Roger and Zanthe had fixed the date of their marriage as August 29th. On the evening of August 22nd, just as the sun was about to set, a Lieutenant of Bonaparte's favourite regiment, the Guides, rode up to the villa on a lathered horse, bringing a despatch. Tearing it open, Roger saw it was in Bourrienne's writing and was an order signed by the General-in-Chief. It read:
I require you to report to me immediately. You will accompany the bearer of this with a minimum of delay.
Roger was greatly puzzled, but felt that he could not possibly ignore the summons. Thinking it unlikely that he would be away for long, he told Zanthe that he would send her a message as soon as he possibly could and, in any case, would get permission to return for their we'ding day. While he was taking leave of her and the Sarodopulouses, a horse was being saddled for him. Ten minutes later he rode away with the Lieutenant of Guides.
When Roger asked the Lieutenant where they were making for the latter replied, '1 regret, mon Colonel, that I am under orders not to reveal the whereabouts of the General-in-Chief; but we have no great distance to go. We must, though, make all speed, because I lost my way when coming to find you and so was more than an hour behind time in delivering my despatch.'
The Lieutenant had turned west and, alternately trotting and cantering, they rode along the coast until they reached the little bay in which Roger had come upon the British landing party collecting springwater. Darkness had fallen, but a solitary boat lay there in which were men with lanterns. Their light showed thirty or forty saddled but riderless horses wandering loose about the beach. As soon as Roger reached the shore, a naval officer in the boat shouted to him to be quick and come aboard.
More puzzled than ever he dismounted, abandoned his horse and, followed by the Lieutenant, scrambled over the gunwale. The boat pushed off at once and, after fifteen minutes' rowing, came alongside a ship that Roger judged to be a frigate. The crew were in the act of setting sail.
He found a group of men on the quarter-deck which was lit by flambeaux. In its centre stood Bonaparte. With him were Berthier, Murat, Lannes, Marmont, Bessieres, Andreossi, Monge, Berthol-let, Bourrienne, Duroc, de Beauharnais, and the other members of his personal Staff. Marching up to him, Roger saluted and said:
' Mon General. You sent for me.'
Bonaparte nodded. ' You are late, and lucky to be taken off in time.'
'Your pardon, but in time for what? ' Roger asked.
' Why, to accompany me back to France, of course,' snapped the pale-faced little Corsican. ' Where else should I be going in a frigate? '
Roger stared at him aghast. The boat in which he had been brought aboard was being hauled in. The frigate's sails were filled with wind and she was already moving through the water. It was now too late to ask to be set ashore. Bleakly, he realized that his marriage to Zanthe would now never take place. Three weeks earlier he had overcome the temptation to desert her. Now Fate had decreed that without having any say in the matter he should do so. But he was not going home.
Back into the Secret Battle
There was tremendous jubilation aboard the frigate. It was fifteen months since Bonaparte's expedition had sailed from Toulon and those who accompanied him had said good-bye to their wives and sweethearts. During thirteen of those months they had lived in an utterly alien land, where white women were as rare as white blackbirds, where wine was almost unobtainable and where the food was unappetizing and monotonous. As soldiers it was their trade to face danger but there had been added to it terrible marches under a blistering sun, days of torture from thirst, fear of the plague and a never-ending irritation from swarms of flies. Now, the seemingly impossible had happened. The nightmare that was Egypt was being left behind. The frigate was actually under sail. They were on their way back to France, which meant everything in life they held dear. Roger could not wonder that joy was depicted on every face.
He soon learned the reason for his inclusion and why it had been so belated. When those selected by Bonaparte to accompany him were already on board, Marmont happened to mention to Eugene de Beauharnis the help that Roger had given him in his office at Alexandria during the emergency caused by the Turkish landing. Eugene spoke to his step-father and the General-in-Chief at once agreed that ' le brave Breuc' must not be left behind if there was still time to fetch him. As Roger thanked the chubby-faced youngster he felt that never had so handsome a return been made for a pair of pistols as for those he had given Eugene when only a boy of fifteen.
From Eugene he learned that there were two frigates, Muriou and Carrdre, under the command of Vice-Admiral Gantheaume.
They had been sheltering in the harbour of Alexandria and, at Bonaparte's orders, had been secretly prepared for sea. But Bonaparte's departure had been made possible only because Sir Sidney Smith had had to withdraw his Squadron to Cyprus for repairs, thus raising the blockade temporarily and leaving the coast clear.
Bonaparte had packed nearly five hundred passengers into the two frigates. They consisted of the pick of his officers, a number of the most gifted savants, a big bodyguard of his Guides and many personal servants. As Roger heard this he realized that had he been left behind the fate he had dreaded would have been more likely than ever to overtake him. Bonaparte had not only abandoned his Army, but had weakened it immeasurably by taking with him the greater part of its brains and guts.
Of the best Generals, only Kleber, Desaix and Junot had been left behind, and the two latter only because they were too distant to recall in time. Desaix was in command of the forces in Upper Egypt and Junot, with his Division, was on the Syrian border. Kleber had been nominated General-in-Chief. He was a fine fighting man, but had little talent for administration; and it was that, above all, which was needed at headquarters if the Army was to be kept from becoming mutinous from despair and shattered morale.
But at the moment those who had escaped were not thinking of the fate to which they had left their comrades. The wind was light but steady, the sea calm and the frigate carried a good stock of wine. For hours they laughed, drank and sang gay choruses. Roger joined in. It would have been contrary to his nature not to do so; but, later, when he lay in a narrow cabin, cheek-by-jowl with the other aides-de-camp, it was a long time before he could get to sleep from picturing Zanthe's distress when she learned that he had left her.
Next day he had a talk with his old friend Bourrienne, and learned what had led to their master talking his momentous decision. At the recent battle of Aboukir the Turks had taken a number of captives. Sir Sidney Smith had intervened to prevent their being murdered, then arranged with Bonaparte an exchange of prisoners. The Commodore had also sent ashore a number of French wounded whom he had rescued from Jaffa. To show appreciation of the Englishman's chivalrous behaviour, Bonaparte had sent some presents to him. Sir Sidney had returned the compilment, and among his gifts had been a bundle of news-sheets covering events in Europe up to June 10th.
It was ten months since any official news had been received from France. By way of Algiers and Tripoli, or Greece and Crete, carried by blockade-runners, rumours had trickled through to the effect that Austria was again at war with France and that all was not well in Italy. But it was not until the night of August 2nd-3rd, during which Bonaparte had sat up until the small hours in Alexandria reading these news-sheets, that he had realized the seriousness of the situation. The following morning he had exclaimed to Bourrienne: