Louis spit air. “The tax revenues you outlined! You heard me. Nantes down seven per cent, Limousin down fourteen per cent, Anjou down twenty-one per cent, Bourbonnais twentyeight per cent, Savoy and Auvergne both down thirty-one per cent, Epernon down thirty-five per cent. Robbery!”

The minsters glanced at one another. Louis shoved his drawing across the table to Bontemps and continued, “They do this because they don’t fear the consequences. What’s worse, they steal from the people of France. In my name. A common thief in a brocade shirt.”

“Sire,” said Colbert, “the expenses you asked for, the royal pension?” He handed the King a large ledger. Louis flipped through it, unimpressed and unmoved.

Louvois folded his hands on top of the table. “Sire, the taxation issue is a tedious mess. I would wish your royal attention be fixed on weightier matters. This is an administration issue and we intend to solve it once we return to Paris. The archives are there, after all. By the time our –”

The King slammed the ledger shut. “Who is our exciseman of Epernon?”

Louvois blinked, but before he could reply, the guard by the door pounded his halberd on the floor. A young, fair-haired messenger entered, bowed, and handed the note to Bontemps.

“Who disrupts our council?” demanded Louis.

“My lady of Ile Saint-Louis,” said the messenger, his eyes trained on his shoes.

Louis turned to Bontemps, for Ile Saint-Louis was Bontemp’s house. The valet cringed and moved to pocket the note.

“Read it,” Louis ordered.

“I…I will, Sire,” said Bontemps. “Once our business is –”

“Then I shall read it!” said the King.

Louis snatched the paper, studied it, and then slowly handed it back. Bontemps read the paper and his face went pale.

“Go at once,” said Louis, his voice softer now. “Take a Swiss guard with you. There are bandits on the road.”

Without a word, Bontemps bowed and left the room.

Louis sat for a moment, looking at the chair where his friend had sat. The council members waited to see if he might shed light on the urgent message that had called Bontemps away. But he did not. Instead, he stood, and pointed across the room at Fabien.

“Find the exciseman of Epernon! Educate him. And let me be clear. The state of these finances will not pass these doors. As far as the world is concerned, our cash flow is strong and the royal purse secure. Perception is all. Is this understood?”

Everyone bowed in affirmation.

“Louvois,” said the King. “Do we know if this exciseman has transgressed before?”

“For that, Sire,” replied Louvois, “we would need the archives. In Paris.”

“Then bring the archives here!”