Count Stroppiana, who heard the details of the French invasion from Belloni's own lips at Innsbruck, wrote the following account of the Duchess's wrongs to his master, the Duke of Savoy:
"The King of France, we hear, has occupied Lorraine, and sent the young Duke to Châlons, guarded by 100 men-at-arms, contrary to the promises which he made to the Duchess his mother. She threw herself at his feet, imploring him not to rob her of her son, her only joy and consolation, without whom she could not bear to live, with many other words which would have moved the hardest heart to pity. The King would not listen, and repulsed her with many rough words, forbidding any of the Emperor's subjects to remain in her service on pain of death. He has deprived her of the Regency, and relegated her to a remote country place, where she does nothing but weep and lament, and will certainly die before long, if her great sorrow is not comforted, as she has been ill for some time past. The poor little Duke is said to be ill, too. When he reached the first stage of his journey, he asked for his mother and tutor, and, when he did not see them, wept so bitterly that it was impossible to comfort him."[465]
The boy's tears were soon dried, and he recovered his spirits in the charge of the Duke of Longueville's old tutor, Jean de la Brousse, and the companionship of the royal children. His mother remained long inconsolable for his loss, but the affection of her son's subjects was her best solace. So earnest were their entreaties that she should remain among them that she declined her aunt's urgent invitation to take refuge in Flanders, and decided to stay at Denœuvre. On the 31st of May she wrote as follows to inform the Emperor of her intention:
"Monseigneur,
"At the prayer of my brother Monsieur de Vaudemont, and my sister the Duchess of Aerschot, and the earnest desire of my good people, I have been bold enough to remain here, although Your Majesty had sent me orders to join the Queens. I trust you will not take this in bad part, but will understand that I have only done this at the urgent prayer of my brother and sister, and not out of disrespect to your command, since my sole desire is to obey you all my life, and I beg you to believe this and remember my son and his poor country.
"Your humble niece and servant,
"Chrestienne.
"From Denœuvre, May 31, 1552."[466]
July, 1552] CHRISTINA BANISHED
This letter found the Emperor at the lowest depth of his fortunes. On the 19th of May he was carried in his litter by torchlight over the Brenner in torrents of driving rain, and hardly paused till he arrived at Villach in Carinthia. A few hours after he left Innsbruck, Maurice and his troopers entered the town, plundered the Emperor's quarters, and robbed the baggage which had been forgotten in his hasty departure. The victor might easily have captured the fugitive Emperor, but, as Maurice said himself, he had no cage for so fine a bird.
The tide, however, was already turning. Strasburg closed her gates against the French invaders, and early in May an Imperial army attacked Champagne and sent Queen Catherine flying in terror from Reims. Alarmed by these reports, Henry beat a hasty retreat, and contented himself with the empty boast that he had watered his horses in the Rhine. The seat of the war was now transferred to Luxembourg, and Lorraine was once more harassed by the outposts of the two contending armies. From their safe retreat at Denœuvre, Christina and Anne watched the course of the campaign anxiously, and kept up a constant correspondence with Mary of Hungary. The bold measure of placing an Imperialist garrison in Nancy was now proposed by the Duchess, and gladly accepted by her uncle, who realized the advantages of the scheme, and wrote that Lorraine might well be occupied, on the ground of the Duke's detention, and would be restored to him as soon as he was released.[467] Early in July, Christina's trusted servant, Bassompierre, the Bailiff of the Vosges, arrived at Denœuvre with a message from Vaudemont, promising to admit the Imperialist force within the gates of Nancy on condition that the occupation was only temporary. The Duchess promptly sent a lackey to Flanders with a cipher letter to inform the Queen of his consent. But, as ill-luck would have it, the servant fell into the hands of the French, who were besieging Luxembourg, and he was brought before the King and forced to confess the object of his errand. Henry was furious at discovering the plot, and sent a gentleman of his household, Monsieur de Rostain, to Denœuvre, with a letter to the Duchess, saying that he feared her attachment to the Emperor was greater than her maternal love, and desired her to leave Lorraine without delay. Christina sent one of her gentlemen, Monsieur de Doulans, back with Rostain to protest against this order, saying that, after robbing her of her son and depriving her of the Regency, the King would surely not be so cruel as to drive her out of her own dower-house, especially as Denœuvre was a fief of the Empire. But these passionate appeals availed her little. A week later Henry sent another gentleman, Monsieur de Fontaine, to order the Duchess to leave Denœuvre immediately, if she did not wish to feel the full weight of his displeasure. This time the messenger had orders not to return to the King's presence until he had seen the Duchess across the frontier. So with a heavy heart the two Princesses left the land of Lorraine, where they were both so fondly beloved, and took refuge in Alsace. Belloni, who sent the Queen an account of his mistress's latest troubles in his clear Italian handwriting, was desired to tell her aunt that the Duchess had many more things of importance to say, but must wait for a more convenient season. Only one thing she must add, and this was that through all Monsieur de Vaudemont had remained perfectly true and loyal to her, although he was compelled by his office to conform outwardly to the French King's tyranny.[468]