"So, why do you think the Cardinal's so interested in this baby?" "All I know is it's our job to collect the infant and his mother and take them back to Paris." " That's it." " You're not curious?" "Not in the least." "And this priest, Duval?" "What does he have to do with it all?" "Probably paid to look after them, but one thing you need to learn, d'Artagnan, don't get involved." "Where are they?" "The Bernard woman and her child." "Outside." "Forgive me, for I have sinned." "What is your offence?" "Murder." "Father Duval?" "Father Duval?" "Aramis!" "I think we've found him." "Put me down!" "Put me down!" "No!" "Help me!" "Help me!" "No!" "Finish her!" "No!" "Henry!" "No!" "Henry!" "Henry!" "Follow them as closely as you can." "My guess is they're headed for Paris." "I'll try and find out what's going on." "This was no ordinary kidnapping, was it?" "Meet me at Bonacieux's house." "I swear, I'll kill you." "Who are you?" "My name is Aramis of the King's Musketeers." "I have been sent to escort you and your son to the palace." " Why?" " I was hoping you might tell me." "How can I put this discreetly?" "Perhaps you went to a ball somewhere?" "Had a chance encounter with a charming and persuasive young man?" "One thing leads to another and nine months later little Henry comes along." " What kind of woman do you think I am?" "!" " I really have no idea." "I am faithful to my husband" " Philippe Bernard!" "If this Philippe is truly the baby's father..." "Where is he now?" "I'm sorry." "That was tactless." "Just leave me alone." "Father Duval!" "Don't go in there!" "Don't go in there." "The thrill of the chase, Captain." "It is close to divine." "Captain!" "It can't be." "Guards!" "Protect the King!" "Quickly!" "Out of the way, out of the way, out of the way!" "On your guard!" "Hold the line!" "I demand to see the King." "My beloved son." "I ordered you never to come back!" "Where else should I turn when I am in grave danger?" "You are banished for life on pain of execution!" "You tried to steal my throne!" "Now I'm obliged to cut off your head and place it on a spike for all Paris to ogle!" "Come inside, Sire." "Leave this to the Cardinal and Captain Treville." "Please, I beg of you!" "On my knees!" "In the name of the love you once bore me!" "I did love you." "And you betrayed me." "No!" "Your Majesty, the Queen is right." "You must withdraw." "Abandon me now and I'll die!" "Someone is trying to kill me!" "Please!" "How can she just appear like this?" "!" "Why does she insist on provoking me?" "!" "I suggest Your Majesty demonstrates his magnanimity by sparing her life." "How can I?" "She was warned." "If she ever showed her face in Paris again I would cut off her head!" "Decapitating one's mother is rarely popular with the people, Sire." "It always looks a touch ungrateful." "The threat she faces must be very real if she's prepared to risk her life by coming here." "But we will find these assassins, Cardinal?" "I can't have people running around trying to kill my mother." "Not unless I tell them to." "The King is occupied with pressing state business." "He cannot see you." "Her gracious Majesty has survived one attack only by God's grace." "We are too few to withstand another attempt." "His Majesty's decision is final." "Why would they take my baby?" "How long have you lived in the village?" "Something in your past might provide us with a clue." "I've lived there ever since I fled my father's temper." "Father Duval found me a place." "What of your husband?" "He was a simple man, kind and decent." "We met and fell in love." "Look, it's her!" "Let's go!" "Get away from us!" "The devil and his consort don't belong amongst decent people!" "Keep going." " What was all that about?" " Ignorance and superstition." "The Cardinal has a personal grudge against me." "Captain, please, you are a reasonable man." "You're escorting me home to my death." "You forget I was there when youtried to seize power, Your Majesty." "With respect, don't expect sympathy from me." "Ambush!" " Are you hurt, Your Majesty?" " No!" "Come on!" "No!" "No!" "We need him for questioning!" "No!" "No-one who seeks to harm my Queen warrants the privilege of questions!" "Are you harmed?" "Only a little shaken." "And you killed these renegades?" "I did, Your Majesty." "Captain?" "I have Musketeers searching for the assailants, Your Majesty." "They will be brought to justice." "I nearly lost my mother!" "God has seen to it that I shall not go to the grave without my son's love." "He has sent me this chance to atone for my sins." "I'm so sorry." "I beg your forgiveness with all of my heart." "These attempts on Marie de Medici's life?" "Why bother?" "She's made many enemies over the years." "Perhaps it's revenge, or some long-standing grudge." "I've received intelligence." "Rumours only." "Regarding certain families." "The Duke of Vendome, the Duke of Epernon and the Duke of Rohan." " What kind of rumours?" " That they are raising militias." "Oh!" "And when exactly were you thinking of telling me?" "When I knew that they were more than rumours." "They are all former allies of hers." "This is Marie de Medici." "There's always something more to it." "I remember the days of her attempted coup all too well." "The chaos, the bloodshed, brother against brother." "I never want to see those times again." "On that we are agreed." "Any news on that child I sent for?" "Aramis and d'Artagnan aren't back yet." "Let me know when they return." "If you were Marie's personal guard, wouldn't you want to ask questions, find out who's behind this?" "Why kill them when he didn't have to?" "Vincent was out of control." "A good soldier is never out of control." "And he's one of the best." "They had the weaponry of a small army..." "yet not one shot found its mark?" "Wouldn't you expect to see at least some damage to the trees, or the odd piece of splintered bark?" "There's just nothing." "I don't see any used wadding." "And no spent musket balls." "Captain, there were eight shots, no damage and not a single injury to anyone." "The gunshots were nothing more than a firework display." "You're certain?" "Either that or they were the worst assassins ever." "The last time I went up against Marie de Medici she threw me in prison." "I'd rather not go back." "If this ambush was staged, I need to know why." "Vincent could have captured the gunmen." "They would have talked sooner or later." "He wanted to make sure they didn't." "I've made many mistakes in my life." "I regret nothing... except our misunderstanding." "That is a strange word for treason." "I was only trying to protect you." "Was it not you he needed protection from?" "I felt guilty... for burdening you before your years." "You were so young when your father died." "I had a vision... that I could carry your burden, whilst you learned and grew into a great leader." "I was trying to be your mother and your father." "I failed at both and I paid for it." "You didn't fail completely." "Anne..." "Promise me something." "When you become a mother... you will learn from my misjudgements." "I can't pretend to imagine what you're going through." "Anything?" "I'll go and join d'Artagnan." "Try to make her eat something." "I don't want to have to fight you again." "Being apart from him... ..It's like a wound that won't heal." "He's your flesh and blood." "Do you have a family?" "Not unless you count the Musketeers." "No wife?" "Have you ever felt it?" "Love?" "I mean real, true love?" "That need that leaves you incapable of existing without the other person?" "I was 16." "We were going to marry but it didn't work out." "She changed her mind." "I was heartbroken." "16?" "And you haven't loved since?" "If I answer, will you tell me why those people on the road ran from you?" "It's nobody's business." "If you don't trust me, how can I help you?" "There's only one man I've ever trusted." "Making yourself comfortable?" "I wanted to ask you a favour." "From me?" "!" "Speak to the King on my behalf." "You seem to be doing that perfectly well on your own." "I'm not sure he believes I've abandoned all my ambitions for power." "It was a mother's love that drove you to it." "All you desire is the restoration of your son's affection so you can ease into gentle old age, a happy woman." "I always liked you, Armand... ..even when you opposed me." "We should be allies, you and I." "You presume too much." "My husband, Philippe, was like a helpless child when I first met him." "He'd been locked away so long, he never learned to fend for himself." "He didn't look like other men." "He was malformed from birth." "Touched by the devil, they said." "I was sent to be his nurse." "I was petrified." "I'd believed everything I'd heard." "He had the kindest heart I've ever known." "He was shy and confused." "Frightened." "But full of innocent love and goodness." " What of his family?" " Well, they abandoned him at birth." "His mother came to visit once." "In secret, because she was ashamed." "I was lonely and he was kind." "I soon learned to see the beauty of his soul." "And I fell in love with him." "We married in secret." "Father Duval had kept Philippe out of sight for most of his life and when Henry was born, everything changed." "Philippe felt alive." "He refused to hide any longer." "We walked through the village together as a family." "That must have been a fine moment." "They beat him... until his bones shattered." "Burned him while he still breathed life." "You saw this?" "You were there?" "They made me watch." "He's still with me." "In here." "And in Henry." "I promise you, on my honour, the safe return of your child." "What are we looking for again?" "A way in." "A way out." "Which room the baby's in." "Anything that helps, really." " I can fight." " You're not going in there." "Because you don't trust me?" "Because I couldn't forgive myself if you were harmed." "Did you see the look on Agnes's face when she spoke about Henry?" "That bond." "To value something over your own life." "I want to know love that strong." "You'll have children of your own soon enough." "I suppose." "If it's meant to be." "Who are they?" "Wet nurses." "How do you think the baby's beenfeeding?" "What?" "Oh, no." "No!" " I can't!" " Why not?" "!" "How can I be a wet nurse if I haven't got any milk?" "Improvise!" "We need to know which room the baby's in and how many men there are." "He likes music." "If he cries, sing him a lullaby." "Will humming do?" "My singing might frighten him." "Then give him this." "Tell him I love him." "I thought you weren't going to let me in there?" "I wasn't." "But that was before I had a brilliant plan." "Be careful." "Thanks for the tip." "I'll bear it in mind." "Any other useful advice?" "Who are you, then?" "The wet nurse." "Come in." "What happened to the other girl?" "She's sick." "Good." "You've got a nicer backside." "Oh!" "She told me you were quite the charmer." "Now, hands off." "I've got work to do." "I'm new." "This is baby Henry." "He's just been fed and changed." "Hello." "I've brought you a message from somebody who loves you very much." "That means nine men." "Is he expecting you?" "I have information of vital importance for his eminence." " What are you doing?" " I'm going to see him." "What do you mean?" "You can't!" "You'll ruin everything!" "The plan was to get the baby tonight." "I think you forget who you're talking to!" " Your Majesty, forgive me but..." " You can either help me or you can be gone by the time I return." "Frankly, I don't care which." "Watch out." "A little early in the day for a stroll." "What in God's name is she doing here?" "I know that woman." "This can't be a coincidence." "You sent me this." ""There is a child here of great significance." ""He urgently needs your protection." ""I beg your help with all possible speed."" "Who is this child?" "I can explain everything." "Was that who I think it was?" "Marie de Medici." "We've followed her here from the Palace." "Don't be ridiculous." "That's just Philippe's mother!" "Are you certain that's the woman who came to visit your husband?" "Yes!" "Constance is in there on her own." "Marie, Her Majesty fell ill on her journey to Fontainebleau, and I was afraid she would lose the child." "And the court officials?" "Rushing to make it in time for the birth." "But when the child was born, it was deformed." "Marie was distraught." "Why had France been cursed?" "And then our prayers were answered." "The midwife announced... that there was another." "The deformed child Philippe, had a younger twin" " Louis." "My special boy!" "You are...perfect!" "Yes, you are." "You have your grandfather's eyes." "You will be brave and wise, the strongest and the most handsome." "The most celebrated and the most beloved." "We are going to do great and marvellous things together." "They'll see that we know best." "Won't they see?" "The court officials arrived in time to see Louis born, ignorant of what had gone before." "I spirited Philippe away." "Marie charged me with his care." "I protected him." "There can be no doubt of the validity of the marriage?" "Oh, none at all." "I performed the ceremony myself." "So their child is legitimate." "And you haven't mentioned his birth to another living soul?" "Only you." "And the baby's grandmother, of course." "Feed him." "He's such a beautiful child." "He's your grandson?" "Yes, not that it's any business of yours." "They haven't taken him." "Where is the child?" "The infant boy!" "Do you have him?" "What exactly have you neglected to tell me about this child?" "Wha... he folds." "Don't Musketeers ever knock?" "My apologies." "We're a little pushed for time." "Constance!" "Take him!" "Hello." "So you're the one who all the fuss is about?" "He's crying." "Sing." "He likes that." "It's a gift." "There was a woman here." " I know." " But it was..." " She said..." " Oh, the grandson." "I know." "Is there anything you don't know?" "Believing it is the hard part." "The baby!" "Now!" "Good work, where did you learn to do that?" "What are you waiting for?" "!" "There." "My Henry of royal blood." "Hmm..." "Oh, Philippe..." "You really loved Philippe." "Even though..." "You learn to see past appearances, into people's inner most desires." "His were true and honest." "We saved each other from a life in the shadows." "You know death is typically a release from the vows of marriage." "My husband is gone." "That's just my ill fortune." "But I will remain faithful to him." "A life alone?" "You deserve better." "I'm not alone." "Are you?" "Are you certain?" "Philippe's son should wear the crown instead of King Louis." "Marie will present the infant to the Royal Council... with records proving his claim." "She's been gathering support to topple the King in the name of her grandson?" "Bring me that child." "So, what do we do now?" "The boy goes to the Cardinal." " And what then?" " Is the child ready?" "Hasn't the woman suffered enough?" "Absolutely." "She's been with Aramis for two days!" "You know what will happen." "The boy will disappear." "He'll be murdered and Agnes too, probably." "I'm sorry." "My hands are tied." "You have to take him to the Cardinal." "I'd go with you myself, but I'm busy." "Damn paperwork." "It'll take me the rest of the afternoon...at least." "Where's the child?" "!" "Aramis?" "Aramis?" "He's gone." "Right, what are we going to do?" "Find him before he gets himself killed." "The rest of my friends are on their way to Spain." "Meet the transport over there." "Don't delay or they won't wait for you." "You leave in an hour." "I already told you." "I'm not leaving!" "I'm going home!" "What do you think will happen if you go back to the village?" "Well, I will carry on with my life bothering no-one, raising my son." "Wake up!" "Do you think Marie de Medici will stop?" "You think the Cardinal will allow this threat to continue?" "What if I went to the palace?" "Henry is of the royal line, the King's nephew." "They might welcome him." "Perhaps we could live there, in the grounds." "Henry would have schooling, privileges." "You'd be dead within a week!" "Poison in your food, a knife twisted in your ribs in a long, empty corridor." "You are an expendable nuisance, nothing more." "At best, Henry would be brought up the child of another, his life endlessly manipulated by those who go to any lengths for power." "At best." "At worst..." "You can never go home, Agnes." "If you want a life with your son, you leave, for ever." "Now." "And never look back." "There." "You look just like him." "My father?" "He would be so very proud of you." "I'm glad you came, Mother." "Perhaps, we might be friends after all." "What more could I want?" "Well, I must be leaving." "Time to make a kill." "Hunting is out of the question, Your Majesty." "Until those plotting to kill your mother are found, you must stay in the palace." "A man has his needs." "He's the King!" "He must do as he pleases." "Mother knows best, Cardinal." "One must think of France... and how she would suffer if something were to happen to her ruler." "I am sure the Cardinal only has your best interests at heart." "Being King can be so boring!" "It is so unfair!" "Bravo." "I'm not unable to savour a stratagem of elegant construction." "Are you feeling quite well?" "Come now." "Let's not pretend we both don't know what big teeth you have..." "Grandmother." "This is the place to come if you're looking for quick passage out of the country." "Let's split up, shall we?" "Porthos." "Good afternoon." "Excuse us, Madame." "I won't come back." "I'm not handing them over to the Cardinal." "Aramis, that baby is the heir to the throne." "They could charge you with treason." "I made her a promise." "Then we'd better help you." "You didn't really think we were going to take the baby, did you?" "If you'd told us what you were doing we might have been able to plan this properly." "Yes, sorry." "No, no, let's keep it suicidal." "Don't get involved." "That's what you said." "How's that working out for you?" "Things just got complicated." "Vincent." "Out of the way!" "Get out of the way!" "Move!" "The bridge." "It's too late to do anything." "Just in case you thought there was still a chance." "Poor Louis." "My heart bleeds for him." "You have one." "Come on, we both know this is for the greater good." "He is a weak man and a bad King." "He'll be so much happier living out his days in peaceful seclusion." "The few days that remain to him, you mean." "You think I would kill my own son?" "I think that you would strangle him with your bare hands to get to the throne." "To have had such power and see it prised from your grasp, it must be unbearable." "This is about keeping the royal power supreme in France." "That which my husband's blood was shed to protect." "And I take it that supreme power... ..is embodied in you?" "You know I could use a man of your talents... once you'd taken an oath of allegiance, naturally." "Are you making me a proposition?" "You have less than one hour... until my armies are given the word to march on Paris to acclaim their new king." "I'd consider your options carefully." "Cake?" "I want you to head across the bridge and wait for me there." "Leave Henry here with me." " Aramis?" " If you walk out there together they'll be on to you in seconds." "I will get Henry across the bridge." "I swore no harm would come to him." "Now go." "Go." "Go right down there." "Next time I bribe someone, remind me to bring more money." "Two of you over the bridge, another two fan out this side." "So?" "How should we do this?" "These barrels contain brandy." "A rather good Armagnac, I believe." "Athos, now is not the time." "I see." "What a waste!" "Go, go, go, go, go." "Come on!" " Hand over the child!" " Or what?" "I seize him by force." "No!" "No..." "No!" "Henry!" " Henry!" " No!" " Henry!" " No!" "No!" "Agnes!" "What more do you want?" "!" "I'm intrigued." "Will you stride into court brandishing the child like a trophy, proclaiming him the rightful heir?" "More or less." "Then I shall present Father Duval, who witnessed the birth of my first-born." "He's here in the palace." "I have my spies, too, Cardinal." "The support of key figures in the regions, a lack of confidence in Louis, and, of course, the fact that there is no heir will bring the council and the nobility over to my side." "You've rehearsed this." "My enemies will be offered a very simple choice." "Accept I'm taking power, or death, or prison when we storm the palace." "And is the King included amongst your enemies?" "You mean the pretender, Louis." "I hope he will surrender his false claim with grace and humility." "But if not..." "Make your choice now, Cardinal." "I'd hate to end our relationship on a sour note." "Captain Treville." "May I be the first to offer my condolences," "Your Majesty?" "What are you talking about?" "Such a tragedy." "There'll be no coup." "No regency." "No power." "Just a sad, deluded, old woman, with nothing." "Your grandson." "Henry, isn't it?" "He perished." "You're lying." "Happily, the plot to kill Marie de Medici has been foiled." "It appears the chief culprit was her trusted lieutenant, Vincent." "He will be dealt with accordingly." "Unless any of you think that the King, or France, would benefit from the execution of his own mother?" "Good." "Then that is all His Majesty ever needs to know." "What's going on?" "What more could you want from me?" "Why drag me here now?" "I know you've endured hell." "I'm sorry you had to suffer so terrible a blow." "I should apologise." "I should have told you the truth." "But if you hadn't been convincing as a grieving mother, they would have seen right through it." "This was the only way I could see you and Henry having any kind of life together." "What life?" "Henry?" "Henry?" "Oh..." "Henry!" "Henry!" "Henry!" "You didn't want to give him back, did you?" "Was it that obvious?" "It's not every day you get to save the King's life." "He'll never be King." "But he'll be happier than the man who is." "You didn't really think" "I'd take something so precious into battle?" "I know." "You kept him safe." "Delivered him to me as you promised you would." "Take this." "Make a new life together, a long way from France." "Philippe wouldn't want you to be alone for ever, Agnes." "I have my son." "I would ask you to come with us... but you already have a family." "Thank you." "And I think you're losing your touch."