Poucelle glanced towards the double doors on the far side of the sitting room. ‘What’s keeping him?’
Napoleon smiled. ‘Calm yourself, General. Talleyrand can be trusted.’
‘Really?’ Poucelle raised his eyebrows.‘What makes you think that? The man is a politician, after all.’
Poucelle had spoken without thinking, and glanced hurriedly at Lucien and Foudrier. ‘I meant no offence, gentlemen. It’s just that I trust some politicians less than others.’
‘No offence taken.’ Lucien shrugged. ‘I feel the same way about most soldiers.’
Poucelle glared back at him, lips compressed into a thin line. Napoleon could not help laughing, and wagged a finger at his brother.
‘Take care, Lucien. General Poucelle is more than a match for you, despite his years.’
The backhanded compliment made Poucelle add a frown to his expression as he grumbled,‘I did not come here to be insulted by a pair of young striplings. Be so good as to respect my rank and my experience, if not my person.’
Napoleon shot a warning look at his brother and Lucien nodded gently as he responded. ‘I apologise, General. It’s just that I don’t think that soldiers have an exclusive claim on morality and honour. They have as much predilection to corruption and personal ambition as the rest of us.’
‘Including your brother?’ Poucelle shot back.
Lucien looked quickly at Napoleon and nodded. ‘Including Napoleon. Otherwise we wouldn’t be meeting here.’
They were interrupted by the sound of the doors being wrenched open and turned to see Talleyrand entering the room. He shut the doors firmly and turned to limp across the room towards his guests. A birth defect had crippled his foot and he walked carefully and hid his pain behind a fixed smile.
‘Gentlemen, I apologise for keeping you waiting. I had a visitor who simply refused to leave my house until I had to be quite firm with her.’
‘I can imagine,’ Lucien muttered and Napoleon realised the implication in an instant, and looked more closely at Talleyrand. He was in his early forties, curly hair streaked with grey, yet he was the kind of fine-looking man Napoleon could imagine drawing admiring glances from the women of the salons Talleyrand frequented. He pulled up a chair and joined the others with polite nods of greeting.
‘Are we all present? Good. Then perhaps we should waste no time in pleasantries, since we are drawn here by common interest and not friendship.’ He turned to Napoleon.‘Now then, General, you have already spoken to me and some of the others, but perhaps you should explain the purpose of arranging this meeting to the rest.’
Napoleon nodded. He appreciated his host’s directness. Talleyrand was clearly not one of those procrastinating politicians who were paralysing France. At first Napoleon had not been sure about including Talleyrand in his inner circle of friends and confidants, but Lucien had vouched for the foreign minister. Since arriving in Paris, soon after the armistice with Austria had been agreed, Lucien had quickly made some useful political connections. He had traded on his brother’s reputation and used his astute judgement to foster friendships in the salons of the capital. Napoleon had been away from Paris for nearly a year and a half and the shifting alliances meant that his understanding of the political scene was tenuous. For the present he must rely on Lucien’s word.
‘Very well,’ he began. ‘Let’s be blunt, gentlemen. France needs strong government. By that I mean a body of statesmen who can co-ordinate the policies necessary to guarantee that France is ruled efficiently, in peace and war. Even though we have defeated Austria, I have little doubt that our countries will be at war again in a matter of years.When that happens we cannot afford to have our military operations left to the whims of bungling amateurs. I would have beaten the enemy far more swiftly and conclusively if the Army of Italy had been properly supplied and reinforced. It occurred to me, more than once, that my efforts in Italy were being deliberately sabotaged by my political masters here in Paris.’
Deputy Foudrier cleared his throat. ‘That’s quite an accusation, General. Do you have any proof ?’
Napoleon shrugged. ‘No. But I know how men’s minds work. There are many senior officers who have been withdrawn from active service and would like nothing better than for me to fail. There are many politicians who resent having to show gratitude to those of us who saved them from the royalist uprising two years ago. Then there are those, like General Pichegru, who despise anyone who embraces Jacobin sentiments.’ Napoleon paused and patted his chest.‘I freely admit that I am proud of my Jacobin politics. The party is the true conscience of the revolution, and the best guarantee of its survival. Most of you are Jacobins. We shared the dangers when we stuck to our beliefs after the fall of Robespierre. That is why I can place my trust in you, my comrades.’
‘All of us, except our host,’ Foudrier cut in. ‘He had the good fortune to be safely abroad while we risked our necks.’
‘I was on diplomatic service,’Talleyrand replied evenly.‘I could not help that. But my sympathies were, and are, the same as yours. The difference is that I did not proclaim them from the rooftops and get myself arrested. That is why I am foreign minister today, and not a mere deputy, my dear Foudrier.’
Foudrier glared at him for a moment before continuing bitterly,‘When I am old, and people ask me what I did during the great crisis of the revolution, I will say I held fast to my beliefs and defended them in public, even when others were being dragged off to the guillotine. What will you be able to say, I wonder?’
‘Me?’ Talleyrand smiled faintly. ‘I shall say that I survived.’
‘Gentlemen!’ Napoleon interrupted. ‘This is not helpful. Foudrier, the past is the past. Leave it be.What matters now is the future, and what we can do to make sure that the revolution retains its hold on France.’ He paused to make sure that he had their attention.
‘Peace,’ Joseph said quietly.‘Peace is the best way to ensure the success of the revolution. It’s what the people want.We give them peace and they’ll give us their gratitude and their loyalty. The principles of the revolution will live on.’
‘Precisely, brother.’ Napoleon nodded.‘Which is why England will never give us peace. How can they, while the revolution serves as an example of what common people can achieve against the tyrants who oppress them? Every day that the French republic lives on makes the rulers of England weaker. So they cannot rest until the republic is defeated. England or France must win the war, and the other must be utterly defeated. There is no third way. That is the vision that we must hold to, and must do our best to persuade other patriots to embrace. That is the purpose of this meeting.’
‘And if we can’t persuade them?’ asked Lucien.
‘Then we must be ready to take control of France . . . if ever the time comes.’
Poucelle stirred uncomfortably. ‘Some would say that is treason.’
‘No,’ Napoleon replied sharply. ‘Treason is a betrayal of your country and your people. We are protecting France.’
Talleyrand smiled at the use of the present tense. ‘Not yet, we’re not. Let us hope that we never have to assume dictatorial powers.’ He turned towards Napoleon. ‘That is what you are suggesting?’
‘I’m suggesting that true patriots do what they must in the circumstances.’
‘Good God!’ Talleyrand laughed. ‘For a soldier, you have an unnervingly sound grasp of the political tongue.’
Napoleon glowered. ‘I meant what I said.’
‘Oh, I’m sure you did. That’s what worries me.’ Talleyrand raised his hand to forestall any outburst from Napoleon or Lucien. ‘But, as you pointed out, extreme situations demand extreme responses. The trick is making sure that power is surrendered when the crisis has passed.’