When I reached the sitting room, I opened the door slowly. Colin and Cécile sat next to each other at a game table, papers strewn all over its inlaid surface. Colin snapped to attention the moment I cracked the door but relaxed when he saw me and continued his conversation.
"I am indebted to you, Madame du Lac," he said, hardly pausing to acknowledge me.
Cécile shrugged. "I have little concern for the Prince of Wales and his reputation but admire the loyalty you feel for your country. For you, I will offer my help."
"While I am grateful for the compliment, I suspect you are as concerned about the welfare of France as I am for that of the British Empire."
"What, may I ask, are you two scheming so secretly?" I sat at the table across from Colin.
"Monsieur Hargreaves needs me to return to Paris."
"Paris? Oh, Cécile —"
"There is to be no argument. You cannot expect me to resist the will of a man as handsome as he."
Colin smiled. "There is a political scandal brewing that threatens both of our countries. I need Madame du Lac's assistance with a particular gentleman in Paris."
I raised an eyebrow. "What sort of assistance?"
"Whatever sort it might take," Cécile replied.
"Has this to do with Charles Berry?"
"Yes," Colin said. "It appears that his talk of gaining a crown has not sprung wholly out of his imagination. There are plans under way to topple the Third Republic and restore the monarchy to France."
"How does that threaten England?"
"We are more secure if our neighbor has a stable government."
"And how is the Prince of Wales involved?"
"He and Berry have become fast friends."
"Two kings, as it were?"
"So Berry would like. But should this coup fail — and I am confident that it will" — he looked at Cécile as he said this — "it will not benefit the prince to be viewed as someone who supported an attempt to overthrow a foreign government."
"Can't you just tell him to stop letting Berry hang about?" I asked.
"Staggering though the thought is, you, Emily, are not the most stubborn person in the empire. His Royal Highness prefers not to be told who makes an acceptable friend."
At that instant I felt a newfound respect for the future king of England. "Well, it may be that I've been too harsh in my assessments of the prince. I shall try to make a fresh start with him."
"I shouldn't bother, Kallista," Cécile said. Colin began to gather up the papers from the table.
"Have I given you all the information you require?" he asked my friend.
"Oui. I am eager to meet Monsieur Garnier. He is certain to be a man of great possibility."
"Garnier?" I asked.
"The power behind the throne, as it were," Cécile said. "It will be most interesting to meet a man who considers himself Richelieu's equal." I expected that she would excuse herself and leave me alone with Colin, but instead she challenged him to a game of chess. I watched them, an uneasy tension hovering in the air, and wondered what dangers my friend had agreed to face for the good of someone else's crown and country. Unsettled, I turned my attention to the Odyssey. Neither of my friends spoke until the match was over.
"Checkmate," Colin said, trapping Cécile's king with his queen.
"Magnifique. I would have been most disappointed had you let me win."
"I should not dream of insulting you so." He kissed her hand, then crossed the room and pulled me from my chair so that I was standing mere inches from him. "As for you, my dear," he said, almost under his breath. "I'm pleased to see that you're spending more time with Homer than The Greek Anthology. Makes me quite confident that my proposal will be accepted. You'll not find the identity of your admirer in the Odyssey. How soon could your trousseau be assembled? I'd love to take to you the carnival in Vienna."
"And I should love to go. The Viennese have lifted the waltz to new heights of glory. But do not think you will win our wager. I'm well on my way to identifying our mysterious friend."
"Hmmmm," he said, holding his fingers up to my lips but not touching them. "We shall see." He squeezed my hand, said good-bye to Cécile, and left.
"I am not happy about leaving you alone," Cécile said.
"I'll be perfectly all right," I said, though I felt a pang at the thought of her going. I had grown used to her constant companionship and would miss even Caesar and Brutus.
"You could come with me."
"No, I promised I'd help Beatrice."
"I do worry, Kallista, about you here with that man paying such close attention to you."
"Inspector Manning has so many officers watching this house that I fear more for my privacy than my safety." I glanced through the papers Colin had left on the table for Cécile. "What exactly are you to do in Paris?"
"Befriend this man, Garnier. He's an obscenely popular politician who's constantly preaching against government corruption. The bourgeois adore him. Monsieur Hargreaves suspects that he is going to complete what General Boulanger left unfinished."
"Boulanger? Didn't his attempt to take over the government fail? I remember reading in the papers that it descended into a farce."
"Boulanger had not the character to lead a nation."
"From what I heard, he was overly attached to his mistress," I said. "Didn't he stay with her instead of going to the Elysées Palace at the appointed hour?"
"He did. Left the garrisons of Paris waiting for him. Imagine having that kind of power over a man."
"Do you really think she had anything to do with it? Most likely he was scared and found staying with her easier than taking the reins of the country."
Cécile shrugged. "It is dangerous to discount the power of a woman's influence."
"So is that what you're to do? Influence Monsieur Garnier?"
"Not at all. I will find out when he plans to stage his coup."
"Surely he can't think he will succeed so soon after Boulanger's failure?"
"Garnier has what Boulanger did not: Charles Berry. Many people in France question the value of our democracy. The government is too corrupt."
"And Charles Berry would somehow be an improvement?"
"Pas de tout. But imagine taking France back to the days of the Sun King. That is the mood Garnier is trying to capture. He has the backing of all the members of the exiled Bourbon and Orléans royal families as well as the support of other monarchies, and he is viewed as a man who wants what is best for his country. He is not, after all, suggesting that he should be on the throne, only that France should be returned to its former glory."
"And this is common knowledge?"
"Mais non. Only his closest confidants know his plans."
"The Prince of Wales?"
"The prince is friends with Berry, not Garnier."
"Surely Berry knows the plan."
"Monsieur Hargreaves does not think so."
"Garnier knows Berry well enough not to trust him," I said. "Yet he would make him king of France?"
"Fascinating, n'est-ce pas? You will have your part in the excitement, Kallista. I am to send all correspondence to you. Monsieur Hargreaves thought you would like that." She patted my arm. "And it will be très intéressant to see how you like being alone in this house again. You may find you want to keep him with you."
"Cécile, I will never forgive you if you try to get me married. It's bad enough that Ivy has defected to my mother."
"Your mother wants to see you make a good society match. Ivy only wants one that would bring you happiness. There is very little similarity between the two positions."