Richelieu was staying at the Château of Fleury, a country-seat of his, situated about two leagues from Fontainebleau. Gaston, feigning a desire to be reconciled to him, was to invite himself to dinner and arrive accompanied by a strong party of his friends. What was to follow is disputed. Most writers, including Bassompierre,[34] assert that it was the intention of the conspirators to demand the release of Ornano, and, if that were refused, to assassinate their host out of hand; and Richelieu always maintained that his own death would have been followed by the assassination or dethronement of the King. A more sober version of the affair attributes to the conspirators no more sinister design than that of making the Cardinal their prisoner and subsequently exchanging him for Ornano, though, even if this be correct, it might well have had a tragic sequel. Whatever the object of the plot, there can be no possible doubt that Madame de Chevreuse was privy to it, if not its prime instigator; and it can therefore be regarded as a singular illustration of the irony of Fate that the indiscretion of the most devoted of her admirers should have been the means of bringing it to naught. Chalais had a friend, the Commandeur de Valençay, a younger brother of that Valençay whose carelessness after the capture of the ridge of Saint-Denis at Montpellier had entailed so much loss of life, and to this gentleman, on the eve of the execution of the plot, he was imprudent enough to disclose it. He believed that he would find in him a sympathetic listener, since, though he had not yet declared himself, he had always appeared well disposed towards the cause. But, to his consternation, Valençay, either from the hope of gaining the Cardinal’s favour or from genuine disgust, professed the utmost horror and indignation; “reproached him with his treason, in that being one of his Majesty’s own Household he dared to make an attempt upon the person of his first Minister,” and insisted that Chalais should forthwith accompany him to Fleury and warn Richelieu of the danger which threatened him. Chalais, in despair, obeyed, and assured the Cardinal that he had always abhorred the plot and resolved to denounce it. Richelieu believed, or affected to believe, him, and when he offered to reveal to his Eminence any further intrigues against him, accepted his services and promised to obtain for him the coveted post of Colonel of the Light Cavalry.