“Have you never been tempted to take any of them and buy yourself a more comfortable life?” I asked.
He suddenly smiled. “Of course I have been tempted, Monsieur, who wouldn’t be? Two things made me resist the temptation. Both the patron and his father have been good to me. I could never serve them such a back-handed turn. The other reason is that I am far too stupid to be a thief. If I took jewels and tried to dispose of them, I would be easy to blackmail or to be forced to steal again. I am a timid man, Monsieur. One way or another, I would almost certainly get caught. I have no wish to spend the rest of my life in prison or to rot on a hulk in a godforsaken harbour.”
“I agree with you,” I said with an inner shudder. Parisian prisons are notorious and few prisoners survive for long on the hulks. I did not really suspect the man. If it had been another item of jewellery, yes, but not this. He, more than most people, would know how hard it would be to dispose of a crown with everyone searching for it. However, I could not eliminate him. He might have been tempted once too often, though, in spite of the ring of truth in his words. We needed to find out whether he had any urgent need of money. It was possible, although Robart did not strike me as a fool and only a maniac would steal the crown for profit. The thief would certainly be hunted from one end of France to the other. No fence, with a proper regard for his own skin, would touch such a thing. It would be impossible to sell within the empire. Almost certainly it would have to be broken down. Even so the jewels might be known and reported. They would have to be smuggled out of the country before their value could be realised, to the Low Countries, perhaps. If Robart intended to change the habit of a lifetime, I doubted this would be the occasion he would choose. Monsieur Margueritte and the rest of his workmen could probably be ruled out for the same reason. They, too, would remain as suspects, of course, until we had more evidence.
Then a thought struck me. Profit might not be the motive for this theft, no matter how much the crown was worth. Though, if not for money, why had the crown been taken? I needed to consider this reasoning more carefully when there was nothing to distract me. Now was not the moment. We had the other workmen to question first.
After we dismissed Robart, I said to Fournier, who was finishing his notes, “What do you think? Is he honest or not?”
“For now, we accept what he has to say until we can prove it one way or another.”
“Wouldn’t you, if you had his chances, steal something else? A necklace perhaps or even some loose stones? Then a quick trip north and you’d be rich enough to live in comfort for the rest of your life.”
“You might be right. He was very nervous.”
“So would you be if you had been if you had been the last one to hold the crown and you had neglected to lock it away.”
I nodded. “I’d be terrified. If we don’t find the wretched thing, the best thing he can hope for is dismissal. That is if the whole firm is not closed down. I don’t imagine that the Napoléon will be merciful to Margueritte. At the very least, he and his employees are careless.”
“That’s true. Then, for their sake as well as our own we’d better find the bloody thing.”
Chapter 4
8 Frimaire, Year XIII
(Thursday, November 29, 1804)
The other workmen appeared very different; they were much rougher than either Robart or his Patron. They spoke in the guttural tongue of the Parisian slums, which I used to find so hard to decipher when I came to the city. After a few years of experience, I had become more knowledgeable although still far from an expert. I was glad Fournier was with me. He had been born and bred here. I knew he would help if I made a mistake.
We spoke to Christophe, the journeyman, first. He was a burly bull of a man, florid and strong. Easy to imagine him surging through the streets with a red cap on his head and a pike in his hand. I wondered if he had actually been present when the mob stormed the Bastille, a bloody business so I have been told. I thought him someone who must be treated with caution; he had the appearance of a fervent Republican and these types can be difficult. It was not hard to place him; he even wore the red-white-blue cockade tied to his shirt. Few people wear it now unless they are calling at a government office. We had to, of course, as servants of the former Republic, which had become the Empire less than six months ago. That was something that had not changed, at least not yet.
“What can you tell me about this affair, Citizen?” I asked him, choosing my words carefully. I doubted whether Christophe had ever been called ‘Monsieur’ in his life.
“Very little. I saw Robart put the crown on his bench just before Princess Caroline burst in. He stood up and went to greet her. I ducked my head, hoping to avoid her and get on with my work. I never saw the crown again.”
“Weren’t you curious about the Emperor’s sisters?”
“I’ve met them all before often enough. We’ve made their jewellery ever since they came to Paris and some of the Empress’s too. We’re not the only firm to do work for them, of course, but we’re the best.” The man’s voice held a distinct pride. “That’s why we got these important jobs this time. The Empress is all right. She’s interested and speaks softly but Caroline is arrogant. I don’t like women like that, Citizen, and I didn’t want to argue with any of them. It’s safer to ignore them if you possibly can.”
“You did not speak to them?”
“I had to, unfortunately. I was finishing Pauline’s earrings and that’s tricky work. You need to concentrate in order to get it right. Pauline wanted them altered again. It’s annoying to have to change something when you’re almost finished. I told her that if I made the alterations, I couldn’t promise to deliver them tomorrow as we had previously agreed. She wasn’t pleased, but Robart smoothed it over. He’s good at calming people down.”
“So let me understand you. Princess Pauline, Robart and yourself stood speaking together.”
“That’s right.”
“Where were the others?”
“At the far side of the room. Robart had already given the other Princesses their jewellery out of the safe.”
“Could you see what they were doing?”
“Not very well. I tried to concentrate on what I was saying. I didn’t want to put my foot in my dish if you know what I mean. If I had said what I really wanted to say, I might never have stopped.” Christophe closed his eyes as if he was recreating the scene in his mind. “I caught the odd glimpse of the others, but I didn’t pay them much attention.”
“Where exactly did they stand?”
“It would be easier to show you rather than to tell you.”
“Show us then.”
Fournier and I followed Christophe down into the workshop. It was a large room, with a fire at one end which made it very warm, even on this cold December day. I felt the sweat breaking out on my forehead. The room contained a number of trestle tables, with vices and other tools heaped upon them, some shelves and cupboards. An imposing safe had been bolted to one of the walls.
“I wonder if Lefebvre could open that?” Fournier hissed in my ear. He had found out by chance Lefebvre’s former profession but had never used the knowledge against him, only in jest. Fournier is an honest man and has been a good friend to us both.
“He’d probably say it was easy,” I answered, with a grin.
Stools stood behind the benches, but no one sat on them. Monsieur Margueritte, Robart and three young lads, whom I took to be the apprentices, all stood together in front of the fire. They had the look of people whose animated conversation had suddenly been interrupted.
“We are going to recreate the scene as it was this morning, from the time that the crown was last handled by Robart. I would like all of you to stand where you were at the moment when the Emperor’s sisters came into the workshop,” I announced. They started to shuffle into position.
“Monsieur Margueritte, you weren’t here, as I know. Two of your apprentices were also absent. They can be excused for the time being, but I wou
ld like you to stay here beside me and watch.”
The young men, at a nod from their master, immediately left the room. They both were tall and strong, which was the reason they had been chosen to work here. A skinny lad with burns on his wrist remained. He could not have been more than fifteen or sixteen and he looked nervous. He stayed by the fire, drawing a stool up and sitting down upon it.
“This is your apprentice, Jacques, isn’t it?” I asked Monsieur Margueritte and he nodded. “Jacques, show us how you led the visitors into this room.”
Jacques stood up, shaking slightly as he said, “The bell sounded, Monsieur, and Robart told me to answer it because he was too busy.”
“So you went out of the room and answered the summons and then?”
“I went into the passageway and opened the door that leads into the street. One of the men escorting the Princesses stood outside. He said that the Princesses wanted another look at their jewellery.” The lad cast a furtive glance at Robart and his master as if he thought he had said something wrong. “I didn’t have time to fetch Robart. Once I had the door open, the ladies got down from their carriage. I stepped to one side and they brushed right past me. I couldn’t have stopped them without being rude.” His voice had a whine in it as if he expected censure.
“You did just as you should have done,” Margueritte said reassuringly and the lad seemed relieved.
“Please open the door and stand in the doorway, Jacques. Are the rest of you in the positions you were when the door opened?”
Robart nodded. “I was here, beside the desk with the safe key in my hand.”
“Christophe?”
“Sitting at my bench.” He sat down at a workbench which ran crossways to the others.
I walked round watching them all. Fournier scribbled a plan of the room into his notebook. I picked up a wooded box from one of the tables and took it over to Robart.
“Let us suppose that this box is the Empress’s crown. Robart, will you put it down exactly where you left it.” All of our eyes were glued to the box as Robart placed it on his worktop. “Now, can anyone see it from the position he is in?”
“I can, of course,” said Robart.
“Did you see it?” I persisted.
The man frowned. “Yes, I think so.”
“You’re not sure?”
“I didn’t really look at it. I was watching Princess Caroline. I may have glanced at it, but I don’t remember.”
“A minute,” Fournier said to me. “You say you may have glanced at the workbench at that moment. Only a casual glance, perhaps? Think hard; are you aware of anything missing? A space where something had been before perhaps?” He looked hard at Robart as he asked the question.
Robart frowned and stared at his bench as if he had never seen it before. Then he slowly shook his head.
“I don’t remember. I really can’t be sure.”
“Christophe, can you see the box on Robart’s bench?”
“No. The large vice blocks it, but I wasn’t looking anyway. I wanted to finish those damned earrings and as I said before, I kept my head down.”
“Jacques, where did you go after the Princesses had entered the room?”
“I held the door for all of them and closed it afterwards. Then I went and sat on that stool by the fire.”
“Why there?”
“One of my jobs is to heat the soldering irons; it’s my usual place.”
“Go and sit there then.” The boy obediently went over to the fire.
“Can you see the crown from where you’re sitting?”
“No, this stool is too low and the back of the workbench blocks my view.”
“Stand up,” I ordered. Jacques got to his feet and turned towards Robart’s bench.
“Can you see the box?” I repeated.
“Yes.”
“Did you stay in the same place all the time during the Princesses’ visit?”
“No, Christophe asked me to bring him a length of gold wire from one of the drawers.”
“Damn it, so I did,” Christophe snorted. “I’d forgotten that.”
“Do what you did then. Go and show me.”
The boy walked to the other side of the room, looking at the floor straight ahead of him, opened the drawer, took out a wire. He brought it over to Christophe, who took it absently and put it on his bench.
“Why did you want it, Christophe?” Fournier asked.
“To demonstrate to Pauline how her earrings would look if I made them shorter. I used a twist of the wire to pull the two halves of the earring tighter together.”
“Jacques, did you look down the whole time you fetched the wire?”
Jacques nodded.
“You never glanced around once, just now. Was that really what you did or can’t you remember?”
Jacques shook his head. “It’s what I did, Monsieur.”
“Why?” Fournier asked.
Jacques looked at him and gave a crooked grin. “I didn’t want to step on one of the ladies’ dresses. If I had soiled it or torn it, I would have been in real trouble.”
I couldn’t help smiling. There was such a ring of truth in the lad’s words.
“So you did not see the crown this morning?”
“I did when Robart was working on it. He showed me how he was adjusting the lining.”
“You never told us that.” I swung round to Robart.
“It was well before the Princesses arrived. It is part of the lad’s training though I don’t suppose he’ll have to work on crowns much in the future. He’d gone back to the fire by the time I went to get the safe key.”
“So Jacques, let us be clear. Did you see the crown at any time after you had shown the Princesses into the room?”
“No, I don’t think so. I don’t remember looking at Robart’s bench. I suppose I would have seen it if I had, but I didn’t. I just wanted to keep out of the way and not do anything wrong,” said Jacques, the whine back in his voice.
“Thank you.” I smiled at him and he gave me a watery smile in return but he was still nervous. I wondered if it was his nature or whether there was another reason. We would have to find out something more about Jacques.
“Now,” I turned to the others, “I would like you all to replay the scene for me. Monsieur Margueritte and I will take the parts of the Princesses and their equerries. You must tell us which way to move. Try to do exactly as you did this morning and speak out if anything is different.”
They moved awkwardly at first as they followed my instructions, but gradually they warmed to their task and began to remember more details. At the end of an hour, I believed that they had told me all they knew. I had a grasp of what had really happened that morning, although the main question had not been answered, of course.
“None of you went near the crown then,” I summarised. “Some of you could have seen it on the bench but no one remembers doing so. Is that correct?”
“That’s right,” Robart said, speaking for them all while the others nodded their agreement.
“For the whole time the party was in the room, you, Christophe, sat at your workbench and you never left it. Both Robart and Jacques confirm that.”
The big man’s shoulders dropped suddenly as if he had been holding them tightly and just relaxed. Why was he so tense?
Another question to be answered later, I thought.
“For part of that time you spoke to Princess Caroline and Princess Pauline,” I continued. “Robart brought you their jewels from the safe. You did not fetch them yourself.”
“No, Citizen, I couldn’t. Robart had the only key.”
“Jacques was behind Christophe, heating up the soldering irons as he had been told to do earlier and keeping out of the way.” I looked over at Jacques who nodded.
“Jacques also did not go near Robart’s bench and both Christophe and Robart vouch for him.”
“No, he never moved, except to bring me the wire,” Christophe said. “Then he went back to the fire a
nd stayed there until the party left.”
“You, Robart, were the only one who moved. You went twice to the safe. Once to bring Caroline’s and Pauline’s jewels to Christophe, once to fetch Élisa’s which you showed to her at one end of your workbench. The opposite end to where you put the crown?”
Robart nodded. “That’s right. I made Princess Élisa’s jewellery first and Christophe made the others to the same pattern. I set up the original designs with Monsieur Margueritte, which he sent to the Emperor for approval.”
“Did Princess Élisa want any changes made at this time?”
“No indeed. She said she was very happy with her regalia, but then she’s easier to please than her sisters.”
“The two men, Dupré and Saint Victor stayed with you and Princess Élisa?”
“Yes. They wanted to know how a jeweller works, once the pattern has been decided.”
“And in that time you all stood near your workbench?”
“Yes.”
“The crown was at the other end of the bench?”
“It was.”
“You saw it?”
“No, as I have already told you, I didn’t even glance at it. I’d almost forgotten it was there, God forgive me.”
“Then Pauline made difficulties and you went over to help Christophe?”
“I did, but it didn’t take very long. She’s a vain woman. Tell her she looks beautiful in anything and her objections melt away like snow. I found that out when I dealt with her before.”
“You left the others beside your bench?”
“I did.”
“Then your attention was distracted at that moment?”
“Yes, but I never thought any harm would come of it in such company.”
I turned to Christophe and Jacques. “Did Princess Élisa or either of the equerries move about after Robart left them?”
“No, Citizen. I don’t think so but I didn’t have time to look around me. Pauline would have flayed me if she thought I wasn’t paying attention to her. You don’t want to see her in a temper, believe me.”
“They moved, Monsieur,” Jacques interrupted suddenly.
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