Roger suddenly sat bolt upright "I pray you, Sir, do nothing of the land—at least if it is of the same man we are thinking, for I believe there are two brothers both of whom bear the title and the name."
"This is Count Maurice. He is a man of medium height with jet-black eyebrows, an over-long chin and slightly hump-backed."
"That is the rogue I have in mind. While I was involved with the Baron de Batz in an attempt to rescue Queen Marie Antoinette from prison, the Baron once pointed Montgalliard out to me. He bid me eware of him as the most plausible and unscrupulous villain unhung; then gave me chapter and verse for many of his treacheries."
"What you say perturbs me greatly, Mr. Brook. He is certainly most plausible and possesses both brains and charm, but it is he who initiated this affair and, having acted as go-between for the Prince de Condé and myself, holds all the threads of it"
"Then, Sir, you may be certain that he intends to betray you both, and General Pichegru into the bargain, for what he can get out of it. This makes it all the more imperative that negotiations with the General should be opened through a new channel. It is quite on the cards that Montgalliard has lied to him, and kept for himself any sum that he was supposed to have handed over as earnest money. In any case, I have always sought to minimize my own risk by working alone; so I would much prefer that my mission should not be disclosed to any Royalist agent."
"In that no doubt, you are wise; and it seems now that Montgalliard would prove a special source of danger to you. To relieve you of it, I will give you a letter to him, asking him to come immediately to London for further consultation. Then when he arrives I will find some pretext for keeping him here."
"For that I should be grateful, Sir. I take it you wish me to set out as soon as possible?"
"Yes. I will have a word with my cousin Grenville. Be good enough to wait upon him tomorrow at the Foreign Office. He will provide you with ample funds and make such arrangements for your journey as you may think best."
During a further half-hour Mr. Pitt gave Roger much useful in formation on the general situation, then Roger took his leave. As he came out from Number 10 a chill autumn wind was blowing gustily up Downing Street His blood having become thinned by the heat of the tropics, he shivered slightly.
He was hoping that Montgalliard, for his own evil purposes, had lied about General Pichegru's attitude. If so, with the Count out of the way, a firm and frank understanding with the General might prove all that was necessary. If not Roger knew that he would then have no option but to proceed to Paris. Grimly he faced the fact that he was once more in the toils of a great conspiracy; and he wondered a little unhappily when, and if, he would ever see Martinique again.
chapter XVIII
ENTER ROBERT MacELFIC
In Whitehall Roger picked up a sedan-chair and had himself carried to Amesbury House. The great mansion showed few signs of life: as, with the exception of Droopy Ned, the family was still in Wiltshire, and he had returned only the day before after his annual surfeit of mulberries. But the skeleton staff had been apprised by Dan of Roger's coming, and a footman in undress livery took him straight up to his friend's suite.
Droopy, in his favourite morning deshabille of a turban and oriental robe, had only just risen. He welcomed Roger with delight, then laughed at the sight of his beard; on which Roger promptly declared his intention of having it off before the morning was out A table was wheeled in with Droopy's breakfast and as it was now getting on for ten o'clock, Roger felt quite ready for a second, more substantial, meal; so the two old cronies sat down to a brown trout brought in ice from the Avon, a big venison pasty and a couple of bottles of claret
Roger had no secrets from Droopy; so as soon as they were alone he described how Mr. Pitt had recalled him from Martinique and, that morning, inveigled him into a new mission. When he had given particulars of it Droopy nodded his bird-like head, and said:
"Seeing that this may prove the key to the pacification of all Europe, you could not possibly have refused. I'll vow, too, that despite the long face you are pulling about it you are by no means altogether displeased to find yourself back in your old harness. A nature such as yours could not remain content with the humdrum life of the Indies.*'
r'Humdrum!" Roger laughed. "I have yet to tell you how near the women all came to being raped and myself murdered, first by pirates then by revolted negro slaves. Still, I’ll not deny there's something in what you say. I had been privy to half the intrigues in Europe for too long not to miss the spice that compensates for the danger of dabbling in them. In fact it the truth be told, most of my misgivings evaporated on the way here from Downing Street, and one-half of me is already agog to get to grips with this new problem."
Droopy smiled. "I'd have wagered a monkey on that proving so. As to your harrowing experiences on the voyage out, I greatly look forward to hearing your account of them; although the beautiful Georgina gave me the main particulars soon after she got back here late in March."
"Of course! How fares she now? Poor Charles's death was a sad blow to her."
"Aye, she took it mighty hard; and on her arrival went direct into retirement. She bade me to Stillwaters for a night, but only to give me news of you. Dowered with such vitality as she is, I'd not nave thought her capable of grieving so long for any man; except perhaps yourself. In the circumstances it was a great blessing that she had the carrying of her child to occupy her mind."
"Child!" exclaimed Roger.
"Yes. Did you not know? She told me she had written you that she was expecting one. You should have had her letter sometime in May."
Roger shook his head. "It never reached me; so I suppose the ship carrying it must have been lost or taken by a privateer. As Georgina was ever an erratic correspondent I did not wonder greatly at not hearing from her; though I wrote to her myself three times from Martinique."
"Then it will also be news to you that you are now a godfather. But that, of course, you could not know; as her son was not born until the 17th of August I acted as proxy for you at the christening; so can vouch for it that the little Earl is a right lusty fellow, and Georgina herself looking even more lovely now that she has become a mother."
"WelL strap me! I am more delighted than I can say. I must write to her in my first free hour; and will drive down to Stillwaters with gifts for my godson should time permit."
"You are then already under orders to set out?"
"Yes. I wait upon my lord Grenville tomorrow, and leave as soon after as a ship is available to carry me." Roger took a swig of wine, then added with a worried frown, "I would, though, that I had been called on to pit my wits against some people other than the French. So many of their leading men already have preconceived beliefs about me: the aristocrats that I am one of themselves but turned traitor, the ex-terrorists that I was a sans-culotte before becoming a member of that den of iniquity, the Paris Commune, and one at least of the latter knows me for what I am, an English spy. These tabs from the past that I must carry with me immeasurably increase the difficulties of my mission."
"Then why carry them?" Droopy rubbed a finger along the side of his beaky nose. "That brown beard you grew upon your voyage may now prove a godsend. With it you should have little difficulty in assuming a new identity."
"Egad; what an excellent thought!" Roger's blue eyes suddenly lit up. "Mr. Pitt scarce recognized me, and with a few other changes I could, sure enough, pass as a different person."
When they had finished breakfast, Droopy summoned his valet, who also served him as his barber, and after an hour in the man's capable hands Roger's metamorphosis was completed. His eyebrows had been plucked to half their former thickness, his long eyelashes had been shortened by an eighth of an inch, and the ball of his chin shaven clean. The last operation did away with a suggestion of scruffiness that the new-grown beard had given him, and now put him in a new fashion for growing a moustache and pointed side-whiskers, which was beginning to be effected by a number of young cavalry officers.