Françoise de Soissan de La Bédosse

There is a suggestion that she may have been involved in the story of François Michel, a farrier who claimed to have seen a ghost and obtained an audience with Louis XIV to deliver a message he said he was charged with conveying.

To explain Françoise de Soissan’s impressive influence, especially given that her power did not wane with age, some contemporaries suggested witchcraft.

Upon his return from Paris, Jacques de Soissan discovered that his wife had given birth to a daughter, Françon, who was baptized on 27 October 1631.

[2]In 1649, Françon entered into a marital partnership with Esprit de Rafélis (circa 1630–1686),[1] who held the title of seigneur of Rus or Ruth, a locality situated within the present-day commune of Lagarde-Paréol.

She was subsequently dispatched to England to persuade the Duc's wife to return to France, where she had fled due to her husband's jealousy.

Similarly, he defied Louis XIV's orders by voting for exile instead of capital punishment in December 1664, a stance that resonated with a portion of the public.

To facilitate Roquesante's access, the government ordered Lady of Rus' exile to Provence due to her intrigue involvement.

Per the king's orders, Roquesante is exiled to Quimper, where he is held responsible for the intrigues of the dame de Rus.

In 1670, she secured a series of rural properties from him, causing financial difficulties for his legitimate wife despite the intervention of the Bishop of Viviers to support the latter.

In Digne in 1673, she met Nicolas Arnoul, intendant of the navy, and his wife Geneviève Saulger, with whom she formed a favorable impression.

[11] The Lady of Rus assisted Geneviève Saulger in caring for the paralyzed patient and efficiently assumed control of the Arnoul household.

[14] As the widow Arnoul, then in her fifties, seemed to develop a preference for younger men,[15] Françoise convinced her in 1676 to remarry her eldest son, Joseph-Horace, aged twenty-six.

[17] In a memoir written for a lawsuit against his sister Geneviève, Pierre Arnoul describes Françoise de Soissan's influence on the entire family.

It is believed that François Michel was used by Lady of Rus as a pawn in her efforts to persuade Louis XIV to formalize his marriage to Madame de Maintenon.

[21] In his 1844 publication, Louis XIV et son siècle, Alexandre Dumas employs the same characters—the blacksmith, the Marquise de Maintenon, and Lady of Rus, who is referred to as Armond instead of Arnoul—and follows a similar narrative arc.

[10] I told him on Monday morning that I'd been thinking all night about a Madame de Rus, but I didn't understand where this idea had come from, and I wanted to ask you about this witch.

It's a strange story to see a man so in love with this creature as to lose his fortune; I can't tell you anything so extraordinary, but that's how she makes herself loved.Following the death of his wife, Pierre Arnoul accused her of employing methods inspired by the devil.

[26] Saint-Simon, in his Mémoires, offers a balanced assessment of Françoise de Soissan, acknowledging her expertise while also highlighting shortcomings.

[25] There was in Marseilles a Madam Arnoul, whose life is a novel, and who, ugly as sin, and old, poor, and a widow, made the greatest passions, governed the most considerable of the places where she found herself, got herself married by this Mr. Arnoul, intendant of the navy in Marseilles, with the most singular circumstances, and, by dint of wit and maneuvering, made herself loved and feared wherever she lived, to the point that most believed her to be a witch.

It is plausible that Saint-Simon perused Lettres historiques et galantes by the journalist Anne-Marguerite Petit du Noyer, who characterizes Françoise de Soissan as an "enchantress."

[27]In the latter half of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th, Françoise de Soissan was regarded as a shrewd and unscrupulous adventurer.

[28] Louis Delavaud portrays her as a strategist who exploits the Arnoul family's[29] credulity and determination while acknowledging her ability to influence and persevere.