Uncle Bernac - The Man Of Action - (2)

'What is this?' he asked, holding up a little lady in hunting costume of amaranth and gold with a toque and plume of white feathers.
    'That is for the Empress's hunt, Sire.'
    'You should have the waist rather lower,' said Napoleon, who had very definite opinions about ladies' dresses.  'These cursed fashions seem to be the only thing in my dominions which I cannot regulate.  My tailor, Duchesne, takes three inches from my coat-tails, and all the armies and fleets of France cannot prevent him.  Who is this?'
    He had picked up a very gorgeous figure in a green coat.
    'That is the grand master of the hunt, Sire.'
    'Then it is you, Berthier.  How do you like your new costume?  And this in red?'
    'That is the Arch-Chancellor.'
    'And the violet?'
    'That is the Grand Chamberlain.'
    The Emperor was as much amused as a child with a new toy.  He formed little groups of the figures upon the table, so that he might have an idea of how the dignitaries would look when they chatted together. Then he threw them all back into the basket.
    'Very good,' said he.  'You and David have done your work very well, Isabey.  You will submit these designs to the Court outfitters and have an estimate for the expense.  You may tell Lenormand that if she ventures to send in such an account as the last which she sent to the Empress she shall see the inside of Vincennes.  You would not think it right, Monsieur de Laval, to spend twenty-five thousand francs upon a single dress, even though it were for Mademoiselle Eugenie de Choiseul.'
    Was there anything which this wizard of a man did not know?  What could my love affairs be to him amidst the clash of armies and the struggles of nations?  When I looked at him, half in amazement and half in fear, that pleasant boyish smile lit up his pale face, and his plump little hand rested for an instant upon my shoulder.  His eyes were of a bright blue when he was amused, though they would turn dark when he was thoughtful, and steel-grey in moments of excitement.
    'You were surprised when I told you a little while ago about your encounter with the Englishman in the village inn.  You are still more surprised now when I tell you about a certain young lady.  You must certainly have thought that I was very badly served by my agents in England if I did not know such important details as these.'
    'I cannot conceive, Sire, why such trifles should be reported to you, or why you should for one instant remember them.'
    'You are certainly a very modest young man, and I hope you will not lose that charming quality when you have been for a little time at my Court. So you think that your own private affairs are of no importance to me?'
    'I do not know why they should be, Sire.'
    'What is the name of your great-uncle?'
    'He is the Cardinal de Laval de Montmorency.'
    'Precisely.  And where is he?'
    'He is in Germany.'
    'Quite so--in Germany, and not at Notre Dame, where I should have placed him.  Who is your first cousin?'
    'The Duke de Rohan.'
    'And where is he?'
    'In London.'
    'Yes, in London, and not at the Tuileries, where he might have had what he liked for the asking.  I wonder if I were to fall whether I should have followers as faithful as those of the Bourbons.  Would the men that I have made go into exile and refuse all offers until I should return? Come here, Berthier!' he took his favourite by the ear with the caressing gesture which was peculiar to him.  'Could I count upon you, you rascal--eh?'
    'I do not understand you, Sire.'  Our conversation had been carried on in a voice which had made it inaudible to the other people in the room, but now they were all listening to what Berthier had to say.
    'If I were driven out, would you go into exile also?'
    'No, Sire.'
    'Diable! At least you are frank.'
    'I could not go into exile, Sire.'
    'And why?'
    'Because I should be dead, Sire.'
    Napoleon began to laugh.
    'And there are some who say that our Berthier is dull-witted,' said he. 'Well, I think I am pretty sure of you, Berthier, for although I am fond of you for reasons of my own I do not think that you would be of much value to anyone else.  Now I could not say that of you, Monsieur Talleyrand.  You would change very quickly to a new master as you have changed from an old one.  You have a genius, you know, for adapting yourself.'
    There was nothing which the Emperor loved more than to suddenly produce little scenes of this sort which made everybody very uncomfortable, for no one could tell what awkward or compromising question he was going to put to them next.  At present, however, they all forgot their own fears of what might come in their interest at the reply which the famous diplomatist might make to a suggestion which everybody knew to be so true.  He stood, leaning upon his black ebony stick, with his bulky shoulders stooping forward, and an amused smile upon his face, as if the most innocent of compliments had been addressed to him.  One of his few titles to respect is that he always met Napoleon upon equal terms, and never condescended to fawn upon him or to flatter him.
    'You think I should desert you, Sire, if your enemies offered me more than you have given me?'
    'I am perfectly sure that you would.'
    'Well, really I cannot answer for myself, Sire, until the offer has been made.  But it will have to be a very large one.  You see, apart from my very nice hotel in the Rue St. Florentin, and the two hundred thousand or so which you are pleased to allow me, there is my position as the first minister in Europe.  Really, Sire, unless they put me on the throne I cannot see how I can better my position.'
    'No, I think I have you pretty safe,' said Napoleon, looking hard at him with thoughtful eyes.  'By the way, Talleyrand, you must either marry Madame Grand or get rid of her, for I cannot have a scandal about the Court.'
    I was astounded to hear so delicate and personal a matter discussed in this public way, but this also was characteristic of the rule of this extraordinary man, who proclaimed that he looked upon delicacy and good taste as two of the fetters with which mediocrity attempted to cripple genius.  There was no question of private life, from the choosing of a wife to the discarding of a mistress, that this young conqueror of thirty-six did not claim the right of discussing and of finally settling.  Talleyrand broke once more into his benevolent but inscrutable smile.
    'I suppose that it is from early association, Sire,' said he, 'but my instincts are to avoid marriage.'
    Napoleon began to laugh.
    'I forget sometimes that it is really the Bishop of Autun to whom I am speaking,' said he.  'I think that perhaps I have interest enough with the Pope to ask him, in return for any little attention which we gave him at the Coronation, to show you some leniency in this matter.  She is a clever woman, this Madame Grand.  I have observed that she listens with attention.'
    Talleyrand shrugged his rounded shoulders.  'Intellect in a woman is not always an advantage, Sire.  A clever woman compromises her husband. A stupid woman only compromises herself.'
    'The cleverest woman,' said Napoleon, 'is the woman who is clever enough to conceal her cleverness.  The women in France have always been a danger, for they are cleverer than the men.  They cannot understand that it is their hearts and not their heads that we want.  When they have had influence upon a monarch, they have invariably ruined his career.  Look at Henry the Fourth and Louis the Fourteenth.  They are all ideologists, dreamers, sentimentalists, full of emotion and energy, but without logic or foresight.  Look at that accursed Madame de Stael!  Look at the Salons of the Quartier St. Germain!  Their eternal clack, clack, clack give me more trouble than the fleet of England.  Why cannot they look after their babies and their needlework?  I suppose you think that these are very dreadful opinions, Monsieur de Laval?'
    It was not an easy question to answer, so I was silent.
    'You have not at your age become a practical man,' said the Emperor. 'You will understand then.  I dare say that I thought as you do at the time when the stupid Parisians were saying what a misalliance the widow of the famous General de Beauharnais was making by marrying the unknown Buonaparte.  It was a beautiful dream!  There are nine inns in a single day's journey between Milan and Mantua, and I wrote a letter to my wife from each of them.  Nine letters in a day--but one becomes disillusioned, monsieur.  One learns to accept things as they are.'
    I could not but think what a beautiful young man he must have been before he had learned to accept things as they are.  The glamour, the romance--what a bald dead thing is life without it!  His own face had clouded over as if that old life had perhaps had a charm which the Emperor's crown had never given.  It may be that those nine letters written in one day at wayside inns had brought him more true joy than all the treaties by which he had torn provinces from his neighbours. But the sentiment passed from his face, and he came back in his sudden concise fashion to my own affairs.
    'Eugenie de Choiseul is the niece of the Duc de Choiseul, is she not?' he asked.
    'Yes, Sire.'
    'You are affianced!'
    'Yes, Sire.'
    He shook his head impatiently.
    'If you wish to advance yourself in my Court, Monsieur de Laval,' said he,' you must commit such matters to my care.  Is it likely that I can look with indifference upon a marriage between emigres--an alliance between my enemies?'
    'But she shares my opinions, Sire.'
    'Ta, ta, ta, at her age one has no opinions.  She has the emigre blood in her veins, and it will come out.  Your marriage shall be my care, Monsieur de Laval.  And I wish you to come to the Pont de Briques that you may be presented to the Empress.  What is it, Constant?'
    'There is a lady outside who desires to see your Majesty.  Shall I tell her to come later?'
    'A lady!' cried the Emperor smiling.  'We do not see many faces in the camp which have not a moustache upon them.  Who is she?  What does she want?'
    'Her name, Sire, is Mademoiselle Sibylle Bernac.'
    'What!' cried Napoleon.  'It must be the daughter of old Bernac of Grosbois.  By the way, Monsieur de Laval, he is your uncle upon your mother's side, is he not?'
    I may have flushed with shame as I acknowledged it, for the Emperor read my feelings.
    'Well, well, he has not a very savoury trade, it is true, and yet I can assure you that it is one which is very necessary to me.  By the way, this uncle of yours, as I understand, holds the estates which should have descended to you, does he not?'
    'Yes, Sire.'
    His blue eyes flashed suspicion at me.
    'I trust that you are not joining my service merely in the hope of having them restored to you.'
    'No, Sire.  It is my ambition to make a career for myself.'
    'It is a prouder thing,' said the Emperor, 'to found a family than merely to perpetuate one.  I could not restore your estates, Monsieur de Laval, for things have come to such a pitch in France that if one once begins restorations the affair is endless.  It would shake all public confidence.  I have no more devoted adherents than the men who hold land which does not belong to them.  As long as they serve me, as your uncle serves me, the land must remain with them.  But what can this young lady require of me?  Show her in, Constant!'
    An instant later my cousin Sibylle was conducted into the room. Her face was pale and set, but her large dark eyes were filled with resolution, and she carried herself like a princess.
    'Well, mademoiselle, why do you come here?  What is it that you want?' asked the Emperor in the brusque manner which he adopted to women, even if he were wooing them.
    Sibylle glanced round, and as our eyes met for an instant I felt that my presence had renewed her courage.  She looked bravely at the Emperor as she answered him.
    'I come, Sire, to implore a favour of you.'
    'Your father's daughter has certainly claims upon me, mademoiselle. What is it that you wish?'
    'I do not ask it in my father's name, but in my own.  I implore you, Sire, to spare the life of Monsieur Lucien Lesage, who was arrested yesterday upon a charge of treason.  He is a student, Sire--a mere dreamer who has lived away from the world and has been made a tool by designing men.'
    'A dreamer!' cried the Emperor harshly.  'They are the most dangerous of all.'  He took a bundle of notes from his table and glanced them over. 'I presume that he is fortunate enough to be your lover, mademoiselle?'
    Sibylle's pale face flushed, and she looked down before the Emperor's keen sardonic glance.
    'I have his examination here.  He does not come well out of it.  I confess that from what I see of the young man's character I should not say that he is worthy of your love.'
    'I implore you to spare him, Sire.'
    'What you ask is impossible, mademoiselle.  I have been conspired against from two sides--by the Bourbons and by the Jacobins.  Hitherto I have been too long-suffering, and they have been encouraged by my patience.  Since Cadoudal and the Due d'Enghien died the Bourbons have been quiet.  Now I must teach the same lesson to these others.'
    I was astonished and am still astonished at the passion with which my brave and pure cousin loved this cowardly and low-minded man, though it is but in accordance with that strange law which draws the extremes of nature together.  As she heard the Emperor's stern reply the last sign of colour faded from her pale face, and her eyes were dimmed with despairing tears, which gleamed upon her white cheeks like dew upon the petals of a lily.
    'For God's sake, Sire!  For the love of your mother spare him!' she cried, falling upon her knees at the Emperor's feet.  'I will answer for him that he never offends you again.'
    'Tut, tut!' cried Napoleon angrily, turning upon his heel and walking impatiently up and down the room.  'I cannot grant you what you ask, mademoiselle.  When I say so once it is finished.  I cannot have my decisions in high matters of State affected by the intrusion of women. The Jacobins have been dangerous of late, and an example must be made or we shall have the Faubourg St. Antoine upon our hands once more.'
    The Emperors set face and firm manner showed it was hopeless, and yet my cousin persevered as no one but a woman who pleads for her lover would have dared to do.
    'He is harmless, Sire.'
    'His death will frighten others.'
    'Spare him and I will answer for his loyalty.'
    'What you ask is impossible.'
    Constant and I raised her from the ground.
    'That is right, Monsieur de Laval,' said the Emperor.  'This interview can lead to nothing.  Remove your cousin from the room!'
    But she had again turned to him with a face which showed that even now all hope had not been abandoned.
    'Sire,' she cried.  'You say that an example must be made.  There is Toussac--!'
    'Ah, if I could lay my hands upon Toussac!'
    'He is the dangerous man.  It was he and my father who led Lucien on. If an example must be made it should be an example of the guilty rather than of the innocent.'
    'They are both guilty.  And, besides, we have our hands upon the one but not upon the other.'
    'But if I could find him?'
    Napoleon thought for a moment.
    'If you do,' said he, 'Lesage will be forgiven!'
    'But I cannot do it in a day.'
    'How long do you ask?'
    'A week at the least.'
    'Then he has a respite of a week.  If you can find Toussac in the time, Lesage will be pardoned.  If not he will die upon the eighth day.  It is enough.  Monsieur de Laval, remove your cousin, for I have matters of more importance to attend to.  I shall expect you one evening at the Pont de Briques, when you are ready to be presented to the Empress.'
    CHAPTER XIII