This discovery was maliciously divulged by the Cardinal Richelieu, who wanted to bring disgrace to the Queen as his way of scheming against King Louis XIII's leadership in France. Adultery was a practice acknowledged to occur rampantly but done with discretion, because this remains a taboo in 17th century society, wherein the novel was set. That is why the Musketeers deemed it necessary that in order to help the Queen 'save face' from potential embarrassment, they must be able to re-procure the diamonds the Queen had given her lover, which the Cardinal maliciously requested the Queen to wear in a social, public function for the King. As reflected in the novel, the apparent disquiet that this revelation about the Queen's extra-marital affair was explicated by Dumas in the novel: "...the redness of the queen's eyes donated that she had been sleepless or tearful. But this last circumstance was not striking,...
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