The attack of illness, which commenced on September 13, became so serious that his life was despaired of. It was then that Cristina showed her true wifely affection. Dressed in the costume of Señora del Carmen, the royal lady was a constant and indefatigable attendant on the patient. It was from her hands alone that he received his medicines, and it was she who administered all the means of alleviating his sufferings. Ferdinand seemed to cling to his wife during this terrible time, and to her he confided his distress at the thought of leaving her a widow with the orphaned Princesses. Indeed, distress of mind added so much to his physical sufferings that Cristina sent for Calomarde to see what he could do to calm his master. Calomarde gladly profited by the permission to enter the royal apartment, for the Infantas were refused admittance. When the King, between the fits of exhaustion that followed the attacks of pain, explained to his Minister with great difficulty the ground of his anxiety, Calomarde perfidiously expressed his opinion that, in the event of his Majesty’s demise, the kingdom would declare in favour of Don Carlos, and that the only means of saving the crown for his daughter would be to associate his brother in the Government. It was, indeed, suggested that the Queen was to be authorized to despatch business during his illness, but it was to be with the help and advice of the Prince. The Bishop of Leon was then called into the King’s chamber to give his opinion, and he echoed the advice of the Minister. In the meanwhile the apartments of Don Carlos were a hotbed of intrigue. “Now or never” was the feeling of the Pretender to the throne, and self-interested people came and went in constant consultation with the Prince, and to bring news of the condition of the King. The Portuguese Princesses were keen and intent on all that went on, whilst their faces betrayed their anxiety. When the Count of Alcudia appeared with the King’s decree, Don Carlos definitively declined to share any duties of government with the Queen, and on the departure of the messenger the Infante again reverted to his silent and thoughtful attitude.