Chapter 8: Concerning a Court Intrigue

Summary

     Unfortunately for the Fearsome Four, the money given to them by the king soon finishes its life cycle, and they find themselves short of money. Their salary is not enough to sustain them, and they do not get paid for a while. In fact, D’Artagnan has not even gotten paid once for guard duty. So, they take turns paying for the whole group – or least the three Musketeers do, because d’Artagnan has already taken his turn by sharing the king’s gold. First, Athos supports the entire group. When his money runs out, Porthos disappears for a few days and comes back with money (he does this occasionally), which supports the group for a good fortnight. Aramis sells some theological books and manages to support the group briefly, but then the Musketeers are seriously in monetary trouble. They have a little meeting and manage to scrape together a little money. Porthos then takes this money and goes to an evening of gambling, hoping to get a lot out of it. Sadly, he not only fails to get any more, but finds himself in debt after the game. Now, the Fearsome Four is in dire straits indeed. So, they turn to getting free meals from their friends. They justify this by explaining that they often host meals and parties for their friends when they have money, so they are merely relying on mutual friendship. Indeed, the Musketeers are being epic moochers. When one of them is invited to a meal, he takes along seven uninvited guests: the three others and their four servants! They must have good friends indeed. Amusingly, d’Artagnan is mortified that he is worse at mooching that the others, because he is new to the town and does not have as many friends. However, Dumas mentions that he does manage to secure a free “chocolate breakfast,” which sounds amazing.

     D’Artagnan finds himself presented with an opportunity for money when a mysterious man tells him that his wife has been kidnapped, and he is willing to pay the Fearsome Four for their help and support. His wife is a confidant of the Queen, and so the man suspects she has been kidnapped for political reasons. Apparently, his wife told him that the Queen believes that someone has falsely written a letter to the Duke of Buckingham using her name in order to lure him into a trap. Also, the man that the stranger describes as likely having kidnapped his wife sounds exactly like the fancy-pants letter thief! The man casually reveals that his name is Bonacieux along the way, which makes d’Artagnan jump a little. He asks Bonacieux if he knows him somehow. Bonacieux reacts with a bit of surprise, telling d’Artagnan reproachfully that he is his landlord, and did d’Artagnan notice that Bonacieux hasn’t pressured him for rent even though it is overdue? D’Artagnan is grateful for this, and seems to want to help the man, especially when he says that if d’Artagnan helps, he will not have to ever pay rent. What a good deal! Suddenly, both men notice someone walking down the street outside – the fancy-pants letter thief! D’Artagnan sprints down the stairs and Bonacieux leaves. On the way down, d’Artagnan bumps into the three Musketeers – déjà vu! – but this time only tells them that he saw the aforementioned thief, and the Musketeers let him pass and decide to wait for him upstairs.

Reaction

     I had wondered what happened to the fancy-pants letter thief! I love the intrigue in this chapter. Dumas, as predicted, is moving the plot ahead by way of transition. I am fairly surprised that the Fearsome Four runs out of money so quickly – why don’t the Musketeers get paid more? Well, it is true that other than occasional illegal fights, they have yet to do much, so perhaps a low salary is justified. This was a short chapter, hopefully designed to ease from character-explaining to plot development in the next few ones. D’Artagnan not recognizing his landlord was pretty funny, and the conversation was also interesting. I’m curious about how Bonacieux knows the letter thief. I like how the end of this chapter mirrors the end of chapter 3 – both with d’Artagnan rushing after the thief and crashing into the Musketeers – but in this one the Fearsome Four is established and d’Artagnan has a mission.

     My favorite lines are about Planchet. I have a feeling I am going to like this guy: “D'Artagnan awakened Planchet and ordered him to open [the door]. From this phrase, ‘d'Artagnan awakened Planchet,’ the reader must not suppose it was night, or that day was hardly come. No, it had just struck four. Planchet, two hours before, had asked his master for some dinner, and he had answered him with the proverb, ‘He who sleeps, dines." And Planchet dined by sleeping.’”