The Wanton Princess

Instantly Roger realized how skilfully the great diplomat was handling this difficult situation. If Napoleon was in one of his black moods the very mention of Roger's name might result in a peremptory refusal to see him, and lead to an order for his immediate arrest; but he was not going to be given a chance to refuse. For at least a moment Roger would be face to face with him—but, possibly, only for a moment.

The big doors were thrown open. There fell a sudden silence in the ante-room. In a loud voice the usher announced, 'Monsieur de Talleyrand-Perigord, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs,' then his mouth opened again to call out Roger's name; but with a swift, imperious gesture Talleyrand motioned him to silence.

Napoleon was standing with his hands clasped behind his back looking out of a window. The doors closed with a gentle swish. In his beautifully-modulated voice, Talleyrand said:

'First Consul, I am fortunate this morning. I bring you an old friend of ours whom I chanced to see outside the Palace on the bank of the Seine. He told me that he was in such despair that he intended to throw himself into the river. Knowing that his loss would grieve you deeply I insisted that he should give you the opportunity of restoring his faith in humanity.'

At Talleyrand's first words Napoleon had swung round. He stared at Roger for a moment then opened his mouth to speak, but before he could do so the Minister added smoothly, 'Colonel Breuc has refused to confide his troubles to me, so it would embarrass him if I remained. My business can wait until you have comforted him.' He already had a hand behind him on the door knob. Giving it a twist and a quick push, he bowed himself backwards out of the room.

It was a brilliant demarche and Roger took swift advantage of it. Looking angrily at Napoleon he asked in a bitter voice, 'Seeing the way you have treated me since last we met, can you be surprised that I was about to take my life?'

'Psst!' Napoleon made an angry gesture. 'What nonsense! Surely you did not expect that I meant to give you my sister?'

'You led me to suppose so. Then having got rid of me, pushed her into marrying this Italian Prince. What a way to behave!'

'I did nothing of the sort! I even tried to dissuade her from marrying him until the end of the year. But she forced me to give my consent by telling me that the ardour of this Italian had led to her letting him get her with child.'

Roger suppressed a gasp; for if Pauline had been in the family way it must have been he who was responsible. But she had made no mention of that, so had evidently since got herself out of that trouble. After a moment he said:

'Nevertheless you gave your consent to her marriage, and so spoiled for good our chances of happiness. And you prepared the way most skilfully, leading her to believe that I had deserted her by stealing the letter I wrote her after I last saw you.'

'Letter! What letter! I have more important things to do than steal other people's billets doux!'

'Your police intercepted it. They must have, as it never reached her. You'll not deny that you set them to spy on me and make certain I left Paris.'

'Of course. I gave orders that in no circumstances were you to be allowed to enter the Hotel de Charost. Had you openly appeared there to take leave of Pauline it would have been certain to end in a lovers' parting that would have set the servants' tongues wagging. You might even have declared yourself her fiance. I should have been mad not to take precautions against your doing something of the kind.'

'I might have. I loved her desperately, and had the right to. But out of respect for you, I refrained. And what was my reward for behaving honourably towards you? You had me reduced to the rank of Lieutenant and put through a more brutal course of training than is inflicted on any raw, rebellious conscript.'

Napoleon gave a short, harsh laugh, 'That was no more than you deserved for holding your head too high. And it is still too high! I'll not have you attempt to browbeat me in tin's fashion. Such leave as General Davoust gave you is cancelled from this minute. You will return to Bruges immediately.'

'Have you not then received a despatch from the General this morning?' Roger asked with a pale smile.

'No. Why should I have? What had he urgent to communicate to me?'

'Only that I never asked for leave, but had simply taken it.'

'What!' Napoleon's eyes grew black with anger. 'D'you mean you actually dared to leave Bruges without permission?'

Roger's dark blue eyes blazed back into those of his master, 'Dare!' he cried. 'Surely you know mc well enough to realize that having risked my life for you a dozen times I'd not hesitate to dare anything on my own account? On learning of Pauline's marriage I took horse at once for Paris. And how can you blame me? Since you'd gained your end and married her off to this Italian, how could it longer serve you to keep me in slavery at Bruges? Naturally, I returned expecting you to reinstate me; but this morning I was seized with a morbid fit and decided that you were a master not worth serving, so I would make an end of myself.'

'Do you realize that you have laid yourself open to a court martial?'

'Of course. But whatever you may do to mc, I now have at least the consolation of knowing that Pauline still loves me.' 'And how do you know that?'

'Because on arriving in Paris I at once sought an explanation with her, and we spent last night together.'

'You . . . you!' Napoleon stammered, his eyes bulging. 'You actually had the audacity to ... to... '

'Why not? She loves me, and I had the right to.'

'Mon Dieu, your insolence knows no bounds. I'll have you court martiallcd for desertion and that will be the end of you.'

'Do, if it pleases you,' Roger sneered. 'First you plan to wreck the happiness of your favourite sister and a man who would have made her an excellent husband, then you decide to ruin the career of one of your most faithful servants. People will not think so well of you when they learn how you have treated your poor brother-in-law.'

'Brother . . . brother-in-law,' Napoleon stared at him. 'What the devil do you mean?'

Roger shrugged, 'You will admit that when faced with an unexpected situation you are apt to be hasty in your judgments?'

'What of it?'

'Well; when Pauline and I returned from our little, er—journey, we thought it wiser not to spring it upon you, but to ask your consent to our marriage and go through another ceremony later here in Paris.'

'Another ceremony 1' Napoleon gasped, having gone white to the lips.

'Yes. Of course we were commendably discreet and purposely selected the Mayor of a tiny Commune to marry us, so that news of it should not get about.'

'I... I don't believe it.'

Again Roger shrugged. 'You have only to tell that idiot Savary, whom you have made Chief of Police, to send one of his agents down to St. Maxime. He will then report to you that for a month Pauline lived with mc openly at my chateau as Madame Breuc. Somewhat to our embarrassment the villagers, headed by the Mayor and Cure, came to present us with an address of welcome. Of course they did not know Pauline was whom she was; but they soon will if you start to stir up trouble.’

'But... but this means that Pauline's marriage to Prince Borghese is null and void. She has committed bigamy.'

Now really beginning to enjoy himself, Roger nodded, 'I fear that is the case. Unfortunately Pauline is not gifted with your brains. Greatly as I adore her one must admit that she takes life very lightly. Owing to your machinations she thought that I had gone out of her life for good, and I had great difficulty last night in convincing her that by her hasty marriage to Borghese she had committed a form of crime. Of course, in the bad old days of the Revolution it would not have been of much consequence and you could somehow have wriggled her out of it. But I fear you have cooked your own goose by arranging the Concordat with Rome. The Pope would have given you a dispensation for her before she married again, but he cannot do that afterwards. So if I claim my wife publicly, as I now feel inclined to, there seems little that you can do about it, and poor Pauline will have to pay for her stupidity by burying herself with me somewhere in the country.'