Chauvelin’s right-hand man and member of the French guard. Desgas is responsible for relaying Chauvelin’s orders to the other men down the line and does so with precision, but he still serves as a fall guy for Chauvelin’s failures. When Sir Percy outsmarts Chauvelin at the “Chat Gris,” Chauvelin blames Desgas for his own inability to capture the Scarlet Pimpernel. Later, after Chauvelin’s men allow Armand St. Just and the Comte de Tournay to escape at the Père Blanchard’s hut, Chauvelin again blames Desgas for his own “blunder” and poor leadership skills. Orczy never does say what happens to Desgas, but he is presumably punished at the guillotine for allowing the Scarlet Pimpernel to escape. Desgas and the other men under Chauvelin’s charge fail to apprehend the Scarlet Pimpernel because they are blindly loyal to Chauvelin and his rank in the French guard. They follow Chauvelin’s orders to a tee, but when faced with unexpected circumstances, they don’t know what to do. The Scarlet Pimpernel’s men by comparison are loyal to their leader for moral reasons, not merely as a duty to their country, and they are ultimately successful. In this way, Orczy suggest that it is more commendable to be loyal to one’s morals and values than to remain blindly loyal to one’s country.