'Perfectly; but this business of kidnapping the Princess does raise one other point. Has it occurred to you that at times love can prove stronger than ambition? If Malderini believes that General Boneparte has seduced her, he might be filled with jealous rage to such a degree that he may attempt to kill him."
Roger smiled. 'Seductions usually take place after supper, not before; so he would expect to arrive on the scene in time to save her from the General or herself. But you have no need for anxiety on that score. I shall be there, and it is Malderini who is going to be killed.'
'Very well then. Everything shall be done as you wish it.'
I thank you, Citizen Minister. You will not, of course, disclose to Malderini until the last moment the place at which the General-in-Chief is to be on the night of the 14th. It is important, too, that he should not learn that I am back in Venice; otherwise, knowing my enmity to him, and that having been rescued by Madame Boneparte I must also be a friend of her husband's, he might suspect a trap. I must, therefore, go about my business here in some disguise. Have you anything to suggest?'
"Nothing could be simpler. The Venetians follow the strange custom of holding carnival for six months every year. They do not, of course, have their processions and actual fiesta until the last few weeks; but in this most licentious of cities a degree of licence has long been permitted from October 1st. From then on anyone who wishes may go about masked without question, which makes it easier to conduct clandestine love affairs. You have only to change that smart uniform for civilian clothes, wear a long cloak and a mask, and even if you came face to face with Malderini he would have no idea who you were.'
Everything having been, satisfactorily settled, as Roger had been riding for a good part of the night he said that he would like a few hours' sleep; so Villetard took him to the room he had previously occupied while at the Embassy, and promised to provide him later with a suitable costume in which to go out.
At three o'clock he was called by a valet who had brought up a variety of clothes for him to choose from. Instead of his military boots he donned buckled shoes and white stockings, with a pair of nankeen breeches to go above them, then selected a wine-coloured tail-coat that was a little large for him, but would serve well enough. The cloaks were light in weight but enormous garments that would wrap twice round a man, had to be kept from trailing on the ground and had deep double collars. The masks were grotesque, covering the whole face, and having long hideous noses. As the Venetian nobility had not yet taken to the fashions brought in by the Revolution, they still wore high-sided, richly decorated tri-corne hats, and the one that fitted Roger best was edged with ostrich feathers round its rim.
When he had finished dressing, carrying the cloak, mask and hat, he went down to dine with Villetard, who told him that as the season of masks now enabled anyone to come to the Embassy in daylight with no more risk of being recognised than at night, he was expecting Malderini at five o'clock. That suited Roger, as he had work to do and it gave him an excuse to make himself scarce immediately after the meal.
Having collected everything necessary from Villetard's secretary, he went up to his room, locked himself in and sat down to write a report for Mr. Pitt. He could send no piece of information that was of startling value but during the past six weeks he had acquired a great quantity of miscellaneous data about Boneparte, his political trickery, and the people round him, which would be read with much interest in Whitehall. His final page was on the present situation, and he said that, although he had been given to understand that Mr. Pitt favoured an independent Venice, his own conviction was that the future prospects of England could be better served if the city was handed over to the Austrians; and that, while he had no great hope of influencing events, even at the risk of his master's displeasure he intended to work for that end.
In it he had given no indication that he was on Boneparte's staff, or had been living at his headquarters, and he did not sign it; so if it was captured, even the similarity between the English and French versions of his name would not give a clue to the identity of the writer. Only his handwriting could give him away, and the odds against both the report falling into French hands and his writing being recognised were sufficiently long to be an acceptable risk; or at least one which he had to take in the service of his country.
When he had addressed and sealed the document, he wrapped a second parchment cover round it and, having sealed that too, wrote 'John Watson Esquire, Personal' on it. Then, putting the bulky package in an inner pocket, he buttoned his coat over it, put on his cloak and mask, and went downstairs.
The report had taken three hours to write, so it was now a quarter-past eight o'clock. He was told that Villetard had gone out about an hour before and was not expected back until his usual hour for supper, which was half-past ten. Roger told the doorkeeper that he had a mind to spend an hour in the Piazza San Marco, so one of the Embassy gondolas was whistled up to take him there. The weather, as is customary in Venice in October, was still mild; so a band was playing in the Piazza and the usual crowd sauntering, flirting, and exchanging greetings or gossip.
For half an hour he sat at a table outside Florian's, immune from recognition behind his hideous mask, sipping strong black coffee and a golden liqueur. Then he had a gondola take him to the first bridge over the Trovaso Canal. From there, on foot, he twisted his way back, temporarily losing his way twice, through a score of narrow turnings, until he reached the British Consulate. After he had pulled the bell it clanged hollowly, but before the clanging ceased the door was opened by the same footman who had answered it to him before. This time he did not tip the man. His richly feathered three-cornered hat made that unnecessary. In Italian he brusquely demanded speech with the Consul.
The man bowed him into the low pillared hall, and asked him to be seated. Two minutes later Mr. Watson came out to him. For the servant's benefit, as he bowed he announced himself as the Marchese di Piomboli. Mr. Watson returned his bow and asked what he could do for him. As soon as the servant had gone, Roger removed his mask for a moment and said in a whisper, 'I am the Arab perfume seller. Can you get a despatch to London for me?'
The lanky, red-haired Mr. Watson nodded and whispered back, 'I trust so. Our people are still getting through. If all goes well, it should be there in under three weeks.'
Roger quickly passed him the despatch, pressed his hand and turned towards the door. With no further word said, Mr Watson let him out. In a nearby canal he picked up a gondola and had it take him again to the San Marco. After strolling there for ten minutes he got another which took him back to the French Embassy. He had timed things excellently and arrived just as Villetard was sitting down to supper.
Over the meal, Roger learned to his delight that Malderini had swallowed the bait. He had gone home to summon the conspirators to a conference for that night, and had expressed no doubt about their being prepared to risk everything on this chance to secure Boneparte's person.
For them, the prospect of coercing him into signing documents upon which he would not be able to go back without looking a fool was far better than anything they could ever have hoped for. Malderini's knowledge that the General-in-Chief was already in the city, and the promise of information about a place at which he could easily be captured a few nights hence, they would believe to have been obtained by heavy bribery from an official at the French Embassy; so the principal matters for discussion at the conference would be, who should act as spokesman to General Boneparte in order to obtain his signature to the required documents, and where should they hold him prisoner while the orders extorted from him were being carried out.
Roger went to bed feeling soberly satisfied with the progress he had made to date. It was a great relief to have got his report off to Mr. Pitt, as there could be no telling when, if ever, he would be able to send another. But he kept on examining his plan from every angle, for one could never be quite sure that every possibility had been thought of, or
that some unforeseen factor would not suddenly arise to throw everything out of gear. And he had one very serious cause for worry. Boneparte had stipulated 'no scandal', but to make certain of getting Malderini into the trap he had been compelled to have rumours circulated that the General was making a visit incognito to Venice, and take steps to ensure that when the Princess Sirisha was kidnapped his name should be linked with hers. To have used the authority Boneparte had given him over Villetard for his own ends, and entirely contrary to the General's interests, was a flagrant breach of trust. When the little Corsican learned about that, as he was bound to do, unless it could be justified by a motive that he would accept, he would fly into one of his terrible rages and Roger might find himself back in the Leads.
Another matter that worried Roger considerably was the fate of Malderini's co-conspirators. The great majority of the Venetian upper class had conclusively proved themselves to be spineless decadents, but these people must surely be the exception to the rule. Some might be ambitious men, prepared to gamble their lives against a chance of power should they succeed in bringing about a restoration of the old regime; others, no doubt, were fanatics, egged on by their father-confessors to strike a blow at the new government of atheists; but among them there must be a number of real patriots, and all of them must be accounted men of courage. That they, of all Venetians just because they had allowed themselves to be caught in the web of the treacherous Malderini, and because Roger, in the hope of serving his country and to revenge himself, had to smash it should be the ones who had to be sacrificed, seemed a gross injustice. He could see no way to avoid that and the thought of it plagued his conscience severely.
Yet, as so often happens, sleep brought a possible solution to the problem. Soon after waking next morning, an idea in connection with the carnival took form in his mind, and by developing it there seemed a chance that when Malderini's associates had served their purpose he might be able to save them from the worst consequences of their attempt upon Boneparte.
To put it in train, as soon as he had dressed and breakfasted, he donned his cloak and mask and went out shopping. His purchases consisted of one of the huge gold-laced hats that Boneparte had taken to wearing and the smallest sizes available in the second-hand shops of Hessian boots, white breeches and plain uniform coat, by which the General's figure had become so well known. To these he added a tricolour sash, white stock, spurs, cloak and one of the grotesque carnival masks.
With all these packed in two boxes, he returned to the Embassy where he found a small party ready to accompany him to Portillo. It consisted of Villetard's steward, Citizen Crozier, a valet, a porter and two cleaning women, all of whom, as was the case with the whole of the staff at the Embassy, were French. Roger transferred his packages to the six-oared barge in which they were waiting, and it pulled away.
Leaving the Grand Canal it turned into the Canal San Felice, which led into the basin of the Misericordia on the northern waterfront of the city, then headed north through one of the pole marked channels across the open water. As Venice and its innumerable adjacent islands lie in a thirty-mile long lagoon, they are protected from the rollers of the Adriatic and, being a fine sunny day, the inland sea was as smooth as a mill pond. A half-mile out they passed the island of San Michele, the cemetery of Venice, above the walls of which the tall cypresses rose like green candles, then some distance farther on the much bigger island of Murano with its quite considerable town, famous for its centuries old glass factories. Beyond it. in the distance, lay another large but less populous island, Barano, and between them to either side were scattered a number of small islets. Crozier pointed out one of these to Roger as Portillo, and the barge's crew soon brought them to it.
The islet was about an acre in extent and the only building on it was the casino, a charming little one-storeyed pavilion set picturesquely among cypress trees. They landed on a wide stone wharf and at Crozier's shout a bent old man, who was the caretaker, hobbled out to meet them. He let them in through the front door and Roger set about making a thorough inspection of the place.
It had only two main rooms, a salon and a bedroom; both were spacious and lofty. Beyond the former lay a kitchen and two small bedrooms for servants. To that side of the main building, a short distance from it, was a big woodshed well stocked with fuel, and on the other a boat-house, in the rear part of which was stored garden furniture. Behind the casino, surrounded by cypresses, lay a small garden containing only some flowering shrubs and a few pieces of statuary. The furniture in the main rooms had been stacked in their centres under dust sheets and the place smelt musty from disuse; but, even so, Roger saw at a glance that when in proper order it made a perfect retreat for lovers.
All the windows were thrown open, and Crozier began to unpack, from hampers he had brought, bed-linen, plate glasses and bottles; his men set about unstacking the furniture, and the women about their cleaning. Having satisfied himself that the place could be made entirely suitable for his purpose, Roger returned to the barge and had himself rowed the four miles into Mestre.
On landing he took off his mask, hired a carrotza to take him to the French headquarters just outside the town and introduced himself to the garrison Commander's adjutant. At that officer's desk he wrote a note for Bourrienne informing him that everything had been arranged for the visit of the General-in-Chief on the following night, and had it sent off by galloper.
As he watched the man go he realised that he had burnt his boats and that, although his own arrangements for trapping Malderini were well in train, that was by no means the case with the entertainment he had promised Boneparte; as he had yet to kidnap the Princess Sirisha. But to have done so before the day of the coup might have ruined his own plan, and if he had delayed in sending his despatch to Boneparte, there were no means of getting him to the rendezvous by the night of the 14th.
At the adjutant's invitation, he dined that afternoon in the mess, then had himself rowed back to Portillo. During his absence a most pleasing transformation had taken place. The big rooms had been thoroughly cleaned, the air scented, and the fine gilt and ormolu furniture of the period of Louis XV set out. As he looked at the magnificent bed, with its silk curtains falling gracefully from a coronet held by two gilded cupids, his imagination swiftly conjured up the images of the satin-clad, powdered-haired nobleman who must, in the past, have led beautiful women in crinolines and patches to give and, receive amorous joys in it. For a moment he wondered if the skinny, lank-haired little Corsican would succeed, after the coup was over on the following night, in persuading the lovely Indian Princess to let him have his way with her there. But that was a matter for them.
An hour later all the preparations, except for the supper which must be brought next day, were completed; so the party returned to Venice, taking the old caretaker with them.
That evening Roger arranged through Villetard that next morning at nine o'clock a fast barge, with at least eight oarsmen, should be at the Embassy steps. It was to be manned by French sailors and carry six troopers, all picked men who could be relied on to keep their mouths shut and under orders to obey him without question.
Later that night, Villetard told him that he had again seen Malderini, and that his side of the affair was all in order. The hotheads among the conspirators had shown immediate enthusiasm at this chance to kidnap their great enemy, and even the more cautious had soon been persuaded that, if he could be coerced into ordering the evacuation of Venice by the French, the fact that a few civilians had done so would be sufficient hold over him to ensure that he did not rescind the order after they had released him.
They had decided to take him to one of the distant islands about twelve miles away at the south end of the lagoon, as from it he could not possibly escape, and that, too, would eliminate any risk of the French finding him should they institute a house-to-house search throughout the city. One of Malderini's lieutenants was a lawyer named Ottoboni, an inveterate t
alker, who also prided himself on his ability as a negotiator; so when Malderini expressed some misgivings about being capable of arguing such a forceful character as Boneparte into doing as they wished, the lawyer had promptly volunteered to handle that side of the business, which would leave the arch-conspirator free to keep out of personal danger in the rear of the party.
Malderini had pressed Villetard to tell him whereabouts Boneparte was lodging in the city, so that the conspirators could make detailed plans for their coup. But Villetard had replied that he was actually in Mestre and coming over only from time to time. It was, however, certain that he would sup in Venice the following night, although where was not yet definitely settled. That would be known by about seven o'clock; so Malderini was to come to the Embassy shortly before half-past, and Villetard would be able to give him full particulars of the General-in-Chief's plans for the evening.
By this arrangement, Roger reckoned that the kidnappers could not arrive at Portillo much before nine o'clock, by which time he expected to have Napoleon and Sirisha comfortably settled down at supper. Only one fence now remained to be got over the kidnapping of the Princess; but everything else had so far gone according to plan and, buoyed up by his natural optimism, Roger went cheerfully to bed.
Next morning, punctually at nine o'clock, he went out to the French-manned barge, which had been brought to the Embassy under the command of a tough looking middle-aged naval lieutenant named Bouvard. First, Roger made sure that its crew and the half-dozen soldiers had been warned that they were to be engaged in a special undertaking and that in no circumstances were they to talk about it afterwards; then he explained what he intended to do. As he proceeded, broad grins spread over the faces of most of the men and a few began to mutter ribald comments; but he soon reduced them to order by saying that this was no affair of gallantry it was a step that had to be taken in the political interests of the Republic.
The Rape Of Venice rb-6 Page 49