they courted Condé, hoping to foster his loyalty. Catherine de Medici informed Anne d'Este that she had successfully reconciled Condé with Nemours and Cardinal Guise, brother of the late duke. Feud During the final siege of the first war of religion, the duke of Guise had been assassinated. The family blamed Gaspard II de Coligny for ordering the hit and were determined to pursue 'justice' against the Admiral. Coligny for his part came under the protection of his uncle Montmorency, who re-opened his rivalry with the Guise in defence of his nephew. In an attempt to gain the upper hand, the Guise arranged for a petition to court, from many leading nobles, arguing for the right to open a case against Coligny. Nemours was among the signatories, however the court proved uninterested, and formally suspended any investigation into the murder in early 1564. Governor As governor of the Lyonnais, Nemours was keen to patronise 'men of letters' and other centres of learning within his governate. As the crown increasingly loomed on the cusp of bankruptcy, the distribution of funds to its regional governors became more erratic and rare. By 1565 Nemours had accumulated 140,000 livres of debts for unpaid pensions and salaries during his tenure as governor. It was hoped by governors that these debts would be satisfied by the court when it had greater funds. Second war of religion Frustrated at their declining influence in court, and the increasingly restrictive direction royal policy was moving in regarding Protestantism, the leading Protestants again plotted a coup. Their aim was to seize the king while he was staying at Meaux, and to kill Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine. Their attempt was a failure and the king was able to retreat with the court to Paris after some debate. While Hôpital, the chancellor, had argued in favour of relying on the fortifications at Meaux, Nemours and Guise advocated a flight to Paris and convinced the court successfully. As they fled, they were pursued by the Protestant forces, who adapted their plan to a siege of Paris. To this end they began trying to invest the city, while Anne de Montmorency assembled an army inside for a breakout. While Montmorency was busy building an army, Nemours was among those commanders trying to relieve pressure on the city. On 7 November he successfully captured a river crossing that was vital to a successful siege of