Chapter 60: In France

Summary

     The king of England decides to try and conceal the news of the duke’s death from reaching his soldiers, because they would lose their morale. Meanwhile, back at the French camp, the king is getting bored. The cardinal is tired and allows him to go to the festival of St. Louis at St. Germain. M. de Treville accompanies him, and takes the Fearsome Four along to help guard the king. The four are more eager than usual to go to Paris, because they heard word from Aramis’s cousin in a coded letter that said that Madame Bonacieux is ready to be released. After they reach St. Germain, M. de Treville settles the king down, and the Fearsome Four have some free time on their hands. They decide to pool their money together, get horses, and fetch Madame Bonacieux from the convent. As they discuss their plans, d’Artagnan suddenly lets out a cry, drops his wine glass, and runs out of the tavern they are in. The others follow him. They have seen the letter-thief! The man unfortunately gets away, but he drops a letter on which the location he is going to is written – it is Armentieres. They decide not to give chase, and set off at full speed to the convent. They plan to visit Armentieres later and seek the ‘mysterious’ man.

Reaction

     I feel like the Fearsome Four have way too much free time. M. de Treville really is an indulgent mentor! Also, I love how the king acts like a spoiled little child, and the cardinal is like his exasperated mom. Hmm, I’m a bit confused about why d’Artagnan is so hung up on the letter-thief, or, as we know him, the Comte de Rochefort. I mean, we readers already know who he is, and he isn’t a very big deal – just one of the cardinal's many men. D’Artagnan needs to take a deep breath, stay on his guard, and go find Madame Bonacieux. My favorite line is: “"That cursed man, my evil genius, whom I have always met with when threatened by some misfortune, he who accompanied that horrible woman when I met her for the first time, he whom I was seeking when I offended our Athos, he whom I saw on the very morning Madame Bonacieux was abducted. I have seen him; that is he! I recognized him when the wind blew upon his cloak.” Calm down d’Artagnan, won’t you?

Chapter 59: What Took Place at Portsmouth August 23, 1628

Summary

     Wow, I read this chapter on the 384^th anniversary of the titular event! And wow, is this event intense. This chapter gave me many feelings, plenty of which were unwanted. You shall soon see what this mysterious event is. Or, maybe not so mysterious. Because Felton is walking towards Buckingham’s quarters with a purpose. He carries the paper that Buckingham must sign in order to sentence Milady to prison/exile in Tyburn. He is feeling jubilant and vengeful. Mr. Felton soon arrives at Portsmouth, looking crazy with passion and heat. Meanwhile, the duke has just finished a splendid bath. Felton is admitted to the quarters due to his note. Just as he arrives outside the duke’s chamber, so does another messenger, who is also dusty and frantic. Patrick, the duke’s valet, decides to let Felton in to talk to the duke first, since Felton named Lord de Winter, and the other messenger refused to name anyone. Felton thus ends up in the Duke of Buckingham’s chamber. The duke, fresh out of the bath, is carefully grooming himself, while lounging in a lavish gold-embroidered robe. He then proceeds to change out of this robe, and into a blue velvet shirt, which is set with pearls. Geez, I just can’t with this man. The duke is so sheltered and powerful, it’s like he’s living in his own world.  It’s simultaneously frustrating and amusing how spoiled he is.

     Felton, dirty and red in the face, provides a nice contrast to the immaculate and richly dressed duke. He then politely hands the duke the order to send away ‘Charlotte Brackson’ (the fake name that Lord de Winter used for Milady). The duke looks at it, and calmly sits down to sign it. Felton, incredulous, asks him if he realizes that ‘Charlotte Backson’ is Milady. The duke coolly replies in the affirmative. Poor, foolish Felton, drunk with love, demands that the duke not sign it. Buckingham, taken aback, says that Milady certainly deserves to be exiled to Tyburn, and he will certainly sign the paper. Felton then orders him to stop. The duke, naturally, refuses, but then lunges for his sword when he sees Felton throw himself forward with a knife. He had kept the knife that Milady used to ‘stab’ herself! Patrick comes in at that moment with a letter from France (that’s what the other messenger had!). As soon as he hears the word ‘France,’ Buckingham’s mind jumps to Queen Anne. To my horror, Felton takes advantage of this distraction and plunges his knife up to the hilt into the duke. Crying out, the duke sinks down. Patrick screams for help. Felton makes a wild dash for the exit, but runs into Lord de Winter, who is entering the chamber at that moment. When he sees Felton’s expression and the blood on his hands, he seizes him viciously, yelling that he had suspected that Felton would be a traitor. At Patrick’s scream, the French messenger rushes into the chamber. It is Laporte! He is the queen’s valet, in case you forgot.  The duke recognizes him and begs him to read the message from the queen, before he dies. However, the duke suddenly is still. Lord de Winter and other friends also have entered the chamber, and the sad news has already spread halfway around the city – everywhere, people are crying. A cannon sounds to announce his death.

     But wait! The duke is still alive! He wakes up, annoyed at Laporte for not reading the letter. Lord de Winter, wracked with guilt, says that he will never console himself for what Felton has done. The duke says that he is not to blame. Lord de Winter bursts into tears, devastated at this turn of events. Laporte eventually reads the letter aloud. Sadly, it is a dry message asking the duke to end the war between France and England. Laporte passes on two more important messages – Queen Anne warns him to stay safe (alas! Too late!) and also tells him that she loves him. The duke then sighs with joy, and says that now he can die happy. Laporte breaks at that, and begins to sob. The Duke of Buckingham asks Laporte to give the queen the casket that he had kept and her letters to him. The duke’s eyes are growing unfocused. The duke convulses, and tries to smile, but death freezes that last expression on his face. Patrick calls out, and the whole chamber is plunged into grief.

     A surgeon arrives, too late, and affirms his death. Lord de Winter rushes toward Felton in blind rage, and demands to know why he has done this terrible deed. Felton, the misguided fool, covers for Milady by claiming that he killed the duke because Buckingham failed to promote him or bestow any favors. Lord de Winter is stunned. One thing, however, gives Felton away. At every noise he hears, at every movement he sees, he imagines Milady running to save him, to explain why he did this deed. But Milady does not come. He suddenly turns pale. Out on the waters, he sees a ship sailing away. It is Milady’s! Deathly white, he puts a hand to his breaking heart. Trembling, he asks Lord de Winter what the time is. De Winter realizes what is going on, and tells him that it is but ten minutes to nine. Milady departed as soon as she heard the canon, leaving Felton behind. Felton at once perceives the treachery, but does not speak. He says to himself “God has willed it!” but he is unable to tear his eyes from the departing ship. Lord de Winter follows his gaze, and guesses all. He tells Felton that he will be isolated in his cell – no more helping Milady. Lord de Winter swears that he will get his revenge on her. Felton lowers his head, defeated and speechless. Irons are clapped around his wrist, and he is dragged away by prison guards, as his love-struck eyes still seek the white outline of the sail.

Reaction

     I feel sick. I truly do. Dumas, you just blew me away. My summary honestly does not do justice to the genius writing present in this chapter. My heart is bleeding for the duke and Felton, and I don’t even like either of them that much. I hope Milady falls overboard on the way to France, and has to swim all the way back and gets into trouble with the cardinal and then Planchet defeats her and then she is sent to Tyburn to rot. I cannot believe this woman. Don’t get me wrong – Milady’s ‘seduction’ or whatever is absolutely not to blame for Felton’s actions. He chose to murder someone; Milady did not force him to. In fact, she did not even ask him to! However, my heart is breaking. How dare she orchestrate murder? Actually, how dare the cardinal order such a thing?! Felton’s life is ruined. The duke is DEAD. Lord de Winter lost a friend; Queen Anne lost her love; and we all lost the generous, passionate, well-intentioned duke. And the end! Oh, the end. I have so many feelings. Milady couldn’t even wait another hour to make Felton’s ‘sacrifice’ worth it! What a tragic, tragic scene.

     It was very difficult choosing a favorite line from this chapter, but since I must, my favorite is the duke’s demise: “Felton took advantage of this moment, and plunged the knife into his side up to the handle. ‘Ah, traitor,’ cried Buckingham, ‘you have killed me!’ ‘Murder!’ screamed Patrick. Felton cast his eyes round for means of escape, and seeing the door free, he rushed into the next chamber, in which, as we have said, the deputies from La Rochelle were waiting, crossed it as quickly as possible, and rushed toward the staircase; but upon the first step he met Lord de Winter, who, seeing him pale, confused, livid, and stained with blood both on his hands and face, seized him by the throat, crying, ‘I knew it! I guessed it! But too late by a minute, unfortunate, unfortunate that I am!’” This part is so terrifying and appalling – I almost jumped out of my chair when the duke was stabbed.

Chapter 58: Escape

Summary

     Luckily for her, Milady’s wound is not serious. She rests all night, with the hope that Felton would arrive by breakfast time. To her horror, he does not. Instead, Lord de Winter pays her a visit in the evening. He seems quite happy with himself. He says that he has sent Felton away because he noticed that the poor Puritan had been getting corrupted by Milady. Unsurprisingly, Milady is distraught. Her beautiful plans are ruined! The wind screams around her prison, and she howls in rage and frustration along with it. However, after a while, she hears a tapping on her window. It is Felton! He snuck back to break her out. She is ecstatic! Felton files through the bars on her window while Milady pretends to sleep for an agonized hour. Then, he gallantly carries her down. They just manage to escape being noticed by a patrol. Then, Felton takes Milady to a small vessel that he has hired. The captain will not be paid all of his fare until Milady is safely taken to France. Milady is still upset about failing her mission, and blurts out that she wishes the Duke of Buckingham would not sail either. Felton stares at her, and then says that the duke will not sail. Milady realizes that Felton wants to kill the duke, and is overwhelmed by weird, evil, affection for Felton. She praises him, and cries out that if he dies, she will die with him. It’s nice to see her being kind to Felton, but she seems so frightening in this scene! I’m not sure why, but she really does scare me with her coldhearted intentions here. She agrees to wait till 10:00 for him, and then sail if he does not arrive. The vessel takes Milady to a safe bay, where it will wait until 10:00. Felton leaves to complete his mission and find the duke.

Reaction

     Wow! Intense. Dumas wrote this chapter very well – I began to lose my admiration for Milady, and start to be a little scared of her again. She seems so genuinely heartless over here. She is ruining Felton’s life. Now he is going to try to kill the duke, for an imagined crime! I really hope he fails and escapes, and forgets about Milady. She is dangerous.

     My favorite quote is from the ship’s captain, who randomly exclaims “Safe and sound, as true as my name's Jack Butler” which is so weird, because that was in the middle of an important moment between Milady and Felton! But I really think that Dumas has a talent for the minor characters. They just leap off the page and have so much personality, I love it. 

Chapter 57: Means for a Classical Tragedy

Summary

     Milady continues her tale of woe. And guess what? She is a genius – she says that the man branded her with the fleur-de-lis so that she wouldn’t tell anyone what he did to her! Felton begs her pardon for being her guard, and falls at her feet, dazed with love. Oh lord – do none of these men have impulse control? Milady furthers his emotional torture by claiming that the man who kidnapped her was Buckingham! Puritans hate Buckingham, so this works for Felton. Then, she tells the first truthful bit of the whole story, saying that someone wrote to Lord de Winter to tell him about her branded shoulder. Felton says that he loves her and will help her escape and retain her honor. They even kiss. Wow, what a traitor! Hilariously, Lord de Winter then visits. He misses the kiss, but he sees them talking. Milady realizes that all is lost unless she does something drastic, so she stabs herself with the knife. She is a smart woman, so she aims it at her corset, so that her life is saved. She is bleeding though, and Lord de Winter fetches a physician.

Reaction

     Milady is a master of manipulation. I felt sad at seeing the noble Felton reduced to a pathetic puppet. Milady will stop at nothing. My favorite line was the final stages of Milady’s plan clicking into place: “‘Pardon! Pardon!’ cried Felton, ‘oh, pardon!’ Milady read in his eyes LOVE! LOVE!” I really like Dumas’s style sometimes.

  

Chapter 56: Captivity: The Fifth Day

Summary

     That evening, Lord de Winter pays his customary visit. He hardly speaks; just checks the doors and windows to make sure Milady cannot escape, and then leaves. At midnight, Mr. Felton shows up, making an excuse to the sentinel, claiming that he has received orders to be on suicide watch for Milady. The sentinel believes him, and Felton enters Milady’s chamber. Milady cannot help but feel gleeful that this clean Puritan man just lied for her. Once inside, he reluctantly hands her a knife, as he had promised to do. She examines it, thanks him, and sets it on her table. Then, she begins a remarkably well-crafted tale of woe. 

Since Milady speaks as if the story is true, I will recap it in the same manner, despite its obvious falseness:

Milady’s Fake Tale of Woe

      As a young woman, Milady was kidnapped by a man who had been pursuing her. He drugged her by putting a narcotic in her water glass, and raped her in her stupor. Then, the next day, she found herself in a small chamber, imprisoned. He wanted her to stay until she submitted to be his mistress. The next day, a tray of food was served to Milady. She ate little, trying to avoid liquids that could be drugged. Instead of drinking the water on the tray, she drank water out of a little fountain in the chamber. Her tormentor must have been watching her, because for the next meal he drugged the entire fountain. She only drank a bit of water, since she noticed its odd taste, but it was enough to put her into a swoon and have the man rape her again. Felton is horrified by this recital, and highly indignant on her behalf. The next day, Milady used a breadknife to try and stab her capturer. However, he was wearing a suit of chainmail, and was saved. The man said that he would return the next evening. He said that he would not release her until she promised not to tell anyone what he had done.

Reaction

     Milady’s story is remarkably well-thought-out. I suppose she spent all evening thinking it up? It is very manipulative, and it is actually offensive how she uses a fake rape story as a way to get sympathy. I feel sorry for Mr. Felton. He seems like a gallant man. My usual admiration for Milady’s intelligence isn’t as strong in this chapter since she uses it for such awfully scheming tricks, but I do understand that she wants to be free and is doing all she can to escape. My favorite line was Milady’s hysterics in her story – at least her odd way of expressing rage is true to life! In her story, she narrates: “‘Till tomorrow evening, then!’ replied I, allowing myself to fall, and biting the carpet with rage.” Okay Milady, you do that.  

Chapter 55: Captivity: The Fourth Day

Summary

     The next morning, when Mr. Felton walks in, Milady is on a chair with a rope in her hands, reaching for a hook. These suggestions of suicide and Milady’s religious earnestness and acting skills make Mr. Felton finally willing to listen to her ‘story’ of why she has been captured. He says that he will come again after midnight to hear her tale of woe.

Reaction

     Go Milady! I am impressed by her manipulation and acting skills. Poor Mr. Felton. Being a nice man, he never stood a chance.  My favorite line is Milady’s incredulous triumph when Mr. Felton leaves and promises to come back after midnight: “‘My God,’ said she, ‘what a senseless fanatic! My God, it is I--I--and this fellow who will help me to avenge myself.’” Indeed, Milady! Poor Mr. Felton is not quite wary enough to escape her clutches. 

Chapter 54: Captivity: The Third Day

Summary

     Milady knows that Mr. Felton has feelings for her, but she must translate that into a willingness to help her. So, she tries to make him hold conversations with her. He enters the room when she is praying, and they start to talk. She keeps implying that he knows Lord de Winter’s ‘ghastly plans.’ He denies this strenuously, and is curious as to what plans Lord de Winter has for her that are worse than death. She then pretends to be suicidal, begging him to leave her with a knife. Mr. Felton leaves, since Lord de Winter walks past the door. Milady only hopes that Mr. Felton does not tell Lord de Winter about her ‘suicidal’ urges, because she knows that he will call her bluff and hand her a knife gladly. Lord de Winter walks into the room, with an order written up for Milady’s execution. His visit’s purpose is to kindly inform her that now she will be taken to Tyburn, a notorious prison, in four days under a false name. The Duke of Buckingham will sign the notice. Milady is slightly nervous, but hopes the four days are enough to completely win over Mr. Felton. After her brother-in-law leaves, Milady sings a religious song again. She thinks she sees Mr. Felton watching through a grating, but she is not sure.

Reaction

     Milady’s plan to get Mr. Felton on her side is going swimmingly. I am actually horrified that a guard would allow himself to get corrupted so easily, but Milady is a terrific actress and is very convincing. My favorite line is: “The door opened gently; the beautiful supplicant pretended not to hear the noise, and in a voice broken by tears, she continued: ‘God of vengeance! God of goodness! wilt thou allow the frightful projects of this man to be accomplished?’ Then only she pretended to hear the sound of Felton's steps, and rising quick as thought, she blushed, as if ashamed of being surprised on her knees.” Knowing Milady, this is laughable, but I see how Felton’s religious nature would cause him to be sympathetic.