"No, Abbey' he said quietly, "I know that you have reason on your side; but there is no evading the fact that neither Athenais nor I will accept a continuance of our love upon such terms."
De Perigord regarded him with a smile in which there was no longer any trace of cynicism. "You are mad, of course," he murmured thoughtfully. "All Englishmen are mad, and that, no doubt, accounts for it; but I confess to having a sneaking admiration for your madness. So be it, then. Since you are determined to throw away your life and seek my aid in doing so, I will, however reluctantly, give it you. When and where do you propose to make this suicidal attempt on M. de Caylus?"
"There again, I must crave your help," replied Roger. "I am poorly situated to ascertain his movements, whereas you, owing to your frequent visits to Versailles, should have no great difficulty in finding out when he will next make a journey thence after dark to Paris. But the marriage contract is to be signed in nine days' time, so it is a matter of some urgency."
For a moment the Abbé remained thoughtful, then he said: "De Caylus has a petit maison in the Bois de Meudon. 'Tis there that he disports himself with any courtesan to whom he takes a fancy. You may recall my mentioning Olympe, the little Opera girl on whose account he attempted to avenge himself on me last summer. When we had wearied of one another she was tempted back to him by his money, and they still meet with some frequency. Olympe and I have remained good friends and she should be able to tell me when de Caylus will next be passing a night at Meudon."
"I will hold myself in readiness," Roger volunteered, "and be prepared to join you at any time. I only pray that it may be soon."
The Abbé nodded. "I realise the urgency. And while I feel that a meeting on the road 'twixt Versailles and Meudon offers the best prospect of being undisturbed, should that not prove possible I will find out where else de Caylus may be met with on the road at night, before the week is out. Owing to my lameness I must go to the place by coach, but 'tis essential that you should be mounted, and mounted well; since your life will depend on the speed with which you can get away from the vicinity once the affair is over. The best plan, I think, would be for me to send you a simple message giving only the time and place where you are to rendezvous with me. We will then go on in company for the last mile or so, to select a suitable spot at which to hold up de Caylus's coach."
These details having been settled, Roger endeavoured to express his gratitude; but the Abbé waved aside his thanks, yawned once more and said:
"Think nothing of it. 'Tis you who elect to surround your pleasures with so dramatic and dangerous an aura. For myself, I doubt if even a female archangel could woo roe into deliberately courting death on her behalf. 'Tis such a marvellous day and hour in which to live. It will not last, alas! Night and darkness are almost upon us. The starving pack is already stirring in its noisome kennels, and within a year or two will, I doubt not, have torn many of us limb from limb. As for those who come after, none will know what the sweetness of life can be who have not lived in Paris before the Revolution."
"Apres nous le deluge, eh?" Roger smiled.
De Perigord stood up and drew his shot-silk gown about him. "It profits one little to swim against the tide, so a wise man swims with it. Now, if you will forgive me, I must make myself presentable to receive those foolish friends of mine, who cannot let well alone; and, instead of rejoicing in all the good things that God has sent them, must ever be striving to bring about some new order of society, which will inevitably put a halter about their own necks."
"He who is forewarned is forearmed," suggested Roger. "I have a feeling that, whatever may befall you, you will find some way to survive it."
Napoleon's future Arch-Chancellor laid a hand upon his shoulder. "May your kind prophecy be true; and, with more immediate cause, I hope the same for you." Upon which, they parted.
That night Roger started putting his affairs in order. He wrote three letters and made a will. The first letter was a very brief one to his father asking forgiveness for the disappointment he had caused him; the second a somewhat longer one to his mother telling her something of his love affair and the circumstances which made it imperative that he should risk his life; the third, a very long one to Georgina, saying that he felt sure that his previous letter to her must have gone astray, and giving a vivid picture, without reservations, of his four years in France. In his will he left his money to his mother, his sword to M. de la Tour d'Auvergne, his books to the Abbé de Perigord, and his clothes to Chenou.
The following evening he went round to see de la Tour d'Auvergne, explained what he planned to do and gave him the four documents, all contained in one large covering envelope, asking that he would deal with them should de Caylus emerge the victor by delivering a mortal thrust.
The Vicomte listened gravely till Roger had finished, then he said: "I honour you .greatly for the risk you are about to take. De Caylus is a terrible antagonist and, even if fortune favours you, should you be caught you will certainly be tried for murder."
"I hope to escape that," Roger replied, and went on to explain. "If all goes well only Athenais, de Perigord and yourself will ever know who killed the Count. I shall return at once to the Hotel de Rochambeau and resume my normal activities there next day. There is no reason whatever why anyone should suspect me of the killing. In fact, 'tis of paramount importance that they should not, myself apart, on account of Athenais."
"I see your thought," the Vicomte nodded. "If it becomes known that 'twas you who fought on Athenais's behalf, 'twill be said that you have been having an affair with her. As an unmarried girl she will be, completely ruined and her father is certain to force her to take the veil as the only way of restoring the family honour. But think you de Perigord will be able to induce de Caylus to fight without knowing who it is that sends the challenge?"
"Oh, surely! The Count at least does not lack for courage, and has fought many times. He must by now have superb confidence in his ability to hold his own against any man; so I cannot think for one moment that he would refuse a challenge, once he is assured that it comes from a person whose birth entitles him to send it."
" 'Twill, all the same, be a most unusual meeting; and lest some unforeseen circumstances arise I would fain accompany you to it, to be on hand if needed."
"Nay," protested Roger, "I thank you mightily. But I have no wish to involve you. Besides, you are not yet fully recovered from your wound."
"I am not yet mended to the point of wielding a sword, but I have been riding again recently. You will need someone to hold your horse, and the Abbd being a priest 'tis but right that he should leave the scene as soon as he has assured de Caylus that his challenger is one who has the right to bear arms. Moreover, the Count is much more likely to accept your challenge if he is informed that someone of my status is present to see fair play."
"All that you say is true," Roger admitted, "and I dare take no chances; so I accept your offer gratefully. As soon as I hear from de Perigord about a rendezvous I will let you know it, and when the time comes we will ride thither together."
The following two days, Thursday and Friday, Roger spent both his mornings and evenings at a fencing-school he had occasionally frequented, which lay just off the Holies. It was largely a resort of soldiers of fortune, and on each occasion he offered two louis to anyone who could best him. Out of ten bouts he lost only three, and two of those were at the end of evening sessions when his wrist was tired, so he felt that he would at least be able to make the redoubtable de Caylus work very hard to obtain a victory.
On the Friday evening he received a brief note from the Abbé, which ran:'
"Your man plans to spend Monday night at Meudon with Olympe. His habit on such occasions is to leave Versailles about eight o'clock; but to be on the safe side I will be waiting for you at half-past seven, a half-mile beyond Sevres on the Sevres-Chaville road."
On Saturday morning Roger duly informed de la Tour d'Auvergne of the rendezvous, and got in three more fencing-
bouts. Then, at six o'clock, he kept his appointment with Athenais.
When he told her his intentions she begged him not to expose himself and said that she would rather take the veil than have him risk his life for her sake. On his proving adamant she declared that she would go straight downstairs and defy her father, and thus render Roger's desperate scheme futile.
"My angel," he said tenderly, "I cannot stop you, but 'twould then be your act which would be futile. Having accepted the help of Monsieurs de Perigord and de la Tour d'Auvergne I cannot now draw back, or they would look upon me as a coward. I beg you not to plead further with me for, whatever you may do, I am now determined to fight de Caylus and kill him if I can."
Plead she did, but without avail; and this, which they knew might be their last meeting, ended by her giving him her kerchief, to wear as her champion, and promising to refrain from burning her boats until Tuesday, the day before the wedding, by which time she would know whether her fiancé or her lover had proved the victor.
It was later that evening that M. de Rochambeau said to Roger: "Although 'tis Sunday to-morrow I intend to hold a conference. M. de Rayneval has returned in secret from the United Provinces and affairs there have now reached a point at which important decisions must be taken without further delay. During the past few months, M. de Montmorin seems to have caught His Majesty's congenital complaint of indecision; but I will have him shilly-shally with us no longer. He is coming here at four o'clock and my friends and I intend to put our views before him in no uncertain manner. We shall be fifteen, all told, so have the conference table prepared and hold yourself in readiness. I wish you to be present in the room to take note of the various viewpoints that may be expressed, and to draft a document which I plan that M. de Rayneval should take back with him."
On numerous previous occasions Roger had attended such conferences for a similar purpose and, apart from the fact that this one was to be somewhat larger than usual, there was no reason to suppose that anything of exceptional interest would transpire at it. Having accepted the Marquis's orders with his habitual quiet deference, he was so wrapped up in his own affairs that he thought no more of it till the following afternoon.
Shortly before four o'clock, M. de Rochambeau's usual collaborators, Messieurs de Breteuil, de Polignac, de Castries and de Segur arrived with others who were less frequent visitors; the Due de Normandie, who was governor to the Dauphin, the famous Admiral de Suffren, France's greatest sailor, M. Berard, the head of the French East India Company, the Due de Lauzun and the Marquis de Vaudreuil, both close friends of the Queen, the Due de Chatelet, who had recently been replaced as Ambassador to the Court of St. James's by the Comte d'Adhemar, the Due de Coigny, the Master of the Royal Horse, and one man that Roger did not know. The party was completed by de Montmorin and de Rayneval.
When they had all seated themselves round the big oval table Roger sat down at a small one near the door, and M. de Rochambeau opened the proceedings.
"Monsieur le Ministre," he said, addressing himself to the Comte de Montmorin, "My friends and I have asked you to meet us here to-day in order that we may put before you the state of affairs in the United Provinces and propose to you certain actions which we recommend in regard to them. M. de Rayneval, very rightly in my view, has taken the exceptional step of returning thence, without being recalled by you, to urge upon us that further procrastination may lose us all that we have been working to achieve for many months past. With him he has brought our distinguished soldier, M. le Comte de Maillebois, whom the Dutch Republican leaders themselves chose to command their free-corps in the event of civil war. It would be best, I think, if these two gentlemen now gave us their first-hand information on the situation that so closely concerns us all."
M. de Rayneval spoke first, and for about twenty minutes gave a dissertation on the attitude of Mynheer Van Berkel, the leader of the Republicans in Amsterdam, and on that of the Pensionaries of the other principal Dutch cities; from which it was clear that the great majority of them were only awaiting a firm promise of French support, in the event of intervention by Prussia, to join in a concerted uprising against the Stadtholder.
Roger listened with only half an ear. His mind was full of lunges, ripostes and foot-movements, and he now knew this old story backwards. Since France could not possibly afford a war he was convinced that no such promise would be forthcoming; and that while this powerful group of French Imperialists would continue to egg the Dutch Republicans on in secret they would never dare to commit themselves to any step which might lead to a European conflict.
The Comte de Maillebois then took up the tale. He was the one member of the conference whom Roger had not known by sight, and as he began to give facts and figures about the volunteer Republican bands in various cities, Roger listened to him with somewhat more interest. The Count concluded his remarks by expressing the opinion that, while, as a professional soldier, he found the Dutch burghers somewhat poor material, they were sufficiently numerous and keen for him to state with confidence that he could hold the northern frontiers with them against the Prussians until a French army could be marched across the country to his assistance.
The Marquis then called in turn on the Minister of War and the Minister of Marine.
The old Marshal de Segur said that, as they all knew, the flower of the French regular army was already assembled in Flanders, under the command of that most brilliant soldier, the Marquis's brother, M. le Comte de Rochambeau. The word had only to be given for it to be set in motion and, with the aid of the free-corps controlled by M. de Maillebois, all the strong places of the United Provinces would be in French hands within a fortnight.
The Marshal de Castries added that the Fleet was in a state of instant readiness and, with the aid of the insurgents, could take possession of the Dutch ports within a week.
Roger still saw no cause for alarm, and he wondered vaguely why this group of war-mongers bothered to waste their time discussing what they could do in certain eventualities, when they all knew perfectly well that these vast preparations were no more than a game of bluff, and that in actual fact they dared not move a single man or ship.
The Marquis was now speaking again... and so you see. Monsieur le Ministre, the stage is set. 'Twas from a man whose politics and private life I deplore, but for whose brain I have a very great respect, that, a little over a year ago, I first had the idea of forming this secret army within the very walls of the cities of a foreign state, and...."
Roger suppressed a start. M. de Rochambeau could only be referring to the Abbé de Perigord, and the conversation between them that he had overheard while standing in the secret closet. For a moment he was so shaken that he did not catch the next few sentences. It was clear now as the sun in a summer sky that the Marquis had adopted the Abbé's subtle scheme and all these months been steadily proceeding with it. Roger recalled the instructions for arms to be smuggled in, the great payment of gold to the Dutch Ambassadors, and a hundred details, all of which had remained unconnected in his mind at the time but now fell into place. He was intensely angry to think that M. de Rochambeau should have fooled him so completely, then followed swift humiliation at the thought that, since the Marquis had concealed nothing from him but the central fact, it was he who had been utterly blind and fooled himself.
"... and therefore," the Marquis was going on, "we must not, any longer, regard the Dutch free-corps as groups of political insurgents activated only by a desire to secure certain liberties for themselves. Doubtless they still consider themselves in that light; but, in actual fact, they are now part of the French army; a French Foreign Legion working under French direction who, at our command, will seize the United Provinces and render them, in all but name, a part of France herself."
" 'Twas a stroke of genius," declared de Castries enthusiastically. "The Dutch ports will fall into our hands like ripe plums."
"And the rich trade in the Dutch Indies," added de Coigny.
M. Berard hit the tab
le. "With France in control of the Dutch settlements at the Cape of Good Hope, I vow we'd drive the British India Company into bankruptcy within three years."
"Come, Monsieur le Ministre," urged de Breteuil, "you have but to sign a letter for M. de Rayneval to take back with him, and the thing is as good as done."
M. de Montmorin shook his head. "The King, gentlemen, must first agree to this; and I will confess that I have not yet consulted His Majesty upon it. I dare not give such a pledge to our Dutch friends without his assent, or at least that of the Archbishop of Toulouse."
"The Kingl" exclaimed de Polignac, with contempt. " 'Twould be fatal to bring him into the business, for he'd not have the resolution to say yea or nay this side of the grave. 'Twas only the other day that Monsieur, his brother, said of him, 'When you can keep a number of oiled ivory billiard balls together in your hand, you may then do something with the King.' And 'twas a fair assessment."
"Then the Archbishop must be asked to decide for him," replied de Montmorin firmly. "It will, I fear, come as a shock to you, but as from this evening, His Grace of Toulouse is to formally assume the ro1e of Prime Minister. His Majesty informed me personally of this new decision of his at noon to-day."
De Montmorin's announcement caused an extraordinary sensation and was met by a chorus of exclamations.
"Then we're to return to the old days of Prime Ministers, eh?"
"I knew he had gained the King's ear, but hardly suspected this!"
"God save us all if that ambitious prelate is to rule the roost!"
" 'Tis the height of folly to place supreme power in the hands of so vain and fickle a man at such a time as this!"
The Launching of Roger Brook rb-1 Page 46