The Hunt for The Red Cardinal

by Bradley Sinor

  “All right,” Montaigne said slowly. “That’s not good news, but I have become quite accustomed to bad news.” He walked to the door and checked the hallway, seeing no one. “I became acquainted with a merchant in this town some time ago. He owed me a favor, so I have called it in. He has a small warehouse behind his shop that is vacant. He will rent it to us for a small amount for a while.”

  The others looked at each other. He could see questions rolling around in their heads.

  D’Artagnan asked the first one. “Where is it?”

  “On the outskirts of town to the north. It backs up to another vacant warehouse behind a shop on the next street. That part of town is becoming rather seedy, but the merchant swears that we will be safe there.”

  “Do you trust this merchant?” asked Athos.

  “I do. It was a rather large favor I did him, and I told him that this would pay it in full.” He sat back on his bed. “Also, he has a distant cousin who was a retainer to the late king. The cousin was executed by Gaston. He has no love for the new king.”

  D’Artagnan looked at the others. “Take me to see this place. Gerard will go with us while Emile and Georges will stay to be here when the doctor arrives.”

  They heard a knock on the door of the other room. Athos peeked out to see Brother Xavier opening that door to the doctor.

  “He’s here now.”

  They all went to see what the doctor would say.

  “Hm,” he said after uncovering the injured knee. “When did this happen?”

  “It must have happened when he fell. We didn’t know about it because he was unconscious at the time,” D’Artagnan told the doctor. “We just found out when he woke up.”

  “Yes. And how are you feeling today Monsieur, er, Brother, er, Father…?”

  “You may call me, uh, Brother Etienne.”

  The doctor looked at him for a moment, then said, “Very well, Brother Etienne. How are you feeling?”

  “I feel wretched, except for my knee, which feels worse. But I can’t remember anything.”

  “Not even your name?”

  “No. My friends, here, have told me who I am and what has happened to me. When should I get my memory back?”

  “I can’t say. Not much is known about loss of memory yet. We call it amnesia, from the Greek word for forgetfulness. But let me examine your knee,” he went on. “It might be bruised or sprained.” He pressed on different parts of the knee, exacting groans from the patient. “I don’t believe it’s broken, but just a sprain, so I suggest you stay in bed for several days to a week. Maybe more. If you must get up, have these gentlemen assist you. But it’s best to keep the knee elevated. I will check back in several days to see how you’re doing.” He nodded to them all as he left.

  “Well, this could be a problem,” Montaigne said.

  “Yes, it could,” said D’Artagnan. “I’m not sure what we should do.”

  Brother Etienne looked at them and said, “Why? I’ll try not to be a burden; I’ll just lie in bed until my knee heals and we can travel again.”

  “Because,” Montaigne said, “We need to move you away from the inn as soon as possible. I found a safe place for us to stay until you are well enough to travel, but we must be out of here before Gaston’s men, who we were told were coming, get here.”

  “Who are you? You weren’t here when I awoke.”

  “My name is Montaigne, and we have known each other for quite a while now. I have worked for you in the past. Now we need to make plans to relocate.”

  “Are those men looking for me? Shouldn’t we wait for them?”

  “Believe me, they are not friends of yours. King Gaston is your enemy. We think he orchestrated the attack against you, killing Louis by accident. He doesn’t mind that, of course, since that makes him king now.”

  “I seem to remember hearing something about an heir. Would that be King Louis’ child? Wouldn’t he be the new king?”

  “If it was a boy. We don’t know, and Queen Anne has gone into hiding for fear that Gaston would have her and her child, of either gender, killed.”

  “Oh, of course.”

  “Perhaps we should move, regardless. I didn’t like the way the doctor peered at him, as though he was trying to remember where he had seen him before.” D’Artagnan turned to the cardinal. “If he does suspect who you really are, he could send word to the king.”

  “You’re right,” Athos said. “We could sneak him out at night, and then in the morning we could leave separately. How many days did you pay for?” he asked D’Artagnan.

  “Three, to start off with. I said that after that I’d pay on a day-to-day basis,” D’Artagnan said, leading him to the opposite corner of the room. He went on in a soft voice. “But I don’t really like the idea of sneaking him out at night. So much could go wrong. We need to think of a plausible excuse for leaving sooner than expected.”

  “Well, we could just tell the innkeeper the truth, or a variation of it. We could say that you encountered a friend or family member who lives here and offered to put us up for a while,” Athos said.

  “That’s not a bad idea. We shouldn’t have to come up with a name, and if we do, this town is rather large. No one could be expected to know everyone who lives here.” D’Artagnan beckoned Montaigne to join them. “What is the name of your, uh, friend with the warehouse.”

  “François LeBeq. Why?”

  “Because we will use him as a friend who has invited us to stay with his family while we’re here. That will be our excuse to leave early. We won’t use his name if we don’t have to, though.”

  “Think of another name. LeBeq is known by many in this town, possibly including the innkeeper. How about Conard?” Montaigne said.

  “That would be fine. Who is LeBeq, anyway?”

  “He is not what you would call a model citizen. His shop is frequented by low-lifes, scoundrels, and other unsavory characters. My threat to him if he didn’t come through is to report him to the authorities. I will continue to hold that over his head.”

  “Then we will stay another night and leave tomorrow. Right now, take Gerard and me to this warehouse so we will know what we will need to purchase for it.” He turned to the others and said, “Montaigne, Gerard and I will visit this place. We will leave tomorrow morning after breakfast and move to this warehouse until Brother Etienne has recovered.”

  Porthos spoke up then. “As it is midday, we are hungry. And I’m sure that Brother Etienne is hungry as well, as he has not eaten for more than a day. I will go down and see to meals for the rest of us.”

  “Excellent idea,” D’Artagnan told him. “We will find some lunch while we are out.”

  At that, they went on their way.

  Chapter Eighteen

  D’

  Artagnan, Montaigne, and Athos walked through the town, pretending to be aimless visitors to the city out to explore, looking at shops and businesses along the way. Montaigne took them a circuitous route which ended on the street behind their destination. They went around the building which fronted that street and past the warehouse behind it, arriving at the place where they might spend several days, or until the cardinal was able to travel again.

  The warehouse, which was a small square wooden structure, wasn’t locked, although it could be barred from the inside. It had two doors, one at the front and the other in the back, which opened outwards to let carts fit through them.

  “It’s empty,” Athos declared. “And quite dirty. How can we stay in a filthy place with no furnishings?”

  “We can clean it and find what furnishings we need in the marketplace,” D’Artagnan replied. “We should be able to furnish it with everything we need with the money from the sale of the horses.” He looked around, calculating what would need to be purchased. “Pallets for all of us, but a bed and bedding for Brother Etienne. Chairs for us and two or three tables, depending on their size. That’s all we really need, I think. Shall we go shopping?”

  The three of them
left the way they had come, looking for shops that sold second-hand merchandise. They found what they were looking for a couple of blocks away, a spacious building filled with furniture and other items for resale.

  “How may I help you, Monsieurs? Are you seeking something in particular?” the shopkeeper asked. “I am Monsieur Allard.”

  “Seven featherbeds and one bedframe, please, Monsieur,” D’Artagnan told the shopkeeper. “And six wooden chairs and two or three tables, if you have them.”

  “Look around in here,” the shopkeeper said, “while I check in the back.”

  They spread out to cover the space quickly.

  D’Artagnan found a medium-sized table with four chairs right away. Athos called out that he had found another table which was a little smaller than the other and was looking for chairs. Then the shopkeeper came back in.

  “I have five featherbeds in the back. I don’t think I have any more. I do have a bedframe, though.”

  “Will one of the featherbeds fit it?” asked D’Artagnan.

  “Yes, one should. Have you found the other things you’re looking for?”

  “We have two tables and four chairs, but need two more chairs.”

  “I found one,” called Montaigne, carrying it to join the others. Athos had brought his table to the front and was returning with the last of the chairs he had found.

  “We’ll take the beds, tables, and chairs. What are you asking for them?” D’Artagnan said.

  The shopkeeper named his price, which Montaigne thought was too high.

  “I see,” Montaigne said. “How much for just the beds and the frame? We can get the tables and chairs elsewhere, since you don’t have enough beds and we’ll have to go somewhere else anyway. Or we could get everything somewhere else.”

  The shopkeeper, not wanting to lose a sale, reduced the price.

  Montaigne, D’Artagnan, and Athos put their heads together to confer. Seeing this, the shopkeeper reduced the price a bit more.

  The three customers conferred a moment more. “That will be acceptable,” said D’Artagnan. “Gerard, would you stay here while we go back for the cart?”

  “I can deliver it to you,” said the shopkeeper. “It will be only a small extra charge.”

  “No need. We can transport it ourselves.” Then D’Artagnan gave him half the total.

  “I will pay you the rest when we return to collect our purchases.”

  D’Artagnan and Montaigne left while Athos stayed and continued to look around.

  “You must have a large family,” the shopkeeper said to make conversation.

  “No larger than most,” Athos replied.

  “Just moving to town?”

  Athos moved away toward the other side of the shop. He saw a stack of blankets piled on a table. “How much for these blankets?” he called to the shopkeeper.

  Eager to sell more, the shopkeeper called out a small sum. Athos returned to the front, carrying the blankets. “Are they clean?” he asked.

  The shopkeeper hesitated, then said, “Clean enough. There is a laundress down the street where you can get them washed, if you want.”

  Athos pulled the coins from an inside pocket of his vest and paid for them. Then he sat on one of the chairs to wait for the cart.

  D’Artagnan and Montaigne returned to the inn and went back to the stable for the cart and horse. When the stable master asked if they were leaving, he was told, “We agreed to help someone move some items. We’ll bring it back in a while.”

  They set off for the shop and loaded what would fit into the cart. The bedframe broke down into several pieces, so it went in the cart first. Then they placed the featherbeds on top. That filled the cart.

  “We’ll be back for the rest,” D’Artagnan said to Athos. “Will you stay here until then?”

  “Of course. The shopkeeper and I are having a wonderful conversation.”

  On the way to the warehouse Montaigne saw a shop where they could buy a broom to sweep the floor.

  “Let’s buy two,” D’Artagnan said. They did, and soon arrived at the street behind the warehouse. There was just enough room to drive the cart between the buildings.

  First they swept a large area near the door and placed the bedframe and featherbeds in that area. Then they returned to the shop for the tables, chairs and blankets.

  Then the three men went back to the warehouse and began sweeping. They swept the rest of the floor, put the bedframe back together, and stacked the featherbeds and bedding on top of it.

  “Now we need to find two more featherbeds, a chair and, whatever else we think of that we’ll need,” said D’Artagnan.

  They took another direction going back. When they stopped for some lunch, Montaigne asked the serving girl, “Do you know of any second-hand furniture shops near here?”

  “Yes, sir,” she said. “Two streets south and a block west there is a shop that has a lot of household goods, as-well-as furniture. You might try there.”

  “My thanks. We will go there right away.”

  “After you eat.”

  “Yes, after we eat.”

  Their meals were brought to them right away.

  “This is quite good,” Athos commented. “It would be nice to be able to linger a while, but I know we have much to do.” They finished quickly and left to find the shop suggested to them.

  The shop they were directed to did have everything they needed. They found the two beds and a chair, which they loaded and took back to the warehouse. They also bought a supply of candles and holders, two of them lanterns, so they would have light after the sun set. Also during the day, since the warehouse had no windows and was very dim.

  After everything was set out and ready for the rest to get there, D’Artagnan, Montaigne, and Athos went back to the inn to check on the others.

  Brother Etienne was about the same. Porthos and Aramis had been filling him in on things that had happened to them along the way.

  “Really?” he said. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I’m sure many are after me, now that Louis is dead. I was his most trusted advisor, after all. Or so you tell me. I just wish I could get my memory back.” His voice seemed to be getting stronger.

  “I’m sure that will happen soon,” said Aramis. “We’ll continue to pray that it will.”

  “Indeed,” said D’Artagnan as he and the others entered the room. “We have a place to stay, such as it is. And we have furnished it, sparingly, but adequately.”

  “Where is it?” asked Brother Etienne, “the house of a friend of one of you?”

  “It’s a place where you will be safe,” D’Artagnan told him. “We’ll take you there tomorrow. It’s not what you’re used to in your residence, but it will have to do until we can resume our journey.”

  “It’s just about time for dinner,” said Porthos. “Why don’t we order our meals? I will stay up here with the monks, if the rest of you want to eat downstairs.”

  “I will stay, as well,” Brother Xavier said. “I don’t like to leave the cardinal.”

  “I know. I was including you,” Porthos told him.

  “Very well. Georges, why don’t you come down with us and you can bring the plates back up with you,” D’Artagnan suggested.

  After they had placed the orders, they sat at a table in an isolated area of the common room. No one was sitting close by, so they felt it safe to discuss matters.

  “What will we do if the, er, Brother Etienne isn’t able to travel for weeks?” Athos asked. “Will our funds last?”

  “If we use them sparingly,” D’Artagnan said. “Fortunately, we are not that far from our destination, so when we leave, the remaining journey will be short.”

  Just then a man came wandering toward them. They had stopped talking about anything they didn’t want anyone to overhear, but they stopped their conversation until the man had passed their table, watching him as he made his way across the room.

  “But we will all be together in the warehouse with nothing t
o do,” Athos continued.

  “Don’t worry,” Montaigne said with an evil grin. “There will be enough to keep us busy. I have brought some cards.”

  The meals arrived just as Montaigne finished speaking, and they turned their attention to the food, Porthos and Montaigne taking plates upstairs for Brother Xavier and Brother Etienne.

  The patient was asleep and Brother Xavier and Porthos were talking softly when the others returned.

  “How are we going to transport our patient without causing him great pain?” Brother Xavier asked.

  “It would be best if he were asleep. Perhaps a sleeping draught?” suggested Athos. “We should ask if there is an apothecary nearby.”

  “A good idea,” D’Artagnan said. “I’ll go back down and ask the innkeeper.”

  D’Artagnan returned quickly, saying, “There is an apothecary not far from here. I’ll go over now to see if I can buy a sleeping draught. Gerard, would you like to come with me?”

  “Of course,” Athos replied, and they left.

  “Is the sleeping draught for me?” asked Brother Etienne. “I really haven’t had trouble sleeping.”

  “It’s for tomorrow, when we leave. We don’t want you to be in pain when we carry you to the cart and then into the place where we’ll be staying. The draught is for that,” Aramis told him.

  “Oh, of course. How kind of you. But if I take it tonight, will it keep me sleeping through the morning when we leave?”

  “Well, we could wake you up in the middle of the night to give it to you,” Aramis replied. “That should keep you asleep until you wake up in your new bed.”

  Before too long, D’Artagnan and Athos returned with a small bottle of liquid.

  “The apothecary said it should work for eight to ten hours. We’ll give it to you a little after midnight. That should be long enough to keep you sleeping until we get there,” D’Artagnan told Brother Etienne. “Perhaps we should all retire for the night, or until our turn to stand guard.”

  “Agreed,” Athos said. “I’ll stand first, since I’m wide awake right now. Who will stand second?”

  “I will,” said Montaigne. “And I’ll wake Brother Etienne to take the draught. That should be soon after midnight.”