I was much confused:
the offence was too public for me to restrain my resentment, and
even when I wished to do so the thing was scarcely possible. The
comte Jean, who had witnessed it, and my sisters-in-law, who
learnt it from him, were enraged. I was compelled to complain to
the king, who instantly sent the princesse de Guemenee an order
to quit Marly forthwith, and betake herself to the princesse de
Marsan,
of the children of the royal family of France,
of whose post she had the reversion.
Never did a just chastisement produce a greater effect. The
outcry against me was louder than ever, it seemed as tho' the
whole nobility of France was immolated at "one fell swoop."
To have heard the universal clamor, it would have been thought
that the princess had been sent to the most obscure prison in the
kingdom. This proof of the king's regard for me did much mischief,
no doubt, as it furnished my enemies with a pretext to accuse me
of a vindictive spirit. Could I do otherwise? Ought I to have
allowed myself to be overwhelmed with impunity, and was it
consistent with the dignity of my august protector, that I should
be insulted thus openly by his subjects, his courtiers, his guests,
even in the private apartments of his palace?
However, this wrath of the nobility did not prevent the Choiseul
family from experiencing a feeling of fright.
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