Comment on A Cabal of Paris

  1. Deiseach (Guest) on Chapter 4 Mon 31 Dec 2018 06:19PM UTC

    By the end of this chapter, I was beginning to feel Athos should have shot Descartes anyway.

    I was very glad to get it all via Porthos' point of view, though this part made me worry:

    The drink had gone lukewarm, which must be why it left a bitter taste on Porthos’ tongue.

    The bitter taste made me suspect this had been poisoned for Aramis, but since Porthos seems to be okay, I can forget about that (can I?)

    Descartes is a lot less "oh goodness me I had no idea I was entangled in politics" after all, and whatever scheme he is involved in, they're well out of it. If they are out of it, trying to be helpful seems to have gotten them into a deeper hole than first suspected.

    As always, Athos' fine sense of honour extends not alone to himself, but to Aramis and Porthos! Offering money to recompense gentlemen for a favour really is bordering on an insult and Athos was being very gracious as well as pragmatic there, and then turning them into messenger boys to deliver the letter - as well as having lied to them about corresponding with Madame de Chevreuse - was the kind of insult that gets you skewered, lucky for him that Athos was being sensible for once.

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    1. Deiseach (Guest) on Chapter 4 Mon 31 Dec 2018 06:32PM UTC

      Hmmm - it occurs to me that these are indeed deeper waters than at first glance.

      Suppose Chevreuse intended for the whole mistake with the letter, in order to entrap Aramis into helping her cabal; from what we've seen so far, it seems Aramis does not approve of this particular conspiracy with or about the Spanish, and that his feelings for her aren't enough to get him on her side and get involved. So she knows he's very likely to head to that particular shop expecting a letter because she's set it up that way; she leaves the decoy letter addressed to "R.D.", expects that Aramis will read it, and then expects that he will work out that "R.D." means Descartes, not him.

      This will bring him and his inseparable companions to Descartes, who is primed to play the part of "I had no idea anything fishy was going on, I can't say anything more for the sake of the lady, please help me or else I'm dead". Again, that is hoped to get Aramis/Athos offering him help - whether for her sake, or whether that as gentlemen they can't refuse an appeal for help. This brings them in Descartes' company to Brussels - if the mysterious trackers after Descartes really exist (and if it's a real plot they probably do) then if they catch up with them, that irretriveably entangles Aramis etc. on Chevreuse's side, since now he's been marked as involved on the plot on her side whatever he may say, and he will have no choice but to go on through if he wants to survive.

      If they don't encounter the Inseperables and Descartes, never mind - as Porthos remarks, everything seems to be all planned out very thoroughly for what is supposed to be a surprise visit to a friend asking for help. So it does look like this is all part of a pre-arranged plan, and Plan B comes into effect - get them to deliver the letter back to Chevreuse. Now they know this is political and that Descartes is involved despite all he's said, the idea - I imagine - is that either out of self-preservation (because they have been enticed to help someone on the pro-Spanish side and if this gets out all their protests of innocence will avail nothing) or because they have already agreed to help Descartes means that they - Aramis alone or all of them - are now in on the plot and on her side. If he turns up back in Paris with the letter for her, it's a fait accompli and she can present him with the stark choice: help me out, or try explaining to the Cardinal that you're not involved.

      She/they did not count on Aramis taking this so personally and being so enraged over what is to him personal betrayal and infidelity, or that Athos would be intervening to calm Aramis down and refuse to get involved. Athos is about the only person who could make Aramis do what he says, whether Aramis is angry or cold, and she/they didn't seem to know that or reckon Athos would refuse point-blank to meddle any further.

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      1. Donna_Immaculata on Chapter 4 Mon 31 Dec 2018 06:56PM UTC

        Ooh, this is an excellent point! You thought it out in much more detail than I did.

        If he turns up back in Paris with the letter for her, it's a fait accompli and she can present him with the stark choice: help me out, or try explaining to the Cardinal that you're not involved.

        This sounds like something the wily nymph might do.

        Athos is about the only person who could make Aramis do what he says, whether Aramis is angry or cold, and she/they didn't seem to know that or reckon Athos would refuse point-blank to meddle any further.

        Yes, Athos is truly the voice of reason, and we know he's the only one to whom Aramis is willing to listen. Marie won't be happy when she realises that her influence over Aramis is waning and that he follows the advice and guidance of his dear old friend...

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        1. Deiseach (Guest) on Chapter 4 Mon 31 Dec 2018 07:02PM UTC

          Well, it's all due to being in Porthos' point of view, and when even guileless, open Porthos thinks "this is a bit convenient how everything has been arranged to deal with us once we turn up with Descartes supposedly out of the blue", then it got me thinking that maybe the "misplaced" letter wasn't so misplaced after all.

          Using Porthos is a stroke of genius because you expect Athos to have a gloomy view of women and their machinations, and you expect Aramis to be seeing fifteen different plots around every corner, but if Porthos has his suspicions aroused, then definitely something must really be going on!

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          1. Donna_Immaculata on Chapter 4 Mon 31 Dec 2018 07:23PM UTC

            Very true! Porthos knows that something is up. Though to be fair, he might just be aware that there's always something going on with Aramis, so he assumes by default that there must be a plot somewhere in the Aramisian vicinity.

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    3. Donna_Immaculata on Chapter 4 Mon 31 Dec 2018 06:47PM UTC

      Yes, poor Descartes comes across as a shady character, doesn't he? The poor thing, it just happened! He does seem to be involved in something. Somehow, the Spanish are to blame, and Descartes might or might not want Spain to get her Netherlands back. You never know with these philosophers, they're slippery.

      Porthos' PoV continues to be very useful, because (spoiler) I couldn't be bothered to figure out what the political plot was all about so don't expect a great reveal, LOL! We know only as much as Porthos knows.

      That whole scene with the shadowy host in Brussels is very ominous, isn't it? I never even thought of poison, but I totally see what you mean.

      I figured Athos would take the money, but yeah, playing messenger boy? That's a deadly insult.

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      1. ElDiablito_SF on Chapter 4 Mon 31 Dec 2018 07:15PM UTC

        To play messenger boy to one's own mistress is an unbearable face slapping. Descartes is lucky he was unarmed. And that Athos is a fucking mensch. ❤️

        Someone is going to need to be comforted, like that time he had to get an ugly haircut in England....

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        1. Donna_Immaculata on Chapter 4 Mon 31 Dec 2018 07:25PM UTC

          Tbf his letter might just have said, "Thank you for your message, but no thanks" LOL

          Good thing Aramis doesn't know about the haircut yet.

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          1. Deiseach (Guest) on Chapter 4 Tue 01 Jan 2019 03:43AM UTC

            Sure, it might only have said that, but Descartes first told them that he wasn't involved with Marie in any way that would involve private correspondence and then he turns around and tries to hand Aramis (a) the lady's handkerchief and (b) a letter wrapped up in it!

            Which is definitely private correspondence! So not only did he deceive them about that, he's not even bothering to save their faces and keep up the pretence, he wants to turn them into delivery boys! Have Aramis arrange to have the letter collected, if not hand it over himself! Can you imagine the humiliation that would involve?

            How dare he? Aramis is the only one allowed to lie about private letters here, plus the "I'm going to rub your noses in it by handing over the letter wrapped in the handkerchief and not even bother to try and fool you by making it a parcel or hiding it in a book or some other scheme" obviousness is really, really insulting. It's like sticking out his tongue at them.

            He better thank his lucky stars he waited until Brussels to pull this stunt, else Athos would have killed him dead on behalf of Aramis and his own insulted dignity.

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            1. Donna_Immaculata on Chapter 4 Tue 01 Jan 2019 03:10PM UTC

              Well, the letter might have come from the Mysterious Host (whose name we never learn, because I couldn't be arsed to make one up, LOL, this is Very Lazy Writing, you know!).

              I am loving these discussions of what's-really-going-on, because speaking as the writer, my main concern was to manufacture a dangerous situation where an injury would occur in a very specific way, and everything that's been happening so far is just frillery. I also kinda feel bad that I sullied Descartes' good name by turning him into a shady possible traitor who has the audacity to lie to our heroes. But such sacrifices have to be made to allow Athos to showcase his full range of emotions, from honour to Righteous Wrath.

              Even though this is teef-less AU where no plague occurs, I've just looked up Descartes' manner of death, just in case. Pneumonia at the age of 54, nothing suspicious there.

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