At that moment he felt a yearning for her more deep and profound than any he had experienced before and his mind dwelt on her every feature and facet of character in adoring detail. He could recall the scent of her hair, and the sweetness of her favourite perfume, and the soft, yielding flesh of her body. The thought sparked a hot surge of lust and Napoleon hurriedly forced her from his mind as he stiffened his spine and bowed his head to a group of merchants raising their arms in greeting.
Napoleon cleared his throat and spoke as clearly as he could. ‘Salaam aleikum.’
There was an instant of surprise in their expressions and Napoleon feared he had got the greeting wrong, then they smiled in delight and bowed their heads as they replied.
Junot edged his horse forward and grinned. ‘Seems to have gone down well, sir.’
‘Yes. But we’ll need to do far more than exchange a few pleasantries with them.’
‘Sir? What do you mean?’
‘Not now, Junot. We’ll talk later. Just enjoy the moment.’ Napoleon patted Junot’s shoulder. ‘Just think. In years to come, when you are old and grey, you will tell your grandchildren that you rode at General Bonaparte’s side as he captured Cairo for France.’
Junot suddenly looked serious. ‘I will treasure this moment, sir. Always.’
‘As will I, Junot.’ Napoleon nodded.‘I just wish Josephine was here to see it.’
Junot’s expression became more strained for an instant, and he looked away, quickly waving his hand in response to a fresh chorus of cheers from the crowd.
That night Napoleon entertained his senior officers and the local dignitaries in the banquet hall of the Pasha’s palace. The French band had played during the first part of the feast as the guests sat on cushions before low tables set with platters of an eastern design.What was music to European ears was clearly little more than a discordant racket to the Egyptians and in the face of their pained expressions Napoleon had the band dismissed for the rest of the night. In deference to the locals, and to the chagrin of his officers, there was no alcohol at the tables and the Frenchmen sat with glazed expressions of boredom as several long-winded speeches were made by Cairo’s leading worthies. In his reply Napoleon set out the ambition of the revolution to free peoples across the world from oppression. No longer would they be tyrannised by Mameluke warlords. He promised that his men would respect the Muslim faith, local customs and property.
His words were received with polite applause and nodding of heads and then the guests returned to their meals, and a low hubbub of conversation echoed off the high walls of the chamber. Napoleon was seated on a raised dais at the end of the hall, with Berthier, Desaix, Junot and the most influential imam and sheikh of the city. Sheikh Muhammad el Hourad had made a small fortune from his dealings with French merchants who traded with Alexandria and had a good grasp of the language of his new masters. As he reached to pour Napoleon a fresh goblet of water he smiled and said, ‘Tell me, General, this revolution of yours, does it truly seek to rid the world of oppression?’
‘Of course.’ Napoleon nodded. ‘Its values are inspired by the greatest and most enlightened philosophies of the civilised world. No Frenchman today is required to demean himself before any other. We are all equal before the law and any man can forge his own path to success and greatness. What people of the world would not want to share in that vision?’
The sheikh nodded his head. ‘A fine ambition, General, but I wonder if your vision will have much purchase in less . . .’ he paused for a moment, then smiled faintly,‘less civilised lands, such as our own.’ He gestured round the hall. ‘These people are not of the fellahin; they would not welcome any change to our social order. I fear there would be much resistance to the values of your revolution.’
‘I understand, but surely you would agree that all men should have the chance to free their talents from the chains of their social caste?’
‘If that was the will of Allah, then it would be so.’
‘If it is the will of men, then it is so,’ Napoleon countered. ‘And now that we have freed Egypt from the Mamelukes, it will be so here, as it is in France.’
There was a tense silence as Muhammad el Hourad digested this and then translated it to the imam. The latter’s expression hardened into frank hostility and he muttered his reply to the sheikh.
‘He says that it would seem we have lost one oppressor only to have gained another.’
Junot leaned forward and spoke earnestly.‘But we are not here to oppress. We are here to free your people.’
‘Free our people?’The sheikh pursed his lips. ‘Forgive me, but I am confused.You see, whenever Allah has been good enough to see that foreign newspapers reach us here in Cairo, I have read of the wars in Europe. I have heard of the exploits of the great General Bonaparte in Italy. I have heard how France has spread her rule over other countries and grown rich off the spoils of war.’ He paused and turned his gaze to Napoleon. ‘I ask myself how such conquests can spread liberty and - what are the words of your national motto?’ He clicked his fingers. ‘Ah yes, liberty, equality and fraternity. Is that not so?’
‘Those are the words.’
‘Then, forgive me, General. I am not a sophisticated man, and, as you have implied, this is not a civilised land, but I wonder how such fine principles can be delivered by the application of fire and the sword.’ He looked at Napoleon and raised his eyebrows, inviting a reply.
Napoleon returned his gaze coldly. ‘France is at war with the tyrannies of Europe because they fear the example we have set. France would live in peace, but for the desire of other nations for war. When we have finally defeated our enemies we will be free to fully embrace the ideals that gave birth to the revolution. And we will be free to extend our ideals to other lands, far from Europe. As you pointed out, this is not a civilised land. One day it will be, under French guidance.’
‘Inshallah - if Allah wills it.’
‘Of course.’ Napoleon forced himself to smile. ‘Inshallah.’
‘Perhaps we are thinking too far ahead, General. After all, Murad Bey and his men are still in the field. Egypt is not conquered - pardon me, liberated - until Murad Bey and his Mamelukes are crushed. I fear that you will find he has many allies amongst the Arab tribes that he can call on to reinforce his army.’
‘Perhaps.’ Napoleon shrugged. ‘But as you saw the other day, courage and numbers are no match for the discipline and firepower of a modern army. I have given orders for General Desaix here to complete the destruction of Murad Bey and his army.’
Desaix bowed his head in acknowledgement and added confidently, ‘It will be the work of a few weeks, a few months at most.’
‘It is true that your men are more than a match for the Mamelukes,’ the sheikh agreed. ‘But I fear you will find that our land and our climate will be your real enemy.Yours is not the first European army to be defeated by the sun and the sand. You march in the shadow of the crusaders, and perhaps you will share their fate. It is possible that Allah has deemed these worthless lands to be the domain of less civilised peoples.’
‘We are here to stay,’ Napoleon replied firmly. ‘Desaix will defeat Murad Bey and the people of Egypt will embrace the opportunities that France extends to them.’