Villiers and D'Artagnan. They rode at full speed toward London and they did not slack their pace as they entered the city. Buckingham rode like a man possessed, running down several hapless Englishmen who did not get out of his way in time. When they arrived at Buckingham's residence, he sprang from his horse and dashed inside. Planchet stayed with the horses while they ran to keep up with Buckingham.
They ran through several elegant chambers, following the prime minister, until they came to his bedroom. Inside the bedroom was a tiny alcove and within that alcove, hidden by a tapestry, was a small door. He pulled the tapestry aside and opened the door with a little golden key he wore on a chain around his neck. Inside the door was a tiny chamber illuminated by candles in small red glasses, giving the room a sacrosanct glow. It was a shrine to Anne of Austria. A full-length portrait of the queen hung beneath a blue velvet canopy and underneath the portrait was an altar, on which rested a small golden casket, intricately worked. Buckingham lunged for this casket and opened it, pulling out a blue ribbon festooned with diamonds-the diamond studs given him by Anne.
'Thank God,' said Buckingham. 'They are safe. They are all here.'
Lucas frowned, remembering something.
'I have only worn them once, at a ball given by the king a week ago at Windsor. The Countess de Winter-'
'Milady!' Lucas said.
'Yes,' said Buckingham. 'She… that is to say, I…' He glanced up at the portrait of the queen. 'Forgive me, my love.'
'The Countess was here?' said Lucas. 'She saw the diamonds?'
Buckingham nodded. 'She was quite taken by them. She told me that she loved diamonds and I let her examine them. When I took them off that night, I put them back into the casket, which I left on the table by my bed. The next morning, I returned it to this chamber, but I did not open it. I later learned she was an agent of the cardinal's. When I read that letter, the first thought that sprang into my mind was that she might have… during the night… But they are here, intact, all twelve of them, thank God.' He put the studs back into the casket and handed it to D'Artagnan. 'Here, take it. It was altogether too dangerous a gift.'
Lucas pulled the agent out into the bedroom. 'Have you got a plate here?'
The agent frowned. 'Yes, but-'
'There's no time to lose. Andre and I have got to get back to Paris at once!'
'But what about D'Artagnan? You must-'
'Forget about D'Artagnan! According to Dumas, two of the studs were missing, but all twelve of them are there!'
'I still don't understand. What does that-'
'If the studs played no part in Taylor's plan, why did he come here? Why did he follow through with the original scenario, even going so far as to seduce Buckingham so that he could examine the studs more closely? According to history, Milady stole two of the studs to give to Richelieu.'
'But all the studs are here,' said Wolverine.
'Precisely,' Lucas said. 'Buckingham was supposed to have two studs made here, duplicates to make up for the ones Milady stole. Duplicates,' said Lucas, squeezing the agent's arm hard.
'Then if Taylor gave Richelieu two studs…' said the agent. His eyes widened. 'Good God! Come one!'
At that moment, D'Artagnan came out of the chamber. Seeing Lucas and Andre running off with Patrick, he called out, 'Where are you going?'
'An urgent matter! An agent of the cardinal!' Lucas shouted over his shoulder, improvising. 'Go on, D'Artagnan, ride! We'll see you in Paris!'
They ran for 'Patrick's' chambers, leaving behind them a perplexed D'Artagnan and a repentant Buckingham, kneeling before the portrait of the queen.
The timing was all wrong, but now there was no choice. Taylor hadn't planned to make his final move for several days yet. There would have been plenty of time to arrange things before D'Artagnan returned with the diamond studs, trailing all of Mongoose's agents behind him.
They would have become increasingly anxious as the journey of the musketeers progressed. They would have had to watch closely every attempt made by Richelieu's men to stop the musketeers to see if it could be a cover for a terrorist ploy. Their anxiety could easily have already triggered needless interference with the cardinal's men. That would have worked for Taylor. He knew that Mensinger's 'Fate Factor' tended to compensate for the deaths of people who were historically insignificant, but in this case, such minor disruptions would only place added strain upon temporal continuity. There had simply been too many small disruptions with too inadequate compensations in too short a span of time. With the final act, the scenario would have been irreversibly disrupted and a temporal split would have been inevitable.
Milady rode in her carriage toward the palace. If the agents were sharp, and if they were right on top of D'Artagnan all the way, then they would have noticed the historical discrepancy of all twelve diamond studs still being in Buckingham's possession. Perhaps Buckingham might even have told them that Milady had 'visited' with him. In such a case, the agents would have undoubtedly devised some ploy to detain D'Artagnan while they frantically examined all twelve diamond studs in order to make certain that they were nothing but twelve diamond studs.
Otherwise, they would follow D'Artagnan straight back to the palace, watching while he delivered the studs to the queen and all the while wondering when Taylor would make his move. An enemy on edge, nervous and ridden with anxiety, was an enemy off guard.
The ball would take place as scheduled. The agents would have undoubtedly infiltrated en masse, since with the ride of the musketeers safely and successfully completed, they would have deduced that the planned disruption would occur during the ball. They would all have been there, waiting, watching, when Richelieu gave the king the two studs that Milady had supposedly stolen from Buckingham. Richelieu would tell Louis that he doubted that the queen still possessed the diamond studs, but if she wore them, then in that case the king should count them. If the king found only ten, he was to ask her who could have stolen from her the two studs Richelieu had given him.
Taylor was to have been at Richelieu's side then. While he was with the cardinal and under his protection, the agents would have been powerless to move against him. They would have only been able to watch and wait. They would have been helpless to do anything when the queen arrived, wearing her diamond studs, and the king and Richelieu, with Milady by his side, went over to her to count the studs and to confront her with the two 'missing' studs in case she had only ten of them. In that moment, when they were all together, Taylor would have pressed a tiny button.
Taylor had known for quite some time, or at least some rational part of him had known, that he was going insane. He had known that his personality was fragmenting. Before the mission had begun, he was already aware of at least two other personalities within him. Personalities that, at times, he could not control. The condition was not beyond a cure, but there was no way that he could risk obtaining therapy. He had been living underground for years and seeking help would have resulted in his almost certain apprehension. So Taylor had decided to 'retire' at his peak. Quite literally, he had intended to go out with a bang. Two factors had prevented him from seeing his plan through as he had intended. There had been no way of knowing that the agents would somehow find the terrorists. He must have judged Mongoose incorrectly. Also, he had not counted on Milady. Since he had assumed her character, she had developed within him quickly. She had entirely taken over or eradicated his other personalities and she had grown very strong, indeed. Moreover, she did not want to die.
'You were a suicidal fool, Adrian,' she said, as he listened somewhere, helplessly. 'You never knew what you really wanted. You were clever, Adrian, but you were weak. Weak where it really mattered. Anger is not strength. Egotism is not strength. Strength lies in knowing who you are. I know who I am, Adrian. I am what you were always meant to be.'
She chuckled. 'You wanted to die. That doesn't surprise me. You were always self-destructive. Well, you're going to get your wish, though not quite in the manner you intended. I'm afraid that I do not share your sense of theater. You see, I intend to survive this little episode. You, on the other hand, will die. You will have made your grand and final gesture, so in a way, it will all end more or less as you had planned.'
Taylor battled his way back to the surface. Almost at once, his face became flushed with perspiration, his breath came in irregular gasps.
'Control, control,' he said through gritted teeth. 'Don't lose it now, not yet, stay in control-'
