Saint-Aignan

Also known as: Aignan / Comte de Saint-Aignan / M. de Saint-Aignan / M. le Comte de Saint-Aignan / Monsieur de Saint-Aignan / comte / monsieur le comte / the comte / the courtier / the favorite · Family: French court · Role: courtier · First appears: Chapter 12

Saint-Aignan, a courtier of the French court, praised Mademoiselle de la Vallière in chapter 12, calling her “Mademoiselle de la Vallière is an angel.” At court, De Wardes was rejected after De Guiche exposed his insinuations, and in chapter 19 Saint-Aignan identified De Wardes to Louis XIV. Louis XIV sometimes waited for his arrival, while Saint-Aignan appeared beside the king with Manicamp and was accompanied by D’Artagnan; he also warned Manicamp that serving friends too zealously could destroy them.

By chapter 32, Saint-Aignan had received two challenges from the De Mortemart family, requiring the king’s intervention. In chapter 33, he accepted Malicorne’s proposal for a concealed staircase between his room and Mademoiselle de la Vallière’s, deciding to move immediately; within an hour he had obtained De Guiche’s two rooms. Malicorne and Saint-Aignan completed the staircase in twenty-four hours, allowing Louis XIV and Mademoiselle de la Vallière to meet in Saint-Aignan’s room. Saint-Aignan aided the arrangement, agreeing to leave the king alone and delay the painter at the next rendezvous, while calling the opportunity one for which he was indebted to Malicorne. M. de Roquelaure, M. de la Ferte, and M. de Dangeau were rivals for the same advantages, and De Guiche supplied the rooms without difficulty.

Later, Raoul sought a duel with Saint-Aignan through Porthos, claiming Saint-Aignan had insulted him. Saint-Aignan found Raoul’s missing note in his apartments and acknowledged that the secret had been exposed; Porthos then formally delivered the challenge. Louis XIV learned that Raoul had discovered his secret with Mademoiselle de la Vallière, ordered Saint-Aignan to remain rather than fight, and sent him to warn her, saying, “I order you to remain.” Saint-Aignan also questioned Basque about letters from Fiesque, Laferte, and las Fuentes, and Porthos later accepted that fighting him would effectively mean fighting the king.