Although every sign screamed of the poverty and unrest among the lower classes in Montaigne, the trip to Charouse was uneventful, and the roads were good since it was mid-summer. Upon arrival, the heroes asked Jérôme to point them to a decent inn, and he took them to La Pescada, a "Castillan-style" inn (owned by a Montaigne). The heroes rented the entire inn so they wouldn't have to worry about spies. Jérôme left, thanking them for letting him work his way to Charouse, and Melisandre gave him a generous amount for his severance pay and wedding present.
Lucas immediately sent a request for an audience with Duchesse Thérèse Rois et Reines de Rogné, grandmother of the Dauphin, who had left a good impression at their last meeting in Freiburg. After a surprisingly brief wait, a reply came from the Duchesse, inviting Lucas and his companions to accompany her to the opera that evening.
Meanwhile, Constanza and Ferdinand went to report to the local chapterhouse of the Order of the Rose and Cross, where they were received by the Master Knight. Upon learning of Beggar John's identity, the Master Knight introduced him to Grand Master Aristide Baveux, who had traveled from Crieux to meet him. The Grand Master questioned Ferdinand on his motives to join the Order, a question which the good corporal had not yet answered to anyone's satisfaction.
That night, the heroes climbed into a coach and eight sent by Duchesse Thérèse and went to the opera at the Colombe d'Or Theater. Lucas and Constanza had seen the place before when they had come to assist Princess Dominique de Montaigne in Nonus 1667, but from a very different angle to say the least. This time, they were escorted to a fashionable box rather than chased backstage by a troup of musketeers. They found the duchess waiting for them; she greeted them with great courtesy. Lucas explained their mission to Montaigne and asked her to convey his request for an audience to Princess Anne and Captain Jean-Marie Rois et Reines de Rogné. The duchess agreed.
The next day was largely spent visiting tailors, milliners, etc. and ordering court clothes made. A messenger brought word that the heroes were expected at Captain Rois et Reines de Rogné's office, at the musketeers' headquarters. They went to meet him and Lucas once again explain their mission: to secure the Dauphin abdication from all claims to the throne of Castille. He explained the political situation and the probability of civil war if Montaigne tried to install the Dauphin as King of Castille, as well as the risks of assassination. The captain listened gravely, and said he would discuss the matter with his wife Princess Anne, but promised nothing.
At that point, a commotion in the courtyard interrupted the conversation. The captain excused himself to check on it, and the heroes followed. They saw none other than private Jérôme, chained and led as a prisoner by an escort of musketeers. Melisandre, furious, demanded his release but learned that he had been arrested for murder and was being escorted to the prison. Questioning, she heard that Jérôme had returned to find his fiancée Valérie, believing him dead, had been forced to marry a wealthy and powerful noble, Comte Yannick Bisset du Verre. As he was about to leave, broken-hearted, Jérôme noticed bruises on Valérie's wrists. He discovered that the Comte had been beating her. Mad with rage, Jérôme went out and killed Comte Yannick. As if spilling the Comte's noble blood wasn't enough to send a commoner to a death sentence, it transpired Comte Yannick had been one of the Empereur's favourites of the moment, guaranteeing a quick and merciless sentence. There was no doubt that the trial would be brief and perfunctory. Melisandre demanded that he be provided with the best barrister, for whose services she would pay. Jérôme was escorted away and the heroes left.
Later that day, another messenger brought an invitation from Princess Anne to Captain Rois et Reines de Rogné's estate that evening. Then a Vodacce lady showed up and Lucas and Constanza recognized Anna, Strega and maid to Princess Dominique de Montaigne; she brought word that the princess would like to meet with them later that night, in the same location they had met her before. Meanwhile, an angry Melisandre planned the prison break-out of Jérôme, and convinced everyone to help. The rescue would take place in the dead of night, so they would have time to keep their other appointments. She and Ferdinand went to reconnoitre, while Lucas and Constanza headed for the meeting with the Dauphin's mother.
The Captain and his family lived in a relatively modest townhouse, given their station. Lucas and Constanza were shown in, where Princess Anne greeted them with her son Pascal, the Dauphin, by her side. Although she was courteous. she seemed ill at ease, indeed, extremely apprehensive. Lucas presented his official request while the Princess and her son listened in uneasy silence. The young prince was very well behaved and polite, despite his tender age. Lucas did his best to reassure Princess Anne that they not harm her son in any way. She listened gravely but informed them that the decision had been taken out of her hands.
At this point, Baron Rémy de Montaigne emerged from the next room, chuckling dryly. He informed the Princess's visitors that the Empereur reserved for himself decisions about Pascal's future. His manner toward Anne and Pascal was subtly threatening. He was of course openly contemptuous of Lucas and Constanza as he announced that they would have to present their petition to the Empereur himself at breakfast in the morning, when General du Toille would also present his apology to Melisandre. He then ripped a Porté hole open and stepped through, leaving a puddle of blood on the boudoir carpet.
Constanza promised Princess Anne that they would do their utmost to protect the life of young Pascal from both Montaigne and Castillan dangers, and they left. They made their way to the appointed meeting spot with the Fate Witch Anna, who led them through the catacombs to the spot where they already had met Princess Dominique before.
A heavily pregnant Princess Dominique greeted them in hurried tones. She warned them against Rémy de Montaigne and the Empereur's scheming. She said Empereur Léon had something nasty planned, though she did not know what. As she was speaking, a look of pain suddenly passed over her face. She urgently glanced at her maid and murmured: "It's time." Lucas and Constanza excused themselves.
Returning late to the inn, the heroes found a harried innkeeper who had been threatened by angry mobs demanding that he give up his stores of food. The Castillans appeased the crowd with well-placed bribes. Led by Melisandre, they then changed from their court clothes into more practical garb (except of course for Beggar John, always ready for action in his fetching burlap outfit), and headed out again in the dark of night. They made their way to the prison without mishaps.
The would-be rescuers swam through the moat and climbed the walls enclosing the prison. But at the top, they ran into a few guards. They dispatch most of them before they could raise the alarm, but Ferdinand found himself face-to-face with Sergeant Detmer, last seen in Caballos Nuevos! The Sergeant hurled himself at the Castillan who had defeated him, and the other heroes used this distraction to sneak into the prison itself.
They quickly checked the cells, and finally found Jérôme chained to a wall, unconscious. Melisandre forced the lock on the cell door. Lucas stood guard in the corridor while Melisandre and Constanza went in to free Jérôme. But upon entering the cell, the ladies discovered that this was a trap and someone else was inside, out of sight from the door, and waiting for them. Rémy de Montaigne greeted them with sneering contempt.
The Baron wanted to know how and why the Castillan envoys had convinced the Montaigne private to kill one of the Empereur's favourite and member of the Secret Police. He would not believe that they had had nothing with Comte Yannick Bisset de Verre's death, or that Jérôme had truly killed him in anger for harming Valérie, rather than as a political act. Naturally, freeing Jérôme was now out of the question. Melisandre and Constanza were sure that they would be thrown in jail as well, but Baron Rémy let them go because, he said, they must be able to keep their appointment with the Empereur in the morning.
As a final barb, he turned to Constanza and informed her that the woman she thought was Melisandre was in fact an impostor, her twin Sarina. The two, he said could be distinguished by checking for a scar Sarina had on her right foot. With this, he tore open a Porté hole and disappeared.
Constanza and "Melisandre" collected Lucas, who had overheard part of the conversation from the corridor but stayed out of sight, then rejoined with Ferdinand who was just triumphing over Sergeant Detmer. Constanza stopped the aspiring Knight from finishing off his opponent. Instead, "Beggar John" threw the Eisen mercenary into the moat. The glum heroes returned to their inn with a feeling of failure and heightened suspicion. There, Constanza closeted herself with "Melisandre" and demanded to check for the scar, which she found despite attempts at covering it with make-up.
