The Cardinal's Blades

10

Having saddled his horse, La Fargue was strapping on the holsters of his pistols when Delormel joined him in the stable, amidst the warm smell of animals, hay, and dung.

“You’ll come see us again soon?” asked the fencing master. “Or, at least, not wait another five years?”

“I don’t know.”

“You know you are always welcome in my home.”

La Fargue patted his mount’s neck and turned round.

“Thank you,” he said.

“Here. You left this in your room.”

Delormel held out a small locket on a broken chain. The old gentleman took it. Worn, marked, scratched, and tarnished, the piece of jewellery seemed worthless, lying there on his big gloved hand.

“I didn’t know you still kept it after all this time,” added the fencing master.

La Fargue shrugged.

“You can’t give up your past.”

“But yours continues to haunt you.”

Rather than answer, the captain made to check his saddle.

“Perhaps she didn’t deserve you,” Delormel commented.

His back turned, La Fargue went rigid.

“Don’t judge, Jean. You don’t know the whole story.”

It wasn’t necessary to say anything more. Both men knew they were speaking of the woman whose chipped portrait was to be found inside the locket.

“That’s true. But I know you well enough to know that something is eating at you. You should be delighted by the prospect of reuniting the Blades and serving the Crown once again. So I’d guess that you only accepted the cardinal’s proposal under duress. You yielded to him, etienne. That’s not like you. If you were one of those who yielded easily, you would already be carrying a marshal’s baton-”

“My daughter may be in danger,” La Fargue said suddenly.

Slowly, he turned to face Delormel, who looked stunned.

“You wanted to know the whole truth, didn’t you? There, now you know.”

“Your daughter…? You mean to say…”

The fencing master made a hesitant gesture toward the locket which the captain still held in his fist. La Fargue nodded: “Yes.”

“How old is she?”

“Twenty. Or thereabouts.”

“What do you know of the danger she’s in?”

“Nothing. The cardinal simply implied there was a threat against her.”

“So he might have lied to you in order to secure your services!”

“No. I doubt he would have played this card with me without good reason. It is-”

“-despicable. And what will you say to your Blades? These men give you their blind trust. Some of them even look on you as a father!”

“I shall tell them the truth.”

“All of it?”

Before mounting his horse, the old captain admitted, at some cost: “No.”