Brought up by one of his relatives, the Count de Valqueyras, he lived the life of a parasite, eating at the count's table and occupying a small apartment just under his roof.
"Little one," he would often say to Felicite, as he patted her on the cheek, "if ever Henri V.gives me a fortune, I will make you my heiress!" He still called Felicite "little one," even when she was fifty years old.

It was of these friendly pats, of these repeated promises of an inheritance, that Madame Rougon was thinking when she endeavoured to drive her husband into politics.

Monsieur de Carnavant had often bitterly lamented his inability to render her any assistance.

No doubt he would treat her like a father if ever he should acquire some influence.

Pierre, to whom his wife half explained the situation in veiled terms, declared his readiness to move in any direction indicated.
The marquis's peculiar position qualified him to act as an energetic agent of the reactionary movement at Plassans from the first days of the Republic.