Morvilliers then resumed his discourse, enlarging upon the treacherous designs of Francis, Duke of Brittany, with whom Charles had lately sworn brotherhood at the very moment when he was the honoured guest of King Louis at Tours.  During this discussion the Count of Charolais became very restive.  Finally he could no longer endure Morvilliers’s indirect slurs, and

“made offer eftsoon to answer, being marvellously out of patience to hear such reproachful speeches used of his friend and confederate.  But Morvilliers cut him off, saying:  ’My Lord of Charolais, I am not come of ambassage to you, but to my Lord your father.’  The said earl besought his father divers times to give him leave to answer, who in the end said unto him:  ’I have answered for thee as methinketh the father should answer for the son, notwithstanding if thou have so great desire to speak bethink thyself to-day and to-morrow speak and spare not.’”

Then Morvilliers to his former speech added that he could not imagine what had moved the earl to enter into the league with the Duke of Brittany unless it were because of a pension the king had once given him together with the government of Normandy and afterwards taken from him.

In regard to Rubempre, Commines adds to his story Charles’s own statement given on the morrow: 

“Notwithstanding, I think nothing was ever proved against him, though I confess the presumption to have been great.  Five years after I myself saw him delivered out of prison.”  This from Commines.  La Marche is less detailed in his record[6] of the Rubempre incident: 

“The bastard was put in prison and the Count of Charolais sent me to Hesdin to the duke to inform him of the arrest and its cause.  The good duke heard my report kindly like a wise prince.  In truth he at once suspected that the craft of the King of France lurked at the bottom of the affair.  Shortly afterwards the duke left Hesdin and returned to his own land, which did not please the King of France who despatched thither a great embassy with the Count d’Eu at the head.  Demands were made that I should be delivered to him to be punished as he would, because he claimed that I had been the cause of the arrest of the bastard of Rubempre and also of the duke’s departure from Hesdin without saying adieu to the King of France, but the good duke, moderate in all his actions, replied that I was his subject and his servitor, and that if the king or any one else had a grievance against me he would investigate it.  The matter was finally smoothed over [adds La Marche], and Louis evinced a readiness to conciliate his offended cousin.”

In spite of La Marche, the matter proved to be one not easily disposed of by soft phrases flung into the breach.  Charles obeyed his father and prepared in advance his defence to the chancellor.  When he had finished his own statement about Rubempre, he proceeded to the point of his friendship with the