Arthur glared at the man. The monster of Europe was loose again, thanks to Campbell’s lack of diligence. ‘Stay here. I will question you more closely when I return.’
‘Yes, your grace.’
Arthur rose from his chair and strode towards the door. He walked quickly to find one of his aides waiting in the hall to join Arthur at the hunt. ‘You can send the horses back to the stable.’
‘Your grace?’
‘Another has bolted,’ Arthur responded. ‘Run to the other delegations. Tell them we must meet at the Schцnbrunn at once, on a matter of the gravest urgency. Run, man, as if the very devil himself were at your heels!’
‘Escaped?’ Metternich shook his head, and then laughed. The other delegates in the room joined in, though their laughter was more nervous than humorous, Arthur noted.
‘Where does he think to hide?’ the King of Prussia snorted. ‘He is the most notorious figure in Europe. Who would dare harbour him?’
‘I do not know where his ships were headed, your majesty,’ Arthur replied. ‘But I suspect that he would most likely make for Italy.’
‘Why Italy? Why not France?’
Talleyrand shook his head.‘He would be arrested, or assassinated, the moment he set foot on French soil. I agree, he will go to Italy. He has friends there, and family. Napoleon will go to Murat.’
‘Even though Murat betrayed him last year?’ Metternich queried.
‘I imagine he will ask his brother-in-law for asylum,’ Talleyrand suggested. ‘I know him, I know his strength of will. He is a hard man to refuse. Murat will take him in. Then, when the moment is ripe, Napoleon will seize power. The kingdom of Naples will be his new base of operations.’
It made some sense,Arthur reflected. Murat’s domains would provide him with an army large enough to threaten the rest of the Italian kingdoms.
The Tsar cleared his throat and leaned towards the conference table. ‘The question is, gentlemen, what shall we do about this?’
Talleyrand looked at him with a faintly surprised expression. ‘Do, your majesty? Why, we should organise an army to march on Napoleon and crush him, before he has time to prepare. That much is obvious. Meanwhile, the Congress must continue. The peace settlement is more important than the pursuit of a criminal, however notorious.’
The other delegates nodded their agreement, but Arthur was not so certain. He had witnessed the strong loyalties that Bonaparte still commanded in Paris. If the former Emperor raised his banner in Naples, then many thousands would flock to join him, and those who remained would be sure to unsettle the new regime in France.
Over the next few days messages were sent out from Vienna to mobilise the allied armies. The audacity of Bonaparte’s escape had shocked the delegates, but there was little sense that he posed an immediate danger to Europe, and the powers continued their deliberations as they awaited confirmation of his location. It was four days after Colonel Campbell broke the news of his disappearance that the truth was learned. One of Talleyrand’s aides entered the chamber just before the midday recess and whispered urgently in his ear. Arthur watched as the French Foreign Minister’s face drained of blood. Metternich was speaking, reading verbatim from notes, and had not noticed the little drama.
Talleyrand rapped his knuckles sharply on the table and the Austrian minister looked up irritably, stopping his address mid-sentence.
‘Pardon my interruption,’ said Talleyrand as he looked round the table, ‘but I have just been informed that Napoleon landed on the coast of France six days ago. He has declared that he has come to reclaim his throne and is marching on Paris.’
There was a moment’s stunned silence, then Arthur spoke. ‘Did the local authorities oppose him?’
‘On the contrary. I am told that they went over to him without a shot being fired.’
‘By God, that’s bad news. Others will surely follow. If he gathers them up en route to Paris, I fear he will not be stopped.’ Arthur cleared his throat and spoke as clearly as he could, to ensure that the Tsar caught every word. ‘Your majesties, ministers, delegates, this changes everything. The peace of Europe is once more endangered. Every available soldier must be made ready to fight. If Bonaparte makes good his claim, then he will have the armies of France at his back again. We must face him on the battlefield once more.’
‘We must do more than that,’ Talleyrand interrupted. ‘We must ensure that he never troubles Europe again. I beg to move that before the Congress is suspended to deal with the threat it passes one last resolution. That Napoleon Bonaparte is declared an international outlaw. In the event that he is taken, then the powers gathered here shall jointly decree that he is beyond the protection of the law.’
‘I cannot agree to that,’ Arthur protested. ‘It would be nothing less than an incitement to assassination. Murder. Regardless of the ethical issues, it is a game that two can play. I would urge you to reflect on that.’
‘Nevertheless, it is a step we must take,’ Talleyrand countered. ‘Speaking for France, I propose the resolution.’
‘And Prussia supports it!’ King Frederick William blurted out.‘Death is exactly what that tyrant deserves.’
‘Very well,’ Talleyrand turned to Metternich. The Austrian nodded, and Talleyrand fixed his gaze on the Tsar. ‘Your majesty? What do you say?’
Alexander did not respond immediately, and raised a hand to touch his forehead. His lips pressed together in a tight line, and then he drew a deep breath and nodded. ‘I support the resolution.’
‘Four to one,’Talleyrand faced Arthur again. ‘Will Britain unite with the other powers, or will you still extend the protection of the law to Bonaparte?’
Arthur stared back coldly. He was being forced into a position he had no wish to be in. The disposal of Napoleon was in the interests of every man, woman and child of Europe, yet Arthur could not bring himself to cast aside the civilised values England had striven to preserve throughout the long years of the struggle to free Europe from tyranny. Nor would the British government he anticipated. Yet Talleyrand was right. If Britain failed to declare Bonaparte an outlaw then he would be sure to seize on that as an admission of his legitimacy. Worse still, he would see it as a schism in the ranks of his enemies and would exploit it to divide them. With a weary sigh Arthur nodded reluctantly. ‘Very well. I support the resolution.’
At once Talleyrand turned to one of his aides. ‘Have that drafted for the delegates to sign. Now, I suggest that the Congress goes into recess. Are we agreed? Yes?’
The delegates rose and began to file out of the room. Arthur felt a hand touch his shoulder as he reached the door and turned to find the Tsar looking at him gravely.
‘Your majesty?’
‘What will you do, my dear Duke?’
‘I must send word to my family to quit Paris as soon as possible. Then I will conclude our business here as swiftly as I can and make for Brussels to take up my command.’
‘Ah. Then it is for you to save the world again.’
‘That is the burden of us all, your majesty. The great test of our age is upon us.’
‘And if we fail?’
Arthur stared at him for a moment and shook his head.‘We dare not.’
Chapter 54
Napoleon
Laffrey, near Grenoble, 7 March 1815
‘Why have your men stopped?’ Napoleon demanded, as his carriage rattled to a halt on the rough track.
General Cambronne, the commander of the company of guardsmen leading the advance, pointed down the track in the direction of Grenoble.‘We ran into a battalion of infantry shortly after we set off this morning, sire.’