The Three Musketeers (Translated by Richard Pevear) - Alexandre Dumas [113]
“Yes,” the duke said, smiling, “and I even believe I know this other person. It is…”
“Milord, I have not named her,” the young man interrupted sharply.
“That is so,” said the duke. “Then it is to this person that I must be grateful for your devotion?”
“It is as you have said, Milord, for precisely at this time when there is talk of war, I must confess that I see Your Grace only as an Englishman, and consequently as an enemy whom I would be still more delighted to meet on the battlefield than in the park at Windsor or the corridors of the Louvre; which, however, will not keep me from carrying out my mission point by point and from getting myself killed, if need be, to accomplish it—but, I repeat to Your Grace, without you personally having any more reason to thank me for what I have done for myself in this second interview than for what I already did for you in the first.”
“‘Proud as a Scot,’87 we say,” murmured Buckingham.
“And we say: ‘Proud as a Gascon,’” replied d’Artagnan. “The Gascons are the Scots of France.”
D’Artagnan bowed to the duke and prepared to leave.
“Well, so you’re going off just like that? Where? And how?”
“True.”
“Damn me! the French have their nerve!”
“I had forgotten that England is an island, and that you are the king of it.”
“Go to the port, ask for a brig called the Sund, give this letter to the captain; he will land you in a small port where you will certainly not be expected and where one usually meets only fishing boats.”
“That port is named?”
“Saint-Valery. But wait, wait! When you get there, you will go into a vile-looking inn with no name or sign, a real sailors’ dive—you can’t miss it, there’s only one.”
“And then?”
“You will ask for the host, and you will say ‘Forward’ to him.”
“Which means?”
“En avant—that is the password. He will give you a saddled horse and show you the road you are to take. You will find four relays like this along the way. If you wish to give each of them your Paris address, the four horses will follow you; you already know two of them, and it seemed to me that you appreciated them as a fancier: they are the two we rode. You may take my word for it, the others are in no way inferior to them. These four horses are equipped for campaigning. Proud as you may be, you will not refuse to accept one and to make your three companions accept the others. Besides, they will serve for making war on us. The end justifies the means, as you French say, I believe?”
“Yes, Milord, I accept,” said d’Artagnan, “and if it please God, we will make good use of your presents.”
“Now, your hand, young man. Perhaps we will meet soon on the battlefield, but in the meantime we part as good friends, I hope.”
“Yes, Milord, but with the hope of soon becoming enemies.”
“Don’t worry, I promise you that.”
“I count on your word, Milord.”
D’Artagnan bowed to the duke and quickly made his way to the port.
Opposite the Tower of London, he found the designated boat, and handed his letter to the captain, who had it certified by the governor of the port and set sail at once.
Fifty boats were waiting to depart.
As they passed alongside one of them, d’Artagnan thought he recognized the lady from Meung, the one whom the unknown gentleman had called “Milady,” and whom he, d’Aragnan, had found so beautiful. But thanks to the current of the river and the good wind that was blowing, his ship went so quickly that in a moment they were out of sight.
The next day, towards nine o’clock in the morning, they reached Saint-Valery.
D’Artagnan headed at once for the specified inn, which he recognized by the shouts coming from it: the war between England and France was being talked about as an imminent and unquestionable thing, and the joyful sailors were carousing.
D’Artagnan made his way through the crowd, went up to the host, and uttered the word “Forward.” The host at once made a sign for him to follow, went out with him by a door that gave onto a courtyard, led him to the stable where a saddled horse was waiting for him, and asked him if he needed