The wanton princess rb-8

by Dennis Wheatley

  Lady Hester was dressed in a scarlet habit and had a goid-laced cocked hat perched on her ash-blonde curls. Roger had seen her on the parade and wondered who she could be. He soon learned that she accompanied her uncle on all military exercises and was a most gay and charming young woman who had brought sunshine into his monastic bachelor existence.

  When it emerged that Roger had recently arrived from France everyone wanted to hear the latest news about the Corsican Ogre and his plans for invasion; but that had to wait, as General Moore was about to give the officers a short talk.

  The future hero of Corunna was then forty-two years of age. He had served in Corsica, the West Indies, Holland and Egypt and so distinguished himself that, although by British standards young for a General, he had now been charged with the defence of the coast upon which it was expected that the invasion would take place. He had a fine presence, a most striking personality, a clear melodious voice and a pretty sense of humour.

  He aired it by his opening remark, 'Well, gentlemen, I congratulate you on your turn out and the performance of your men; but when General Lannes lands here one morning I shall have you drawn up in close order on the top of a hill, as I am sure your appearance will strike fear into him. Meanwhile my own men will fight his Grenadiers on the beach.'

  Seeing their downcast looks he laughed, and went on to explain. Experience had shown that volunteers who had never seen active service could be used only in large formations; otherwise, if heavily attacked, they swiftly went to pieces. Moreover, up to that time the same principle had been adhered to in all regular armies, so that the men should remain under the immediate control of their officers and N.C.O.s and take courage from their example. But with his Light Infantry ho was developing a revolutionary form of training, by which he sought to take advantage of the dif­ference between the British soldier and that of the Continental Powers.

  The latter, he said, were for the most part peasants who had only recently emerged from serfdom, and the majority of them were automatons, good fighters in a body no doubt, but incapable of thinking and acting for themselves. Whereas the common people of Britain had for centuries been free to lead their lives as they would and use such brains as God had given them to make a living. This had given them a much stronger individuality and a sense of responsibility, and his object was to give every man under him the chance to show it. His ideal rifleman should have the mentality of a poacher and not feel lost and bewildered if he found himself cut off behind the enemy lines, but have the initiative and confidence to make his way back to his unit under cover of darkness. During an advance such troops would not have to be marched into battle in solid formations, and so form a fine target for the enemy cannon, but could be sent forward in open order, each man using his common sense when to make a rush and when to lie down.

  Roger listened fascinated to his exposition of the infantry tactics of the future, and much else that this inspiring General had to say about the desirability of officers attending not an occasional drill, but every drill, and getting to know each one of their men personally—doctrines unheard of in those days.

  Dinner was served at half past three and during it Roger learned much about the preparations that had been made to resist an invasion. From all over England great numbers of horses and carts had been brought into the coastal area to be used in what was termed 'the driving'. This was the evacua­tion inland of not only all non-combatants but cattle, poultry, fodder, the contents of shops and household stores so that if the invader did get a foothold he would find the land barren of all sustenance.

  But General Moore was of the opinion that although Bonaparte was causing them by his threats to expend a great deal of effort he was not such a fool as to undertake the mad gamble of a cross-Channel operation, and that if he did he would rue it. Both the regular troops and the volunteers were in splendid heart. There were now three hundred and eighty thousand of the latter, plus thirty-one thousand Sea Fencibles. As Lord Warden, Pitt alone had under him one hundred and seventy gun boats, in addition to his two battal­ions of militia, and every man among them was eager to have a crack at the enemy.

  Roger, with his personal knowledge of Napoleon's vast preparations, was not so confident that he was only bluffing. But he did think it unlikely that many of the French would reach land.

  In his view that was the one question upon which the success or failure of an invasion hung. He gathered that General Moore had under him only some three thousand eight hundred regulars. If on a foggy day the protecting flotillas could be evaded and ten thousand French get ashore. General Moore's men must be overwhelmed. Then, once a beach-head had been secured, the volunteers, brave though they might be, would be scattered like chaff before the massed veteran troops of Soult, Ney, Davoust and the iron Guard of Bcssieres.

  A little before six o'clock General Moore was cheered away into the winter darkness and soon afterwards the other officers followed. Mr. Pitt then expressed his surprise that so old a friend as Roger had not taken it for granted that he would lie that night at the castle—as indeed he had been expected to be invited to do—and had his valise sent for. Soon afterwards they were settled before a roaring log fire in Mr. Pitt's untidy but comfortable study and an hour slipped past while Roger answered innumerable questions about the state of things in France; then he disclosed the reason for his return to England.

  Having heard him out Mr. Pitt looked very grave and, after a moment's thought, said, ' 'Tis now close on three years since I left office and although my friends keep me informed of events they are in no situation to know the mind of Ministers. Henry Addington has proved a sad disap­pointment to us all but I'd stake my own life that he would not lend himself to such a crime, and my Lord Hawkesbury, though a fool, is no knave. If you are right that Drake, Hammond and others are involved, they must have acted through an excess of misplaced zeal and I am confident that their participation in this plot cannot be known to their superiors. But, however that may be, you are right, Mr. Brook—one hundred times right. This dastardly attempt must be prevented at all costs. Did it succeed and were laid squarely at the door of England 'twould be an indelible blot upon the fair name of our nation, and the righteous rancour of the French be such that they'd hold it against us for a lifetime.'

  It being one thing to seek to penetrate the military inten­tions of an enemy nation and quite another to pry into the secrets of individuals with intent to betray them, Roger had all along been very conscious of this most unpleasant aspect of his new mission; so it heartened him greatly that so upright a man as Mr. Pitt should unhesitatingly endorse Droopy's opinion that he must proceed with it as an affair of State upon which great issues hung. But when it came to practical help he found that there was little Mr. Pitt could give him. While Prime Minister he had always avoided going into society, so had met very few of the French emigres; and, since his retirement, he had devoted himself first to his garden then, since the renewal of the war, to his military duties.

  Later they supped with the gay Lady Hester, no other guests having been invited for that night owing to the big dinner party that had been given earlier in the day. During the meal Roger was greatly struck by the change that had taken place in his old master. By nature a shy, aloof patri­cian, he had become Prime Minister at the age of twenty-four and for nearly eighteen consecutive years given his whole mind to the well-being of his country. He had never married or had a mistress and under constant attack from his political enemies he had become ever more irritably abrupt in his manner, unbending and dictatorial.

  But now he was relaxed and cheerful, responding wittily to Lady Hester's banter and, Roger was amazed to learn, he even chaperoned her to local dances, staying up till all hours of the morning to bring her home.

  When she had left them and they were sitting over their port this new human warmth of character he displayed emboldened Roger to ask him frankly why the government having fallen into such feeble hands, he did not return to politics and pull the country out of t
he mess it was in.

  Willi a smile he replied, 'For the past year many of my friends have been urging me to do that. But there are certain difficulties. If not in so many words, by implication I promised our friends in Ireland to put through the Catholic Emancipation Bill. But His Majesty would have none of it, and, behind my back, sent for Addington. Without my sup­port he could not have formed a Ministry. Had I refused it the King would willy-nilly have had to accept the Opposition with Charles Fox, who is anathema to him, as his Prime Minister.

  'I was desperate tired and in half a mind to wash my hands of the whole business. Had His Majesty not been afflicted as he is, I would have. But he began again to suffer brief periods of insanity, and 'twas said to be my fault for holding him in a cleft stick and endeavouring to force him to agree to Catholic Emancipation against his conscience. In consequence I went to him, promised that I would not again raise the question of emancipation in his lifetime and that I would give Addington my support.

  'That I did to the best of my ability. Grenvillc, Dundas, Spencer, Wyndham. Cornwallis and Castlercagh in Ireland, all refused their help and resigned. But I persuaded Rose, my brother Chatham and others to enter the new Cabinet and myself spoke in its favour in the House. Having done so, how can I now retract and form a Cabal to unseat Adding­ton? ‘

  Roger nodded. 'I appreciate your scruples, sir. But surely the welfare of the nation should be put before personal feelings. Had those fine brains you gathered about you— Dundas, Greville, Castlereagh and the rest—remained in office the country would not have fallen into quite so evil a pass. But I gather that most of them, as well as the Foxites, are now in opposition, although from a different angle, and the Cabinet, being filled with mediocrities incapable of rebut­ting their criticisms, staggers from side to side like a drunken man, so that the nation's affairs are becoming chaotic. Should such a state of things continue we'll stand no chance at all of checking Bonaparte's ambitions. Still worse, we may be forced into making another peace, more disastrous than the last. Yet did you but take the helm again, with the patriotic fervour that now animates the nation we might still emerge from the war triumphant.'

  Mr. Pitt shrugged, 'Maybe you are right, Mr. Brook. My old friends Bishop Tomlin, Wilberforce and others all use the same arguments and urge it upon me as a duty. But to get the best results I'd have to take into my administration men of all parties—the Portland Whigs and perhaps even Charles Fox—and so form a Ministry of all the talents. That would need much delicate negotiation, and I'm not yet willing to undertake it. But we'll see.'

  After pausing a moment he went on, 'In the meantime I believe that Britain can continue to hold her own. We are faced with only one danger, and that a great one. Bonaparte, I understand, is now building ships of war in every port he controls from Holland right down to Bordeaux. Should he in a year or two be able to muster a Fleet superior in strength to our Navy, then we shall indeed be undone. Should we lose control of the seas we will lose everything and be at his mercy. I pray you, when you return to France bear that in mind, and that the greatest service you can render your country in the months to come will be timely intelligence to our Admiralty about movements of the French squadrons, so that we may hope to defeat them piecemeal before they become too strong for us.'

  Pushing back his chair, Mr. Pitt stood up and added, 'And now, old friend, to bed. It has been good to talk with you again; but I have to set an example to my officers and be on parade with my men at six o'clock tomorrow morning.'

  On the night of December 21st Roger was back in London but it was not until the afternoon of the 22nd that he received a brief letter from Mrs. Marsham. In it she said that some trouble in working the Manchester Ship Canal, in which Colonel Thursby held a big interest, had led to his leaving for the north two days previously, and that he had accepted an invitation from his partner in that venture, the Duke of Bridgwater, to spend Christmas with him. But she would be most happy to have Roger at Stillwaters and the children were greatly looking forward to seeing him.

  Intent now on buying presents, on the 23rd Roger went to his bankers, Messrs. Hoare in the Strand, to draw some ready money. As he was coming down the steps from the entrance a dark, foreign-looking man, who appeared to be in his late twenties, raised a square-crowned hat from his head and accosted him.

  'Mr. McElfic,' he said with a smile and a heavy German accent, 'Some years it is since we haf met. But you recall me, yes? I am Nathan, the son of Maier Amshel of Frankfurt, although now we haf family name Rothschild.'

  Roger's mind instantly switched back to '95. In the autumn of that year Mr. Pitt had sent him on a mission to the Rhine. After Robespierre's death in the previous year the Directory had come to power and was hard put to it to sup­press an upsurge of reactionary feeling. There had seemed a good hope that if the right Republican General could be suborned he might play the role of Monk, march his army on Paris and restore the monarchy.

  General Pichegru had been selected as the most promising man to take this part. Roger had first gone to the Prince de Conde, who commanded the army of Royalist exiles then in Baden, and persuaded him, on behalf of his King, to sign a promise that if Pichegru put Louis XVIII on the throne he should be made a Duke and Constable of France, be given the Chateau of Chambord and become the second man in the kingdom. Roger had then gone to Pichegru, who had been inclined to accept this huge bribe but feared that on his army approaching Paris it would be infiltrated by old sans culottes who would cause it to mutiny and so wreck their plan. In consequence he had required that, before he committed himself, Roger should go to Paris and organize the pro-monarchist elements there to rise against the Directory simultaneously with his advance on the capital.

  To that Roger had agreed, but one problem remained. Pichcgru's army was poised for a swift move to join up with that of Morcau, and once their armies were united the defeat of the Austrian army was inevitable. For Austria to be forced out of the war before the proposed coup d'etat would have greatly weakened the Allies' power to insist that the restored King of France should grant his people a democratic Consti­tution; so to gain time, Roger, having Pitt's open draft on the British Treasury in his pocket, had offered Pichegru a bribe of a million francs in gold so to arrange matters that his army failed to make junction with Moreau's. Pichegru had accepted, and it was the Jewish bankers in the Frankfurt ghetto at the sign of the Red Shield who, at short notice, had honoured the draft and provided this huge sum in gold.

  Pichegru had kept his bargain and sent only two divisions into the attack, so it had been repulsed. It was in Paris that this great plan for a restoration had broken down. Shortly-after Roger arrived there the reactionaries had made a pre­mature rising. Barras had appointed the untried young General Bonaparte as Military Commandant of the City. Overnight he had sent Captain Murat galloping off to bring the guns up from the suburb of Sablons and, next day, quelled the revolt with his famous 'whiff of grapeshot.' By that the pro-monarchist fervour had been dissipated and the Directory again had the situation so firmly in hand tha; Pichegru dared not march his army on Paris. Later he had been accused of treachery and had fled to England.

  While Roger was recalling all this the young Jew said, 'You p'haps remember, sir, that at lime we meet I tell you I believed there to be good future in England our financial deals to make. My honoured father in '98 say yes to my request, and gif me for to operate here sum of twenty thousand pounds. I settle first in Manchester. Soon my capital is turn into sixty thousand. Now I come very frequent to London. Presently I have own establishment here. A Rothschild do not forget those who aid to make a fortuns for his house. Discounting the bill you give on British Treasury for a million francs make us profit very handsome. You wish loan at any time, Mr. McElfic sir, I am honoured to oblige. Hoare's Bank here tell you address to write to me.'

  Roger smiled at him, 'Yes, of course, I remember you now; and I thank you for your offer. I am glad, too, that your ventures here have proved so successful. But I am surprise
d that you should have recognized me; for when we met before I had side whiskers and, but for a shaven chin, a beard.'

  'Your eyes, sir. So very blue, and the long lashes. I recog­nize at once.'

  Suddenly an idea came to Roger and he asked, 'General Pichcgru. He was denounced by the Directory and escaped to England. Presumably he is still here. Do you happen to know where he dwells?'

  The squat little Jew nodded, 'Yes, sir. Some part of his money he invested with us. For him we get it out, and I his man of business am. He has lodging now at 22 Rupert Street.'

  Roger thanked the dark, keen-eyed young man, shook hands with him and went his way, much pleased with the result of this chance encounter.

  Next day, Christmas Eve, Roger went down to Stillwaters. Apart from the nursery quarters and a few of the smaller rooms he found the great house shut up, which sadly depressed him. His late wife's aunt. Mrs Marsham. received him joyfully, and the children, to whom he had, after his two years' absence, become almost a stranger, soon accepted him again as a half-forgotten friend who brought them intriguing presents and played jolly games with them.

  But the memories of the many happy hours he had spent there with Georgina weighed heavily upon him. He could not get her out of his thoughts. Every feature of the place reminded him of one occasion or another when they had laughed and loved together. More than ever he regretted that he was not in England so that he was deprived of the chance of making his peace with her. Grimly, he forced himself to act the part of a jolly uncle with the children on Christmas and Boxing Days then, on the 27th, much relieved, and intent on his mission, he returned to London.

  The more he had thought of the matter the more convinced he became that General Pichegru could prove the lead into the conspiracy that was brewing against Bonaparte. During the wars of the Revolution Pichegru had ranked with Dumouriez, Kellermann and Moreau as one of France's most brilliant Generals. Therefore, to have had his career cut short; to be, although a patriot, unemployed and in exile he must be bitterly antagonistic to Napoleon. In '95 he had been willing to gamble his high command for Royalist honours if he could bring about a Restoration. How much greater now was the inducement of the prospect of returning to France as a Duke and Commander in Chief of the Army as a reward for eliminating the Corsican upstart.