On February the 26th the Abbot of Najera mentions in a long letter to the emperor that peace had been proclaimed in Milan on St. Matthew's Day, the 24th of February, which was looked upon as a good omen as it was the emperor's birthday as well as the anniversary of the victory of Pavia. But a little later John Jonglet wrote to Margaret from London that 'it was publicly asserted that the King of France would not keep his treaty with the emperor, as the States-General of his kingdom would never sanction the dismemberment of his crown.'[115]

Charles himself seems to have suspected that Francis might play him false, for, on the 19th of February, he had written to De Praet that ... 'as the said Seigneur King (Francis) is bound to deliver up to us certain hostages, as you will see by this treaty, we desire that you will well and carefully inform yourself who the said hostages are to be, whether the king's two eldest sons, or Monseigneur the Dauphin, and twelve of the principal nobility ... that you take especial notice of, and be regardful of the persons of the three children of France, that you make yourself thoroughly acquainted with the visage, physiognomy, size, and person of each, that when it comes to the delivering of them over ... there may be no trickery in substituting one person for another, and that you may be able of a certainty to recognise them as the identical persons whom we ought to have. Our Viceroy of Naples is to take the charge of the said delivery and acceptation, and as you are aware he can have no particular knowledge himself of the said children, it is a matter of necessity that you should be well acquainted with all these particulars....' In another letter to De Praet he says: 'On Shrove-Tuesday we reached Madrid, where we had the satisfaction of finding ourselves with the Sieur King, reciprocally exchanging such sentiments and good offices as two attached friends and brothers entertain and exercise together....

'We remained at Madrid Tuesday evening, Wednesday, and Thursday, and on the following day departed thence with the said king our brother, and slept four leagues from Madrid, in order to reach Illescas, two leagues further, on Saturday. At Illescas we shall find the queen our sister (Eleanor). Here they will meet and see each other, and speak together; and then the king will return to Madrid, and we shall continue his companion in the evening. The next day he will begin his journey direct for Bayonne accompanied by our said viceroy. Soon afterwards our sister the queen will also set off for the same, attended by our Constable of Castile. And as to ourselves, we intend to take the road towards Seville, where we shall find our empress, and where our marriage is to take place.'[116]

On the 16th of February Charles wrote to Louise of Savoy:—

'Madame, my good Mother,—Since I have given back a good brother to the king your son, and am offering you the queen my sister for a daughter, it appears to me that, in order not to present you one son only, I should resume the name which I used formerly to give you, and should again address you as my good mother; and seeing that I do so consider you, I pray you to act as such towards the said queen my sister, as well as towards myself. I came to this town of Madrid to see the king your son ... and I was sorry not to have been able to do so sooner, but I am greatly rejoiced at finding both his health and his affections in so different a state from what they were when I last saw him. The love and friendship which he professes to bear towards me have given me no small satisfaction, and I nowise doubt the sincerity of these good feelings, which I hope you will assist in confirming, as you have promised me by your letters that you would do. On my part I assure you that the love and friendship I bear towards him are most sincere, and that I am fully prepared to accomplish everything I have promised.

'You request in your said letter that the king ... should take the queen, his wife, my sister, with him. As soon as the king ... has ratified and sworn to the treaties, and that all things are concluded between him and me, she shall be given up at Bayonne according to your desire. This shall be done by my Viceroy of Naples after he has liberated the king ... and has received the hostages that are to be given.

'And now, madam, that he may no longer distress you by his bad writing, he who looks upon you as his good mother will conclude by recommending himself with all his heart to your kindness, and will sign himself,—Your good son,

Charles[117]

'To Madame the Regent of France, my good mother.'

From the emperor's Itinerary we learn that Queen Eleanor left off her mourning on being affianced to the King of France. On her arrival at Talavera she was met by the emperor and the Duke of Bourbon. On the 20th of February the emperor and the King of France went together to Illescas, where they paid a visit to the Queen Eleonora and Queen Germaine de Foix, accompanied by the Countess of Nassau and other ladies, who received them on the stairs. They then went into a saloon, where the four sat down under a canopy, and were engaged in conversation, whilst the ladies of the Court amused themselves by dancing.... On the 23rd of February the emperor took leave of his sister, the Queen of France, who remained at Illescas, and pursued his journey towards Seville, where the Princess Isabella of Portugal, his affianced bride, was to meet him on the 9th of March. He made his entry into Seville on that day, and on the 10th his marriage was celebrated with much pomp. At the magnificent festivities which followed, it is recorded that M. de la Chaux opened the ball.[118]