As soon as the duchess found, upon her arrival at Rouvre, that she was attended by her whole train of maids of honour and a host of other servants, as I said before; and observed the Duke of Burgundy wholly intent upon raising men, and that her guards did not retain that dread and awe of their master which they formerly had, she resolved to send to her brother the king, to propose a peace and beg his assistance; yet she would have been unwilling to have put herself into his power, had she been in any other place but where she was, for there had been a great long-standing quarrel between them. The duchess sent a gentleman of Piedmont, named Riverol[537], who was steward of her house, and had instructions to apply to me. As soon as I had received his message, and communicated it to the king, his majesty ordered him to be introduced into his presence; and after he had given him audience, he told him that he would not abandon his sister in this extremity, notwithstanding the differences that had been between them; and if she would trust to him, he would send the Governor of Champagne, who was then Charles d’Amboise, Lord of Chaumont, to fetch her. Monsieur Riverol took his leave of the king, and posted with all speed to his mistress with the news. The duchess was overjoyed to hear it, yet she immediately sent another agent to the king, to desire his majesty would give his word that she should have liberty to return into Savoy whenever she pleased, and that he would restore to her not only the duke her son and his young brother, but the castles and places which he had seized upon, and would defend and maintain her authority in Savoy; and then she would renounce all other alliances, and keep herself entirely in his interest. The king promised to grant all she desired, and immediately despatched an express to the Lord of Chaumont to go and deliver her; which was well attempted, and as well performed; for the Lord of Chaumont, with a strong detachment[538], went to Rouvre, without the least disorder or damage to the country through which he marched, and brought away the Duchess of Savoy and her whole train to the next garrison belonging to the king. When the king despatched this last message to the Duchess of Savoy, his majesty had left Lyons, where he had sojourned full six months, on purpose to defeat and countermine the designs of the Duke of Burgundy, without violating the truce; and if we seriously consider the posture of the duke’s affairs, we shall see that the king was a greater enemy to him in not opposing him openly, but creating him new enemies underhand, than if he had declared open war against him; for upon such a declaration, the duke would have abandoned his rash enterprises and designs, and that would not have occurred which happened to him afterwards.