said. "I am going to do what all the royal power could not
make me do. It will cost me my fortune but that is of little account if
it makes you happy."

He went straight from his sister's house to that of his uncle, the
cardinal. He convinced him that having fallen into the King's
disfavour, it was essential that it should be made quite clear that he
would not marry Madame, so he asked for his marriage to be arranged
with the Princess de Portien, a matter which had previously been
discussed. The news of this was soon all over Paris and gave rise to
much surprise. The princess de Montpensier was both happy and sad. Glad
to see the power she had over the Duc, and sorry that she had caused
him to abandon something so advantageous as marriage to Madame. The Duc
who hoped that love would compensate him for his material loss, pressed
the Princess to give him a private audience so that he could clear up
the unjust accusations which she had made. He obtained this when she
found herself at his sister's house at a time when his sister was not
there and she was able to speak to him alone. The Duc took the
opportunity to throw himself at her feet and describe all that he had
suffered because of her suspicions, and though the Princess was unable
to forget what the Duc d'Anjou had said to her, the behaviour of the
Duc de Guise did much to reassure her. She told him exactly why she
believed he had betrayed her which was because the Duc d'Anjou knew
what he could only have learned from him. The Duc did not how to defend
himself and was as puzzled as she to guess what could have given away
their secret: at last, while the Princess was remonstrating with him
for giving up the idea of the advantageous marriage with Madame and
rushing into that with the Princess de Portien, she said to him that he
could have been certain that she would not be jealous since on the day
of the ball she herself had told him to have eyes only for Madame. The
Duc said that she might have intended to do so but that she certainly
had not. She maintained that she had, and in the end they reached the
correct conclusion that she herself, deceived by the resemblance of the
costumes, had told the Duc d'Anjou what she accused the Duc de Guise of
telling him. The Duc de Guise who had almost entirely returned to
favour, did so completely as a result of this conversation. The
Princess could not refuse her heart to a man who had possessed it in
the past and had just made su