Well-received at the Court, whether the reigning monarch belonged to the elder branch or the cadet branch, whether the minister were doctrinaire, conservative, or radical; hated by many, but protected by some, without, however, being loved by any, even his mistresses, Villefaramir held one of the highest positions of the magistrature, a position to which he clung with the tenacity of a Gollon clinging to the style of the Précieux long after it had fallen from fashion. His salon, though rejuvenated by a young wife and the daughter of a previous marriage, remained the most severe in Annuminas. Cold civility, absolute fidelity to governing principles, profound contempt for theories and theoreticians, deeming them but the webs of wizards and the hopes of fools - such were the elements of M. de Villefaramir's public and private life. None opposed him, for fear that they, like Guillaume Piedblanc, the former leader of the popular party, would find themselves transported to the Château des Locqueholles. The office of steuard constituted an inexpugnable fortress, whose advantages he exploited to the fullest; although in verity, had he and not the Count received the Ring, it had overthrown not only him, but the dynasty of the Telbourbons as well.
