“He! he is quite a child!”
“And ’tis a child he loves.”
Athos became thoughtful.
“You are right, duchess. This singular passion for a child of seven may some day make him very unhappy. There is to be war in Flanders. He shall go thither.”
“And at his return you will send him to me. I will arm him against love.”
“Alas, madame!” exclaimed Athos, “to-day love is like war—the breastplate is becoming useless.”
Raoul entered at this moment; he came to announce that the solemn entrance of the king, queen, and her ministers was to take place on the ensuing day.
The next day, in fact, at daybreak, the court made preparations to quit Saint Germain.
Meanwhile, the queen every hour had been sending for D’Artagnan.
“I hear,” she said, “that Paris is not quiet. I am afraid for the king’s safety; place yourself close to the coach door on the right.”