Alarmed by the intelligence, Louis immediately returned to the capital and summoned his Council, before whom he laid the letter written by Marie at Loches, and a second also addressed to himself by M. d'Epernon, in which, with consummate sophistry, the Duke endeavoured to justify his share in her flight. Nor was De Luynes less terrified than his royal master by this sudden transition of affairs; and he consequently laboured to impress upon the King and his ministers the absolute necessity of refusing to hold any intercourse with the Queen-mother until Louis should be in a position to compel her obedience to his will, and to reduce the insurgent nobles who had openly declared in her favour to complete submission. The letters which were laid before the Council containing, moreover, a demand for the reform of the government, every individual holding office under the Crown had a personal interest in supporting this advice; and it was consequently resolved that Louis should affect to believe that his mother had been forcibly removed from Blois by the Duc d'Epernon, and that a large body of troops should be forthwith assembled for her deliverance, under the command of the Duc de Mayenne, from whom it was known that she had parted on bad terms.[26]
So extreme a resolution no sooner became known, however, than it created general dissatisfaction. The unnatural spectacle of a son in arms against his mother inspired all right-minded people with horror; and when the King a few days subsequently proceeded to the Parliament to verify some financial edicts (the enormous recent outlay of the Court having exhausted the royal treasury) he was coldly received, and instead of the loyal acclamations with which he had hitherto been greeted, he heard on all sides murmured expressions of discontent and impatience. These manifestations of popular disaffection alarmed the ministers, and a new council was held, at which it was determined that before proceeding to the ultima ratio regum a negotiation should be attempted with the emancipated Princess; and for this purpose the Comte de Béthune and the Abbé Bérulle[27] were despatched to Marie de Medicis with full powers to conclude a treaty between herself and the King.
The first suggestion offered to the Queen-mother by the royal envoys was her abandonment of M. d'Epernon; but she indignantly refused to adopt so treacherous a line of policy, declaring that she would listen to no compromise which involved a disavowal of her obligations to one whom she justly considered as her liberator.
"Moreover, Messieurs," she said proudly, "even were I capable of such an act of treachery, I am unable so to misrepresent the conduct of the gallant Duke, who holds in his possession not only the letter of the King, wherein he gives me full authority to leave Blois, and to proceed whithersoever I may see fit in the interest of my health, but also one which I myself addressed to him from Blois entreating his assistance in my escape from that fortress, and his escort to Angoulême. I request, therefore, that as loyal gentlemen you will refrain from accusing M. d'Epernon of an act of violence which the respect due to the mother of his sovereign would have rendered impossible on his part. I am here because I was weary of the constraint and insult of which I had been so long the victim; and I am ready to accept the whole responsibility of the step which I have seen fit to take."
As the determined attitude of the Queen-mother rendered all further discussion upon this point at once idle and impolitic, De Luynes resolved to induce her to come to terms with the King without any allusion to M. d'Epernon; and for this purpose the Archbishop of Sens was directed to act in concert with the two original envoys, and to endeavour to convince her that a prolonged opposition to the will of the sovereign could only terminate in her own destruction. Still, however, Marie remained firm, rejecting the conditions which were proposed to her as unworthy alike of her rank and of the position she had hitherto held in the kingdom; and the month of March went by without the attainment of any result. De Luynes, irritated by a pertinacity which threatened his tenure of authority, renewed his entreaties for the formation of a strong army with which he could secure the overthrow of the Duc d'Epernon; and at the same time he suggested to Louis the recall of the Bishop of Luçon, who had once more offered his services as a negotiator between the contending parties.
The young King, who saw only through the eyes of his favourite, was induced to comply with both proposals; and Marie de Medicis no sooner ascertained that the royal troops were about to march upon Angoulême, than she made preparations for defence. In order to do this more effectually she addressed autograph letters to the Ducs de Mayenne and de Rohan, to the Maréchal de Lesdiguières, and to several other great nobles, soliciting their support in the impending struggle; but with the sole exception of M. de Rohan, they all returned cold and negative replies, informing her that the duty which they owed to the King would not permit them to comply with her request; after which they forwarded her letters to the Court, together with the answers which they had made, thus purchasing their safety at the expense of their honour. The Duc de Rohan, on receiving her application, also declined to assist her, it is true; but he did so loyally and respectfully, assuring her Majesty that he greatly regretted she should so long have delayed requesting his co-operation, as he would have served her zealously and faithfully, whereas he was now no longer in a position to espouse her interests, the King having commanded him to remain in his government of Poitou in order to maintain peace in that province, a duty which his honour consequently enforced upon him; but declaring at the same time that even while obeying the commands of her son, he would not undertake anything inimical to her own interests, and entreating her to effect an understanding with the sovereign in order to avert the evils of a civil war, and to ensure to herself the liberty and safety which could alone enable her to rally about her person all those who were sincerely desirous of serving her.
Although touched by the manliness and dignity of this reply, the Queen-mother bitterly felt the loss of such an ally; nor were her disappointment and mortification lessened when she discovered that the Maréchal de Schomberg, anxious to convince Louis of the extent of his zeal, and so to possess himself of the royal favour, had formed the design of blowing up the powder-magazine of Angoulême, and thus terminating the negotiation by a coup de main of which she and her adherents were destined to be the victims. The project was indeed discovered and defeated, but the impression which it left upon her mind was one of gloom and discouragement.[28]
We have already seen that the Duc de Mayenne had protested to Rucellaï his attachment to the cause and person of Marie; yet he did not hesitate to accept the command of the army which was organized against her, and to march upon the province of Angoumois at the head of twelve thousand men. The position of the Queen--mother was critical. She issued continual commissions for the levy of troops, but she was unable to furnish the necessary funds for their support, and in this difficulty she resolved to appeal to the Protestants who were at that time holding their General Assembly at La Rochelle. She was aware that they were inimical to De Luynes, and she trusted that they might consequently be induced to join her own faction. Once more, however, she was doomed to disappointment. They were dissuaded from such a project by Du Plessis;[29] and M. d'Epernon, after the most strenuous efforts, could not succeed in raising more than six thousand foot and one thousand horse with which to make head against the royal army.
Moreover, Schomberg, Lieutenant of the King in Limousin under M. d'Epernon, who was the governor of the province, declared against him, and took the town of Uzerche which was feebly garrisoned,[30] while the Duke was engaged in checking the advance of Mayenne; nor was it long ere intelligence arrived at Angoulême that Boulogne-sur-Mer had opened its gates to the royal forces, and thus revolted against the authority of Epernon, who was also governor of Picardy.[31]
These disasters were a source of great anxiety to Marie de Medicis, who began to apprehend that should the Duke be in like manner despoiled of his other fortified cities he would no longer be in a position to afford her any protection; but fortunately De Luynes had also taken alarm. The citizens made no attempt to conceal their dissatisfaction, the populace openly murmured in the streets, and the favourite had not yet had time to forget the popular vengeance which had been wreaked upon the wretched Concini; no wonder therefore that he trembled for himself. Richelieu had been, as already stated, recalled from his exile at Avignon, and the moment was now arrived in which his services were essential to De Luynes, by whom he was forthwith despatched to Angoulême, on the understanding that the King had perfect confidence in his fidelity, and placed implicit reliance on his desire to prove his affection to his person. The astute prelate required no further explanation as to what was required of him; he was aware that his compulsory absence had caused his services to be more than ever coveted by the Queen-mother, and he lost no time in setting forth upon his treacherous errand, furnished with a letter to Marie, below which Louis wrote with his own hand: "I beg you to believe that this document explains my will, and that you cannot afford me greater pleasure than by conforming to it."