[3] They sent Julien to the college of Coutances at age thirteen, but upon his return three years later, they continued to conspire to keep their children apart and began arranging a marriage for their daughter.
Although he lacked the noble rank of the de Ravelet family, Lefèvre built his wealth from the collector's charge of royal tax.
[4] Lefèvre alerted the authorities of his wife's abandonment and sent a letter to the chateau, accusing the siblings of engaging in an incestuous relationship.
Towards the end of August 1603, they heard Lefèvre may have discovered their whereabouts and they set out for Paris, arriving on September 7 and taking separate hotels.
Marguerite denied the charges and alleged her pregnancy was the result of a rape by a traveling tailor, who attacked her during her stay in Tourlaville.
Julien's defense against the charges was his claim of saving his sister from an unhappy marriage and that the incest accusation stemmed from a jealous husband who misinterpreted a hug between the two.
The evidence presented against the siblings was a series of letters exchanged between the two over a three-year period of 1600 through 1603, detailing intimate conversations that strongly hinted at a passionate and sexual relationship.
In his decision, the king was quoted by contemporary writer Pierre de L'Estoile to have said: "If the woman would not have been married, I would have gladly given her pardon, but as she is, I could not."
You who pass by, do not inquire as to the cause of their death, but go and pray to God for their souls.” After the execution, Marguerite's two children, Louise and Julien II, were later declared beneficiaries to the chateau of Tourlaville.
However, in the few years that followed, Jean de Ravalet gave away large sums of his wealth in endowments to local churches for the benefit of the poor.
In 1653, Jean de Ravalet died and left the chateau to a nephew, but having given all his fortune to charity, the estate was penniless.
The tale of Julien and Marguerite de Ravelet is said to have inspired John Ford’s 17th century play 'Tis Pity She's a Whore.