Aramis waits out the tumult of Porthos' reaction with all the patience of a man riding a bucking horse, resuming his work when Porthos is still again. "That is for people who haven't paraded about with a strain for so long that they've aggravated the nerve," he tells him, reaching for the salve. Perhaps it will further loosen Porthos' shoulder.

"What were you lifting, bloody kettlebells filled with lead?"