Castle of Lord de Winter

The Castle of Lord de Winter is the isolated, fortress-like prison on the English coast where Milady is held captive after her brother-in-law intercepts her upon her return from France. It is the site of her failed seduction of the Puritan officer John Felton, her feigned suicide, and her dramatic escape by rope ladder, before Felton goes on to assassinate the Duke of Buckingham.

Location and Description

The castle is a severe, massive, and isolated structure, approached by an iron gate that closes an avenue leading to it. The carriage carrying Milady passes under two arched gateways before stopping in a large, dark, and square court. The chamber assigned to her is furnished for both a prisoner and a free person, but the presence of bars at the windows and outside bolts at the door decisively marks it as a prison. The window opens immediately over the sea, and the sound of the sea dashing against steep cliffs is audible from within. The walls are thick, the doors strong, and the bars solid. The castle is commanded by Lord de Winter himself, who serves as its governor and who has prepared the chamber for his sister-in-law.

Milady's Captivity and the Failed Seduction of Felton

Upon her arrival, Milady is placed in the chamber and left alone with her trunks and packages. Lord de Winter introduces her to John Felton, the young lieutenant who commands in his absence, and warns Felton that she is a monster who will try to seduce or kill him. Felton swears to keep her safely. Milady immediately begins her campaign to corrupt Felton, feigning fainting, praying aloud, and singing Puritan psalms to appeal to his religious fanaticism. She stages a suicide attempt with a rope made of torn handkerchiefs, and later, when Felton brings her a knife, she stabs herself in a carefully calculated wound that is not dangerous. The wound, however, convinces Felton of her sincerity and desperation. She then tells him a fabricated story of her persecution by the Duke of Buckingham, claiming she was branded with a fleur-de-lis by Buckingham's order. Felton, a devout Puritan who already hates Buckingham, is completely won over and falls in love with her.

Escape and Aftermath

On the night of the twenty-second, during a violent storm, Felton returns to the castle. He has filed through the bars of Milady's window and brought a rope ladder. He ties Milady's wrists together, passes her arms around his neck, and descends the ladder with her. They evade a patrol and reach a boat waiting on the shore, which takes them to a sloop Felton has chartered. Felton then leaves Milady on the sloop and goes to Portsmouth, where he assassinates the Duke of Buckingham. Lord de Winter, who had discovered Milady's escape, arrives at the castle too late to prevent the murder. He pursues Felton and has him arrested, but Milady has already sailed for France. The castle thus serves as the pivotal location where Milady's captivity is transformed into her liberation and where the instrument of Buckingham's death is forged.