8 The Queen’s Diamonds

CHAPTER 8 The Queen's Diamonds D'Artagnan and Planchet arrived in London and hurried to see the Duke of Buckingham. The Duke was impressed that D'Artagnan, who looked so young, had made it all the way to London with someone as powerful as the Cardinal trying to stop him. When he read the Queen's letter, he cried out, "You must come with me at once!" "The Queen gave these to me," the Duke said, removing the diamonds from the jewelry box. "Now she needs them back. So

be it." The Duke took a closer look at the diamonds. "Wait! Two are missing. See here, they have been cut away." "Who could have done that?" D'Artagnan asked. "I only wore these once," the Duke said. "It was at a party where a woman named Lady Clarik stood beside me for a long time. She must be one of the Cardinal's spies." The Duke called for a jeweler and ordered him to make replacements for the lost diamonds. By the time the diamonds were complete, there was only one day left before the King's party. "How will I get back in time?" D'Artagnan asked. "The Cardinal will be watching every ship, and it will take too long to go by land." "You will go by land," the Duke said. "I have arranged for you to have a fresh horse at

every stop along the way. My men will take care of you." D'Artagnan thanked the Duke and left for Paris. As the Duke had promised, a fresh horse was waiting whenever D'Artagnan stopped. Traveling this way, D'Artagnan rode nonstop and arrived in Paris on the day of the party. Everyone was talking about the event. The King and the Cardinal were excited, each for their own reasons. Both men wanted to see if the Queen would be wearing the diamonds. The King was worried that his suspicions about the Queen's betrayal were correct. The Cardinal hoped to expose her secret and embarrass the King. Just before she arrived, the Cardinal showed the King two diamonds. "These come from the set you gave her," the Cardinal said. "If she is wearing the diamonds when you see her, please ask her

how these two could have been stolen." When the Queen entered the room, the King and the Cardinal made their way through the crowd to inspect her clothes. She was wearing the diamonds on her shoulder. "Thank you for wearing my gift," the King said, looking at the diamonds. "But I believe two of them are missing. The Cardinal is waiting to return them to you." "What's this?" the Queen said, pretending to be surprised. "Are you giving me two more? Mine are all here, as you can see." The King looked closely. "So they are," he said, and looked at the Cardinal. "What does this mean, then?" The Cardinal looked embarrassed. "It means that I wanted to give the Queen these diamonds myself," he said, stuttering. "Only I was too shy, so I made up this story." The Queen smiled and thanked both men.

The King appeared to be quite happy, but the Cardinal was red with anger. D'Artagnan watched everything from the side of the room. Suddenly Madame Bonacieux touched him on the shoulder. She led him through the palace to a small room with a curtain, where she told him to wait. A few minutes later, several people entered the room on the other side of the curtain. From her voice, D'Artagnan recognized the Queen. She reached through the curtain and D'Artagnan touched her hand. As soon as he did, she dropped a large and valuable ring in his palm. D'Artagnan put the ring on his finger and then hurried home. When he arrived, Planchet told him that a letter had come from Madame Bonacieux—a short note asking him to meet her the next night. D'Artagnan's heart filled with love and he read the note many times. She had signed it.

Finally D'Artagnan knew her first name: Constance. The next morning, Monsieur de Tréville told D'Artagnan that the King was in a good mood. The Cardinal, on the other hand, was not. "Obviously your return has something to do with this," said Monsieur de Tréville. "You will have to be very cautious now. The Cardinal will seek revenge. He is not a man to play tricks on." "Do you think he suspects that I went to London?" D'Artagnan asked. "Is that where you found the enormous ring you're wearing?" asked Monsieur de Tréville. "This was a gift from the Queen," D'Artagnan said. "She gave it to me in secret last night." "Oh my," Monsieur de Tréville said, looking worried. "You must sell that ring as soon as you can."