“At the time in which I was concerting means for the destruction of our common enemy, and when I thought that the designs of the Queen of Italy had ceased with the death of her daughter [Ferdinand’s wife], I find that the spirit of blackest intrigue is within the very palace. My eldest son, the heir-presumptive to the throne, has conceived a fearful design to dethrone me and to attempt the life of his mother. Such an atrocious crime can only be punished by the severity of the law. That (law) which calls him to succeed me must be revoked, for one of his brothers will be more worthy to take his place in my heart and on the throne.
“Now I am trying to discover his accomplices, to find the thread of the fearful misfortune, and I will not lose an instant in informing Your Imperial Majesty of the matter, begging you to aid me with your opinion and counsel.
“This I beg, etc.,
“Carlos.”
That day, when Ferdinand thought his father had gone hunting, he begged his mother to come to his room or to let him go to hers. The Queen declined to comply with these requests, but she sent Caballero to the Prince, and, with the cowardly duplicity in which he was an expert, Ferdinand told the Minister that the serious steps with regard to the Queen had been suggested by his mother-in-law, the ex-Queen Caroline, and that they had filled both him and his late wife with horror. He added that, if the persistence of his evil counsellor had led him to be a little weak, it must be remembered he had resisted the seductions for four years, and that he had sought to introduce reforms into the kingdom.
When Godoy had recovered sufficiently from his indisposition to go to the Escorial, he appeared in the room of the disgraced Prince.
Ferdinand threw himself into the arms of the favourite against whom he had plotted so darkly, exclaiming through his tears:
“Oh, my Manuel, I have wanted so much to see you. I have been deceived and ruined by those rogues. You alone can get me out of this trouble.”
“I have come for that purpose,” returned Godoy. “You are the son of my King and Queen. Many a time I have held you in my arms, and I would give you a thousand lives if I had them. And I wept,” said Godoy, who tells this story in his “Mémoires,” “even more than the Prince, although his tears came from his heart.”
“Yes, I am certain,” continued the Prince, “that you would not come to see me like this if you did not intend to help me. You have spoken with my parents? I cannot hope that they will pardon me. I have given the names of my evil advisers. What more can I do to show my repentance? If there is anything more I can do, only tell me, tell me, for I will do anything in which to please my dear parents, and you too. I beg of you to help me, for pity’s sake.”