Sophie as a mistress in England was one thing, but Sophie unattached as
a mistress in France was another. One wonders why the Duc should have
been squeamish on this point. Perhaps it was that he thought it would
look vulgar to take up a former mistress after so long. At all events,
he was ready enough to resume the old relationship with Sophie, provided
she could change her name by marriage. Sophie was nothing loth. The idea
fell in with her plans. She let it get about that she was the natural
daughter of the Duc, and soon had in tow one Adrien-Victor de Feucheres.
He was an officer of the Royal Guard. Without enlarging on the all-round
tawdriness of this contract it will suffice here to say that Sophie and
Adrien were married in London in August of 1818, the Duc presenting
the bride with a dowry of about L5600 in francs. Next year de Feucheres
became a baron, and was made aide-de-camp to the Duc.
Incredible as it may seem, de Feucheres took four years to realize what
was the real relationship between his wife and the Prince de Conde. The
aide-de-camp and his wife had a suite of rooms in the Prince's favourite
chateau at Chantilly, and the ambition which Sophie had foreseen would
be furthered by the marriage was realized. She was received as La
Baronne de Feucheres at the Court of Louis XVIII. She was happy--up to a
point. Some unpretty traits in her character began to develop: a violent
temper, a tendency to hysterics if crossed, and, it is said, a leaning
towards avaricious ways. At the end of four years the Baron de Feucheres
woke up to the fact that Sophie was deceiving him. It does not appear,
however, that he had seen through her main deception, because it was
Sophie herself, we are told, who informed him he was a fool--that she
was not the Prince's daughter, but his mistress.
Having waked up thus belatedly, or having been woken up by Sophie in her
ungoverned ill-temper, de Feucheres acted with considerable dignity. He
begged to resign his position as aide to the Prince, and returned his
wife's dowry. The departure of Sophie's hitherto complacent husband
rather embarrassed the Prince. He needed Sophie but felt he could not
keep her unattached under his roof and he sent her away--but only for a
few days. Sophie soon was back again in Chantilly.
The Prince made some attempt to get de Feucheres to return, but without
success. De Feucheres applied for a post in the Army of Spain, an
application which was granted at once. It took the poor man seven years
to secure a judicial separation from his wife.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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