"And how big is our country house, hmm?" Porthos wonders, laughing with disbelief. Yet again, Aramis is surprising him by thinking that their lodgings and plans and events are all bound to be much bigger than anything Porthos had imagined. "I'd always pictured us in a creaking small house with about four or five rooms, with a barn out back for the animals," he says. "The way you talk, I think you're picturing La Fère."