“If he will choose a wife quite above suspicion, as long as I live I will harbour no misgiving of him and he shall be as puissant in all the realm of France as I myself, as long as I live.  In short, Mons. du Bouchage my friend, if you can gain this point, you will place me in Paradise.  Stay where you are until Monseigneur de Lescun has arrived, and a good piece afterwards, even if you have to play the invalid, and before you depart put our affair in surety if you can, I implore you.  And may God, Monseigneur du Bouchage my friend, to whom I pray, and may Nostre Dame de Behuart aid your negotiations.  The women[10] of Mme. de Burgundy have all been ill with the mal chault, and it is reported that the daughter is seriously afflicted and bloated.  Some say that she is already dead.  I am not sure of the death but I am quite certain of the malady.

    “Written at Lannoy, Aug. 18th.

    “LOYS.

    “TILHART.”

That the king’s professed confidence in his brother did not remove all suspicions of that young man’s steadfastness from his mind is shown by the following letter, written two days later than the above, to Lorenzo de’ Medici: 

“Dear and beloved cousin, we have learned that our brother of Guienne has sent to Rome to ask a dispensation from the oath he swore to us, of which we send you a duplicate.  Since you are a great favourite with our Holy Father pray use your influence with his Holiness so that our brother may not obtain his dispensation, and that his messenger may not be able to do any negotiating.  In this you will do us a singular and agreeable pleasure which we will recognise in the future as we have in the past on fitting occasion....

    “Written at St. Michel sur Loire, August 20th.

    “LOYS.”

Louis does not seem to have taken his own doubts as to the very existence of Mary of Burgundy very seriously.  While he was infinitely anxious to prevent her alliance with his brother, he made overtures to betroth her to his baby son, while he reminded her father in touching phrases that he, Louis, was Mary’s loving godfather and hence exactly the person to be her father-in-law.

The winter of 1471-72 was filled with attempts to make terms between the king and the duke before the termination of the truce.  The king was very hopeful of attaining this good result, and sweetly trustful of the duke’s pacific and friendly intentions.  He sternly refused to listen to suggestions that Charles meant to play him false and was very definite in his expressions of confidence.  The following epistle to his envoys at the duke’s court was an excellent document to fall by chance into Burgundian hands[11]: 

    “To MONSIEUR DE CRAON AND PIERRE D’ORIOLE: