the Modenese court. The Duchess of Villars was there to represent the French king. Everyone was expected to rise very early and attend Mass; dinner was served at an hour when many of the fashionable ladies of Paris and Versailles were sipping their morning chocolate; the usual occupation of the ducal family in the afternoon was a carriage ride, the carriages proceeding at an almost funeral pace; supper was at eight o'clock; and ten was bed time. Her boredom was only agitated when her father-in-law's favourite, the Count of Salvatico (an admirer of Charlotte Aglaé) was made Grand Master of Ceremonies. The count used his new position to claim the right of entering the princess's apartments at any time he wished. He intercepted her mail from relatives and friends in France, and actually had the audacity to stop delivery of several letters from her father, in order to create the impression that she had quarrelled with the Regent. In addition, he furnished blind and lame horses for her carriage and pewter for her table. In short, he tried to annoy her as much as possible. In order to distract herself from the boring court, Charlotte Aglaé began holding small private gatherings in her apartments where she would entertain a small circle attended by her husband's three surviving sisters including Enrichetta d'Este, future Duchess of Parma. In September 1720, Charlotte Aglaé caught smallpox and, according to her grandmother, the last sacraments were administered. She called her French confessor, Colibeaux, to her bedside, and, handing him a casket, directed him to secretly burn all the papers which it contained. Probably among these papers were the love-letters which she had received from the Duke of Richelieu. During this illness, her husband was forbidden to see her; he stayed at his villa at Sassuolo until she recovered. Soon the marriage was criticised for not having produced any children, and blame fell upon the then recovering princess. This criticism of the couple led them to flee to Verona for a short spell, much to the annoyance of her father-in-law. In retaliation, he cut off the postal service to the prince and princess in the hope that they would return. It was at this time that Charlotte first asked her father to let her return to France and live at Versailles with her family. This request only served to complicate marriage plans already under way for