Step One: Learn from the best “I assume that you know all,” Aramis begins. “Enough to be abhorred that an innocent man finds himself imprisoned,” Layla replies. “Some might say that he is not an innocent man,” Aramis pushes, although it has been a losing argument; although even he no longer agrees. “He is my … Continue reading Chapter Fifty-One: Vanishing Act in Seven (Easy) Steps, by Mordaunt
Chapter Fifty, The Price of Clarity, by Mordaunt
Faites votre devoir, et laissez faire aux dieux.(Do your duty and leave the rest to Heaven) Pierre Corneille, Horace, Act II, Scene III (1639 Aramis does not stay at Noisy-le-rois as he planned. He rides back to Paris with Louis. “Not to Versailles, no I will not make it easy for you,” Louis pushed, “I … Continue reading Chapter Fifty, The Price of Clarity, by Mordaunt
Chapter Forty-Five, Son of Spain, by Mordaunt
M. de Rohan stops in the corridor outside his office at the Palais Royal, surprised to see the Conde de Fuensaldaña, Señor Alonso Perez de Vivero, and his secretary, Señor del Campo, waiting. The Conde de Fuensaldaña, a Grandee of Spain, in the retinue of King Philip and known for leading brilliant campaigns and fighting … Continue reading Chapter Forty-Five, Son of Spain, by Mordaunt
Chapter Forty-One, A Prisoner of Many Names, None His Own, by Mordaunt
M. de Ronan wakes up with a jolt. For a moment he stares at the canopy above his head, confused, trying to remember where he is or what might have stirred him, and realizes that Layla is not lying next to him. Alarmed, he sits up quickly against the headboard, everything returning all at once. … Continue reading Chapter Forty-One, A Prisoner of Many Names, None His Own, by Mordaunt
Chapter Twenty Six-Intentions Unmasked, by Mordaunt
In the crowded, luminous hall outside, the undulating din of laughter, chatter, and tinkling glasses subsides. A melodious voice is singing: Dove ne vai, crudele,E non fuggire,O di mio beneL’aspre mie pene,Che se fai vaga,De la mia pega,Volge tuo squardiCh’al cor son dardi.Torna, torna crudele,E non fuggire. The handsome masked foreigner seated across from Raoul … Continue reading Chapter Twenty Six-Intentions Unmasked, by Mordaunt
Chapter Fifteen-Pandora, by Mordaunt
“Madame is in her salon…” the footman at the door barely has time to speak. M. de Rohan is already running up the stairs two at a time, hat in hand. He flings open the door of Marie Cessette’s private salon, where she sits at her writing desk finishing her daily correspondence. She springs to … Continue reading Chapter Fifteen-Pandora, by Mordaunt
Chapter Seven-King of France, by Mordaunt
It is not one of the windowless cells. Raoul wonders if this was Fabien’s idea of compassion, but the narrow, iron-barred slit in the wall allows Henri Bernard a glimpse of the open sky, where birds fly free, and of the river, where life continues unobstructed, so Raoul settles on cruelty. “This is the Marquis … Continue reading Chapter Seven-King of France, by Mordaunt
Twelve Years After 