To Roger it was now clear that this new war that had been entered upon would be fought to a finish. Napoleon was not content to be only the master of a great part of Europe. His ambitions extended to an Empire that would stretch from the Americas right across North Africa and through Egypt to include India; and in whichever direction he cast his covetous gaze his way was blocked by England. Only by completely crushing the stubborn British could he succeed in his vast designs. On the other hand, defeat for Britain must mean bankruptcy and near-slavery, so it was certain that she would fight to the last ditch. It was possible, too, that she might again persuade other nations that Napoleon was a menace to them all, use her great wealth to subsidize their armies, and form another combination of powers which would succeed in defeating France. But the struggle could end only in one or other of the great protagonists being utterly broken.
For Roger, personally, the war meant a great increase of work. Throughout May and June he was often closeted with Berthier or members of his staff far into the night, and on four occasions he was sent by Napoleon on missions to the coast that took him from Paris for several days.
Meanwhile, Pauline had ceased to be dependent on her relatives. Now that Napoleon was the undisputed master of France he could allocate funds as he wished, and in April he had granted her a pension of sixty thousand francs per annum. Overjoyed at having the money to make the best of her almost royal position in the new society, she had rushed out and bought herself a fine gilded carriage, more splendid even than that of her sister, Caroline Murat. Then she had acquired as a home of her own the magnificent Hotel of the Dues de Charost only a few doors away from Joseph, in the Rue du Faubourg St. Honore. Regardless of expense she had furnished it in the latest Greco-Egyptian fashion; so that the salons and her bedroom, with its great canopied state bed surmounted by a gilded eagle and supported by sphinxes, had become one of the sights of Paris.
But being the sole mistress of this luxurious mansion made it no easier for her and Roger to pursue their secret love affair, since he dared not go there, except when she held receptions, from fear that Napoleon would soon be informed of it and send him permanently away from Paris. Moreover, many afternoons when they could otherwise have met she had had to give to furnishing and installing herself in the Hotel de Charost*, while the increase in his duties occasioned by the renewal of the war more often than formerly prevented him from taking advantage of the afternoons when she was free. In consequence as summer advanced their meetings became less and less frequent and, when they did manage to meet at La Belle Etoile, instead of being able to spend a long afternoon together he usually had to rush off back to the War Office after only an hour with her.
The lengthening of the periods between their meetings added fuel to the fire of their desire, and they both became a prey to terrible frustrations; yet there seemed no way in which they could surmount the barriers that kept them so much apart until, one afternoon towards the end of June,
*Historical Note. Now the British Embassy.
after twelve days had elapsed since they had seen one another, Pauline said:'Rojé, mon coeur, I cannot support this state of things much longer. It is now close on four months since we have spent a night together, or even enjoyed a meal in one another's company. Our meetings are confined to this one room. We dare not go for a drive in this lovely summer weather nor picnic in the Bois. Even on the few occasions when I see you in public we may not exchange more than a few conventional platitudes, then must quickly separate lest Napoleon's argus eye detects us and he sends you to Italy or the Rhine. But of late I have been giving much thought to this atrocious restraint placed upon our love and have thought of a way to overcome it. We must get married.'
It was a lovely sunny afternoon and she was lying naked on the bed, her hands clasped behind her head. He was already hurrying into his breeches. Balanced uncertainly on one foot, he stared at her for a moment with his mouth open, then repeated, 'Married!'
'Yes: why should we not?'
'Do you mean secretly?' he asked.
"No. What good would that do us? We'd be no wit better off. But as my husband you could come to live with me and share my huge bed. We could go about together and have a marvellous time.'
'Of that I've not a doubt,' he agreed quickly. 'But 'tis not yet eight months since Leclerc died, and you are still in mourning. 'Twould outrage convention did you marry before the year is out.'
She rolled over on her stomach, kissed the pillow on which his head had rested while he had lain beside her, and murmured, '1 care nothing for that. A few stuffy old ladies will say catty things of me, but they always have. 'Twould be the topic of the week and then forgotten.'
'Maybe. But what of your brother? I do not sec him readily giving his sister's hand to a simple Colonel like myself.'
'Why should he not? Eliza is married to Bacciocchi, who is a nobody, and Caroline to that handsome blockhead Murat. He had only just been made a General when they married and Leclerc was no more than a Colonel when he first courted me. You are a better man than any of them.'
‘I thank you, sweet, for the compliment,' Roger smiled. 'But Eliza's marriage was arranged by your mother without Napoleon's knowledge and, even then, he was furious that she had not made a better match. Since the marriages of all three of you he has enormously increased in stature and now looks on himself almost as a monarch. He'd never . . .'
Suddenly she turned over again, swung her legs off the bed and sat up facing him, 'Not if you are afraid to ask him,' she cried with tears in her voice. Then she hurried on, 'Are you called le brave Breuc for nothing? I've heard it said you are one of the few men who on occasion dare to defy him. He cannot kill you because you wish to marry me. And, whatever people say of him, he has a noble nature. Whatever cause his old friends give him for anger he never bears umbrage against them for long. We cannot go on like this! We cannot! There are times when I lie in bed half out of my mind from wanting you. Get his consent and our whole lives will become a joy to us. Docs my love mean so little to you that to retain it you'll not risk incurring his displeasure?'
Roger had never tired of looking at her; and there she sat, as beautiful as Venus descended from Olympus, splendid in her nakedness, her body perfection, her lovely face alight with love. There could be only one answer to her challenge. Taking a step forward he seized her in his arms, glued his mouth to hers for a long moment, then gave a laugh;
'It will be all or nothing, but in my life I've gambled oft enough for a far smaller reward.'
That night, no longer hypnotized by her presence he thought the matter over in cooler blood. To secure Napoleon's consent would be to take the biggest fence he had ever attempted in his life. Passionately in love with Pauline as he was, he asked himself if he really wanted her as his wife. She was light-minded and irresponsible and he was well aware that their present desperate craving for one another could not last indefinitely. Even so, it seemed that it could be a long time before they tired of each other physically. And the advantages to himself of such a marriage could be immense. Having never been trained as a professional soldier, he thought it unlikely that Napoleon would make him a General of Division, as he had Leclerc. Neither did he wish it. But such a marriage could well lead to his being made an Ambassador, or the Pro-Consul of some State subservient to France, and in such a post he would not only wield great power but be in a position to influence events in favour of his own country.