Princes and Poisoners: Studies of the Court of Louis XIVFunck-Brentano, Frantz
History
Princes and Poisoners: Studies of the Court of Louis XIV
Funck-Brentano, Frantz
France -- Court and courtiers; France -- History -- Louis XIV, 1643-1715; Poisoners
On August 22 the civil lieutenant summoned Madame de Brinvilliers and
Pennautier to appear at the examination of the documents found in the
box. Pennautier was in the country; the marchioness was represented by
her attorney, who repeated his protests. A third personage appeared on
the scene, namely, La Chaussée. He fancied his audacity would save him,
and from the first had opposed the sealing of the house, on the ground
that he had deposited with the deceased, in whose service he had been
for seven years, 200 pistoles and 100 silver crowns which should be, he
said, behind the window of the study in a bag, with a note proving that
the money belonged to him. He claimed also a number of papers, which he
described. The knowledge that La Chaussée displayed of Sainte-Croix'
laboratory awakened suspicion. When Commissary Picard told the whilom
valet that the confiscated box had just been opened, he stood petrified
with confusion for a moment, then fled precipitately, leaving the
commissary in open-eyed amazement. The same day he left Gaussin, a
bath-proprietor whose service he had entered, and, concealing himself
during the day, roamed about Paris at night-time till he was arrested on
September 4 at six o'clock in the morning by a police officer named
Thomas Regnier. La Chaussée was very crestfallen as he walked down the
street.
From that moment the gravest suspicions were entertained against Madame
de Brinvilliers, but there was a reluctance to arrest her because of her
rank. Regnier repaired to Picpus and told her bluntly that he had found
La Chaussée, and that he had learned a good many things from the
commissary. The marchioness blushed. 'What is it, madam? You say
nothing?' But the lady, changing the subject, asked him to escort her to
mass. When they returned, she spoke to him again about the box. She
seemed a prey to uneasiness. 'But madam,' said Regnier, 'surely you are
not mixed up in this business?' 'Why should I be?' she replied. 'That
villain La Chaussée, when with Commissary Picard, must have said
something against you, and would say it again if he was captured.' 'It
would be well to take the villain to Picardy,' said the marchioness.
She said also that she had long been pressing Sainte-Croix to return the
box, and that Pennautier was involved with herself in the matter.
Regnier left Madame de Brinvilliers and went to find Briancourt at
Vertus. He told him, to begin with, that he had arrested La Chaussée,
and Briancourt exclaimed, 'Then she is a lost woman!' He went on to
speak of the poison which she had often talked about, and said that she
had several sorts of it in her house.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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