The Czar and Prince Adam exchanged a smile, then the latter said:
'This we have learned, and from a very high authority. One such said to His Imperial Majesty only the other day, "Sire, what are you coming here for? It is for you to save Europe, and you will only succeed in that by resisting Napoleon. The French are civilised, their sovereign is not. The Sovereign of Russia is civilised, her people are not. Therefore the Sovereign of Russia must be the ally of the French people."'
Roger smiled. 'I would stake my life that I could name the man who said that. It was the Prince dc Benevento.'
'Why should you suppose so?' Alexander asked coldly.
'Because, Sire, every word has the ring of Talleyrand. He has been my close friend for over twenty years. He knows as you do that I am, in fact, an Englishman. We have worked together ceaselessly, although so far without avail, to bring about peace between our two countries, so that this bloodshed may end and the nations of Europe again enjoy security and prosperity.'
Alexander raised his eyebrows. 'Then, Mr. Brook, you are an even more remarkable man than I had supposed, and can be of great service to us. Policy dictates that we should renew our treaty with the Emperor, but we shall not pay more than lip service to it. Talleyrand has seen to that, and Napoleon must indeed have become insane to have put him in charge of negotiations here, instead of relying on his Foreign Minister.'
'I was not aware that he had, Sire,' Roger admitted, 'as I have had no private conversation with the Prince since we arrived in Erfurt. But 'tis said, "those whom the gods seek to destroy they first make mad", and that is the case with Napoleon.'
Rising to terminate the interview, the Czar extended his hand for Roger to kiss and said, 'Mr. Brook, we know you to be our friend, and any service you can render us will not go unrewarded.'
Next day, October 12th, the new treaty was signed. An hour later, Roger sought an interview with the Emperor and asked for leave.
Before he could say more, Napoleon rounded on him and snapped, 'What! And after you have been back in my service for no more than three months? I suppose on account of your weak chest you wish again to idle the winter away in sunshine at that little chateau of yours in the South of France? But I will provide you with ample sunshine. I intend to go to Spain and teach those Spanish curs a lesson they will not soon forget. You speak many languages, have travelled far, and possess a knowledge of affairs greatly exceeding that of the majority of my beaux sabreurs. I can find many uses for you, so I mean to take you to Spain with me.'
Roger smiled. 'Sire, you flatter me; but you did not hear me out. I meant only to ask permission to spend a few days with Baron von Haugwitz and his wife at their castle on the Rhine.'
'Ah! That is another matter. Go then; but rejoin me in Paris before the end of the month.'
Next day the conference began to break up, with more salvoes of cannon and fanfares of trumpets. Roger was present when Queen Louisa went out to her coach. At a private dinner with her husband, Josephine and Napoleon, she had pleaded eloquently with the latter to return Magdeburg to Prussia. Having made her an evasive answer, he had taken a rose from a vase on the table and handed it to her. Those who knew him realised that the gesture had been inspired only by his invariable gentleness towards women; but she had taken it as a deliberate indication that he did not regard women as qualified to discuss affairs of State.
Immersed as ever in his own urgent business he did not pay her the courtesy of coming to see her off. It was Talleyrand who limped forward and offered her his arm, condoled with her for a while on her failure to help her country, then handed her into her coach. Afterwards she recorded:
'I was astonished beyond belief that this renegade priest, whom I had always thought of as the most evil, depraved and treacherous man of his time, should have been the only one to show me sympathy and understanding during the conference at Erfurt.'
The Haugwitzes left on the same day. Having noticed that Gunther's study had only a small bookcase and that several score of law books were in piles on the floor, Roger went out and bought for him the finest bookcase he could find in the town, and expensive presents for Frau Gum her and the doctor who had delivered Lisala. These simple, kindly Germans received them with surprise and gratitude; but he assured them that he could not sufficiently repay the care they had given to his wife. Next morning he and Lisala set out for Schloss Langenstein.
The journey was something under two hundred miles, so could be done comfortably by coach in four days. Lisala took with her in the coach a young girl named Gretchcn, whom Frau Gunther had procured for her as a maid, after Josefa had moved out to the farm with the Negro baby. Roger rode beside the coach, and his soldier-servant, Francois, behind him.
During the conference, husband and wife had exchanged barely a word, except during the evenings when they were with other people. But now that they were alone, he had to make up his mind how he should treat her. Although he was determined to reject any overtures she might make towards resuming their former intimacy, he decided that it would cause great awkwardness at the inns if they did not at least appear to be on good terms; so, when they halted at the wayside for their first picnic lunch, he said:
'Lisala, what has happened cannot be undone. During the times we spent together in Isfahan, Lisbon, Rio and Madrid, I was many times perturbed by the violence of your temper and your extreme selfishness; but my passion for you was such that I made allowances for the unattractive side of your mind, believing it to be beyond the power of your will to control.
'But the day after we reached Erfurt you revealed to me your true nature, even glorying in the fact that you are governed entirely by your baser instincts. That destroyed my love and any latent affection I might feel for you. However, since we are to remain together, it would only be a continual harassment to us both did we do so in a state of enmity. Therefore, I propose henceforth to treat you as I would a sister or cousin, with whom circumstances had made it necessary for me to share a home.'
She shrugged her fine shoulders. 'That suits me well enough. It was your personality that made you more attractive to me than other men, and I greatly enjoyed our early intimacy. But since you returned to the service of the Emperor, your work has absorbed you to a degree that makes you a poor husband. My only interest now is to retain the status that being your wife gives me, and my position as one of the Empress' ladies. I have only to lift my finger, and I could secure more lovers than I would have the time to pleasure.'
'That I do not doubt,' he retorted tartly. 'And, your nature being what it is, I am not fool enough to expect you to remain chaste. But I now give you fair warning. Not only must you be discreet about your affaires, you must also impress the necessity of discretion upon any lover you may take. Should one of them be rash enough to boast that he has had you, I'll call him out and kill him. I will then kill you.'
He knew he would never carry out the last part of his threat, but it had its effect. She paled, cast down her eyes and murmured, 'It has not escaped me that you, too, have a ruthless streak, and are an ill man to cross. So be it then. I will take great care not to provoke a scandal.'
Neither of them had ever lacked subjects of interest to talk about; so, at the inns where they took their evening meals, any casual observer would have put them down as a long-married couple upon good terms with each other. But Roger always asked for a separate room, on the pretext that he suffered from insomnia, spent half the night reading, and was loath to keep his wife awake. On the afternoon of Wednesday, October 20th, they reached Schloss Langenstein.
It dated from medieval times: a rambling, irregular pile, surmounted by a tall tower and perched upon a rocky eminence overlooking a bend in the broad river. The coach had been sighted while slowly climbing the zigzag road that led up to it, so the von Haugwitzes were at the great wooden, iron-studded door to welcome their visitors. Young Charles, now a handsome, well-grown lad, with his mother's dark, curly hair and his father's blue eyes, stood besi
de them.
Roger felt a momentary alarm as the boy's eyes lit up at the sight of him; but he was reassured when Charles looked away as though indifferent about the new arrivals, and began to pat the head of a wolfhound standing nearby. When the elders had exchanged greetings, Georgina said to him:
'Charles, you remember Monsieur de Breuc, who came to stay with us for a few nights at Sullwaters, years ago when he was on a mission to London ?'
'Yes, Mama,' the boy replied in French. Smiling, he held out his hand to Roger, and added, 'But not very well, for I was then very young.'
The visitors were shown to their rooms, and Roger noted with satisfaction that his was in a different wing from Lisala's; for, in spite of their conversation four days earlier, he had thought it just possible that, if she felt the urge, she might pay him a midnight visit and try her wiles upon him.
Ulrich von Haugwitz proved an excellent host, and Georgina had done many small things to dispel the grim atmosphere of the old castle, so that the rooms had at least something of the atmosphere of an English country house.
The evening meal was admirable: freshly-caught Rhine trout, roebuck, and sweet, white grapes which had been kept on ice since the recent vintage. The wines were superb, ending with a Hock of twenty years from the Baron's Kabinett reserve, grown on his own estate.
Charles had been allowed to stay up for the meal, but was sent off to bed as soon as it was over. Roger saw with pleasure that the Baron showed a great affection for the boy, rumpling his hair and kissing him on both cheeks, as though he were actually his father.
Afterwards they spent an hour or so talking about the conference; then, as the visitors had had a long day travelling, they went to bed. Roger felt no inclination to sleep, as he was hoping that when the Castle was wrapped in slumber, Georgina would come to him; so by candlelight he re-read Voltaire's Candide, which was among the books beside his bed.
Soon after midnight, his hopes were realised. The door opened quietly, and Georgina slipped into the room. He greeted her with a smile, but she ignored it, threw off the chamber robe she was wearing, blew out the candles and, without a word, slid into bed beside him.
Clasping her warm body to him with a joyous laugh, so that her fine breasts flattened against his broad chest, he sought her mouth for their first kiss. But, to his astonishment, she turned her face away, then burst into tears.
Her arms round his neck, she clutched him with sudden fierceness, and sobbed, 'Roger! Thank God you are come. I need your help. I need it most desperately.'
Roger to the Rescue
Several minutes passed before Roger succeeded in quietening Georgina's wild outburst of distress. Having sought to soothe her, he at length took her by the shoulders and shook her, as he said tersely:
'Georgina! Cease behaving like an hysterical girl. Whatever trouble you are in, I'll get you out of it. You must know that. We have been like father, mother, brother and sister to each other, as well as lovers, ever since we were children. I would give my life for you any day. For God's sake, tell me what causes you such grief, so that I may provide a remedy for it.'
Her sobs lessened, and she moaned, 'It is Ulrich. His behaviour revolts and horrifies me.'
'Why? Is he a sadist and brutal to you?'
'No; he has always treated me with consideration, and is proud to have me for his wife.'
'What then?'
'He is heterosexual. He enjoys women, but also boys. He orders the stable lads to his bed. Such practices have always revolted me. It was when I first found that out that I refused ever again to sleep with him, and demanded a room of my own.'
Roger considered for a moment, then he said, 'It is known that the Greek vice has now become a German one. Your revulsion I understand, but why the terrible distress? Does it stem from the fact that you love him, so are jealous of his complaisant sodomites, and yearn to have him back to make love only to you?'
'No, no,' Georgina whimpered. ' 'Tis not that. Such attraction as he had for me soon faded after he had brought me here. He is handsome, intelligent and bold; but underneath cold and cynical. As I can get no money from England until peace comes, I cannot leave him; but I've no wish even to keep a hold on his affections.'
'Why, then, this extreme perturbation? Many women who no longer love their husbands readily ignore their vices and console themselves by having affaires with other men. You did so yourself when married to Humphrey Etheredge.'
'I know; I know. But this is different. I am afraid for Charles.'
'Charles 1' Roger repeated, aghast. 'You do not mean ... ?'
'I do. Did you not see the way in which Ulrich fondled the boy before he retired after our arbeitsessen?’
'I did,' Roger agreed, 'but thought him to be showing only paternal affection.'
'You were wrong. He has set his evil heart upon seducing my son. Oh, Roger! What can I do? What can I do?'
Again Roger was silent for a minute, then he asked, 'What of Charles? Do you think him inclined to lend himself to your husband's designs upon him?'
'No, I am certain he would not. Ulrich flatters him and loads him with presents; but Charles instinctively shies away from his caresses. My awful fear is that, should he continue to fail to respond to him, Ulrich will lose patience, enter his room one night, and force him.'
'Then,' Roger said firmly, 'our only course is speedily to remove the boy from here.'
'You are right,' Georgina murmured. 'But how can we? How could this possibly be done?'
'I know not,' Roger replied. ‘I must have time to think upon it. But take heart, my love. You may be sure that I'll not leave you in so dire a strait. You know well that I have ever loved your son as though he were my own. And my love for you knoweth no bounds of time, distance or any other loves that may temporarily engage us. Such passions of the body are naught but episodes. Our spiritual link has remained unbroken all these years. We are as one, and nothing in this world is worth an iota compared to our going on together in life and death until eternity.'
'Oh, Roger, bless you 1 I never doubted for an instant that I would call upon you in vain. I know that you will think of something. My mind is already at rest, and I am relaxed.
Now make love to me as you have so often done. Nibble my ear, then enter me so that my soul can shudder with yours in delirious delight.'
Twenty minutes later, Roger gendy persuaded Georgina to return to her room. Their passionate embrace he’d restored her calm, but her heart-rending outburst earlier had taken a lot out of her and, as he was to stay five more nights at Schloss Langenstein, he felt it best that she should, that night, get an uninterrupted sleep.
Next day, Roger saw Georgina in her old role of a most accomplished hostess, for the Baron had invited a number of his neighbours to dinner. In Germany the old custom of dining early was still maintained, and the ten guests sat down at one o'clock to a gigantic meal, helping one another from a dozen dishes of fish, game, poultry and veal, which were set on the table simultaneously.
It was close on three o'clock when the ladies left the men to indulge in a bout of heavy drinking, and talk of sport or politics. As was to be expected, the conference at Erfurt was uppermost in all their minds. Only the Baron and Roger had been present there, and the former gave his friends an account of it, although it transpired that one of his guests was far better informed about what had actually taken place there.
This was Prince Claus von Metternich, who was paying a brief visit to Johannisberg, his estate a few miles down the river, which was famous for producing the finest white wine in the world.
Roger had never previously met the Prince, but he had heard a lot about him. The son of a distinguished diplomat, he had imbibed a knowledge of international politics from his youth. While a student at the University of Strasbourg during the French Revolution, he had witnessed the murderous ferocity of the mob, and this had led to his becoming a life-long enemy of 'Government by the People'. After leaving Strasbourg, he had made a l
ong stay in England, then went to Vienna where, in 1795 he had married a grand-daughter of the Austrian Chancellor, von Kaunitz. In his case, nepotism had proved justified, for his appointment as Ambassador to Berlin had proved a great success. So pleasant had he made himself to the French Ambassador there that Napoleon had asked for him to be transferred to Paris. In the French capital he had proved extraordinarily popular, making many close friends, including Napoleon's sister, Caroline Murat. It was said that she had become his mistress. His handsome presence, charming manners and ready wit made him a great favourite among the ladies. Now, at thirty-eight, he had become one of the most important personalities on the European stage.
Roger realised that, since everyone there believed him to be a Frenchman, the opinions expressed were on the cautious side, for to criticise Napoleon in his presence could have proved dangerous. But Metternich went as far as to say:
'From Austria's point of view, the conference ended very satisfactorily. The Emperor endeavoured to persuade the Czar to threaten my country with hostilities unless we ceased rearming; but the Czar refused. That was largely due to the admirable exertions of Baron Vincent, whom I sent as our observer, and perhaps even more to the influence of Talleyrand.'
'I judge Your Highness right,' Roger remarked. 'It is no secret that the Prince de Benevento has always cherished the hope of restoring the old Franco-Austrian alliance which existed for so long under the Kings of France. The Emperor is well aware of that. One day, while at Erfurt, I heard him snap at the Prince, "You are always an Austrian." Talleyrand replied, "A little, Sire; but I think it would be more exact to say that I am never Russian, and always French".'
Metternich laughed. 'How typical of his finesse. While I was Ambassador in Paris, I had numerous conversations with him, and we see eye to eye on many matters. For us, his resignation as Minister of Foreign Affairs was a sad blow; but he was right to follow the dictates of his own conscience.'
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