'I have,' replied Roger firmly. 'Were the French Royalists alone concerned in this I'd have naught to do with it. Only by destroying Napoleon can they have any hope of placing a Bourbon Prince again on the throne of France. After ten years of exile and penury certain among them may have become so desperate that they would even stoop to murder to gain their ends. That they should have sunk so low is lamentable but, in view of their fanatical hatred of the usurper, at least understandable; and their bitter enmity towards him none of our affair.
'What is our concern is that the British Government are, at least to some extent, assisting in the plot. The French espionage system is extremely good and Talleyrand gave me chapter and verse for our government's participation. In August last the Chouan leader, Georges Cadoudal, was landed at Biville from a ship commanded by Captain Wright on the instructions of one E. Nepean, an assistant to Admiral Montagu in our Admiralty. It is also known that towards the end of that month, at the instigation of the royalist Baron de Roll, our Permanent Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs called on His Highness the Comte d'Artois who was then living at No. 46 Baker Street. This resulted in the Prince producing a memorandum naming those Generals and others in France who could be counted on to help in overthrowing Napoleon. Meanwhile Cadoudal, together with Mehee de la Touche. had proceeded to Munich and there, with or without the authority of the Government, our official representative. Mr. Francis Drake, furnished them with funds to further the conspiracy. Mehee then went to Vienna and enlisted the support of the Honourable Charles Stuart, our Charge1 d'Affaires there; but the French got wind of that, seized the go-between and took his papers from him. So. you see, should this plot to assassinate Napoleon succeed, the French will be able to produce evidence that the British government was at the bottom of it.'
Droopy nodded his narrow head, 'I appreciate now why you are deeply concerned. From all you have told me Napoleon's popularity in France is immense; so were he assassinated and the deed laid squarely at our door, the rage of the French people would be such that there'd be no prospect of their agreeing a peace with us for another generation. You are right Roger; even if it means that a number of Frenchmen who are only pawns in the game must lose their lives, the attempt must be stopped.'
After a moment Droopy went on, 'The state of things here is pitiful. On the renewal of the war last May, the British people became united as never before. As you well know, during the Revolution a great part of the masses and the Whig nobility, led by Charles Fox, was undisguisedly pro-French. Although we were at war with that nation, carried away by the new doctrine of "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity" they would have created a revolution here had not firm measures been taken to suppress them. They hailed the conquests by the Revolutionary Generals of Belgium, Holland, the Rhineland States and, later, Bonaparte's of Italy, as triumphs against ancient tyrannies which must benefit mankind.
'But now, matters are very different. By the Peace of Amiens we came near to licking the boots of the French. We gave them back all the conquests that during eleven years of war many thousands of British lives had been sacrificed lo make, agreed to their retaining territories that made France a mightier nation than ever before and, in fact, did everything possible to ensure a lasting peace. And with what result? After barely a year’Bonaparte's grandiose pretensions forced us into war with him again.
'Before, it was felt by at least half the nation that the French were Crusaders, fighting at first desperately to protect their newly-won liberties, then to benefit the people of neighbouring lands by releasing them, too, from serfdom. But now it has become clear to all. The French are not liberators but dcspoilcrs of the lands they overrun; and this new war has but one object; the aggrandisement of Bonaparte. Tis that which has united the British people against him; so that he is known here now as the Corsican Ogre, but our tragedy at the moment is that all this patriotic fervour is being so hopelessly misdirected.'
'From what little I have been able to gather of the matter,' Roger remarked, 'our trouble lies in having a near-mad King who cannot fully grasp the situation, and so will suffer only Ministers subservient to him, instead of ones capable of directing the war against the French.'
'You are right in that. King George's poor bemused brain revolves round one subject only; to resist being pressed into breaking, as he believes, his Coronation oath, which forbids Roman Catholics to hold office. Seeing that Mr. Pitt was set on putting through his Catholic Emancipation Bill, the King fell back upon the hopeless mediocrity Addington and allowed him to choose that imbecile my Lord Hawkesbury as his Foreign Secretary. In such feeble hands now lies the fate of our poor country.'
'Hawkesbury must receive all reports from our Secret Service,' Roger said, 'so must be aware of the activities of the French exiles. Think you he would be disposed to disclose such matters to me did I wait upon him?'
Droopy looked dubious. ' Tis possible; but the man is an utter fool. So much so that those acquainted with him oft refer to his "vacuous grin". The odds are he'd hum and haw and you'd get no further. You'd do better, I think, by approaching your old master. Although he has been out of office for some time, he was Prime Minister for so long that his knowledge of our intelligence system must be unrivalled. Moreover, that quick, clear brain of his would grasp at once the importance of thwarting this conspiracy, so you could count upon his doing his utmost to aid you.'
'Tomorrow then, I'll ride out to Bromley.'
'No, no!' Droopy shook his head. 'Mr. Pitt is no longer at Holwood. As you know he has no private fortune, and having given all his thought for so long to the welfare of the nation he allowed his own finances to fall into the most ill condition. Even before he left Downing Street and was still receiving his stipend as First Lord of the Treasury the bailiffs threatened to remove his furniture against debts of a few hundred that he could not immediately meet.
'What a shocking thing!' Roger exclaimed, "Tis disgraceful that a man to whom the country owes so much should be harassed by private debts.'
'I'm with you there, and his integrity is such that he'd not take advantage of his high office, as did his predecessors, to make himself a single guinea. From time to time his friends have come to his assistance but, even so, over a year ago he was forced to sell Holwood House and acquire a smaller residence; Bowling Green House on Putney Hill. But you'll not find him there cither. On the outbreak of war, although only a private member, he appeared in the House and made the speech of his life, thereby carrying the miserable Addington's motion, against the opposition of Fox and his cronies who would have had us kow-tow to Bonaparte. Then, since he is still Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, he went straight to Walmer Castle and raised a battalion of militia, of which he is now Colonel.'
'What! Billy Pitt become a soldier?' Roger exclaimed. 'He, so frail and ill a man, so unsuited to being exposed to the elements at all hours, and long night marches. I would ne'er have believed it.'
Droopy smiled, ' 'Tis the fact, though. And 'tis said that his Fenciblcs are the best trained and disciplined on all the Kent coast.'
'If Napoleon docs invade, they will need to be,' Roger rejoined. 'For it will be on the Kent coast that the brunt of the attack will fall. I'll go down to Walmer then, as you advise, and seek the help of Britain's greatest patriot.'
'What of Christmas?' Droopy asked. 'Three days hence I set out for Normanrood to spend it with my family. You should be back by then and would be made most welcome if you'd accompany me.'
‘I thank you, Ned. No prospect could be more pleasant. But my mission is urgent and on my return from Walmcr I ought not to go so far afield from London as Wiltshire. I learned last night that Georgina is gone to the West Indies to dispose of Mr. Beefy's estates there; but the children are at Stillwaters and, if it be possible, I'd like to spend at least Christmas Day with them.'