D’Artagnan returns to Paris just as King Louis has gone out on a hunting trip. Instead of going immediately after him, D’Artagnan uses the next few hours to clean himself up and learn what has happened in his absence. He learns that despite being in the king’s favor, Fouquet is anxious and ill, and no physician can cure him. He also learns that the queen mother is depressed, and the king’s brother has become more pious, Colbert was radiant—perhaps pridefully—and La Valliere had become entirely “indispensable” to the king. D’Artagnan uses the king’s time away from the castle to attempt a private conversation with La Valliere about Raoul. He finds her among other ladies of the court, who inquire about De Beaufort’s expedition to Africa. When D’Artagnan says that Raoul is going as De Beaufort’s aide-de-camp, the women antagonize La Valliere, tormenting her with the thought that Raoul only went to die in Africa because she broke his heart. King Louis returns and orders D’Artagnan to ride ahead to prepare for his arrival at the estates in Nantes.