Simon Scarrow - Fire and Sword

‘Late January or early February next year.’

‘Wonderful,’Arthur muttered as his mind began to race.‘We must tell our families and friends.’

‘I’d really rather we didn’t, in case . . .’ Kitty’s gaze fell away from his face as she stared at the ground.‘In case we lose it for any reason. I could not bear facing people if I lost our child before it was born.’

‘Hush, my dear. That is not going to happen. I will ensure that you are well looked after, by the best doctors that can be found in London. I swear it.’

‘Thank you,’ she replied softly.

Arthur smiled at her, and then leaned forward to kiss her lightly on the forehead. ‘Dearest Kitty, it is I who should be thanking you.’

The prospect of becoming a father relieved Arthur of some of his gloom over the news from Europe that France had abolished the Holy Roman Empire and made itself ruler of a confederation of states in the Rhine area. The mood lasted until one morning, a week later, when there was a sharp rap on the front door. A footman showed his brother William into Arthur’s study. Looking up,Arthur was surprised to see his brother’s strained expression.

‘William? What is it?’

‘It’s Charles Fox,’William said baldly. ‘He died late last night.’

‘Fox is dead?’ Arthur stroked his chin. ‘Dead, do you say? Then there will be no treaty with France. Not now. No other Englishman would dare to treat with Bonaparte.’

‘Well yes, quite,’William responded quietly.‘And you know what that means?’

Arthur nodded soberly. ‘No peace. Just war to the bitter end. And only one of our nations will survive.’

Chapter 20

Napoleon

Paris, August 1806

The air was heavy and still and already the first distant rumbles of thunder could be heard amid the dark clouds edging across the city skyline. Napoleon dabbed at the perspiration along his hairline as he stared out of the open window. Even though he was naked he was hot and his skin was clammy. There was a sudden brief puff of breeze and the lace curtains ballooned around him before settling and sliding over his skin, making him shudder at the light sensation. Behind him, on the bed, Josephine stirred.

‘Sounds as if a storm’s coming.’

‘Yes,’ he replied softly, without turning round. Beyond the end of the Tuileries gardens the buildings were fading into the gloom and a dull band of shadow was creeping across the lawns towards Napoleon.There was another breath of wind, colder this time, and the first chilly pinpricks of rain on his face and chest. Still he did not move, and just watched as the leafy boughs on the trees lining the avenues began to shimmer and sway.Then there was a brilliant flash of sheet lightning that bathed the gardens in a ghostly white glare and almost at once the crack of thunder rolled across the city.The concussion rattled the windows of the imperial bedchamber. It reminded him of the sensation of the battlefield as the artillery of the Grand Army reverberated through the air and the earth itself.

‘Napoleon!’ Josephine sat up in alarm, staring across the room to where her husband stood gazing up at the sky as the lace curtains billowed round him like a shroud. His hands were clutching the window frame and he did not move, or respond to her. Throwing back the bedsheet, Josephine snatched up her silk gown and slipped into it as she hurried across the room and took his arm.

‘Napoleon? My love.’

The rain was sweeping in through the window now and he blinked as if recovering from a trance, and looked at his wife.‘What? What is it?’

‘Close the window. Close it and come back to bed. Before you catch a chill.’

Josephine gently drew him away from the window and closed it behind them, securing the latch firmly. Outside the rain pattered off the glass, streaking the view of the gardens as they were brilliantly illuminated by lightning again, before the thunder crashed out over Paris. Napoleon walked slowly back towards the bed and climbed in under the sheet, while Josephine lay down on the other side and then edged across so that she could cradle his head against her breast.

‘What’s worrying you so?’ she asked softly.

Napoleon was silent for a moment, his eyes wide open and staring at the gilded mouldings on the ceiling. His brow furrowed slightly. ‘There is going to be another war. It cannot be avoided.’

‘We are already at war. Unless the British have changed their minds.’ He smiled her light-hearted tone. ‘We are always at war with Britain. I’m talking about Prussia. I thought we’d humbled them for some years yet. Seems that I hadn’t counted on that vixen wife of Frederick William’s. He is a weak fool and Talleyrand can play him like a fiddle. But that Queen of his, Louise, is made of tougher material. She has been agitating against us from the moment the peace treaty was signed.’

Josephine smiled, and wound one of his dark curls around her little finger. ‘You should never underestimate women, my love.’

Napoleon’s gaze flickered away from the ceiling and he tilted his head round so that he could look into her eyes. ‘I know. I made that mistake once before.’

Josephine felt an old anxiety well up in the pit of her stomach as she recalled the affairs she had conducted while Napoleon had been away campaigning in Italy and then Egypt in the early years of their marriage. She had nearly lost him when Napoleon discovered her infidelity.There was a quick flicker of anger as she recalled that he had been unfaithful himself.Then the thought was banished and she turned her mind back to Prussia as Napoleon continued.

‘I had thought the Prussians lacked the nerve for war.There we were, on the eve of Austerlitz, and the Russians and Austrians thought I was as good as beaten. It was only then that the Prussians decided to throw in their lot with my enemies and demand that I let them broker a peace. And after Austerlitz?’ He sniffed with contempt. ‘Frederick William sends me his congratulations on a magnificent victory.The man has the heart of a mouse. He could not sign a treaty with us fast enough.At one stroke of the pen I had humiliated Prussia and left Britain to continue the fight alone . . . And now my spies tell me that Prussia is planning to make war on France. Why? Why do they want war?’

Josephine tugged his hair gently. ‘Perhaps because you humiliated them too much.You might have heeded Talleyrand’s advice and treated them more leniently. I’m no diplomat, but I would have thought that another nation is more likely to remain an ally if it is treated well, rather than having its pride ground underfoot.’

Napoleon rolled over and propped himself up on an elbow so that he could look down at his wife. ‘I treated them as leniently as they deserved under the circumstances.’

Josephine raised her eyebrows. ‘You might think so, but from their point of view the treaty might not look lenient. I think that’s your trouble, my love.You cannot see the world through other people’s eyes. You live only for your ambitions, and are inclined to treat others as a means to that end. Talleyrand is always telling me that there can never be a lasting peace while nations are unwilling or unable to see things from each other’s perspective.’

‘Talleyrand.What does he know?’

‘More than enough to make a fine statesman. Otherwise you would not depend upon him so much.’

‘I do not depend on him at all. I do not depend on anyone,’ Napoleon added coldly, and then his mouth flickered into a smile. ‘Except you, my darling. And as you pointed out, you are no diplomat. You could not understand such affairs. Prussia, and the other powers of Europe, resent the dominance of France.They resent me.They will not be won round by reason.They must be controlled with an iron fist, and once they know the limits of my tolerance and abide by them, then we shall have peace.’