28 June 1628

June 28, 1628, marks a pivotal moment in the campaign against La Rochelle, when King Louis XIII, after holding his Bed of Justice, was struck by a fever that forced him to halt at Villeroy rather than join the army. This sudden illness not only delayed the king's personal involvement in the siege but also altered the chain of command, giving Cardinal Richelieu greater latitude to direct operations and leaving the Musketeers—including d'Artagnan and his three friends—separated from their sovereign and subject to the cardinal's immediate authority.

The King's Illness and Its Immediate Consequences

On the morning of June 28, 1628, Louis XIII presided over his Bed of Justice, a formal session of the Parlement. Immediately after rising, he felt the onset of a fever. Despite his eagerness to set out for La Rochelle, the illness worsened, and he was forced to stop at Villeroy. This delay meant that the Musketeers, who customarily accompanied the king, also halted, while the Guards—including d'Artagnan, who was still a member of Monsieur Dessessart's company—continued their march toward the front. The separation left d'Artagnan isolated from his three closest friends, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, at a moment when he was already vulnerable to the machinations of Milady and the cardinal.

Shift in Command and Strategic Impact

With the king incapacitated, Cardinal Richelieu assumed even greater control over the siege. The cardinal had already been the driving force behind the campaign, but the king's absence removed the last check on his authority. Monsieur, the king's brother, was left to direct the initial operations, but without the king's presence, the command structure became more fragmented. The cardinal could now pursue his private vendetta against the Duke of Buckingham—whom he saw as a rival for the queen's affections—without the king's moderating influence. The delay also meant that the English, under Buckingham, had more time to fortify their positions on the Isle of Ré, prolonging the conflict.

The Musketeers' Separation and d'Artagnan's Vulnerability

For d'Artagnan, the king's illness had immediate personal consequences. He arrived at the camp before La Rochelle on September 10, 1627, without his three friends, who remained with the king at Villeroy. This separation left him exposed to the dangers that Milady and the cardinal had prepared for him. Without Athos's counsel and the support of Porthos and Aramis, d'Artagnan was more vulnerable to the ambushes and poisonings that Milady orchestrated. The king's delay thus indirectly contributed to the series of attacks on d'Artagnan's life, including the poisoned wine sent in the name of his friends and the assassination attempt in the trenches.

Narrative Significance

The date June 28, 1628, functions as a hinge in the novel's plot, marking the moment when the king's physical weakness mirrors the political weakness of the monarchy relative to the cardinal. It is a day of deferred action, where the king's illness becomes a catalyst for the cardinal's unchecked power and for the isolation of the novel's hero. The fever that struck Louis XIII on that day is not merely a historical detail but a narrative device that accelerates the cardinal's schemes and deepens the peril facing d'Artagnan and his companions.