Fire and Sword

Chapter 54

Napoleon

Paris, 23 January 1809

The imperial carriage entered the city late in the morning, having been on the road for several days with only the briefest of stops to change the horses and drivers. Napoleon had taken advantage of such moments to step down from the carriage and stretch his limbs. As he walked up and down beside the coach he thought over the reports he had received on the journey from Valladolid. Soult had chased the British all the way to Corunna after an epic pursuit through the harsh terrain of the Cantabrian mountains.The British rearguard had fought like lions, contesting every step of the way along the ragged mountain tracks, and across wild rivers swollen by winter rain. At the end the British had abandoned almost all their wagons and many of their guns, and only just over half their original force was evacuated from Corunna. The news cheered Napoleon greatly. Such a repulse would strike a blow at Britain’s desire to continue the war. It would have been even better if the entire army had been caught and crushed, Napoleon mused, but it was a French victory all the same, sweetened by the death of General Moore, struck by a cannonball on almost the last day of the evacuation.

There had also been further confirmation of the conspiracy of Talleyrand and Fouché. Prince Eugène, the Emperor’s stepson, who was acting as his viceroy in Italy, had intercepted another letter to Prince Murat. The imperial crown was offered to Murat in far more explicit terms, together with an assurance that the people of France would be sure to back Murat’s claim, even if Napoleon was not killed in Spain. Napoleon had felt the rage rising in him like a fire as he read Eugène’s message. It was not that he felt surprised by their treachery. It was more to do with their ingratitude. Fouché and Talleyrand owed their high office, their titles and their wealth to Napoleon. It was he who had recognised their talents and raised them up to their current stations. Now they repaid him with treachery.

Looking out of his carriage window Napoleon studied the faces of the people he passed in the street. Most had stopped to watch the small procession of gaudily uniformed escorts and the gilded carriage pass by, and some had cheered when they saw the imperial crest on the door. But most had remained silent, their faces expressionless as they stared at their Emperor. It was a cold morning but even allowing for that Napoleon felt an icy tingle trace its way down his spine as he contemplated the mood of his people.

Once he reached the Tuileries he summoned his brother Lucien and strode anxiously up and down the length of his office until he arrived.

‘Your majesty.’ Lucien bowed his head. ‘It is good to see you again.’

‘The door is closed,’ said Napoleon. ‘You can dispense with the formalities, brother.’

Lucien cocked an eyebrow. ‘Well, that is an interesting development. You must be more concerned about the situation than I thought.’

‘How concerned should I be?’

‘There is no immediate threat of open revolt. To be sure, Talleyrand carries the support of much of the nation. The people want peace, Napoleon, and we still don’t have it. Can you wonder that they might want a change? Particularly in view of events in Spain.’

‘The conquest of Spain is all but complete,’ Napoleon replied irritably. ‘We have beaten their armies.We have driven the British from the Peninsula. All that remains is for Joseph to mop up a handful of rebels in Seville and all is done.’

Lucien nodded faintly. ‘So you say. However, there are reports reaching Paris that the common people of Spain are anything but conquered. They harry our men from every point of concealment and the writ of the new King carries no further than the nearest French garrison.’

‘Those who say such things are liars. Worse than liars, traitors.’

‘If that’s the case, then perhaps there are rather more traitors in France than you might like.’ Lucien smiled slightly. ‘Sorry, Napoleon, but you have to know these things.’

‘Yes,’ Napoleon conceded and made a thin smile of contrition. ‘Yes, I do. Apologies, brother. Please continue.’

‘Very well. As I said, there is a strong voice for peace in France. Talleyrand is playing on that for all he is worth. But he knows that the army is behind you.While you have the loyalty of your soldiers there is nothing he can do. However, with the growing threat of war with Austria, people are beginning to wonder what will happen to them if France is defeated. You will surely be removed from the throne, and those like Talleyrand and Fouché who have much to lose if the Bourbons return are fearful of losing their titles and their riches. So it seems to me that they are calculating that if they can find a leader who poses less of a threat to the rest of Europe, then France will be permitted to enjoy the fruits of peace.’

‘And they think that Murat would make a good Emperor?’ Napoleon asked incredulously.

‘Not necessarily, but I am sure Talleyrand is convinced that Murat will be his puppet, and he would be a popular choice with the army. If Murat can be persuaded to make the concessions necessary for France to be at peace with Europe,Talleyrand and Fouché and their friends will continue to live very comfortably.’

‘What if the other European powers will not make peace with Murat?’

‘Then Talleyrand will align himself with the Bourbons and hope to be rewarded when Murat is defeated.’

‘What makes you so sure our enemies can beat Murat?’

Lucien shrugged.‘Murat is a fine leader, but he is not you, Napoleon. There is only one man in France who can wield her armies with the genius that has defeated all our enemies these past years.’

Napoleon narrowed his eyes and stared at his brother, searching for signs of flattery, but Lucien seemed sincere enough.

‘The current danger,’ Lucien continued, ‘lies in the confluence of Talleyrand and Fouché. They parade their unity before the public, almost as if they are inviting others to do the same.Talleyrand has found himself a powerful ally in Fouché. Fouché’s agents are everywhere, and Paris is filled with his police. If called on, they might possibly overwhelm the soldiers you have presently guarding the Tuileries. I’d advise you to increase the size of your bodyguard at once. And make sure that those admitted to your presence are searched for weapons.’

‘Assassination?’ Napoleon shook his head.‘It is not Talleyrand’s style.’

‘I agree,Talleyrand would not dirty his hands with such business. But Fouché might.’

Napoleon considered this for a moment, and nodded.‘He’s certainly ruthless enough. Very well, I will take the necessary precautions. Meanwhile, I need to move quickly to ensure that Talleyrand and Fouché are put in their places. It will probably be best to concentrate my wrath on Talleyrand. Fouché lacks his charm and could not proceed far on his own.Yes, it has to be Talleyrand.’

‘When will you do it?’

‘As soon as possible,’ Napoleon decided. ‘I want you to arrange a meeting of my senior ministers here at the Tuileries this coming Sunday. Then we shall prick the bubble of this conspiracy.’

‘That is good,’ Lucien agreed. ‘Meanwhile, promise me that you will take due care for your safety.’

‘Of course.’ Napoleon flashed a smile at his younger brother and clapped him on the shoulder. ‘I promise I will stay out of danger. After all, I must see my wife. So I shall go to Fontainebleau. That will keep me away from Fouché’s police. I shall be safe enough there.’ Napoleon paused for a moment. ‘But I may as well be cautious. I will have a battalion of the Old Guard sent to protect me.’

‘Thank you,’ Lucien said quietly. ‘I know you believe you are a child of destiny, but even destiny blinks from time to time.’

Napoleon laughed. ‘I have survived shot and shell all these years, Lucien. I think I can survive the petty conspiracies of such men as Fouché and that milksop Talleyrand.’

‘I hope so, brother. But don’t ever underestimate the dangers of politics. It is as deadly as the battlefield, where at least you can see your enemies. Take care. I shall see you on Sunday, then.’

Napoleon clasped Lucien’s hands and kissed his brother on both cheeks. ‘Until Sunday.’

Josephine was entertaining her friends when Napoleon and his escort arrived at their château at Fontainebleau. She heard the commotion outside as the carriage and scores of horses crunched up the gravel drive and went to see who had arrived. Her eyes lit up as she saw Napoleon alight from the carriage and she hurried down the steps to embrace him. Napoleon closed his eyes and breathed in her scent, feeling the familiar increase in the beating of his heart as he held her close. They stood like that for a moment before she drew back and looked at him.

‘So few letters from Spain, and so brief.’

‘Believe me, my love, there was barely a chance to stop and even consider writing to you.’

There was a pained look in her eyes. ‘I thought of you every day, many times. Praying that you were safe and would come back to me soon.’

‘And here I am.’ Napoleon forced a smile. ‘Now let us go inside.’

‘I have guests. A small gathering of friends.’

‘Guests?’ Napoleon stared past her at the entrance to the house for a moment, mindful of his brother’s warning about his safety. ‘Then send them away. I am tired.’

‘I can’t send them away just like that,’ Josephine protested. ‘It would be extremely ill-mannered.What kind of host would I be if I treated my guests so?’

‘Nevertheless, send them away,’ Napoleon replied firmly; then, as he saw her hurt expression, he softened his voice.‘My love, I have not seen you for some months. I would like to be alone with you this first night of my return, at least.’ He pulled her close to him and kissed her on the lips, letting his arm slide down the back of her dress to the curve of her buttocks as he did so. For a moment Josephine was unresponsive, then she pressed her mouth against his and Napoleon felt the flicker of her tongue.At length she drew back and stared intensely into his eyes.‘I will send them away.’

Later, when it was pitch black outside, they lay in each other’s arms in front of the fireplace in Napoleon’s study. The flames had shrunk to a warm wavering glow and cast a dull orange light around the room. Josephine lay against a couch, her legs flat on the thick carpet. Napoleon lay beside her, head resting on her breast as the fingers of one hand idly stroked through her pubic hair. It surprised him that even now, after so many years of marriage, and so many other lovers on both sides, their lovemaking had been as passionate and pleasurable as it had ever been. Yet it wounded him that there was still no issue from their intercourse. There was no shred of doubt now that Josephine would never provide him with an heir.

‘Tell me about Spain,’ she said softly as she stroked his dark hair, noticing that it had started to thin around the temples.

‘A hard country,’ Napoleon replied. ‘The people are poor and superstitious.You would find it hard to believe that a country on the very borders of France could be so mired in the past. I have done my best to set them on course towards a more enlightened future, but I fear it will take some time before they accept the benefits I hold out to them.’

‘But they will in the end, I trust.’

‘They will. As long as Joseph and my generals stand firm.’

‘Good. Then there is no need for you to return there, is there?’

Napoleon turned to smile at her. ‘Not for the present, at least.’ Then his head rolled back on to the smooth flesh of her breast and he nuzzled her nipple as he gazed into the flames. ‘Besides, I am needed here. It seems that the Austrian Emperor has taken advantage of my absence to push his forces right up to the borders of our territories on the Danube. He must be persuaded to draw back, before he provokes a war.’

‘More war?’ Josephine stopped stroking his hair.‘Are we never to see an end to war, my love, so that we can grow old together?’

Napoleon took her hand and gently kissed the palm. ‘There will be peace.’

‘I hope so. With all my heart. As do so many others. I do not know how a nation can endure war as long as France has. There must be an end to it soon.’

Napoleon was silent for a moment. At length, in a gentle tone, he said, ‘Now that sounds like Talleyrand speaking.’

‘I suppose it does.’ Josephine smiled. ‘Well, he has certainly been making no secret of his desire for peace recently.You know, for one of your most respected advisers, he certainly seems to share very few of your views. I don’t know how you can tolerate it.’

‘No. I sometimes wonder why I do,’ Napoleon mused.‘Perhaps when he resigned as foreign minister I should have stripped him of all his offices. I doubt it will surprise you to hear that Talleyrand has been plotting to overthrow me. Plotting with Fouché and Murat.’

He sensed her stiffen, and quickly eased himself up and turned so that he was facing her. Josephine’s eyes met his for a moment and then wavered before fixing on the flames over his shoulder. ‘I had no idea it was as serious as that,’ she said.

‘But you had some idea of what he was plotting?’

‘No. Not really. He talks a lot, but that’s just the way it is.You never know how much to take seriously with Talleyrand. But plotting to overthrow you? Are you certain?’

‘I have enough evidence to send him to the guillotine.’

Josephine was silent for a moment before she spoke again. ‘And will you?’

‘I don’t know. He may yet be of some use to me, and I doubt the royal courts of Europe would thank me for extinguishing one of their brightest lights. But that is no reason to spare him, especially if there is any more to his treachery than I have already discovered.The difficulty is that Talleyrand and Fouché are my creatures. I raised them up. If I tear them down, that is to publicly admit that my initial judgement of their loyalty was flawed. That would be embarrassing. I will have to think about the matter before I decide their fate.’

The meeting of the Emperor’s council of advisers took place, as scheduled, on the following Sunday in the Tuileries. Napoleon had ordered Talleyrand to give up the office of Grand Chamberlain two days earlier, and the ministers who gathered in the Emperor’s private audience chamber sensed that there was something in the wind. Napoleon stood at the window with his back to the room, hands clasped behind him. For a minute or so there was complete silence and stillness as the ministers and advisers glanced warily at each other. Only Talleyrand seemed imperturbable, sitting close to the fireplace and gazing serenely into the hearth.

It was gloomy outside and Napoleon had a clear view of his guests reflected in the window. He had prepared for this meeting, to ensure that it had the appropriate impact on his subordinates. Taking a deep breath and clearing his throat, he turned round and strode back across the chamber to address them.

‘Gentlemen, I had summoned you to discuss the growing threat from Austria, but first there is another matter that needs to be settled. A grave matter concerning the loyalty of two of my most important ministers.’ He paused, deliberately avoiding the eyes of Fouché and Talleyrand. ‘Two men who owe everything to me yet now seem determined to stir up public opinion against their Emperor. Well, they should be careful before they play with the sentiments of the people. Those who dabble in revolution are holding a wolf by the ears, and they are fools if they think that they would not be swept away in the first days of any popular uprising.’

Lucien rose to his feet, on cue. ‘Sire, who are these traitors?’

‘My chief of police, Fouché, and the former Grand Chamberlain, Talleyrand.’

There was an excited murmur amongst those assembled, while Fouché squirmed in his seat and glanced round desperately to gauge the balance of sympathy amongst the other ministers. Talleyrand simply stirred in his chair and turned to face Napoleon directly, his features devoid of surprise, fear or indeed any emotion.

Napoleon raised a hand to command silence from the council.When their tongues had stilled he continued, ‘I have been handed clear evidence of their plot against me. Reports of their movements, whom they have met, letters they have exchanged with other plotters, most notably Marshal Murat, whom they have invited to take my throne once I have been removed.’

Napoleon at last turned to Talleyrand, his face twisting slightly into a cold sneer of contempt. His finger stabbed out as he raised his voice. ‘You, Talleyrand, are a traitor and a coward.You believe in nothing but yourself. For that you have deceived us all and betrayed your country. You have taken the coin of our enemies and sold your soul to them. Is there nothing you would not sell for your own personal gain? You have failed me, failed your people and failed yourself.You are contemptible. Even as you have enjoyed all the honours I have lavished on you, you have been attacking my achievements in Spain, lying to the people of Paris about what has been happening there.’ He glared at Talleyrand. ‘Well? What have you to say for yourself, you miserable cur?’

Talleyrand returned his gaze steadily and did not utter a word. Napoleon felt a genuine rage well up inside him at the man’s insouciance. ‘You heinous little cripple! You faithless husband! For all your pretensions you are nothing more than a pile of shit in silk stockings! You hear me? You turd! I ought to have you shot like that scum the Duke of Enghien. Shot, or hanged, or guillotined, and then have your body thrown to the crows.That is the least punishment you deserve. You and any other man who commits treason against his Emperor.’

As Napoleon shouted at his former foreign minister, the other members of the council were cringing in their seats, none more so than Fouché, who had slumped down and swallowed nervously throughout the tirade. Napoleon drew some comfort from that. As he had hoped, by turning the main weight of his rage against Talleyrand he had scared the others, and left Fouché in no doubt over the fate that might await him if he was ever again suspected of plotting against his Emperor.

With a last glare of contempt at Talleyrand, Napoleon abruptly turned and marched out of the audience chamber, slamming the door behind him so that the jarring crash made his advisers jump in their chairs.

‘Do you think it has worked?’ Napoleon asked Lucien two weeks later as they sat in the same room, on either side of the fire. Outside, rain lashed down on Paris so that the tiled roofs gleamed like fish scales.

‘As well as it could,’ Lucien conceded. ‘Talleyrand has not made any more comments about your policy in Spain, or any form of criticism. The same goes for Fouché, who has even refused to be seen in the same room as Talleyrand for fear of being associated with him. People are being very careful about what they say in public at the moment. I think you can rest easy.’

‘Good.’

‘The thing is, I still don’t see why you don’t at least have them quietly sent into exile. They are dangerous men and should not go unpunished.’

Napoleon pressed his lips together briefly. ‘It is enough for them to know that I am aware of their treachery, and that I can have them shot or thrown in prison at the click of my fingers. Besides, they serve as an example to the wider public that nothing escapes the Emperor’s eye.’

Lucien was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. ‘I still think you should have disposed of them. In time they are sure to be amongst your bitterest enemies.’

‘Perhaps. In time.When that happens I will deal with it. At present I cannot bring myself to destroy them.’ Napoleon looked up at his brother with a wistful smile. ‘Call it a sentimental streak, but Talleyrand, Fouché and I have shared much over the years. Our fates are bound together, for better or worse.’

‘Forgive me, brother, but that is madness. You cannot afford to indulge yourself in such obligations.You are the Emperor of France. If you fall then France will be crushed by her enemies.You are not free to place some misguided sense of mercy above the nation’s interests.’

‘Nevertheless, I will,’ Napoleon replied firmly, and then frowned.‘No more of this, Lucien. There are other matters to attend to. Far more important matters. There is no longer any doubt that Austria means to make war against us. Our ambassador reports that the court of Emperor Francis is openly hostile. Our agents suggest that the Austrian army numbers well over three hundred thousand men. It seems that they have not forgotten, or forgiven, the shame they incurred at Austerlitz. They mean to have their revenge and crush me utterly.’ He shook his head sadly. ‘The thing is, they have never been in a better position to do it. I have one hundred and twenty thousand men on the Rhine. If we scour the garrisons in the German states and in France we might raise another eighty thousand. We are also short of officers, although we might make the numbers up by recalling those who have retired, or promoting sergeants.’ He sighed wearily. ‘The truth is that time is against us.’

‘Time is always against us,’ said Lucien. ‘All that a man can do is acquit himself as well as he may, and not waste the smallest span of his life bemoaning the fact.’

‘You are right, of course. If Austria wants war, then she shall have it.’ Napoleon closed his eyes and after a moment he continued quietly,‘The greatest challenge I will ever face lies before me, Lucien. I had hoped that we might have subdued Europe by now, but that is not the case. The Tsar is building his strength, and each report from Moscow reveals that he is slipping further away from me. I have little doubt that Russia will seek again to humble us before too long. If there is a war with Austria we can be sure that Russia will join with our enemy.’ Napoleon paused to contemplate the prospect. ‘That will be war on a new scale. War such as no man has ever seen. And when it comes, I will lead the Grand Army to Moscow itself, if I have to, and burn the city to the ground.’

He turned to Lucien and smiled. ‘The best is yet to come, my brother. The battle of the hosts, from which France will emerge triumphant, and the name Napoleon will be carved into the very bedrock of history.’