We mentioned before that Duke Mortemart had fallen in love at first sight with the wife of an apothecary, a witch. Though she had a husband and children, nothing could quench his thirst for love. He wanted not only her body, but also her love and loyalty. To that end, he formally married her. Yet such a marriage was unlikely to gain the recognition of either the main branch or the collateral branches of the family, so he intended to move the King with a gift worth a hundred thousand livres, then borrow the King's name to persuade those who remained unwilling.
But to Louis, though a hundred thousand livres had arrived at a most timely moment, it was still far from enough for a duke. What D'Artagnan had mentioned—that this duke had no heir—also gave him further ideas. That was to say, if the duke's infatuation with the witch lasted until she bore him a son, then in order to let that son inherit his title and lands, the duke ought to be willing to pay still more—no, rather, he ought to start making plans for what came after now.
Thus the King had no choice but to write to Mazarin, asking him to remind Duke Mortemart of this matter. He also informed him in full of the subsequent arrangements and requested his guidance. Mazarin replied swiftly. He corrected several errors in the King's plan that had arisen from insufficient understanding of the present situation or of tradition, and respectfully begged the King's forgiveness. As he had seen the urgency of the matter, he had already made certain arrangements. Having received the reminder, Duke Mortemart had already gone to Auvers.
Auvers was a small town on the banks of the Oise River, about nine leagues from Paris. Two hundred