Simon Scarrow - Fire and Sword

‘Merely to let the other royal courts of Europe know the truth of what happened so that they are not fooled into recognising your son’s claim to the throne. It will have a limited circulation, your majesty. No point in risking the shame of your family in public.’

‘Quite so!’ Charles nodded emphatically. ‘And I must thank you for being so sensitive.’

‘Not at all. It is the very least I could do.’ Napoleon smiled warmly and then tapped the bottom of the document. ‘All it needs is your signature, your majesty. Fouché, a pen, if you please.’

‘Yes, sire.’ Fouché lifted a small case from beneath his chair and opened it out to reveal a writing pad with an inkwell and several pens in holders. He quickly laid the set down on a small table at Charles’s side and dipped a pen in the inkwell before offering it to the Spaniard. Charles hesitated, and for an instant Napoleon was not sure that he would sign. Then, with a bold flourish, Charles leaned over the letter and printed his signature. As soon as it was done, Fouché whisked the letter away.

‘There,’ Napoleon said encouragingly. ‘It’s done. Now, if we can move on to the second document. It is little more than a minor formality.’

He set it down on the table next to the writing set and sat patiently as Charles examined it painstakingly, at length looking up with a hurt and confused expression. ‘This confirms that I have abdicated.’

‘Yes, your majesty. As we agreed, in the interests of Spain it would be best to delay your return to the throne for a while, at least until the situation is resolved.’

‘Really?’ Charles frowned.

Fouché dipped the pen into the ink again and held it out to Charles. ‘Sire?’

‘I’m not sure that I should abdicate. I don’t think it is the right thing to do.’

‘It is the only thing you can do for the moment,’ Napoleon said soothingly. ‘And it’s only a temporary arrangement. Please sign. Just here.’ He tapped the blank space awaiting a signature. ‘At least you will have given the crown up without duress. It will help to smooth Murat’s way to re-establishing order.’

Once again Charles took the pen. He signed quickly and eased himself away from the table.

‘It is done.’

‘Thank you, sire.’ Napoleon nodded. ‘You won’t live to regret this, I assure you.’ He handed the signed documents to Fouché, who placed them back in his case and began to fasten the straps. ‘Now, I think it is time that we re-joined the womenfolk and stopped speaking of politics.’ He rose from his chair and took Charles’s arm, helping him up and guiding him towards the door. ‘I will join you shortly.’

‘Good, good,’ Charles mumbled. ‘About time we sat down and talked, over a glass of brandy.’

‘Yes, of course, sire.’ Napoleon eased the old man out of the room and closed the door behind him. At once he turned to Fouché. ‘Keep that document safe.’

‘Yes, sire. I will.’

‘Now then,’ Napoleon smiled. ‘We need to get to work on Ferdinand.’

The clock on the mantelpiece chimed a quarter past two. All was quiet within the house and the only noise from outside was the occasional crunch of gravel as a sentry passed by. Napoleon sat alone in the room with Ferdinand.There was a small table between them with an inkwell and a pen. The Spanish Prince had been summoned at midnight and Napoleon had waited impatiently for him to arrive, and then handed him the document Charles had signed attacking his actions. When Ferdinand had finished reading he lowered the statement with a quick raise of his eyebrows.

‘The old man does not hold any of his anger back.’

‘No,’ Napoleon responded coldly.‘Nor would I if I had received such treatment from you. This document is going to be copied to every capital in Europe. Soon all will know how you came to steal his crown.’

‘It would have been mine in the long run,’ Ferdinand countered. ‘Besides, if I had waited much longer the people would have risen up and taken the crown from him, and then we would have had a full-blown revolution on our hands.And we know where that leads. I would spare my people such terror, and tyranny.’

Napoleon ignored the gibe. ‘It is true that you might have acted for the good of the people. It is equally true that you might have acted out of naked ambition and a hunger for power.That is for people to decide for themselves. Either way, you cannot command the respect of other nations while your assumption of the crown is shrouded in confusion and suspicion over its legality.’

Ferdinand shrugged helplessly. ‘So what am I to do?’

‘You must return the crown to your father and apologise, in writing, for what you have done.’

‘No.That is not possible.’

Napoleon smiled. ‘You have little choice, your highness. If you are permitted to seize power in the manner that you have, you will have set a precedent. What if every royal prince thought to emulate you? No ruler would be able to sleep. Nations would be paralysed by fear, Spain most of all. I tell you, Ferdinand, you would forever be jumping at shadows, until the day when the conspirators came for you. And on that day there will be no Marshal Murat and his soldiers to save you from the wrath of the mob.’

Ferdinand pondered for a moment and then opened his hands. ‘So what am I to do?’

‘You must return the crown to the King and then wait your proper time to inherit the throne. It will come soon enough. Charles is old and weak. When he is no more, then you will have your crown, legally and without recrimination from any royal court in Europe.’

‘I suppose so.’

‘There is one other thing,’ Napoleon said evenly.‘You must apologise for your treatment of the King.’

‘Apologise?’ Ferdinand’s eyes widened. ‘Never.’

‘You must. Your recent actions will not be forgotten. Would you want people to still regard you with suspicion and misgiving when the time comes for you to assume the crown? There must be some act of contrition first.You must issue a public apology and return the crown.’

‘What if I refuse to do either?’

Napoleon stared at him a moment before continuing in a low, menacing voice. ‘You cannot refuse. I will not permit it. I could easily place you under arrest and keep you here until you renounce the throne. I might even try you for treason, on your father’s behalf, and have you shot.’

Ferdinand’s jaw dropped in astonishment for a moment before he recovered and shook his head. ‘You cannot threaten me.’

‘No? Why not? You threatened your father into signing a document. Why should I not do the same to you?’

‘But you would not cause harm to me.You would not dare.’

‘What makes you so certain?’ Napoleon asked curiously. ‘I have sent far better men than you to their deaths and slept well for it.’

There was a long pause. At last, Napoleon produced a statement Fouché had copied earlier in a fair hand. ‘Sign this.’

‘What is it?’ Ferdinand asked suspiciously.

‘Your announcement that you are returning the crown to your father with immediate effect, and your apology for having wrongfully usurped the throne.’

Ferdinand laughed. ‘You are not serious! I cannot sign that. I will not.’

‘You must.’

‘No.’

‘Sign it!’ Napoleon snapped.‘Sign it now, or suffer the consequences.’

He flipped the lid of the inkwell open, dipped the pen in and thrust it towards Ferdinand. ‘Sign it! Or I swear you will suffer.’

Ferdinand sat quite still for a moment, his face fixed in an agonised expression as he stared at the pen, and then at Napoleon as if beseeching him to change his mind. But Napoleon held firm and said nothing, and returned his look with cold, hard eyes. At length Ferdinand hesitantly reached out and took the pen. Leaning forward, over the statement, he began to sign in a slow, trembling hand.As soon as he had raised the pen from the paper, Napoleon took the document away and laid it on the floor next to his chair to allow the ink to dry.