sugar and salt. So we had something to remember his soul with.
It couldn’t be otherwise, because they were going to make the return journey on it.
True, everything was cold and there was nothing to heat the food on, but cold food is better than empty stomachs. However, d'Artagnan still joked that if the food ran out, we would have to catch fish with our bare hands, which made Muston worry that if the food really ran out, we would not decide to eat it. It must be said that such an absurd thought would not have occurred to us if it were not for his fears, gleaned from God knows whose sea stories, which he heard a lot of somewhere.
We joked a lot about the poor fellow, but when we realized that he was seriously ready to sacrifice himself to save his owner, we were filled with respect for him.
“I wish I had a servant like that!” - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
“I bequeath it to you, dear friend ,” said Porthos.
- Come on, Porthos! You will outlive me! - D'Artagnan waved him off. - Look how big you are! Even after swimming in icy water, you are so ruddy that it’s a pleasure to look at!
“But I wouldn’t want to outlive my master,” Mousqueton said quietly.
“When we return to Pierrefonds, I will give you a vineyard ,” Porthos said to Mousqueton.
The kind fat man burst into tears of happiness.
Soon we met a ship heading from Dunkirk to Boulogne. He picked us up to our great relief, since the short river yacht was still not suitable for walking on the sea and we were already pretty seasick.
We had something to pay for getting rid of an unpleasant walk, and even, perhaps, for salvation, since the sea is always fraught with danger. The money turned into diamonds was always with us, and in addition, we had some money left, because we were going to finally pay off the felucca skipper only after he took us to the coast of France. We paid the ship's captain in advance and quite generously, so we were well fed until we reached the shores of France. A cool morning wind was blowing. On the way, we discussed what we should do next.
D'Artagnan bluntly suggested that they take different roads, since it would be dangerous for all four of them to move together.
Porthos was pretty upset, but Athos agreed that it was reasonable.
“We belong to different political parties, so if we are all together, a meeting with representatives of any armed forces will be dangerous for us, almost fatal. By splitting up, we have a chance that at least two of us will make it to Paris. If misfortune befalls the other two, there will be someone to save them.
“But four swords are better than two,” said Athos doubtfully.
“I agree, however, four charges are worse than two,” answered d’Artagnan. “We don’t even know into whose hands we might fall.” If you meet frondeurs, you will be received like family. If we meet the frondeurs, somehow, I hope we will get out. In any case, they won't kill us. If the four of us meet frondeurs, you will sooner lose their trust than we gain it. If we have the joy of meeting the cardinal’s servants...
“I agree, d’Artagnan, in this case we will not be welcome as traveling companions ,” said Athos.
“It will be difficult for all of us to explain the reasons for how and why we ended up together,” answered d’Artagnan.
“The reason is simple - this is our friendship,” Athos clarified.
“Besides the four of us, it seems that no one in France, or even in the whole world, knows the true meaning of this word,” objected d’Artagnan. - In any case, no one in power will believe such an argument. I already consider us traitors, and we probably deserve to be hanged, and if the four of us are caught, they will hang you too.
- Why do you prophesy such a severe punishment for yourself? - I was surprised.
“Listen, Aramis, you are a smart man ,” said d’Artagnan. “You understand that Mazarin did not send us to be constantly with Mordaunt so that we would simply carry out his instructions. For this purpose, officers have subordinates, and senior officers have orderlies.
“But really, why did Mazarin instruct us to be with Mordaunt and obey him?” - asked Porthos.
“Mazarin needs a strong ally outside France,” answered d’Artagnan. “But he still didn’t know in whose hands England would be.” If the King's party had won, it would have been easy for him to pretend that we were assigned to Mordaunt in order to ingratiate ourselves with Cromwell and help the fallen monarch restore his power.
“Did you say that completely seriously?” - asked Athos.
- Yes, and in this case I have an envelope that I would have to open.
- What is written in it? - I asked.
“Since I was ordered to burn this envelope without opening it, in the event that the King was finally overthrown, that’s exactly what I did,” answered d’Artagnan, and I realized that he had lied without blinking an eye.
- What if Parliament and Cromwell win? - I asked.
“In this case, I had another envelope, which I had to open without reading,” answered d’Artagnan.
- And what was written in it? - I asked.
“Leave it, Aramis, this is his secret, which he should not tell us,” Athos stopped me.
“Now it’s no longer my secret, because I burned this envelope too,” d’Artagnan lied again.
- Burned? Why? - asked Porthos.
“Yes, because from the moment we helped our friends escape from Cromwell and Mordaunt, we became traitors, and after I raised my sword against Mordaunt, I became a particularly dangerous state criminal,” answered d’Artagnan. “I’m not even talking about the fact that by killing Mordaunt, we...
“Fate has decreed Mordaunt’s life,” Athos solemnly announced. - In any case, you have nothing to do with this.
“Thank you, Athos, for such a valuable observation, but Mazarin will not believe him,” d’Artagnan objected. “I’m convinced that he had other people in England, let’s be honest, spies besides us.” So he will be aware of our actions by the time we arrive in Paris, and most likely he is already aware of them now. At a minimum, he maintains correspondence with General Cromwell and will ask him a question about how the two French noblemen sent by him behave in his presence. The answer will be detailed, I assure you!
-Where are you going? - I asked.
“Twenty years ago, when I was hotter and less reasonable, I rushed straight into the mouth of a lion named Cardinal Richelieu ,” said d’Artagnan. “And the lion didn’t eat me.” Now I, more experienced and less valuable for my life, have to appear in the lair of a beaten jackal. And in addition, our glorious Porthos will be with me! Can't we two get out of this mess? And besides, if only two of us get caught, I hope you will remain free!
“We will, of course, get you out of the Bastille!” - Athos exclaimed, without any reason.
“Undoubtedly,” I said, having very good reasons for this.
“Listen, friends ,” said d’Artagnan. - Believe me, because I have been among all these courtiers for twenty years now and I have been observing them from the inside. This whole mess, this whole Fronde was started and carried out by insolent princes and dukes who believe that they did not grab a big enough jackpot for themselves after the death of Richelieu and Louis XIII . They just wanted to bargain for land, positions, or just money. Now, after temporary success, no offense, but I consider it temporary, they will all bargain. But the Queen doesn’t know how to bargain, so they will have to bargain with Mazarin. And only you two, Athos and Aramis, opposed Mazarin for the idea. So, if Porthos and I are placed in the Bastille, you will have something to ask from the defeated Mazarin! You ask him for us! And the Duke de Beaufort, whom you freed, will have to put in a good word for you and support your request.
“This could work ,” I said.
“Like Queen Anne, I don’t know how to bargain,” Athos objected.
- Even if we are talking about our lives or our freedom ? - asked d'Artagnan. - Oh yes! You know how to demand and get what you want. This will work too!
“You have often begun to make fun of me lately, my son ,” said Athos.
“Sons often make fun of their fathers, and only because they love them,” answered d’Artagnan. - So if you decide to adopt me, be patient!
With these words, he warmly embraced Athos, and he returned the favor.
- What an idyll! - exclaimed Porthos. - I'm about to cry! Let me hug you too!
- Take it easy, Porthos! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - You'll break our ribs!
“What are you talking about,” Porthos said, embarrassed. - I’m just a little...
- Your “light” is nice! - Athos exclaimed and exposed his chest, showing that the cross of King Charles, which he wore around his neck for safety, completely dug into his skin and left deep marks on it.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to ,” said Porthos.
Well, is it possible to be angry with him?

Chapter 163

After we were landed on the shores of our native France, we split up, as d'Artagnan suggested, fairly divided the remaining money and headed to Paris on different roads. We agreed to leave some marks along our route in case of any trouble, so that those who remain free could find the others.
“You know, Athos ,” I said. - After all, this parting is an act of the greatest self-sacrifice on the part of our friends! Even if we are arrested, we face, at most, the Bastille, from which you and I will quickly emerge thanks to the intercession of the Duke de Beaufort, or perhaps our other friends. And then, for what, exactly? We were only trying to save the King of England as private citizens. This is not punishable! While they are threatened by the Place de Greve, they are traitors.
- If you are right, then shouldn’t we go back and catch up with them and move to Paris all together? - Athos exclaimed.
“There is no need, d’Artagnan is still right that it will be better for everyone if at least two of us remain free,” I replied.
- But why are they traitors? - asked Athos.
“They were obliged to obey the envoy of General Cromwell, and not only did they not do this, but they also hindered his affairs in every possible way, and in the end they destroyed him.
“Although d’Artagnan and Porthos, like you, Aramis, really wanted to kill Mordaunt, ultimately you are innocent in his death, and it was I who killed him,” Athos objected.
“If you didn’t want to save him, he would still have drowned without you,” I clarified. “Besides, there is no one to tell Cardinal Mazarin these details.” I come to the conclusion that all four of us would benefit from Mazarin being removed from power.
“A man like him cannot be removed from power forever,” answered Athos. “Even his expulsion from France will not be final.” And no Bastille can guarantee that he will not return to his post with even greater power.
-Are you proposing to kill him? - I clarified.
“In the time of Richelieu, all the conspirators understood that this was the only way to remove the cardinal from power forever,” answered Athos. “But you and I have never been conspirators of this kind.” We only prevented the cardinal from carrying out his very separate plans, which were disgusting to us. We did not fight him as a person or as a ruler. Those who made plans to kill him paid for it due to their indecision. Today, the main conspirators are still the same, and they remain just as indecisive and weak.
“I don’t agree,” I objected. - The current Mazarin is much weaker than the then Richelieu. Richelieu had support in the person of Louis XIII , Mazarin only in the person of Queen Anne, since Louis XIV was still too young. Today's frontiers have much greater chances.
- Chances of what? To win? - asked Athos. - They don't need her. D'Artagnan was right, there will only be bargaining. Mazarin will give a lot for the sake of reconciliation, but later he will take everything back, and will even probably add some of what he did not give.
- What a sad prospect! - I said with a sigh. - Let's just enjoy a relaxing journey through our native France! By God, I miss her so much, I'm so damn tired of this dank England that even our winters are a hundred times better than their damp autumn or dirty spring.
While talking like this, we reached the place where we rented horses and headed to Paris.
We left signs on the houses where we stopped for the night that no one except D'Artagnan could understand, and were pleased to note that no one was going to arrest us, so that we had every chance of getting to Paris safely.
As we approached Paris, I received mail several times through the Order's channels, from which I learned interesting details about the most important events in the country and the balance of power. We were away for quite a long time, about two months, and events developed rapidly, so that we actually returned to another country.
It would be useful to remind my readers, if there are any, and, above all, myself, where the Fronde began and how it developed.
More recently, Mazarin was looking forward to the outcome of the Battle of Lens, and his expectations were justified. Now the battle ended in a brilliant victory, again won by the Duke of Enghien, who became Prince of Cond; after the death of his father. This victory only increased his popularity, and his status as a prince raised him even higher not only in the eyes of others, but, unfortunately, in his own eyes, which later served him badly. All this happened before our departure, but these events developed further.
The Cardinal deftly played his game, including against the coadjutor. So, for example, even at a time when the people demanded the release of the Councilor of Brussels, Gondi reported this demand of the Parisians to the Queen, thus portraying himself as a messenger of the people's will, and trying to take the place of the people's leader. But the cardinal, who with some difficulty managed to persuade the Queen to agree to this demand, invited the coadjutor to inform him that this demand would be satisfied, but he added a Machiavellian clause to this message. He asked the coadjutor to tell the assembled people that Brussels would be liberated “if only the people disperse first.”
This was no longer a simple agreement, but an agreement with a counter condition. And although the people previously, in their demand, seemed to tacitly promise to disperse if Councilor Brussels and two others were released, here an element appeared that the Queen was dictating her own counter conditions. These conditions did not concern the essence of the final situation, but the sequence of actions. Gondi tried to talk his way out of this assignment, but Mazarin sweetened the pill by calling him the best negotiator in France.
“To whom else if not you would the Queen wish to entrust this delicate matter?” - he said in his insinuating soft voice.
“Go, coadjutor ,” said the Queen. “I expect news from you that the people have calmed down, and then, of course, we will fulfill our promise.”
The coadjutor had no escape route; he had gone too far to retreat. He did not want to admit to the Queen and the cardinal that he had no influence on the Parisians, so that his proposal would be rejected by them, and he also did not want to demonstrate to the Parisians that he was a bad leader and a useless deputy on their behalf, because instead of fulfilling the demand The Queen puts forward counter conditions to the people. He asked for written confirmation, but Mazarin objected.
“Her Majesty’s word is the best guarantee, can you really demand anything more?” - he was surprised. - And what could be greater than the word of the Empress?
Gondi wanted to object further, but the Queen majestically retired to her bedroom. The Duke of Orleans began to gently push Gondi towards the exit with both hands.
- Go, Mr. Coadjutor, you alone can restore calm to the state! - he said.
The coadjutor walked out of the Palais Royal to a crowd of Parisians.
“The Queen promises to release the Councilor of Brussels, as well as two other members of parliament, after you go home ,” he said.
- Well, let's go home! - Planchet exclaimed, turning to the rest of the Parisians. - Let's give the Queen time to fulfill her promise. If it is not fulfilled before evening, we will gather here again.
The people had already begun to disperse, but Gondi was afraid that the wave of popular indignation would die down forever.
- Wait! - he exclaimed in despair. “I only conveyed the Queen’s word to you, but would you like to hear my opinion regarding this promise?”
“Speak, honorable coadjutor ,” Planchet said for everyone, and the crowd took up his words.
— Word to the coadjutor! - various people shouted from the crowd. - Let Monsieur de Gondi speak!
Gondi made a hand sign calling for silence, the crowd fell silent.
“Now you dictate the terms ,” he said. - Your strength is in unity and determination. If you go home, the instigators will be arrested, and the promise made to you will not be fulfilled. You must stay here until you get Brussels and the others back safe and sound!
- Will wait! - exclaimed Planchet.
- Let them bring Brussels here for us! - someone else shouted from the crowd. - Until we see that he is alive and well, we will not separate!
In the evening Gondi came to the Queen and reported that the people did not want to disperse until their demand was satisfied. He swore that he had done everything possible to convince the Parisians to go home.
“Go and rest, sir ,” said the Queen dryly. - You worked hard today.
The annoyed Gondi, who expected that the Queen and the Cardinal would again resort to his services as a negotiator, was forced to bow out. He returned to the Parisians, urging them to show even greater persistence. The motives for his actions are explained by resentment of the irony that the Queen put into her words addressed to him in the last two days, since she considered his claims to various favors to be unfounded. Another motive for his actions was a passionate desire to put pressure on the Queen and the cardinal and achieve the desired concessions in the form of money, estates and, above all, the cardinal's hat. He had long dreamed of becoming a cardinal, and considered this claim to be very justified, citing the achievement of this rank by some of his ancestors. It never occurred to him that this requires not so much the merits of his ancestors as his own merits. However, I am deceiving myself. Ancestors and their merits, family ties and money are still much more important in our time than a person’s personal qualities, and I don’t foresee that the situation will change in the next thousand years.
I have described here the first day of the Fronde for the reason that the details of these days became known to me from my informants from the Order only after our return from England. I remembered them now, describing our return to Paris, a rebellious city that rebelled against its rightful sovereign.
The Queen tried to be firm. She said: “The granddaughter of Charles the Fifth fears only God.”
The next day, the crowd threw stones at Chancellor S;guier, blaming him for the arrest of the Brussels adviser and the delay in his release. Several shots were even fired, but luckily not a single bullet hit him. He barely managed to reach the Luiney mansion and hide in one of its closets. Believing that his last hour had come, Seguier immediately confessed to his brother, the Bishop of Meaux, who accompanied him. It was only by miracle that their hiding place was not discovered by the excited crowd. In retaliation, the crowd plundered the mansion of Luynes, which belonged to the son of the Duchess de Chevreuse and her first husband, Constable de Luynes. The Chancellor and his brother were rescued by Marshal Lameyer and the Chief Judge of the Paris Prevot, who arrived at the scene with two companies of guards.
A few hours later, all of Paris was dug up, all roads were blocked with barricades, the number of large walls numbered in the dozens.
Parliament, out of its stupidity (characteristic of most parliaments), decided that the uprising in Paris was working for it. The heads of parliament believed that the Queen would now become more flexible, and the Parisians would unquestioningly obey any decisions of parliament. But the genie, released from the bottle, did not want to obey the one who released it. The Parisians did not recognize either the coadjutor or the parliament. Brussels, liberated by the demands of the Parisians, also did not become the leader of the rebellious Paris. Having made sure that he was free, the Parisians forgot about him and his existence; he was only a reason for indignation, but his release could not serve as a reason to end the rebellion. Now the Parisians were warmed up to the uprising by the parliament, which did not know that it was sawing the branch on which it was sitting. The rioting Parisians also directed their anger at members of parliament, so President Molay almost lost his beard, Monsieur de Meme lost a significant part of his expensive suit, and other “fathers of the people” also suffered.
It was then that Mazarin suggested that the Queen leave Paris, taking the King and Little Monsieur from there. Our friend d'Artagnan helped them fulfill this idea even before we met him in England, but he did not tell us about his exploits, so I learned about them only after returning to Paris.
There is no doubt that the crowd was fueled by Spanish agents who wormed their way into it and handed out money, leaflets, and shouted slogans. Cond; personally captured a Picardy spy named Tagny, who had been bribed by Spain and received money for his subversive activities through a Parisian market merchant named Cochefer, also a Spanish agent. In general, the Paris market has always been a hotbed of unrest, and it is not for nothing that Beaufort, who gathered the largest number of his supporters there, was nicknamed the King of the Market.
The Queen and the King left for Ruelle; she explained to the envoys who arrived there that this was an ordinary trip, with the purpose only of rest. To requests to return the King to Paris, she replied that Louis XIV had the right to change his situation, like any of his subjects. The agreement reached with parliament and with the Parisians allowed the Queen to decide to return to Paris, but she returned full of anger and a thirst for revenge, which she carefully concealed under the mask of cordiality. She did not consider Mazarin to be the culprit of her humiliation, realizing that she had to make concessions for political reasons. Mazarin successfully compensated for defeats on the internal front with victories on external fronts. According to the Treaties of Westphalia, the emperor ceded to us all rights to Alsace, three bishoprics - Toul, Metz and Verdun. Relative security was achieved on the eastern border. We also received rights to the right bank of the Rhine, Breisach and Philippsburg. These treaties cemented the political and religious division of Germany. The rulers of about three hundred and fifty states of Germany were the sole and absolute masters of their small states; outside its borders, they received the right to enter into alliances between themselves and other foreign powers, but on the condition that the actions of these alliances would not be directed either against the empire or against the emperor. In the long term, the danger posed by the existence of a huge centralized Habsburg state was eliminated. Mazarin continued the destruction of this monster in order to strengthen the sovereignty of France.
This is probably what forced Spain to intensify the activities of its spies and provocateurs in Paris itself.
As a result, the people were restless, the parliament was insolent, the state treasury was empty, a significant part of the army was located near the external borders, the army at the disposal of the Queen was clearly insufficient to keep the people of Paris in obedience.
Every morning, lampoons against Mazarin, called Mazarinade, appeared on a pole near the New Bridge and in many other places. These were talented prose and poetic denunciations of Mazarin’s sins, real and fictitious. I must admit that I wrote some of them. But since our departure I have not been involved in them. It was then that satire on the Queen also began to appear in these mazarinades, more and more cruel, evil, unfair and deceitful. Probably the author of some of them was La Rochefoucauld, who at one time was an ardent admirer of Queen Anne. Others appear to have been written by the Duchess de Longueville, who had considerable talent in this field. There is no doubt that among the authors of these lampoons and mazarinades was the Parisian coadjutor, Monsieur de Gondi, which did not prevent him, in the presence of the Queen’s supporters, from lamenting how evil the tongues of these authors were. The Queen wanted to respond with force, the cardinal convinced her that in order for the blow to be strong, she should first pull her hand back to ensure the proper swing. Therefore, they say, one should first show complaisance and even feign weakness so that the enemy does not expect this blow and opens his unprotected places. La Rochefoucauld secretly went over to the side of the frondeurs. The Duchess de Longueville entered into a political alliance with the coadjutor, which was quite logical, but she also entered into an intimate relationship with him and with La Rochefoucauld. When I found out about this I was beside myself.
“Why did I get involved in this stupid Fronde?! - I asked myself. — I wanted to combine female love and politics, love and friendship, feelings and calculation. I acted like a fool. And I dragged Athos into this idea with the Fronde, as a result of which he became a rebel, and his rebellion, like mine, was directed against the Queen herself!”
Truly, I deserve this soul-searching and self-reproach. Women sometimes claim that men only want one thing from them! Hypocrites! It’s just that most women can only give this one thing, and you shouldn’t want anything else from them, since these are vain expectations, fraught with the greatest disappointment! I remembered the windy Chevrette, and compared it with the equally windy Angers. They weren't faithful to me!
“What did I expect?! - I asked myself. - After all, I started relationships with married ladies! If they yielded to my onslaught, then they were flighty enough not to be faithful to their husbands! So what else did I expect from them?

The more I thought about the Queen's situation, the more sympathy I felt for her. We came from London, which rebelled against its sovereign and executed him. The analogy was too obvious to ignore.
Athos expressed concern that the Queen might suffer the same fate.
“While you and I, dear friend, were trying in vain to save the King of a neighboring state, the Queen of our own state was in no less danger ,” he said. “This alone forces us to do everything in our power to avert this danger from her.”
“But we ourselves, to a certain extent, are the creators of the Fronde!” - I exclaimed. “If we hadn’t liberated Beaufort, everything would have been much calmer!”
- Moreover, my friend! - Athos answered. “This fact only imposes on us an obligation to save our Queen.” We did not spare our lives when she was only the wife of the King and his subject, but now she is our rightful sovereign, the reigning Queen Mother, Regent and head of the Royal Council. Our duty is to obey it.
- And Mazarin? - I asked.
“If the Queen orders us to obey Mazarin, we will have to obey,” answered Athos. “This is the duty of a subject.” But I hope that we will not be given such an order.

Chapter 164

I will continue the story about what I managed to find out about the events that took place in Paris during our absence.
Since the people began to resent not only the cardinal, but also the Queen herself, the prestige of Gaston d'Orleans began to increase sharply in the eyes of the court camarilla. Did I write that people were outraged by the Queen? People are flexible! The authors of lampoons and mazarinades began to be indignant. And the people eat the dish that journalists, or pamphleteers, or speakers in the crowd, or hired foreign agents prepare for them. The people are not accustomed to think, reason and make decisions; the people follow those who speak more convincingly, that is, more colorfully and imaginatively. People are not even able to analyze that sometimes rhetoricians captivate them with baseless accusations, unfulfilled promises and lure them with other nonsense. The people remind me of those elephants about which I read in the book d’Artagnan gave me, “Strategems” by Sextus Julius Frontinus. When the commander demanded that the war elephants cross the river, the elephants did not want to obey, and the leader also could not be forced to do this. Then the commander ordered one of his officers to inflict painful blows on the trunk of the leader of the elephants, and then quickly cross the river in a boat with many oarsmen. The elephant, in a rage, chased the offender, and all the other elephants decided that if the leader swam across the river, then they should do the same. It is possible that this story is fictitious, since elephants have leaders not males, but females, and for tamed war elephants the leader is the person who tamed it, but still this story is very instructive. In order to force a crowd to rush somewhere, even, perhaps, to certain death, it is enough to induce the leaders of this people to do this. Of course the agents knew this.
So Gaston, encouraged by the flattery of the courtiers, who felt that if the Queen perhaps fell out of favor there might be a revolution in his favour, actually began to believe that he had a chance of taking the throne, or at least of bargaining with the Queen for new concessions.
Gaston's daughter, Mademoiselle, also harbored grievances against the Queen and nurtured her own ambitions. The fact is that a princess of this rank cannot marry without the consent of the King, but this princess decided nothing more or less than to marry Louis XIV himself , despite the age difference not in her favor, since Anna Maria Louise, Duchess de Montpensier was eleven years older than Louis. She, of course, had no chance, since along with the fact that the King would prefer a spouse younger than him, but not eleven years older, he, on top of everything else, felt a persistent disgust for her, and Mazarin and the Queen were hatching plans profitable dynastic marriage. Political calculations were based on the marriage of the young King, and this is how it has always been. After all, Louis XIII was married by his mother in the hope of establishing good relations with Spain, and she herself married Henry IV because he needed her money and the support of her clan.
Realizing the impossibility of this marriage, Mademoiselle did not let up, because she realized that at twenty-two years old she was a very profitable match. From her mother, who died in childbirth, she inherited a huge fortune and a whole bunch of titles. One of her suitors was the Prince of Wales, the son of the unfortunate Charles of England, who lived at that time in France, hiding from the indignation of his subjects, which cost his father his head. Mademoiselle, Duchess de Montpensier considered herself too brilliant a match for this prince in exile and refused. Perhaps if she had known that the Prince of Wales was to ascend to the English throne under the name of Charles the Second of England, her answer would have been different. She then became interested in the fact that Queen Anne's sister Maria Anna of Spain had died in 1646, leaving Emperor Ferdinand III a widower . She decided to console the royal widower by marrying him. But the emperor preferred the Archduchess of Tyrol. Her plans for Archduke Leopold, ruler of the Netherlands, also did not lead to success. Among other things, these prospective suitors were sworn enemies of France. Therefore, her courtier, Mr. Sojong, who tried to arrange these marriages without the Queen’s consent, was simply arrested.
The queen reprimanded Mademoiselle for these intrigues, threatening that Sozhon might go to the chopping block through her fault.
Then Mademoiselle became imbued with the ideas of the Fronde. The Duchess de Montpensier did not nominally join the Fronde; she commanded one of the armies on the side of the princes and even gave commands to the artillery, the barrels of which were directed against the Queen’s army.
At that time, the Grand Cond; still remained on the side of the Queen, remembering that his name was Louis de Bourbon, and, therefore, it was not fitting for him to shake the throne.
Finally, the Queen, King, entire royal family and government left Paris on January 6, 1649. This evening, Marshal de Grammont gave a dinner, to which everyone came, including Mazarin’s three nieces. At two o'clock in the morning the Queen, Guiteau Fran;ois de Comenges, captain of Queen Villequier's guards, Madame de Beauvais (who later made Louis XIV a man) and d'Artagnan left Paris. At Cour-da -Rhenes they stopped to wait for Mazarin and the second batch of fugitives. Monsieur took his wife and daughters with him, Conde took his mother, wife and son, who was an infant, his brother, the Prince de Conti, and his son-in-law, the Duke of Longueville. But the Duchess de Longueville, my flighty Anna Genevieve, chose to stay in Paris. She explained her decision by saying that she was at the end of her pregnancy, and a long carriage ride could harm her. Mazarin himself, not wanting to give rise to suspicion, remained at the card table until late at night, after which d'Artagnan brought him in the coadjutor's carriage, which he took possession of by cunning. After leaving Paris, Mazarin suddenly realized that he had left in Paris two boxes, upholstered in velvet and filled with diamonds, as well as some very important papers. Mazarin had the key with the secret to both boxes on a cord around his neck. When Mazarin crossed himself, thanking God for the successful departure from Paris, he accidentally touched this key with his hand and broke out in a cold sweat when he realized that he had forgotten to put them in the carriage. Millet de Gers was immediately sent to Paris, who successfully found and delivered the valuables of the first minister, who, until he was convinced that they were again at his full disposal and had not been broken into, could not calm down. Overjoyed at finding the boxes, which he had already considered lost, Mazarin presented de Gers with ten pistoles.
The unrest in Paris increased. To prevent the rest of the nobility from rushing after the Queen, King and court to Saint-Germain, the Parisians broke their carriages.
Parliament, despite the Queen's order to appear in Saint-Germain, was shaken for a long time by heated debate. Finally, it was decided to send a delegation to implore the Queen to return the King to Paris. There was no talk about the return of the Queen and, especially, Mazarin.
The Queen did not receive the ambassadors and said that she was surprised to see delegates, while she believed that the entire parliament, according to her order, was in Montragee.
The Queen and Mazarin were confident of victory; they knew for sure that the Parisians would not withstand the siege, especially if it was besieged by the army of Prince Cond;.
This meant war between the Queen and Parliament.
Parliament declared Mazarin an undesirable element, ordered him to leave the city within a day, and eight days later to leave the country. Otherwise, all citizens of the country were obliged to drive him out as an undesirable element. In addition, parliament seized all his movable and immovable property. The searches in his house did not live up to expectations; an insignificant amount of money was found in the house, especially in comparison with what was expected to be discovered and requisitioned.
To protect Paris, money, troops, weapons, and ammunition were required.
There was no money, the militia was recruited from the bourgeoisie and common people who did not know how to fight and did not know the basics of tactics and strategy. Of course, rare former warriors, such as Planchet, were quickly promoted to leadership positions in the ranks of the people's militias.
Generals were urgently needed. With the help of Duke Fran;ois de La Rochefoucauld, Duchess Anne Genevieve de Longueville (my heart breaks when I write about her!) won over to the side of the Fronde her husband, Duke de Longueville, and his brother, Prince Conti. This Prince Conti, a hunchback who had never fought, having been trained all his life for a career as a clergyman, was appointed commander-in-chief of the parliament's army. Well, after all, he was a prince of the blood, who else but him to command the troops of Paris! I'm kidding, of course. He appointed five or six noble lords as generals, who formed his headquarters. Among them was the Duke de Beaufort, the Duke de Bouillon, and La Rochefoucauld became a lieutenant general. The position which Richelieu had offered him, and which he had refused in the hope of the best, was now handed to him by the rebels. Wonderful career!
I cannot calmly write about Coadjutor Gondi and the Duke de La Rochefoucauld. It would seem that now that so many years have passed, jealousy should no longer exist, but I can’t help myself.
The departure of the court from Paris caused economic damage to all traders and manufacturers, except those who produced weapons and gunpowder, these made a hefty sum on the Fronde. Among the financial victims were young ladies with a low level of social responsibility, pleasing the male half of the population for hard cash. Someone even wrote a pamphlet, “The Deplorable Plight of Parisian Girls,” I suspect La Rochefoucauld. Also circulating was the Mazarinade “Lament de Laduri;re of Saint-Cloud,” which ridiculed the famous bawd named Nichon. It said, in particular:

“Nishon, the time has come to cry,
Income has become low!
I had to appease six brothers
For a couple of ounces of lard!”

All the nobility, including the Longueville couple, the Bouillon couple, the Contis, and others settled in the town hall. Musicians, beautiful ladies, gentlemen in lace were also invited there, the town hall was filled with cheerful music and warlike speeches. It was there that the Duchess de Longueville gave birth to her son. I would like to consider it mine and have good reasons for this, but I was not the only one who irrigated this fruitful field. Anna Genevieve asked the whole city to become the godmother of her son, on whose behalf the coadjutor named him Charles-Paris. So, her son is the son of the whole Paris! If only you knew what word comes to mind when I think about this! I can’t say that she gave birth to all of Paris, I can’t help but be tongue-tied, I’m not as sarcastic as La Rochefoucauld. But why call an entire city to be godmothers?
The Queen suffered with pain in her heart the betrayal of the Prince of Conti, the Duke and Duchess of Longueville, the Duke and Duchess of Bouillon, La Rochefoucauld, and the coadjutor.
But fate was preparing two even more crushing blows for her.
The first blow was the transition to the side of the Fronde by the Viscount de Turenne.

Chapter 165

We tried to be careful on the way to Paris, but Athos, our dear count with sometimes childish ideas regarding the straightforwardness of moral principles, spoke out that it was not proper for nobles to hide in their own state.
“Dear Athos ,” I told him, speaking to him exactly as I would speak to a small child. “You can risk your own life as much as you want when it belongs only to you.” But we are entrusted with two most important missions. You yourself voluntarily took on the first of them and laid it on me as well. I mean the obligation to go to the aid of King Charles. Since we could not help him, fulfilling his last will is our most sacred duty. The second mission is to save our friends in the event that the wrath and revenge of Cardinal Mazarin falls upon them.
“You reminded me of one of the King’s most important orders, which he gave me right before his death ,” said Athos. “It occurred to me that I might actually die before I fulfilled this order.” This would be unforgivable negligence on my part. Unfortunately, I promised the King not to disclose it to anyone. If it were only my secret, then I would immediately tell you, as well as d'Artagnan and Porthos. But this secret does not belong to me. The king made me promise not to disclose it even to his son and heir until the proper time comes, since until then the said secret could only harm him. But I did not think that my death could make this secret completely buried, and in this case the Prince of Wales would be undeservedly deprived of what was rightfully his. Today I will put on paper this secret and the conditions under which it should be used, and I will seal this paper in an envelope. You, Aramis, will promise me to open this envelope only in the event of my death, and not a minute earlier.
“As you say, Count,” I answered. - In this case, write what you want to convey with onion juice or milk between the lines of the letter in which you write something unimportant. In this case, if the letter falls into the hands of the enemy, they will consider it to be a simple letter from you to me, which for some reason I decided to keep. It would be best if you write to me so that I can take care of young Raoul in the event of your death. In this case, it will be clear to anyone why I carefully keep this letter.
“But then it won’t be clear why you didn’t read it and didn’t open it!” - said Athos.
- Why! - I objected. “Suppose you told me in words what is stated there, and the letter is only proof of your will for Raoul himself.”
- Why does the Queen hold parliament when there are such smart people in France as you, Aramis? - Athos exclaimed.
“What are you talking about, Athos,” I objected. - You flatter me. This is the most common precaution.
“But it would never have occurred to me to think it through so deeply,” Athos objected.
“Because your concepts of conscience and honor are too straightforward ,” I said. “And worse than that, you expect that they are the same for everyone else, which, believe me, there is no trace of!” People use their conscience only occasionally, so that it does not become frayed and worn out! They protect it from use much more carefully than they would protect a new expensive velvet suit. The conscience of all courtiers has some flexibility! A person who is unable to bend his conscience as the current moment requires will never make a career higher than a gardener in a country garden or a chimney sweep. Even for a simple falconer, straightforwardness is disastrous. You cannot imagine how flexible the conscience and honor of the majority of the courtiers surrounding the Queen are. However, why the majority? Everyone!
In the evening, Athos solemnly handed me a small envelope made of waxed parchment, which was easy to hide even in a boot.
“You must destroy it if there is a threat that this envelope will be read by anyone other than you ,” said Athos.
“I have already given you such a promise,” I answered. - But for your peace of mind, I give it to you again.
That same evening, seizing the moment when Athos was away, I opened the envelope, heated the paper on a candle and read the following text.

"Dear friend! If you are reading this message, it means that I joined the majority and left for another world, hopefully a better one. Know that King Charles hid a million pounds sterling. He buried it in the dungeon of Newcastle Castle when he left this city. A grave with a deep scratch in the shape of a cross on the tombstone where the rose is carved. Don't mourn me, be happy and take care of Raul! Your Comte de La F;re."

I folded the letter back into the concert and sealed it. Well, Athos really shouldn't have taken this secret to his grave.

Upon arrival in Paris we encountered a problem. The guards, consisting of militia, did not want to let us into the city.
— Do you have passes? - asked the man, whom, apparently, the new government had appointed a sergeant.
“We arrived from England at our home; we believed that honest citizens can always count on being allowed into the house they rent in Paris,” answered Athos.
“We have martial law, so entry into Paris is only with passes,” answered the sergeant.
- And who issues these passes? - asked Athos.
“Leaders of the Fronde,” answered the sergeant.
“Great,” I said. - Allow us to see any of these leaders, and I guarantee that they will give us any kind of passes.
“We will let you in as soon as you show us your passes so that we can let you in,” answered the sergeant.
“You can take us to them under escort if you don’t trust them ,” said Athos. “And if we are refused, the same convoy will escort us out of the city gates.”
“If everyone who wants to get into Paris is assigned a convoy, then there won’t be enough convoys,” the sergeant reasonably objected.
“But we are not everyone,” Athos answered proudly, adjusting his Order of the Holy Spirit on his chest.
Unfortunately, this gesture did not make any impression on the sergeant, who was not familiar with this order.
“Listen, Sergeant ,” I said. “Many of the leaders of the Fronde can vouch for us.” For example, Monsieur Coadjutor, or the Duke de Beaufort, or the Count de Rochefort.
- Great, do you have a document from any of them? - inquired the sergeant.
“I have a letter from the Duchess de Longueville, will such a guarantee suit you?” - I asked.
“Show me,” answered the sergeant.
“I can only show the envelope with her seal, since the letter it contains is a strategic secret that should not be disclosed in the name of the victory of the Fronde,” I answered and showed the letter with the seal of the Duchess de Longueville.
“Come on in,” the sergeant said reluctantly.
He was annoyed that he had to give in to the pressure of the persistent nobles, but was quite satisfied that he had shown due vigilance and did not allow Mazarin's spies, whom he had initially assumed were in us, to enter Paris.
At the same time, two nobles and a monk, hiding his face under a hood, appeared at the gate.
These people silently showed their passes and passed through the gates even before we did.
“Did you recognize them, Aramis?” - Athos asked me after the three had gone a considerable distance.
As soon as Athos called my name, one of the militiamen looked back, and I recognized Planchet.
- Messrs. Athos and Arami! - exclaimed Planchet. - How glad I am to meet you! Did they really not want to let you through? So I'll give them some pepper!
“Are you the boss here, Monsieur Planchet?” - I asked.
At the word “Mr.,” Planchet blushed all over.
- In a sense, yes. - Planchet answered proudly. I am a militia lieutenant, but soon I hope to become at least a captain. After all, I have experience in combat service, unlike all these city bumpkins.
- What kind of people passed through the gate in front of us now? - asked Athos. “They didn’t want to let us through for so long, but these three were let in as soon as they showed some papers.”
“The passes say that these are Messrs. de Flamarand, de Chatillon and Father de Bruy, all three are supporters of the Fronde, and they are all heading to the Duke of Longueville.”
“Well, we will visit it too, but a little later, now we have other plans ,” I said. -Have you seen d'Artagnan and Porthos?
“They left a long time ago, more than two months ago, and I haven’t seen them since,” Planchet answered. “I hope nothing bad happened to them?”
“No, we just agreed to meet here in Paris, and we are afraid that they might not be allowed in, just as they didn’t let us in,” answered Athos.
- What to do! “Prince Conti ordered that no one be allowed in without passes,” Planchet replied.
“Believe me, dear Planchet ,” said Athos. “If Mazarin’s spies want to get into Paris, they will have the best passes they can get.” And by the way, these three...
“These three have already come to Paris and had a conversation with the Duke of Lorraine, as well as with Monsieur Coadjutor,” replied Planchet. “If they were not who they say they are, gentlemen the Duke and the Coadjutor would have already ordered their arrest.”
“Well, Planchet, you are doing your job superbly ,” I said.
-Have you seen Raoul? - asked Athos.
“He lives in the Charlemagne Hotel and sometimes visits the mansion of the Duchess de Chevreuse, but even more often the mansion of Marshal de Gramont, since he is very friendly with his son, Comte de Guiche. He is OK.
- Thank you, Planchet! - Athos answered and made a move to pat Planchet on the shoulder, but changed his intention and cordially shook his hand. “I wish you to quickly receive the rank of militia captain.”
I also shook hands with Planchet, and Planchet, in turn, shook hands with Grimaud and even hugged him goodbye.

- But she’s a clever rogue, a clever fellow! - I remarked as I mounted my horse. “He really will be the captain.”
“And how could he not be like that,” Athos agreed, sitting down in the saddle. “After all, he served d’Artagnan for so many years!”

We said goodbye to Planchet and walked towards the residence of Queen Henrietta.
- This is how the wheel of fate turns! - said Athos. - Queen Henrietta remained in Paris and is not afraid of the rebel mob of France, despite the fact that the rebel mob of England executed her husband, while the Queen of France was forced to flee from her subjects.
“The Queen has nowhere to run,” I answered. “And she still doesn’t know about the sad fate of her husband.”
“I have never had to carry out a more painful task than the one that lies ahead of us,” Athos answered with a sigh.
“We were talking about two nobles and a monk,” I reminded.
“Yes, yes,” agreed Athos. “I also recognized all three, despite the fact that the third dressed as a monk and tried to hide his face. Well, it looks like negotiations are in full swing!
— Negotiations or bargaining? - I asked.
“All negotiations are bargaining,” answered Athos. - And these ones in particular. It can be seen that both sides are making great efforts for their success. So very soon the Fronde will end.
- Was all this worth starting? - I asked with a sigh.
“You and I just haven’t come to terms with the imprisonment of the prince of the blood as a simple criminal,” answered Athos. - Just like they didn’t put up with the despotism of the Italian, this handsome cardinal. We did everything we could in the name of justice and for our own pleasure.
“I agree that both of these arguments are very convincing, and for me the second argument is no less important than the first,” I answered.
“You are slandering yourself, Aramis!” - Athos answered with a smile. — For as long as I have known you, you have been a fierce champion of justice and the greatest ascetic. For your own pleasure, you allow yourself only communication with parishioners, perhaps more intimate than is required for confession. And you do not spare yourself in the name of the victory of justice!
“How poorly you know me, my dear Athos! - I thought. “Once upon a time, a long time ago, I wanted people dear to me to think better of me than I deserve.” And now all my life I have to live up to this myth that I created about myself!”

Chapter 166

We came to Queen Henrietta, who lived in Paris with her court as if it were the most peaceful place in the world. The hatred of the Parisians did not affect her family. She did not win their love either, but perhaps this is only for the better, because people’s love has so often turned into hatred, history is full of such examples! It’s better not to arouse any feelings towards yourself in the crowd. Sister of Louis XIII , the Queen rightfully considered France her homeland and Paris her home.
- Count de La F;re! Chevalier d'Herblay! - exclaimed the Queen. - How fortunate that you also came to us today and now! And although you will not be the first bearer of happy news, I am convinced that you will tell us some details that are of the greatest interest to us!
“We are happy to pay our respects to Your Majesty ,” said Athos, bowing to the Queen and forcing me to repeat this gesture. “We probably missed something from the events that happened if Your Majesty finds some happy news in that stream of sad news, which, alas, is still fresh in our memory and does not allow us to appreciate any other news.”
- For me, the most important news is information about my husband, and as long as he is alive and saved, everything else does not matter to me! - the Queen exclaimed animatedly. “If you are sad that the throne of England is forever lost to him, it does not sadden me, since I have thought about it for too long and have already gotten used to this thought.”
“I completely share your views that the life of your august husband means much more than everything else, and therefore my heart breaks at the thought of the news that we brought you ,” said Athos.
- Apparently there is some kind of mistake here? - the Queen asked confused. “The gentlemen who are present here assured me that my husband was saved thanks to the active help of Cardinal Mazarin!” I must admit that I was unfair in assessing his disposition towards our family. Although he refused to help us with troops or money, he, as Messrs. de Chatillon and de Flamarand reported, sent a group of desperately brave nobles who saved my husband, didn’t he? I think he's taken refuge in Canterbury? His number of supporters is growing, and he is completely safe, because even if his troops are not strong enough to defeat the army of Parliament, he can always sail to France or Holland!
“If Messrs. de Chatillon and de Flamarand told you this information, then I believe that they apparently got it from an insufficiently reliable source that misled them,” Athos said coldly.
“But they said that they themselves were not only witnesses, but also participants in this wonderful liberation of my husband!” - the Queen was surprised. “I would gladly reward them with some kind of gift, but, as you know, I have nothing left.”
“Could the dear gentlemen de Chatillon and de Flamarand tell us exactly what day they last saw King Charles, how exactly they released him from custody, and where exactly they took him?” - I asked. — Perhaps we are talking about some events that happened three months ago? Something similar may have happened late last year, but it's hardly good news today.
- What do you! - the Queen objected. - This news is the latest, all this happened just before they left England, that is, just a few days ago.
“I thought that these gentlemen were talking about some long-ago events ,” said Athos. “Only such an assumption could explain such a deliberate inaccuracy in the information they gave you.” Now I can only assume that these gentlemen are probably sick, or are so tired that they do not distinguish sleep from reality. Do these gentlemen insist on the information they gave you?
“We told Her Majesty the real truth ,” said de Flamarent.
“In that case, I am forced to accuse you of lying ,” said Athos. “ And if this accusation seems unfounded to you, we will, of course, find the time, place and arguments to finally clarify the truth.”
- Horrible! - whispered the Queen. “The Comte de La F;re cannot be wrong.” If he denies that the King is saved, then...
“He left this world to move to a better one ,” said Athos. “Your Majesty, the royals are endowed with extreme courage, since only a step separates them from the Lord. Take heart. We were unable to fulfill the highest mission with which you honored us, although we did everything possible and even, it seems, impossible for this. Fate itself has taken up arms against your august Spouse.
The Queen almost fainted. With the last of her strength, she covered her forehead with her hand and, closing her eyes, began to whisper prayers.
“Tell me how it happened ,” she said, having finished praying.
“The king behaved with dignity and did not lose his dignity either by word or gesture ,” said Athos. “This handkerchief contains his blood, spilled on the chopping block.” He asked to give this wedding ring and your cross with diamonds to you, and this order rightfully belongs to your son, Charles the Second. The King also asked him to tell his son that he regretted the words he said regarding the defeat at Oxford; he considered him a brave and skillful commander, despite his young years. He firmly believes that justice will be restored to your family, your son will regain his father's throne. Your husband, King Charles, asked that his son be told to forgive his subjects for what they did to him and never take revenge on his people for the death of his father.
- I believe you! - said the Queen. “I always believe you, Comte de La F;re, but only he could say these words, and I cannot doubt that you heard them from him.”
The Count bowed.
- Gentlemen! - she turned to de Chatillon and de Flamarand. “Your presence here weighs on me.” I ask you to never visit me again. I'm not keeping you.
Chatillon and Flamarand looked at us angrily and left silently.
“Comte de La F;re, Chevalier d'Herblay, I ask you to wait for me ,” said the Queen. “I need a few minutes to calm down and recover from the terrible news.” But I would like to hear from you a detailed story about what happened, and I will also be grateful if you convey every word of it, which, I hope, is still stored in your memory. Just tell me why Lord Winter is not with you?
“Lord Winter died defending the King ,” I said.
“Unfortunately, we did not have such an honor,” added Athos. “His Majesty forbade me to carry out the plan that I proposed to him in the most desperate situation and imposed an obligation on me, which was the reason for this. I recognize his right to manage our lives the way he wanted. He chose to make us his messengers to you.
The Queen nodded and left, repeating with a hand gesture her request to wait for her to continue the conversation.
When the Queen disappeared behind the doors, I went into the reception room, and, as I had hoped, I found de Chatillon and de Flamarand there.
“Gentlemen,” I told them. “The Comte de La F;re and I hope to meet with you in the very near future.” There remains one unexplained question between us, which would best be clarified, for example, tonight at the Charenton Gate.
“Accepted,” said Chatillon.
“Duke, you forget that we still have several urgent matters, so we do not belong to ourselves until we complete them,” Flamarand objected. “Gentlemen, our conversation will take place the day after tomorrow at seven o’clock in the evening at the Charenton Gate.”
Chatillon nodded, I also nodded in agreement and returned to Queen Henrietta’s drawing room to Athos.
The Queen returned to us ten minutes later. We told her everything, or almost everything, that had happened in England.

When we left her, the cats were scratching at my soul.
“Shouldn’t we look for Father de Bruy?” - I asked Athos. “This fat guy surprisingly reminds me of Mazarin.”
“Of course, this is it,” Athos agreed. “He came here personally to establish agreements with each leader of the Fronde individually, and it seems to me that his diplomacy will be crowned with success.” We are witnessing a turning point in the history of France. From this day begins the end of the Fronde and the beginning of the glorious reign of Queen Anne and her faithful minister, Cardinal Mazarin.
- Is it really so sad? - I asked Athos. “Listen, if d’Artagnan were in our place, he would simply have captured Mazarin!” Why don't we do the same?
“Probably because such an idea could only have occurred to him, and only he could have carried it out and gotten away with it,” Athos answered with a grin. - But if you and I have already begun to think like him, then perhaps you are right that we should act as he would have acted if he had been a frogman. But the trouble is that I no longer feel like such a frogman as I was at that time when you and I were preparing the escape of the Duke de Beaufort. And something tells me that some changes have taken place in you, dear Aramis.
“I’ve seen enough of how Parliament operates without a King, and I’ve had enough!” - I answered.
- Oh, don't worry about that! - Athos answered. — France is not yet in danger of being left without a King altogether. Among the princes of the blood there are too many contenders for the throne. I'm not even talking about Gaston d'Orl;ans.
- But this is unfair! - I objected. - To overthrow the legitimate King, Louis XIV , who has not yet angered his subjects in any way, only to place Gaston d'Orl;ans on the throne!? If I make even one movement with even one finger to make this happen, strangle me with your own hands, dear Athos!
— I completely share your feelings, dear friend! - Athos agreed. - Let's just watch what happens. To do this, we should pay visits to our influential friends, the leaders of the Fronde. And if we have the opportunity to inflict any damage on Mazarin without causing any damage to the King and Queen Mother, we will do it with their help, or ourselves. If we see that all this is useless and the Fronde is doomed, we will simply go home.
“But not before we teach those vile Chatillon and Flamarand a lesson!” - I clarified.
“Of course,” answered Athos.

Chapter 167

We visited the Duke of Bouillon and were convinced that it is rightly said about him that he is depressed by gout. His gout made him bedridden at an extremely opportune time, allowing him to lament his inability to personally lead the Parisian volunteers in their struggle against the Queen.
Since, on our way to the Duke's house, we noticed Messrs. de Chatillon and de Flamarand, accompanying as if an honorary escort Father de Bruy, in whom we recognized Mazarin, it was clear that these trio had visited the Duke before our arrival. Obviously, Mazarin decided to personally negotiate in order to persuade the Duke to inaction, that is, to bribe him.
His mission turned out to be successful, as we became convinced of when we visited the Duke. He only complained about his gout, lamenting that not only was he unable to mount a horse, but even simply staying in bed was associated with severe pain.
Athos wished the Duke a speedy recovery and expressed his admiration for the courage of the Duke, who, despite an acute attack of illness, retains leadership of the army entrusted to him.
I looked carefully at Athos. I didn’t know him to have such talents as a pretender. After all, it was obvious to me that Athos did not consider the Duke to be sick, and explained his attack of gout by the fact that the Duke considered it more profitable for himself to come to an agreement with Mazarin rather than continue to argue.
As if to confirm my thoughts, the Duke gave himself away.
- What to do, gentlemen! - he said. “You have to sacrifice yourself for the people’s good.” As you can see, I have been sacrificing myself for many months, overcoming a serious illness, but, I admit, my strength is beginning to fail me. This damn gout is killing me. Elementary common sense tells me to retire and lead a peaceful life commensurate with the state of my health.
“It would be wise to take care of yourself,” agreed Athos. - Save yourself for future exploits.
“I admit, I would have done just that,” the delighted Duke picked up the idea proposed to him. “But, you see, it would be unreasonable not to take any measures to at least somehow try to compensate for my enormous losses in this matter.” I confess to you, if the court had satisfied my demands, which were quite fair, then I would probably have retired. After all, I only ask for the compensation already promised to me by the former cardinal, in return for the Duchy of Sedan that was taken from me! If they gave me possessions of the same value, compensating for all the losses I incurred during the time that I did not use them, namely for eight years, and if they added a princely title to the family titles of my house, they again appointed my brother Viscount de Turenne as commander-in-chief , then I would immediately retire to my estates, leaving the court and parliament to settle their own affairs as they please.
“A very wise decision ,” said Athos. — I am convinced that your fair demands will find support. At least these gentlemen de Chatillon and de Flamarand will probably convey these demands of yours directly to the Queen.
“And the Queen will probably listen to the request supported by your third guest, because she always listens carefully to the ministers of the church ,” I said.
— A clergyman? - the Duke asked with fear. - Who are you talking about?
“I’m talking about your third guest ,” I said and noticed how the Duke de Bouillon turned pale and even seemed to jump up in his bed, completely forgetting about the attack of gout. - After all, the third guest, it seems, was Father de Bruy. We didn't get a good look at his face, but we were told that was his name.
- Yes you are right! - confirmed the completely calmed Duke. - Father de Bruy! An extremely understanding person. And it seems that he really has influence at court. I really hope for his support.
“We must think that everything will be resolved to your highest satisfaction,” Athos said dryly. - Please forgive us, we need to go, we have a few more urgent matters here in Paris.
“Well, gentlemen, I don’t dare detain you ,” said the Duke of Bouillon with visible relief. - I was very glad to see you.

When we left the duke's mansion, I sang to Athos a song that I had heard the day before and remembered word for word:

"Our glorious Duke of Bouillon
The evil gout is defeated.
We all love him
And almost invincible
But his illness broke him
And chained to the bed.”

— The author wished to remain anonymous? - Athos said with a smile. “That’s how folk songs will be born.”

After Bouillon we headed to the Duke de Beaufort, and again met the same three horsemen leaving his mansion.
“It seems that our friends postponed the duel due to the need to visit the same people we were going to visit, and even in exactly the same order!” - said Athos.
“They are ahead of us because we were delayed at Queen Henrietta’s ,” I said. “Apparently, their negotiations have already brought the same result in this place as they achieved in the previous one.”
“In any case, I have never heard of the Duke de Beaufort suffering from gout!” - Athos answered and smiled.
In the Duke's reception room we met Rochefort, and he confirmed to us that the three noblemen mentioned had met with the Duke de Beaufort.
“I hope that the Duke will have time for us too ,” said Athos.
- How could it be otherwise? - Rochefort agreed. “Your contribution to his release is the best guarantee of the Duke’s eternal gratitude!”
“Gratitude is a perishable product,” I objected. - And there is no such thing as eternal gratitude!
“This fair paradox does not apply to our duke,” Rochefort disagreed. “You will see that he has the kindest feelings for you.”

- Messrs. de La F;re and d'Herblay! - exclaimed de Beaufort. - How glad I am to see you! I'll treat you to a great dinner! Believe me, gentlemen, in freedom even a crust of bread is tastier than a pate of five types of meat in Proven;al style! Who wouldn't know this if not me! And my chef Noirmont will prepare the most delicious dishes for you!
“Thank you, Your Highness, we only came to inquire about your health and pay our respects,” Athos answered for the two of us. — We also want to inform you that we are waiting for your instructions.
— My Highness’s health is excellent! - exclaimed the Duke. “Parting with M. Chavigny, who believed that staying in the Vincennes fortress was best suited for my health, contributed enormously to its improvement!” As for instructions, here in Paris there are now a lot of noble people, but there is not one who would take upon herself the courage to lead the entire mass of people who have risen on their own, and, probably, are not even aware of their own strength , neither their goals, nor their weak points.
- Indeed? - Athos was surprised. “I thought that there was complete mutual agreement among the princes.”
“Their agreement lies only in their common views on the situation,” Beaufort replied. “Everyone is looking to snatch more and avoid punishment in case of defeat.” Good agreement! The Duke of Bouillon can still be understood: he has gout and does not leave his bed. But as for Monsieur d'Elbeuf and his sons, you will not receive any instructions from them either. Do you know, gentlemen, the couplets written for the Duke d'Elbeuf?
- No, monsignor.
- Really?
And the Duke sang:

"Here are d'Elbeuf and sons -
A very nice family.
Don't be afraid of anything
Even the Prince himself!
But when Cond; comes,
You won’t find them anywhere.”

- But the coadjutor, I hope, is not like that? - asked Athos.
- It’s even worse with a coadjutor! “God save us from these rebellious priests who put on a combat helmet only to change it to a cardinal’s cap,” answered Beaufort. “Don’t you know his favorite aphorism?” I'll tell you it. “We should calculate our actions in such a way that even defeat brings us some benefit.” This is what he's all about! I bet that even now he is not thinking about how we can win, but about how he won’t miss out on his benefits when we all lose.
- And Prince Conti? - asked Athos.
“This one is even worse,” Beaufort replied and waved his hand in despair. — A failed monk at the head of an army is even worse than a successful one. And what is the demand from him? The hunchback prince must be ten times braver than an ordinary man to lead an army. But he does not have half the valor that an ordinary commander requires.
- And Monsieur? - asked Athos. “He hasn’t come over to your side yet?”
“Gaston d’Orleans was always more afraid of winning in his conspiracies than of losing ,” said Beaufort. — Losing in all matters is his way of life, it has become his second self. No, he still supports the Queen and Mazarin, but this won’t last, believe me.
- So you don’t see any prospects for our movement, Your Highness? - said Athos, exchanging glances with me.
— Prospects? - asked Beaufort. “The prospect of returning to Vincennes or the Bastille for all of us, that’s what I see with such an organization of things!” My Highness is infuriated by all this to such an extent that if the Queen admits her guilt to me, brings my mother back from exile and appoints me admiral for life, as was promised to me after the death of my father, the admiral, then I seem to agree to admit that there are worse scoundrels and robbers than Mazarin, and that his appointment as first minister is not the greatest evil for France.
Athos and I exchanged not only a glance, but also a smile. It was obvious that Mazarin knew what to offer Beaufort and had already made this offer. The Duke was only preparing us for what would happen, since everything had already been decided and agreed upon. “Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin” - “Weighed, measured and assessed.”
“Monsignor,” said Athos, “we are now completely satisfied.” Having appeared at this hour to Your Highness, we had no other purpose than to prove our devotion and declare to you that we are entirely at your disposal as your most faithful servants.
- As my most faithful friends, gentlemen, my most faithful friends. You have proven this, and if I am ever reconciled with the court, I hope, in turn, to prove to you that I remain your friend. Remember, Comte de La F;re, and you, Chevalier d'Herblay, that I am entirely and always at your service.
We bowed and left.
“My dear Athos ,” I said, “you seem to have agreed to accompany me only to give me a lesson?”
“Wait, my dear,” answered Athos, “what else will you say when we leave the coadjutor?”
- Do we need to go to him? - I asked.
“Only if you are interested in what exactly Mazarin offered him in exchange for loyalty,” answered Athos.
“Beaufort has already told us ,” I said. “He wants to be a cardinal, and Mazarin can arrange it.” Besides, I wanted to challenge him to a duel. Now after these two visits I want to do this even more, but I’m afraid it’s rude, because I’ll be visiting him!
“First of all, it is unreasonable and senseless,” answered Athos. - Forget about this duel! Agree that it will be much more pleasant to meet those gentlemen who today are ahead of us in all our visits.
“It’s hard for you to object, because you’re right, Athos,” I answered.
“It worries me that d’Artagnan and Porthos have not yet arrived in Paris ,” said Athos.
“I believe they will go first to the cardinal in Saint-Germain,” I replied.
- But the cardinal is now here in Paris! - Athos objected.
“Perhaps the cardinal left them in Saint-Germain while he himself made a trip here to Paris for negotiations, ” I asked.
“If this is so, then they are arrested,” Athos answered gloomily.
- Why? - I asked.
“Mazarin either forgave them and trusts them, or he did not forgive them and does not trust them,” answered Athos. “If he had forgiven them and trusted them, he should have taken them for this risky trip.” After all, he took these two nobles to protect his person; he could not have taken more guards, it would have given him away. But if we take two guards, then he won’t find anything better than Porthos with his strength and D’Artagnan with his sword.
“You’re right, Athos ,” I said. “Consequently, either they had not yet arrived in Saint-Germain and did not have time to see Mazarin, or they had already met, and he ordered them to be arrested.
“We’ll wait for them another day before the agreed date, and if they don’t show up, we’ll go searching in the opposite direction along the route they were supposed to arrive in Paris,” answered Athos.
“Well,” I replied. “In that case, I propose to visit the Duchess de Longueville.”
“You don’t need me on this visit,” Athos objected. - Do you think she is in Paris?
“She is in Paris and stays in the city hall,” I answered.
- What is she doing there? - Athos was surprised.
“She’s about to give birth, or has already given birth,” I answered.
Athos smiled, patted me on the shoulder and headed towards the Charlemagne Hotel, hoping to find Raoul there.

Chapter 168

Ange gave birth to a boy, whom she decided to name Charles-Paris. The Duchess de Longueville decided to declare the entire city of Paris godfather, and so his second name appeared. A very patriotic impulse, especially at a time when patriotism was divided into two types - patriotism in relation to the city and townspeople and patriotism in relation to the legitimate King and Queen Mother. It doesn't matter when patriotism takes two or more forms; The problem is when these forms are mutually exclusive. This allows citizens of one country to split into two camps and kill each other out of patriotic feelings on both sides. The Parisians exterminate the Mazarinists out of patriotic feelings, the Mazarinists exterminate the Parisians out of the same patriotic feelings. A lovely picture, to say the least!
I again leafed through Grimaud’s memoirs in terms of the presentation of the very events that I am describing here and now. There are fragments with slight exaggeration, and there are also more entertaining passages.
I’ll say separately about my and Athos’s participation in the battle of Paris against the Mazarinists, the same one where we captured Raoul.
This description of our participation in the battle of Charenton suffers from only one drawback, namely, the inaccuracy of some details. I won’t say which ones specifically. I do not undertake to discuss the details of the actions of each of us in this battle, how right or wrong they are. I can’t judge this, I don’t know whether everything really happened this way or differently, because we simply weren’t there. Yes, we did not participate in this battle. At all. No way. And what would we do with it? We could not fight against the Parisians, since in our hearts we sympathized with their leaders and were even on friendly terms with them, while we had far from friendly feelings towards Mazarin!
Could Athos or I fight on the side of the Parisians, realizing that their leaders had already agreed to lay down their arms for the handouts that Mazarin offered them? And also taking into account the fact that Raoul is most likely fighting on the side of the Mazarinists? This simply could not happen!
Grimaud became quite fascinated by the idea of friends fighting in opposing armies saving each other by taking prisoners. The idea is so-so. In battles they shoot without really looking at faces, and when it comes to a battle with sabers or swords, if you recognize the enemy and hesitate, you risk that he will not recognize you and then the face of this enemy will be the last thing you saw on this light. Even if it is an enemy, your closest friend.
All this nonsense about how Athos led some unit, maintaining composure and without taking out his weapon, can only interest romantic girls from a parochial school, furtively reading such nonsense and falling in love with the main characters of such stories. You cannot ride quietly without fighting, and at the same time lead a unit that no one appointed you to command.
The Battle of Charenton was the first step towards the defeat of the Fronde. Charenton fell, the generals in command of the militia did not perform their best themselves, however, to their justification, it can be said that the Parisians had many virtues, in addition to courage, discipline and ability to fight.
This battle gave rise to the writing of several very talented and frivolous literary works, among which we should highlight a pamphlet entitled “The Meeting of the Spirits of the Duke de Chatillon and the Baron de Clanleux after their death, which occurred in Charenton.” The pamphlet describes how the Duke de Chatillon and the Marquis de Clendleu exchanged insults, fair and not so fair. Both of them died in this battle, and, according to the author, both went to Hell, where they continued their enmity verbally, being placed in nearby cauldrons with boiling tar. So, one of our opponents in the upcoming duel fell on the battlefield. I regret that he did not fall by my hand, but for the sake of the happiness of shooting him, I would not get involved in a battle against the Prince of Cond;, Gaston d'Orl;ans and Marshal de Gramont. All of them defended their Queen, for whose sake we once in our youth decided on our desperate trip in order to return to her the diamond pendants so frivolously given to Buckingham.
At the appointed hour, Athos and I arrived at the place of the duel. Only de Flamarant came there.
 “Monsieur de Chatillon apologizes for not being able to come to this duel, since yesterday he died in the battle of Charenton ,” he said. “I’m ready to fight you both for myself and for him.”
“We know about the death of M. de Chatillon ,” said Athos. “We also appreciate that you came here, even though it was apparently not easy, since you no longer had passes and you did not have Father de Bruy with you to put in a good word for you with the leaders.” Fronds. You will not fight against two, you and I will cross swords one on one, unless you apologize and agree in the presence of Queen Henrietta to admit that you are a liar, on your own behalf and on behalf of the late de Chatillon.
“We told the Queen what the First Minister told us to tell us,” replied de Flamarand. “I can only regret the lack of reliability of this information.” But since I came here, I will not take a single step further until all questions are clarified right here.
- Very noble of you, Monsieur de Flamarand! - Athos exclaimed. “If my friend and I had witnessed the same nobility on your part when meeting Her Majesty, the current meeting might not have been necessary.”
“Enough words,” said de Flamarand coldly. - For battle.
He took off his cloak and threw it aside , pulled his sword out of its sheath and took a fighting stance.
Monsieur de Flamarent was an extremely skilled swordsman, so that I even began to fear for Athos’ life. I am sure that Athos would have won if he had used his signature blow to the throat, but he probably intended to spare the life of his opponent, while de Flamarent had no such intention at all in relation to Athos.
Finally, Athos realized that he was starting to get tired, while his opponent, who was younger, had not yet shown any signs of fatigue.
“I’m sorry, sir, de Flamarent, I’ll have to kill you!” - he exclaimed. - Take care of your neck!
- Better take care of yourself, Count! - objected de Flamarand. - Two or three more hits and you’re dead!
He made two furious lunges, which Athos barely dodged. At the second attack, de Flamarand's sword inflicted a superficial wound on the left side.
At that very moment, Athos’s sword entered de Flamarand’s throat.
“Excuse me, Monsieur de Flamarent ,” said Athos. “I was unable to save your life without endangering mine.” After all, I warned you to take care of your neck!
- Really! - I exclaimed. - How can you be so careless!
My words were directed at Athos, but he decided that they were addressed to de Flamarand.
The defeated enemy could no longer speak, but was still alive. He made a gesture pointing to his chest and then pointed a finger at Athos, after which he gave up the ghost.
“He wanted us to look in his pocket ,” I said.
There was a letter in his pocket. On the envelope was written: "To the Comte de La F;re."
We opened the envelope and read the letter enclosed.

“Count, if you are reading this letter, I am already dead. Therefore, you should learn from it what I intended to tell you if the outcome of the duel were more favorable to me. I know that you are looking for your friends, Lieutenant d'Artagnan and the Chevalier du Valon. I have always had sympathy for d'Artagnan. Your friends have been arrested and are in the Chateau de Vincennes. They are sentenced to death and 24 hours after you read this letter they will be executed. I'm sorry we had to lie to Queen Henrietta, but those were the cardinal's orders."

“Well, Aramis ,” said Athos. “Monsieur de Flamarent was a very noble man and deserves a decent burial.” We have to pay for his funeral service and funeral expenses. And we will immediately head to the castle of Vincennes in order to free d'Artagnan and Porthos!

Chapter 169

We headed to Vincennes Castle.
“Aramis, how do you plan to rescue our friends?” - asked Athos.
“I remember where I threw the rope ladder that De Beaufort used,” I answered. “We should find her and take her with us before we decide to enter the castle.” In addition, you need to stock up on other devices and weapons. If Beaufort, with the help of Grimaud, was able to get out of there, then the four of us and our friends can also get out of there.
“But we have been preparing Beaufort’s escape for several weeks,” Athos objected. “Then you, like me, would probably like to arrange the escape of our friends as quickly as possible, wouldn’t you?” Besides, will this rope ladder hold Porthos?
- Tell me, Aramis, do you think the same as me? - asked Athos.
“Yes, I also believe that the letter that we found on de Flamarand’s chest, or, more precisely, which de Flamarand tried to give us at the moment of his death, is a bait, and a trap awaits us in the fortress.” Flamarand conveyed this letter not out of impulses of nobility, but in a thirst for revenge for his death.
“This is how illusions crumble,” Athos sighed. “But I, indeed, initially thought that de Flamarant was much better than the impression he made on us when we first met at Queen Henrietta’s.”
“In any case, since we both have doubts, we should thoroughly reconnoiter the situation ,” I said. - We need to think about everything carefully.
“Isn’t it better to go directly to the Queen and demand that she release our friends?” - asked Athos in his manner of speaking sublimely and with pathos. - After all, we are talking about d'Artagnan! The same one who once rendered Her Majesty such a great service!
“Dear friend, a service rendered to a royal person is already a favor shown to that person by the one who provided it,” I objected. “The best thing a person who has provided such a service can do is forget about it as quickly as possible.” Let me remind you of a few sayings of Cardinal Richelieu.
“Well, I’m listening,” Athos answered with a smile.
“I’ll start with this ,” I said. — “Kings are not obliged to explain the decisions they make; in this privilege lies their greatness.” Of course, this also applies to Queens, especially the reigning Queen.
“Do you think that Queen Anne has learned these parting words from Richelieu, whom she so dislikes?” - asked Athos.
“Not only has she learned it, but she probably holds in front of her a book of his instructions, covered with Mazarin’s notes and with several dozen bookmarks in it ,” I said. - All her actions point to this!
- Okay, so be it, she is not obliged to explain her decisions, but she should be grateful to her savior? - Athos did not let up.
“It’s time to remember the following statement of the great cardinal ,” I said. — Among others, I will remind you of this: “People easily lose the memory of good deeds. When they are showered with them, the desire to have them makes them even more ambitious and ungrateful.”
- But it seems that it is talking about the good deeds of higher persons in relation to lower ones, and not vice versa? - Athos did not let up.
“The second sentence of this statement only clarifies the situation you indicated, but the situation is exactly the same with the good deeds of subjects towards crowned heads,” I objected. — This statement is even more applicable to this situation! Think how unbearable it is for the Queen to realize that her honor depended on the efficiency of some musketeer! And to know that this musketeer still remembers this service and can at any time demand or at least ask for additional privileges on this basis?
“But the Queen seems to have acknowledged her gratitude herself?” - Athos objected.
“The ability to hide is the science of kings,” I reminded. - Here's another statement from Richelieu. Not enough? More please! "Betrayal is just a matter of time." Do you want more? “Safety is a category immeasurably higher than greatness.” Or here you go: “Do you call this deceit? I would rather call it a shortcut." All these instructions teach the King to whom they were written, and the Queen who succeeded her husband, that neither feelings of gratitude, nor concepts of fidelity, nor sincerity, nor greatness are the feelings that a monarch needs to achieve his goals! On the contrary, the monarch requires hypocrisy, pretense, the absence of such prejudices as greatness, gratitude, and justice.”
“You sadden me extremely, Aramis, although I must admit that there is a lot of truth in your words,” Athos said sadly. “And yet I would put my freedom and even my life on the line to have confirmation that you are wrong, and that our Queen values the concepts that you called unnecessary for a monarch.” I want to see nobility, greatness, justice and, therefore, gratitude in our empress.
“I, just like you, Count, would like to see this in her,” I agreed. - But unlike you, I don’t wishful thinking. My brain will not give birth to mirages that I would happily accept as reality.
- How can we live in the world without at least a few illusions that make the society around us at least a little more attractive than it really is? - Athos exclaimed.
- For God's sake, Athos, think about people better than they really are! - I answered. - Who forbids you this? Just don’t make irreparable mistakes based on such views!
— Do you call a request made in an extremely polite and benevolent manner to our empress an irreparable mistake? - Athos was surprised.
“That’s exactly what I call it,” I agreed. “And don’t forget, Count, that we are accomplices in the escape of the Duke de Beaufort, who is currently one of the leaders of the rebellion against the Queen and King.”
“Against Mazarin,” corrected Athos.
“This is one and the same thing, they are one family,” I finally spoke with all certainty about this situation. - Athos, how is it that you, with your admiration for the King’s right to be the main nobleman in the state, do not give the King the right to elevate those whom he considers useful to himself, and to reduce into nothingness those who interfere with him? What kind of power will it be if it is not capable of making a first minister out of a petty nobleman, or imprisoning a prince of the blood? After all, it will not be power, but one name!
“Your words, Aramis, break my heart, but I agree with them mentally,” Athos answered with a sigh. - What to do if the mind and heart do not find agreement?
“One thing should be subordinated to something else,” I answered. - Either listen to your heart and do stupid things, or listen to your mind and reject unreasonable emotional impulses.
“I am not satisfied with any of these options,” answered Athos.
“Then look for another place to live,” I advised. “Maybe somewhere on uninhabited islands, where there will be no one but you, harmony of reason and love will reign.”
- Your advice is not as stupid as it seems, but who should I love? - Athos grinned. “My friends and my son are here in France, therefore I must stay here too.”
- So don’t rush to end up in the Bastille or some other fortress! - I answered. “Even if the Queen treats your demand to free our friends with sympathy, Mazarin will convince her to do as I predict.” You will see them, but not because they will be released, but because you will be imprisoned in the same prison where they are.
“Not the worst option ,” Athos said thoughtfully.
“Let’s better think together about how we can figure out whether de Flamarand’s letter is true or false ,” I said.
“I bet d'Artagnan would have found a way to find out!” - Athos said with a sigh.
“D’Artagnan is not with us, we are with you,” I answered.
“But there is also someone who has been cleaning his hat for almost ten years,” answered Athos. “Didn’t Planchet gain some cunning and resourcefulness from his master during this time?”
- Listen, Athos! - I said. “After all, if our friends are arrested, this does not mean that Mousqueton is also arrested!” We need to find out where he is.

Chapter 170

At the city gates, as we expected, we easily found Planchet.
- Dear Lieutenant! - said Athos. — Can I have a few words with you?
Planchet was filled with pride and, making a sign to his subordinates, approached us.
“Mr. Comte de La F;re, M. Abbe d'Herblay, I am at your service ,” he said, not hiding his pride that such noble gentlemen addressed him as “you” and with a mention of his new title.
“My dear Planchet ,” I said, not as loudly and solemnly as Athos did. - We would like to ask your opinion about what we should do. The fact is that we parted with Monsieur d'Artagnan and Monsieur Porthos on the coast and agreed to go to Paris by different roads. We did not exclude that such a journey could end for us, or for them, or for all four of us, with some misunderstandings in connection with the involuntary offenses that our actions inflicted on Monsieur Mazarin.
- I can only congratulate you on this! - said Planchet.
“Of course,” I said. “So, we agreed that if our friends do not appear in Paris by the required time, then we should return along the route that was chosen for our friends to try to find their traces.” They also had to leave notes at the hotels where they would stay. This way we can find them.
“Everything is clear so far,” Planchet agreed.
“That’s right,” agreed Athos. “But the fact is that we received a letter from M. de Flamarand that our friends, d’Artagnan and Porthos, have been arrested and are in the castle of Vincennes.”
- Who is this, Flamaran? - asked Planchet. “Isn’t that the friend of the Fronde who went to Paris with you three days ago?” And, it seems, together with Monsieur de Chatillon, who is not such a friend of Frondet, as it turned out?
“Precisely he, and he is also not a friend of the Fronda,” answered Athos. “He and his friend Monsieur de Chatillon only introduced themselves as friends of the Fronde and presented forged documents. Yesterday they both took part in the battle of Charenton on the side of the Mazarinists.
- Yes, I heard that M. de Chatillon fought on their side and, it seems, was killed! - Planchet replied. - So, they deceived us! They are not friends of the Fronda. But it seems that this Flamaran is still your friend? After all, he provided you with some important information?
“He is not our friend, dear Planchet,” I objected. - These two tried to mislead Queen Henrietta about the state of things in England and about the fate of her husband, King Charles.
“So that’s why they came to Paris?” - asked Planchet.
“Not only,” I answered.
- And their other affairs were the affairs of friends of the Fronde or their enemies? - asked Planchet.
“Undoubtedly, they acted as enemies of the Fronde,” I replied. “I would even say that they probably dealt a serious blow to the Fronde.”
- And in relation to you? - asked Planchet.
“Our conversation led to a duel,” Athos answered briefly.
“Everything is clear ,” said Planchet. - What do you want to ask me?
“We would like to know what you would do ,” I asked. “Should we return along the road along which Messrs. d’Artagnan and Porthos should have taken, or should we take advantage of the information from Monsieur de Flamarand and go straight to the Ch;teau de Vincennes?”
“It seems that I don’t quite understand your question ,” said Planchet with an air of complete bewilderment. “Did I understand correctly that you want to find out from me who you should listen to - those two friends whom you have known for almost a quarter of a century, with whom you shared shelter and bread, with whom you shed blood and wine?” Or listen to the advice of a person who is your enemy, who has shown the most vile traits of character, trying to deceive the noble Queen of England, and who has not done you anything good, and has not proven by word or deed that he can be trusted in anything, but, on the contrary, demonstrated himself as a notorious liar? Have I formulated the essence of your question correctly?
Athos patted Planchet on the shoulder, then could not resist hugging him.
- Dear Planchet, you formulated our question so precisely that an answer to it is no longer required! - he said.
We said goodbye to Planchet and, without wasting time, rushed along the road that d'Artagnan and Porthos had chosen for themselves.
I would like to return again to Grimaud’s memoirs, entitled “Twenty Years Later.”
This bum describes our search for our friends. In his description, we returned to Boulogne, and from there proceeded to Montreuil, then to Abbeville, Peronne, then to Rueil. I just love Grimaud's stupidity!
That is, in his opinion, the best way to find friends is to return to the beginning of their journey and follow in their footsteps! And he doesn’t care that such a journey would take a week! Perhaps this would make some sense if we did not know which road they intended to take to Paris, and also if they were foxes and we were dogs. But he completely lost sight of the fact that, firstly, we did not intend to waste time so stupidly, secondly, we did not give up hope that our friends were simply delayed on the way for unforeseen reasons, thirdly, we knew the whole route perfectly well, which they had to follow and even the names of the hotels in the major cities where they intended to stay.
In other words, my story will not be as intriguing as Grimaud's, since we simply moved towards the road that our friends intended to take. We arrived in Rueil and in the main hotel of the city on the tabletop we saw the inscription: “Por Art is pursuing us.”
Obviously this meant “Porthos and d'Artagnan were here. We are being persecuted." But our friend didn’t even have time to finish the last word! This meant that the fight probably took place directly in this hotel, or they managed to quickly leave it without finishing the message.
Grimaud colorfully described how Athos recognized d'Artagnan's sword from a fragment of the blade, and how, on this basis, the innkeeper told us the scene of their arrest, which he witnessed. Well, not a bad idea for kids. Any of us would recognize a friend’s sword by its hilt, but we don’t look at the blades, because swords are drawn only during battle, and then there’s no time to look at them and remember subtle differences. Perhaps Grimaud, to whom Athos trusted to sharpen the sword, would have recognized his master’s blade by those inconspicuous scratches that he left due to carelessness, although this should not have been done. After all, after major editing, which was required only after strong battles, it was necessary to use a small block and a polishing stone! Ideal blades are almost indistinguishable from each other; individual characteristics can only be found on blades with sharpening flaws made by careless sharpeners.
The truth is more boring, there is no romanticism in it. We questioned the innkeeper, describing to him the characteristics of the nobles we were looking for. He was scared and didn’t want to say anything. Athos offered him money, but he replied that he knew nothing. Fortunately, I understood from the signs known to me that he belonged to our Order. I told Athos that I would talk to the owner alone. Having presented him with evidence that I belonged to the Order and occupied a fairly high position in it, I was able to obtain from him all the information I needed.
Our friends were arrested by a detachment of thirty guards.
“Gentlemen, we ask you to leave us the swords, and in this case we agree to follow you to where you are going to take us ,” said d’Artagnan.
“We received orders to disarm you,” answered the detachment commander.
— Do you have a written order for our arrest? - asked d'Artagnan.
“Our commander ordered us to arrest you, and gave us a detailed description of your signs,” the commander answered. “But this was not necessary, since I know the lieutenant of the royal musketeers, Mr. d’Artagnan, by sight.”
“I also know you, Monsieur d’Ezir;,” answered d’Artagnan. “So I dare to hope that you know how I can fight.” My friend, Mr. Porthos, is not known to you, but I assure you that he fights no worse than me, and he has four times more strength. There are thirty of you here. You will arrest us by force, of course, but there will be half as many of you left. Are you satisfied with this arrangement? Or is it better that you simply trust my word as a nobleman that we will proceed with you to Paris, since this is exactly the same as our intention. But we have a strange quirk, which consists in an urgent desire to enter Paris with our swords on our belts. I hope this quirk can be satisfied, considering the price you will pay if you do not accept our terms? Please also note that you do not have a written order, and I am senior to you in rank. Therefore, I cannot exclude that some of those who came with you to arrest us will prefer to obey me rather than you when I identify myself. I admit that you have selected recruits who probably do not know my face. But they probably heard my name and know my position and my position in the company of musketeers.
“I understand the validity of your counter-proposals, Mister Lieutenant,” replied d’Ezir;. - I accept them.
This dialogue was retold to me by the owner of the inn, and I conveyed it to Athos.
Grimaud describes that our friends killed two people and wounded five or six others, resisting arrest. If that happened, that alone would be a death sentence for them. In this case, d'Artagnan would have deprived himself of the chance to justify himself to Mazarin once and for all, and no amount of Athos' intercession with the Queen could have eased the fate of our friends. In this case, even such a romantic as our Count de La F;re would not dare to go to the Queen with a request for the release of our friends. Is it conceivable to release those who killed five guardsmen during their arrest? Even if the arrest was made by mistake! We would not blame our friends if they offered resistance, but they would have offered this resistance until they fell in this unequal battle; another outcome would have been disastrous both for their honor and for their fate. Is it possible to forgive two disobedient officers who killed two loyal guardsmen and wounded five during their arrest? Of course not! Resistance to a convoy acting on the orders of the King or the First Minister is a crime much worse than a duel, and in our times even duels were executed! If you show resistance, then only in order to leave France forever, or fall in battle, preferring death to unfreedom!
Poor Grimaud simply does not understand such things, these subtleties simply do not occur to him.
The situation was now clear to us. Our friends were arrested. We could only hope that d'Artagnan managed to talk to Mazarin before they were thrown into prison, and that with his resourcefulness he was able to convince the cardinal that there was no guilt behind them, or, in any case, it was excusable, because it was involuntary and small.
“If they are arrested, I will go to the Queen and get justice!” - said Athos. “I understand that you do not support me, and therefore I do not offer you to accompany me.”
“I’m sorry that I can’t talk you out of this crazy act,” I could only answer. “Let’s go to the Louvre and try to find out as much as possible about the fate of our friends.”

Chapter 171

According to the sequence and logic of the presentation, I should further write what happened to our friends and how Mazarin met them.
I know all this for certain from d’Artagnan’s detailed stories. He himself never wrote memoirs, but he was an incomparable storyteller. And I, fortunately, had and still have a remarkable memory.
So I will allow myself to further state the events as they happened, according to his story, and will state them in the third person. But first I would like to say why one should not attach importance to Grimaud's fantasies about how d'Artagnan and Porthos were placed in prison, how Athos was subsequently taken there too, and also about how they were freed after learning everything from Cominges. the routine of guard duty, breaking down the bars, capturing two guards, dressing in their clothes, capturing Mazarin and bargaining with him for freedom for all three.
I don’t even want to go into detail about this stupidity, but I will note that if d’Artagnan had been guilty in the eyes of Mazarin, then such a trick might have helped him to be released for a while, but he would forever remain an enemy of the cardinal. Even if at the time described the cardinal would not have had the opportunity to deal with him, then later he would certainly have done so. In fact, we must admit that d'Artagnan always enjoyed the extreme confidence of Mazarin, who also recommended him to the young King. Porthos would never have received the barony as a result of the capture of Mazarin, or as a result of his blackmail. Komenge would never talk to prisoners, and, in particular, would not talk about the security routine of the prison where they are imprisoned, precisely to them, that is, to those who should least of all know about this routine. The story about how Mazarin moved bags of gold in some cellar could only be written by a person who had no idea how much a bag of gold could weigh. At best, Mazarin could rattle two or three dozen coins. Why would he move the bag if he went down to the treasury simply to stock up on some money for current expenses? At the time when d'Artagnan and Porthos returned from England and appeared before the cardinal, the court and with it Mazarin were outside Paris. The Cardinal could not have gold reserves in the cellars of any castle outside Paris, it was impossible to arrange, he did not have the time for such construction, and it was pointless. During his flight to Saint-Germain, the cardinal had only those two boxes of jewelry that he managed to secretly remove from Paris, as well as, probably, those loans that he could receive from noble nobles loyal to the Queen, in particular, from the Prince of Cond;, from Madame d'Aiguillon, perhaps from someone else.
Kidnapping and blackmail! This is fine for a pulp novel, but not suitable for a military man who only wants to make a career at court. This is unworthy of a nobleman.
And if Mazarin had arrested d'Artagnan, Porthos and Athos, he would have placed them in different cells, and, most likely, in different prisons. And he would not have come to see Athos in person. What was he supposed to talk to him about in the situation that Grimaud described?
And this scene in which Athos behaves provocatively, talking with the Queen, hinting at the services rendered to her twenty years ago, and even speaking arrogantly! This word appears in Grimaud's memoirs, entitled "Twenty Years After."
This is all complete nonsense. Our friends did not go to prison, because d'Artagnan only wanted to appear before Mazarin and explain himself. He was indeed arrested, but it was a preventive measure; Mazarin admitted that d'Artagnan took the side of the Fronde, since he was informed that he had met with Athos and me in England. This is exactly what he had to justify. D'Artagnan would not have been D'Artagnan if he had not explained his behavior to Mazarin in such a way that the cardinal was very pleased with his service.
For this reason, d'Artagnan allowed himself to be arrested without showing any disobedience. He also previously convinced Porthos not to offer any resistance, which was not easy. Their conversation took place as soon as they set off.
- Remember, Porthos! - he said. “We could be arrested and thrown into prison, or even sent to Place de Greve if we behave incorrectly.” But we have a chance not only to justify ourselves, but also to demand a reward. I have to think this through carefully. Your task is only to assent to me. If the cardinal decides to speak to you separately, you should only say that you unconditionally obeyed me in everything.
“It’s not difficult,” answered Porthos. - What did we do in England? What is the official version?
“We have done a great service to the cardinal and France, of course!” - answered d'Artagnan. “But outside observers, who, mind you, were, who are fully aware of all our actions, may decide that we acted against the cardinal.” My task is to explain to the cardinal that they misinterpreted the essence of our actions.
- You can handle this! - Porthos answered. — Will we soon arrive at a place where we can have a good lunch? I'm already hungry.
“I hope it will be soon, since I also wouldn’t mind having a snack,” answered d’Artagnan. - Do you remember I talked about two envelopes from Mazarin?
“No, I don’t remember,” Porthos admitted honestly.
“Mazarin handed me two envelopes,” recalled d’Artagnan. “I had to open the envelope in the blue envelope in case King Charles regained power. We would have to follow the instructions contained in this envelope. In this case, I had to burn the pink envelope without reading it. If parliament came to power, I would have to open the pink envelope and follow the instructions contained in it, and burn the blue envelope without reading it.
“You, of course, opened both envelopes as soon as we sailed to England?” - asked Porthos.
“Much earlier,” answered d’Artagnan. - Even before we met Mordaunt. But after that I carefully sealed both envelopes.
— What did the instructions in these two envelopes contain? - asked Porthos.
“It wasn’t difficult to guess, but the best way to find out the contents of the letter is, of course, to read it,” answered d’Artagnan. “A little later I’ll let you read these instructions for yourself, but not now.” It’s not convenient to read while running; we can only talk at a light trot. We won't read them as we go now, but I can give you the gist. So, if I saw that the King was gaining the upper hand, we should become his friends. We were to capture Cromwell and Mordaunt and hand them over to His Majesty King Charles as a gift from Mazarin. In addition, we had to act according to the situation, keeping in mind the main goal - to establish as friendly relations as possible with England, that is, with the King. We also had to collect as much information as possible so that we could predict the future policy of this troubled island nation, paying attention to the military power of the army.
“That’s understandable ,” said Porthos. - What if what happened happened? That is, the King was executed.
“In this case, we should try to gain the confidence of those persons who are likely to come to power in the near future, and also, of course, help them on behalf of Mazarin,” answered d’Artagnan. “And in this case, too, we had to collect as much information as possible about the military and financial capabilities of this new republic.
“That’s also understandable,” Porthos agreed. - But how do our actions fit into this double assignment?
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking about,” answered d’Artagnan. — I already have some outlines.

Next I move on to the story of how d'Artagnan talked with Mazarin.
He negotiated for himself the privilege of keeping the sword with him, and also that the sword should be left for Porthos. Therefore, the procession that escorted our friends to Saint-Germain to Mazarin looked more like an honorary escort than a delivery of prisoners. D'Artagnan tried to portray on his face a calm and cheerful mood, and maybe he was in just such a mood. He twirled his mustache dashingly, maintained a proud posture and did not forget to cast fiery glances at pretty townswomen. As for Porthos, before entering the city, d'Artagnan informed him that his barony was not lost at all, but first he must agree to the title of lord.
“You see, Porthos ,” he said. “Mazarin, perhaps, would be glad to make you a baron immediately, but there are many lords who are just waiting to make their way into baronhood.” And they will be very upset with you if they find out that they had to give up their turn to a nobleman who is not even a banneret. But when you become a lord, none of them will be able to object to you receiving a baronial title.
“Well,” Porthos sighed. “You’ll have to be a lord for a while, if that’s what the business requires.”
- Just for the job, Porthos! - answered d'Artagnan. - But don’t be upset, it won’t last long.
- I think you said that there is another level, what is it called, baronet? - asked Porthos.
“Banneret,” answered d’Artagnan. “But we’ll skip this, we won’t waste time on trifles.” I suggest not getting stuck on this title and immediately becoming a senior. Let's take the bull by the horns.
“This is familiar to me,” Porthos smiled. - If I take a bull by the horns, not a single bull has yet been able to break free and run away from me.
From that moment on, a blissful smile appeared on Porthos’s face. So his appearance was also quite consistent with a man who, accompanied by a guard of honor, enters Saint-Germain.

Chapter 172

Upon entering Mazarin’s office, our friends still had to part with their swords.
- Tell me, Monsieur d'Artagnan, what were you supposed to do in England, and what did you actually do there? - asked Mazarin.
“The main task of our mission was to establish the most friendly relations with England as possible, regardless of which side would prevail in this difficult confrontation,” said d’Artagnan.
“Sounds good,” Mazarin agreed. — But in reality, what were your actions in this direction?
“First of all, accompanying Monsieur Mordaunt, we arrived at the location of the Scottish army camp,” answered d’Artagnan. “We saw that the King was being shown extreme respect.” However, by this time he did not have royal power. But at the same time, we also saw that General Oliver Cromwell is just a commander of the cavalry, and is completely subject to the decisions of Parliament.
“Yes, yes,” agreed Mazarin. - This is quite consistent with my information from other sources.
- Because this is the pure truth, like everything that I will tell you next! - exclaimed d'Artagnan.
- What did you do next? - asked Mazarin.
“We have established that three nobles arrived to help the King,” continued d’Artagnan. - One of them was English, the other two were French. Mister Mordaunt immediately shot the Englishman, and Mister du Valon and I captured two Frenchmen.
“Why didn’t you shoot them, as Mr. Mordaunt did with his enemy?” - asked Mazarin.
“We would probably have shot them if they were also English, but since they were French, we decided it would be better if we took them to France, where they would be tried in a show trial,” replied d’Artagnan. “Besides, they are probably rich if they can afford to travel to England at their own expense in such difficult times, one of them seems to be especially rich, and then, like our prisoners, ... Excuse me, monsignor, like your prisoners!” After all, we acted on your orders, and therefore the prisoners we captured belong by right to you! So, as your prisoners, they could pay a handsome ransom for themselves!
“Well, that’s quite reasonable, Monsieur d’Artagnan,” Mazarin agreed. “And I would believe you if you brought them here to France in order to obtain a ransom from them, or to punish them according to their crime.”
- Well, that’s what I’m talking about! - exclaimed the cunning Gascon. “And you know, monsignor, we almost succeeded!” We bound them... That is, we bound them with the nobleman’s word that they would not attempt to escape, and that they would come with us to the shores of France.
- That's great, but why didn't you deliver them? - Mazarin was surprised.
“It’s a long and sad story,” answered d’Artagnan. — We were haunted by failures. The felucca on which we sailed to France turned out to be mined, its entire lower hold was stuffed with barrels of gunpowder, and one of the crew inserted wicks into several barrels and set them on fire. There was no way to prevent the explosion. We rushed into the open sea and would have drowned in the icy water if not for a little luck. Luckily for us, there was a boat tied to the stern of the felucca. We grabbed its edges, cut the rope and barely had time to climb aboard this boat when a deafening explosion was heard. The ship was broken into pieces.
- And, therefore, your prisoners? - asked Mazarin.
- Such a misfortune, monsignor! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. “But one of them promised us two hundred thousand pistoles for his freedom!” And the second - fifty thousand louis! Such a pity... After all, this is your money, Your Eminence! It's as if they drowned in the sea.
“It’s a shame,” said Mazarin. - Quanti soldi, dannazione!
“All is not lost, monsignor ,” said d’Artagnan. “The wars continue, maybe Monsieur du Valon and I will take some rich Spaniards prisoner.” Or perhaps frondeurs.
— Do you look at the war as a source of income, Mister Lieutenant? - asked Mazarin.
“Absolutely everyone looks at her just like that,” answered d’Artagnan without batting an eyelid.
- And you too? - asked Mazarin.
“I’m on duty, monsignor,” answered the Gascon. “For me, war is a way to prove my loyalty and serve my master.
— That is, to the King? - asked Mazarin with disbelief.
“The King, of course, too, but at present I am in the service of Your Eminence,” answered d’Artagnan.
- Do you mean that if you capture some noble lords, then these prisoners will be considered mine? - Mazarin asked with liveliness.
“The monsignor could not have formulated the essence of the matter more accurately,” agreed d’Artagnan.
“Tuttavia,” said Mazarin. - Okay, we've sorted out the issue of prisoners. What did you say to Oliver Cromwell?
“We told him that Your Eminence recommends that he pay the Scots half the salary that the King owes them, and that in this case they will not resist, and will prefer a bird in the hand than to wait for the pie in the sky,” said d’Artagnan . “And we also told him that you, Mr. First Minister, asked us personally to convey this good advice to him.”
- And they accepted this plan? - Mazarin asked keenly.
“Yes, Your Eminence,” answered d’Artagnan. - They accepted because they are English.
— Accidenti , che inaspettato ! — exclaimed Mazarin. — And the Scots agreed to this? Why?
“Because they are Scots,” explained d’Artagnan. - So your and only your wise advice saved General Cromwell’s army from a fierce battle and from unnecessary bloodshed on both sides. General Cromwell, of course, will not forget this service you have rendered him, provided that you do not remind him of it.
- Why not remind me? - Mazarin asked keenly.
“The services we provide without a second thought endear us to those to whom we provided them ,” said d’Artagnan. “ But if you are reminded of the service provided, it immediately ceases to be a good deed, but becomes a subject of bargaining. Moreover, the one who is lent such a service is put in a hopeless situation, the service has already been provided to him, but he does not yet know the essence and size of the reciprocal service. This complicates matters. But no one likes those who complicate our lives!
- And you are quite skilled in diplomacy, as I can see, Mister Lieutenant! - exclaimed Mazarin.
“I recently read a book on diplomacy,” answered d’Artagnan.
- What is it called? - asked Mazarin.
“The art of war,” answered d’Artagnan calmly.
— Or maybe it was the book “The Prince” by Nicolo Machiavelli? - asked Mazarin.
“Maybe, I don’t remember exactly,” d’Artagnan lied.
- Tell me, Mister Lieutenant, what is the most important thing you learned from this book?
“I learned there that in order for the monsignor to defeat the Fronde, he should divide it and rule,” answered d’Artagnan. - For example, by appeasing each leader of these rebels with a specific promise.
- Is that so? - Mazarin perked up. - Do you think this will work?
“It depends on what you offer them, Your Eminence,” answered d’Artagnan.
- And what do you think I can offer them? - asked Mazarin.
“Let’s think ,” said d’Artagnan. - Who do we have there? Duke of Bouillon? He is so sad about the loss of Sedan. It is, of course, impossible to return it to him, but you can reimburse him for its cost. Or at least promise to return it in parts, over several years. And his brother, Viscount de Turenne, can be made commander-in-chief. It is unlikely that in this case the Duke will continue to support the Fronde.
“Perhaps,” Mazarin agreed. - And Beaufort?
“Full forgiveness and appoint him to command some army, send him to the war with Spain, compensate for losses,” answered d’Artagnan.
“And, probably, something else, but, however, it doesn’t matter, you’re right, if you forgive him and let him into the court, he will become tame,” Mazarin perked up. - But the Parisian coadjutor? Gondi?
“His father was a cardinal, and he probably believes that he deserved it too!” - answered d'Artagnan. - It won't cost you anything.
- Yes, but he will gain too much influence, too much power! - Mazarin objected.
- But it won’t be right away! - answered d'Artagnan. “You don’t become a cardinal in one day!” You just make a petition to the Pope! And no one is stopping you from doing what Louis the Just did in relation to the Bishop of Luzon!
— Are you talking about how Louis XIII openly petitioned for a cardinal’s hat for Richelieu, but at the same time secretly sent a letter to the Pope asking him to refuse this petition? - Mazarin asked joyfully.
“It was not I who said this, but you, Your Eminence,” answered d’Artagnan.
“Your advice is very smart, Mister Lieutenant ,” said Mazarin. “If they help in this matter, I, perhaps, could satisfy your desires, as well as the actions of your friend, Monsieur du Valon.” But there are still two questions that I would like to resolve. Firstly, who do you propose to send to Paris to Messrs. Bouillon, Beaufort and Gondi? Isn't it you?
- What are you talking about, monsignor! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. —Which of us and du Valon are negotiators? It’s better to entrust this to M. de Chatillon and give him M. de Flamarand to help him, although, to be honest, they will believe such proposals only if they hear them directly from you.
“That’s all with this question,” answered Mazarin. - Last question. You had to collect information about the weapons of England, what kind of government system had developed there, and, most importantly, where it was developing. To what extent is this system supported by the people, who is playing first fiddle there now, Mr. Fairfax, Mr. Cromwell, Mr. Ayrton, or someone else?
“In short, I would be dealing with General Cromwell,” answered d’Artagnan. “If he doesn’t become King soon, then he will certainly become Lord Protector.” As for the army, navy and weapons, I would ask you to give me two days, I will draw up a detailed document for Monsignor describing everything that I managed to find out.
- How detailed? - asked Mazarin.
“As detailed as possible,” answered d’Artagnan.
“Is this all you ask, and all that you wanted to tell me?” - asked Mazarin.
“I think so,” answered d’Artagnan.
“You didn’t tell me what you were doing in London,” Mazarin reminded.
“We decided to follow the situation to the stage when it becomes irreversible,” answered the lieutenant.
— That is, before the execution of King Charles? - Mazarin clarified.
“That’s right,” confirmed d’Artagnan.
- So you were just watching? - asked Mazarin.
“Observing the development of events and the active forces in the capital of a neighboring state when a revolution is taking place there is also an important and not easy matter,” answered d’Artagnan. “But you know, someone kidnapped all the executioners in London on the eve of the King’s execution.”
- Is this your doing? - inquired Mazarin.
- Against! - D'Artagnan objected. “By Mordaunt's orders we rushed to Dartford and brought back two executioners, just in time.
- Can Mr. Mordaunt confirm this? - asked Mazarin.
“The nobleman’s word is that he will not refute this!” - exclaimed d'Artagnan. — Confront us if you don’t believe me
“Okay, I’m pleased with you,” Mazarin replied with a sigh, realizing that now d’Artagnan would demand a reward for his service. - This is all?
— Can I ask you a favor? - asked d'Artagnan.
“Well, of course ,” said Mazarin, expecting that now he would have to fork out.
“My friend and comrade in this matter, Monsieur du Valon, fought very bravely and suffered many inconveniences in this matter, but he does not demand money ,” said d’Artagnan. “I would ask, while he waits for the resolution of all issues with the Fronde and the opportunity to receive the title of baron, to give him the little joy that he deserves.” I would like to call him Seigneur du Valon, but you must admit that if I call him that, they will laugh at us. It is advisable that everyone call him exactly the same.
- Now a lord, and later a baron? - Mazarin perked up. “I like that you don’t demand everything at once.” Well, I will sign the letter conferring on him the title of seigneur. Have you spent all the money I gave you for your trip?
“There are some crumbs left,” answered d’Artagnan.
“You will receive two hundred louis tomorrow from the treasurer,” answered Mazarin.
- Thank you, Your Eminence! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - Two hundred for both, or two hundred for each?
“Everyone,” answered Mazarin, wincing slightly.

Chapter 173

Grimaud in his memoirs creates the false impression that our abduction of Cardinal Mazarin forced him to sign an agreement with the Fronde, as a result of which the Queen and her first minister were completely reconciled with Paris, returned to their capital, and the period of serene reign of the Queen, Mazarin and King began.
If everything were exactly like this, it would be possible to some extent understand why Mazarin and the Queen rewarded each of us, however, me to the least extent, since I was the only one who did not ask for anything for myself personally. Those who have read Grimaud's memoirs can argue with me, citing the fact that I just had a request and it was granted, and Athos did not ask for absolutely anything.
But re-read that ridiculous memoir called Twenty Years Later and you'll find that you're wrong.
Porthos asked for Athos, and asked when it was not entirely delicate on his part, namely: immediately after receiving the baronial charter, he asked for an order for him. And not just any, but the “Blue Ribbon”, that is, the Order of the Holy Spirit. Such an order was given only by the right of extremely noble birth, primarily to the king and members of his family. In the time of Mazarin, only three such orders were given: the King, Monsieur, that is, the King's brother Philippe d'Orl;ans, and also our friend Athos.
In order to receive such an order, it was necessary to be very noble, just like our Athos was, but no less. In addition, one should already have the Order of St. Michael. Athos did not have it, but he already had the Order of the Holy Spirit from King Charles. In addition to everything that was said, it was necessary to have special merits, that is, extraordinary, out of the ordinary. What services did Athos have to Mazarin, or to the Queen? Are they the ones that he participated in the liberation of the Duke de Beaufort? Beaufort himself belonged to the royal blood, but while Mazarin was alive, no one from the secondary branch of the Bourbons received the Order of the Holy Spirit. Only six months after his death, a whole rain of Orders, in the amount of seventy pieces, fell on all this nobility! It was then that all the Vend;mes, the Bourbons, and even two from the Cominges-Guiteau family, as well as de Wardes, became knights of this Order.
So Grimaud's statement that Athos did not ask for anything for himself is inaccurate. Only Grimaud could write in his notes that Athos is a demigod, and it was very clumsy to prove this thesis throughout his multi-page trilogy. We knew our Athos very well and loved him for his shortcomings no less than for his merits, and there was no need for us to exaggerate them, much less invent them.
Porthos would never have asked for an order for Athos on his own initiative. He generally did little on his own initiative, except for the arrangement of his castles and the routine of his estates.
And if Athos did not want to receive this order, he would have refused it. The standard phrase: “Thank you, sir, I am not worthy of this mercy!”, which was supposed to be uttered, was probably uttered by him. Just as Louis XIII once replied: “I know, but they worked very hard for you!”, Mazarin in this case would have been very tempted to answer in approximately the same way.
But Porthos would never have convinced Mazarin to award Athos the Order of the Holy Spirit. Mazarin could only be influenced by d'Artagnan, whose mind was not inferior to the very subtle and versatile mind of the cunning Italian. Well, perhaps I could also compete with him in mind, but for Mazarin I remained an enemy from the opposing camp, like Athos. Mazarin had to fork out money and shower favors on those who really led the Fronde - Beaufort, Gondi, Bouillon and others! Would he spend far from unlimited resources, money, rewards and land, on people like us! Grimaud is right in saying that we were extraordinary people and sometimes influenced history, but we had not yet proven this to Mazarin, and we were not those people whose influence on history was so obvious that we had to be bribed or cajoled with gifts, handouts, titles, positions, money and medals. We, of course, did not refuse what we considered our right to receive. But the Order of the Holy Spirit for Athos goes beyond just reward.
The presentation of such an Order by King Charles is more understandable. The King still had several such orders, but he understood that his power was coming to an end. Seeing only three loyal nobles in front of him, he did what he had to do. Athos took quite a risk by accepting it. He might be considered a supporter of the King and be torn to pieces. However, this would have been the case if it weren’t for d’Artagnan and Porthos, who declared us their prisoners and took us under their protection. Mazarin could, of course, promise this Order for his freedom, but we never captured the Queen's first minister, Giulio Mazarin. Here Grimaud's imagination just goes off scale.
Well, I'll explain everything. If you remember, d'Artagnan gave Mazarin advice to personally talk with the leaders of the Fronde and offer each of them what they were seeking. He even suggested what exactly should be offered to each of them. This allowed the coalition to collapse. “Divide and conquer” is a rule that every sovereign, every politician, everyone who wages a war, secret or open, local or total, targeted or comprehensive, should know. Mazarin risked secretly sneaking into Paris, accompanied by Chatillon and Flamarand. But in the evening, when I was with the Duchess de Longueville, Athos decided to take a walk around Paris and met Mazarin under the guise of Father de Bruy. He recognized him. Mazarin died of fear, since he also knew the Comte de La F;re, and knew that the Count, to put it mildly, did not like the First Minister, and was also an active supporter of the Fronde.
- Good evening, Holy Father de Bruy! - said Athos with a condescending smile. - It seems to me that you are a little lost? I have no doubt that you are well aware of the streets of Paris, but Paris is currently uneasy, especially for you.
- It seems you are the Comte de La F;re? - asked Mazarin, who, out of fear, couldn’t get his teeth together.
He understood perfectly well that as soon as the count shouted “Hey, here is Mazarin!” and it would be the end for him. The mob would literally tear him apart.
“Damn these Chatillon and Flamarand, who disappeared somewhere at the very moment when I need them more than ever! - he thought. “What did I count on, believing that no one would recognize me under this cassock?”
“You are not mistaken, monsignor, I am the same Comte de La F;re who does not approve of the imprisonment of the grandson of Henry IV in the Castle of Vincennes ,” answered Athos. “Would it be tactless of me to ask where you are going?”
“I’m just walking along the embankment with thoughts of God,” answered Mazarin, trembling with fear.
“It’s not safe for you here,” Athos repeated. - Let me take you.
- Where exactly? - Mazarin asked in fear.
“Wherever you want, as long as it’s away from here, where many know you so well by sight,” answered Athos. “I would offer you my carriage, but, as you see, all the streets are blocked with chains and barricades, no carriage will pass here.”
“I already see for myself that it was in vain that I decided to take a walk here without my friends ,” said Mazarin, having calmed down slightly, seeing that Athos, apparently, was not going to hand him over to the Parisians.
“It would be best for you to leave Paris through the same gates through which you entered ,” said Athos. “Let me accompany you, and there, I hope, they will let you through, since I know the militia commander who is in charge of this post.”
- What if the Frondeurs attack us? - Mazarin asked with trepidation.
“In that case, I will try to convince them that Father Bruy is their best friend, and also a friend of the Duke of Bouillon, the Duke of Beaufort and the coadjutor, as I have noticed,” answered Athos.
- What if they don’t believe you and still try to capture me? - asked Mazarin.
“On my word of honor, I will not allow this,” answered Athos. “If the forces are not equal, I promise to die defending you before even a single hair falls from your head.”
“Tell me, Count, why are you defending me so readily?” - asked the surprised and delighted Mazarin.
“If you take up arms against those who are dear to me, I will not hesitate to kill you, monsignor,” answered Athos. - But as far as I could see, you are simply doing your job, the difficult task of establishing order in France, torn apart by civil strife. And I have no complaints about the quality of your work. I don't like the Queen ruling the country at the behest of a foreigner, but what can you do if that foreigner gives her much better advice than any prince of the blood? And isn’t the Queen herself a foreigner? Having visited England, I became convinced that distinguishing people by their belonging to one or another nation is stupid, and in other cases even criminal. Each person must be assessed separately, see in him the personality that he is, and based on this and only this, build your relationship with him. You did not disappoint me, Mr. Cardinal.
“Thank you, Count,” answered the flattered Mazarin. “This is the greatest compliment I have ever heard since the death of my benefactor and teacher, Cardinal Richelieu.”
Athos bowed politely to the cardinal, and they headed towards the city gates. Several times passers-by from among the militia, armed and quite numerous, approached them and were interested in who they were and where they were going. Athos calmly explained, introducing himself as a friend of Beaufort, the coadjutor and Bouillon, as well as the Duchess of Chevreuse and the Duchess of Longueville. When asked who this monk was, Athos gave explanations that reassured the people they met.
“If I get out of here alive thanks to this count, I will do something great for him,” Mazarin promised himself. “If he weren’t with me, I would have been lost!”
That is why Athos received the Order of the Holy Spirit, and not at all as a ransom for the release of Mazarin, who was captured by d'Artagnan.

Chapter 174

Mazarin took d'Artagnan's advice, offering the leaders of the Fronde what each of them wanted. At first he doubted the advisability of such an approach, but d'Artagnan reassured him:
“Monsignor,” he said. — Your fellow countryman advised to divide and conquer. Now that they have rallied against you, you risk losing everything. It’s better to give away what you can part with than to expect that everything will be taken away, including what you would never want to part with. Buy them wholesale and then sell them retail.
-What do you mean, Mister Lieutenant? — the cardinal asked, raising his eyebrows.
“If you can’t pull out all the hairs of their ponytail by grabbing them all together, this does not mean that the task is in principle impossible,” said d’Artagnan. “You can easily pull out one hair at a time, hair by hair.”
“I heard something similar about a bunch of twigs,” Mazarin agreed. —Where did you get this interpretation with a ponytail? You are a poet? Philosopher?
“I am a military man, and that’s why I read the Stratagems of Sex by Julius Frontin,” answered d’Artagnan.
“I will remember,” said Mazarin. — This book is not in my library, although it contains several thousand volumes.
— And all about how to lead the state? - D'Artagnan was surprised.
“In a sense, all the books ever written are about this, but not everyone understands it,” answered Mazarin. - In any case, for the acquisition of these complex skills, not a single book read was superfluous. Finally, explain to me what you meant when you spoke of pulling out hairs from a horse? Do you really think that I should first attract them all to my side, and then deal with each one one by one?
“I had something else in mind,” objected d’Artagnan. “You only need to stop those whom you cannot completely win over to your side, and who are dangerous by joining the camp of the enemy.”
“Wouldn’t I make them my friends by tempting them with what they want and giving it to them?” - Mazarin asked with a grin, anticipating the answer.
“It seems the monsignor is deigning to joke,” answered d’Artagnan. - You are asking a question to which you know the answer very well. Money or gifts are the leash on which you lead the dog. Let go of the leash and the dog will run away. And this monetary leash is valid only as long as the money has already been promised, but has not yet been issued. But if you don’t give what you promised, the dog will tear you apart, and if you give it away, there will be no more leash. Therefore, such friendship requires constant monetary replenishment, and even more and more will be asked. Sooner or later the resources will be depleted and you will get enemies. But it will work for a short time. Now you need to maintain power, and by maintaining power, you will eventually return everything that you gave out, or you will be able to use your former enemies against future ones, or future friends against former enemies.
There was a pause as d'Artagnan stopped speaking and Mazarin waited for him to continue speaking.
- Why are you silent, Mr. Lieutenant? - Mazarin asked impatiently.
- If I say everything I can, I will have nothing more to say to you, and I will no longer be so interesting to you. - answered d'Artagnan. - However, I am a soldier, not a philosopher. I think that the lieutenant of the royal musketeers has nothing more to say to you, monsignor.
“Well, if your advice allows us to resolve this crisis of power that has arisen in connection with the Fronde, I believe that the captain of the musketeers, Monsieur d'Artagnan, will find something else to talk to me about,” said Mazarin.
“And if this crisis flares up again, will the captain have to become a lieutenant again?” - asked d'Artagnan.
“Anything can happen,” answered Mazarin. -Your fate is in your own hands. If you choose to serve me, then your luck will depend on my luck and on your loyalty to me.
“Yes, monsignor, I have made this choice and will not change it, since it is not in my rules to back down,” answered d’Artagnan. “The Queen chose you, and in my early youth, twenty years ago, I chose her as my main guide, my mistress, preferring her to Cardinal Richelieu.” By serving you, I serve her, and I am not looking for a better fate.
“Excellent, captain,” Mazarin replied. “In my eyes, you have become a captain now, and I will sign a patent for you after, using your advice, I have settled matters with Fronda.” Now I should prepare for a trip to Paris for negotiations, the idea of which you so disinterestedly presented to me.
- Monsignor! - exclaimed d'Artagnan. - Let me and Monsieur du Valon accompany you on your trip to Paris!
— Did this idea just come to your mind now, or is this what you assumed from the very beginning? - asked Mazarin and looked carefully into d'Artagnan's eyes.
“Immediately, as soon as I realized that this trip was fraught with danger,” d’Artagnan answered honestly.
“That’s not what I asked,” Mazarin clarified softly. “I asked about the moment when you decided to invite me to accompany you.” Tell me, just now, or from the very beginning, when you offered me a trip to Paris?
“Only now,” d’Artagnan lied without blinking an eye.
“The two of them need to get to Paris, that’s what it’s all about,” Mazarin guessed. - Isn't this a trap? Surely they agreed with their friends to meet there. He offered to take other people as accompanying people so that I would accept his plan without suspecting anything. And now that I agreed with his plan, he took the second step by volunteering to accompany me! If these two decide to take me prisoner, resistance will be futile. And if two of their friends are waiting for them there, I won’t be able to escape!”
“It is very commendable of you, Monsieur d’Artagnan, that you are willing to risk your life on such a dangerous trip,” said Mazarin with an expression of such admiration that even the cunning d’Artagnan did not guess that Mazarin did not like this plan. “I think I’ll agree with your proposal, since warriors like you and Monsieur du Valon are a very serious defense against the Parisians, of course, if there are not ten or fifteen of them.”
“Du Valon and I can handle twenty!” - D'Artagnan exclaimed passionately.
“I believe you,” Mazarin sincerely agreed. - But, however, this occurred to me. There are not so few people who know how to fight. I'll find a replacement for you. But you have just shown me such a remarkable mind that I would like to offer you a more worthy and more important occupation.
“I’m listening, monseigneur,” answered d’Artagnan.
“You know, any deal in which the parties came to an agreement too quickly is unreliable,” Mazarin replied. — At first, each of the parties considers the deal profitable and easily agrees to it. But then the very ease of concluding this agreement raises doubts on each side. “Did I sell myself short?” - everyone thinks and easily begins to believe that he has been deceived. And then, in the hope of negotiating better terms, one of those who entered into this deal, or even both parties, begin to avoid fulfilling their obligations in every possible way in the hope that something more can be grabbed.
“I am once again convinced of how wise you are, monsignor,” agreed d’Artagnan.
“Don’t be distracted,” the flattered cardinal objected. - So, in order for the leaders of the Fronde not to decide to evade fulfillment of what I intend to agree on with them, it is necessary to demonstrate to them by deeds that they have concluded the best agreements possible, and that there will be no better ones. They must understand that with each of my next negotiations with them, I will offer worse and worse conditions, so they will rush to conclude an agreement on the conditions that I proposed the first time, and will be even glad if I do not demand that they lower their demands.
“I understand, monseigneur,” replied d’Artagnan. “Do you want to inflict a military defeat on the Parisians immediately after your return?”
“Yes, and I instruct you to develop the plan for this campaign while I am in Paris,” Mazarin replied. “So that you will not be distracted by anything, I will assign you an office where you will have the opportunity to use the best maps of Paris and its environs that France has, as well as that small part of my library on military strategy that I was able to bring out.” This is no more than one and a half hundred books, but you will appreciate them.
“We could combine these two things, monsignor,” d’Artagnan tried to object. “First we could escort you to Paris, around Paris and back, and then I would develop a plan for this campaign.”
“On the contrary, the plan needs to be thought out in detail, it will require at least two days, and I would like this defeat to be inflicted immediately after my departure from Paris,” Mazarin objected. - If at least one of the leaders of the Fronde refuses to negotiate with me, or puts forward conditions that are too favorable for themselves, the military defeat they inflict will show them that bargaining with me is inappropriate. If they all accept my proposals, then this defeat will push them to quickly conclude an agreement with me. This defeat will make them think that I considered the benefits they offered to be excessive and will push them to take the actions we need.
“Your considerations are very logical, I admit that you are right, monsignor,” answered d’Artagnan with grief, which he did not consider necessary to hide. “In that case, at least take Monsieur du Valon with you.” This is a strong and reliable warrior.
- And very noticeable! - Mazarin objected. “This giant cannot be overlooked and unrecognized. But I believe that the Fronteurs know that he serves me. In this case, my mission cannot be a secret.
“You are right, as always, monsignor,” agreed d’Artagnan. “What business will you entrust to Monsieur du Valon during your absence?”
“He will guard you so that no one will disturb you in your thoughts,” answered Mazarin. “I would like no one in Rueil to stop you from developing a plan for our campaign.”
-Are you sending us to Rueil? - asked d'Artagnan.
- Of course, because my library is there, or rather what I managed to take out! - answered Mazarin.
Mazarin's face expressed such goodwill that d'Artagnan even doubted for a moment whether his fears were not a figment of his imagination.
“This is a rather secluded place,” said d’Artagnan.
“Don’t let that bother you, Monsieur d’Artagnan,” answered Mazarin with a dazzling smile. “Monsieur du Valon will protect your peace, so to speak, from inside the castle, staying in it with you as my dear guests, but I will also order that the castle is guarded from the outside by two or three dozen guards, so that nothing really distracts you from your work.” .
“Scoundrel! - thought d'Artagnan. - He still takes us into custody! If only he had agreed to take at least Porthos with him so that he could warn Athos and Aramis! But no, he thought of everything!”
“I am convinced that such high foresight and foresight will indeed provide everything necessary for my work,” answered d’Artagnan, returning Mazarin’s dazzling smile. — Will I be able to see any of the military experts?
“This is unnecessary, Monsieur d’Artagnan, because I entrusted Monsieur de Turenne with other work at this time,” Mazarin objected. “The Viscount de Turenne will hardly be happy if I order him to act as your adviser, because it would humiliate him.” If I give him a ready-made campaign plan drawn up on my behalf, he will inevitably have to follow it. I hope you won’t be offended by the fact that I will put my name on your plan if I approve it?
“Of course, monsignor, because only in this case will it be possible to adhere to it,” answered d’Artagnan.
“Well, I’m glad that we understood each other so well,” Mazarin answered and dismissed d’Artagnan with a nod of his head.
At the reception he was met by Comenges, who politely informed him that the carriage for him and Monsieur du Valon was ready, as well as an honorary escort to the castle in Rueil.
Comenges did not dare ask d'Artagnan for his sword, since even Mazarin warned him that everything should be done with the greatest respect and not under the guise of an arrest, but in the form of an offer to stay, which could not be refused.
“He decided that we want to kidnap him in Paris and are preparing a trap for him,” d’Artagnan guessed. “In case this happens, Komenge will offer Athos and Aramis to exchange Mazarin for the two of us.” He is convinced that they will agree, and he is right, they will agree. If he returns successfully, then he will be able to pretend that he never doubted my devotion for a minute. Well! I must demonstrate that I did not doubt for a second that they trust me, that they are happy with me, that I am in good standing. I must develop a plan for a military campaign against the Parisians."
D'Artagnan conceived the battle of Charenton and developed a battle plan in detail.
Returning from Paris, Mazarin brought from his secret trip the conditions for the Fronde leaders to refuse further resistance.
Porthos and d'Artagnan took part in the battle of Charenton and showed their best side.
As a result of this battle, the leaders of the Fronde, indeed, realized that the terms of honorable surrender proposed by the cardinal were the best, and hastened not to miss their chance, so they were the first to take the initiative to quickly end the confrontation.
Under this treaty, Conti received Danvilliers and achieved the opportunity to remain a military man. In addition, a rumor was started about his marriage to one of Mazarin’s nieces; This rumor was favorably received by the prince, who did not care who he married, as long as he married.
The Duke of Beaufort was forgiven and returned to court, receiving all reparations for the wrongs done to him and all the honors due to his rank. It was announced that those who helped his escape were also forgiven. In addition, he received the rank of admiral, inherited from his father, the Duke of Vend;me, and a monetary reward for his houses and castles, destroyed by order of the Breton Parliament.
The Duke of Bouillon received estates equal in value to his Principality of Sedan, compensation for eight years' income, and the title of prince for himself and his family.
The Duke de Longueville was offered the governorship of Pont de l'Arches, five hundred thousand livres to his wife, and it was also promised that his son would be baptized by the young King and the young Henrietta of England. At the same time, Aramis said that Bazin would serve at the ceremony, and Planchet would supply the sweets.
The Duke d'Elbeuf obtained payment of the sums that were owed to his wife, one hundred thousand livres for his eldest son and twenty-five thousand to each of the others.
However, the promise that the King would baptize the son of the Duchess de Longueville was never fulfilled. This was the first tentative step in which Mazarin looked at how much it was really possible to not keep the promises he had made. Everything worked out, there was no scandal.
Concluding this fourth, but not the last part of my memoirs, I must say that in the fifth part I intend to describe those events that were not reflected in Grimaud’s memoirs, for they occurred between the events described in the book “Twenty Years Later” and the events described in the book “The Vicomte de Bragelonne, or another ten years later.” During these ten years, Mazarin first ascended, then was expelled from France, after which he returned in triumph and again became first minister. Having calmed internal troubles and achieved significant victories in the war with Spain, he ensured the conclusion of peace with her, achieving the marriage of the King with the daughter of the King of Spain, Maria Theresa, niece of Queen Anne of Austria. A fragile peace was established, both on the external borders and inside France. The Cardinal managed to appoint his friends to high positions, one of whom turned out to be his very zealous supporter, Mr. Nicolas Fouquet. The Cardinal made him Superintendent of Finance and Attorney General. I will tell about this rise of the great and unfortunate Fouquet in the fifth book. At the end of the novel Twenty Years Later, Grimaud reports that d'Artagnan killed de Rochefort. This is nonsense. Rochefort not only did not die, but this fourth battle simply did not happen between them. The Comte de Rochefort took part in hostilities, leading several hundred horse guards even in the very battle of Maastricht in which, as Grimaud reports, Charles d'Artagnan died. Much of what is stated further in the novel “The Vicomte de Bragelonne” deviates from the truth so much that it is easier to state how it really happened than to analyze its inaccuracies and obvious errors. I'll deal with this later.
Looking ahead, I will say that d'Artagnan's eldest son, Louis-Olivier, was baptized by King Louis XIV and Queen Maria Theresa, and his youngest son, Louis-Ren;, was baptized by Monsieur, the King's brother, the Duke of Orleans and Mademoiselle de Montpensier. So d'Artagnan's children received as high a godparent as possible. I am sure that if d'Artagnan had a third son, he would have christened him Louis Isaac in honor of the King and in honor of Porthos, since the second names of his first sons were given in honor of Athos and in my honor. The fate of this youngest son of d'Artagnan did not leave a deep mark on history, since I took care of this young man, considering him partly my godson, but the activity to which I recommended that he devote himself gives the young man many benefits, but not wide fame in the written word. stories. Perhaps someday I will tell you about this too.
I did not mention d'Artagnan's wife only for the reason that the conversation had not yet come to that. Here we shouldn’t talk about his children, but I remembered this only in connection with the fact that the King was entrusted with the mission of baptizing the son of the Duchess de Longueville, however, he refused it, citing his youth. Indeed, at that time he was still a minor.

(To be continued)