by Griff Hosker
The engineer ventured, “Some of my brother officers need lessons in being gentlemen.”
“They do indeed sir. May I buy you both a drink?”
I think that the colonel of engineers was going to decline but the lady fluttered her eyelids and said, “Why thank you sir. Would you care to join us?”
I saw the flash of irritation on the man’s face before he stood and said, “Of course, sir, do join us.”
I waved to the waiter and circled my hand around the table. I introduced myself, “I am Henri Ricard.” I shrugged apologetically, “A business man.”
The colonel smiled, “Do not be ashamed of that. France needs all the trade it can get so that we can strangle England. I am Colonel Robert Mandeville, an engineer.” I nodded and shook his hand. “And this is a celebrity; this is Madame Sophie Blanchard who is an aeronaut and balloonist. She is the first woman to ascend alone in a balloon and she is a very clever engineer.”
I had heard of balloonists who ascended into the skies on either hot air or hydrogen balloons. I was impressed. I took her hand and kissed the back of it. “I am honoured.” I waved a hand at the other ladies in the room. “They are noisy and without thought but you, Madame are a true vision of the future; a woman who can think and is beautiful at the same time.”
She giggled and the colonel rolled his eyes. “You are too kind sir.”
“And tell me what are you doing here? Do you plan an ascent? Please tell me that you do. I would dearly love to watch you.”
The colonel answered for her. “Nothing so frivolous. She is working with me so that we might defeat the English at long last. Their fleet will be useless.”
It is strange how you can get a sudden moment of clarity. A thought comes to you from seemingly nowhere. This time I gave voice to it. “You are going to fly an army across the waves!”
Her face told me the answer and it was confirmed by the colonel’s denial. “No sir! What a ridiculous thing to say. Come Madame, we have tarried too long and we must away.”
I could see from her face that she wished to stay but the colonel almost dragged her from the room. As I sat and finished my drink I thought of the idea. It was fantastical but if even women had ascended in balloons then the logistics would allow for a large enough balloon to transport large numbers? The tunnel and then balloons; Bonaparte was deadly serious this time. He intended to invade Britain and it looked like he was almost ready to do so. He was using every means possible. I knew that he liked using science whenever he could. Whatever one might say about him, he was forward looking and an innovative thinker.
As I ascended the stairs to my room I could not get the pretty little woman from my thoughts. She seemed too tiny to be such a daredevil. I could see why she had come to the attention of Bonaparte. He always liked to use new inventive ideas and this was one such.
The next day we took the horses again, and headed down to Boulogne. I had decided that, as it was so close to Calais, we would see what ships there were in the harbour. The blockading fleet had reported no large ships with masts in the northern harbours of France but I wondered if they would use barges, perhaps, to cross the narrow strip of water.
As we headed south and closed with Boulogne we saw the camps. They were well organised and Trooper Sharp found it easy to mark them down on his stick. When we neared a uniform he hid the stick but we still received suspicious glances. The closer we came to the port the more aggressive was the attitude. Eventually two of the Gendarmerie held up their hands and stopped us.
“Papers!”
It was a peremptory command and the second soldier held his musket as though he was ready to fire. I handed mine over. “What is the problem? I am a simple businessman travelling with my servant. Why are you stopping me?”
My papers seemed to satisfy him but he still viewed me with suspicion. “This is a military area. What are you doing here?”
“You may have camps here officer but this is the main road to the port so how else am I to see if it is suitable for my ships eh?”
“Your ships?” His tone was now almost placatory.
“Yes, I intend to import cotton from America and I need to know which port would be the best to use and to build my warehouses.” I wagged a finger at him, “The First Consul would not be happy at your attitude.”
His face paled, “You know Consul Bonaparte?”
I smiled, “I have supped with him.” That was not a lie but it felt like one.
“I am sorry sir.” He hurriedly wrote something on a piece of paper. “Here you are sir; a pass which will prevent you having similar problems closer to the port.”
“Thank you. The next time I see Napoleon I will tell him of your kindness.” I used his first name to suggest intimacy.
Boulogne turned out to be one huge military camp. If the other two were of the same size then there could be almost two hundred thousand men ready to invade England. Of course only a few would use the balloons, if they ever materialised, but they had the barges to do so. I know that the British Army had a good reputation but they could not field half that number. If they landed in Essex than half of the men who would be opposing them would be stuck south of the Thames.
The pass proved a godsend and we were able to get quite close to the harbour and see the many barges which filled the inner harbour. They would have been impossible to see from the sea. Bonaparte was ready to invade; all that he needed was the Channel free from the Royal Navy for six hours and he would be in London within the week.
The coast road was, mercifully devoid of any soldiers. I could see watch towers, in the distance, but there were no camps. Calais harbour proved to be a copy of Boulogne and there were nearly as many barges there as there had been further south. Once back in the room we compiled the information into one document. It made frightening reading. The cannon we had seen would have made our generals pale let alone the infantry and cavalry. The French must have used the peace to build as many twelve pounders as possible. I knew that we had nothing with the range and power of that gun.
Dinner that evening was a repeat of the first night, save that the lovely Madame Blanchard was not there. I felt disappointed. There was nothing to keep us there and we retired early.
I had decided to risk riding to Bruges. It was much further away than Boulogne had been but I intended to visit Montreuil just before we were picked up by Lieutenant Teer. As a result we rose early and breakfasted just after first light. I was happily surprised to see Madame Blanchard eating alone and she looked just as pleased to see me.
“Good to see you. Would you two gentlemen join me? I do so hate eating alone.”
“Of course. This is my servant, Sharp. I am afraid he is American and so he does not speak our language.”
Sharp bowed and she beamed. “Oh I would love to visit America. They say that anything is possible there. This awful war prevents such travel does it not?”
The waiter took our order. “It seems a shame that you cannot visit America and yet here you are in the middle of all these preparations for war.”
“I know but I need to be here.”
“Amongst all these soldiers? I confess it is difficult to find warehouses which I could use. They are all filled with the paraphernalia of war.”
“When they leave then you will not have a problem will you? There will be many of them and they will be available at a low price.”
“So far I have seen precious little evidence of them moving.”
She gave me a smug smile. “I think they will move sooner rather than later.”
Our food arrived and we ate in silence for a while. “Your balloon, is it here in Calais?”
“No, it is further south, close to Boulogne.”
Enigmatically, that was all that she said. I felt at a loss how to proceed. There was something going on with the lady and it was to do with the invasion. “Perhaps I could see your balloon one day. I confess I have never seen one. The idea of flying above the earth intrigues me.”
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nbsp; She hesitated and then smiled, “Of course. Why not? I need to get out of this hotel soon and the colonel will not be back from Paris for another day at least. Could you arrange for a carriage?” She saw my look and giggled, “I can fly a balloon but I have never mastered a horse.”
While she went to change I said to Trooper Sharp, “A change of plans. We are going to see the lady’s balloon. I have a feeling it has something to do with the invasion. Keep your eyes open.”
I went to the reception and arranged for a carriage. From the smile on the assistant manager’s face I suspected I would be paying a fortune for it. “You will, of course require a driver. That will be extra.”
I did not mind that for it meant that I would be able to get more information from this intriguing and intrepid lady. She was a lively conversationalist and happily chatted about how she had taken to ballooning. I gathered that she had stolen her husband from his first wife. The attraction of ballooning had made her determined to achieve her heart’s desire. She might be tiny but she was determined. It soon became obvious that Bonaparte himself had been involved in her plans. She was discreet but I was able to deduce certain facts from what she didn’t say. She had designed a balloon which could carry up to thirty men. As I stared out of the window I worked out that thirty such balloons could carry a battalion. They could land anywhere. They could even land in London, at Hyde Park and then the Royal Family could be captured. It was a brilliant idea.
The workshop was close to Gris Nez, just south of Wissant and it was situated on the cliff top. There was a company of engineers guarding it and it was an enclosed encampment. Had we not been with Madame Blanchard then it is unlikely that we would have been allowed within a hundred yards of the perimeter.
The captain in command looked to be under the spell of this lady and he caved in to her smile when she said she wished to show her new friends the balloons. This was the first time she had used the plural and that intrigued me. We were taken to a large oblong building. Once inside I was disappointed. There were just three enormous sacks lying on the ground. She saw my face and she laughed. “They do not look much lying there do they? Yet when we light a fire and fill them with hot air they can rise into the sky. Come let me show you one which is a little more alive than these three sleeping beauties.”
We exited the building and found ourselves on the cliff top. There was a basket and above it an envelope which was filling with air. It was tethered to the ground and a soldier was feeding the fire.
“Now do you see? The air is heated and it expands the balloon. Eventually the skin becomes tight and we would rise into the sky if we were in the basket.”
I was genuinely amazed and surprised, “How do you steer it?”
“Ah, that is the problem. You do not. You go where the wind takes you. But you are fortunate. We can ascend…” she gave me a cheeky smile, “if you have the courage.”
I was a little fearful but I could not, in all conscience, back out now. “Of course!”
The captain seemed worried, “Madame Blanchard, are you sure?”
“The wind is from the west and I do not intend to free us from the ground, merely to rise and show my friend here the joys of a balloon.” Despite her sex and her size she had real authority when she spoke.
We headed over to the balloon. I could see Sharp’s worried expression. He had only caught a little of the conversation. “Madame, I will just explain to my servant what we are about. He will worry.”
I then spoke to Sharp. I used a dreadful accent and pronounced the words badly; much as I had heard Englishmen massacring French before now. “Sharp, I am going up in the balloon. Do not fear. Keep an eye on how they operate this contraption.” I saw the captain’s surprised look. “He is American and cannot speak French.” He nodded his understanding.
“You will need to take off your hat. It can be quite windy up there.” I handed my hat to Sharp. “Now climb into the basket and I will join you.”
As I stepped in I wondered how she would fit in the basket with me. The fire took up half of the interior and I am not a little man. The captain brought a small stool and she used it climb over the side of the wicker basket. I had been correct and we were almost touching once she was inside.
She giggled again, “It is a little cosy. We shall know each other a little better by the time we have descended. Now put some more wood in the fire and we will begin to rise.” As I did so I heard her order the soldiers who were around the basket. “Let go of the anchors.”
I stood upright as the ropes holding us to the ground were loosened. Nothing happened for a while and I wondered if I was the victim of an elaborate hoax. She patted my hand. “It is not sudden but it is inevitable.” I wondered if she was speaking of the ascent or the thrill I had just felt from the touch of her tiny hand.
I felt a little wobble and then I saw Sharp and the others begin to move farther away. I realised that they were not moving; it was us and we were rising. One rope only held us.”Do not worry, Henri, there is little wind today we shall just rise, gently, into the sky.”
The sensation was so unbelievably subtle that it was hard to believe that we were actually moving. A furtive look over the side showed me that we were and the faces below us were much smaller. I gripped the side of the basket.
“Well what do you think?”
“I think it is quite remarkable. How many people could you fit into one of these?”
“Oh this is a small one, just the two of us.” She touched my hand, “Why would you wish someone else was here with us?” She had moved quite close to me and lowered her voice so that I had to bend down to hear her words. I had almost forgotten that we were in a balloon. I was intoxicated by her. I suddenly had a whiff of her perfume as her face neared mine. I have no idea what made me do it but I suddenly moved towards her and kissed her. I thought that she would back away but she kissed me back. I put my arms around her and she did the same.
When we came apart I saw that her face was flushed with excitement. “You see what the air does to us Henri? It frees us not only from the ground but the conventions of the earth. Here we are free, just like the birds and the bees.” Her voice became husky as she said, “Kiss me again!”
Suddenly the balloon stopped rising and seemed to hang in the air. She looked disappointed. “Ah we have reached the end of the rope and soon we shall descend and, once again, become mere mortals. As much as I would love to kiss you again I think you must appreciate the view. It is spectacular.”
I too wanted to carry on kissing but as I looked out I saw that we had ascended quite a long way and I could see all the way to both Calais and Boulogne. She pointed west and, to my amazement, I could see the English coast. It looked close enough to touch. I realized that it would be impossible to damage these balloons. They would be able to travel with impunity. How could anyone stop them?
I continued looking as I said, “So you can only carry two people then?”
“In this one, yes but the ones you saw in the workshop can each carry up to thirty people. Perhaps not such huge people as you are, but ones like me. As soon as the wind is from the west we will try them out. I am quite excited by the prospect.” We were descending now and I knew that the kisses would not start again.
“Why do you need wind from the west?”
“We only need an east wind when we wish to cross the sea. I am not just a balloonist; I also have to know about wind and weather. It is complicated and you need skill.”
I can see that Madame and I can see that you have skill”
She touched my hand again as the ground moved towards us even faster. “I have many skills.” As we bumped to the ground she squeezed my fingers and then she laughed as she disengaged herself. “There, how did you enjoy your first flight?”
“It was magnificent!” She seemed genuinely pleased that I had enjoyed the trip.
The ride back to Calais seemed mundane after the excitement of the flight. We both had to behave on the journey back as Sha
rp was with us and the driver could also see us. I confess that I was thinking of what might ensue later that evening for I was under no illusions; Madame Sophie Blanchard had wanted to do more than kiss.
As we entered the hotel I was planning a way to get to her room later that night. My hopes were shattered when the manager handed her a letter. “Madame Blanchard, this came to you from Paris.”
She looked disappointed as she read the letter. “It seems I have to go to Paris to meet with First Consul Bonaparte.”
“When?”
Her hand briefly touched mine as she said, “Now.” She turned to the manager. “I will go to my room to pack a few things. Could you change the horses? The First Consul will reimburse you.”
“Of course Madame.”
As he left she looked into my eyes and said, “I shall see you when I return. It will only be a day or two. Then we can continue to get to know each other a little better.”
“Of course.” Life has a way of tempting you and then tearing away the temptation before you can enjoy it. I was not to know it but that would be the last time I would ever see Sophie again.
Chapter 11
While we ate dinner early in a deserted dining room I explained to Sharp what I had learned. “Well sir, what I did notice was what looked like wagons without wheels. I think that they must serve the same purpose as the baskets. They looked as though they could hold quite a few men.”
“The question is what do we do about them?”
“Sir?”
“Those are the only three balloons they have. They are prototypes. They have yet to try them out. If they were destroyed then it would put them back considerably in their plans to invade England.”
He nodded as he took it in. “But I thought that we were just here to observe.”
“We were but Colonel Selkirk can’t have known about this, can he?” I think I was trying to persuade myself that we needed to do something about them.
Sharp said, “Tonight is the first boat sir. We could go back with this information and let the colonel decide what to do. We have plenty of information for him.”