He knew, however, that it would be correct for him first to pay his respects to the Emperor and he had already informed the Grand Marshal of the Palace, Maréchal Vaillant, that he was arriving in Paris.
He was therefore not surprised to find an invitation to dinner with the Emperor on the night he arrived.
It was not an engagement that the Marquis looked forward to with much enthusiasm.
Dinner in the Tuilleries was served at half past seven. At seven-twenty when Napoleon III and the Empress made their appearance in the Salon des Tapisseries, the Marquis was waiting with the Emperor’s aide-de-camp, his Chamberlain, his Equerry, his Orderly Officer, the Prefect of the Palace, and two Ladies-in-Waiting.
The Emperor greeted him with pleasure and the Empress was gracious but slightly frigid
