Still the three braves!" muttered the cardinal. "And the guard?"

"M. D'Artagnan!"

"Still my reckless young friend! I must have these four men as my own."

That same night the cardinal spoke to M. de Treville of the episode of
the bastion, and gave permission for D'Artagnan to become a musketeer,
"for such men should be in the same company," he said.

One night during the siege, the three musketeers, seeking D'Artagnan,
were met in a country lane by the cardinal, travelling, as he often did,
with a single attendant. Athos recognised him, and the cardinal bade the
three men escort him to a lonely inn. At the door they all alighted. The
landlord of the inn received the cardinal, for he had been expecting an
officer to visit a lady who was within. The three musketeers were
accommodated in a large room on the ground floor, and the cardinal
passed up the staircase as a man who knew his road. Porthos and Aramis
sat down at the table to dice, while Athos walked up and down the room
in a thoughtful mood. To his astonishment, Athos found that, the
stovepipe being broken, he could hear all that was passing in the room
above.

"Listen, Milady," the cardinal was saying, "this affair is of utmost
importance. A small vessel is waiting for you at the mouth of the river.
You will go on board to-night and set sail to-morrow morning for
England. Half an hour after I have gone, you will leave here. When you
reach England, you will seek the Duke of Buckingham, explain to him that
I have proofs of his secret interviews with the queen, and tell him that
if England moves in support of the besieged in La Rochelle, I will at
once ruin the queen."

"But what if he persists in spite of this in making war?" said Milady.

"If he persists? Why, then he must be got rid of. Some woman doubtless
exists, handsome, young, and clever, who has a grievance against the
duke; and some fanatic can be found to be her instrument."

"The woman exists, and the fanatic will be found," returned Milady. "And
now, will monseigneur permit me to speak of my enemies, as we have
spoken of yours?"

"Your enemies? Who are they?" asked Richelieu.

"First, there is a meddlesome little woman called Bonacieux. She was in
prison at Nantes, but has been conveyed to a convent by an order which
the queen obtained from the king. Will your eminence find out where that
convent is?"

"I don't object to that."

"Then I have a much more dangerous enemy than the little Bona