Dennis Wheatley - The Dark Secret of Josephine

"There is little more to tell," he replied with a smile. "Once Fouché had accepted my contention that the two soldiers would not obey an order from him to shoot me in cold blood, I had him at my mercy. He gave me the diary, then we went out and he told the soldiers in front of me that it had all been a terrible mistake; that he had been misled by Lucette, and was now fully satisfied that I was not an English spy after all.

"I took the diary to Josephine that night the 5th of March; then told Barras that I had freed her from her blackmailer for good. Next day Buonaparte's commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Italy was signed by the Directors. On the 9th, he and Josephine were quietly married. After a honeymoon of only two days he left for Nice to take up his command, and with him, as one of his ADC's, he took young Eugene de Beauharnais."

"Then you saved us from invasion."

"I would not say that. Many things might have conspired to decide the Directors against risking the attempt, and even if fear of Buonaparte had forced them to let nun try his luck, he might well have been defeated by the Channel and the Fleet before he landed. It can be said, though, that I nipped the project in the bud. And to be forewarned is to be forearmed. This morning, after I had made my report to Mr. Pitt, he said that he should at once make enquiries into what further safe­guards could be taken; such as raising additional regiments of militia and, perhaps, having strong watchtowers which would also serve as forts built every few miles along the south coast."

"Surely such measures are not necessary, now that the threat is past?"

"These things take time; and that, I think, is what I have bought. Though I am far from certain that I have not paid too big a price for it, by aiding Buonaparte to be given his command in Italy. There are many rich cities in the north of the peninsula, and I know that he regards it as the treasure chest of Europe. The Revolutionary Government has no scruples about property rights, or the beggaring of the territories it conquers by the imposition of taxes, fines, requisi­tions and indemnities. Should Buonaparte's campaign be successful, as it seems likely to be from the reports that are already coming in, he will be in a position to send enormous sums back to Paris, and by refilling France s empty exchequer enable her to prolong the war. If that proves the case, we may yet have to face an invasion here on Buonaparte's return from Italy."

"I think you too pessimistic, Roger dear. But were you right, thanks to you, we will at least be better prepared to resist it And of one thing I am certain. In this dilemma you did the best that could at the moment be done for your own country."

"I only hope it will prove so in the long run too," he said, taking his arm from about her to stand up and refill their glasses with champagne. "We'll drink to that anyway."

When they had settled down again, she said: "And what of Fouché. Do you know what happened to him?"

"I have no idea. He had to leave Paris, of course; but he took with him enough money to buy himself a cottage and a smallholding; so he is probably cleaning out pigsties still, but somewhere in the country." 'I thought you said he was near destitute." "Well, er ..." Roger hesitated. "As a matter of fact, he was. But I gave him the hundred louis that I had brought with me in case I had to finance the so-called Madame Remy to get her out of the way.'

"You gave him a hundred louis exclaimed Georgina, starting up. "Roger, you must be out of your mind!"

He laughed, and pulled her back into the embrace of his arm. "Perhaps I am. On the Continent they regard all us English as mad; yet I think there is something to be said for our way of doing things. I've never yet given an enemy quarter as long as he has had the power to harm me; but the poor devil was down and out." "Perhaps. Yet you have just said of him yourself that you think him the most despicable, treacherous villain you have ever come upon. What can have possessed you to give money to such a man?"

"Well, for one thing, I would never have got the name and address of Josephine's blackmailer had he. not trusted me with them on the understanding that he was to receive some reward; and, on considera­tion, I felt that Barras had played him a scurvy trick. For another, there is just one human spark in his otherwise distorted mind. He loves that ugly wife of his and their child with a genuine devotion. One can tell it from the way he speaks of them, and worries for her about the hard life she has had to lead during this past year. Then, and then only, there comes into his voice a note of sincerity which is unmistakable. It may be foolish of me, but I would not have them starve."

"Oh Roger, my sweet!" There were tears in Georgina's eyes as she. turned and kissed him on the. cheek. "What a dear sentimentalist you are."

"Nay," he laughed. "Put it down rather to hard business sense. For all his villainies Fouché has a magnificent brain. He'll not spend all his life tending pigs. Sooner or later he'll find a way to reclimb fortune's ladder, and maybe he and I will meet again." Roger spoke half in jest but, even so, he was far from underestimating his enemy's capabilities; for, nineteen years later when, after Waterloo, the Emperor Napoleon left Paris for the last time, it was in obedience to an order signed by Joseph Fouché.

"Tell me," Georgina asked after a moment, "why did you linger in France for near six weeks after having completed this great coup?"

"I judged it sound policy further to strengthen my position there before returning home. You will recall that to account for my last departure from Paris I told people that I was going to the South of France for my health, and, on my return, that I had bought a property near Frejus. The day Buonaparte left Paris I went south too, and now I have actually done so. Since the Revolution, good houses at any distance from large towns can be bought for a song; and this is a pleasant place, half farm, half chateau, with a fine view over a bay in which there is a hamlet called St. Raphael. Few places could be more delightful in the winter months, and it is my fond hope that when peace does come again you will be my first guest there."

"What an enchanting prospect. How I wish we could go there now. But from what you say there-seems little hope of peace for some while yet"

"I fear not; much as both France and Britain need it and Mr. Pitt desires it. However, in the meantime I shall go down to my new property occasionally, and so have even better cover for disappearing from Paris for a while when it is necessary for me to come to England."

"You mean then to continue your secret work for Mr. Pitt?"

He smiled. "Yes. The first time I tried settling down, after I married Amanda, fond as I was of her, before two years were up I found such a life too dull. The second time, when we all sailed to the Indies, I found it far too strenuous. Paris has become a sink of iniquity, but at least people there now wash themselves again; and if I were caught out, I hardly think Barras would have me dangled over a pool full of hungry crocodiles. The risk I run is a fair one, and it adds a spice to life; so I've no mind to play again at becoming a respectable house­holder."

Georgina sighed. "Poor Clarissa! Despite her lack of fortune, I thought there might be some hope for her."

Suppressing a start, Roger asked in as casual a voice as he could manage: "Whatever put that idea into your head?"

"You dear fool!" Georgina laughed. "Have you no eyes in yours? Why, the girl dotes on you. Anyone could see that. What a pity it is that she has no fortune; for she is the most lovely creature and would make a most excellent wife for you."

"Yes. She is lovely enough, and has spirit too. As for money, I am, thank God, now worth near thirty thousand pounds; so I have no need to worry on that score. But, as I've told you, I have no intention of marrying again."