OOC: Canon History
Armand was born in Paris, France, around 1770. His sister, Marguerite, was only a few years older than he. Their parents died when they were young children. Both were schooled strictly until they were teens, when Marguerite embarked to the provinces to begin pursuing a career on the stage, chaperoned by her young brother. When Marguerite was twenty, the St. Justs made a triumphant return to Paris. Sponsored by their famous cousin, Louis Antoine Saint-Just (the political crony of Robespierre), Marguerite embarked on a dazzling career at the Comedie Française. Armand started at the University of Paris, studying law with the intent of entering public service. He devoted his life to his sister and his studies.
During the first intoxicating months of Marguerite's career, Armand met by chance Angele, the Marquis de St. Cyr's daughter, and fell in love. He knew his cause was hopeless. The scion of French nobility wouldn't be allowed to unite with a lowly born plebian such as Armand, even if she wished it. However, Armand wrote Angele a poem framing his admiration of her. The next day he was waylaid by St. Cyr's men and beaten nearly to death. He was long in recovering, and his outward calm about the injustice was more marked than Marguerite's. She had later opportunity to confess her hatred of the St. Cyr family for her brother's sake, and her spiteful talk of St. Cyr's involvement with Austria after the revolution resulted in a denouncement to the tribunal and the execution of the entire family. Some reports claimed that Angele survived in exile in England, but the St. Justs never saw her again. Armand never spoke of the incident except in veiled terms to his sister, who knew the details.
As conditions under the Ancien Régime worsened for the poor, the siblings took advantage of their new found affluence to enter the world of political discussion. Marguerite, as the rising star of the theatre, hosted salons at their apartment on the Rue de Richelieu while Armand mixed with his fellow students and politicians all over Paris. Her approach was more intellectual; his more enthusiastic. Both, having known the struggle to bring themselves up in the world, were staunch republicans and supported the early days of the revolution.
He could not claim to be intimate with the brightest stars of the revolution, but Armand knew most of them in passing. Their relationship with their infamous cousin deteriorated dangerously when Marguerite rejected Louis Saint-Just's marriage proposal. If Armand could have been tied to any one party, it was the moderate adherents of a constitutional monarchy, under the ill-starred Mirabeau. His later activities leaned toward the Royalist view though he never completely abandoned his ideals. He simply recoiled from the bloodthirsty turn the new Republic had taken which led to the Terror.
His sister suddenly married an English baronet, Sir Percy Blakeney, and emigrated to England, leaving him behind in Paris to watch the horrors ripen alone. The summer of 1792, he foolishly let his altered opinion of the revolution become known to the more famous Saint-Just, who eager to show his patriotism by taking a chance to condemn his own blood, watched and taunted Armand. He didn't have concrete proof until Armand broke under the strain and wrote his sister, begging her for help to get out of France. The intercepted letter was used to trap Armand. Only a heroic effort on Percy's part enabled Armand to escape to England before the autumn. *
By the time Armand needed to return to France later that same year, he'd learned of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel but not that his brother-in-law was their chief. He wrote Andrew Ffoulkes a letter requesting his sponsorship to join the League. This letter was stolen by Armand Chauvelin, a special agent of the French government, who used it to blackmail Marguerite into spying for him. He assured her that the letter was evidence enough to convict Armand and send him to the guillotine as a traitor. Under that threat, she successfully set Chauvelin on the trail of the Scarlet Pimpernel, not knowing that it was her husband.
Following the instructions he'd been given, Armand led the Count de Tournay to a fisherman's hut overlooking the English Channel, where they waited for the Pimpernel or one of his men to arrive. When Percy's plan went slightly awry, he managed to get them a note telling them to leave and travel up the coast to signal the Daydream, his private yacht. He also instructed Armand to leave a false note for Chauvelin's men to find, which led them to search the wrong way for the fugitives.
When all were safely back in England, Armand's petition to the League was granted, although he was not allowed to go on a mission until January 1794. He and Marguerite were too well-known in Paris. Also, although there was little evidence that Percy supported their pleas, many members of the League--wholly an English body save the St. Justs--did not trust Armand, not because they thought him unfaithful but because of his excitable "Latin" temperament.
Immediately upon his return to Paris, Armand, through nostalgia, agreed to a night at the theatre with an old acquaintance, the Baron de Batz. Armand accidentally confirmed he had ties with the Pimpernel, and just as unwittingly, fell under the spell of an actress, Jeanne Lange. De Batz saw the effect the girl had on Armand and introduced them. De Batz then reported Armand to Heron, a government official, so when Armand met with Jeanne at her home the next day, they were interrupted by Heron come to arrest Armand. Jeanne was able to ward the official off temporarily with a clever lie. The danger cemented their love, and Armand promised to meet her again the next day.
When Percy revealed to the League their mission to rescue the young Dauphin, Armand balked because Percy required him to leave Paris immediately. After the meeting, Percy guessed the reason and, rightfully angry at Armand's reluctance to follow his oath, barely refrained from calling the young man "a liar and a cheat." When the full danger was revealed, Percy urged Armand to trust him, follow orders, and leave Jeanne's safety in his hands.
Armand found out Jeanne had been arrested, and forgetting all caution, ran straight to Percy, who already knew and again promised he'd take care of her. At nightfall Armand, anxious that Percy had not sent word, re-entered Paris. Unable to find Percy or news of his beloved, Armand consulted the prison rolls. He found Jeanne's name and her location in the Temple prison. To be near her, Armand tried to get himself arrested, and instead ran afoul of Chauvelin. Armand offered to exchange himself for Jeanne, but Chauvelin, out of favor, took Armand to Heron, who would have bargained had not the "escape" of the Dauphin been discovered. Armand was released with certain restrictions.
Despite being compromised, Armand contacted Percy, assuring him it was safe to meet, and asked him to come to his rooms. Chauvelin, Heron, and many soldiers ambushed Percy when he arrived. Before losing consciousness, Percy shouted that Jeanne was already free. Percy was sent to prison, where he was tortured by denial of sleep and minimal food. Armand was freed in reward for his betrayal.
When Marguerite, having heard of her husband's arrest from the papers, arrived in Paris, Chauvelin offered to let her see him. Percy sent her back out with letters. As far as the League was concerned, Armand had vanished, but Percy was certain that Jeanne would know where he was. Percy's letter comforted Armand and gave him a new purpose in waiting for orders on how he could help gain Percy's release.
After a bit more than two weeks, Percy apparently surrendered and, by Chauvelin's dictation, wrote Armand that he required help to lead Chauvelin and Heron to the Dauphin. Chauvelin taunted Armand, questioning Percy's motives for offering the man who'd betrayed him as a hostage, implying that he thought it possible Percy would abandon Armand to die so he could escape. He tried to disavow his responsibility in pushing Armand into that betrayal, and Armand, enraged, would have strangled him on the spot if it weren't for the words of Percy's letter and his own hopes for forgiveness and redemption. So when Chauvelin left, Armand followed his chief's instructions. Obeying Percy's first letter, Armand informed Marguerite and Sir Andrew, who set into motion the plan that Percy had prepared.
Chauvelin arranged for Marguerite also to accompany them as a second hostage. By necessity Marguerite and Armand were ignorant of many of the details of Percy's plan to free himself. They endured a tense and unhappy trip of a few days into the countryside. Throughout, Armand hoped to find a way to help, considered suicide to escape his shame and expected denunciation and repudiation from his sister for betraying her husband to torment. When Percy finally made his move, Armand almost ruined it at the last by mistakenly believing that Percy, unconscious, was being left in a crypt while he and Marguerite were taken away to be shot. It was Percy, now disguised as Heron, who knocked him senseless and ordered the siblings to be put in irons.
When Percy disposed of the guards and revealed himself to a dazed Marguerite and Armand, Marguerite thought they'd all died. All three returned to safety in England. Percy threatened to smash Armand's head if he tried to tell her the entire truth, so his forgiveness was implied in their shared conspiracy to keep Marguerite ignorant.
*A tiny bit of this information, about what happened with Armand alone in Paris between his sister's marriage and the start of the novel and about Armand's standing in the League previous to Eldorado, is taken from The Life and Exploits of the Scarlet Pimpernel by John Blakeney (a pseudonym for Orczy's son John Barstow), a semi-official biography of Percy Blakeney written with Orczy's knowledge though her permission was dubious. It simply fills in a logical gap that neither book that Armand appeared in officially explained with any clarity.
Note: Between the first book and the sequel where Armand next appeared, Baroness Orczy changed his age from 8 years older than Marguerite (~32 in 1792) to younger than his sister and "not yet five and twenty" in January 1794. The hardest things this made to reconcile in his history, much of which was given in the original novel, was the incident with Angele St. Cyr and his supposed career/education. Armand's younger age would make him a teenager when St. Cyr retaliated against him instead of 27, and it's unlikely that he'd have completed his education by the time the revolution started with the younger age.
During the first intoxicating months of Marguerite's career, Armand met by chance Angele, the Marquis de St. Cyr's daughter, and fell in love. He knew his cause was hopeless. The scion of French nobility wouldn't be allowed to unite with a lowly born plebian such as Armand, even if she wished it. However, Armand wrote Angele a poem framing his admiration of her. The next day he was waylaid by St. Cyr's men and beaten nearly to death. He was long in recovering, and his outward calm about the injustice was more marked than Marguerite's. She had later opportunity to confess her hatred of the St. Cyr family for her brother's sake, and her spiteful talk of St. Cyr's involvement with Austria after the revolution resulted in a denouncement to the tribunal and the execution of the entire family. Some reports claimed that Angele survived in exile in England, but the St. Justs never saw her again. Armand never spoke of the incident except in veiled terms to his sister, who knew the details.
As conditions under the Ancien Régime worsened for the poor, the siblings took advantage of their new found affluence to enter the world of political discussion. Marguerite, as the rising star of the theatre, hosted salons at their apartment on the Rue de Richelieu while Armand mixed with his fellow students and politicians all over Paris. Her approach was more intellectual; his more enthusiastic. Both, having known the struggle to bring themselves up in the world, were staunch republicans and supported the early days of the revolution.
He could not claim to be intimate with the brightest stars of the revolution, but Armand knew most of them in passing. Their relationship with their infamous cousin deteriorated dangerously when Marguerite rejected Louis Saint-Just's marriage proposal. If Armand could have been tied to any one party, it was the moderate adherents of a constitutional monarchy, under the ill-starred Mirabeau. His later activities leaned toward the Royalist view though he never completely abandoned his ideals. He simply recoiled from the bloodthirsty turn the new Republic had taken which led to the Terror.
His sister suddenly married an English baronet, Sir Percy Blakeney, and emigrated to England, leaving him behind in Paris to watch the horrors ripen alone. The summer of 1792, he foolishly let his altered opinion of the revolution become known to the more famous Saint-Just, who eager to show his patriotism by taking a chance to condemn his own blood, watched and taunted Armand. He didn't have concrete proof until Armand broke under the strain and wrote his sister, begging her for help to get out of France. The intercepted letter was used to trap Armand. Only a heroic effort on Percy's part enabled Armand to escape to England before the autumn. *
By the time Armand needed to return to France later that same year, he'd learned of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel but not that his brother-in-law was their chief. He wrote Andrew Ffoulkes a letter requesting his sponsorship to join the League. This letter was stolen by Armand Chauvelin, a special agent of the French government, who used it to blackmail Marguerite into spying for him. He assured her that the letter was evidence enough to convict Armand and send him to the guillotine as a traitor. Under that threat, she successfully set Chauvelin on the trail of the Scarlet Pimpernel, not knowing that it was her husband.
Following the instructions he'd been given, Armand led the Count de Tournay to a fisherman's hut overlooking the English Channel, where they waited for the Pimpernel or one of his men to arrive. When Percy's plan went slightly awry, he managed to get them a note telling them to leave and travel up the coast to signal the Daydream, his private yacht. He also instructed Armand to leave a false note for Chauvelin's men to find, which led them to search the wrong way for the fugitives.
When all were safely back in England, Armand's petition to the League was granted, although he was not allowed to go on a mission until January 1794. He and Marguerite were too well-known in Paris. Also, although there was little evidence that Percy supported their pleas, many members of the League--wholly an English body save the St. Justs--did not trust Armand, not because they thought him unfaithful but because of his excitable "Latin" temperament.
Immediately upon his return to Paris, Armand, through nostalgia, agreed to a night at the theatre with an old acquaintance, the Baron de Batz. Armand accidentally confirmed he had ties with the Pimpernel, and just as unwittingly, fell under the spell of an actress, Jeanne Lange. De Batz saw the effect the girl had on Armand and introduced them. De Batz then reported Armand to Heron, a government official, so when Armand met with Jeanne at her home the next day, they were interrupted by Heron come to arrest Armand. Jeanne was able to ward the official off temporarily with a clever lie. The danger cemented their love, and Armand promised to meet her again the next day.
When Percy revealed to the League their mission to rescue the young Dauphin, Armand balked because Percy required him to leave Paris immediately. After the meeting, Percy guessed the reason and, rightfully angry at Armand's reluctance to follow his oath, barely refrained from calling the young man "a liar and a cheat." When the full danger was revealed, Percy urged Armand to trust him, follow orders, and leave Jeanne's safety in his hands.
Armand found out Jeanne had been arrested, and forgetting all caution, ran straight to Percy, who already knew and again promised he'd take care of her. At nightfall Armand, anxious that Percy had not sent word, re-entered Paris. Unable to find Percy or news of his beloved, Armand consulted the prison rolls. He found Jeanne's name and her location in the Temple prison. To be near her, Armand tried to get himself arrested, and instead ran afoul of Chauvelin. Armand offered to exchange himself for Jeanne, but Chauvelin, out of favor, took Armand to Heron, who would have bargained had not the "escape" of the Dauphin been discovered. Armand was released with certain restrictions.
Despite being compromised, Armand contacted Percy, assuring him it was safe to meet, and asked him to come to his rooms. Chauvelin, Heron, and many soldiers ambushed Percy when he arrived. Before losing consciousness, Percy shouted that Jeanne was already free. Percy was sent to prison, where he was tortured by denial of sleep and minimal food. Armand was freed in reward for his betrayal.
When Marguerite, having heard of her husband's arrest from the papers, arrived in Paris, Chauvelin offered to let her see him. Percy sent her back out with letters. As far as the League was concerned, Armand had vanished, but Percy was certain that Jeanne would know where he was. Percy's letter comforted Armand and gave him a new purpose in waiting for orders on how he could help gain Percy's release.
After a bit more than two weeks, Percy apparently surrendered and, by Chauvelin's dictation, wrote Armand that he required help to lead Chauvelin and Heron to the Dauphin. Chauvelin taunted Armand, questioning Percy's motives for offering the man who'd betrayed him as a hostage, implying that he thought it possible Percy would abandon Armand to die so he could escape. He tried to disavow his responsibility in pushing Armand into that betrayal, and Armand, enraged, would have strangled him on the spot if it weren't for the words of Percy's letter and his own hopes for forgiveness and redemption. So when Chauvelin left, Armand followed his chief's instructions. Obeying Percy's first letter, Armand informed Marguerite and Sir Andrew, who set into motion the plan that Percy had prepared.
Chauvelin arranged for Marguerite also to accompany them as a second hostage. By necessity Marguerite and Armand were ignorant of many of the details of Percy's plan to free himself. They endured a tense and unhappy trip of a few days into the countryside. Throughout, Armand hoped to find a way to help, considered suicide to escape his shame and expected denunciation and repudiation from his sister for betraying her husband to torment. When Percy finally made his move, Armand almost ruined it at the last by mistakenly believing that Percy, unconscious, was being left in a crypt while he and Marguerite were taken away to be shot. It was Percy, now disguised as Heron, who knocked him senseless and ordered the siblings to be put in irons.
When Percy disposed of the guards and revealed himself to a dazed Marguerite and Armand, Marguerite thought they'd all died. All three returned to safety in England. Percy threatened to smash Armand's head if he tried to tell her the entire truth, so his forgiveness was implied in their shared conspiracy to keep Marguerite ignorant.
*A tiny bit of this information, about what happened with Armand alone in Paris between his sister's marriage and the start of the novel and about Armand's standing in the League previous to Eldorado, is taken from The Life and Exploits of the Scarlet Pimpernel by John Blakeney (a pseudonym for Orczy's son John Barstow), a semi-official biography of Percy Blakeney written with Orczy's knowledge though her permission was dubious. It simply fills in a logical gap that neither book that Armand appeared in officially explained with any clarity.
Note: Between the first book and the sequel where Armand next appeared, Baroness Orczy changed his age from 8 years older than Marguerite (~32 in 1792) to younger than his sister and "not yet five and twenty" in January 1794. The hardest things this made to reconcile in his history, much of which was given in the original novel, was the incident with Angele St. Cyr and his supposed career/education. Armand's younger age would make him a teenager when St. Cyr retaliated against him instead of 27, and it's unlikely that he'd have completed his education by the time the revolution started with the younger age.