The Sultan's Daughter (67 page)

‘By then, Sieyés was burning to give birth to his ponderous brain-child, but he at least has sufficient sense to realise that for that business he needs a capable midwife. To quote his own words, “What the nation needs is a brain and a sword.” He, of course, was to be the brain; but who the sword?

‘His first thought was of young Joubert. A good soldier and a sensible man; but he had never directed a victorious campaign, so it was doubtful if the Army could be counted on to
support him. It was in the hope that he would win for himself suitable laurels that we sent him to supersede Moreau in Italy. But, as you know, he met only with defeat and was killed at Novi.

‘Sieyés's next choice was Moreau, His brow was already heavy with laurels won on the Rhine and elsewhere. His popularity as a General is beyond question; but he is no politician. He proved as timid about taking any action that might lead to his being outlawed as Sieyés is himself. When the news arrived of Bonaparte's having landed at Fréjus, Moreau was with Sieyés and he exclaimed with relief, “Here is your man!”'

Roger nodded and asked, ‘How are they getting on together?'

Talleyrand threw up his hands and raised his eyes to heaven. ‘Getting on! They have not yet even met. Between them they are driving me to distraction. The two of them are behaving like two old dowagers whose arms have the same number of quarterings. Each considers it to be beneath his dignity to be the first to call upon the other.'

‘I no longer wonder, then, that I found our little man in such a state of uncertainty when I spoke to him about Fouché. He even talked about going off to take command of the Army in Italy; although I feel sure he does not mean to.'

‘No, he will not do that. At the moment he is angling to have himself made a Director.'

‘Since he is only thirty, and the lowest age at which one can qualify is forty, he would first have to get passed an amendment to the Constitution.'

‘Exactly, and his chances of doing that are negligible. The Jacobins would oppose it tooth and nail; and so would Gohier and Moulins. They would never agree to have him as one of them.'

‘Then it seems things have come to a stalemate.'

‘Yes. Four precious days have already been lost, and his refusal to meet either Sieyés or Fouché is deplorable. Somehow I must bring him and Sieyés together. In the meantime, I pray you do your utmost to nurse Fouché and prevent him from getting the idea that he has been cold-shouldered.'

‘I wrote to him yesterday and took a gamble on saying that
“our friend was eager to meet him”, etc., then asked on what days next week he would be free to take breakfast in some place where the meeting was unlikely to be observed and reported.'

‘Good! Good! Somehow we will get Bonaparte there, even if we have to drag him by the coat-tails.'

‘Ah, but where? I can think of only one suitable place, if it is available. Have you still your little house out at Passy?'

Talleyrand smiled, ‘Why, yes. The Velots still look after it for me and occasionally I use it as a rendezvous to ascertain the colour of some pretty creature's garters. It is an admirable choice. You have only to let me know the day and I will arrange matters. Within recent months, Fouché and I have become upon quite tolerable terms and he will be more inclined to come in with us when he realises that I am giving Bonaparte my support. As host, I can serve as the oil between the wheels; but, later, you and I must leave them alone together.'

‘So be it then. I only pray that our little man will not bring about his own ruin by too lengthy a hesitation. Fouché feared that, if he failed to act promptly, he might be denounced in the Assembly as a conspirator, and that would prove the end of him.'

‘That is my own fear, but I have taken a precaution against it. Today, unless matters go very wrong, as an honour to the General his brother Lucien is to be elected President for the month of the Five Hundred. He is a most revolting young firebrand, but he has a good head on his shoulders and is devoted to his brother. For his term as President we can count on him to quash any measure likely to thwart the ambitions of our formidable nursling.'

When they had finished breakfast, Talleyrand gave Roger a lift to his tailor's then drove on to Bonaparte's. After trying on his new uniforms, Roger followed him there. By then Talleyrand had left, but there were half a dozen officers in the drawing room, gathered round the General, among them Admiral Bruix who, since Breuys's death, had been the senior Commander in the French Navy. Having talked for a while with some of those present, Roger slipped away to the
little cabinet where, as he expected, he found Bourrienne at work.

He confided to his old friend the situation regarding Fouché and asked his help, but the
Chef de Cabinet
shook his head. ‘I do not feel that it is for me to attempt to influence our master in these matters. Talleyrand has been at him this morning urging him to call on Sieyés, and he has made a half-promise to do so; but I doubt if any good will come of it. The temperaments of the two men are so utterly at variance. If he does ally himself with one of the Directors it is much more likely to be his old patron, Barras. Although he despises him they have much more in common.'

‘Including Josephine,' remarked Roger with a smile.

Bourrienne gave him a reproving look. ‘
Mon vieux
, you should not say such things. What is past is past.'

‘But is it? Rumour says that, before our return, she was from time to time still being kind to him for old acquaintance's sake; although Gohier appears to have been her latest interest.'

‘You would be more correct in saying that Gohier is in love with her and that, by encouraging him without going too far, she is preventing him from joining her husband's enemies.'

‘Bless you, Bourrienne, for a dear, kindly fellow,' Roger laughed. ‘All I pray is that she will be discreet. Our little man is in no mood to stand for further infidelities, and she is so good-hearted a creature it would be a tragedy if some scheming harridan were put in her place.'

The next morning Roger witnessed a fine flare-up in the Bonapartes' drawing room. The General had been prevailed upon by Talleyrand and had sent an aide-de-camp to Sieyès to say that he proposed to call on him the following morning. Evidently the inordinately vain Sieyès considered himself insulted because Bonaparte had already been a week in Paris without troubling to present himself officially to him as one of the heads of the Government; so he had sent back a message saying that the hour proposed would be inconvenient.

Thereupon, Bonaparte flew into one of his passions. He declared that the aide-de-camp had acted without orders and had not been sent by him. Then he raved to those around him
that he paid calls on nobody. He was the glory of the nation and if people wished to see him they must call on him.

Much perturbed, Roger slipped away, signalled a coach and drove hell-for-leather to the Rue Taitbout. On hearing Roger's news, Talleyrand was equally furious but controlled his temper better. Roger had retained the coach and they drove back to the Rue de la Victoire together. By then, Bonaparte had calmed down a little and let Talleyrand lead him out into the small garden. They remained there, wrangling heatedly, for half an hour. Later, when Talleyrand left the house, Roger accompanied him. When they were out in the street, the statesman exclaimed:

‘God preserve me from such conceited fools. The two of them have come within an ace of wrecking all my labours to give France a stable Government and peace. But I stood no nonsense. I told him that he was behaving like a petulant schoolboy and understood no more about politics than a kitchenmaid. Apparently, he has been toying with the idea of allying himself with Barras. To do so would be suicidal. Barras is now a washed-out rag and hated by one and all for his corruption and incompetence; whereas Sieyès is the new broom at the Directory and people expect great things of him. In the end, I got my way. He has given me his firm promise to call on Sieyès tomorrow. At the same time, I took the opportunity to force his hand about Fouché.'

‘You did! Thank God for that. I have been on tenterhooks lest he should refuse a meeting.'

‘You need worry no more. It was Sieyès who got Fouché made Minister of Police; so I pointed out to our man that the two run in double harness and to become on terms with one but not the other would be invidious. I pray you now, lose no time in fixing a day for them to breakfast with us out at Passy.'

Roger went straight to the Ministry of Police, saw Fouché, told him that Bonaparte was now eager to meet him, and provisionally arranged for the meeting to be on the 25th. That afternoon he again saw Bonaparte, who agreed to the date.

Next day, the 23rd, Bonaparte paid his call on Sieyès, but the meeting was far from a success. The ex-Abbé was frightened
by the General's forthright manner and obvious determination, in the event of a successful coup, to have a big say in the Government. The General scarcely veiled his contempt for the ex-Abbé's timidity and Utopian ideas. Nevertheless the ice had been broken and, on the 24th, Sieyès, accompanied by Roger Ducos, returned Bonaparte's call.

On the morning of the 25th, Talleyrand and Roger drove out to the former's charming little house in the garden suburb of Passy. Old Antoine Velot and his wife Marie, who for many years had lived there as butler and cook, were overjoyed to see Roger again. He had supported them all through Talleyrand's exile and they had looked after him while he had lived in hiding there during some of the darkest weeks of the Terror. The house brought back to him many memories of those desperate days, but also fond ones of his dead wife, Amanda, who had lived there with him for a while, and of the shock he had received on going out there unexpectedly one night to find his beautiful mistress, Athenais de Roeham-beau, occupying his wife's bed.

Bonaparte and Fouché arrived within a few minutes of one another and, to Talleyrand's great relief, got on well together. In spite of the frank manner of the one and the shiftiness of the other, they were both practical men who knew what they wanted and their ideas of what should be done had much in common. By the time they were halfway through breakfast both had stated their views with a degree of frankness that made it unnecessary for Talleyrand and Roger to leave them alone together afterwards; so Roger heard the whole of their conversation.

Fouché agreed with Talleyrand that the revolution must be brought about from within, so with apparent legality. It was, therefore, essential that Sieyès should be entirely won over. Fouché then promised to work on Sieyès with the object of making the latter's relations with Bonaparte more cordial, while Bonaparte agreed at all events to pretend to accept Sieyés's proposals for a new Constitution and to flatter his vanity at their future meetings.

Before they parted, the Minister of Police displayed his usual caution. Snuffling, he said it would be ill-advised for him to give anyone, apart from Sieyès, the impression that he
thought highly of Bonaparte in any other way than as a soldier; so it would be wise for them not to meet, except by chance and socially and, since Roger was one of the General's aides-de-camp, it might arouse unwelcome comment if he were to act frequently as a go-between. Therefore for that purpose he proposed to employ, alternately with Roger, Commissioner Réal, the Chief-of-Police of the Paris District, for whose trustworthiness he could vouch. He would also give Réal a special assignment to have the Jacobin members of the Five Hundred kept under observation, with the object of obtaining advance information of any plot against Bonaparte in which they might engage.

When Bonaparte and Fouché had left in their respective coaches, Talleyrand and Roger settled down to enjoy another glass of
Grande Echézaux
. The statesman savoured a mouthful of the fine wine, then smiled across the table and said:

‘My dear friend, we may congratulate ourselves. At last something definite has been achieved. Bonaparte has promised to butter up that idiotically vain creature, Sieyès. Fouché foresees security for himself in a triumph for Bonaparte so, although unheard and unseen, will prove our most powerful ally. At last these diverse elements are about to coalesce for a single purpose. This morning, the Corsican has committed himself. The Jacobins are powerful and ruthless. They will do their utmost to destroy him and, if the
ex-sansculottes
in the garrison of Paris side with them, it may prove the end of people like us. But the battle is now joined. There can be no turning back.'

During the few days that followed this highly satisfactory meeting there were endless comings and goings. Only a handful of people were let into the secret that Bonaparte was now committed to play the principal role in a
coup d'état
, but everyone knew that an upheaval was imminent, and the little house in the Rue de la Victoire was crowded from morning to night with officers who wanted to express their loyalty to him, and others who went there hoping to find out which way the wind was blowing. Those who were in the plot—Berthier, Bruix and Murat among the senior officers then in Paris, and Talleyrand, Röederer and the Minister of Justice Cambacérès among the politicians—worked desperately hard to win him the support, ‘should he be called upon', of doubtful elements.

In this respect Josephine also performed prodigies. In spite of the fact that, after her release from prison at the ending of the Terror, she had become little better than a highly paid
demi-mondaine
, she had attained a high place in the new Society. Undoubtedly the fact that she was an aristocrat by birth and the widow of a Vicomte had been part of her attraction for Bonaparte, and he felt that by marrying her he had improved his social status. Since then she had enjoyed the added lustre of his name and, for the past three years, had been hailed everywhere as ‘Our Lady of Victories'. Moreover she was an excellent hostess, possessed great tact and charm and had the ability to make people feel that she wanted to talk only to them. In consequence, her influence over both men and women, although not obvious like that of Madame de Staël's, was considerable, and she proved invaluable
in placating people whom her husband's abrupt manner offended.