"The old gang would never agree to that"
"Exactly. And as long as the war continues they have a reasonable excuse for keeping the Rump Parliament that they still dominate, in being. With peace they would be forced to go to the country. They would lose their seats and a Restoration would follow. Near all of them voted for the late King's death; so, apart from all else, on the count of regicide they would be liable to lose their heads."
"Then, as I have always maintained, there can be little hope of peace until the hard core of the old Convention is, in some way, deprived of its power."
"That is the situation, but could it be done I believe our chances of bringing the conflict to an end are excellent."
Roger remained thoughtful for a moment, then he said: "It seems then, what we need is another General Monk, who will turn his army about, march it on Paris, and declare for the King."
A slow smile lit the Prime Minister's lined face. "I am glad to find, Mr. Brook, that your sojourn in the Indies has not deprived you of your resource. It makes me all the more happy to be able to tell you that we have already anticipated you in this admirable solution to our difficulties. We have bought General Pichegru."
"The devil you have!"
"Yes. I am given to understand that he is not only a fine soldier but a patriotic and honest man, who feels great distress at the sad state into which his country has fallen. As the reward for marching his army on Paris, he has been promised the baton of a Marshal of France, the Government of Alsace, a million francs in cash, an income of 200,000 louis, an hotel in Paris and the Chateau of Chambord."
"Honest he may be!" Roger laughed. "But for a half of that I'd march an army to Cathay."
Mr. Pitt waved the remark aside. "In an issue of such importance what matter the size of the reward—providing he does what is required of him? The trouble at the moment is that he makes no move to earn it."
"He might do so, yet to actually secure all these fine things he would still have nought to rely on save the word of the Bourbon Princes. It may be that he hesitates to trust them."
"That had not occurred to me, although it may in part explain why he is holding back. The reason, according to the agent handling these negotiations, is that he feels misgivings about the reception he will meet with when he reaches Paris. Apparently he is loath to set out on the venture until fully convinced that by overthrowing the present French government he will be carrying out the wishes of a majority of the French people."
"His information on the state of things in France should be as good as your own. Are not the sort of things you have been telling me enough for him?"
"One would have thought they should be. But, remember, until quite recently, he has been a staunch Republican. For such the 'will of the people' is no more than a catch phrase. I think what he really requires before committing himself is a definite assurance that a majority of the more moderate deputies, intellectuals and others out of the common rut, like himself, have also experienced a change of heart, and now favour a Restoration. In short, he will act only if we can provide him with reliable evidence that the type of people he respects will not regard him as a traitor."
Roger's expression did not change by the flicker of an eyelid but as though a thick curtain had suddenly been reft aside he saw how the Prime Minister had ensnared him. With a skill which, now Roger realized it, he could not help but admire, Mr. Pitt had led the conversation by gradual stages up to its present point. He assumed, and probably rightly, that Roger was the only man in the world who could " get for him evidence that such men as Barras, Carnot and Dubois-Crancé were willing to commit themselves. To have asked Roger straight out to return to Paris would have been to risk a flat refusal. Instead his advice had been asked, with the foregone conclusion that he would advocate the only sensible course. Then he had been shown how the course he advocated could not be pursued unless certain undertakings were secured in order to set General Pichegru's mind at rest. Into his racing speculations there broke the quiet voice of the tall, grey-faced man on the opposite side of the little table.
‘A penny for your thoughts, Mr. Brook?"
"They were, Sir, that, unless I am much mistaken, you have played me a scurvy trick by presenting matters in such a way that I could be taken for a coward did I ignore their implication."
"Nay; do not say that No man who knows you would ever impugn your courage. But in view of your attitude when last we met I felt justified in acquainting you very fully with the great issues at stake before once more asking you to undertake a mission to Paris."
"Ah, there's the rub!" Roger made a grimace. "Were it to any other capital I would willingly accept your instructions. But these new developments in the political scene of Paris have made it no less dangerous for me. On the contrary, it is now probably even more so. Fourteen months ago I had already enough to dread from Fouché, knowing me to be English and your agent, and probably having had me listed for immediate arrest should I show my face there again. That risk I still run. Now, added to it, since many Royalists have been liberated from the prisons, I might at any time run into some gentleman who would recognize me as the Chevalier de Breuc, once honoured with the friendship of Queen Marie Antoinette; and, believing that I had betrayed her cause, seek to bring about my ruin."
Mr. Pitt nodded. "It may be true that during the past year conditions in Paris have not changed to your advantage. But you have changed. When you refused to serve me further you were sick in mind and body. Today I rejoice to find that this is no longer so. Surely, now that you are fully restored, you will not refuse my plea once more to encounter danger, when by doing so you may be able to render a great service to your country?"
For a moment Roger did not reply, then he said: "I wonder whether what you ask is really necessary. It may not be. I mean, of course, for me to go to Paris. The kernel of this problem seems to be General Pichegru's attitude. Ought we not, as a first step, to obtain more definite information on the cause of his hesitation? Distrust of the Bourbon Princes may well be at the bottom of it. In any case, I feel we should get from him the exact conditions on which he is prepared to act, before proceeding further. To do otherwise would be to put the cart before the horse."
"There is good sense in that. Will you then undertake a mission to the General's headquarters?"
- As Roger nodded, the Prime Minister stretched out a long bony hand and patted him lightly on the knee. For such a shy and undemonstrative man it was a most unusual gesture. With a smile, he said:
"I felt sure that I could count upon you, Mr. Brook; but I am none the less grateful." Then he went on in a brisker tone. "Now with regard to your journey. These secret negotiations with Pichegru have, of course, been handled through the Prince de Conde, who commands the emigre army on the Rhine. It would be best if you went to his headquarters first, in order to ascertain if there have been any further developments in the matter of which I have not yet heard. Have you still the Letter of Marque I gave you some years ago, stating that on the affairs of our country you speak in my name?"
"Yes, Sir. It is safely locked away in the vaults of Hoare's Bank."
"Then that will be sufficient introduction for you to His Highness. I will, however, give you another letter to a gentleman you will find at his headquarters, named the Comte de Montgalliard."