The Three Musketeers

D’Artagnan can’t be happy about being a Musketeer because he is so worried about Milady’s threat on his life. He wants to write to Lord de Winter, but he worries that he’s a bad writer, so he passes the job to Aramis, who writes an eloquent and subtle warning about Milady. As the Musketeers help compose the letter, d’Artagnan and Athos confirm the fleur-de-lis brand on Milady’s shoulder, which makes Porthos and Aramis realize that Milady is Athos’s wife.

Next, Aramis writes a letter addressed to someone he claims is his cousin, though the other Musketeers don’t believe him. This letter warns the queen about the threat on the duke’s life. Aramis’s servant Bazin is sent to Tours with the letter for the queen, while Planchet is tasked with delivering Lord de Winter’s letter. While Bazin and Planchet are away, the Musketeers wait, anxious about “their own proper safety; Milady was a phantom which, when it had once appeared to people, did not allow them to sleep very quietly” (947).

After eight days, Bazin returns with a note from Aramis’s “cousin,” confirming understanding of the hidden messages in the letter. D’Artagnan agonizes over Planchet’s absence, but Planchet finally returns after a couple of weeks with a note from Lord de Winter also confirming understanding.

On her boat ride, Milady is preoccupied by her confrontation with Athos. She tries to summon her fortitude by admiring the power of England. When she lands, a strange man dressed as an English officer approaches her, and Milady cannot read him: “however great was the power of this woman with eyes of flame in reading the hearts of those whose secrets she wished to divine, she met this time with a countenance of such impassivity that no discovery followed her investigation” (960). The man claims to be gathering information about foreigners and beckons her into his carriage. Though Milady knows she’s being kidnapped, she remains calm. During the long drive, Milady begs to know what’s going on and considers jumping from the carriage. Finally, she arrives at a castle and is imprisoned. Lord de Winter comes to her cell and says they need to talk.

Milady is surprised to see her brother-in-law; she can’t imagine how he knew to capture her because he isn’t very smart. He reveals that he knows that she wants to kill him for his money, and gestures to her shoulder, where her brand is. Milady understands that Lord de Winter knows her real identity, which means she is ruined. He will soon leave for the battle in La Rochelle, at which point he’ll send her away to one of the English colonies; if she ever returns, she will be killed. Meanwhile, she will stay in her cell. John Felton, the man who picked her up in the port, will keep watch. Lord de Winter knows that Milady is a cunning manipulator, but he assures her that Felton cannot be seduced. He warns Felton not to fall for Milady’s tricks.

The battle at La Rochelle continues. The Rochellais won’t surrender, despite the cardinal’s aggressive strategy. He hangs suspected spies, but is embarrassed that La Rochelle hasn’t been an easy victory. The Rochellais pray for the Duke of Buckingham to save them, while the cardinal waits anxiously for news of the duke’s assassination. He hasn’t heard from Milady, making him worried that she is either dead or has betrayed him. Eventually, Cardinal Richelieu decides to starve the city into submission.

One day, he sees the four Musketeers drinking merrily and reading a letter. When he approaches them, they quickly put the letter away and treat him politely. When the cardinal points out that they look like conspirators, Athos acts offended, claiming that the letter is just a note from one of their lovers. The cardinal leaves and they celebrate getting one over on him: The letter is actually from Aramis’s “cousin,” informing him of Constance’s location in a convent in Bethune. Worried that it will be discovered by an enemy, they make Grimaud eat the letter.

Milady sits in her jail cell, genuinely distressed for the first time. She thinks deeply about her situation and figures out that d’Artagnan must have alerted Lord de Winter about her. Desperate and angry, she curses having been born a woman, but then reminds herself that she is beautiful, formidable, and not ready to give up.

When John Felton brings her dinner, Milady pretends to faint. Unsure how to help a dangerous woman who might be in need, Felton calls for Lord de Winter, who assures Felton that Milady is faking. Lord de Winter asks if Felton finds Milady attractive and is satisfied when Felton says no. Milady gets a knife with her food, but is frustrated that the knife isn’t sharp enough to use as a weapon. Lord de Winter points this out to Felton as proof that Milady is still scheming. Milady notes that Felton is sympathetic to her, and hopes that she can trick him.

Milady dreams about d’Artagnan dying. When she wakes up, she pretends to be desperately sick, but Felton doesn’t fall for it. Later, Felton brings Milady a book of Catholic masses to give her comfort. She sees an opportunity to ingratiate herself to the English—and thus Protestant—Felton, Milady rejects Catholicism and proclaims herself a devoted Puritan. When Lord de Winter comes to visit her, he makes fun of her ostensible conversion. Milady responds dramatically, shocked that Lord de Winter is insulting her new religion. Felton watches with sympathy for her. When she’s alone with Felton, she pretends to pray ardently as a Puritan. Felton is entranced by her singing and convinced of her faith.

Milady sets her sights on winning John Felton over. She prays with ardor, knowing that Felton can hear her. She hopes that her prayers and Lord de Winter’s mockery will bring Felton to her side. Felton is at first wary, telling her that the guilty are the most sacred in prayer, but she denies being guilty of anything. She accuses Felton of knowing what Lord de Winter plans for her, but he denies this. Thus sure that Felton knows nothing about her past, Milady claims that she is a victim of the Duke of Buckingham. She begs Felton for a knife to die by suicide.

When Lord de Winter visits her again, he shows her paperwork he’s drawn up to send her to a penal colony under her real name: Charlotte Backson. She claims that this is not her name, so it is not a legally binding document. Lord de Winter agrees—instead, he will put her first husband’s name on the paperwork, because he knows that that man is still alive, so Milady is technically still married to him. In any case, the order also requires the Duke of Buckingham’s approval. Lord de Winter reminds Milady that because she married his brother while still married to another man, she could be hanged in England for bigamy.

Milady has only four days to seduce Felton into letting her out. At night, she prays and sings, certain that Felton is moved by her voice.

In the morning, Felton walks in on Milady making a noose out of handkerchiefs. He reminds her that suicide is a deplorable sin. She insists that the secrets she keeps are worse, accusing Felton of only caring about her physical imprisonment, not her spiritual wellbeing. He claims he is only doing his duty and that Lord de Winter won’t do anything to truly harm Milady. Milady retorts that God will hold Felton accountable for whatever happens to her. Felton is clearly under her spell, but despite his deep sympathy for her, he insists that Lord de Winter wouldn’t have imprisoned her if she hadn’t done something truly awful. Felton begs her to tell him her secret, and she pretends that she will. Just then, Lord de Winter interrupts their conversation, suspicious that Felton is falling for Milady.

Felton tells Lord de Winter about Milady’s request for a knife, but Lord de Winter brushes this off as another of her tricks. Before Lord de Winter leaves, he reminds Felton again that Milady is dangerously seductive. Once he’s gone, Felton confesses to Milady that he is torn. If he believes Milady, then he is agreeing that Lord de Winter, his beloved boss, is a monster. If he believes Lord de Winter, then Milady must be a demon. Milady promises to tell him her secret if he brings her a knife, and Felton agrees. Milady is thrilled.

Milady can never accept the idea that she might be defeated. In her mind, she is a queen. She worries that the cardinal, who is expecting her to complete a mission, will not be sympathetic when he hears about her imprisonment. The cardinal uses her, but Milady uses him too.

At midnight, Felton brings Milady a knife. She tells him a fabricated story designed to trick him into freeing her: She claims that she was drugged and raped by a man obsessed with her. He held her captive, taking advantage of her whenever he wanted to. She tried to fight back by stabbing him in the chest, but she didn’t kill him. She makes it seem like this man also targeted her for being a Puritan. Felton is utterly enraptured by this story.

Milady concludes her story by revealing the fleur-de-lis brand on her shoulder, which she claims her captor burned into her because she refused to give up Puritanism. This brand would ruin her reputation for the rest of her life. At this point, Felton fully adores Milady and kisses her feet, apologizing for being one of her captors. He begs to know the identity of her rapist, and she tells him that it was none other than the Duke of Buckingham. She claims that her late husband, Lord de Winter’s brother, knew this story but never told Lord de Winter. When she landed in England, the Duke forced Lord de Winter to arrest her. She cries out for the knife, eliciting the concern of the guards waiting outside. They barge in, worried, and call for Lord de Winter. When he arrives, Milady grabs the knife from Felton and stabs herself, but in a way she knows isn’t actually dangerous. Felton is afraid for Milady’s life, but Lord de Winter remarks that demons can’t die. Lord de Winter sends Felton out of the room and calls a maid to stay with Milady while they wait for a physician.

By the time the physician arrives, Milady’s minor stab wound has closed. Lord de Winter visits her, satisfied that he’s intercepted her ruse. The next day, he will go to La Rochelle and send Milady away to a penal colony. He takes Felton off duty because Felton has been compromised.

That night, during a storm, Milady hears knocking at the window of her cell. Felton has come to save her. He sneaks her out through the window, and they slowly scale the wall. They run to the port, where a boat waits to take them away. Felton is determined to kill the Duke of Buckingham. If he doesn’t return on time, Milady is to leave without him and hope that they can meet at the convent in Bethune.