Young bloods

Chapter 39

Later, when the children had gone to bed, Napoleon sat with his mother and Joseph at the end of the table. Letizia had closed the shutters and the room was lit by a pair of candles that left the large space around them in deep shadow. She had brought up a bottle of wine from the cellar and filled three glasses.

'Your father and I were saving this one to celebrate your becoming an officer.' She smiled sadly, then lifted her chin. 'To you, Lieutenant Napoleon Buona Parte.'

'No,' Napoleon shook his head, 'let's not toast me. To Father.' He and the others raised their glasses together and then sipped the fine wine. Napoleon slid the stem of his glass between his fingers and cradled the bowl in the palm of his hand.'Has it been difficult since Father died?'

Letizia shrugged. 'We barely manage.'

'Did he leave much money?'

'Leave money? All he left me was his debts.'

'It wasn't really his fault,' Joseph interrupted. 'He was cheated.'

'What happened?' asked Napoleon. 'Who cheated him?'

'The government. Four years ago Father signed a contract with some officials sent from Paris to find ways of expanding the economy in Corsica.They said they had the power to subsidise all sort of agricultural projects, one of which involved our family. Father bought a mulberry plantation, with a view to growing the trees for sale in the fifth year. The officials gave a guarantee that the mature trees would be bought by the government for a premium price.'

Letizia shook her head. 'I can hear him now. "How can we lose?"Well, we found out in the end exactly how we could lose.'

Napoleon nodded towards his brother. 'So what happened next?'

'Two years ago, when the first subsidy payment was due, the government cancelled the contract without any warning. Father just received notification that the trees were no longer required. He tried to find another buyer but there's no market for mulberry at the moment – at least no market that will pay enough to cover the costs of setting up the plantation. Until his death he was trying to get the government to pay compensation, but nothing has come of it. Meanwhile we couldn't afford to employ the men who were tending the trees. Since then no one has been maintaining the plantation.When Father died, the bank in Genoa, who loaned him the money to set up the plantation, called for the loan to be repaid.'

'Which we can't do,' Letizia added with a shrug. 'There's no money.The rent we get from uncle Luciano isn't even enough to feed the family and see that they get some proper schooling. If it wasn't for the small gifts of money given to us by Luciano, we'd have to sell the house, sell our land and sell that wretched plantation. Even then, I doubt it would raise enough to pay off the bank loan.'

'Can't we just sell the land?' Napoleon suggested. 'Pay back some of the money and ask them to give us time to repay the balance?'

'No.' Joseph smiled faintly. 'That's the catch. In order for us to contest the government's refusal to pay the subsidy we have to be in possession of the land to which the contract applies. We're caught between the government and the bank. The only hope I have is that the market recovers and we find buyers for those trees.'

'Is it likely to recover?'

'Impossible to say,' Joseph replied.'But if we don't start looking after the plantation soon it'll be worthless.'

'I see.' Napoleon brooded silently for a moment. He looked up at his brother.'Then we must put that plantation to rights, Joseph. You and me. Where is it?'

'Not far from here. Near Mother's house at Mellili.'

'Good! We could live there while we restore the plantation.'

'The house is almost derelict.'

'Fine.Then we'll make repairs to the house as well. Come on, Joseph! You're not afraid of a little hard work?'

'Of course not. But I can't stay here for much longer. I need to get back to my legal training.'

'Fair enough, but let's do what we can before you leave. What do you say, brother?'

Joseph glanced at his mother but Letizia was staring at her hands and saying nothing. Joseph's gaze flickered back towards his brother.'Why not? Let's do it. Maybe the market will recover after all.'

'That's the spirit!' Napoleon laughed and refilled both their glasses. 'To the Buona Parte Brothers – sons of the soil.'

Joseph laughed back and tapped his glass against his brother's. 'Death to bankers!'

'Death to the French Government!' Napoleon replied and drained his glass as his mother and brother looked at him in surprise.

Joseph cleared his throat. 'That's hardly the sort of toast one expects from an officer of His Most Catholic Majesty, King Louis.'

'French officer on the outside, Corsican loyalist on the inside – right to the core,' Napoleon smiled. 'Don't be fooled by the uniform.'

'I might not be, but there are others who will take it at face value.'

Letizia placed a hand on his arm. 'You should be careful, Naboleone. There are many people in Corsica who have not accepted French rule.'

'Including me.'

'I doubt that will carry much weight if you are caught in that uniform even a small distance from Ajaccio.Things have changed a great deal in the last eight years. The Paolists have been stirring things up. It seems that some foreign power is providing them with gold to keep the spirit of resistance alive. The French may control the towns and the roads, but they have lost power in much of the heart of the island.Their troops and their officials are afraid to venture too far from the coast. And that's given the rebels some confidence. There have even been ambushes of French patrols within earshot of Ajaccio. So, please, for me, take that uniform off while you are here.'

Napoleon hid his anger. Despite his avowed support for Corsican independence, he was proud of his uniform. Now more than ever he was convinced that he had been born to be a soldier and he wore the dark blue coat with red trimming as if it was a second skin.Yet he could see that his mother was concerned and he needed to put her mind at ease.

'I have some spare clothes in my valise. I'll wear those.'

Letizia relaxed a little and some of the strain left her face. 'Thank you. I know it means a lot to you, but there's your safety to consider, and ours. Please stay out of trouble.'

Napoleon nodded. The island's tradition of vendetta meant that the dishonour of the individual extended to the entire family. The irony was that Napoleon felt a burning desire in his heart for Corsican independence. But any rebel hiding in view of a mountain road to ambush one of the occupiers would certainly shoot him long before Napoleon had a chance to explain himself.

'Don't worry, Mother. I'll keep to myself. Besides, I have in mind a few tasks that I must begin. I want to write a history of Corsica. That should keep me busy.'

'A history?' Letizia arched her eyebrows and muttered, 'What is the point of that?'

Joseph stared at his younger brother for a moment and then laughed.

'What?' Napoleon frowned. 'What is it?'

'Nothing really. It's just that I haven't seen you for so long, not since you were an ill-tempered little brat. Now you are, as you say, a man. And a serious-minded and driven one at that. It's just taking me a little time to adjust to the changes in you.'

'Joseph's right,' Letizia nodded. 'You have changed. It seems I've lost my little boy for ever.'

She stood up suddenly and walked hurriedly towards the door. Only when she was outside the room did she begin to cry.

The next day, after the children had been sent to school, Joseph helped his brother to unpack the luggage. When the lid of the chest was lifted he gasped in surprise to see that it contained little else but books and a small writing set. As the books were taken out and found a home in an old crockery cupboard, Joseph marvelled at the range of his brother's reading.

'You can't have read all of these, surely?'

'All of them. I've only kept the books that interested me.That's one of the advantages of living in France,' Napoleon smiled. 'You have the chance to read all that there is to read, and sort out what knowledge is worth retaining and what isn't. This,' he patted the chest, 'this is the good stuff.'

'One day, your history of Corisca will be in a chest just like this.'

Napoleon laughed. 'I hope so. It would be nice to leave some kind of a mark on the world. How about you, Joseph? What is your ambition?'

'Me? I haven't really thought about it. At the moment I'm studying to become a lawyer, but what do I want to do?' He thought for a moment. 'I suppose my ambition is to have a wife, children and a comfortable home.'

'That's it?'

'Yes.'

Napoleon shook his head, partly in disbelief and partly in pity. Not that he would have said so to his brother. Joseph might not have much drive to achieve things, but beneath it all he was an innately good man; a quality that Napoleon recognised and valued.

He selected a few books and placed them into a large knapsack, along with a change of clothes.Then he looked up at Joseph, who was still unpacking the books.

'Well, if your ambition is to be realised, we have to pay off Father's debts. Once I've settled in I'm going to Mellili for a few days, to see what needs to be done to restore the place. I don't like having to leave home so soon, but we need some income. If we're in luck it might be possible to rent the farm out.While I'm there I'll have a look at the plantation.'

'I'd come with you, but I have to study for an exam.' Joseph smiled at his brother. 'As soon as it's over, I'll join you.'