ABSTRACT
Mazarin did not hurry back to Paris. It suited him to wait until Retz and Châteauneuf were out of harm’s way. He busied himself with the raising of supplies for Turenne, who was engaged in Champagne, clearing the board of the remaining Condéan fortresses. The delay did not please Anne. The queen might appreciate the wisdom of restraint; with every day that passed, sentiment improved as Mazarin was seen to be working for the crown, not rushing back to enjoy his share in its victory; the woman looked perhaps for evidence of his being eager to see her again. By the end of January she was writing of what she ‘suffered on this subject’; that she had been disappointed so often that she would only believe that he was coming when he fixed a date. It was on 3 February that he eventually arrived. As at Poitiers, Louis went out to meet him, three leagues outside the city walls. He entered the city in the king’s carriage and was given quarters in the Louvre. The minister’s return had come to represent to Louis the vindication of royal right. 1 The theme of triumph had a human face in the young king’s obvious gratitude: the godparent had proved his right to the place of father by his self-effacing devotion. Following the royal lead came deputies from Parlement which recognised the debt which France owed to his ‘great and illustrious efforts’ and came to assure him of their ‘joy at his happy return’. The celebratory supper, followed by fireworks, completed what must have been among Mazarin’s happiest days.
