ime that even the Crown of England was within her reach; for
when Catherine was brought to the verge of death the Duchess was
probably not alone in thinking that she might be her successor on the
throne.

"She has got the notion," wrote the French Ambassador,
"that it is possible she may yet be Queen of England. She
talks from morning till night of the Queen's ailments as
if they were mortal."

But at least, if the crown was not to be hers, there was as much gold to
be had as she cared to garner. Not content with her allowance, which,
nominally L10,000 a year, in one year reached the enormous sum of
L136,000, she heaped fortune on fortune by trafficking in a wide range
of commodities, from peerages and Court appointments to Royal pardons
and slaves. A few years of such rich harvesting made her incomparably
the richest woman in England, although she squandered her ill-gotten
gold with a prodigal hand. Her apartments at Whitehall were crowded with
the costliest furnishings and objects of art that money could buy. When
Evelyn paid a visit to the Court he records:

"But that which engaged my curiosity was the rich and
splendid furniture of this woman's apartment, now twice
or thrice pulled down to satisfy her prodigality and
expensive pleasures; while her Majesty's does not exceed
some gentlemen's wives in furniture and accommodation.

"Here I saw the new fabrics of French tapestry, for
design, tenderness of work and incomparable imitation of
the best paintings, beyond anything I ever beheld. Some
pieces had Versailles, St Germain's, and other palaces of
the French King, with huntings, figures, and landscapes,
exotic flowers and all to the life, rarely done. Then for
Japan cabinets, screens, pendule clocks, great vases of
wrought plate, table-stands, sconces, branches, braseras,
etc., all of massive silver and out of number, besides
some of his Majesty's best paintings!"

Probably at this time of her illicit queendom the only thorn in Louise
de Querouaille's bed of roses was that vulgar, "gutter-rival" of hers,
Nell Gwynn, with whom she suffered the indignity of sharing Charles's
affection. To the high-born, blue-blooded daughter of centuries of
French nobles (of whom her tradesman-father always affected a
disconcerting ignorance) the very sight of her saucy and successful
rival, the ex-orange-wench, was a contamination. Sh