Dennis Wheatley: The Ravishing of Lady Jane Ware

With incredible swiftness Napoleon had marched against them and formed one of his superb concentrations in the neighborhood of Jena. Believing the main body of the enemy to be immediately ahead of him, he dispatched the corps of Davout and Bernadotte far out on his flank in an encircling movement, so that when he drove in the Prussian centre, the two Marshals would be able to fall upon and annihilate the retreating enemy.

But, for once, the Emperor had made a serious miscalculation. His attack at Jena was completely successful, but it was only one wing of the Prussian army that he had defeated. The greater part of it remained intact and fell back on Auerstadt, where it encountered Davout. Against overwhelming odds Davout's three divisions fought desperately all day. Bernadotte's corps was only four miles distant and he could not have failed to hear the guns blazing away at both Jena and Auerstadt; yet he came to the assistance neither of the Emperor nor, in spite of appeal after appeal, of Davout.

He had shrugged this off afterwards by saying that he had obeyed the Emperor's orders by remaining in the position to which his corps had been assigned. But every one was convinced that he had deliberately remained out of the battle because Davout was the Emperor's man, body and soul. For that reason he loathed Bernadotte and Bernadotte loathed him.

The Prussian Army was almost annihilated. Its remnants were pursued and butchered by Murat's cavalry. The other corps advanced by forced marches. Fortress after fortress fell, until the victorious French reached the Baltic. After only twenty-three days of battle Murat reported to the Emperor, 'The war is over, because there are no more Prussians left to fight.' Davout had earned undying glory and was made Duke of Auerstadt.

Bernadotte was a most fluent talker and held the table for a good part of the time while they made inroads into the oysters, lobster pasties, sturgeon in aspic, quails stuffed with foie gras, truffled capon and other delicacies provided by Talleyrand's chef, and washed them down with Montrachet and Chateau Latour. As there were few secrets from the men who were asked to the statesman's breakfast parties, the conversation at them was always fascinating; but on this occasion Roger's mind was so occupied with his own anxieties that he took little heed of it.

At last, to his great relief the other guests took their leave. Leaning on Roger's arm, Talleyrand led him into a small, richly furnished library, as he said, 'Cher ami, it is an age since we met. Tell me, how has the world been treating you?'

'Well enough,' Roger replied, 'until recently. But now I am landed in a pretty mess. And I am come to crave your Exalted Highness' advice.'

The Prince lowered himself into an easy chair and waved Roger to another. 'You are, as ever, welcome to it.'

Roger then gave him a full account of his dealings with von Haugwitz, and their outcome, Talleyrand heard him out in silence, took a pinch of snuff, and said thoughtfully,

'This is certainly a bad business. Had you killed this unsavoury Baron in a duel, you'd have no cause to worry. But murder is another matter. Your wife having been found dead with him and your having made off with his provides such strong circumstantial evidence that one can hardly doubt that you'd be convicted on it.'

'I know it. But what hope do you think I have of the Emperor's giving me his protection?

'In spite of your secret activities, you have served him well in many ways, and he'll not hand over so old a friend to the Prussians. But, seeing the Baron was own brother to the Chief Minister of Prussia, he will almost certainly feel it incumbent on him to make some gesture of appeasement.

'That is what I fear. And the prospect of kicking my heels in a fortress for a year or two is damnably unattractive. Even more, I am concerned for the safety of the Baroness; for she is of English birth and my life-long friend.'

'On her account you have no need to worry. I will see to it that no harm befalls her.'

'I was about to ask Your Highness' protection for her, and I am more grateful than I can say.'

Talleyrand shrugged.' Tis nothing. I'll send her to my chateau of Valencey. To implicate me in his folly in going into Spain, the Emperor has foisted on me there that idiot ex-King Carlos and his licentious old Queen. They are by no means the type of fellow guests I could have chosen for your lady; but at least she will be safe at Valencey from anyone knowing her to be English. Your own situation is our real concern, and needs some thought. Give me a while to think.'

Closing his heavily-lidded eyes, the man with the most subtle brain in Europe remained motionless for a good five minutes, then he opened his eyes and said, 'Somehow we must endeavour to make it appear that you killed the Baron because you believed that doing so was in the service of the Emperor. Does the name von Stein mean anything to you?'

Roger nodded. 'He was a Minister in 1806, and one of the men who pushed Frederick William into going to war with France. After Jena he was the leading spirit in bringing about the regeneration of Prussia by the abolition of serfdom and many other liberal measures that made the common people feel that they now have a stake their country. His object, of course, was to arouse the patriotic feelings of the nation, so they would rise en masse, free themselves from the burden of taxation imposed by Napoleon and drive the French out of the territories stolen from Prussia after her defeat. Am I not right?'

'You are. But his zeal proved his undoing. The Emperor saw through his manoeuvres, demanded that Frederick William should dismiss him, deprive him of his estates, outlaw him and, if caught, have him shot as an enemy of France. The spineless King complied. But Stein escaped to Bohemia and, from there is still inciting the Prussians to rise against us. I think we might make use of him.'

Stretching out a beruffled hand, Talleyrand tinkled a gold bell on his desk. When a secretary appeared, he proceeded to dictate a letter in French. It purported to be from the Freiherr von Stein to Ulrich von Haugwitz, and its contents implied that it formed part of a regular correspondence between them. The letter conveyed that von Haugwitz had for some time been opposed to the pro-French policy of his brother the Minister and that he was secretly in touch with other German nobles in his district who, among them, believed that they would be able to raise a force of two thousand men when the time was ripe to attempt to throw out the French.

When Talleyrand had done, he said to the secretary,

'Give that to Monsieur Oster. Tell him I wish him to translate it into German and write it out in their script.

As soon as the secretary had left the room, Roger asked, 'How go things here? Are there any signs of this long armistice with Austria coming to an end?'

Talleyrand took another pinch of snuff, flicked the fallen grains from his lace cravat and nodded. 'Yes. The Emperor Francis has become weary of being kept out of his capital for so long, so he has at last given way to our major demands. As you know, I am in secret communication with Prince Metternich, and I received the news from him only yesterday. The Peace Treaty will be signed at Schonbrunn in the course of a week or so.'

'Then Britain will be the only nation left in arms against the Empire,' Roger remarked.

'Not quite. You forget Spain,' the Prince smiled. 'And I have considerable hopes that it is those ragged, nebulous hostilities in the Peninsula that will eventually break our little man's back.'

'You really think that likely?'

'I do. It is just on two years since Junot was sent into the Peninsula, and there has been fighting there, with a constant drain on French forces, ever since. If Napoleon had not panicked after he had put his brother Joseph on the throne of Spain, and returned to Paris because he believed that Fouche and I had joined forces with the object of bringing about his downfall, he might long since have brought the Spaniards to heel. But, as he then became occupied with his war against Austria, he had to leave the Peninsula to his Marshals. Some of them are very able men, but they are not used to this type of warfare in which everywhere the common people have taken up arms against us and fight with furious fanaticism. Moreover, during the past year the British have established themselves firmly there, and now a very large army indeed would have to be sent to the Peninsula to drive them out.'