Not long afterward the court was upset by the sudden return to Paris of the Dame de Courcy, the mistress of ceremonies, who had been sent to England with Madame Isabelle. The Queen heard the news from a chambermaid in the early morning of December seventh; violently disturbed, she ordered that the King be notified at once. Even before the sun was up, the Sire de Courcy appeared in the palace; he was taken to a small reception hall where the King and Queen, as well as the Dukes of Orléans and Burgundy, awaited him. Isabeau could scarcely control herself during the courteous greetings.
“By God, Messire de Courcy,” she cried out at last, half-rising from her chair. “Tell us your news of our daughter, the Queen of England. We hear that Madame de Courcy returned to the city quite unexpectedly last night.”
De Courcy did not look up.
“My Lady,” he said in a low voice, “the Queen of England has not a single French subject remaining in her service. The entire retinue was summarily dismissed within twenty-four hours by … by the King’s command.”
“I don’t believe it!” cried Isabeau; she looked at her husband, but he only twisted his long fingers nervously together until the knuckles cracked. Orléans and Burgundy stood motionless next to each other. “I do not believe it,” Isabeau repeated vehemently. “King Richard is well disposed toward us; he would never insult our daughter so grievously.”
“Nay, Madame,” said de Courcy sadly, “he would not. But Richard is no longer King of England. He has freely delivered the Crown and all to his cousin… he who was here last year, the Duke of Lancaster.”
Isabeau became deathly pale. She staggered and sat down with an effort.
“Freely? Of his own will?” Louis d’Orléans cried out loudly and derisively. “What does one call ‘freely* in England, Messire de Courcy?”
De Courcy mopped his forehead; never before in his life had he been required to perform a more painful task than this.
“The people of London hailed Lancaster as king the moment he arrived in the city,” he said. “The Lords of Arundel and Gloucester and many other nobles whose nearest kin King Richard had had killed or banished supported Lancaster. With an armed force they fetched Richard from Conway castle and brought him back to London and locked him up in the fortress they call the Tower of London. My wife tells me that King Richard himself asked for a private audience with … with the Duke of Lancaster. They were together for more than two hours and apparently at that time King Richard abdicated his throne. A short time later, in the presence of Parliament, the lords of the Kingdom and the clergy, with his own hands he gave crown and scepter to Lancaster — who has already been crowned in Westminster. He calls himself Henry IV.”
“Yes, yes, but my child?” Isabeau clenched her fists. “My daughter, Messire de Courcy, what has happened to my daughter?”
De Courcy shook his head slowly. “All I know, Madame, is that she has been given a new retinue — with only English ladies and lords who have been stricdy forbidden to discuss King Richard with her. My wife is completely beside herself because she has been forced to abandon Madame Isabelle,” he added softly. The Queen sat un-moving.
The King had listened with his mouth open. When the Sire de Courcy had finished, the King’s whole body began to tremble.
“How is it possible?” he asked in that high, whining voice which was typical of him during his attacks of madness. “How is it possible that our son-in-law of England has given away his kingdom as though it were a crust of dry bread? By God and Saint-Michael, how could that happen?”
Now the Duke of Burgundy spoke for the first time.
“Princes often fare badly when they cannot rule. Richard has brought this fate upon himself. He who sows the wind shall reap the whirlwind.”
“Precisely, my lord uncle of Burgundy,” cried Louis d’Orléans; he had thrown aside restraint now that Burgundy had dared to make such an allusion to the King. “Indeed there are ambitious traitors everywhere who need little encouragement to strike. He who is trusting by nature is easily deceived by such scoundrels.”
During these words Burgundy kept his head turned away from Louis, as though he were not being addressed. When Orléans was silent, he sighed calmly, but he did not reply. He walked up to the place where the King sat and said spitefully, “I knew perfectly well this was coming. The marriage between Richard and Madame Is-abelle was a senseless undertaking. When the envoys came here four years ago, I warned against the bond …”
“That is a lie,” said Louis harshly. The Sire de Courcy shivered in dismay; Isabeau raised her head and shot a warning glance at her brother-in-law. Burgundy continued as though he were unaware of any interruption.
“I knew that Richard was unpopular; that almost everyone of any consequence in England had turned against him. And Gloucester, that wily fox, only added kindling to the fire. I explained all that in detail to the Council at the time.”
“Again, a damnable lie, lord uncle!” Louis flung himself violently between Burgundy and the King. “You insisted on that marriage; it wouldn’t surprise me if you had suggested it in the first place. It was I alone who argued against the marriage before the Council. Your memory can’t be that bad!”
Burgundy shrugged. “Worthy nephew, I have no desire to quarrel with you here about this. Surely there are more important matters to discuss right now. The news from England has taken us completely by surprise. But perhaps it is not news to you? At BicStre you and Henry of Lancaster were often together …”
“My God, my lord of Burgundy!” Louis took a step forward. “What do you mean by that?”
Isabeau gestured; she was white with rage because her brother in-law and Burgundy had forgotten themselves in front of a courtier. It was universally believed that de Courcy could not be trusted with a secret. Nothing would lend itself more to the spread of gossip than this agitated argument. The King was slumped into the corner of his chair with his head in his hands, too depressed by the news he had just heard to pay attention to the quarrel.
“What should I mean?” asked Burgundy with cold derision. “We know very well that you disliked Richard ever since he said that you were ambitious and dangerous.”
“You lie again, Monseigneur!” Louis clenched his fists. “I have never heard that Richard said such things about me! What I do know is that Henry of Lancaster received substantial sums of money from you and that his journey through Brittany was part of a hoax.”
Burgundy sniffed scornfully, but his eyes became suddenly hard and watchful. “What I do not underrate is your ability to fabricate. But you are going too far, nephew, if you are trying to convey the impression that Monseigneur of Brittany and I were aware of Lancaster’s intentions.”
“I will go farther. I say plainly that you wanted this from the very beginning. Madame,” Louis turned to Isabeau, “you must suffer my lord of Burgundy and me to carry this conversation to its end. We have gone too far to be silent now.”
“You ask my consent to this?” Isabeau retorted furiously. “You forget the King, Monseigneur d’Orléans. Do you give no thought to him, who still commands all of us here?”
The rebuke stung Louis. He thought bitterly how easy it was to forget that the King was not a child. He was about to turn to his brother and beg his forgiveness when Burgundy drawled loudly, “Apparently only you, Madame, are able to remind Monseigneur d’Orléans that he does not wear the crown.”
“Damned hypocrite!” Louis struck his upper arm with his fist. “Will you deny, uncle, that you have an interest in the English rebellion? You could not manipulate King Richard: he was too independent. He refused to allow himself to be ordered about by his kinsmen, the clergy, the nobility. Now you have helped Henry of Lancaster and he is obligated to you. Although he will arrive shortly over the sea with an army to fight against France, he will not disturb your lands or your business arrangements. Don’t try to make us believe the fairy tale that you serve only the interests of France; I will call you a liar, no matter how often you say it.”