Summary
Felton is able to gain access to the Duke of Buckingham by claiming he has connections to Lord de Winter. Felton has the letter authorizing Milady's transportation to the colonies, and while asking Buckingham to sign it, he raves about Milady's innocence and suffering. As Buckingham starts to realize what is going on, Felton stabs him. Several people come rushing in, including Laporte (who has been sent to Buckingham by Queen Anne) and Lord de Winter. After learning that Milady escaped, Lord de Winter suspected that Buckingham might be in danger and had rushed to his side. Seriously wounded, Buckingham wants to hear the message from Laporte. Queen Anne has told Laporte to tell her lover to end the war and be careful. Buckingham orders that his gifts from Anne be returned to her and then dies.
Amidst the chaos, Felton insists that Milady will stand by him and share his punishment. However, he learns that she sailed away almost as soon as he left the ship. Because she sailed so quickly, she was able to get out just before the King of England closed all ports (he wanted to make sure news of Buckingham's death didn't get back to France). With no news and no progress in the war, King Louis decides to return to Paris, and brings the musketeers with him as part of his guard. Once King Louis has arrived in Paris, the musketeers are given permission to go to Bethune to reunite with Constance. As they make their way there, they catch sight of Rochefort and obtain a slip of paper he has dropped. The paper is in Milady's handwriting and lists the name of a small town.
Milady has reached Bethune ahead of the musketeers; she has also sent word to Cardinal Richelieu not to expect reinforcements from the Duke. At the convent, Milady meets Constance and the two women realize they both know D'Artagnan. Constance innocently explains that she is expecting D'Artagnan any day now; she has received word from Madame de Chevreuse (the Queen's exiled friend) that he is on the way. Fortunately for Milady, Rochefort arrives first. She tells him that the musketeers are on the way and complains about the Cardinal's refusal to imprison them. Rochefort and Milady hatch a plan, and he leaves her with all of his money. They have a plan to meet at the town of Armentieres; this name is the one on the paper the musketeers retrieve.
After Rochefort leaves, Milady lies and tells Constance that the Cardinal's guards are coming for them. She convinces Constance to flee with her, but when Constance delays too long, Milady resorts to giving her poisoned wine, and then flees. D'Artagnan and the musketeers arrive, and he and Constance have a brief but happy reunion. However, the poison quickly takes effect, and Constance dies in his arms. The four men are joined by Lord de Winter. They dispatch the four servants in pursuit of Milady. Planchet returns to say that Milady is in Armentieres, guarded by the other servants. D'Artagnan, de Winter, the three musketeers, and an unknown man in a red cloak who has been summoned by Athos all set off in the midst of a stormy night. Together, they all storm into the house where Milady is hiding.
Together, all the men recount Milady's various crimes. The man in the red cloak adds additional details about her early life, making it clear that Milady has always been evil. He is also an executioner by profession. They take Milady out to the riverbank, where the executioner loads her into a boat. D'Artagnan is moved by her crying and pleading; all of the men forgive her and pray for her soul. They watch as the executioner beheads her and then throws her body in the river.
D'Artagnan and the musketeers return to Paris and accompany King Louis back to La Rochelle. The King is very pleased about Buckingham's death. On route, Rochefort appears, announces himself as an agent of the Cardinal, and tries to arrest D'Artagnan. The others assure him they'll be happy to go and see the Cardinal as soon as they arrive. They keep this promise, and D'Artagnan meets with the Cardinal, confused as to why he has been arrested. D'Artagnan tells the Cardinal about everything that has happened, including the death of Milady. He is willing to take whatever punishment the Cardinal sees fit. The Cardinal reflects, and then not only pardons D'Artagnan, but also gives him a position as a lieutenant. He informs Rochefort that all the differences between him and D'Artagnan have been resolved, although Rochefort and D'Artagnan still plan to duel.
Humbled, D'Artagnan offers the position to each of his three friends in turn, since he believes they are all more deserving than him. One by one, they all refuse, and tell D'Artagnan he should take the position. He reluctantly accepts, fearing that he will be lonely in his new life. D'Artagnan becomes a valiant commander and Athos serves under him until he inherits some property and retires. Porthos has retired early and married his mistress (now a wealthy widow). Aramis enters the priesthood. D'Artagnan and Rochefort eventually end up being friends after fighting each other a number of times, and Bonancieux never learns what became of his wife.
Analysis
Despite its strong heroic and adventure story conventions, Dumas' novel is not simply a narrative where the bad are punished and the good are rewarded. Buckingham is a gallant, brave, and loving character who represents an ideal of chivalric masculinity—but he is killed in a thoroughly unheroic way. Part of what makes Buckingham's death tragic is that he does not meet his end on a battlefield or in a duel. He dies due to manipulation, misunderstanding, and poor timing. Dumas creates dramatic pathos by having the individuals who could provide context and prevent the tragedy arrive only seconds too late. Even in his last moments, Buckingham also prioritizes his beloved, showing that he is a true romantic hero.
At this point, Milady seems unstoppable. She has successfully manipulated and then betrayed Felton, and once she is back in France, it seems like it will be easy for her to rely on her alliance with the Cardinal and her own stratagems to escape consequences. Milady's downfall is ultimately traceable to a coincidence, implying that the fate of her evil nature and long history of crimes has eventually caught up with her. Because she ends up at the same convent as Constance, Milady is now in danger of being caught by the musketeers. She has always been highly skilled at exerting control, but she also lives in a world where fate and chance can play a significant role. While she couldn't be brought to justice until her luck ran out, she also cannot avoid ultimately paying a price.
The encounter between Constance and Milady highlights how the two women function as foils to one another. Constance is sweet, trusting, and always assumes the best about other people. She easily falls victim to Milady because she has no suspicions. Milady, on the other hand, is always looking for ways to enhance her own power and improve her strategic position. She plans to abduct Constance because this will strengthen her position. Constance, unlike Milady, is subject to stereotypically feminine fears and weakness. When she believes she is threatened by the imminent arrival of the Cardinal's guards, she becomes unable to take any action to help herself and passively submits to her fate. Killing her will not improve Milady's chances of getting away, but in perhaps one of the most shocking moments of the novel, Milady acts with pure malice and spite. The world of the musketeers is a violent one, but the killing of a totally innocent woman simply for the pleasure of the destruction stands out as an atrocious act.
The heinous nature of Milady's final crime sets the stage for the final confrontation. By now it is clear that she is pure evil, lending a moral necessity to the musketeers tracking her down and preventing her from future violence and destruction. The tone of the confrontation becomes gothic and almost supernatural in its grim and eerie undertones. As David Coward writes, "As it proceeds to a ghastly climax, the narrative generates a Shakespearean dimension as the air fills with unrepentant evil and awesome retribution" (pg. xx). Even though they believe in the justice of what they are doing, the musketeers are also still stricken by the horror of arranging the death of a beautiful and formidable woman. The abrupt insertion of the executioner into the narrative ensures that none of the musketeers need to end up with a woman's blood on their hands; this type of killing is beyond the scope of their carefully performed military and tactical confrontations. Because the executioner also sails across the river to carry out the beheading, the act does not take place on French soil (the river marks the border between France and Belgium). The death happens in a liminal space and Milady's body is disposed of as though she never existed. This disappearance from the record and from legacy is a particularly striking punishment in a novel focused on narrating history; as Tom Reiss observes, "To remember a person is the most important thing in the novels of Alexandre Dumas. The worst sin anyone can commit is to forget" (pg. 4).
The role of villain gradually shifts over the novel, so that the Cardinal is much less of an opponent. The fact that he himself becomes frightened by Milady also shows that he has the capacity to have boundaries and limits on what he is willing to do to maintain and advance power. In a sense, Milady was the source of a vengefulness that moved a controlled game into a space of chaos and danger. Once she is gone, the Cardinal and Rochefort can both be revealed as relatively nonthreatening presences. The Cardinal's respect for D'Artagnan has gradually been increasing over the course of the novel, and he boldly chooses to overrule their history of enmity. His offer of a commission as a lieutenant signals that D'Artagnan has finally received the approval and status he has craved all along. Ironically, this gesture of approval and acceptance does not come from any of the men who have served as mentors to D'Artagnan.
This approval is also bittersweet. D'Artagnan is humble enough to try and offer his commission to the older men who have taught him everything he knows. Their refusals show that the life of a musketeer, while glamorous and exciting, is ultimately wearying and unsustainable. All of them, in their distinctive ways, are seeking to close this chapter of their lives and move on to other things. D'Artagnan therefore also experiences a sense of loss at the novel's conclusion. He has successfully transitioned from boy to man, won the respect of many, and proven himself to be valiant and trustworthy. Still, the camaraderie that made the experience so thrilling was temporary, and while he may move forward and onto other adventures, he will largely have to walk that path alone.
