Thread by @moliveiradev

14/08/1838, Anne and Ann stop to buy and eat some grapes when Charles, their guide, tells them a curious tale:

"Charles told us how Cazos had deceived the Prince de la Moscowa – had told him that I had not gone to the top –"

😨

#AnneListerCodeBreaker
#PyreneesWithAnneLister
1/

"had told him that I had not gone to the top – was sick on the glacier, & could not get farther than the little pic – but the guides had gone to the top –"

Anne had indeed been sick, but she continued nonetheless and reached the top of Vignemale at 1 p.m. on the 7 of August

2/

Understandably, this tale doesn't sit well with Anne:

"annoyed – would not pay Cazos till this was cleared – either I had gone to the top or not – if I had it should be avowed – if not, I would not pay –"

3/

To try and sort this out, Anne asks Charles to meet the Prince de la Moscowa and get him to write an account of the tale Cazos was telling.

Cazos chose to mess with the wrong woman! 😬

4/

Charles does what Anne asked and goes to explain Cazos' deceit, but the Prince isn't inclined to believe him:

"saying ‘Cazos lui avait donné le lousier – le qui est fait est fait’ and seeming ∴ to take this for enough, and to be determined to support Cazos"

5/

The Prince declined to have Cazos' tale in writing and Anne really wasn't pleased to hear this:

"Pretty sort of a Prince de la Moscowa! The littleness of the man contrasts with the sounding greatness of the title –"

6/

So, to fix this once and for all, Anne decides that Charles is to go to Gèdre the following morning and bring a certificate that states that Anne has been at the pic culminante of Mt. Vignemale.

Cazos is to sign it in the presence of witnesses, or she isn't paying him.

7/

Charles mentions the bottle they left at the top of Mt. Vignemale.

It was a simple thing in which a slip of paper was enclosed. Anne had written her name and the names of the guides on that paper.

The Prince, however, declines to have seen it.

8/

The Prince's reaction gives him away:

"he said the prince had ‘devenu rouge, rouge’ whe he assured him I had been at the top, but said he had the note of Cazos to prove he, the prince, had been the 1st – ‘Cazos lui avait donné le laurier’! –"

9/

The next day, Charles goes to Gèdre to find Cazos and convince him to sign the certificate.

However, Cazos wasn't home and Charles learned that he was spreading the false information about Anne's climb of the Vignemale.

He advises Anne to look for help further afield.

10/

Charles was very much annoyed at this situation, but he wasn't the only one:

"A-[Ann] as much annoyed as I – all for going to Lourdes tomorrow –"

11/

Anne and Ann set off for Lourdes very early in the morning of the 16th of August.

About halfway through, Anne notices that Ann is very tired.

Once they arrive in Lourdes, they get a room at an hotel and Anne has Charles contact the most senior lawyer in town.

12/

The lawyer, Mr. Latapis, asks Anne to go to his office and, even tired, Ann:

"doubted whether to go with me or not – I thought it would be no amusement to her – she would understand nothing – I should not be long away – she therefore remained on the sofa –"

13/

Anne goes to meet Mr. Latapis. She explains to him the nature of her trouble:

"that the grievance was not serious being merely une affaire de sentiment mais que je me sentais un peu blessée, and I hoped he could tell me how to set all right – explained briefly –"

14/

She explains to the lawyer that she really had reached the summit of Mt. Vignemale, but that "Cazos had afterwards denied it for the sake of getting the price for the 1st ascension from a person at Luz – called in Charles to confirm my statement – "

15/

After Charles' lengthy testimony convinces the lawyer of Anne's claim, she asks Mr. Latapis to write a certificate that can sufficiently prove that Anne reached the summit of Mt Vignemale.

The lawyer does so, but advises her to only pay Cazos after he signs the document.

16/

If Cazos doesn't sign the document, Anne is to send Charles back to Lourdes with the certificate and Mr. Latapis is to start a lawsuit to ensure that the truth of the matter is restored.

17/

Before leaving for Gèdre in search of Cazos, Anne muses about the reason that makes her go to all this trouble.

18/

At Gèdre, Anne finally gets to speak with Cazos about her ascent of Mt. Vignemale.

19/

While speaking with the aubergiste, who was present when Cazos signed the certificate, she learns the truth about Cazos' tale.

20/

Cazos owned his fault and Anne agrees to forgive him and shakes hands with him.

However, she's determined to make the Prince de la Moscowa acknowledge her achievement.

21/

The prince's trickery is once again discussed and Anne realizes that Cazos, despite having lied to and for the man, hadn't been paid as well as he should've.

22/

The grand finale happened on the 18th of August.

Charles had gone to Luz to tell the Prince that Anne could now prove her achievement and to show him the certificate.

23/

The Prince, at last, believes them, but uses a word to describe Cazos that Charles will not repeat to Anne.

The matter seems to be resolved at last.

24/