The Three Musketeers (The Modern Library) - Alexandre Dumas [197]
“You must take it back, Athos. I can see what it means to you.”
“I—I take back that ring after it has passed through the hands of that strumpet! Never. That ring has been defiled.”
“Sell it then,” D’Artagnan suggested.
“Sell a jewel my mother bequeathed me! How could I bring myself to commit such desecration!”
“Pawn it! You can probably borrow over a thousand crowns on it. That sum should solve your immediate problem. Then, when you are in funds again, you can redeem it. Surely it will have been cleansed of its ancient stains after it has passed through the hands of usurers.”
“What a delightful companion you are!” Athos smiled. “Your eternal cheerfulness is manna to those poor souls who walk in the ways of affliction. I agree, let us pawn the ring, but only on one condition.”
“What?”
“Five hundred crowns for you, five hundred for me.”
“Absurd, Athos! I don’t need a quarter of the sum. I’m in the guards; I have but to sell my saddle and I am equipped. What do I need? A horse for Planchet, that’s all. Besides, you forget I, too, have a ring.”
“A ring to which you apparently attach more value than I do to mine,” Athos replied.
“True, for in some crisis it might not only save us from considerable trouble but actually rescue us from grave danger. It is not only a valuable diamond, it is an enchanted talisman.”
“I don’t understand but I’ll take your word for it,” Athos remarked indifferently. “But to come back to my ring—or rather yours. If you refuse to accept half the proceeds, I swear I will throw it into the Seine, and, since I am no Polycrates, I doubt whether any obliging fish will bring it back to us!”
“In that case, Athos, I accept.”
At that moment, Grimaud returned, flanked by Planchet; the latter, worried about his master and curious to know what had happened to him, had insisted in delivering the clothing personally. D’Artagnan dressed; Athos did the same. When they were ready to go out, Athos struck the attitude of a man taking aim; Grimaud nodded and immediately took down his musketoon from its rack and prepared to follow his master.
They reached the Rue des Fossoyeurs safely but found Bonacieux posted on the doorstep. The haberdasher stared at D’Artagnan and with mock affability:
“Make haste, my dear lodger,” he cried, “there’s a very pretty girl waiting for you upstairs and you know women don’t like to be kept waiting.”
It could be only Kitty. D’Artagnan darted down the alley, took the stairs three at a time, and, reaching the landing, found her crouching against his door, trembling hysterically. Before he could say a word:
“You swore to protect me,” she sobbed. “You swore to save me from her anger, Monsieur le Chevalier. Remember it was you who ruined me.”
“Yes, Kitty dear, I know. But don’t worry!” He took her hand in his and stroked it. “What happened after I left?”
“How do I know?” Kitty raised her hands to Heaven. “Milady screamed . . . the lackeys rushed up . . . she was foaming at the mouth . . . she called you names I have never heard. . . . Then I thought she might remember you had gone through my room into hers and that she would think I arranged it. So I took my best clothes and what little money I had and here I am.”
“I’m so sorry, Kitty dear. But what shall I do? We leave the day after tomorrow.”
“Do what you please, Monsieur le Chevalier. But at least help me to get out of Paris! Help me to get out of France!”
“But I can’t take you to the Siege of La Rochelle!”
“No, but you can place me somewhere in the provinces with some lady of your acquaintance. Can’t you send me to your home, for instance?”
“Alas, my love, the ladies in my part of the world do without chambermaids. But stop! I think I have a solution! Planchet, go fetch Monsieur Aramis at once; tell him it is a matter of utmost importance.”
“I see what you are driving at,” Athos declared.