Summary
I like the title
of this chapter – ‘the equipments’ indeed! All the Musketeers have different
plans for what to do in order to get money for ‘the equipments.’ Athos refuses
to even try to get money, saying that he will wait for money to come to him.
Good lord, he really has gone mad. Worse, he plans to get into a duel and die
for the king if money fails to come to him within the fortnight allotted. Uh
oh, suicidal thoughts? Athos needs professional help, I’m serious. Aramis is
just sad, and does not know what to do. He writes poetry a bit. I’m not quite
sure how that’s a plan, but we’ll let him be for now. Porthos decides to get
money from his mistress. Will it work this time?
Porthos goes to
church one day, dressed finely by Mousqueton, and makes sure his mistress is
watching him. D’Artagnan follows him, because that’s what d’Artagnan does. I
understand d’Artagnan spying on enemies or strangers, but spying on his close
friends is very rude behavior! Porthos does not notice his creepy friend and
instead proceeds to make his mistress jealous by paying attention to a pretty
young lady. The mistress, by the way, is described “rather yellow and rather
dry.” Good catch, Porthos. D’Artagnan,
watching, can barely contain his excitement when he realizes that the woman
Porthos is flirting with is none other than Milady! Porthos, of course, has no
idea who Milady is, and once he has succeeded in making his mistress, Madame
Coquenard, jealous, he leaves church with her to have a little chat. After
dramatic jealousy and Porthos acting fake-offended a bunch, Madame Coquenard
agrees to make it up to Porthos. She hints that when her ancient husband dies,
she will get his money, and then she invites him over for dinner the following
day. Porthos is hopeful that he will get a large share of Coquenard money. Wow,
they both suck.
Reaction
I have no clue
what d’Artagnan is doing in church, but it helps propel the plot forward when
he spots Milady! Porthos interacting with his mistress is not very pleasant to
read about. Both Porthos and his mistress seem avaricious, Porthos is awful to
pretend to love her, and the mistress is irritatingly oblivious to the fact
that Porthos is using her. Ugh all around. As for Athos’s ‘plan,’ I hardly know
what to say. Does he think money will come walking to him or something? As a
side note, Milady is even more distasteful in my eyes since she is the only
person in this novel who is described as having an actual slave.
My favorite line
was about the servants sharing their masters’ financial-based sorrow:
“Mousqueton collected a store of crusts; Bazin, who had always been inclined to
devotion, never quit the churches; Planchet watched the flight of flies; and
Grimaud, whom the general distress could not induce to break the silence
imposed by his master, heaved sighs enough to soften the stones.” They are adorable.
1 comment:
Awww, the servants really are adorable. If only their masters (employers?) were less awful.
I never thought I would be so glad that Milady is back!! I'm excited for the plot to get moving again!!
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