It is a place of some strength now; but were it in French hands
it might be made very much stronger, and would cost much time and loss of
men to besiege. At present your majesty is in alliance with Burgundy, but
none can say how the war will go, or what changes will take place; and
should the Orleanists gain the upper hand, they will be quick to take
advantage of my having fought for Burgundy, and would confiscate my
estates and hand them over to one who might be hostile to England, and
pledged to make the castle a stronghold that would greatly hinder and bar
the advance of an English army upon Paris. Therefore, Sire, I would, not
for my own sake but for the sake of your majesty's self and your
successors, pray you to let me for a while remain quietly at Summerley
until the course of events in France is determined.'
"The king was pleased to see the force of what I urged. As far as I had
inclinations in the case, they were towards the cause, not of Burgundy
himself, whose murder of Orleans was alike treacherous and indefensible,
but of his cause, seeing that Flanders is wholly under his authority, and
that in Artois he is well-nigh paramount at present. On the other hand,
Amiens and Ponthieu, which lie but a short distance to the south of me,
are strongly Orleanist, and I have therefore every motive for standing
aloof. So far the fortune of war has been so changeable that one cannot
say that the chances incline towards one faction more than the other.
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