The builder grabbed for the veteran, but it was too late. The veteran leapt as the crowd gasped and covered their faces. When he reached the end of the rope, there was a sickening snap. His body jerked and his mouth spewed blood. His dangling body came to rest directly in front of the King, and Louis turned to stare accusingly at his brother.

A summit meeting was held in the War Cabinet room. Louis paced back and forth as his men stood around the table, glancing at one another.

“The man believed he and his fellow soldiers have not been given the honor and respect they earned on the battlefield,” Colbert offered.

Louis continued walking. “They were soldiers! Do they not now take their orders?”

“Their grievances are many, Sire,” said Louvois. “And many suffer from injuries sustained in their work that are still untreated.”

“How many have joined this stoppage?”

“Two thousand, Sire,” said Colbert. “Unless they return to work, construction cannot continue. Winter is fast approaching. With no completed lodgings, I fear our new arrivals might soon depart.”

“We must speak to these men,” said Louis. “In the meantime, the rest of the builders shall continue.”

Colbert shook his head. “They refuse to work, too. They claim working conditions are too harsh and little attention is paid to their safety. We lose half a dozen men per week. Many more injured. We have a reckoning of compensation.”

“What will that man’s family receive?”

“Nothing, since his injuries were self-inflicted.”

“Pay him, anyway.”

“That may assuage the grief, but not the anger of the men.”

Louis moved to the large globe by the window and touched the surface where Europe lay. “By the age of thirty, Alexander the Great had created an empire stretching from Greece to India. But without his men, King Darius would have driven him into the sea. We retook the Spanish Netherlands. Soon, we shall turn our eyes to Holland. We profit from our trade with the lands of King Annaba even as the Duc de Cassel bows his head. I will not be pushed into the sea by a builder on a scaffold.” He looked at each of his ministers in turn. “Order them back to work.”

Bontemps led Cassel along a palace corridor. “The king will be delighted to see you here,” Bontemps said. “He has extended to all nobles a financial inducement. Those who wish to build a house at the periphery of the grounds will be forgiven all outstanding debts.”

“Then I shall begin my planning at once,” replied Cassel, head high with satisfaction, taking in the elegance of his new surroundings, the tall arched ceilings, the elegant artwork and gilded frames, sparkling chandeliers, and luxurious furnishing.

“In the meanwhile,” Bontemps continued, “we’ll do our best to make you comfortable within the palace.”