I confess the presumption to have been great. Five years after I
myself saw him delivered out of prison." This from Commines. La Marche
is less detailed in his record[6] of the Rubempré incident:

"The bastard was put in prison and the Count of Charolais sent me
to Hesdin to the duke to inform him of the arrest and its cause.
The good duke heard my report kindly like a wise prince. In truth
he at once suspected that the craft of the King of France lurked
at the bottom of the affair. Shortly afterwards the duke left
Hesdin and returned to his own land, which did not please the King
of France who despatched thither a great embassy with the Count
d'Eu at the head. Demands were made that I should be delivered to
him to be punished as he would, because he claimed that I had been
the cause of the arrest of the bastard of Rubempré and also of the
duke's departure from Hesdin without saying adieu to the King of
France, but the good duke, moderate in all his actions, replied
that I was his subject and his servitor, and that if the king or
any one else had a grievance against me he would investigate it.
The matter was finally smoothed over [adds La Marche], and Louis
evinced a readiness to conciliate his offended cousin."

In spite of La Marche, the matter proved to be one not easily disposed
of by soft phrases flung into the breach. Charles obeyed his father
and prepared in advance his defence to the chancellor. When he had
finished his own statement about Rubempré, he proceeded to the point
of his friendship with the Duke of Brittany, declaring that it was
right and proper and that if King Louis knew what was to the advantage
of the French sovereign, he would be glad to see his nobles welded
together as a bulwark to his throne. As to his pension, he had never
received but one quarter, nine thousand francs. He had made no suit