Desiree

by Annemarie Selinko

  Fouché breathed hard and mopped his brow.

  ‘The irony of it, Your Highness!’

  I said nothing.

  ‘We cannot capitulate and preserve Paris from destruction until General Bonaparte has left France. The allies are at Versailles. We cannot delay another moment, Your Highness. General Bonaparte must leave Malmaison to-day and go to Rochefort.’

  ‘Why Rochefort?’

  ‘I am afraid the allies are going to insist that we shall hand over General Bonaparte to them,’ said Talleyrand, yawning furtively. ‘But on abdicating General Bonaparte demanded that two frigates of the French Navy should be put at his disposal. These frigates have been waiting for him in vain at the harbour at Rochefort.’

  ‘The British Navy has blockaded every port. I am told that the cruiser Bellerophon is lying at anchor alongside the frigates at Rochefort,’ said Fouché.

  ‘What have I to do with it?’ I asked.

  Talleyrand smiled.

  ‘You, my dear Crown Princess, as a member of the Swedish royal family, are in a position to speak to General Bonaparte in the name of the allies.’

  ‘At the same time,’ said Fouché, hastily pulling a sealed envelope out of his breast pocket, ‘Your Highness could hand the answer of the French Government to General Bonaparte.’

  ‘I am afraid the French Government will have to send one of its couriers to Malmaison with the document.’

  Suddenly Fouché was furious again. ‘And the demand to go abroad?’ he shouted. ‘Or to put himself at the disposal of the allies, so that France may at last have peace?’

  I shook my head slowly. ‘You are mistaken, gentlemen. I am here only as a private person.’

  ‘My child, you have not been told the whole truth.’ It was Lafayette who spoke now for the first time, in a deep, calm, kindly voice. ‘This General Bonaparte has assembled a few battalions of young men, daredevils ready for anything. Our fear is that the General will be carried away and do something that cannot possibly change the course of events but may cost yet more lives. And lives are precious, my child.’

  I bent my head.

  The calm voice continued:

  ‘The wars of General Bonaparte have cost Europe more than ten million lives already.’

  I looked up, and over the shoulders of the three men I saw the portrait of Napoleon as First Consul. ‘I shall try, gentlemen,’ I heard myself say. Then Fouché pushed the sealed envelope into my hand, and offered General Becker as escort and a whole battalion of the Guards for my protection. I refused both. I would only take my Swedish ADC; I certainly needed no protection.

  Yvette gave me my hat and gloves. Talleyrand said something about being grateful and ‘perhaps’ granting ‘special concessions to Madame Julie’. But I paid no attention to him.

  ‘My child, if you permit I shall go and sit in your garden and there await your return,’ said General Lafayette.

  ‘Even if it takes all day?’

  ‘Even if it takes all day, and my thoughts will accompany you!’

  Close behind us, as I drove with Count Rosen to Malmaison, rode a man on horseback. It was General Becker, who by order of the French Government had to keep watch on the former Emperor of the French.

  Close to Malmaison the road was barricaded. The soldiers manning the barricade let us pass as soon as they saw General Becker. The entrance into the park was heavily guarded too. Becker dismounted and opened the gates for us. I was full of apprehension, and tried to tell myself that this was just another little trip to Malmaison, where I knew every garden seat and every rose tree.

  Meneval and the Duke of Vicenza received me on the steps, and a moment later I was surrounded by familiar faces – Hortense, Julie, Joseph, Lucien. From the open window of the drawing-room Madame Letitia beckoned to me.

  ‘Joseph,’ I said, nervously, ‘I should like to speak to your brother, immediately.’

  ‘How kind of you, Désirée! But you must wait a few minutes. The Emperor is expecting an important communication from the Government, and he wishes to be alone meanwhile.’

  ‘I have it with me,’ I said. ‘And I want to speak to General Bonaparte.’

  I saw Joseph’s face pale when I said ‘General Bonaparte’.

  ‘His Majesty is sitting on the bench in the maze. You know the maze, don’t you?’

  ‘I know the park very well indeed,’ I answered, and turning to Rosen I said: ‘Wait for me. I must see this through alone.’

  I knew how to find my way through the maze so as to come up to the bench unobserved – that little white bench with just room for two.

  There I found Napoleon. He wore the green uniform of the Chasseurs. He was sitting with his chin in his hand, staring unseeing into the flowering hedge in front of him.

  When I saw him all my fear fell away, and with it every tender memory. Before I could call to him he turned a little and caught sight of my white frock.

  Josephine,’ he said, ‘lunch time already?’

  Only my silence brought him back to reality. He recognised me and said in surprise, and with evident pleasure: ‘Eugenie, you have come after all!’

  No one heard him call me Eugenie, no one saw him move to make room for me. When I sat down he looked at me with a smile.

  ‘It is many years,’ he said, ‘since you and I looked at a flowering hedge side by side.’

  I still said nothing.

  ‘You remember, don’t you?’

  He smoothed an imaginary strand of hair back from his forehead.

  ‘I am waiting for a very important message from the Government. And I am not used to waiting!’

  ‘You need wait no longer, General Bonaparte. Here is the Government’s answer,’ I said, handing him the letter. I did not look at him as he read it.

  ‘How is it that you, Madame, bring the letter? Does the Government not even think it worthwhile to send me its answer through a minister or an officer? Why is a lady who is paying me a chance visit charged with the message?’

  ‘I am not a chance visitor, General Bonaparte,’ I said, bracing myself. ‘I am the Crown Princess of Sweden.’

  ‘And what do you mean by that?’ he said between his teeth.

  ‘The French Government has asked me to tell you that the allies will only enter into negotiation for the surrender of Paris, and so save Paris from destruction, on condition that you leave before to-night.’

  ‘I offer the Government to beat back the enemy before the gates of Paris, and the Government refuses,’ he roared.

  ‘The allied advance guards have reached Versailles,’ I said. ‘Are you going to allow yourself to be captured at Malmaison?’

  ‘Don’t trouble, Madame. I know how to defend myself.’

  ‘That’s just it! The Government wants to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.’

  His eyes narrowed to two slits. ‘Indeed? What if it is necessary for the honour of a nation?’

  ‘I could tell him of all the millions who fell for the honour of the country,’ I thought. ‘But he would be better at figures than I, it wouldn’t be much good. No, I must just sit here and not give in.’

  Napoleon had risen and wanted to pace up and down. But there wasn’t room enough. ‘Madame,’ he said, standing so close in front of me that I had to throw back my head to see his face. ‘You say the French Government wants me to leave. And the allies?’ His face was distorted.

  ‘The allies insist on your imprisonment, General.’

  He looked at me for one more second. Then he turned his back on me and leaned against the hedge. ‘This piece of paper which you have brought me from the self-styled French Government directs my attention for the second time to the frigates at Rochefort. I am free to go where I like, apparently. Why, Madame, does the Government not hand me over?’

  ‘Probably the gentlemen hesitate to do that.’

  He turned back to me. ‘All I need do, then, is to go on board one of these ships and tell the captain where to go, and—’

  ‘The port of R
ochefort, like all other ports, is being blockaded by the British Navy. You wouldn’t get far, General.’

  He didn’t roar, he didn’t rage, he sat down quietly on the bench next to me, breathing hard.

  ‘When I saw you just now, Madame, and recognised you, I thought for one short moment that my youth had come back. I was mistaken, Your Royal Highness.’

  ‘Why? I remember the evenings very well when we raced each other. You were a General then, a very young and handsome General. Sometimes you even let me win. But you’ve probably forgotten that.’

  ‘No, Eugenie.’

  ‘And once – it was late in the evening and the field beyond our garden was quite dark – you told me that you knew your destiny. Your face was as pale as the moonlight. That was the first time I was afraid of you.’

  ‘And that was the first time I kissed you, Eugenie.’

  I smiled. ‘You were thinking of the dowry, General.’

  ‘Not only, Eugenie. Really, not only—’

  After that neither of us said anything. I realised that he was giving me sidelong glances, that he had had an idea connected with me. ‘Lives are precious,’ I thought. ‘If only I could pray!’

  ‘And if I did not let myself be taken prisoner but surrendered voluntarily, what then?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘An island? Another island? Perhaps that rock in the sea, St Helena, of which they talked at the Congress in Vienna?’

  I could see terror in his eyes.

  ‘Is it St Helena?’

  ‘I really don’t know. Where is St Helena?’

  ‘Beyond the Cape of Good Hope, Eugenie, beyond!’

  ‘Whatever happened, General, in your place I should never let myself be taken prisoner, I would rather surrender of my own free will.’

  He sat, bent, with his hand over his terrified eyes. I got up, but he didn’t move.

  ‘I’m going now,’ I said, and waited.

  He lifted his head. ‘Where are you going, Eugenie?’

  ‘Back to Paris. You have given no answer either to the Crown Princess of Sweden or to the French Government. But there is time yet, till to-night.’

  He laughed loudly, and so unexpectedly that I shrank back. ‘Shall I prevent them from capturing me? Here or in Rochefort? Shall I?’ He fumbled with his sword. ‘Shall I spoil the fun of Messrs Blücher and Wellington?’ He pulled the sword out of its scabbard. ‘Here, Eugenie, take it! Take the sword of Waterloo!’

  The sun glinted on the steel blade. Hesitantly I put out my hand to it.

  ‘Careful, Eugenie, don’t touch the blade!’

  Clumsily I took the sword and stared at it, overcome. Napoleon had risen to his feet. ‘At this moment,’ he said, ‘I am surrendering to the allies. I consider myself a prisoner of war. It is customary to hand your sword to the officer who captures you. Let Bernadotte explain to you all about that.’

  ‘And your answer to the Government, General?’

  ‘Show them my sword, and tell them that I have put myself in the hands of the allies as their prisoner. I shall leave in one – no, let us say two hours for Rochefort. From there I shall write a letter to my oldest and best enemy, the Prince Regent of Britain. What happens to me after that depends on the allies.’ He paused, and then added hastily: ‘I want the frigates to wait for me whatever happens.’

  ‘They lie alongside the British cruiser Bellerophon,’ I said. I waited for a word of farewell, but none came. I turned to go.

  ‘Madame!’

  I quickly turned back to him.

  ‘They say that the climate of St Helena is very unhealthy. Is it possible to hope that the British, if asked, might conceivably change my place of residence?’

  ‘You said yourself that St Helena is beyond the Cape of Good Hope.’

  He stared at the ground. ‘After my first abdication I tried to commit suicide, but I was saved. Have you ever been between life and death?’

  ‘Once. On the night you were betrothed to Viscountess Beauharnais, I wanted to throw myself into the Seine.’

  His eyes returned to me. ‘You wanted to—? And how were you saved?’

  ‘Bernadotte prevented it.’

  He shook his head, baffled. ‘Strange, Bernadotte prevented you from throwing yourself into the river, you are going to be Queen of Sweden, I hand you the sword of Waterloo! You believe in destiny, don’t you?’

  ‘No, only in curious coincidences.’ I gave him my hand.

  ‘Can you find your way back through the maze by yourself, Eugenie?’

  I nodded.

  ‘Tell my brothers to have everything ready for my departure, above all a civilian suit. I want to stay here by myself for a short time. And, Eugenie, our betrothal, in Marseilles, it was not only because of the dowry … Go now, Eugenie, go quickly, before I regret—’

  I went. The paths of the labyrinth seemed endless, the sun shone down mercilessly, there was not a breath of air, not a leaf stirred, not a bird sang. ‘I’m carrying his sword,’ I thought, ‘all is over, I’m carrying his sword.’ My gown stuck to my skin, the air was palpitating. At last I heard a window open, and Julie called out: ‘That’s taken a long time!’

  They were waiting on the steps – his brothers, Count Rosen, and General Becker. They stood there rooted to the ground, and stared at the sword, which I was carefully holding away from me.

  I stopped. Count Rosen put out his hand to take the sword, but I shook my head. None of the others moved.

  ‘General Becker,’ I said, ‘General Bonaparte has decided to surrender to the allies, and has handed his sword to me as Crown Princess of Sweden. In two hours he will leave for Rochefort.’

  Julie and Madame Letitia came out of the house. ‘Napoleone—’ whispered Madame Letitia and began to cry softly. ‘In two hours?’

  ‘I shall accompany my brother to Rochefort, General Becker,’ said Joseph calmly. ‘He still hates him,’ I thought, ‘otherwise he would not go with him now.’

  I heard one of the officers say softly to Joseph, ‘Two regiments are ready under His Majesty’s order to—’

  ‘That,’ I shouted, ‘is what General Bonaparte wants to spare France – civil war. Spare him that!’

  ‘Has Napoleone had anything to eat?’ wailed Madame Letitia.

  ‘Is he going on a long journey?’ I heard Julie sob close to me.

  I managed to say that the General had asked for civilian clothes and wanted to be left alone for a little while. Then, somehow, I must have got into my carriage. I saw the open road, and the fields, and trees and bushes. A slight fragrant breeze played round us.

  Count Rosen took the sword from my cramped fingers and put it in a corner of the carriage. Just then something made me throw my head back, and at that moment a very sharp stone crashed painfully on my knee.

  Rosen shouted something in Swedish to Johansson, the coachman, and Johansson whipped up the horses to a gallop. The next stone only hit the back wheel. My Count’s face was deathly pale.

  ‘I swear,’ he said, ‘that the attackers shall be tracked down.’

  ‘Why? It’s of no importance.’

  ‘Of no importance? An attack on the Crown Princess of Sweden?’

  ‘But it wasn’t an attack on the Crown Princess of Sweden. It was meant for Madame la Maréchale Bernadotte, and she no longer exists!’

  Darkness was beginning to fall as we reached the suburbs. Everywhere there were clusters of people talking in murmurs. ‘By now,’ I thought, ‘Napoleon must be on his way to the coach, on the first stage of his long voyage. And Paris is saved.’

  Near the Rue d’Anjou we encountered a large crowd making its way slowly towards my street. We had to stop, someone recognised me, and a shout went up, ‘La Princesse Royale de Suède!’ In a moment the whole town seemed to be shouting it. Gendarmes appeared and made a way for me, and at last I reached my house. Torches were burning in front of it, the gate stood open, and we drove straight in. Behind us the gate was shut immediately.

 
As I was getting out of the coach I felt a violent pain in my knee. I clenched my teeth, reached for the sword, and limped into the house. The hall was brightly lit and filled with strange people.

  Lafayette came forward to meet me. ‘In the name of France I thank you – Citizeness!’ He put his hand under my elbow to support me.

  ‘But who are all these strange people?’ I asked.

  ‘The representatives of the nation,’ said Lafayette, smiling.

  ‘And la grande nation has many representatives, Your Highness.’ It was Talleyrand speaking. He came towards me followed by Fouché, who had two white rosettes in his buttonhole. The many representatives of the nation bowed low amid deep silence.

  ‘And,’ I asked, ‘the thousands of people outside, what are they waiting for?’

  ‘It has become known that Your Highness has tried to mediate,’ said Fouché. ‘The people of Paris have been awaiting Your Highness’s return for hours.’

  ‘Tell the people that General Bonaparte has surrendered to the allies and has left Malmaison. That will make them go home.’

  ‘They want to see you, Citizeness,’ said Lafayette.

  ‘See me?’

  Lafayette nodded. ‘You are bringing us peace, capitulation without civil war. You have fulfilled your mission, Citizeness.’

  I shook my head. No, I didn’t want to show myself. But Lafayette insisted. ‘Show yourself to your people, Citizeness. You have saved many lives. May I conduct you to a window?’

  He took me to a window in the dining-room. The noise of the crowd rushed in from the street the moment the window was opened, and it ebbed away the moment Lafayette stepped up to it and showed himself to the people. He began to speak, and his voice sounded like a flourish of trumpets:

  ‘Citizens and Citizenesses, peace is assured. General Bonaparte has given himself up into captivity and a woman from your midst, a simple woman whom a freedom-loving nation in the North has made its Crown Princess, has received his sword from him, the sword of Waterloo!’