When he forced himself to return to Court, several people condoled with him on his wife's illness. Then Josephine spoke to him most kindly, regretting that Lisala had had to leave her on account of having been ordered by a doctor to take the waters at Baden-Baden. A good actor, as he had always been, Roger produced the reactions expected of him. That evening he returned to the little house, to find that most of Lisala's clothes were still there, but she had gone; so he sealed in again.
The armistice continued, but negotiations for a peace got no further, as the terms proposed by Napoleon were unacceptable to the Emperor Francis.
Early in August, it was learned that the British had landed a strong force on the large island of Walcheren at the mouth of the Scheldt. Roger deplored this strategy both for timing and place. Had the landing been made six weeks earlier it could have enormously encouraged the Austrians to still greater efforts, and had it been made at Stralsund it could have incited the Prussian patriots to force their King into joining Austria in her war against France. As things were now, it seemed to be a grievous waste of effort, for he felt sore the Dutch would not rise against the Emperor, and knew the malarial swamps in the estuary of the Scheldt to be one of the most unsuitable places possible to form a bridgehead for an invasion of the Continent.
News then came in from Spain. The remnant of Soult's army had straggled back, without guns or baggage, into Galicia. There Ney's men had derided them as cowards and tempers flown so high that the two Marshals had been with difficulty prevented from fighting a duel. Meanwhile, Wellesley had turned speedily upon Victor. Realising his peril, the Marshal had swiftly retreated towards Madrid; but, on July 27th,
Wellesley, supported by a Spanish army, had brought him to bay at Talavera and inflicted a severe defeat upon him.
In the middle of August, Lisala returned to Vienna for a few days. Roger refused to speak to her, and took his meals out. She made no attempt to be received again at the Palace and, having collected a few more of her clothes, disappeared again.
On the 25th, the Emperor called Roger into his Cabinet and said, 'Breuc, I am much disturbed about what is happening in France. I have received intelligence that, in my absence, Fouche has assumed the powers of a dictator. Proceed to Paris at once, return as soon as possible, and report to me what is going on there.'
Taking to horse with a minimum of delay, Roger set out and reached Paris in nine days. After refreshing himself at La Belle Etoile, he went straight to the Ministry of the Interior, where the Minister received him within ten minutes of his having sent in his name.
When Roger had explained the object of his mission, Fouche, sniffling as usual, began, 'Mon cher Baron, let me . . .'
'So you know that I have been elevated to the nobility?' Roger cut in with a smile.
Fouche's corpse-like face twisted into what for him was the semblance of a grin. ‘I knew weeks ago. Very little that goes on in Europe escapes my agents. I even have a flotilla of boats patrolling the sea from the Pyrenees to the Baltic; so that I am informed of most of the smuggling operations permitted by our administrators in order to line their own pockets. But my congratulations. And, now, as I was about to say:
'On July 29th, forty British ships of the line, thirty frigates, eighty sloops and four to five hundred transports appeared off the mouth of the Scheldt. They landed forty thousand men and one hundred and fifty cannon on the island of Walcheron. It was evident that their intention was to incite a rebellion in brother Louis' Kingdom of Holland. About that I was little worried, as my people had long since dealt with all subversive elements there. The English succeeded in swiftly subduing Middleburg and, by August 15th, the defences of Flushing. One could then deduce that their next step would be to attack our important base of Antwerp, as the English have always regarded it as a pistol pointed against their heads.
'That did concern us somewhat here in Paris, because many of the people in those parts still feel a loyalty to Austria, to which, up till recent times, the Belgian Netherlands belonged. Moreover, the majority of them are Catholics. A revolution in those parts, similar to that which has taken place in Spain, could have proved most embarrassing, particularly as our regular forces there were almost non-existent.
'A Grand Council was called to debate the situation. Cambaceres, as the nominal head of the Government during the Emperor's absence, took the chair. No-one had any suggestions to offer except Decres, who proposed that we should call up the citizen militia, as we did in the old days of the Revolution.
'The others quailed at the idea of taking such an unorthodox step without the Emperor's sanction. But I felt that a certain use might be made of it. Next day, my Ministerial colleagues learned to their horror that I had overridden their authority and called up the National Guard in fifteen. Departments. I went further. I circulated a letter to the Prefects and Mayors, which ran:
' "Show Europe that even if Napoleon's genius may lend splendour to France, yet his presence is not indispensable to repulse her enemies."'
Roger gave a sigh of admiration. 'The devil you did! That was a bold stroke indeed. But the Emperor may well call you to account for it.'
'He may.' Fouche gave a little snigger. 'But I doubt it. He has always been a trifle frightened of me; yet has found me too valuable to dispense with. In any case, I have sent out my message to the people of France. Should their Emperor fall by the wayside, they can rely upon me to take the reins of Government firmly into my hands.'
'Monsieur le Ministre, you have my utmost admiration,' Roger declared with a smile. 'I will return and report to His Imperial Majesty that, when others feared to act, you took steps to defend France which you believe he would have taken himself had he been in Paris.'
They parted most cordially, and late on the evening of September 13th, Roger arrived back at Schonbrunn. Two hours later, the Emperor received him, and he made his report.
When he had done, Napoleon grunted, then remarked, 'I know that you have always disliked Fouche; so are not attempting to excuse his faults. But he has acted in a most arbitrary fashion.'
"Tis true, Sire, that I have a "personal antipathy to the man,' Roger replied promptly, 'but that does not detract from my admiration of the manner in which he has served Your Majesty. He has uncovered several conspiracies that might have cost you your life; succeeded in subduing those troublesome Breton Chouans, who for yean all the Generals you sent failed to quell; and now, by taking it on himself to contain the English in their bridgehead, he has spared Your Majesty the necessity of sending considerable bodies of your regular troops to Flanders.'
'True; true! He is a slippery devil, but no-one can question his efficiency. And, in many matters he has served me admirably. Now I know how matters stand, I'll let them rest. Here we make no progress; the Emperor Francis is proving as stubborn as a mule.'
'Since things are at a standstill, Sir,' Roger hazarded, 'may I crave a few days' rest? I rode monstrous hard to Paris and back, and I am desperately fatigued.'
The Emperor stopped his pacing up and down, smiled at Roger and twisted his ear. 'You may, Breuc Few of my couriers can match the speed with which you travel, and there is now little to do. Take a week or two if you wish.'
Roger had already handed over his mount at the Palace stable to be at once rubbed down, watered and fed; so he walked the short distance across the Park to his little house. When he reached it, he saw with some surprise chinks of light coming from between the curtains of the window of the largest bedroom. Evidently Lisala had returned on another visit.
Tired as he was, the last thing he wanted was another acrimonious discussion with her. That could well occur if he roused the house and, as it was close on midnight, he knew that the front door would be bolted.
It then occurred to him that as he had dudes which often kept him late at the Palace, he had given his man instructions that, as he hated stuffiness, the window of his bedroom was always to be left a link open. Going round to the back of th
e house, he quietly climbed up the iron trellis work to the balcony, tiptoed along it and got through the window into his room.
Lighting the candles, he wearily undressed. Then he noticed that, since he had not been expected, his man had not laid out a nightshirt for him. His underclothes were kept on shelves in the clothes closet. Still anxious to get to bed without Lisala's coming in to talk to him, he opened the door very quietly. A streak of light two inches wide at the far side of the closet showed that Lisala had left her door to it ajar. As he stretched out his hand to pick up a nightshirt, he caught the sound of voices. Lisala evidently had someone in bed with her.
Death on the Rhine
Roger was more thankful than ever now that he had not made his return known. Had he done so, and Lisala's lover failed to dress and get away by the verandah in time, he would have been under the unpleasant necessity of calling him out; and it would have annoyed him greatly to have to fight a duel over a woman whom he now detested.
However, curiosity to know if he could identify his wife's latest lover by his voice led him to take a step nearer the door of her room. Breathing very lightly, he listened to their conversation.
It was at once obvious that they were not making love. On the contrary, they were quarrelling. The first words of Lisala's which he caught were:
'How can you expect wealthy men to frequent such a place? As I told you after I first saw it, I was greatly disappointed. You must at least do up the salon where visitors are received and take their refreshments.'
The man replied, 'The place was doing good business when I took it over; and, at the moment, I cannot afford to pay for expensive decorations.'
Roger recognised the voice, but could not place its owner. Lisala resumed fretfully, 'And the girls! Fat, frumpy German madchen. What man of taste would wish to go to bed with such cattle?'
They are at least good strong animal material, and could satisfy a dozen men a night if called on to do so.'
That is not the point. They have no finesse. They have never been trained to pander to unusual tastes. What we need are some pretty young French girls.'
It was obvious to Roger that they were discussing Lisala's brothel, and that the man who was with her had put up the capital for it. In a surly voice, he retorted, 'In cities like Mayence, it is impossible to procure the really attractive type of whore that you have in mind; and I am being ruined by the taxes, so have not the money to import them from abroad '
'Money,' Lisala sighed. 'If only this cursed war would end. My estates in Portugal are worth a great fortune. If I could but get even a small part of my revenues, I would renounce my status as a great lady and we'd run a bordello in Paris that would be the finest in the world.'
'I am in much the same situation,' the man replied. 'Given peace I could bring over from England enough money to buy even the services of certain ladies of the Court known for their licentiousness; provided they were allowed, as you do, to disport themselves masked.'
'How so?' Lisala asked. 'Methought all the money went to the young Earl, and he would see you in hell before providing you with a centime.'
Roger drew in a sharp breath. The man with Lisala could only be Ulrich von Haugwitz. He, in turn, was speaking now-
'No. Charles has a fine estate, White Knights Park, in Worcestershire, and also a mansion in Berkeley Square. But Georgina is very wealthy in her own right. She owns a great house named Stillwaters, near Ripley, and her old father is exceedingly rich. As she is an only child, when he dies his fortune, too, will come to her.'
'Since you have no love for each other, are you not afraid that, at any time, she may leave you? She might escape to England and so deprive you of getting your hands on her money.'
'She'll not do that,' von Haugwitz replied with conviction. 'She pines for Charles, so would join him if she could. But, secretly, I have set a guard upon her. My steward, Big Karl, and his men, have orders to watch her closely and, should she attempt to escape from Langenstein, bring her back.'
For a moment Lisala was silent, then she said, 'Do you really believe that, when the war is over, she will go to England with you and tamely hand over her fortune? If so, you are more of a fool than I took you for.'
'She may prove difficult, I agree. But by law she is my chattel, and all that she owns belongs to me.'
'In law, yes. But I gathered that in England she has many powerful friends. They will not stand by and see you rob her of her wealth. To make certain of obtaining it, only one course is open to you.'
‘What is that?'
'She might meet with an accident. Once she is dead, you will hold all the cards. She will not be there to dispute her fortune with you, and call on her friends to aid her. You would only have to go over and collect it,'
Again there was a moment's silence, then the Baron said, 'That is indeed a thought. But it poses one great danger. As you have told me, it was that devil of a husband of yours who cheated me of Charles. He has been in love with Georgina since their childhood, and he is aware that there is no love lost between Georgina and me. Should he learn that she has met with a sudden death, there is a strong possibility that he will arrive at Langenstein and insist on being given full details of her end. He has a clever, subtle brain. To make away with a woman and leave no trace of how she died is by no means easy. Should he find me out, he would stop at nothing to avenge her death, and might well kill me.'
'That is a danger, I agree,' said Lisala thoughtfully. 'And it must be guarded against. But when he returns from the mission he is on, could you not get him to visit Langenstein again, then arrange an accident which would put an end to both of them? As I've told you, he has threatened to kill me should it get out that I have taken a lover, and I believe he meant it; so I'd be glad to be rid of him once and for all. If both of us were free, we could marry and when the war ends, enjoy an enormous fortune between us.'
The Baron laughed. 'Such a thought is enchanting, and we'd make a perfect match. We have similar tastes and neither of us feels bound by the absurd conventions. Providing I can have you now and then, I have not the least objection to your taking other lovers; while you, I know, are of the opinion that a man who has numerous women becomes ever more expert in the art of love; and you think no worse of me because occasionally I prefer to caress a smooth-cheeked boy. I am at a loss, though, to think how, at one stroke, we can both regain our freedom.'
'In that I cannot help you. Should you force a quarrel on de Breuc, he might kill you before you could kill him. And, in any case, your wife would remain immune. Poison I judge too dangerous. Doctors these days are far more knowledgeable than of old, and one would have to be called in. He might see symptoms in the bodies that would arouse his suspicions. No, I must leave it to you to devise some way in which we can rid ourselves of them.'
There came another long pause in the conversation, then von Haugwitz exclaimed, T think I have it! The stones of the battlements at the top of the tall tower have become loose from age. We could get them both up there. One good push from behind by me, the stones would give and de Breuc would go hurtling downwards. We'd throw her after him. Our story, that they had been leaning side by side on the battlement and it had given way, would not be questioned.'
'Is it not possible that someone below would see us push them over?'
'Only a stranger to the district, someone perhaps in a passing river boat, would stare up at the tower top. And if one did, he would be too far off to see clearly anything that happened there.'
'What if one of them was not killed outright, and perhaps recovered, then sought to be avenged on us?'
'Impossible. It is a sheer drop of nearly three hundred feet to the road below. People whose bodies have been smashed to pulp can tell no tales.'
For some minutes there was silence, then Lisala yawned and said, ‘I am tired now, dear Ulrich; so let us sleep on it But wake me and make love to me again before you leave in the morning.'
Before they could put out thei
r candles and the light from Roger's room percolate into theirs through the partly-open door of the closet, he slipped out of it and closed his door behind him.
His mind was in a whirl. As he thought of the peril that now threatened his beloved Georgina, he saw that his hands were trembling. Lisala he knew to be utterly unscrupulous, and that von Haugwitz should not be averse to killing him in revenge for his having deprived him of Charles was understandable. But that the Baron should calmly have agreed, at Lisala's first suggestion, to murder his wife in order to make certain of getting hold of her fortune, filled Roger with rage and horror.
On a sudden impulse, he took two steps towards his sword, with the intention of bursting into the next room and, by slaying von Haugwitz there and then, put it forever out of his power to harm Georgina. With his hand already extended he pulled up. If he killed the Baron he would have to kill Lisala too, otherwise she would remain an eye-witness to the deed. Now he would have had no qualms about putting an end to her. She was the embodied evil responsible for this vile plot; the Baron was no more than an unprincipled lecher in whom she had found a willing accomplice.
But there was no way of concealing that he had returned to Vienna that night. If he killed one or both of them, it would undoubtedly be assumed that he had found them in bed together and allowed his rage to get the better of him. He would have to be well away from Vienna before dawn; by midday he would be a hunted man and, if caught, pay for their deaths with his own life.
Roger's next thought was to set out at once and snatch Georgina from the Castle now destined to be her grave. His tiredness had fallen from him. In three days of hard riding, he could reach Langenstein. But what then? He well remembered Big Karl, the steward who was also chief of the small bodyguard that feudal privilege allowed the Baron to maintain—the twenty or more servants, grooms and gamekeepers who had been sent in pursuit of young Charles. Von Haugwitz had left orders that Georgina was to be prevented from leaving the Schloss. They would never allow Roger to take her away, and there were far too many of them for him to attempt to do so by force.
Evil in a Mask rb-9 Page 51