Pierre Pevel - By The Alchemist in the Shadows Page 0,51

lifting his glass and La Fargue raising the half-full bottle.

'If you are here,' said the captain, taking a swig from the bottle, 'that means you have come to a decision . . .'

'Yes. I've decided to help you to the extent that I can. But I should like to make it clear that I shall not commit myself to more than that. I want your assurance that no matter what secrets are revealed to me from this moment on, my freedom will be returned to me as soon as I demand it.'

'You have my word on it.'

'Thank you. So, what do you expect from me, monsieur?'

'Follow me.'

Snatching up his baldric and his hat as he passed, La Fargue led Laincourt out of the stable. They crossed the mansion's paved courtyard and passed through the main building to the garden in the rear, where they sat down at the old table beneath the chestnut tree. Sweet Nai's brought them more to drink and a plate of cold meats, and discreetly left them in peace.

La Fargue recounted the whole business that occupied the Blades at present, from the rendezvous in Artois to their current situation, including the plot which La Donna claimed to have information about and the resistance she was offering to the questions Laffemas put to her.

'La Donna is in the cardinal's power?' Laincourt exclaimed. 'And has been for nearly a week?'

'Yes.'

'Where is she being held? In which prison?'

'She has been given lodging at La Renardiere.'

'Under close guard, I hope . . .'

The old gentleman nodded.

'A dozen of the cardinal's musketeers protect the domain. And my lieutenant is lodged under the same roof as La Donna.'

'You can be sure she is doing her utmost to seduce him.'

'Leprat is not a man to let himself fall under some beauty's spell.'

Laincourt did not respond to this. He took a sip of wine and then, after contemplating the weed-choked garden with his quiet gaze, said:

'I still don't know what you expect of me.'

La Fargue paused before saying:

'The cardinal thinks very highly of you, monsieur. And he maintains there is no one in France who knows La Donna better than you. I should therefore like to have your opinion concerning this affair, now that you know the nature of it and all the details.

The young man allowed himself a few instants of reflection before replying.

'One thing is for certain: La Donna is lying.'

'Why?'

'Because she always lies. And when she isn't lying, she's concealing something. And if she isn't lying or concealing something, it's because she's busy deceiving you.'

'Do you think she is lying about the plot?' asked La Fargue.

'You do realise that this plot comes at exactly the right moment to provide her with protection, just when the Black Claw is, in all likelihood, trying to hunt her down.'

'Nevertheless—'

'Yes, of course. Nevertheless, you cannot afford to be deaf to La Donna's claims. The risks and the stakes are too great.'

'Precisely.'

'I can tell you two things. The first is that if this plot exists, La Donna has only evoked it because doing so serves her own interests. The second is that if she is giving monsieur de Laffemas so much trouble, it is because time is presently on her side. No doubt she is waiting for some event to happen. What might that be? I don't know. And we shall probably only find out once it's too late to do anything about it.'

La Fargue remained silent and thoughtful for a long time, his gaze distant. His meditation, however, was interrupted by Almades who approached, after clearing his throat in warning, and handed him a note.

'This was just delivered,' said the Spaniard before returning from whence he came.

Laincourt watched the old gentleman read the missive before shaking his head in a fashion that expressed both amusement and admiration, a small smile on his lips.

Finally La Fargue asked:

'If you were to meet La Donna, if you had the occasion to speak with her alone, would you be able to disentangle the true from the false in all that she might tell you?'

The cardinal's former spy shrugged his shoulders and pursed his lips.

'Frankly, I don't know . . .' he admitted. 'Why?'

La Fargue handed him the note.

'Because today she has asked to speak with you.'

Delivered with the back of the hand, the slap struck him with full force, reopening the wound on his cheek and provoking general hilarity. Ni'Akt fell over backwards, spilling the meagre contents of his mess kit on the ground, which caused even more laughter.