by Steven Neil
God bless you.
Your loving daughter.
Eliza
***
Harriet is still invited to the British Embassy from time to time. She thinks it is probably when they are short of numbers. At least it saves Lord Cowley a trip to La Celle when Lord Palmerston asks about her. Cowley is sociable enough, but she does not have the same relationship with him as she did with Lord Normanby. They meet infrequently and it is more or less understood between them that her role is redundant. As Normanby advised, she lets things take their course. When news comes, during dinner, that the Crimean War is at an end, it seems a cause for celebration, but an inner anger still simmers in Harriet. Cowley bears the brunt of it.
‘The killing is over,’ she says. ‘For the moment. No doubt you will have other plans.’
‘We have no plans. War is not sought. We engage with great reluctance.’
‘So you say. Have you not been spoiling for a fight with the Russians for some time? You just wanted the odds stacked in your favour. Even then, you managed to demonstrate some spectacular incompetence. It is hardly a glorious victory.’
‘We do not seek glory. We seek to protect our interests and to bring peace in Europe.’
‘How grand and worthy that sounds.’
‘I will not apologise for stating Her Majesty’s Government’s objectives.’
‘Of course not.’
Cowley turns away towards the guest on his other side and the discussion ends. He makes a mental note not to invite Harriet again.
‘You were a bit harsh on old Cowley, weren’t you?’ says Trelawney.
‘Perhaps.’
***
Within a few days, the Treaty of Paris is signed and Russia is defeated. Emperor Napoleon III acts as if he achieved the victory on his own and his soldiers march up and down the streets of Paris for weeks on end. The Emperor is often at their head, astride one of his famous black stallions. “Vive la France” and “Vive L’Empereur” shout the crowds, at least for the first few days. Louis Napoleon is finally established. France has her conquering hero: an Emperor and a Bonaparte.
In the same month, despite the rumours, Eugenie gives birth to Louis Napoleon’s son, to be called the Prince Imperial. It is another excuse for celebration across the nation and enormous numbers of cannon salvos are fired off to mark the occasion. In a few days, however, there is rather less cause for celebration for Louis. Another rumour has it that the Empress, having donated a successor and fulfilled her obligations, feels it will be unnecessary for Louis to visit her again in her bedchamber.
***
Later in the year, Britain celebrates peace in Europe by announcing that the country is at war with Persia over Afghanistan. The Persians try to take the southern town of Herat, but the British side with Afghanistan and send troops to the Gulf. Lord Palmerston can usually be relied upon to keep the forces busy. He doesn’t disappoint.
***
Jean Mocquard has no particular reason to visit Harriet, but he comes often. She is always pleased to see him. He is, as ever, a terrible gossip and provides all sorts of stories about Louis Napoleon and his entourage that he should not. One such story concerns the conception of the Prince Imperial. It seems that Louis was in the habit of entertaining the Comtesse de Castiglione in his apartments with Eugenie nearby. In this way, Louis could ensure that he was in a suitable state of excitement before adjourning to his wife. Apparently, there were a number of accidents before the desired end result was achieved. It earns the Comtesse the nickname “the Teaser” – the name given to the stallion employed to ready the mare for impregnation before the arrival of the real stallion. It enables an expensive stallion to be saved the time-consuming task of foreplay and only appear for the main event, so to speak. Mocquard, perhaps demonstrating a certain lack of tact, tells Harriet that Eugenie was only third choice as Empress. Princess Carola of Vasa, the granddaughter of King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden, was first. German Princess Adelheid Hohenlohe-Langenburg, a niece of Queen Victoria, was second. Both families said no. Harriet wonders where she stood in the pecking order.
It is a bonus that Martin and Mocquard get on well. He has been a constant in Martin’s life since Harriet arrived in France and Martin calls him “Oncle”. Mocquard is a fine advisor to Martin on dress code and etiquette, and a good tutor on the finer points of horse conformation. He also teaches him to swear in French.
‘Fils de pute,’ says Martin, when he breaks a shoelace.
***
In England, Jem marries again, quietly, away from publicity. What did Harriet expect? Jem does what he always does when they quarrel. He punishes her. And, of course, she was the one who started it. This time. Jem retires from race riding. The falls take their toll and the travelling to France loses its fascination. He tells Tom that he is going to settle down, buy and sell a few horses, enjoy some days hunting. His wife is the daughter of a well-known Oxfordshire horse dealer and there are opportunities for a man with Jem’s gifts on a horse.
‘Will you never learn?’ says Tom.
‘What have I to learn?’
‘I am talking about both of you. You and Harriet should be together.’
‘Unless it has escaped your notice, she is married to someone else.’
‘It wouldn’t have happened if you had persevered. She thought it was over between you. She was in deep financial trouble. She needed a way out.’
‘We both have a capacity for making bad decisions. It is almost a habit nowadays. I wish we could escape it.’
‘You could, but you are both too stubborn.’
‘I think it is more than that. Harriet is closed off. There is something she keeps from me. It is a barrier between us. I think that without being honest about everything it is hard to rebuild the trust we once had. I’m sorry. I’m not being very clear.’
‘It is clear. I think there is something that weighs on her. I don’t fully understand it, but I know there is a man in London who she answers to. Something to do with the government. Mountjoy-Martin is involved. There is a mystery about Harriet that I have not fathomed.’
‘I think you are right. I have asked her about it, but she won’t say anything. She is afraid of something. If you ever find out what it is, will you let me know?’
‘I will, but would it change anything?’
‘I don’t know. It might. I am sorry about the way things have turned out for us. I hope she will find happiness one day, but I don’t think it can be with me. I think this is our fate. I will do whatever I can to help her achieve her freedom, but I need to start a new life. The past cannot be recaptured.’
***
Louis sends a belated note, via Mocquard, congratulating Harriet on her marriage to Clarence Trelawney. It is curt and rather pointed. It signals an end of sorts, but Mocquard lets her know that Louis would be most happy to call on her at any time if she wishes it. She lets Mocquard know that she does not.
At Beauregard, Harriet does her best to be happy with her new life. The house is comfortable and the stables are buzzing with her husband’s burgeoning string of horses.
Nathaniel Strode visits. Money flows through the accounts again, although it is erratic. Strode tells her she should exercise restraint until he can audit the books.
‘Should I be worried?’ she says.
‘Let me do that for you.’
‘Very well. Please keep me informed. There is one more thing: Mocquard. What should I make of him?’
‘You understand him very well, I think.’
‘He has become a good friend over the years. But he serves many masters, does he not?’
‘You are asking me for confirmation of what you already know. Jean is possibly the worst double agent in existence. He cannot keep a secret. If you want the other side to be fed a story, it is only necessary to t
ell Jean something in strictest confidence. Next day, they will know it. And yet, he is well regarded by all those who come into contact with him, here and in England. That is his genius.’
‘You are right, of course. I knew it.’
‘He is a great supporter of you, though. Don’t doubt that.’
***
Trelawney spends a great deal of time at the races and viewing horses. Research is an important part of his stud ambitions, but Harriet does sometimes wonder whether this warrants his spending so much time away on long trips. Perhaps he suffers under the delusion, as many have before him, that the right horse will eventually be found if only the searcher travels far enough from home. When he is at the château, he is a very occasional visitor to her rooms. It is not long before doubts spring up in Harriet’s mind and Strode rather fuels them, but she pushes negative thoughts away. Trelawney takes Martin with him sometimes. Martin is only too happy to swap a day with his books and his tutor for a day at the races, or a day hunting boar at Fontainebleau. Harriet is pleased, of course, that he spends time with his new stepfather. He needs an authority figure in his life – someone to respect. After one such foray, though, Martin returns subdued. He refuses to talk about what has happened. Eventually, he relents.
‘There is something not right about that man,’ he says. ‘I don’t like him.’
***
Back in England, Nathaniel Strode witnesses an odd occurrence in Threadneedle Street one day, while he is on his way to a meeting in Aldgate. He cannot quite make sense of it until he reads the newspaper the following day.
Morning Chronicle, Thursday 4th September 1856
THE ROYAL BRITISH BANK –
GREAT EXCITEMENT
Yesterday forenoon, about eleven o’clock, the passengers passing along Threadneedle Street were attracted by a placard placed upon the doors of the Royal British Bank, which is located in the premises of the site of the old South Sea House, of unfortunate memory. The placard announced that “The business of this bank is suspended pending negotiations.” It would appear that there has been a considerable run upon the bank for the past few days, but, notwithstanding, it opened for business at the usual hour in the morning, when, from some sudden cause which has not been ascertained, the doors were closed at the time above mentioned and the placards posted upon the doors. From that period until a late hour in the afternoon, that part of the street became near impassable, during which time several parties arrived at the bank, evidently, from their blank countenances, disappointed at not being able to draw cash from their cheques, many of them driving off in frantic haste by means of cabs, which were continuously arriving at the spot with a view to obtain fares. Several parties rang violently at the door bell, trying to gain information, but, receiving no answer, left in apparent discomfiture. The police endeavoured, but with little effect, to keep the thoroughfare clear and, notwithstanding, groups assembled near the bank discussing the affair, some loudly complaining of the bank having opened in the morning for the receipt of money and others, who had arrived with cheques, evincing great agitation; many were greeted by individuals having no interest but that of curiosity, with unseemly and not very feeling jokes as to how much they expected to receive in the pound. Some went as far as to offer 10s in the pound while others offered 1s 6d. For some time past, the affairs of this bank have been in a very doubtful state. The actual amount of liabilities due by the bank has not yet transpired.
Twenty-Four
What Have We Done?
La Celle-Saint-Cloud and Paris, France
1857
At the Château de Beauregard, there is a continuous hum of activity. New horses arrive and temporary structures are erected to accommodate them. More paddock fencing is put in and extra stable grooms are taken on. Martin is much happier working in the stables and schooling the youngstock than attending his lessons. Rather than argue the point, Harriet lets his tuition lapse. Everything seems set fair with her husband’s venture, although Harriet does wonder whether, at some point, any of these new horses will actually be sold. She is not a businesswoman, but she is fairly sure that the essence of a successful enterprise requires that there has to be money coming in, as well as going out.
Clarence Trelawney announces that he is going to England for a few weeks. He has important business meetings, he says. He needs more funding for his plans for the stud. He promises he will send regular messages and keep Harriet informed of progress. After a week, she hears nothing. When news does come, Nathaniel Strode provides it.
‘Trelawney doesn’t have a centime to his name. That is the plain truth of it. He has run up debt in his own accounts and in yours. What money he did have went down with the Royal British Bank.’
Harriet listens intently, as Strode catalogues the full extent of his discoveries. He thinks Trelawney may be in Italy and, given the circumstances, unlikely to return in the foreseeable future.
‘I have been foolish. The man is a fraud,’ she says.
‘I think there was, perhaps, error on both sides.’
‘I can always trust your honesty.’
‘There is no point pretending.’
‘No, but where does that leave us? Or, should I say, me?’
‘I have hope of a settlement.’
‘And in the meantime?’
‘I won’t let you down. Have I ever?’
‘No, indeed. You have been consistent throughout. I am forever grateful. What will the arrangements be?’
‘If it comes to it, I will act as guarantor myself.’
‘I cannot ask you to do that.’
‘I think you will have no other option. If there was someone else, I would let them, believe me.’
***
In England, Tom Olliver decides that he will retire from race riding. He is older than Jem Mason, but he has been luckier with injuries and, apart from the occasional broken collar bone, he retires intact. Like his friend, he thinks about dealing in horses, but an offer comes to train horses for Lord Chesterfield at Newmarket and he doesn’t turn it down. Tom and Harriet still correspond and it is he who alerts her to a change in Jem’s circumstances. Although the former jockeys no longer race ride in France, Harriet persuades Tom to find some way to place Jem in Paris again. He is happy to oblige. He asks Jem to travel a horse to Saint Cloud for him and then bring another horse back. Jem stays over at Saint-Germain-en-Laye at the Hotel Pavillon Henry IV. It is a small, elegant two-storey building set in an elevated park with views to the east across the Seine and towards Paris in the distance. Harriet tells the concierge she is expected and he directs her via the balustraded staircase to Jem’s rooms on the first floor.
Jem greets her cordially, but, she thinks, a little stiffly and they sit at two matching leather wing chairs, looking out through the open windows and over the wrought iron railings of the balcony. Harriet wears a fitted blue-grey tunic dress, demure yet still alluring, and a narrow-brimmed bonnet with a single feather. Jem is still in riding breeches and top boots, having ridden out at Maisons-Laffitte that morning. Somewhere outside, a chaffinch sings and the musk roses below send their heady scent into the room as the sun warms them. As ever, she favours the direct route.
‘Why do we always choose the wrong course?’ she says. ‘It seems we have a talent for it.’
‘Are you speaking for us both?’
‘This is not the time for scoring points. I am seeking to make amends.’
‘Amends?’
‘Why so infuriating? I think I have made a gross error of judgement. I am prepared to admit that. Do you have the gumption to admit your own error?’
‘I married someone for whom I had a great fondness. Sadly, she decided she did not share that feeling. It can happen, I believe. You, on the other hand, married someone who you thought had money to bail you out from your financial situation, only to find he was broke. You ar
e seeking to equate these two examples as comparable errors of judgement. Am I correct?’
‘I hate it when we bicker like this. I’m happy to be the bigger fool if that pleases you. I want us to be talking again, at least. We are both estranged from our erstwhile partners. We could be friends again, couldn’t we?’
‘I think this time it is too late.’
The discussion meanders. Jem offers no hope of reconciliation. In the end, Harriet leaves with no progress made. She wonders how many more “last chance” meetings with Jem she can bear.
The outcome puzzles them both. It is not that they don’t arrive at their meetings with positive intentions. They do. Harriet’s careful planning of exactly what she will say and how she will say it and Jem’s intuitive belief that the right words will come to him when required both prove unequal to the task. Harriet can never sustain her script and Jem always manages to say the exact opposite of what he intends. When they part, Harriet goes over the conversation endlessly, to no purpose, and Jem gets no further than scratching his sideburns and rubbing his eyes.
***
Harriet is invited to dine with Princess Mathilde at her mansion on the rue de Courcelles in Paris. Mathilde is in buoyant mood and clearly unaware of the latest developments.
‘Louis wants to have his cake and eat it, as you say in England,’ she says. ‘Is that not so?’
‘You have a great command of the English idiom. You are correct. But he will have to be satisfied with what he has. The menu has changed.’
‘I hoped you would say that. I am sorry that my dear cousin is such a weak man.’
‘But an Emperor nonetheless.’
‘As you say. He has given the French what they wanted.’
‘And he has the Empress he wanted.’
‘Then he has made his bed and he must lie in it. Is that not so also?’