All those called upon to share his enthusiasm would agree that it was.

The Queen would stand beside him, and they would laugh contentedly and ask each other whether they would, if they could, exchange this exquisite creature even for a Dauphin.

No, indeed they would not. Marie Thérèse Charlotte – Madame Royale – was perfect in their eyes and they would not lose her for the world.

Louis, loving husband and devoted father, wanted to show his affection in more tangible terms.

Antoinette loved jewels; he would send for the Court jewellers and command them to make something for the Queen which would delight her more than any piece of jewellery in her possession.

When the summons came to Messieurs Boehmer and Bassenge, the Court jewellers, Monsieur Boehmer rubbed his hands with delight. ‘Now,’ he said to his partner, ‘is the time to dispose of the diamond necklace.’

The diamond necklace was about to be completed. It was the most magnificent ornament ever made, both jewellers were sure, for who in the world could afford in the first place to procure the stones which went into it, and who in the second place would have the skill to make it?

They had taken four years to find stones of sufficient size and perfection and mount them into this necklace. It was, of course, made with the Queen in mind, and the jewellers had not a moment’s doubt that she would be so enchanted when she saw it that she would be unable to resist it.

The diamond necklace occupied the thoughts of Messieurs Boehmer and Bassenge all day and often part of the night. Its sale would make them rich men. They were comfortably off now, for business had been good since the Queen had such a taste for diamonds; and the Court followed the Queen. But the necklace was designed to make their fortunes.

The diamonds which formed a choker necklace were enormous, and graduated from the largest in the centre; from this choker necklace hung another looped rope from which was a pendant of diamonds culminating in a huge pear-shaped stone. More clusters hung from the choker; then there was a magnificent rope of double diamonds from which hung four tassels all composed of the finest diamonds in the world.

The jewellers hoped to sell this unique creation at 1,600,000 livres.

So when the King sent for Boehmer and the latter guessed that His Majesty wished to make a present to the Queen, he hastily completed the necklace and took it along to show Louis.

‘Your Majesty,’ he cried, ‘I show you here the finest ornament in the world, of which only Her Majesty is worthy.’

Louis was very impressed by the glittering jewellery, though the price made him flinch a little; but he was eager to show Antoinette and the world that he was a happy husband and father.

‘I will speak to the Queen before buying it,’ he said.

And the jeweller went away contented and confident.


* * *

James Armand stood with the Queen by the cradle.

He was looking with misgiving at the baby, for he now knew her to be his greatest rival at Court. It was useless for his beloved Queen to assure him that he was her little boy. He knew differently. She was absentminded now when she played with him. Indeed she played less with him than she had before.

He was frightened. He remembered his grandmother’s cottage and all the others there, and how they had refused to let him play with them, how they had shut him out of the games because he was the youngest.

He would go to the Queen when she was holding the baby and her ladies were about her, admiring the tiny creature.

‘James Armand is here,’ he would announce.

They would all laugh.

‘So James Armand is jealous of Madame Royale?’

One of the Queen’s ladies said: ‘You forget, James Armand. Madame Royale is the Queen’s own child.’

‘I am too,’ he declared hotly. ‘I also.’

The lady smiled and ruffled his hair. ‘Have a sweetmeat, James Armand. Come, here are your favourites.’

But he only ran away and hid himself.

He would cower in the hangings and watch the Queen with the baby, see her stoop over the cradle and kiss the child.

He heard her say: ‘It was the happiest moment in my life when I held my own child in my arms.’

He ran out then. He thought she referred to him; he said: ‘It was when you picked me up from the road after the horses had kicked me.’

She gave the baby to one of her women then and put her arms about him.

‘You must have no fear, James Armand,’ she said. ‘You will always be my boy.’

He gave himself up to the pleasure of that embrace, but he could not entirely believe it. There was so much to make him disbelieve.

The Queen was thoughtfully considering the boy, when the King came to her.

‘Boehmer has shown me the most magnificent diamond necklace I have ever seen,’ Louis told her.

‘The necklace?’ She smiled. ‘I have heard of that necklace.’

‘If you would like it, it shall be yours.’

‘I believe it would cost a great deal.’

The King raised his eyebrows. ‘Since when have you become concerned with cost?’

‘Since I was truly a mother perhaps. I am going to change now, Louis. I have been very extravagant. I have wasted so much money. It was because I longed to be a mother; and because I was not, I had to spend the time somehow. Now I have my dearest wish realised. I have my own child, and I shall have more. No, I will not have the necklace. Mother would send complaining letters, and you know how I am continually reproached for my extravagance. I have plenty of diamonds and they do not go so well with the new fashions of muslin and cambric. And I should wear this magnificent trinket only about half a dozen times during a year. No, Louis, I will show you and the world how I have changed. I will not have this diamond necklace. I will not even see it … for fear I should be tempted.’

‘It costs nearly two million livres – 1,600,000 to be precise. It is a great deal of money. One could build a man-o’-war with that.’

‘Then have your man-o’-war, Louis.’

‘I should have liked to give you this necklace …’

‘You have given me our little Charlotte. That is enough.’

He was looking at her with shining eyes of approval. She was right of course. She had been extravagant, and it would be good to show the people that she was so no longer.

He sent a messenger to Boehmer to tell him that the Queen had decided against the necklace.

When Boehmer received the message he was distraught.

‘We are ruined,’ he said to his partner. ‘We have borrowed so heavily to buy the stones. We have wasted four years on the necklace. Unless we can sell it we are ruined. I was counting on the Queen.’

‘Who would have believed she could resist it?’ cried Bassenge. ‘Who will buy it now?’

‘God knows! The price of it puts it out of the market. There is no one but the King and Queen who could afford the necklace. Many have seen it and admired it – but of course must consider it right out of their reach. There is only one thing to do if we are to be saved. I must start at once. I must visit all the Courts of Europe in the hope of finding a buyer.’


* * *

So the Queen did not have the diamond necklace. Instead a hundred couples, who were about to marry, were given a dowry besides new clothing, and money was distributed throughout the country; pardons were granted to certain criminals and many debtors were forgiven their debts. There were fireworks and illuminations in the Capital, wine flowed from fountains and all were admitted free into the Comédie Française. It seemed that the popularity of the Queen had been regained, for everywhere she went now she was acclaimed by shouts of ‘Vive la Reine!’

But her enemies were as strong as ever. The aunts continued to receive their visitors at Bellevue.

‘And how long do you think this reformation will last, eh?’ demanded Adelaide of her sisters.

They waited to hear from Adelaide how long, but they knew of course that Adelaide had already decided it should be of the shortest possible duration.

Josèphe and Thérèse continued to watch the Queen closely. The fond mother would soon become the frivolous Queen again, they were sure. For one thing she still kept her favourites about her. The Polignacs were as strong as ever. Gabrielle was the most favoured person in the whole of the Court.

‘In the old days it was the King’s mistresses,’ said Josèphe; ‘now it is the Queen’s friends.’

‘The people should be told that,’ cried Adelaide.

Her sisters nodded. They knew that Adelaide and Josèphe and others with them would see that remark was repeated throughout Paris.

The Comte de Vaudreuil, who was Gabrielle’s lover, had lost money in the West Indies owing to the American war, and Gabrielle begged the Queen to help her lover; the result was that the Comte was found a sinecure at Court which was a charge on public funds to the tune of 30,000 livres a year. Gabrielle’s lovely young daughter was affianced to the Duc de Guiche. The King must give her a dowry of 800,000 livres because the Queen so wished to please her dear friend Gabrielle; then, of course, the bridegroom must have his gifts also. There must be a command in the company of Guards, an estate and a pension for Monsieur de Guiche.

Gabrielle had been made a Duchesse and had been given estates at Bitche, and ever since she had been known throughout Paris as Bitchette.

Other members of the Polignac family were not forgotten. Even Gabrielle’s husband’s father, the old Vicomte de Polignac, who was far from brilliant, was sent to Switzerland as ambassador.