Summary
The siege of La Rochelle continues. One night, Porthos, Athos, and Aramis are riding back from an inn when they encounter the Cardinal riding with another man. The Cardinal is on route to the very inn the musketeers are coming from because he has a meeting with a woman there. The musketeers explain that they heard men at the inn talking about attacking a woman, so all five of them ride back to the inn together, and the musketeers wait downstairs while the Cardinal goes to his meeting. The musketeers realize they can overhear the conversation: the Cardinal is talking with Milady. He is sending her to England to tell Buckingham to halt preparations for war; if Buckingham refuses to comply, the Cardinal will reveal everything he knows about Queen Anne's secrets, and ruin her reputation. Cardinal Richelieu also elaborates that if Buckingham refuses to respond to this threat, then Milady should arrange for his assassination.
Milady shrewdly negotiates a few things in exchange for this task: she wants immunity lest she be implicated in Buckingham's death, she wants to know where Madame Bonancieux is now located, and she wants D'Artagnan arrested. The Cardinal gives her the carte blanche (a legal document authorizing whatever actions she might need to take), promises to find out where Constance Bonancieux is being held, and promises to arrest D'Artagnan if she can provide proof he has been conspiring with Buckingham. When the Cardinal comes downstairs, Athos is hiding and the others claim he left early. Once Porthos, Aramis, and Cardinal Richelieu have left to ride back to camp, Athos sneaks upstairs and confronts Milady. He is indeed her first husband, and he makes it clear he knows all of her secrets and crimes. He demands the carte blanche and takes it back to the camp with him.
The musketeers need to ensure they have privacy in order to tell D'Artagnan what they have learned, but they also know that the four of them meeting together will draw the attention of the Cardinal's spies. Athos publicly declares that the four of them will spend an hour at the bastion St. Gervais (part of the city's fortifications). The bastion had been the site of a violent battle the night before, and is now patrolled by enemies, so this is a bold and dangerous stunt. Many soldiers gather to watch what happens. The musketeers share what they know with D'Artagnan while also exchanging fire with enemy forces. As they continue to bravely hold the line and kill many enemy soldiers, they debate what to do. They finally decide to tell Lord de Winter to keep an eye on Milady, and they are going to get a message to the Queen (via Aramis' mysterious friend at Tours) so that she can warn Buckingham. Considering the war between England and France, it would be treason for them to warn Buckingham directly. To finance the mission, they will sell the diamond ring D'Artagnan received from the Queen. They leave the bastion as war heroes; everyone is very impressed, and no one is suspicious about what they were really up to.
The four friends then gather to compose the letters. Planchet will go to England to deliver the letter to Lord de Winter; this message explains that Milady has conspired against him and suggests he investigate her past. Bazin will go to Tours to deliver a letter to Aramis' "cousin" who will then pass the message on to the Queen: this letter warns of a dream in which the Duke of Buckingham is killed. D'Artagnan also tells Planchet to tell Lord de Winter to protect Buckingham. Bazin and Planchet both return a few days later, confirming they have successfully delivered their message.
Analysis
Particularly once the action moves to the open warfare of La Rochelle, Dumas shows his skill at blending historical events with the psychological drama of his invented narrative. La Rochelle did indeed rebel against the French crown, and was supported by English troops led by Buckingham. None of this had anything to do with Buckingham's relationship to Queen Anne, but by intensifying their personal motivations, Dumas makes the events even more compelling to readers. The Cardinal's pride and privileged position are at stake if he does not maintain his public reputation as a strong leader. As a result, he is willing to utilize every resource he has, including blackmailing Buckingham.
A recurring motif throughout the novel is the need for characters to collaborate with others in order to achieve their goals. Because of the need for secrecy and discretion, individual characters often need to delegate tasks to others. The Cardinal cannot go to England himself because he needs to be seen as a strong leader present at the siege. He also does not have the level of access to Buckingham that Milady does. As a result, even a man as powerful as the Cardinal is forced to negotiate in order to persuade Milady to act on his behalf. She is a formidable and cunning negotiator who is able to look ahead to the future and protect her own interests. Milady does not shy away from violence, but unlike the various reckless male characters, she strategically protects herself by ensuring she will be free of liability. A history of criminal activity has taught Milady how to effectively safeguard herself.
The confrontation between Athos and Milady confirms all of the hints that Milady is actually his long-lost wife. Dumas doesn't clarify how Milady was able to escape after Athos hung her and left her to die, but this mystery adds to the sense that Milady is almost superhuman in her ability to evade consequences and build a new life for herself. Athos is fiercely protective of D'Artagnan, but it seems somewhat surprising that he otherwise does not intervene in Milady's plots or simply kill her outright. Better than anyone else, he knows what she is capable of. Later in the musketeers' discussion, the subject of patriotism and loyalty comes up: because England and France are at war, helping Buckingham is technically aiding an enemy and a betrayal of French interests. Athos and the others struggle to find a balance between delicately intervening and not going too far. The bond between Queen Anne and Buckingham makes this complicated because acting in the best interest of the Queen also means acting in the best interest of an Englishman.
