Ten Years Later Chapter 19 - Sword-Thrusts in the Water

Ten Years Later Chapter 21 - Baisemeaux de Montlezun

In which Athos and D’Artagnan contemplate the brewing enmity between Raoul and De Wardes, while Athos wrestles with his weary disillusionment toward courtly life and resolves to return to Blois; meanwhile, D’Artagnan encounters the troubled Governor Baisemeaux de Montlezun, who confides his desperate financial plight involving debts secured by the mysterious Aramis. Between moonlit strolls and guarded confidences, the threads of loyalty, honour, and hardship subtly intertwine under the bustling yet deceptive social mask of Paris.

Ten Years Later Chapter 20 - Sword-Thrusts in the Water (concluded)

In which a long-held grievance is confronted with candidness and honour in the presence of discerning witnesses, exploring the fraught complexities of past youthful indiscretions and their lingering shadows. Amidst delicate revelations and firm appeals to conscience, a proposal for duel and reckoning is set to unfold in the uncertain hours upon the tide-washed sands.

Ten Years Later Chapter 19 - Sword-Thrusts in the Water

In which the tangled passions of courtly love kindle a dangerous challenge between noble rivals, and Raoul navigates the delicate intrigues of friendship and honour among figures of high rank. The tension rises within the glittering galleries of the Palais Royal, as alliances shift and a summons to parley draws the principal actors toward an uncertain resolution.

Ten Years Later Chapter 17 - Forever!

In which the Duke of Buckingham receives the queen-mother Anne of Austria with a mixture of tender respect and melancholy, as they reflect upon the contrasts between England and France and the pull of past memories. Their delicate conversation unfolds with gentle urgency and restrained emotion, culminating in a poignant farewell that leaves both touched by the weight of unspoken affections.

Ten Years Later Chapter 18 - King Louis XIV. does not think Mademoiselle de la Valliere either rich enough or pretty enough

In which the Comte de la Fère seeks the approval of King Louis XIV for the marriage of the young Vicomte de Bragelonne to Mademoiselle de la Vallière, encountering the king’s reservations about the match’s beauty, fortune, and timing. Meanwhile, Raoul finds himself drawn into urgent affairs signalled by both the Comte de Guiche and the Duke of Buckingham, hinting at the delicate interplay of duty and desire at the royal court.