The General grunted. "Tallien is finished. His first wife's suicide has disturbed his mind. In any case he played a double game once too often when he ordered the execution of those poor devils of emigre's after Quiberon. The reactionaries will never forgive him, yet we now have proof that he was coquetting with the Royalists, so he will never again be regarded with confidence by the Government I told his wife as much. But she is a fool, and I have no patience with her."
Roger, knowing the reason for this outburst, had a quiet laugh to himself, and was even more amused.when Buonaparte went on:
"Now her friend, Madame de Beauharnais, is very different. She is a most sensible as well as charming creature; and the way she has brought up her two children does her the greatest credit. The Revolution hit her hard, but instead of whining about the shifts to which it brought her, she courageously adapted herself to changed circumstances. Her little girl, Hortense, she apprenticed to a milliner, and the boy, Eugene, to a carpenter; yet owing to their mother's training neither has become the least degraded by their menial occupations. On the contrary the manners of these two lovely children are most distinguished. It so happened that the father's sword came into my possession, and not long since I gave it to young Eugene. His acceptance of it brought tears to my eyes. His one ambition is to be a soldier, and he swore to me that he would die rather than dishonour it. Such a family show all the best qualities of the old aristocracy, and I greatly delight in their friendship."
By this time they had reached the gate, where the General's coach was waiting. As they got into it and drove off Roger began to run over in his mind all that had transpired in the past half-hour. His original mission had gone up in smoke, as it was clear that he might as well have tried to bribe a brick wall as the fiery little Corsican; but luck and the skilful handling of the conversation had compensated him by providing a new opening. If he continued to play his cards well it looked as if he would at least be able to obtain full particulars of Buonaparte's plans for the invasion of England.
The coach set them down in the Rue des Capucines, at the fine house Buonaparte now occupied adjacent to his headquarters. Without a word he took Roger straight upstairs, unlocked a door, and led him into a room containing a huge table littered with papers, and having several large maps pinned up on the walls.
Throwing his gold-laced hat down on a chair Buonaparte motioned Roger to another, shuffled through the papers, selected a bulky folder from among some others, sat down himself and said sharply: "Now, be good enough to give me your help by answering these questions to the best of your ability."
The interrogation, on the results of which Buonaparte made copious notes, lasted over three hours. It concerned not only forts, beaches and the approximate strength of garrisons along the part of the south coast that Roger admitted to knowing, but also on the ability of various areas to support men and horses, and the degree of sympathy for the principles of the Revolution which an 'Army of Liberation' might hope to find among the labouring population of the towns.
In answer to the purely military questions Roger gave more or less truthful replies, as he knew they could, and would, be checked by minor spies. About the amounts of stored grain, fodder and other foodstuffs which were likely to be found by an invading army he could afford to be fairly pessimistic, and when it came to the question of support from the Methodists, Corresponding Societies, and other anti-monarchist bodies in Britain he was able, quite honestly, to pour an icy douche upon the General's hopes.
"You must not," he said, "judge these people by the amount of noise they make, and the fact that from time to time troops have to be called out to put down some local riot. They already enjoy a far greater degree of liberty than did our people here in France before '89. That there is a widespread agitation to bring about a more even distribution of wealth is true; but if it succeeds it will be mainly through gradually increasing pressure being brought to bear on Parliament by the many gentry, and others, who in recent years have shown a strong desire to better the lot of the masses. As for the idea that English sansculottes in Southampton or Portsmouth would rise on the appearance of your troops and set about massacring their masters, pray disabuse your mind of it They would not even lift a finger to help you. In fact all but a very few would instantly forget their grievances and, remembering only that they were Englishmen, rush to help in defending their country. I have addressed meetings of these men, and wasted much of my time endeavouring to incite them to more vigorous action; so in this you may rest assured that I know what I am talking about."
Buonaparte looked somewhat disappointed, but shrugged his narrow shoulders. "Ah well, that will make little difference. Victories are not gained by mobs but by superior numbers of well-disciplined troops; and we shall have that for the British have practically denuded the island of regulars."
"You have got to get your troops there, and a great quantity of stores, to enable you to launch your first offensive. Are you not afraid that the British Navy will come upon and destroy your transports?"
"No. We shall send a squadron of our oldest ships out from the Biscay ports to lure the Channel Fleet down towards Portugal. That will give two or three clear days at least for our crossing. The main French Fleet will then offer battle to the British on their return."
"It could never hope to emerge victorious from such an encounter."
"I do not expect it to. It is to be sacrificed."
"You mean that every ship will be ordered to fight to a finish."
"Yes; the loss of a score or so men-o'-war is a bagatelle to pay for the success of an operation of this magnitude. By their action they should so cripple the British Fleet that it will no longer be in any state either to blockade our ports effectively or protect more than a small part of the coast of England. Thus we shall be able to make subsidiary landings in other areas at an acceptable risk; and by the time the British have summoned their squadrons from the Mediterranean and the West Indies I shall be in London."
Roger shook his head. "The plan sounds feasible enough but, saving your presence, I doubt the ability of any man to carry it out. I have good reason to hate the English, but I know them well. It is seven hundred years since the island was conquered; so they have freedom in their blood, and will resist far more desperately than would the people of any continental nation."
"I tell you it is entirely a matter of troops and their handling. We shall have more-and better trained ones. Their generals, like those of the Austrians, are old and set in their ways. They will not stand a chance against me."
"The whole country will swarm with partisans. You will find a man with a shotgun behind every hedge, and every village will become a death-trap."
Buonaparte laughed, but it was not a pleasant laugh. "Don't worry! I shall find a means to subdue them. England is at the bottom of all our troubles, and sooner or later must be conquered. Until she is France will never enjoy her rightful place in the world; so it might as well be now. Once we get ashore there I'll be in London in a fortnight, and if need be I'll burn the capital to the ground unless these stubborn English submit to my will."
This, coupled with what had gone before, was evidence enough that Roger had been right in his assessment that the Corsican would set about matters with complete ruthlessness, and having failed to damp his enthusiasm for the task it seemed pointless to produce further arguments against its chances of success; so he asked:
In what month do you intend to launch this great operation?"
"That depends on several things. There is much yet to be done. Hundreds of ships and barges will have to be collected, and great quantities of stores sent to the ports for loading into them. I shall need the whole of General Hoche's army. He favours the plan, but wishes himself to create a major diversion by leading a descent on Ireland. That would mean an unsound dispersal of our forces, so must be stopped. Then although the Directors are much interested in the project, they have not yet given a definite assent to my proceeding with the preparations."