Dumas, Alexandre – Twenty Years After
lordship’s service and his most faithful servants.”
“My most faithful friends, gentlemen, my most faithful
friends; you have proved it. And if ever I am reconciled
with the court I shall prove to you, I hope, that I remain
your friend, as well as that of — what the devil are their
names — D’Artagnan and Porthos?”
“D’Artagnan and Porthos.”
“Ah, yes. You understand, then, Comte de la Fere, you
understand, Chevalier d’Herblay, that I am altogether and
always at your service.”
Athos and Aramis bowed and went out.
“My dear Athos,” cried Aramis, “I think you consented to
accompany me only to give me a lesson — God forgive me!”
“Wait a little, Aramis; it will be time for you to perceive
my motive when we have paid our visit to the coadjutor.”
“Let us then go to the archiepiscopal palace,” said Aramis.
They directed their horses to the city. On arriving at the
cradle from which Paris sprang they found it inundated with
water, and it was again necessary to take a boat. The palace
rose from the bosom of the water, and to see the number of
boats around it one would have fancied one’s self not in
Paris, but in Venice. Some of these boats were dark and
mysterious, others noisy and lighted up with torches. The
friends slid in through this congestion of embarkation and
landed in their turn. The palace was surrounded with water,
but a kind of staircase had been fixed to the lower walls;
and the only difference was, that instead of entering by the
doors, people entered by the windows.
Thus did Athos and Aramis make their appearance in the
ante-chamber, where about a dozen noblemen were collected in
waiting.
“Good heavens!” said Aramis to Athos, “does the coadjutor
intend to indulge himself in the pleasure of making us cool
our hearts off in his ante-chamber?”
“My dear friend, we must take people as we find them. The
coadjutor is at this moment one of the seven kings of Paris,
and has a court. Let us send in our names, and if he does
not send us a suitable message we will leave him to his own
affairs or those of France. Let us call one of these
lackeys, with a demi-pistole in the left hand.”
“Exactly so,” cried Aramis. “Ah! if I’m not mistaken here’s
Bazin. Come here, fellow.”
Bazin, who was crossing the ante-chamber majestically in his
clerical dress, turned around to see who the impertinent
gentleman was who thus addressed him; but seeing his friends
he went up to them quickly and expressed delight at seeing
them.
“A truce to compliments,” said Aramis; “we want to see the
coadjutor, and instantly, as we are in haste.”
Page 529
Dumas, Alexandre – Twenty Years After
“Certainly, sir — it is not such lords as you are who are
allowed to wait in the ante-chamber, only just now he has a
secret conference with Monsieur de Bruy.”
“De Bruy!” cried the friends, “’tis then useless our seeing
monsieur the coadjutor this evening,” said Aramis, “so we
give it up.”
And they hastened to quit the palace, followed by Bazin, who
was lavish of bows and compliments.
“Well,” said Athos, when Aramis and he were in the boat
again, “are you beginning to be convinced that we should
have done a bad turn to all these people in arresting
Mazarin?”
“You are wisdom incarnate, Athos,” Aramis replied.
What had especially been observed by the two friends was the
little interest taken by the court of France in the terrible
events which had occurred in England, which they thought
should have arrested the attention of all Europe.
In fact, aside from a poor widow and a royal orphan who wept
in the corner of the Louvre, no one appeared to be aware
that Charles I. had ever lived and that he had perished on
the scaffold.
The two friends made an appointment for ten o’clock on the
following day; for though the night was well advanced when
they reached the door of the hotel, Aramis said that he had
certain important visits to make and left Athos to enter