France did not produce oranges, yet they were on the tables in the Tuileries Palace dining hall.
It was once again the season for Portugal's tangerine harvest.
At lunchtime, all the French had stopped eating in the dining hall and gone to restaurants outside to celebrate victory in the War of the Oranges. Only two people remained in the dining hall: Major General Louis de Narbonne-Lara and Miss Sylvia de Rouvroy, along with Georgiana and Matilda. According to the major general, Miss de Rouvroy was taking over Georgiana's management of the dining hall.
Napoleon liked Château Lafite wine, but that did not mean everyone else did. The dining hall for senior officials was not like an ordinary workers' canteen; several kinds of wine were available with the meal. Miss Sylvia de Rouvroy's great-grandfather was Claude de Rouvroy, Duke of Saint-Simon. He had once been a favorite of Louis XIII, earning the king's affection through his exceptional skill at handling horses.
During the war between France and Spain, Claude's uncle had also gone to war, but he had been forced to surrender when his ammunition and provisions ran out. It was entirely because Count Chavigny, the foreign minister responsible for overall command at the time, had failed to send support. Richelieu and Louis XIII later executed those men, including Claude's uncle.
The first Duke of Saint-Simon resigned in despair and left Paris. His son, the second Duke of Saint-Simon, seventeen-year-old Louis de Rouvroy, made his debut at the court of Louis XIV.
At nineteen, he served as one of Louis XIV's musketeers. At twenty, he became a cavalry captain and married Choiseul's daughter that same year.
Though theirs was a political marriage, they were happy after the wedding. Yet after five years of service, he resigned from the military because he