Joan, like an eagle uncaged, left the court at Sully at the end of March, She did not acquaint the king, nor bid him good-byβa significant thing. She gave some pretext of a pleasure tripβwar for France was her pleasure βas she departed with several companions-in arms, including her equerry d'Aulon, and, no doubt, her brothers. She went rapidly nearly straight north to Lagny, near Paris. Lured by the rumor of French fights and the steady progress of the royal cause. Her old companion-in-arms, Etienne de Vignoles La Hire was doing heroic things in Normandy, where he had taken the strong town of Louviers and the famous castle Gaillard.
Another brave companion of hers, Ambrose de Lore, commander at Lagny, stoutly and successfully defended this place and St. Here, too, were Foucault and Kennedy, and " many gallant soldiers," in at least considerable part Scottish. Just as she arrived, a child of three days, apparently dead, was brought to the church of Our Lady, where the maidens gathered to pray for its life.
Joan was begged to come. And as they prayed the infant gave signs of life, was baptized, and died. Joan never said that the child was really dead, although it was "black as her shoe. It was probably soon after, that the free-booting Anglo-Burgundian captain, Franquet d'Arras, began to devastate the Isle-de-France.
He led a veteran band of four hundred men, in part, if not all, English. Promptly Joan took the field with about the same number of men, Scots and other soldiers of the garrison, under Foucault and Kennedy. Having come up with the English, who had dismounted and were protected by a hedge, Joan's force, horse and foot, in good order, at once fell upon them.
Nearly all the English were slain; and on the French side there were also dead and wounded. The leader was brought to Lagny; and Joan asked to have him exchanged for Jacquet Guillaume, an innkeeper near the gate of Paris at which an insurrection against the Anglo-Burgundians was to have begun. It was discovered in Passion week, and some of the prisoners were executed on the eve of Palm Sunday and on the following days.
