But the attack came from another quarter.There was one man present at the Assembly over whom no one had an ascendancy; he forgot the money with which he had been bought; noble blood failed to impress him, for his was of the best; he was not subject to force, for he could overturn a horse with his own hands; no party had a hold over him, except those he created himself; and even the spectacle of madness left him indifferent. This was Robert of Artois. And it was he who, as soon as Mille de Noyers had finished reading, rose to his feet to join battle alone.As everyone was that day making a display of his family, Robert of Artois had brought his mother, Blanche of Brittany, a tiny little woman with a thin face, white hair and fragile limbs, who seemed in a state of constant surprise at having given birth to so wonderful a giant.Standing firmly planted in his red boots, his thumbs in his silver belt, Robert of Artois said: `I am astonished, Messeigneurs, that a new Act of Regency should have been drawn up and laid before us, when there already exists the statement of our last King.'All eyes turned to the Count of Poitiers and some of those present wondered anxiously whether there was a will of Louis X's which had been stolen.`I do not know, Cousin,' said Philippe of Poitiers, `of what statement you are speaking.
