87

Twenty Years After

by Alexandre Dumas

87, TWENTY YEARS AFTER by Alexandre Dumas
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In which we begin to think that Porthos will be at last a
Baron, and D'Artagnan a Captain.



At the expiration of ten minutes Aramis arrived, accompanied
by Grimaud and eight or ten followers. He was excessively
delighted and threw himself into his friends' arms.

"You are free, my brothers! free without my aid! and I shall
have succeeded in doing nothing for you in spite of all my
efforts."

"Do not be unhappy, dear friend, on that account; if you
have done nothing as yet, you will do something soon,"
replied Athos.

"I had well concerted my plans," pursued Aramis; "the
coadjutor gave me sixty men; twenty guard the walls of the
park, twenty the road from Rueil to Saint Germain, twenty
are dispersed in the woods. Thus I was able, thanks to the
strategic disposition of my forces, to intercept two
couriers from Mazarin to the queen."

Mazarin listened intently.

"But," said D'Artagnan, "I trust that you honorably sent
them back to monsieur le cardinal!"

"Ah, yes!" said Aramis, "toward him I should be very likely
to practice such delicacy of sentiment! In one of the
despatches the cardinal declares to the queen that the
treasury is empty and that her majesty has no more money. In
the other he announces that he is about to transport his
prisoners to Melun, since Rueil seemed to him not
sufficiently secure. You can understand, dear friend, with
what hope I was inspired by that last letter. I placed
myself in ambuscade with my sixty men; I encircled the
castle; the riding horses I entrusted to Grimaud and I
awaited your coming out, which I did not expect till
to-morrow, and I didn't hope to free you without a skirmish.
You are free to-night, without fighting; so much the better!
How did you manage to escape that scoundrel Mazarin? You
must have much reason to complain of him."

"Not very much," said D'Artagnan.

"Really!"

"I might even say that we have some reason to praise him."

"Impossible!"

"Yes, really; it is owing to him that we are free."

"Owing to him?"

"Yes, he had us conducted into the orangery by Monsieur
Bernouin, his valet-de-chambre, and from there we followed
him to visit the Comte de la Fere. Then he offered us our
liberty and we accepted it. He even went so far as to show
us the way out; he led us to the park wall, which we climbed
over without accident, and then we fell in with Grimaud."

"Well!" exclaimed Aramis, "this will reconcile me to him;
but I wish he were here that I might tell him that I did not
believe him capable of so noble an act."

"My lord," said D'Artagnan, no longer able to contain
himself, "allow me to introduce to you the Chevalier
d'Herblay, who wishes -- as you may have heard -- to offer
his congratulations to your eminence."

And he retired, discovering Mazarin, who was in great
confusion, to the astonished gaze of Aramis.

"Ho! ho!" exclaimed the latter, "the cardinal! a glorious
prize! Halloo! halloo! friends! to horse! to horse!"

Several horsemen ran quickly to him.

"Zounds!" cried Aramis, "I may have done some good; so, my
lord, deign to receive my most respectful homage! I will lay
a wager that 'twas that Saint Christopher, Porthos, who
performed this feat! Apropos! I forgot ---- " and he gave
some orders in a low voice to one of the horsemen.

"I think it will be wise to set off," said D'Artagnan.

"Yes; but I am expecting some one, a friend of Athos."

"A friend!" exclaimed the count.

"And here he comes, by Jupiter! galloping through the
bushes."

"The count! the count!" cried a young voice that made Athos
start.

"Raoul! Raoul!" he ejaculated.

For one moment the young man forgot his habitual respect --
he threw himself on his father's neck.

"Look, my lord cardinal," said Aramis, "would it not have
been a pity to have separated men who love each other as we
love? Gentlemen," he continued, addressing the cavaliers,
who became more and more numerous every instant; "gentlemen,
encircle his eminence, that you may show him the greater
honor. He will, indeed give us the favor of his company; you
will, I hope, be grateful for it; Porthos, do not lose sight
of his eminence."

Aramis then joined Athos and D'Artagnan, who were consulting
together.

"Come," said D'Artagnan, after a conference of five minutes'
duration, "let us begin our journey."

"Where are we to go?" asked Porthos.

"To your house, dear Porthos, at Pierrefonds; your fine
chateau is worthy of affording its princely hospitality to
his eminence; it is, likewise, well situated -- neither too
near Paris, nor too far from it; we can establish a
communication between it and the capital with great
facility. Come, my lord, you shall be treated like a prince,
as you are."

"A fallen prince!" exclaimed Mazarin, piteously.

"The chances of war," said Athos, "are many, but be assured
we shall take no improper advantage of them."

"No, but we shall make use of them," said D'Artagnan.

The rest of the night was employed by these cavaliers in
traveling with the wonderful rapidity of former days.
Mazarin, still sombre and pensive, permitted himself to be
dragged along in this way; it looked a race of phantoms. At
dawn twelve leagues had been passed without drawing rein;
half the escort were exhausted and several horses fell down.

"Horses, nowadays, are not what they were formerly,"
observed Porthos; "everything degenerates."

"I have sent Grimaud to Dammartin," said Aramis. "He is to
bring us five fresh horses -- one for his eminence, four for
us. We, at least, must keep close to monseigneur; the rest
of the start will rejoin us later. Once beyond Saint Denis
we shall have nothing to fear."

Grimaud, in fact, brought back five horses. The nobleman to
whom he applied, being a friend of Porthos, was very ready,
not to sell them, as was proposed, but to lend them. Ten
minutes later the escort stopped at Ermenonville, but the
four friends went on with well sustained ardor, guarding
Mazarin carefully. At noon they rode into the avenue of
Pierrefonds.

"Ah!" said Mousqueton, who had ridden by the side of
D'Artagnan without speaking a word on the journey, "you may
think what you will, sir, but I can breathe now for the
first time since my departure from Pierrefonds;" and he put
his horse to a gallop to announce to the other servants the
arrival of Monsieur du Vallon and his friends.

"We are four of us," said D'Artagnan; "we must relieve each
other in mounting guard over my lord and each of us must
watch three hours at a time. Athos is going to examine the
castle, which it will be necessary to render impregnable in
case of siege; Porthos will see to the provisions and Aramis
to the troops of the garrison. That is to say, Athos will be
chief engineer, Porthos purveyor-in-general, and Aramis
governor of the fortress."

Meanwhile, they gave up to Mazarin the handsomest room in
the chateau.

"Gentlemen," he said, when he was in his room, "you do not
expect, I presume, to keep me here a long time incognito?"

"No, my lord," replied the Gascon; "on the contrary, we
think of announcing very soon that we have you here."

"Then you will be besieged."

"We expect it."

"And what shall you do?"

"Defend ourselves. Were the late Cardinal Richelieu alive he
would tell you a certain story of the Bastion Saint Gervais,
which we four, with our four lackeys and twelve dead men,
held out against a whole army."

"Such feats, sir, are done once -- and never repeated."

"However, nowadays there's no need of so much heroism.
To-morrow the army of Paris will be summoned, the day after
it will be here! The field of battle, instead, therefore, of
being at Saint Denis or at Charenton, will be near Compiegne
or Villars-Cotterets."

"The prince will vanquish you, as he has always done."

"'Tis possible; my lord; but before an engagement ensues we
shall move your eminence to another castle belonging to our
friend Du Vallon, who has three. We will not expose your
eminence to the chances of war."

"Come," answered Mazarin, "I see it will be necessary for me
to capitulate."

"Before a siege?"

"Yes; the conditions will be better than afterward."

"Ah, my lord! as to conditions, you would soon see how
moderate and reasonable we are!"

"Come, now, what are your conditions?"

"Rest yourself first, my lord, and we -- we will reflect."

"I do not need rest, gentlemen; I need to know whether I am
among enemies or friends."

"Friends, my lord! friends!"

"Well, then, tell me at once what you want, that I may see
if any arrangement be possible. Speak, Comte de la Fere!"

"My lord," replied Athos, "for myself I have nothing to
demand. For France, were I to specify my wishes, I should
have too much. I beg you to excuse me and propose to the
chevalier."

And Athos, bowing, retired and remained leaning against the
mantelpiece, a spectator of the scene.

"Speak, then, chevalier!" said the cardinal. "What do you
want? Nothing ambiguous, if you please. Be clear, short and
precise."

"As for me," replied Aramis, "I have in my pocket the very
programme of the conditions which the deputation -- of which
I formed one -- went yesterday to Saint Germain to impose on
you. Let us consider first the ancient rights. The demands
in that programme must be granted."

"We were almost agreed on those," replied Mazarin; "let us
pass on to private and personal stipulations."

"You suppose, then, that there are some?" said Aramis,
smiling.

"I do not suppose that you will all be quite so
disinterested as Monsieur de la Fere," replied the cardinal,
bowing to Athos.

"My lord, you are right, and I am glad to see that you do
justice to the count at last. The count has a mind above
vulgar desires and earthly passions. He is a proud soul --
he is a man by himself! You are right -- he is worth us all,
and we avow it to you!"

"Aramis," said Athos, "are you jesting?"

"No, no, dear friend; I state only what we all know. You are
right; it is not you alone this matter concerns, but my lord
and his unworthy servant, myself."

"Well, then, what do you require besides the general
conditions before recited?"

"I require, my lord, that Normandy should be given to Madame
de Longueville, with five hundred thousand francs and full
absolution. I require that his majesty should deign to be
godfather to the child she has just borne; and that my lord,
after having been present at the christening, should go to
proffer his homage to our Holy Father the Pope."

"That is, you wish me to lay aside my ministerial functions,
to quit France and be an exile."

"I wish his eminence to become pope on the first
opportunity, allowing me then the right of demanding full
indulgences for myself and my friends."

Mazarin made a grimace which was quite indescribable, and
then turned to D'Artagnan.

"And you, sir?" he said.

"I, my lord," answered the Gascon, "I differ from Monsieur
d'Herblay entirely as to the last point, though I agree with
him on the first. Far from wishing my lord to quit Paris, I
hope he will stay there and continue to be prime minister,
as he is a great statesman. I shall try also to help him to
down the Fronde, but on one condition -- that he sometimes
remembers the king's faithful servants and gives the first
vacant company of musketeers to a man that I could name. And
you, Monsieur du Vallon ---- "

"Yes, you, sir! Speak, if you please," said Mazarin.

"As for me," answered Porthos, "I wish my lord cardinal, in
order to do honor to my house, which gives him an asylum,
would in remembrance of this adventure erect my estate into
a barony, with a promise to confer that order on one of my
particular friends, whenever his majesty next creates
peers."

"You know, sir, that before receiving the order one must
submit proofs."

"My friends will submit them. Besides, should it be
necessary, monseigneur will show him how that formality may
be avoided."

Mazarin bit his lips; the blow was direct and he replied
rather dryly:

"All this appears to me to be ill conceived, disjointed,
gentlemen; for if I satisfy some I shall displease others.
If I stay in Paris I cannot go to Rome; if I became pope I
could not continue to be prime minister; and it is only by
continuing prime minister that I can make Monsieur
d'Artagnan a captain and Monsieur du Vallon a baron."

"True"" said Aramis, "so, as I am in a minority, I withdraw
my proposition, so far as it relates to the voyage to Rome
and monseigneur's resignation."

"I am to remain minister, then?" said Mazarin.

"You remain minister; that is understood," said D'Artagnan;
"France needs you."

"And I desist from my pretensions," said Aramis. "His
eminence will continue to be prime minister and her
majesty's favorite, if he will grant to me and my friends
what we demand for France and for ourselves."

"Occupy yourselves with your own affairs, gentlemen, and let
France settle matters as she will with me," resumed Mazarin.

"Ho! ho!" replied Aramis. "The Frondeurs will have a treaty
and your eminence must sign it before us, promising at the
same time to obtain the queen's consent to it."

"I can answer only for myself," said Mazarin. "I cannot
answer for the queen. Suppose her majesty refuses?"

"Oh!" said D'Artagnan, "monseigneur knows very well that her
majesty refuses him nothing."

"Here, monseigneur," said Aramis, "is the treaty proposed by
the deputation of Frondeurs. Will your eminence please read
and examine?"

"I am acquainted with it."

"Sign it, then."

"Reflect, gentlemen, that a signature given under
circumstances like the present might be regarded as extorted
by violence."

"Monseigneur will be at hand to testify that it was freely
given."

"Suppose I refuse?"

"Then," said D'Artagnan, "your eminence must expect the
consequences of a refusal."

"Would you dare to touch a cardinal?"

"You have dared, my lord, to imprison her majesty's
musketeers."

"The queen will revenge me, gentlemen."

"I do not think so, although inclination might lead her to
do so, but we shall take your eminence to Paris, and the
Parisians will defend us."

"How uneasy they must be at this moment at Rueil and Saint
Germain," said Aramis. "How they must be asking, `Where is
the cardinal?' `What has become of the minister?' `Where has
the favorite gone?' How they must be looking for monseigneur
in all corners! What comments must be made; and if the
Fronde knows that monseigneur has disappeared, how the
Fronde must triumph!"

"It is frightful," murmured Mazarin.

"Sign the treaty, then, monseigneur," said Aramis.

"Suppose the queen should refuse to ratify it?"

"Ah! nonsense!" cried D'Artagnan, "I can manage so that her
majesty will receive me well; I know an excellent method."

"What?"

"I shall take her majesty the letter in which you tell her
that the finances are exhausted."

"And then?" asked Mazarin, turning pale.

"When I see her majesty embarrassed, I shall conduct her to
Rueil, make her enter the orangery and show her a certain
spring which turns a box."

"Enough, sir," muttered the cardinal, "you have said enough;
where is the treaty?"

"Here it is," replied Aramis. "Sign, my lord," and he gave
him a pen.

Mazarin arose, walked some moments, thoughtful, but not
dejected.

"And when I have signed," he said, "what is to be my
guarantee?"

"My word of honor, sir," said Athos.

Mazarin started, turned toward the Comte de la Fere, and
looking for an instant at that grand and honest countenance,
took the pen.

"It is sufficient, count," he said, and signed the treaty.

"And now, Monsieur d'Artagnan," he said, "prepare to set off
for Saint Germain and take a letter from me to the queen."