Vicomte De Bragelonne Chapter XI - Mazarin's Policy

In which the young King Louis XIV implores Cardinal Mazarin to aid his brother Charles II. with men and money, only to encounter the cardinal’s shrewd refusal grounded in the delicate web of international treaties and political prudence. The king’s resolve is tested as he contemplates the inscrutable designs of figures such as Monk, while Charles II. faces the sombre prospect of exile, imbued with a noble melancholy and guarded dignity.