Then he resumed in his turn: "Discipline, Monseigneur, has, I hope, in no way been forgotten by us.

We are not on duty, and we believed that not being on duty we were at liberty to dispose of our time as we pleased.

If we are so fortunate as to have some particular duty to perform for your Eminence, we are ready to obey you.

Your Eminence may perceive," continued Athos, knitting his brow, for this sort of investigation began to annoy him, "that we have not come out without our arms." And he showed the cardinal, with his finger, the four muskets piled near the drum, on which were the cards and dice.
"Your Eminence may believe," added d'Artagnan, "that we would have come to meet you, if we could have supposed it was Monseigneur coming toward us with so few attendants." The cardinal bit his mustache, and even his lips a little.
"Do you know what you look like, all together, as you are armed and guarded by your lackeys ?" said the cardinal.

"You look like four conspirators." "Oh, as to that, Monseigneur, it is true," said Athos; "we do conspire, as your Eminence might have seen the other morning.