A few scenes an observer might have scene and heard at the household of
Baron Soire de Success.
A soldier of the King, probably an Ensign of the King's Escort, at the font
door, speaking to Baron de Success who is coming down the stairs:
"Baron de Success, your manservant has been implicated in the recent assault
on His Majesty, and we are to take him to the Bastille for questioning..."
de Success:
"My manservant has been implicated? How so?"
Soldier:
"Sir, as we are conducting an investigation for the King it would be
imporper for me to answer that question."
de Success turns to his Butler:
"I am sure that Jean-Louis is asleep, but under the circumstances, he will
present himself here forwith,"
returning to the Soldier:
"If you would wait here just a moment, Jean-Louis will be here. He is an
faithful servant, and like soldiers who serve with me I would be distressed
if unnecessary harm comes to him. If it does turn out that he was involved
in this assault, you will do what you must."
A maid servant comes down the stairs:
"Sir, madam wonders if everything is all right?"
de Success turns:
"Please tell Roxanne that the problem is being handled, and I will be up to
discuss it with her as soon as practical."
After a few minutes, a dishevelled but dressed Jean-Louis Gruyere appears
in the foyer. He looks at the front door, then determinedly turns and
faces the Baron:
"Sir, you summoned me."
de Success:
"Jean-Louis, these soldiers have arrived here to speak with you. You will
accompany them. You WILL answer their questions. I hope to see you back
here at your duties in the near future."
Various expressions chase themselves briefly across the servants face. He
then turns and proceeds to the doorway. The soldiers can not be said to be
gentle in their handling of the servant, but neither can they be said to be
rough. They bundle him rapidly into a carriage, and depart.
A few minutes later, upstairs:
Roxanne:
"What was all that disturbance?"
Soire:
"It seems that someone has implicated Jean-Louis Gruyere in the assault on
the King."
Roxanne:
"It was not much of an assault, was it? I heard someone threw some eggs."
Soire:
"Even so my dear, it was an assault on the King. Such MUST be persued and
prosecuted. To do otherwise would be an insult to France. I hope
Jean-Louis will be okay. I trust he had nothing to do with this."
Roxanne:
"He has been with you a long time, has he not?"
Soire:
"Yes, since back when I commanded the ALC. He handled matters that could
not be reasonably asked of a military aide. Amazing what needed doing even
then."
Roxanne:
"Then how could he have anything to do with this?"
Soire:
"I am puzzled. In all the time he has been with me, I doubt I have ever
heard a political word from him. Admittedly, as a proper servant he does
not sit and pass the time of day with me. I would have thought I would
have known if he were the least bit disloyal to King and Country. He
certainly seems loyal to me."
Roxanne:
"Maybe it is someone outside?"
Soire:
"What do you mean?"
Roxanne:
"Well, you are one of the top military officers, are you not? Maybe
someone hopes to weaken France by implicating you in being disloyal to the
King?"
Soire:
"Seems unlikely my dear. Jean-Louis would be unlikely to listen to
subversion from someone outside."
Roxanne:
"Well, something must have happened. You know I talk to many of the other
wives and ladies. The servants often socialize. WHen they visit here,
someone may have heard something from Jean-Louis that would shed light on
this. I will ask around."
Soire:
"Thank you my dear. Anything you can learn will help. I will have to talk
to the household servants, if only to put their minds at ease. I will see
if they have any light to shed."
