The three musketeers have little to do because they are not yet involved in the siege, so they ride out to a neighboring inn. On the way back, they challenge an approaching rider who, in turn, challenges them with a voice of absolute authority. It is the cardinal. Surprisingly, he knows the names of each of the three musketeers; because his mission is secret, he asks them to accompany him in order that his safety be guaranteed. He knows their reputations for bravery, loyalty, and trustworthiness.
They learn that he is going to the inn which they just left, and they tell him about some rogues who tried to break into a lady’s room. The musketeers were obliged to disperse these unsavory characters. The cardinal is pleased; the lady is the very person whom he is to meet. He asks the musketeers to wait for him in a room below while he goes up to talk to the lady.
In the musketeers’ room, there is a broken stovepipe and, by accident, Athos discovers that he can hear the conversation between the cardinal and Milady. Porthos and Aramis also draw up their chairs and listen. They hear the cardinal tell Milady that she is to go to London to contact Buckingham and let him know that as soon as he attacks France, the cardinal will bring about the queen’s ruin. Milady is also to tell Buckingham that the cardinal knows about his activities with the queen, and he describes each meeting which the duke has had with the queen, including a description of the clothes that the duke wore on each occasion. The cardinal also knows the truth about the diamond tags.
Furthermore, the cardinal’s men have intercepted an Englishman who had letters on him (one from Madame de Chevreuse, Aramis’s beloved) which compromise the queen because they prove that the queen is capable of loving the king’s enemies and of conspiring with the enemies of France—charges which could imprison the queen for life. The cardinal is aware that the duke will do almost anything to protect the queen, but if the duke refuses, the cardinal indicates to Milady that she is to kill him—and make it look like the work of a fanatic. Milady agrees and, in return, she requests that her enemies be killed—first, Constance Bonacieux; and then, and even more important, she wants d’Artagnan killed. She will provide evidence that d’Artagnan has been in collusion with Buckingham; afterward, the cardinal will see to it that d’Artagnan disappears forever. Then she asks for, and receives, a valuable letter from the cardinal stating that whatever the bearer of the letter does, that person is doing so for the benefit of the cardinal and for France.
After hearing this, Athos makes ready to leave. He tells Aramis and Porthos to tell the cardinal that he has gone forward to scout the road—just in case there are unknown dangers. After the cardinal and the two remaining musketeers have left the inn, Athos returns to Milady’s room and confronts her. She is horrified when she realizes that Athos is Count de La Fere, her husband, the man who tried to hang her and left her for dead.
Athos charges her with all of the vile, infamous things she has done and reviews her recent vengeful actions. Milady is stunned by his minutely detailed knowledge of her evil machinations, and Athos threatens her life if she doesn’t cease trying to kill d’Artagnan. Milady defies Athos and vows that d’Artagnan will certainly die after she has made certain that Constance Bonacieux is dead. Athos draws his pistol and is about to kill her, but instead, he takes the letter which the cardinal wrote for her, and leaves.
