“Oh, I remember,” said d’Artagnan. “Well, I will go to England a second time; I will go and find Buckingham.”
“You shall not do that, d’Artagnan,” said Athos, coolly.
“And why not? Have I not been there once?”
“Yes; but at that period we were not at war. At that period Buckingham was an ally, and not an enemy. What you would now do amounts to treason.”
D’Artagnan perceived the force of this reasoning, and was silent.
“But,” said Porthos, “I think I have an idea, in my turn.”
“Silence for M. Porthos’s idea!” said Aramis.
“I will ask leave of absence of M. de Tréville, on some pretext or other which you must invent; I am not very clever at pretexts. Milady does not know me; I will get access to her without her suspecting me, and when I catch my beauty, I will strangle her.”
“Well,” replied Athos, “I am not far from approving the idea of M. Porthos.”
“For shame!” said Aramis. “Kill a woman? No, listen to me; I have the true idea.”
“Let us see your idea, Aramis,” said Athos, who felt much deference for the young musketeer.
“We must inform the queen.”
“Ah, my faith, yes!” said Porthos and d’Artagnan, at the same time; “we are coming nearer to it now.”