The grandees, irritated by the increasing power and favour of Luynes, decide to make common cause with the Queen-Mother against him--Departure of Mayenne from the Court--He is followed by Longueville, Nemours, Mayenne and Retz--Formidable character of the insurrection--Bassompierre receives orders to mobilise a Royal army in Champagne--He informs the King that the Comte de Soissons, his mother, the Grand Prieur de Vendôme and the Comte de Saint-Aignan intend to leave Paris to join the rebels--Alarm and indecision of Luynes--Advice of Bassompierre--It is finally decided to allow them to go--Success of Bassompierre in mobilising troops in Champagne despite great difficulties--The Duc de Bouillon sends a gentleman to him to endeavour to corrupt his loyalty--Reply of Bassompierre--The town and château of Dreux surrender to him--He joins the King near La Flèche with an army of 8,600 men--Combat of the Ponts-des-Cé--Peace of Angers. Luynes had contrived to exasperate many other important personages besides Marie de’ Medici. The irritation of the grandees against him was increasing, in proportion as they beheld the King accumulating new favours on the head of his parvenu favourite. Luynes and his two brothers, Cadenet and Brantès, “devoured everything.” Between them they had acquired eighteen of the most important governments in the kingdom, and had all three blossomed into dukes, the eldest brother having been created Duc de Luynes, the second Duc de Chaulnes, while the youngest had married the heiress of the duchy of Piney-Luxembourg, and had secured the revival of that title in his favour. Cadenet had also been provided with the hand of a wealthy heiress of an illustrious house, and had become, not only a duke and peer, but a marshal of France. As for Luynes, he appeared to consider the bâton of marshal unworthy of his grandeur, and awaited a favourable opportunity of girding on the sword of Constable. Nor, while the three brothers were thus enriched and aggrandized, were their poor relations forgotten; they arrived “by battalions” from Provence and had their share of the spoils. By family alliances Luynes had assured himself of the support of Condé, Lesdiguières and of all the Guises, with the exception of the cardinal, and he governed both the King and the State. The Ministers were only consulted as a matter of form. The engagements to the Queen-Mother were not kept; and, as the finances were in a state of indescribable confusion, the pensions of the grandees, with the exception of those who had the good fortune to be related by marriage to the favourite or his brothers, remained unpaid. Before the winter was over the patience of the grandees was exhausted, and they decided to make common cause with the Queen-Mother against this new Concini. “In the middle of Lent,” writes Bassompierre, “M. de Mayenne quitted the Court without taking leave of the King.”[129]