Editing Man in the Iron Mask (section)

===Dauger serves as a valet===
The prison at Pignerol, like the others at which Dauger was later held, was used for men who were considered an embarrassment to the state and usually held only a handful of prisoners at a time.{{sfn|Lincoln ''Timewatch'', 1988}} Saint-Mars's other prisoners at Pignerol included Count [[Ercole Antonio Mattioli]], an Italian diplomat who had been kidnapped and jailed for double-crossing the French over the purchase of the important fortress town of [[Casale Monferrato|Casale]] on the [[Duchy of Mantua|Mantuan]] border. There was [[Nicolas Fouquet]], Marquis of Belle-Île, a former superintendent of finances who had been jailed by Louis XIV on the charge of embezzlement, and the [[Antoine Nompar de Caumont|Marquis de Lauzun]], who had become engaged to the [[Anne, Duchess of Montpensier|Duchess of Montpensier]], a cousin of the king, without the king's consent. Fouquet's cell was above that of Lauzun. In his letters to Louvois, Saint-Mars describes Dauger as a quiet man, giving no trouble, "disposed to the will of God and to the king", compared to his other prisoners, who were always complaining, constantly trying to escape, or simply mad.{{sfn|Noone|1988}}

Dauger was not always isolated from the other prisoners. Wealthy and important ones usually had manservants; Fouquet, for instance, was served by a man called La Rivière. These servants, however, would become as much prisoners as their masters and it was thus difficult to find people willing to volunteer for such an occupation. Because La Rivière was often ill, Saint-Mars applied for permission for Dauger to act as servant for Fouquet. In 1675, Louvois gave permission for such an arrangement on condition that he was to serve Fouquet only while La Rivière was unavailable and that he was not to meet anyone else; for instance, if Fouquet and Lauzun were to meet, Dauger was not to be present.{{sfn|Lincoln ''Timewatch'', 1988}} Fouquet was never expected to be released; thus, meeting Dauger was no great matter, but Lauzun was expected to be set free eventually, and it would have been important not to have him spread rumours of Dauger's existence or of secrets he might have known. The important fact that Dauger served as a valet to Fouquet strongly indicates he was born a [[commoner]].{{efn|name=valet}}

On 23 November 1678, Louvois wrote directly to Fouquet to inform him that the King was disposed to soften considerably the strictures of his incarceration, subject to Fouquet writing back to Louvois&mdash;without informing Saint-Mars of the contents of his reply&mdash;concerning whether or not Dauger had talked to him, Fouquet, in front of La Rivière, "about what he was employed to do before being brought to Pignerol".{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=190}} From this revealing letter, French historian Mongrédien concluded that Louvois was clearly anxious that any details about Dauger's former employment should not leak out if the King decided to relax the conditions of Fouquet's or Lauzun's incarceration.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=191}}

After Fouquet's death on 23 March 1680, Saint-Mars discovered a secret hole between Fouquet and Lauzun's cells. He was sure that they had communicated through this hole without detection by him or his guards and thus that Lauzun must have been made aware of Dauger's existence. On 8 April 1680, Louvois therefore wrote to Saint-Mars and instructed him to move Lauzun to Fouquet's cell and to tell him that Dauger and La Rivière had been released, after secretly relocating them to a new cell in the lower tower of Pignerol's dungeon.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=193}}{{sfn|Lincoln ''Timewatch'', 1988}} They became henceforth identified in official correspondence only as "the two gentlemen of the lower tower" ("les messieurs de la tour d'en bas").{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=195–196}} After La Rivière died in early 1687, Dauger continued to be referred to as "La Tour" by prison staff{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=25, 235}} and as the "old prisoner" ("l'ancien prisonnier") in correspondence.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=197}}