"The Royal Hunt" by Amédée Achard, summary Automatic translate

This book is a historical adventure novel written in 1850. The text vividly depicts the tragic fate of a young French nobleman against the backdrop of the Wars of the Spanish Succession, where palace conspiracies are closely intertwined with bloody battles.

The Marquis’s Youth and the Fatal Duel

The events begin in September 1706 near the besieged city of Turin, Italy. The young Marquis Hector-Dieudonné de Chavaillé, a common soldier, blocks the path of his high-ranking relatives — Duke Guy de Riparfond and Count Paul-Émile de Fourquevaux. The ragged youth tells them the true story of his life. He grew up in the Castle of the Enchanted Women near Vienne, raised by his stern old father and his devoted servant, Coq-Héron.

From a young age, a military mentor instilled in Héctor brilliant fencing and horsemanship. After his father’s death, the estates fell under the despotic control of the young man’s aunt, Madame de Versillac, and her cunning favorite, Abbé Hernández. The mentor regularly harasses the freedom-loving hero with nagging. During yet another quarrel, Héctor openly challenges the Abbé, severely wounds him in the throat with a Toledo sword, and, certain of his opponent’s death, flees the family estate forever.

Encounters on the roads of Italy

Fleeing persecution, the young man encounters a wandering hermit. The supposed monk turns out to be Brother John, the cruel leader of a gang of counterfeiters. The bandit lures the fugitive to the citadel on Mont Ventoux and offers to join the criminals under threat of beheading. The Marquis displays iron restraint and escapes the thugs on a dark night. On a forest road, he warns the carriage of the old Count de Blétarens of an ambush.

The rescued nobleman invites the young man to his home, where Hector meets the count’s young daughter, Christina. On the way to Avignon, the hero meets a gypsy woman who reads his palm and utters a strange, frightening prophecy, including the word "too late." Soon, the marquis is reunited with his faithful squire, Coq-Heron. The old soldier, using his last savings, gathers a troop of mercenaries to join the papal guard.

The Defense of Cremona and Palace Secrets

The impulsive Hector loses his soldiers to a random card sharper in one night. Left with nothing, the friends enlist as privates in the Crown Regiment. The Marquis displays remarkable courage in defending Cremona from Prince Eugene’s Austrian army and earns the immense respect of his fellow soldiers. A chance encounter with Riparfon and Fourquevaux leads Hector back to the aristocracy. The loyal friends set off for the capital together.

For his military valor and thanks to the patronage of the Duke of Orleans, Louis XIV personally bestows upon Hector the rank of colonel. The Marquis instantly becomes the center of attention at the court of Versailles. The beautiful Duchess of Berry becomes deeply attracted to the young officer and persistently courts his affections. But the hero’s thoughts are occupied exclusively with the now-mature Christine de Blétarens. The girl is forced to secretly hide near Paris with her father, who fears execution for his long-standing involvement in the Fronde rebellions.

The Secret Agent’s Cunning

To prevent encounters with the amorous Duchess, Hector and Paul stage a mock duel, after which Chavaillet claims to be seriously wounded. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Abbé Hernandez has survived an earlier encounter. The villain assumes the false identity of Chevalier de Sainte-Claire and becomes a secret spy for the Metropolitan Police. Consumed by black envy of the Marquis and obsessed with a sordid passion for Christine, Sainte-Claire orchestrates a cunning plot.

The schemer skillfully manipulates the wounded pride of the Duchess of Berry. Using false denunciations, the chevalier succeeds in accusing Hector of heresy. The king immediately exiles the marquis to the thick of the Flemish War for five years. Remaining in Paris, Sainte-Claire intercepts all the letters of the estranged lovers. The deceived Christine, completely convinced of Hector’s betrayal, prepares in grief to take the strict monastic vows at Chevreuse.

Night fight and secret wedding

While in Flanders, Hector accidentally exposes Saint-Clair as an enemy spy. The colonel immediately organizes a daring night attack on Prince Eugene of Savoy’s headquarters at Saint-Vast. He captures a wooden box containing documents incriminating the Parisian traitors. Soon, French troops achieve a brilliant victory over the Austrians at Denain. Chavaille personally delivers a report to the monarch about the enemy’s complete defeat.

After reviewing the confiscated letters, Louis XIV burns the papers to protect the crown and pledges to pardon old de Blétarens. It seems all the clouds have finally cleared. Hector and Christine are joyfully reunited. The young couple secretly wed at the remote hunting lodge of the Countess d’Argenson, attended by the groom’s loyal friends. Immediately after the church blessing, Hector, obeying his military duty, is forced to rush back to the front.

Execution and kidnapping

These rosy hopes are dashed by Saint-Claire’s vengefulness. The corrupt policeman bribes the prison guards, intercepts the king’s decree of pardon, and orchestrates a brutal nighttime raid on the hunting lodge. The villain secures the immediate imprisonment of Count de Blétaren in the frigid dungeons of the Bastille. Defending the old man, the Duke of Riparfont falls dead from a treacherous dagger thrust by Coquelicot’s mercenary. A few days later, Blétaren is mercilessly executed by torchlight on the Place de Grève.

The mad Saint-Claire forcibly kidnaps Christine, hoping to take her on a prison ship to New Orleans along with a convoy of fallen women. The actress Sidalise sends a disturbing letter to the front. Hector, Fourquevaux, and Coq-Héron abandon the army and rush to the capital. Upon learning of the scale of the tragedy, they join forces with the repentant Brother John. Four brave horsemen set off in a frantic pursuit of the prison carriage along the Normandy Highway.

Tragedy on the Cliff

A furious gallop allows the friends to overtake the kidnapper’s carriage near a deep river cliff. A desperate firefight with the Chevalier’s personal guard ensues. The brave Count de Fourquevaux takes a well-aimed bullet to the head and dies instantly. Brother John engages in brutal hand-to-hand combat with his longtime criminal partner, Saint-Clair. Drenched in scarlet blood from knife wounds, the mortal enemies grapple with each other and plunge over the high cliff into the frigid waters of the Seine.

During a fierce exchange of gunfire, Hector himself is shot through the chest. The bleeding marquis collapses heavily on the side of a forest road. The faithful Coq-Heron manages to kill the remaining mercenaries and bring the carriage carrying the freed Christine to her dying husband. The young colonel takes his last painful breath in the arms of his sobbing wife, recalling the gypsy woman’s long-ago, fateful prophecy. Forever broken by grief, Christine decides to hide from the world behind the deafening walls of a monastery. Having lost the meaning of existence, Coq-Heron returns to Flanders, passionately praying for a swift death on the battlefield.