Виктория Холт - The Road to Compiegne

The Choiseuls were furious. They had presented their protégée to the King and, although he had been courteous enough, he had shown her no more attention than etiquette demanded.

The Duchesse de Gramont was less able to control her anger than her brother was, and as the procession descended the great staircase to pay court to the Dauphin, she pushed her way forward so that she was immediately behind Jeanne.

As Jeanne was about to make her curtsy to the Dauphin, who had not hesitated to show his disapproval and dislike of her, Madame de Gramont put her foot on the train of Jeanne’s dress.

Jeanne, midway in her curtsy, sprang up and watched her train as it was ripped away from her gown.

She was angry, partly because the King was present and to please him she had been trying to learn something of the Versailles manners.

Now she was ready to put her hands on her hips and let out a stream of invective against the Duchesse. But suddenly she caught the eyes of the King upon her. He was flashing a message to her which she read as: there is only one way to behave, so that the Duchesse will seem more ill-mannered than you.

Then Jeanne understood that etiquette demanded she should behave as though the incident had not happened and she still had a train to her dress.

She turned to the Dauphin, swept him a deep curtsy and passed on, leaving her train behind her.

There were significant glances. The girl from the faubourgs was learning.

But it seemed the Duchesse was not; that little incident earned her dismissal from Court for a period. Had she not been the sister of the powerful Choiseul she would have been banished for ever.

Jeanne continued to be plagued. The Comte de Lauraguais, a friend of the Choiseuls, sought to humiliate her by a gesture which was typical of his set.

This noble went to the house of Madame Gourdan and acquired a very beautiful young girl as his mistress. He bought a house for her, gave her fine clothes, money and jewellery; and the manner in which he did all this made the Court realise that he had some motive in view other than his infatuation with the girl.

When he named her the Comtesse du Tonneau his meaning was understood. For a tonneau and a baril had almost the same meaning; and it was easy to confuse Barry with baril .

His punishment for this escapade brought him banishment from Court; nor did Madame Gourdan escape censure. She was not allowed to send any of her girls to the entertainments at Fontainebleau, and this was a great loss to her financially, and unjust because, having no knowledge of the Comte’s intentions, she was not in the least to blame.

Jeanne herself bore little resentment and very soon arranged that the ban should be lifted from Madame de Gourdan; but she was beginning to be affected by the solemnity of her surroundings, and it was noticed that in public she behaved with a restraint and decorum which would have seemed incredible a short time before.

In private with Louis she did not change her manners at all; and this was how the King wished her to be.

As it became apparent that Madame du Barry had come to Court to stay, a party began to be formed with her as its centre. It was naturally one which was in complete opposition to the Choiseul party, and as it was headed by Richelieu and his nephew, the Duc d’Aiguillon, it clearly had one purpose – the overthrow of Choiseul.

The Duc de Vauguyon and René de Maupéou joined this party, which became known as the Barriens .

A new year had begun; and the battle between the King’s mistress and the First Minister was still being waged fiercely.

The King had presented that exquisite little house, which he and Madame de Pompadour had begun together, to Madame du Barry; and there at Petit Trianon Louis was able to retire from the Court and live the life of a country nobleman.

Both the King and Jeanne were enchanted by the place; here they convinced themselves that they lived in the utmost simplicity. They received their intimate friends in the little reception suite overlooking the Jardin Français, and pretended to dispense even with servants when they installed the table volante , that most ingenious invention of Loriot’s, with its four side tables which descended to the floor below when a further course was required (as they descended a piece of metal in the shape of a rose would slip into place where these tables had been). When they had been reloaded and were ready to make the ascension to the salle à manger , the metal rose would gently open and slide away while the tables loaded with food would appear in its place.

This interesting invention was a constant delight to Louis.

‘Here,’ he said, ‘we may live in absolute privacy in our Petit Trianon.’

That the King should wish to live thus with his mistress would seem to be an indication that, far from tiring of her, he was slipping into a relationship somewhat similar to that which he had enjoyed with Madame de Pompadour.

The Court believed that sooner or later either Madame du Barry or Choiseul would be dismissed. They knew too that both were equally determined to be victorious.

Thus the battle was watched with eager interest.

Madame du Barry might have her Trianon, but Choiseul had recently arranged that the Dauphin should marry the youngest daughter of the Empress Maria Theresa.

Choiseul’s friends declared that when the Archduchess Marie Antoinette arrived in France the power of Madame du Barry would begin to wane; for Marie Antoinette must be the firm ally of Choiseul since he, more than anyone, had been responsible for her marriage.

The Dauphin hated the mistress; so did Madame Adelaide – and naturally her sisters. When the Dauphine became aware of the circumstances and added her influence to theirs, could the du Barry continue to keep her position?

‘Lafrance,’ cried Madame du Barry, as she entered the King’s apartment, ‘I have decided what you shall give me for my New Year’s gift.’

Louis smiled. She was so full of vitality, that merely to look at her seemed to make him forget he was sixty.

‘Well?’ he said.

‘I will tell you. You are fond of Madame de Mirepoix?’

‘That is so,’ the King agreed.

‘Then all is well. She has so many debts that she despairs of ever paying them. She suffers great anxiety. Now I want my New Year’s gift to be the Loges de Nantes so that I can give these to her. If she had them, all her troubles would be over. Please say you will give me these as my New Year’s gift.’

The King looked grave. The Loges de Nantes were the rents which came from the stalls and booths which were set up in Nantes and represented a considerable income. They had, until her recent death, been in the possession of the Duchesse de Lauranguais.

He shook his head. ‘I greatly fear Madame de Mirepoix cannot have them, as I have already bestowed them.’

Jeanne’s face flushed. ‘But I have already promised her that they shall be hers!’

The King lifted his shoulders and walked to the window.

Jeannne stamped her foot. ‘You must tell this person that you have changed your mind.’

‘But,’ said Louis coolly, ‘I have not changed my mind.’

Jeanne looked at him and for once he saw all the gaiety drained from her face.

He came to her side quickly. ‘You are the best-hearted woman in the world,’ he said. ‘Do not look so sad. How like you to ask for a New Year’s gift which you could bestow on someone else. Now I will tell you on whom I have already bestowed the Loges de Nantes : on someone of whom I happen to be very fond indeed. Her name? The Comtesse du Barry.’