Author's Notes: And here we have the prologue to By Sun or Candlelight, the sequel to Come My Restoration. There may be some sexy times with Athos and Milady Anne … especially if she decides that her Musketeer requires some distraction. Also, I'm thinking seriously about a prequel to Come My Restoration, tentatively called, 'I'll Show You What I Can Be,' which chronicles Anne's time in San Francisco and her encounter with the Legacy, especially exploring what led her to start reclaiming her previous self. But I'm still mulling that over. So, in this chapter, Rob Maddox gets a very unpleasant surprise as he tries to wrap up his work day before meeting his wife for a date.

Disclaimer: Athos, Porthos, Aramis, d'Artagnan, Treville, Anne de Brueil (Milady), Constance, Anne Maurice (Queen Anne), Armand Richelieu, and Gilles/Giles Rochefort do not belong to me, nor does the concept of The Musketeers. Credit for all of the above goes to Alexandre Dumas and the BBC. I do, however, own the Maddox family. You can borrow them, but ask first, give credit where credit is due, and return them to me intact.

Prologue

Shadows of the Past

Office of the District Attorney

San Antonio, Texas

January 2015

It was another late night for Rob Maddox … mainly last minute details he was looking over on behalf of another ADA, who was allowing his second chair to cover for him while he was in the hospital. Everything looked fine, but tomorrow, Rob would be going over things with her one last time. What was it that Tristan liked to say? Ah, yes … 'it never hurts to help.' A quick glance at the clock told him that it was nearly six pm … Audelais would be here in another ten minutes, give or take. He was finding it easier and easier to call his wife by her birth name, although her sister-in-law still called her Josie. Even she was starting to desist with that, though, because as she put it, 'Josie was the armor that she created to protect Audelais. That armor isn't necessary anymore.' It was a rather poetic way of putting it, but he couldn't argue with the logic. Besides, he never really thought 'Josie' fit her … 'Josie' was the leader of the Pussycats, after all. And as much as he loved the idea of seeing his wife in a catsuit, the cat ears made him laugh. That really was not a good idea when you were trying to court a woman.

It was also not a good idea to be late, especially since he and Audelais were going to a play tonight. He'd originally offered to pick up Audelais at the Bourbon office here in San Antonio, until Eddie pointed out that would make them late. He was still extremely tentative around Audelais, although he'd admitted rather shyly that was more because he felt like a jerk than anything else. He'd built her up as this monstrous ogre of a woman (Rob didn't tell him that the word he was looking for was 'ogress'), and was more than a little stunned to meet a petite, soft-spoken woman (on the other hand, she didn't need to be an ogress … Porthos du Vallon's unimpressed look at anyone who would have upset her was warning enough).

"I'm heading out, Rob … anything you need before I go?" the young clerk asked, poking his head into Rob's office. The lawyer shook his head with a small smile, and Eddie went on, "If I see Joselais, I'll tell her that you're up here." Rob bit back a smile at Eddie's unconscious adoption of his wife's newest nickname, courtesy of the aforementioned Porthos. He had to admit, it suited her quite well … the mixture of her past and present. She seemed fond of it as well, admitting to him once during the last few months that she'd always hated her given name, even more so when she learned that it was more commonly a boys' name.

"Thanks, Ed, I appreciate that. You and she getting along okay?" Rob asked … more to have something to say than because it was something he didn't actually know. Eddie blushed and ducked his head. As the Musketeers had learned when Rob's brother-in-law decked him, Eddie Thackeray was one of the most outspoken of Rob's co-workers when it came to his divorce from Joselais. It had taken several conversations for the young man to understand that Rob had betrayed his wife's trust when he cheated on her. But the point wasn't driven home until about two months earlier.

Eddie had come home to find his own significant other in bed with someone else, and it had broken the young man's heart. And rather than being ugly about it (as Eddie obviously expected her to), Joselais had immediately taken the clerk under her wing, talking him into volunteering at Gennesaret as a channel for his grief, anger, and guilt. Guilt, Rob had questioned? His wife had nodded, saying that Eddie was wondering what he had done wrong … he had to have done something wrong if his other half was driven to cheating. Rob remembered his wife lying in a hospital bed in New Brunswick, wanting to know what she'd done wrong, and shuddered.

"She's a pretty cool lady. I wasn't expecting that. I'll see you in the morning, Rob," he said before doing a pretty decent about-face, and striding from the room. Rob smirked and returned his attention to the brief. A quick glance at the clock told him that his wife would be here in another five minutes, and Rob promised himself that he would finish reading over it in the morning. For now, he had to finish getting ready to go, especially if he wanted to surprise her downstairs. He was slipping into his sports jacket when the door opened and closed behind him. Rob smiled to himself. Typical.

"Forget something, Ed?" he called over his shoulder as he straightened the jacket. There was silence behind him, and frowning a bit, Rob turned … to find a somewhat familiar man in his office. That was bad enough, but what made his blood run cold was the sight of the gun in his hand. This … was not good. Rob abandoned his idea of meeting his wife downstairs … he didn't know what this guy wanted, but he doubted if he would have an issue with threatening or hurting Joselais to do it. Instead, he asked calmly, "Something I can do for you?"

The blond-haired man smiled mockingly, "Oh, you don't recognize me. I'm not sure if I should be hurt or pleased by that. But that's the way of it, isn't it? You don't remember the people whose life you impact the most. You put me away for eight years, and you don't remember me. Rochefort. Giles Rochefort. Does that name ring any bells? Unfortunately, it did, and Rob's heart tightened in his chest.

"I didn't put you away … your crimes did that, along with a jury of your peers. You stalked that girl, and when she didn't want anything to do with you, you tried to kill her," he answered evenly. Probably not the smartest thing to do, considering Rochefort was one of those who couldn't take responsibility for himself. The other man's eyes flashed angrily, but Rob didn't move. He'd put this bastard away about five months before he'd cheated on his wife, and all he could see for too long was his wife in place of the girl Rochefort had assaulted.

"She … led … me … on! She led me on and then she lied about it! Then again, my lawyer warned me … said we were screwed because she looked like your wife," Rochefort snarled. Actually, she hadn't. Joselais had dark hair, while the girl Rochefort assaulted had red hair. But Rochefort's lawyer wasn't the first to see a resemblance between that poor girl and Rob's wife. The ex-con shook his head, adding, "But you'll never admit to that, never admit you were in the wrong. That kinda makes things better, I think." Rob had no time to react, as Rochefort squeezed the trigger and a burning sensation stole his breath. He wasn't aware of collapsing to the ground, or even of pressing his hand to the wound. When next he was aware, he was staring up at Rochefort, who smirked, adding, "I think I'll let you bleed out, rather than put you out of your misery … let your bitch wife find out. If her brother is with her, that's even better. Happy dying, Maddox … your passing will only brighten the world!"

Dazed and in pain, there were only two words that Rob grasped … wife and brother. Josie. Josie was coming here tonight, and this monster was here, this monster who already mentioned Josie and her resemblance to that victim. Was Athos with her? Athos should come with her, as protective of her as he was. Athos could protect her from Rochefort … Athos, Porthos, Aramis, d'Artagnan. As blackness crept over his vision, Rob drew strength from that … Rochefort was a monster, but he was no match for the Musketeers.

TBC

Reviewer Responses:

A reader (epilogue to Come My Restoration): (bows) Thank you, thank you very much. So glad you enjoyed it! I couldn't let the idea of the ancestors watching over their descendents and namesakes go. It was just … it felt right. You'll be getting more Athos/Milady Anne in this story (also Aramis/Queen Anne).