The first act of the duke was to raise the siege of Chantoceau; but when the barons of Brittany had again possession of their duke, they refused to comply with the treaty he had made, and insisted that the countess of Penthievre should depart from Chantoceau, and that the place should be put into the hands of the duke. A day of conference was appointed between the two parties, to see if any terms could be thought of to put an end to these differences; and the count promised to attend in person, giving his brother William as an hostage for his keeping his promise: but he did not appear, having had sure information, that if he did come, he would never return. In truth, had he appeared, he would have been executed judicially, for it had been so determined on by the three estates of the duchy; and they told the duke, that if he meant to keep the treaty made with the count de Penthievre, they would deprive him of the dukedom, and elect his eldest son duke in his stead, so that he was obliged to comply with their wills. The count de Penthievre, on hearing these things, was much troubled, and not without cause; for he knew that all his landed property and lordships in Brittany were confiscated and in possession of the duke, and that his brother remained as hostage in the hands of the duke, without a possibility of his deliverance. On the other hand, he was on bad terms with the dauphin, because he would not give up to him the person of the duke of Brittany,--and was not very safe as to himself; for he found few willing to support him. To avoid greater inconveniences, he withdrew into the viscounty of Limoges, and after some consultations with his brothers, departed thence through the country of Auvergne to Lyon, and thence to Geneva and Basil, on his way to his possessions at Avesnes in Hainault. As he was travelling down the Rhine, he was arrested by the marquis of Baden, by way of reprisal for the pillaging of some of his people in Hainault, and was detained a long time prisoner. To obtain his liberty, it cost him full thirty thousand crowns; after which, he went to Avesnes in Hainault. While he resided at Avesnes, the duke of Brittany sent some of his people thither to arrest him, and put an iron chain round his neck. They were under the conduct of the following breton gentlemen: sir Roland de Saint Pol, sir John de Lumon, Jacquet de Faulermine, and others; but they managed the matter with so little secresy that their enterprise was known, and some were imprisoned. The rest saved themselves by flight. The count was forced to surrender the prisoners to the judicial court of Mons, and none were executed. The count de Penthievre never returned to Brittany, but remained all his days in Hainault, and married the daughter and heiress of the lord de Quievrain, by whom, at his decease, he left several children, who did not, however, live until of competent age, so that his estates descended to his brother, the lord de l'Esgle. CHAP. LII.