A few minutes later Lucette, handsome as ever, and all smiles, arrived at their table and said: ‘You sent for me, Messieurs; but I have guessed already what you want. I have six lovely girls reserved for you and they await your pleasure upstairs.’
By way of answer Roger turned to his A.D.C. and, gesturing towards her, said: ‘Captain Cowdray, oblige me by arresting this woman. Tomorrow morning I intend to charge her with piracy and murder.’
But the following morning Roger was no longer in St. Pierre; and he never charged Lucette. Less than twenty hours later he was at sea, on his way back to England.
17
In the Toils Once More
Roger had undressed and was just about to get into bed when Colonel Penruddock, wearing a tasselled night-cap and chamber-robe, came into his room with a despatch. It had arrived in a sloop-of-war that had docked at Fort Royal that evening and been brought on by galloper. Having broken the seals Roger saw that it contained only a few lines; but they were in Mr. Pitt’s own hand and read:
My need of you is immediate I have no wish to deprive you of your governorship; but desire that you should appoint someone to act for you in your absence, and return to England at the earliest possible moment.
There was no alternative to regarding the message as a command; so Roger at once set about making preparations for his voyage. Sitting down at a writing table he scribbled an order empowering the Captain of the sloop to have his vessel reprovisioned as a matter of urgency; then he asked Penruddock to send the galloper to Fort Royal with it and to have horses saddled, including one for himself.
By four o’clock in the morning they reached the summer Residence. Poor Amanda was roused by Roger’s kiss, only to learn of this bolt from the blue which meant for them another separation of uncertain duration; then she got up to see that Dan included everything that Roger might need in his baggage. He had already decided to make Penruddock acting-governor, so took the Colonel to his study and spent two hours advising him on the civil administration of the island. When they had breakfasted Roger had a talk with Mr. Beckwith about his financial affairs; then they all drove in to Fort Royal, arriving there in time to snatch a siesta during the hottest hours of the day.
On rousing from it Roger learned that a Lieutenant Tasker, R.N., who commanded the sloop, was waiting to report to him. The Lieutenant proved to be a squat young man with a pugnacious face, but a merry twinkle in his eye. He said that acting on the Prime Minister’s instructions he had spared no effort to make a swift passage, and that by cutting out a call at Madeira he had achieved a near record, having made the crossing in twenty-six days. He added that in another three hours his ship should be ready to put to sea again.
Roger invited him to dinner; then, after the meal, accompanied by Amanda, Clarissa, Cousin Margaret and several members of his staff, they drove down to the harbour. Dan already had the luggage aboard, the last sad farewells were said, and as the brief twilight fell the sloop started on her homeward voyage.
Over dinner Roger had learned from Lieutenant Tasker the latest news about the state of things in Europe. The war generally was still going badly for the Allies, but there had been a new development upon which high hopes were now pinned. On June the 17th a considerable expedition had set sail from Portsmouth with the object of invading Lower Brittany. On the 22nd a French fleet under Villaret-Joyeuse had been defeated, and on the 27th the invading force had been safely landed on the promontory of Quiberon.
To use British sea-power as a means of striking right at the heart of the Republic in this way was a policy which Roger had been advocating ever since the spring of ’93. It was then that the first Royalist risings had taken place in the Vendée, and he had argued with good sense that if the fanatically religious peasant bands could be supported by disciplined British troops, it might well be possible to launch a drive on Paris which would bring about the downfall of the Terrorist government.
That such a campaign might still pay a good dividend seemed to Roger probable; although he felt that postponing it for so long had robbed it of much of its original promise, as many thousands of the Vendéeans had since given their lives to no purpose and, recently, on being offered freedom of worship, the survivors had made peace with the Republicans.
The expedition’s prospects of success were suddenly reduced from fair to highly dubious in Roger’s mind that night, when in a later talk with tasker he learnt that it was not composed of British troops. It consisted only of several regiments of French volunteers, raised in England from the Royalist refugees, supported by a force of regulars which had been detached for this purpose from the Prince de Condé’s army of émigrés on the Rhine.
Knowing the habits and mentality of the French nobility, Roger could well imagine how such an army would be conducted. Pedigree would have been given preference over ability in selecting the commanders of its units; and, as every Frenchman of gentle birth would insist on his right to a commission, officers would far outnumber other ranks. This topsy-turviness would be further aggravated by endless time-wasting due to the strict observance of forms and ceremonies inherited from the ancien régime. At every Council-of-war held by its leaders some out of stupidity, and others from jealousy, would oppose the proposals of the professional soldiers; with the result that before their support for any plan had been won by a series of dubious intrigues, the best opportunities would be lost. There was little doubt that when it came to actual engagements these Royalists would fight with great gallantry; but that alone could give them little prospect of defeating any of the young Republican generals who had recently been gaining so many successes owing to their new and vigorous methods of waging war.
That, at least, was how Roger saw it; and the news that the expedition was entirely French greatly increased his concern for his own immediate future; as on learning of the landing at Quiberon he had at once jumped to the conclusion that it was on account of it that Mr. Pitt had sent for him. The assumption was a very reasonable one, for his wide knowledge of everything to do with the Revolution would make him invaluable if attached as a sort of Représentant en Mission to the General commanding the invading army; not, of course, with the almost unlimited powers he had wielded when with Dumouriez, but to interrogate important prisoners, assess the abilities of enemy generals and advise on a score of different problems. Much as he resented being recalled from Martinique he would have found such a post at a British Headquarters congenial, but the thought of the frustrations to which he would be subject in endeavouring to persuade a crowd of arrogant, selfish, pig-headed French nobles to do the sensible thing, and do it swiftly, filled him with dismay.
The sloop, for her homeward run, took a course which carried her many hundreds of miles away from the track of her outward passage. Starting at ninety degrees to it she headed due north, and after ten days’ sailing reached the cooler latitudes off Bermuda. There, she picked up the South West Trades which would take her north of the Azores and direct to England.
Among the personal possessions that Roger had been compelled to leave behind in the Circe were his artist’s materials; but he had since bought others in Fort Royal, and in the past few months had occasionally found time to do a little painting. Now, as Amanda had made sure that his paints and brushes were packed, he was able during these long days of leisure to indulge freely in his hobby as an alternative to reading.
Apart from two days of squalls as they were approaching the entrance to the Channel, the weather proved favourable; and although Lieutenant Tasker was unable to repeat his fine performance on the outward run, his fast little vessel accomplished the passage in thirty-one days. Late in the evening of September the 19th she docked at Southampton, and Roger and Dan at once went ashore. By ten o’clock they were leaving the town in a post-chaise hired to drive them through the night to London.
At a little before six in the morning the post-chaise set Roger down outside No. 10 Downing Street. Having sent Dan on with the luggage to the Marquis of Amesbury’s gr
eat mansion in Arlington Street, where, as a son of the house, Droopy Ned lived when in London and a room was always at Roger’s disposal, he rang the bell.
It was answered by a night porter who informed him that the Prime Minister was in residence there, but was not normally called until seven. Roger then said he would wait, and shortly afterwards the ground floor became a bustle of servants preparing the rooms for the day. The steward came on the scene and, recognising Roger, ordered a footman to bring him a tray. The hot chocolate, crisp new rolls, cold York ham, and fruit upon it were most welcome after his night on the road, and he had not long finished eating when he was summoned to the presence.
The Prime Minister was in his dressing-room, lying back in a tilted chair being shaved by his valet; so he did not see Roger enter, but, as the footman announced him, called out:
‘Come in, Mr. Brook. You are most welcome; and the more so as I had counted your arrival unlikely for another fortnight at the least.’
‘Thank you, Sir. That I am here so soon you owe to Lieutenant Tasker’s having spared no effort to carry out your instructions. He had his sloop ready to leave Martinique within twenty-four hours of her arrival, and made two near-record trips.’ As Roger spoke he walked over to the window so that he could face his master.
‘I’ll note the name and see that he is commended for his diligence,’ Mr. Pitt murmured. Then, when the valet had wiped the remains of the soap from his face, he sat up. As his glance fell on Roger he exclaimed:
‘Devil take me! Had I met you in the street I doubt if I would have known you.’
Roger smiled. ‘Shaving in a choppy sea can be a plaguey tricky business; so as there were no ladies aboard I decided to let my beard grow. After five weeks it needs the skilled hand of a barber to remove it; but seeing the urgency of your summons I felt it my duty to wait upon you immediately I reached London, rather than to hang about waiting for the shops to open.’
‘And you did rightly. I’ll tell you what I have in mind while we breakfast.’
‘Your steward has already stilled my cravings in that direction, Sir; but I shall be happy to attend you while you eat yours.’
A few minutes later Mr. Pitt moved over to a small table where breakfast had been laid for him. As he sat down and the valet left the room, Roger said:
‘I take it that you sent for me because you wish me to act as political adviser to the General commanding the Royalist army that landed on the Western coast of France?’
The Prime Minister gave a bitter laugh. ‘The Royalist army! Did you not know, man, that it no longer exists. The expedition was a complete and utter failure.’
‘That is indeed bad news. I knew nothing of it apart from what Tasker told me of our having in June defeated the French fleet and a few days later landed the expedition successfully. I’ll confess, though, that I had some doubts about its making a swift penetration of the country, as the stroke must have lost much through having been delayed until after the Vendéeans had entered into an accommodation with the enemy.’
‘ ’Twas not that which caused its failure. The terms of the pact entitled the Vendéeans to retain their arms, and a large part of them had even remained embodied as militia. The Republicans infringed the terms of the treaty by arresting certain Vendéean officers; so they had ample pretext for denouncing it. The Chouan leaders Stofflet and Cadoudal both did so, and thousands of peasants flocked to their banners, only a few weeks later to be killed or captured.’
Roger sadly shook his head. ‘Alas for these poor gallant country people! They had already suffered so much in the Royalist cause, and appealed so long for help in vain. To have their hopes raised at last then meet such an end must have been doubly bitter. Was it then divided councils, and petty jealousies among the French nobility who went upon the expedition, that led to this sad fiasco?’
‘You have said it, Mr. Brook.’ The Prime Minister dealt with the piece of beefsteak on his fork, then went on: ‘His Majesty has always distrusted the French aristocracy, so opposed the project and showed his acumen by predicting the manner in which it was brought to ruin; where as I was fool enough to allow myself to be persuaded to it by Mr. Windham and the Comte de Puisaye. The former has Jong made himself the champion of those who hope for a restoration in France, and since his appointment as Secretary of State for War had never ceased to press the Cabinet to sponsor a landing in Brittany. Then de Puisaye arrived here last winter and encouraged us to believe that he could raise the whole of Brittany again, would we but give him arms, money and a token force to form a rallying point’
Between mouthfulls of his steak, Mr. Pitt continued gloomily to relate a tale of incompetence and disaster.
‘We set about raising eight French regiments. Gentlemen by the hundred offered themselves for commissions, but there was a sad dearth of volunteers willing to join as privates. De Puisaye then urged us to offer French prisoners-of-war their freedom if they would serve in the ranks of the monarchist army. We did so and recruited satisfactory numbers, though I fear that many of these turncoats had experienced no true change of heart, and seized upon the offer only as a means of getting back to France.
‘Soon after the expedition had sailed my Lord Bridport dealt a sharp blow at the enemy fleet by capturing three sail-of-the-line and bottling the remainder of the squadron up in L’Orient. Commodore Sir John Warren then had a free hand to disembark the Royalist troops from their transports. Throughout he stood by them, showing great initiative in using the guns of his ships to support their operations as far as that was possible, and later he took off some eighteen hundred of the survivors; but it was entirely beyond his powers to prevent the débâcle which engulfed the majority.
‘As you can imagine, my enemies seized upon the disaster as good ammunition for a new attempt to blacken the Government, and particularly myself, with the people. They said we could not have failed to realise that an expedition entirely composed of volunteers must end in failure, and that our not having sent with it a force of British regulars was proof of our criminal intention—namely that we had planned to rid ourselves in this manner of the émigrés who had plagued us for so long.
‘Charles Fox surpassed himself in unscrupulous vindictiveness and, for once, abandoned his championship of the Republicans to accuse Ministers of “having deliberately sent noble gentlemen to be massacred”; and Sheridan with eager spite declared that “though British blood had not flowed at Quiberon, yet British honour had bled at every pore”—a phrase that ran round England.’
‘That members should use the privilege of the House to utter such diabolical slanders in it fills me with disgust,’ said Roger angrily. ‘But may I ask, Sir, why you did not stiffen these inexperienced French with some regiments of well-disciplined British troops?’
‘You well may,’ the Prime Minister replied bitterly. ‘That was my original intention, but those stiff-necked French aristocrats would have none of it, They were ready enough to accept British money, British arms and a British fleet to put them safely ashore; but they insisted that, in the initial operation at least, only Frenchmen should be allowed to set foot on the sacred soil of France. For a year or more General the Earl of Moira’s force had been standing by in the Channel Islands held ready for just such an employment; but I was brought to agree that it should be used only as a follow-up when the invasion was well under way. In consequence, apart from a few score of our Marines, the landings were entirely French.
‘Their reception by the Breton people could not have been more enthusiastic. De Puisaye’s optimism in that respect was amply justified, except in one important respect. M. de Charette, who has proved himself the most able and resourceful of the Vendéean leaders, refused to join in the revolt from personal jealousy. Nevertheless, on the day following the landings, the Bishop of Dol, who had accompanied the expedition, celebrated a Mass in the open which was attended by many thousands of persons, all of whom declared their willingness to lay down their lives for the church and monarchy.
/> ‘Thus, apart from de Charette’s churlish aloofness, the campaign could not have had a more favourable beginning. It was with the opening of military operations that serious dissensions first threatened its success. It had been the Cabinet’s intention that de Puisaye should assume the over-all command; but, most unfortunately, their Lordships of the Admiralty had issued a document which could be read by the Comte d’Hervilly as giving him the command of the French forces raised in England. Had de Puisaye accepted that it would have left him with authority only over the Chouan bands which had risen at his call. In consequence, the two nobles were soon at loggerheads; and not solely over the question of command either. De Puisaye was all for taking the utmost advantage accruing from the surprise landings by an immediate advance inland, whereas d’Hervilly favoured first consolidating their position and taking a fortress that dominated the Quiberon peninsula.
‘The fortress soon surrendered and, with almost unbelievable folly, d’Hervilly allowed some of the men in it who protested their monarchist sympathies to remain there as part of its new garrison, In the meantime the energetic General Hoche had rallied the Republican forces, driven in de Puisaye’s Chouan outposts and bottled up the Royalists by entrenching his men across the peninsula’s neck.
‘With Sir John Warren’s willing collaboration, de Puisaye then despatched a force under his most trusted lieutenant, de Tinténiac, by sea, to land further up the coast and attack the Republicans in the rear. At the time I was, of course, unaware of it, but later it transpired that, in approving the arrangements for the campaign, the Bourbon Princes were using de Puisaye only as a cat’s paw, because he favoured a Constitutional Monarchy. Being set for absolutism they intended to cast him aside as soon as he had served their purpose by raising his followers in Brittany. But the treacherous fools acted prematurely. In order to discredit de Puisaye as a General, the Princes’ agents in Paris sent instructions to his Lieutenant on landing that there had been a change of plan and he should now make for St. Malo. Tinténiac, believing that he was acting in accordance with de Puisaye’s wishes, obeyed. In consequence, when the Royalists made their attempt to break out of the peninsula, the attack on the Republicans’ rear, on which they had counted to aid them, never matured.’
The Dark Secret of Josephine Page 31
