Duval and the Empress's Crown

by Michele McGrath

  “I don’t know where it is, I tell you. Why would any of us do such an awful thing?”

  “To make Joséphine look like a fool. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? There’s no love lost between you all but you’ve miscalculated this time. He’s furious. He’ll have the crown back one way or another and woe betide the culprit if he does.”

  “Why me? Why not one of the others?”

  “Because I know the way your mind works. You stick together, you Bonapartes. If one of you took it, all of you would know about it and where it is now. Murat and Borghese have gone to search their homes, but no sane person would leave anything secret or valuable at Pauline’s. Her house is like a brothel. Caroline was at the reception tonight and she went as white as a ghost once the Emperor started to rant. He pushed his nose right into her face and demanded to know where the crown was. I thought he was going to hit her. She did too and she hid behind Murat, who said that he would take her home immediately. If it was hidden there, he promised to bring it straight back. Then your brother turned to me.”

  “What did he say to you?”

  “He told me I’d married a fool, for all everyone thinks you’re so clever. Then he ordered me back here to search the place. He gave us three hours. If the crown isn’t found in that time, he’s going to send in Fouché’s men, backed by a troop of dragoons. He’s serious. If you don’t want this house torn apart, tell me where the damned thing is.”

  “I haven’t got it I tell you. I know nothing about it.” Through a small gap in the drapes I could see Élisa shrinking back against the head of her bed, away from his fury. He had seized her shoulders and was shaking her none too gently.

  “Good God, woman, are you mad? Do you really want to be exiled or go to prison? If you do, you’ll go alone.”

  “He wouldn’t do that.” The voice was alarmed but had an undercurrent of confidence in it. Any trace of sleepiness had gone.

  “Oh yes he would. You haven’t been with him tonight. He’s not just angry, he’s vicious. You’ve never seen him like that, but I have once before and I never want to see him that way again. That’s why I always take care not to provoke him. So would you if you’d any sense, sister or not. Let me remind you, you’re not even the one he likes best. He means Joséphine to be crowned tomorrow. Believe me, all of you will be very sorry indeed if she isn’t. He won’t have any pity on you if you humiliate both of them on the most important day of their lives. You’ll be lucky if he lets you leave the country with just the clothes on your back. Is that what you want?”

  “I don’t want that bitch to be crowned.”

  “Crowned or uncrowned, she’s his wife. You won’t make him get rid of her this way, if that’s what you’re thinking. You’re driving him into her arms. I used to believe you were the clever one, so don’t be such a fool. He’s the Emperor. He wants heirs. Joséphine hasn’t given him any yet, but she’s two children of her own. He’s never had a child that he can be certain is his; for all that he has enough mistresses. He doesn’t know if it’s Joséphine’s fault or his. Until he’s sure it’s hers, he’ll never divorce her. He loves her in his own way. If he could have a son of his own, though, he’d prove he was not the one to blame. How long do you think he’d stay with her then?”

  Élisa was sobbing now, but she looked up at that, an arrested look on her face. Baciocci tightened his grip on her shoulders. I saw his knuckles turn white.

  “Perhaps one of the equerries took it. They were in the workshop with us.”

  “If either of them did, they’d have handed it over to one of you if they valued their skins. What’s in it for them? Not money. They would have no chance of that if they stayed in France. They don’t share your hatred and envy of Joséphine, so why should they keep their mouths shut? They’re neither brave nor foolhardy. Fouché’s men have arrested Dupre already this evening and they’re searching for Saint Victor now. Once the Police start questioning them, they’ll talk. With time so short, no one is likely to be too fussy in their methods. As soon as one of them starts talking, he’s unlikely to stop. They won’t protect you, they’ll be too eager to make the pain go away. So I ask you again, have you got the crown?”

  Élisa’s face changed. It became even whiter and she was crying bitterly now. Her shoulders were shaking. She seemed suddenly to have shrunk.

  “Yes,” she murmured.

  “Where is it?” he demanded. “In the bureau?”

  “In the secret drawer.”

  He’d flung himself onto the bed while he was talking to her. Now he got up and came over to the desk, so near me that I could have reached out my hand and touched him. I froze and held my breath, lest he should hear a sound or perceive a slight billow in the draperies.

  He put his hand around the back of the desk. Thank heavens there was a click, despite the compartment being already open. I had not shut it in case the noise gave us away. Baciocchi did not know that of course and obviously assumed he had opened it.

  “It’s not there,” he said harshly, whirling around to stare at his wife.

  “What do you mean, it’s not there?” Élisa shrieked. “It has to be there!” She flung back the bedclothes and stumbled over to him.

  “Look for yourself.” He stood back, picked up the candles and held them so she could see the empty hole. She put her hand inside and scrabbled around in it. Then she turned to him, what little colour she still possessed draining from her face. She looked as if she was going to faint.

  “I’ve been robbed!” she screamed. “It was here! Before I went to sleep, I checked to make sure. I swear to you that I did.”

  “Keep your voice down! You’re not even bright enough to carry through a plot properly,” he said disgustedly. Baciocchi moved away to peer through the window into the garden below.

  “Did you open this window?” he asked.

  “Of course not, it’s December!”

  Baciocchi leaned out of the casement, holding the candles below him. They flickered in the slight wind and I prayed they might go out but they did not. After a moment or two he straightened up and turned to look at her.

  “Someone’s been here and that’s how he left,” he told her. “There’re a couple of broken branches on the ivy, too high up to be anything else.”

  “But how? Who? No one knows about this hidden drawer apart from us and my sisters.”

  “If you let Pauline into the secret, it’ll be all over Paris by now,” he said tartly.

  “I’ve never been out of this room except to see the Police. Caroline stayed here while I was gone. How could anyone come and take it without me seeing him? I’d have heard him too.”

  “Obviously not. Is anything else missing?”

  A flurried movement as she scurried across the room, out of the glow of the candles. A door opened and I heard the noise of more scrabbling. Then she came back.

  “No, all my jewels are here.”

  “So whoever robbed you only wanted the crown. Not a sneak thief, but somebody who knew exactly where to search and what to look for.”

  “One of the servants perhaps?”

  “Are we recruiting them from the madhouse now? Nobody with any sanity would touch anything like that. Someone made his way into this room, took the crown and climbed down the ivy without waking you. None of our clumsy oafs possess that sort of skill. Who exactly knew you had the wretched thing?”

  “Caroline, Pauline, Dupré and Saint Victor. But Dupré does not know about the secret drawer.”

  “Are you telling me that Pauline actually does?”

  Élisa made no answer and I imagined her hiding her face from Baciocchi’s fury. I wasn’t able to see her properly at that point.

  “My father told me I should beat you regularly once I married you. He was right.” Baciocchi gave an exasperated sigh and turned on his heel.

  “Where are you going?” she cried.

  “To find the cursed thing before it’s too late! You’d better pray I do, lady, if you want to survive th
is night with your property intact. Get dressed or Fouché’s men will pluck you out of your bed in your nightgown.”

  “Wait. I’ll come with you. We’ll rouse the servants, tell them an intruder has stolen my pearl necklet and let them search the garden and the surrounding streets. You’ll never find the crown on your own. Whoever took it will bring it straight to the Emperor. If we waylay him and take it back, we can present it to Napoléon ourselves. Then, at least, he may forgive us. The more people searching the better.”

  “Hurry then; forget about the niceties of your toilette for once. I won’t wait while you titivate yourself!”

  There was the sound of furious movements as Élisa dressed herself any which way and ran out into the corridor after him. I waited, listening. Most of the house seemed to be awake by now, judging from the sounds. One of the servants was nearby and he asked Baciocchi what was the matter. Baciocchi told him the story that had been agreed. None of them saw me. There were more important things to do than to linger in a room which had already been robbed. They had no idea that one of the thieves was still lurking there. I wondered what I had done right in my life to deserve such good luck.

  Footsteps hurried away down the corridor. After they left, silence descended once more. I moved to the window and looked out. All I had to do now was make my escape before they could come into the garden and start searching. I hoped I could do so fast enough.

  13

  10 Frimaire, Year XIII

  (Saturday, December 1, 1804)

  I looked out of the window which was still wide open. The garden seemed quiet and I saw no sign of Lefebvre. I hesitated for a second, weighing up my options. None of them were pleasant. I could not stay where I was. If I chanced the corridor to go back the way we came, I was likely to be discovered with the house now alert. I realised that, like it or not, I would have to attempt the climb. Even if I was seen, I’d have a better chance to break free outside the house. I decided to try. I cursed silently as I swung my leg over the windowsill and took a firm grip. I let myself hang down as far as possible while I groped for a foothold with my sound leg. Before I was able to find one, I was sweating with fear and completely unnerved. So I was intensely relieved when I finally stepped onto a branch that did not sag under my weight. The rough stems gave me good holds for my hands and feet, once I started to climb. I inched myself down the plant, rustling far more than I liked. My lame leg hampered me. I took far longer than I would have done as a boy. I was about half way to the ground when I heard a commotion at the side of the house. Servants came running into the garden. I froze close to the ivy, turning my face away so they should not spot my white skin in the gloom. Then lanterns flashed and noises suggested that people were beating the bushes for the intruder. That was no way to search the scene of a crime. Their trampling was destroying any evidence that had been left behind. Lefebvre at least, was well away and unlikely to be taken now. I only wished I was with him.

  There were several searchers, but they found nothing and eventually they left by the gate out into the street or went back into the house. Not once had any of them looked above their heads. If I had not hesitated and had climbed further down by the time they arrived I would have been spotted instantly. My fingers had locked onto the ivy branches so tightly that I had to pry them loose, one by one. My lame leg was shaking and my descent into the garden was an undignified sprawl. I fell the last metre and rolled over and over on the grass, just missing a small wall that scraped my hand but did me very little damage. It might easily have knocked me out and then I would be at the mercy of the household when they returned. Fortune had indeed favoured me that night. All the activity seemed to be now on the other side of the hôtel. Once I had got my breath again, I managed to get to my hands and knees. I was starting to rise when I heard movement from the direction of the garden gate. Someone was coming towards me. I forced myself to my feet and groped for my sword which was still bucked around my waist. I had got it partly drawn when a hand griped me and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

  “It’s me, Lefebvre! Who did you think it would be?” he hissed.

  “Thank God!” I didn’t tell him, but he was the last one that I expected. He should have been long gone and I had been thankful for his escape. “I thought you’d be far away by now.”

  “When you didn’t follow and I saw them searching, I gave them something to find.”

  “Not the crown,” I asked in horror.

  “Of course not, imbécile. A ruse, that’s all. They’re off running like a pack of hounds in the wrong direction. I realised you hadn’t been taken from the noise. Otherwise they’d be roaring with delight. So I doubled back. Are you hurt?”

  “Winded and a bit shaken, that’s all.”

  “Come on then, we’ve got to get away from here. They won’t be fooled for much longer.”

  We left by the garden gate and hurried through the back alleys of Paris. We did not slacken pace until we were some distance from Élisa’s hôtel. Then eventually we came out onto one of the larger streets, the Rue de la Loi. It was full of people who had obviously just come from one of the plays because they were discussing the performance. To hurry here would make us conspicuous, so we slowed down and tried to seem as if we, too, were theatre-goers slowly going home.

  “Have you got it safe?” I murmured to Lefebvre.

  “What do you take me for?”

  “In your bag?”

  “No. I’m not as careless about pickpockets as all that.”

  “Good.”

  “What next, Soldier?” Lefebvre asked me.

  “Take it back to where it belongs as soon as possible.” I replied. “We must put it into the Emperor’s hands before anything happens to it again.”

  “The palace then?”

  “We’re near enough, but be on your guard. Élisa suggested waylaying us before we get there. She wants to give it to her brother herself.”

  “Better for her if she does.”

  “Not for us though and I’m damned if I’ll let her take the credit after what we’ve gone through.”

  “Does she know who stole it from her?”

  “No but she knows my face and that I was searching for it. If there’s trouble, you run and I’ll try to keep them occupied. Make sure Napoléon gets the crown.”

  “What about you?”

  “I doubt they’ll kill me. They’ll abandon me soon enough when they find out I haven’t got it. This isn’t a request, it’s an order. Will you obey me for once?”

  “D’accord,” he answered. He did not like it but he has never let me down when I have asked him to do something.

  We walked quickly through the dark streets, keeping in the shadows. It was one of the most terrifying journeys of my life, knowing what we carried and what might happen if we were assaulted by thieves who roam at night. I gripped my sword tight, and this time I would not hesitate to draw it. We came out of the alleys within about a kilometre of our destination. It should have been easy to reach the palace from there, but in fact we were only just beginning the most exciting part of our night’s adventures.

  It started with Lefebvre saying softly,

  “Don’t look behind you, Soldier, but we are being followed.”

  I stiffened but kept walking forwards, listening as hard as I could and trying to look out of the corner of my eyes without turning my head.

  “Who are they?”

  “Six men, one wearing a sword.”

  “How do you…” I started to say but Lefebvre interrupted me.

  “They turned when we did, crossed the road after us and stopped when we stopped. I’m not wrong about something like this.”

  “I know you’re not.” I thought for a moment. “Do you recognise them?”

  “No.”

  “Why should they follow us? We don’t look like the sort of people to interest thieves.”

  “That’s what made me suspicious. They can see you’re armed, so you aren’t a soft touch. Most pickpockets choose e
asy pickings. I’d like to know why these men are interested in us.”

  “Wait a moment.” I stopped and stood looking into the window of one of the small shops along the side of the Palais de l’Égalité. I pretended to point out something inside to Lefebvre. The glass reflected the view behind my back and my sudden move had caught our followers by surprise. They did not stop in time. I caught a glimpse of them and gasped.

  “What?”

  “The majordomo from Élisa’s hôtel. I’d swear it’s the same man. Come on.” We turned and strolled on our way, trying hard to give the impression that we were merely idlers out for a stroll.

  “He must think we stole the crown. He knew we were searching for something which had gone missing.”

  “Possibly, but he also knows we were from the Police. We’re unlikely thieves.”

  “His orders are more likely to be to bring anyone he recognises back to be questioned. I wouldn’t tell servants more than I needed to and Élisa mentioned some story about a pearl necklet.”

  “What shall we do now?”

  “They won’t challenge us here, too much light and too many people. We’ll separate as we agreed just before we get out of the Palais de l’Égalité. You take the damn thing back to the Emperor. This man knows my face better than yours. As soon as we part, double back across the gardens. Hopefully they won’t expect that, so you should be able to reach the palace. When we get to the alleyway up ahead, I’ll draw their attention and give you a chance to escape.”

  “That’ll be dangerous, Soldier.”

  “Perhaps but I can’t run fast enough. One of us has to go, so it has to be you.”

  “Take care.”

  “I’ll do the best I can,” I said with a grimace, knowing I’d be lucky to escape with a beating if several of them caught me. If only one or two did, I had a chance to overcome them. “We’re almost there. Get ready. I’ll yell and lead them out of the arcade. Hide yourself in the crowd. Take these with you.” Shielding my actions from our pursuers, I pulled the Emperor’s authorisation out of my sleeve and put it and my purse into Lefebvre’s hand.