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Alexandre Dumas
D'Artagnan comes down through the alley door and tells Constance she has a bad sort of husband. He has heard the quarrel, and he once heard Bonacieux with the cardinal's police. He offers himself for London. She knows none of the three Musketeers. She trusts Monsieur de Tréville by the queen's praise, yet will not take him a secret that is not hers. She yields because she must risk everything. They swear: if he is taken he will die before he names anyone. She tells him the rest he half learned at the Samaritaine, reminds him he needs leave, and gives him the cardinal's bag from the cupboard. He laughs that they will save the queen with that silver.
Bonacieux's voice sounds in the street. They slip upstairs and barricade the door. Through the shutter they see the mercer with the man of Meung. D'Artagnan starts to draw. She forbids any peril that is not the journey, first in the queen's name, then in her own. Below, the cloaked agent says Bonacieux was a fool not to pretend to take the mission: he could have the letter and letters of nobility. Sure his wife adores him, the mercer will go to the Louvre, take the paper, and run to Richelieu. Then he finds the bag gone and howls thieves. D'Artagnan leaves in a cloak over a long sword. Constance watches him turn the corner and asks God to protect the queen and protect her.
Once someone else's honour sits in your pocket, your old fight is no longer yours to pick. When D'Artagnan sees the man of Meung in the street and starts for the door, Constance tells him his life is devoted from this moment and forbids any peril that is not the journey.
When you take a charge, write down which old scores you will not settle until the packet is delivered.
D'Artagnan goes straight to Monsieur de Tréville. In a few minutes the cloaked agent will warn the cardinal. The chance offers glory, money, and closeness with the woman he loves, more than he would have dared ask of Providence.
What this chapter proves — the pattern beneath the scene
In this chapter, the lesson is Loyalty When It Costs — Breakfast on a Bastion.
The card below names the pattern this chapter proves — carry it with you into Dumas's yard at Meung, the noon fight, the diamond road, the bastion breakfast, and the trial on the Lys.
Loyalty When It Costs
D'Artagnan comes down the alley door and offers himself for the diamond run. Constance knows none of the three Musketeers. She trusts Monsieur de Tréville because the queen does. The boy wants to be the whole rescue. She wants a chain that can survive him.
Key Insight
Loyalty is not the same as being the only hand. Sometimes the cost is accepting that the person you love trusts a captain more than your heat.
Chapter 18
Ah, Madame,” said D’Artagnan, entering by the door which the young woman opened for him, “allow me to tell you that you have a bad sort of a husband.” “You have, then, overheard our conversation?” asked Mme. Bonacieux, eagerly, and looking at D’Artagnan with disquiet. “The whole.” “But how, my God?” “By a mode of proceeding known to myself, and by which I likewise overheard the more animated conversation which he had with the cardinal’s police.” “And what did you understand by what we said?” “A thousand things. In the first place, that, unfortunately, your husband is a simpleton and…
Public-domain chapter text, formatted for reading.
Draw two columns. In the first, list what D'Artagnan wants to do when he sees the man of Meung. In the second, list every reason Constance gives him to stop, in the queen's name and in her own. Write one sentence naming which column would have kept the letter moving.
Which old argument would you have to leave standing in the street if someone handed you a packet tonight?
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Other theme-by-theme analyses from this book.
The Cassock He Asked For
Follow the Gascon who wants a cassock and is offered a commission.
The First Fight Was Not the One You Planned
Watch whom you stand beside when the first fight is not the one you planned.
A Trial Honour Will Not Name
Sit the trial on the Lys and ask what honour will not name.
Every Smile Hides a Warrant
Hear the court before you trust a smile or a warrant.
A Blank the Cardinal Already Signed
See what it costs to please a king and a cardinal at once.
Deep diving the literary elements.
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