The Marquis de Saint-Maurice, Ambassador of Savoy, to Duke Charles Emmanuel II, 19 September, 1670
It had been a shock, at first, to discover that the king was sending me to England. But when I considered it further I began to see the reasoning behind it. If we wanted to hold King Charles to the terms of the treaty, then to insert someone into the English court whose presence would remind him of his obligations made perfect sense.
It was another remark Lionne made which puzzled me more.
‘After all, we are already aware of the English king’s regard for you, thanks to the matter of the jewel box,’ he said idly.
‘The jewel box, my lord.^’
‘Yes. Did you not know? Apparently at Dover, when Charles asked his sister for a gift by which to remember her, she sent you to get her jewel box. Do you recall the occasion?’ I nodded. It was their custom to exchange gemstones in this way, as keepsakes. ‘Later, when they were alone, Charles told her that the jewel he really admired was the one who had fetched the box.’
At this I found myself a httle disconcerted, partly because
Madame had never mentioned this conversation to me when discussing her adored brother, and pardy because of the frankness of Lionne’s smile. ‘I am sure His Majesty meant no more than to be gallant,’ I said. ‘And once I am in the queen’s train, he will no doubt be a litde. more guarded with his gallantries.’
‘No doubt.’ Lionne consulted a calendar on his desk. ‘Anyway, you leave tomorrow.’
‘Tomorrow! ’
‘You travel with the confectioner as far as Dieppe, where the Duke of Buckingham keeps his yacht. The duke will meet you there and escort you across the Channel. There is no time to waste. We must have the English king’s declaration against the Dutch before we make our move, and every week’s delay is costing us money.’
I left Paris next morning, having spent the night packing. I had few gowns of my own, but I had been told to take whatever I needed from Madame’s wardrobe. It felt strange, at first, to be trying on the clothes which I had so recently seen her wearing, but it was not the first time I had worn her cast-offs, and I knew that if I did not take them they would only go to the other ladiesin-waiting. There was no time to visit my dear parents; I wrote to Brest to explain what had happened, reassuring them that if all went well I would be back in France within a year, and that I hoped in the meantime to have earned the king’s gratitude.
But at Dieppe, there was no sign of Buckingham. His yacht was in the harbour, but the crew did not know when their master might be expected. Thankfully, I had just enough money to take a room at an inn.
Two days stretched into three, then four. I passed the time walking beside the sea, feeling the salty air on my face, just as I used to before I came to court.
Then, on the fifth day, a note was sent up. The Duke of Buckin0hum requests the pleasure of your company.
I found the Englishman lounging across an easy chair beside the fire in his rooms. I curtsied. ‘My Lord Duke,’ I said in English, ‘This is a great pleasure.’ I had already decided that recriminations or barbed rebukes were of no use: better to ignore the fact thatiie had left me there without word, than make an enemy.
‘Call me George,’ he said easily. ‘After all, we are about to get better acquainted.’
His servant placed the supper dishes on the table and made himself scarce. We had not even eaten when Buckingham came round behind me and—
Since I am writing this for no one but myself, I shall say it plainly: he slid his hands under my dress.
I jumped to my feet. ‘My lord, what are you doing?’
Unperturbed, he laughed at me. ‘I can hardly vouch for a mare unless I’ve sat on her myself Just as you took it upon yourself to taste Madame’s food, so I have assigned myself the role of tasting the king’s women.’
I tried to keep my voice even, although I am not sure I succeeded. ‘I do not think you would insult one of your own countrywomen this way.’
‘Insult?’ He leaned closer, and I saw that his eyes were glassy with drink. ‘It’s me who’s been insulted, you French jade.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘This so-called treaty I’ve been sent here to negotiate. The Treaty of Paris - or should that be, the Treaty of Dover?’
So he knew. This was bad news indeed. ‘I am ignorant of such matters. I was Madame’s lady-in-waiting, nothing more—’
His lip curled. ‘Don’t play that game with me. You’ve been sent to ensnare him. Women are his weakness, everyone knows that.’
I shook my head, unable to speak.
‘Well, it’s no great matter. Even if you’d got to court, you’d not have lasted. He likes them with a bit more fire between their
legs. You’re a cold bitch, anyone can see that.’
He spoke so calmly that it was hard to believe what I was hearing. ‘When you are done with this outrage—’ I began.
‘Oh, I am done,’ he said brusquely. ‘As you are. Go back to whatever French bordello Lionne found you in. I’ll not be taking you to England. We have whores aplenty of our owm’
For a moment we stared at each other - me horrified, him contemptuous. What could I do? There was nothing that could undo the things he had said, no apology that could excuse his behaviour. With as much dignity as I could summon, I turned and hurried from the room.
^ I
Tou^ve been sent to ensnare him. It was nonsense, of course, but could there be some grain of truth in it? Had Lionne, or even Louis, thought that Charles might take a fancy to me? It seemed incredible. And in any case, what would be the benefit? Even if I had been the sort of woman to encourage such behaviour, the idea that a king would change his policy just because of a woman was absurd. Even a king as absolute as Louis was surrounded by ministers, councils, petitioners. He barely listened to any of them; as for listening to his mistresses, from what I had heard it was more the other way round. And Charles II of England had his Parliament to contend with. j
By the next morning I had convinced myself that Buckingham had simply been drunk and trying to trick me into his bed. I would wait for him to apologise, accept gracefully, and we would say no more about it.
But when I went to the window his yacht was already gone.
I spent the day in despair. I had failed already, and through no fault of my own. Of course, I could go back to Paris and explain what had happened, but the fact remained that there would be even less reason now for Louis to keep me at court. It would be quicker, and simpler, to get a fishing boat to take me straight to Brest.
■V,
no
At the thought of returning to my parents, my mission unfulfilled, my spirits sank.
There was one other thing I could try. Taking a pen and paper, I composed a letter to Ralph Montagu, Charles IPs envoy to the French court,''and a frequent visitor to Madame’s apartments at Versailles.
Five days later the innkeeper announced I had a visitor. I was flattered to find that it was Montagu himself.
‘Mademoiselle,’ he said, bowing low over my hand. ‘I came as soon as I got your note.’
‘I didn’t know who else to write to—’
‘You did the right thing,’ he assured me. ‘King Charles himself has been informed of your impending arrival, and eagerly awaits it. Fie intends to welcome you to Whitehall with all the respect due to a daughter of one of France’s most ancient families.’ There was a just a little inflection on the word ‘respect’, as if to say that he understood all too well what a man like Buckingham might have accused me of.
‘I see,’ I said, relieved. ‘I must admit, I was rather anxious that the Duke of Buckingham had implied otherwise.’
‘Please do not judge all my countrymen by his behaviour.’ Montagu gestured at the harbour. ‘Lord Arlington, one of Charles’s principal ministers, is sending his boat for you. When you reach London, he invites you to stay with him at his home, where his wife will keep you company until accommodation can be found for you at court.’