“Say what to the king?”
“That he fortified Belle-Isle on his majesty’s account, and that he had made him a present of Belle Isle.”
“And you heard M. Fouquet say that to the king?”
“In those very words. He even added: ‘Belle-Isle has been fortified by an engineer, one of my friends, a man of a great deal of merit, whom I shall ask your majesty’s permission to present to you.’
“‘What is his name?’ said the king.
“‘The Baron du Vallon,’ M. Fouquet replied.
“‘Very well,’ returned his majesty, ‘you will present him to me.’”
“The king said that?”
“Upon the word of a D’Artagnan!”
“Oh, oh!” said Porthos. “Why have I not been presented, then?”