“ Meanwhile suspicion was thrown on Mme de Montespan’s connexion with La Voisin and her crew by the frequent recurrence of her maid’s name, Mlle Desoeillets, in the evidence brought before the Chambre Ardente. From the end of 1680 onwards Louvois, Colbert and Mme de Maintenon all helped to hush up the affair and to prevent further scandal about the mother of the king’s legitimatized children. Louis XIV. continued to spend some time daily in her apartments, and apparently her brilliance and charm in conversation mitigated to some extent her position of discarded mistress. ”

“ It has been thought that she had conceived the intention of poisoning even as early as 1676, but in 1679 Louis’s intrigue with Angélique de Fontanges and her own relegation to the position of superintendent of the queen’s household brought matters to a crisis. Mlle de Fontanges died a natural death in 1681, though poisoning was suspected. ”