Before the duel, the Englishmen are clearly concerned that they are titled members of society and perhaps should not be fighting with mere "commoners." Therefore, Athos takes one of them aside and tells him who he really is. He also tells him that because he now knows Athos's true identity, Athos will have to kill him — and he does so only moments into the duel. Meanwhile, Porthos wounds his opponent in the thigh, picks him up, and carries him to the carriage. Aramis traps his opponent momentarily before the Englishman manages to escape. D'Artagnan fights Lord de Winter with cool detachment until he is able to unarm him; then graciously, he spares his life. In appreciation, de Winter arranges to introduce d'Artagnan to Milady, his sister-in-law, Lady de Winter.
When the two men arrive, Milady seems momentarily unhappy to learn that d'Artagnan spared de Winter's life, but quickly recovers her composure. She becomes gracious to d'Artagnan and soon d'Artagnan becomes a daily visitor to Milady's house.
Meanwhile, Porthos goes to his dinner engagement with Madame Coquenard, posing as her cousin. Her miserly husband is there, and their dinner is the poorest excuse of a meal that Porthos, a fastidious gourmet, has ever tried to eat. In addition, he is served the most foul-tasting wine that can be imagined. After the meal, he discovers that Madame Coquenard is as miserly as her husband; she almost faints when she hears how much money Porthos needs to buy new musketeer equipment for himself. Nonetheless, she promises to get most of the equipment (a horse, a mule, and some other things) from business acquaintances, and she further promises Porthos some money. Disappointed, hungry, and morose, Porthos goes home.
