The Three Musketeers (The Modern Library) - Alexandre Dumas [221]
Immediately a man wrapped deep in a cloak emerged, exchanged a few rapid words with the Cardinal, climbed into the saddle again and galloped off toward Surgères, along the road that led on to Paris.
“Advance, gentlemen,” the Cardinal ordered. Then, turning to the musketeers: “You have told me the truth, gentlemen, and it will not be my fault if our encounter this evening does not prove of advantage to you. Meanwhile, follow me.”
The Cardinal dismounted, the musketeers followed suit; the Cardinal tossed the bridle of his horse to his esquire and the musketeers fastened their horses to the shutter.
The landlord stood at the door, indicating in no way that the Cardinal was more than an ordinary officer coming to visit a lady.
“Have you a room on the ground floor where these gentlemen can wait around a good fire?” the Cardinal asked.
The landlord opened the door of a large room in which an old stove had recently been replaced by a large and excellent chimney.
“I have this room, Monsieur,” he said.
“That will do very well,” the Cardinal said. “Come in, gentlemen, and kindly wait for me here. I shall not be more than half an hour.”
As the three musketeers filed in, His Eminence, without more ado, ascended the staircase like a man who did not need to be shown the way.
XLIV
OF THE UTILITY OF STOVEPIPES
It was evident that our three friends, moved only by their chivalrous and adventurous character, had just rendered a service to somebody whom the Cardinal honored with his special protection.
But who was this somebody? They puzzled over that question at length; then, realizing that none of their conjectures was satisfactory, Porthos called the host and asked for dice.
As Porthos and Aramis sat down at a table and began to play, Athos paced the room, deep in thought. Moving back and forth, he kept passing by the broken stovepipe which obviously communicated with the room above; each time he did so, he could hear a murmur of voices which finally succeeded in attracting his attention. Drawing closer to the pipe, Athos distinguished a few words which appeared to him so interesting that he motioned to his companions to be silent. Then he bent down, his ear glued to the lower end of the pipe.
“I beg you to listen, Milady,” the Cardinal was saying, “this matter is highly important. Pray sit down and let us talk.”
“Milady!” Athos murmured and winced as he heard a woman’s voice replying:
“I am listening to Your Eminence most attentively.”
“A small vessel with an English crew, whose captain is at my orders, awaits you at the mouth of the Charente, at the fort of La Pointe. It will sail tomorrow morning.”
“I must go there tonight?”
“Instantly—that is, of course, after you have received my instructions. As you leave this house, you will find two men at the door; they will serve as your escorts. You will allow me to leave first; then, half an hour later, you yourself will go.”
“I understand, Monseigneur. Now let us come back to the mission you are willing to entrust to me. Since I desire to continue to merit the confidence Your Eminence places in me, I beg you to give me clear and precise instructions. I would not wish to make the slightest mistake.”
A moment of deep silence ensued. Clearly the Cardinal was weighing the terms in which he was about to speak; Milady, meanwhile, was steeling all her intellectual faculties in order thoroughly to grasp his orders and to impress them upon her memory.
Profiting by this moment of silence, Athos signaled to his companions to close the door and to join him at his listening-post. Loving their ease as they did, Porthos and Aramis drew up three chairs and the trio sat down; then, their heads close together and their ears cocked, they listened avidly.
“You are to go to London,” the Cardinal continued. “Once there, you are to see Buckingham.”
“I must remind Your Eminence that the Duke of Buckingham has always suspected me of responsibility in the affair of the diamond studs. His Grace of Buckingham distrusts me.”
“This time you need not trouble to gain his confidence. You have