"Look!" he exclaimed. "At last I can again welcome a new day— a new life. And you have made that possible."
As he turned and stood away from her, tears welled up into her eyes, and she said miserably: "Oh Roger! I know not what to think. You say now that I am beautiful, yet last night you put me from you. To understand you is beyond me."
'Is it so difficult?" his voice was gentle. "I am not made of stone; but memories of Amanda will for long make any thought of taking another wife out of the question for me. To have made you my mistress, then left you, would have been a cruel thing to do. Moreover, I would not have it on my conscience that when you do find some good fellow that you wish to marry, you should be deprived of the joy of knowing physical love for the first time with him."
"Then you did desire me?"
He smiled. "So much so that when you have been married a while, I'll do my utmost to seduce you." "Must I wait for that?"
"Yes. And should your marriage prove a happy one, you'll wait in vain. But I wanted you to know that for you I shall always have the tenderest feelings."
'She held out her arms. He took her into his and gave her a long sweet kiss. Then he said: "When I come downstairs in a few hours' time, remember to show as much surprise as the others. Now my pretty, you must go, or one of our fuzzy-haired housemaids will see you leave my room."
He then helped her on with her robe, and from the door watched her tiptoe away down the corridor.
When in due course he came downstairs everyone was amazed to see him brisk, smiling and entirely restored to his old good humour. Apart from apologizing to his Cousin, Clarissa, Penruddock and Fergusson for his boorish behaviour he made no reference to the past, except to say that he felt sure it would have been Amanda's wish that Clarissa should have all her things, and to distribute the many presents he had brought for her between Clarissa and his Cousin. Then he duly admired and caressed his little daughter, who he decided should be christened Susan Amanda.
Having disclosed his intention of returning to England, as he had already charged Penruddock with carrying on for him, he had only to spend an hour with the Colonel informally, discussing the affairs of the island. Another hour, with Mr. Beckwith, revealed that during the year he had held the appointment of Governor he had netted well over four thousand pounds, in addition to his salary, and, as the post was unlikely to be taken over for several months to come, he could expect at least another fifteen hundred, which was most satisfactory.
No ship was expected to leave for England under a fortnight, but a schooner was due to sail from St Pierre for Jamaica next day; so he decided to take passage in her. Penruddock turned out the regiment there to do him the honours as he went aboard, and, after farewells as cheerful as they could be in the circumstances, the schooner put out from the harbour to the thundering of cannon up in the fortress firing a Governor's salute.
On the second day crossing the Caribbean he had great cause to wish that he had waited for a larger ship, as that afternoon the schooner was chased by a Dutch privateersman. In view of his dire experience the previous year he was for some hours filled with the most nerve-racking apprehensions. But nightfall saved the schooner from capture
and on the 15th brought him safely to Kingston, where he found at anchor a large British Fleet.
The Williamsons were pleased to put him up again, but the. General was in poor shape and had a gloomy story to tell. He had spent most of the past year directing operations in Saint-Domingue, but owing to the unreliability of the troops under the French Royalists, lack of stores and the ravages of Yellow Jack among his own men, he had made no headway whatever against Toussaint and the Revolutionaries inspired by Victor Hugues. Ill and worn out by his endeavour to make bricks without straw, he had in the autumn been granted long furlough; but his successor, Sir Ralph Abercromby, had arrived only die previous day.
The Fleet with which Roger had sailed had, owing to the tempest, had seven transports wrecked on the coast of Dorset with a terrible loss of life. It had then made another false start, during which thirty ships had been driven back into the Solent; so he was, after all, lucky not to have suffered an even greater delay in reaching Barbados.
That night he met the new C.-in-C. at dinner. Sir Ralph looked like a Highland terrier. He was purblind and was already sixty-two, but he still possessed tremendous energy and had earned a great military reputation by covering the retreat and evacuation of the British expeditionary force from Holland in the preceding winter.
Before him there lay a task which would have daunted a lesser man. Apart from the war in Saint-Domingue, there were major slave rebellions to be put down in St. Lucia, Grenada, Dominica and St. Vincent Demerara had to be taken from the Dutch as it was now being used to fit out French privateers; the Spaniards, too, although still technically neutral, were allowing Trinidad to be used for the same purpose; and, last but not least, Victor Hugues, the cause of all the trouble, remained the solidly entrenched master of Guadeloupe.
Sir Ralph heartily blessed Roger for having kept his island in good order and begged him to change his decision about going home. Roger firmly declined, but added that any man should be capable of doing the same provided he observed three maxims. Namely: to win the goodwill of the French inhabitants; to hang half a dozen people at the first sign of trouble, even if some of them should later be proved innocent, rather than allow matters to develop to a point where hundreds might lose their lives in a general conflict; and to place the health of the troops before any other consideration.
The General heartily agreed with him, and showed the greatest keenness with regard to the last recommendation. Apparently some imbecile in Whitehall had deprived the Scottish regiments of their bonnets and kilts and instead equipped them with broad-brimmed felt hats and duck trousers. The idea of this well-meaning theorist had been to protect their faces from the sun, and their legs from mosquitoes; but in the tropical rains this new uniform became sodden, and could not be dried for hours, with the result that pneumonia had now become a scourge second only to Yellow Jack. Roger readily acceded to Sir Ralph's request that on reaching London he should press Mr. Windham as a matter of urgency to have the Scots' bonnets and kilts restored to them; then he put in a good word for Colonel Penruddock as a capable and reliable man, and wished Sir Ralph success in the numerous campaigns he was about to undertake.
Two days later he set sail in a fast mail packet for England. She made an excellent crossing and landed him at Liverpool on February the 14th. Next day he took a coach to London, and the following evening was once more installed in Amesbury House; although to his regret he had learned on his arrival that Droopy had temporarily removed himself to Brighton in order to enjoy some winter sunshine. On the morning of the 17th, after a wait of an hour, he secured an interview with Mr. Pitt, and told him the reason for his return.
Having commiserated with him on his bereavement, the Prime Minister said: "From you, Mr. Brook, I need be at no pains to conceal that the Allied cause is now in a more parlous state than ever before; and my anxieties on that account, at times, near as much as I can bear. All that can be done with ships, men and money is being done already; so our best hope of better fortune lies in original ideas carried out by men who have the courage to apply them. You may be able to help us in this way. If so your return is doubly welcome."
Roger shook his head. "I fear I have nothing to suggest, Sir. I can only say that I have decided to accept your offer to have Mr. Dundas dispose of my Governorship for me, and am now ready to serve you wherever you feel I might prove useful to you."
"How well informed are you of the present situation?"
"But poorly, Sir. I left here in mid-November and got back to London only yesterday, so I know practically nothing of fresh developments which may have taken place during the past three and a half months."
"Then I will briefly review them for you." Mr. Pitt took a swig of port and went on: "The Austro-Sardinian army in Italy managed to old its own against General
Kellerman until the late autumn. But since the French Commander was replaced by General Scherer, things there have gone far from well. At about the same time we relieved Admiral Hotham of the command of the Mediterranean Fleet and appointed in his stead Sir John Jervis. His major task has been to continue the blockade of Toulon; so he could afford to detach only a small squadron, under a promising young senior Captain named Nelson, to do the best they could to interrupt French communications with the Italian coast In consequence, and probably also because Carnot is once again directing the French war effort considerable quantities of supplies got through. The French, from being short of everything, were enabled to launch a new offensive.
"I am advised that General Scherer is no great master of war; but he appears to have several daring and capable corps commanders under him. Their names are Augereau, Serurier, Joubert and Massena. The latter, with some help from the others, inflicted a severe defeat on our allies at Loano towards the end of November. Fortunately for them, instead of taking advantage of this victory, General Scherer then decided to go into winter quarters. But now that spring approaches the outlook of the Allied cause in Italy is far from good. "With regard to the Rhine, you saved us there. On Pichegru's deliberate failure to take Heidelberg, General Jourdan's army was compelled to fall back. He recrossed the Rhine and retreated down the Moselle to Traabach. The Austrians followed but the winter has been so severe that by December neither army was in a state to fight further. On about the 19th they agreed an armistice, and Jourdan has established himself in a fortified camp on the heights above the town. Pichegru, meanwhile, had allowed himself to be thrown out of Mannheim. He then retired across the Rhine to his old lines at Weissenburg. There, on December the 31st, he too signed a winter armistice. But there has been a leak, or at least a suspicion, that he is no longer to be trusted. As far as I know he has not yet been arrested, but he has been suspended from his command."
"Then we cannot hope to buy further help from him."
"No; and when we attempted to bribe Jourdan we failed in it He hung our agent from the nearest tree."
"What of Russia?" Roger enquired. "Has the old Empress Catherine furnished the Austrians with the help she promised?"
"No. We now have little hope of her doing so, and I greatly doubt the capacity of the Austrians to get the better of General Jourdan in the spring: for now that General Hoche has again pacified La Vendee the bulk of the great army which has been tied up there for so long will probably be transferred to support that on the Rhine."
"May I ask, Sir, if you have further considered letting the French know through diplomatic channels that you would be willing to enter into negotiations for a peace?"
"We have gone so far as to consult with Vienna on possible terms which would be acceptable to the Emperor and to ourselves; but he is adamant on the question of the Austrian Netherlands. As you will recall, last October Belgium was divided into nine Departments and incorporated into France. This measure being so recent, it is highly improbable that the French could be persuaded to give these territories up yet the Emperor insists that their return should be a fundamental article of any settlement, and Britain could not desert her ally. Therefore no indication of our willingness to treat has yet been transmitted to Paris."
Roger nodded gloomily. "I asked only to ascertain if any move of the kind had been made. Even if it could be, and the terms were favourable, I'd place little hope on their acceptance. That is, unless there have been radical changes in the composition of the French Government."
"There have not. The five Directors are the same as when you left Paris, and they appear to be more firmly seated in the saddle than ever. I gather, though, that they are a venal crew; and since they are now virtually all-powerful, I have been wondering if we could not succeed in bribing one or more of them to sway the rest France needs peace every whit as badly as ourselves. If the bribe were big enough, and they were guaranteed against reprisals for their pasts, they might be tempted to call on the people to support them against their old colleagues in the two Chambers."
After refilling his glass from the decanter that Mr. Pitt pushed towards him, Roger-shook his head. "What could you possibly offer them more than they have? Dukedoms, Governorships and Orders would be regarded as poor bait by men who are each one-fifth of a king already. As for money, their situation enables them to collect it by the bushelful. Besides, peace in due course must bring a Restoration, and they would place no faith in any guarantee that could be given them. As I pointed out when last we talked of this, in upholding the revolutionary system of government lies their one and only hope of safety."
"What think you, then, of reverting to our old plan of attempting to find among the Revolutionary Generals another Monk, who would seize Paris for us. As I have said, our attempt to suborn Jourdan failed; but there are Moreau, Hoche, Kellerman, all men of great reputation, and this new man, Buonaparte, who commands the Army of the Interior."
For a moment Roger considered the matter, then he said, "Buonaparte would suit our purpose best, as he is already in Paris; so could secure it, if he would, without having to march upon it. Moreover, unless he was also privy to the plan, any of the others would find him a hard nut to crack. Unfortunately he is a convinced revolutionary, so his political convictions would prove a nasty hurdle to get over. However, he struck me as a young man of inordinate ambition; so there is just a chance that a Marshal's baton, the Chateau of Chambord, and all the other things Pichegru was to get, might tempt him to pull our chestnuts out of the fire for us."
"Then, Mr. Brook, the best service you can render me would be to return to Paris and endeavour to come to an arrangement with General Buonaparte."
Roger now had reason to be thankful that, instead of simply disappearing from Paris without explanation, he had evolved and put into execution a plan to cover his withdrawal. It meant that although there were always unforeseen possibilities in his dangerous work, on this occasion he could readily agree to Mr. Pitt's request, and reappear in the French capital without any evident risk.
However, the Prime Minister, giving as his reason that all too soon spring would be upon them and fresh campaigns be opening which might prove disastrous for the Allies, did press him to start upon his new mission with the least possible delay. In consequence, he again had to forgo the chance to see Georgina; and, with new blank drafts on secret funds in Paris concealed upon him, he left Rochester in a specially employed Revenue Cutter the following afternoon.
She landed him near Calais soon after dawn next morning. For the next two days he suffered cold, misery and boredom, as the diligence conveyed him, or he helped to push it, over rutted muddy roads to Paris; but he arrived there without incident a little before midday on February the 21st
At La Belle Etoile the Blanchards once more welcomed him and asked no questions. Upstairs he had a most welcome bath, changed into one of the Paris-made suits that he had left in the secret wardrobe he kept there, then came down and enjoyed a meal with his host and hostess.
This time they had little to tell him. The poorer half of the population of Paris was literally starving, but entirely cowed by the Government's troops and the reconstituted National Guard, which was now loyal to it Another third, which had either goods, or services superior to manual labour, to sell, was now benefiting from the long-hidden gold that was once more in circulation. The upper sixth crowded the salons, theatres, public ballrooms and cafes, flaunting a luxury unseen since the monarchy and a licentiousness which would never have been tolerated in the days of that most immoral of kings, Louis XV.
At six o'clock Roger had himself driven in a coach to the Luxemburg, and enquired for Barras. He was told that at eight the Director would be holding an evening soiree; so he spent the intervening time in a cafe and returned at that hour. As in the old days at the Royal Palaces, anyone who was respectably dressed was allowed to enter, and the long gallery was soon crowded with merveilleuses, incroyables, officers, deputies, and prominent citize
ns. A number of them were already known to Roger; so he spent an hour exchanging bows, kissing women's hands, gossiping, and repeating over and over again his story that he had that morning returned from a stay of nearly four months in the South of France.
In due course ushers formed a lane through the throng, then Barras, resplendent in satins and with powdered hair, appeared. Walking slowly down it he paused here and there to chat with friends, had a smile for every pretty woman who caught his eye, passed to M. Bottot, his secretary, who followed him, every petition presented with a promise to read it personally, and listened graciously to a score of requests for a variety of favours.
When he noticed Roger, who, owing to his height, could afford to stand a little way back in the crowd, he waved a hand and called gaily to him: "It is good to see you again! You must join us later in the salon, and tell me what you have been doing with yourself."
The salon was reserved for the elite and into it, after Barras had walked back up the human lane, some hundred and fifty people followed him, to drink pink champagne and eat foie-gras sandwiches or pineapple ices. At about half-past ten, when the party had thinned a little, Roger saw his chance and got a ten-minute tete-a-tete with the Director over a glass of wine.
After reporting that his health was much improved, Roger said that he had bought a pleasant property on the coast near the old Roman town of Frejus where he intended to spend a good part of each year in future, as it included a number of vineyards, which he felt it would be interesting to have cultivated by the most modern methods.
"Ah!" exclaimed Barras, simulating envy. "How wise you are, my dear fellow! Nowhere in the world does one find such passionate girls as among the dark-eyed beauties of my native Provence; and in its first season I would sooner drink the rose which will come from your presses than a good Bordeaux. With wine and women, sunny days and warm nights to make love in, what more could a man want? I am a fool to stay here, wearing myself out among this riff-raff."
The Dark Secret of Josephine rb-5 Page 45