Was it, however, Charles V.who made the first overtures as the most efficient supporter the constable could have?
Or was it the constable himself who, profiting by the relations he had established after the capture of Hesdin with the Croys, persons of influence with the emperor, made use of them for getting into direct communication with Charles V., and made offer of his services in exchange for protection against his own king and his own country?
In such circumstances and in the case of such men the sources of crime are always surrounded with obscurity.

One is inclined to believe that Charles V., vigilant and active as he was, put out the first feelers.

As soon as he heard that Bourbon was a widower, he gave instructions to Philibert Naturelli, his ambassador in France, who said, "Sir, you are now in a position to marry, and the emperor, my master, who is very fond of you, has a sister touching whom I have orders to speak to you if you will be pleased to hearken." It was to Charles V.'s eldest sister, Eleanor, widow of Manuel the Fortunate, King of Portugal, that allusion was made.

This overture led to nothing at the time; but the next year, in 1522, war was declared between Francis I.and Charles V.; the rupture between Francis I.and the Duke of Bourbon took place; the Bourbon lawsuit was begun; and the duke's mother-in-law, Anne of France, daughter of Louis XI., more concerned for the fate of her House than for that of her country, and feeling herself near her end, said one day to her son-in-law, "My son, reflect that the House of Bourbon made alliance with the House of Burgundy, and that during that alliance it always prospered.

You see at the present moment what is the state of our affairs, and the lawsuit in which you are involved is proceeded with only for want of alliances.