As soon as the important matters of the Navarre marriage and the English treaty were concluded, Charles left Touraine (May 5th), and proceeded by way of Fontainebleau to Paris, and thence to St. Maur. The admiral attended him more as a friend than as one of the great officers of state. The Guises had left the court almost in despair. If any credit can be given to an intercepted dispatch of the 28th January from the Countess of Northumberland, the duke had paid a long secret visit to Alva.[526] This was denied by Catherine, but may have been true, nevertheless. Although this visit may have had more to do with the affairs of Mary Stuart, we may be sure that the state of France and the Anjou marriage were not forgotten. It is not clear when the Guises fell into disgrace, but their position at court in the spring of 1572 is accurately discussed in a letter from Alva to Philip II., who had written advising him to keep up friendly relations with the duke and the cardinal. The general replied that he had always seen the importance of doing so: “But at this time there are two things to be considered, namely, that none of the family have any share in the management of public business, except the Cardinal of Lorraine; and he, when in favor, is insolent and forgets every body, and when in disgrace, is good for nothing.” Then, as if to brand the treason of the churchman, and show the unfriendly nature of the relations between the courts of Paris and Madrid, Alva continues: “He has warned me, through Fray Garcia de Ribeira, to be on my guard, as he foresees trouble in France, and believes that the fleet assembling at Rochelle is intended to operate against the Low Countries.”[527] When the Duke of Guise and Coligny were at Paris in May, the former was forbidden to undertake any thing against the Chatillons, to which he replied, that if the admiral had any thing to complain of, he was ready to meet him at any time in single combat.[528] The king, finding the duke (whom he called “un mauvais garçon”) so implacable, required of him a complete and formal denial of every project of outrage against Coligny, which he gave, though with reluctance (12th May, 1572). There is another story that the king did not press Duke Henry to be reconciled, having already had proof of his impracticable character; but to Aumale, his brother, who seemed more tractable, he said: “Have a little patience, and you will soon see a pretty game.”[529] Were the story true, it would not necessarily imply the existence of a plot to get rid of the Huguenots.