Lieutenant-General le Marquis Alain de Mylcandonai, OC Second Division, to
Lieutenant General le Vicomte Rougeur Homard, OC Second Brigade of Foot,
Greetings!
Mon Cher Rougeur,
I see that Axel's position on the Minister of State's treasonous
overstepping of his bounds came as as big a shock to you it did to myself.
Then again, his continuing close ties to the King of Sweden - a bastion of
heresy in what should still be a Catholic Europe - have always been a matter
of some little concern to me. I suspect that the rumours of Axel seeking to
have me killed at the Swedish King's behest will prove to have but little
substance, however. Surely it would not be possible for a Swedish agent
acting against the interests of His Most Christian Majesty King Louis to
escape detection for so long? Then again, Axel was already installed as
Commissioner (the ideal position in which to so) when I first arrived in
Paris - and rumour has it that the Swedish King's new Royal Long Ship was
the gift of an anonymous benefactor and paid for in freshly-minted Louis
d'Or. Definately something which should be looked into, perhaps...
Thank you for your support in this matter, though I am sorry to see that in
giving it you too appear to have attracted the ire of Duc Senior. If what
Duc Senior said were true, of course, and the Minister of State were indeed
King of France in all but name, then His Majesty would be restricted to
appointing the Minister of State _only_, who would then go on to appoint the
other Senior Ministers, Royal Governors and Field Marshal himself. This
plainly is not the case, at present - though it would seem clear that Duc
Senior would have it so.
The only important issue here is that Duc Senior is shamelessly attempting
to
erode the Rights and Privleges of His Majesty Himself - something which no
loyal subject should tolerate and the reason for my determination that he
should not succeed. Upon taking service with His Majesty I, like all others,
swore to defend His Majesty's Rights and Priveleges with my life if need
be - though I must admit I envisaged the ultimate sacrifice, if made, to be
more likely on a battlefield than on the gallows. Although it is only to
expected that some newer arrivals to this fair city of ours will fail to see
the enormity of the issues at stake here, I am pleased to say that this does
not appear to apply to loyal gentlemen of any standing.
Congratulations upon a superb performance at the front, mon frere. Although
the regiments making up your brigade could have done better, the brigade's
objective was, I am pleased to see, achieved in full and your promotion to
Lt.General well deserved. I had a similar experience myself concerning the
brigades in my division. It is always a great source of comfort to me that a
competent commander can still work wonders even when his immediate
subordinates are not of the best. Having said that, the 27th Musketeers and
69th Arquebusiers were magnificent, and more than made up for the
shortcomings of their respective brigadiers. Indeed, no Division Commander
has more cause for pride in the regiments under his command than do I.
Amities,
Alain
