Agent Provocateur

by Christopher C Tubbs

  Then the bombshell landed or rather knocked at the door. James answered it and walked back into the drawing room with a young woman in a travel stained cloak.

  “May I introduce Madam St. Martin, the wife of Sebastian,” he announced.

  You could cut the silence in the room with a knife.

  She looked around the room and at Marty and Linette and said,

  “Who are you? Where is my husband?”

  Linette reacted first and asked her to step into the dining room where she would explain. She took the confused woman by the hand and led her through the door.

  Marty looked at James and said,

  “Well, that’s torn it! We had better get ready to leave.”

  It didn’t take them long as they kept escape kits ready. They had just come back down from upstairs when Linette came out of the dining room with a tearful Madam Saint Martin in tow.

  “I have explained the situation to Maria, and she will be accompanying us back to England.”

  “What?” Blurted Marty in English.

  “My husband was still alive when you left?” Maria asked.

  “Well, yes he was,” Marty said, “He was wounded and in hospital, but he was alive.”

  “Then I want to go to him and be with him,” Maria stated with determination, “I have travelled here from the other end of France to find him. I heard from the cousin of one of his teachers at the college in Brest that he was here.”

  Alarm bells went off in Marty’s head. Dagmay!

  “Where are you staying?” Marty asked.

  “At the house of Monsieur Dagmay,” she replied.

  “He asked me to go to this house to meet you.”

  And I told him my wife was here all the time with me. Damn! Marty thought.

  “We have to leave now!” Marty said.

  The three exchanged a look and started moving at the same time. Marty threw packs to the other two and Linette led the way to the kitchen and then down into the cellar. Maria was behind her looking bewildered followed by James and then Marty. Blaez, who had picked up on the change in mood, stuck to Marty’s side and was on high alert.

  As they went down the steps to the cellar, there was suddenly the sound of banging on the front door and shouting. Blaez tensed, but Marty quieted him with a touch and a whispered command, then closed and bolted the cellar door. He stretched a string across from the trigger of a pistol to the door handle set so that if anyone opened the door the pistol would fire into the barrel of gunpowder lodged just to the side of it. He then pulled the hammer back to full cock and followed after the others. When he got to the cabinet where he kept his weapons, he picked up a carpet bag that clinked and slung it over his shoulder.

  While this was going on, James moved a couple of old tables that were propped up against the wall and revealed a door through to the adjoining cellar. He had it open and was waiting for Marty to come through before shutting and barring it from the other side.

  Linette had a lanthorn lit and led the way through the cellar to a set of steps that went up to a hatch. Marty put Blaez on his lead to stop him running ahead and James opened it. The hinges were well oiled and made no sound. He took a long look around and made a signal for them to wait. He silently moved up the steps and out of the hatch. Thirty seconds later, he returned and beckoned them forward.

  They emerged in to a courtyard, and Marty noticed a body in the corner with its head at a very strange angle. It looked like James hadn’t taken any chances.

  Marty took Maria by the arm as if they were out for a stroll and led her out of the gates and down the road towards the river. James followed a couple of minutes later. They were now two couples not a party of three.

  Down at the river, Marty walked along the bank to the Quay de la Tuileries. He was just thinking that the police hadn’t thought to check the cellar when there was the sound of an explosion from behind them.

  He picked up the pace a little and took some steps down from the road to a floating dock on the river. There were a number of pleasure craft moored up and he went to one with a mast and a covered cabin.

  Once inside, he quickly changed into clothes the rivermen typically wore and pulled on a loose fitting woollen cap that hid his hair. James and Linette came down and joined them just as Marty went back up on deck and started preparing the boat to leave. Blaez was firmly told to stay below when he tried to follow Marty on deck.

  Inside the cabin, Linette gave Maria a change of clothes and told her to stay out of sight as she felt the boat start to move away from the dock into the main stream of the river. They needed to pass under more than ten bridges to get out of the city and the river snaked first southwest then almost northeast three times before they would be clear. They had an easterly breeze, so they could use sails, but it was a long way and would be slow going.

  They had gotten as far as St. Dennis before they saw any signs of military or police activity. They could see riders racing down the roads heading west and Marty knew that they would set up a barrage down-stream so they could search the boats.

  It was nearly dark when they tied up at Argenteuil and made their way to a house on the Rue De la Liberte. Marty unlocked the door and let them in. It was owned by a sympathiser and was a safe house. Inside, it was stocked with food and changes of clothes for all of them. Luckily, the two girls were of similar build.

  Marty went to a painting and lifted it from the wall. Behind it, was a hidden strong box, which he unlocked with a key he had on his keyring. Inside was money and false papers which would give them new identities. There were several sets of papers which they could fill in with new names. They decided that the best thing to do would be to split into two pairs; Marty with Maria and Linette with James and make their way to Amiens independently.

  James and Linette chose to be brother and sister as they had enough in common to get away with it. Marty had a talk with Maria and she agreed to pose as his wife. Linette suggested he needed to change his appearance, so he gave shaving a miss in the hope of growing a beard and Linette used theatrical makeup to darken his eyebrows and hair.

  They laid low the next day and waited for their friend to visit with news. He arrived late that evening and told them that there was a general curfew at dusk and no one was allowed to travel without special permission. He agreed their best course was to go via Amiens to Le Crotoy and use the smugglers to get them back to England. He promised he would be back the next morning with travel papers.

  The next morning arrived, but their friend didn’t show up. They had no option but to just wait.

  It was mid-afternoon when he did arrive, and he was a little flustered.

  “The Army have check points everywhere,” he said, “the explosion at the house in Paris killed two policemen and hurt several more and they are blaming the Jacobins. They are also linking the bomb attack on Lucien Bonaparte to them as well. “

  “Are they specifically linking them to us?” asked Marty.

  “There is mention of two men that they are interested in questioning for this and the disappearance of a woman.”

  “No mention of a dog or another woman?”

  “No, nothing like that.”

  “Then the plan stays as was,” Marty concluded, “they aren’t looking for two couples and its lucky I never took Blaez to the Ministry. Do you have the travel papers?”

  The papers were laid out on the table. They were the standard form and had been signed by the Prefect of the district. Marty didn’t ask how. All they had to do was fill in the names. The reasons for travel were to visit a dying relative in Amiens for Marty and Marie and to take over a farm from an elderly parent for James and Linette. They would have to get new documents once they got there.

  Marty and Marie left at dawn the next day and hired a coach to take them to Amiens. They would have to stop overnight at Breteuil and would change horses every twenty miles. James and Linette bought a dog cart and a single horse and would take two days as well. But as the cart was open, it
would be a far less comfortable journey.

  As it turned out, the weather turned foul and the coach kept getting bogged down on the badly kept roads. Marty had to help get it moving again. The dog cart being lighter didn’t get stuck as much, but James and Linette were soaking wet, cold, and miserable by the time they arrived at the hotel run by a sympathiser in Amiens.

  Marty and Marie turned up a day later having taken three days to get there. The good thing for both couples was that the weather was so bad that the police weren’t at all attentive at the checkpoints, practically waving them through so as not to go out in the rain.

  James donated the cart and horse to the hotel owner in payment for their rooms as they all needed to rest after that journey.

  They stayed for three days and then changed identity again. They also swapped partners to mix things up as well. Choosing new identities was a problem but then Marie had an inspiration after visiting the cathedral. Now that Napoleon was in charge the church was no longer held in such disrespect and pilgrims were being seen again, they dressed and behaved as pilgrims from Le Crotoy who had walked to Amiens and were now returning home.

  They started walking and had gotten about five kilometres outside of town when a friendly farmer gave them a ride in the back of his wagon. It had previously been used to transport hay so was clean, if a little hard on the backside.

  Abbeville provided a refuge for the night in the form of a seedy hotel where the owner didn’t ask questions. It was filthy, and they were all suffering from bed bug bites by the morning. So, they set out at false dawn. There had been a frost, so they set a good pace to stay warm. They reached Le Crotoy mid-afternoon. Marty left the others at a café and went with Blaez to make contact with the smugglers.

  He returned after an hour and a half with Gaston, a smuggler he had dealings with before. He, in turn, led them to a safe house, provided changes of clothes and the raw materials for them to cook dinner.

  All of them were lousy with vermin living on their bodies from the infested mattresses at the hotel. So, the boys rigged a private area screened off by blankets slung from the beams, boiled up plenty of water, and they took it in turns to thoroughly wash themselves.

  Dinner was a generous fish stew with root vegetables cooked by the girls and fresh crusty bread covered in butter. They washed it down with a bottle of wine and then settled down around the fire. Marty thought that right at that minute life was good.

  Word came the next morning that there wasn’t a visit expected from the Deal Boys until after the new year. So, Marty entered into negotiation with the locals to have them sail them home. They knew they had him over a barrel so to start with were asking extortionate amounts of money for the service. Marty was working hard to try and talk them down but after a half an hour of keeping him on edge, they all suddenly burst out laughing and told him they were only joking.

  Funny bloody ha ha, Marty thought but kept a smile on his face to show he could take a joke. They told him that if they could take a cargo of Brandy and bring back some English wool cloth, they would only charge him a little for the passengers. Marty knew they would get drilled on the price of the Brandy, but it didn’t matter as long as they got home.

  So, two weeks before Christmas, the four of them arrived in London by coach and made their way to William Wickham’s home.

  Marty was surprised when Armand told him that was where they would meet their masters but then they hadn’t had a hugely successful mission, so…

  They were shown into the library once they arrived and had to wait until Wickham appeared. He was polite to Marie and immediately agreed to arrange for her to visit her husband. He then had her wait in his drawing room while he talked to the others.

  “Well what happened?” he asked in a cold voice. Marty gave his report as factually and without emotion as he could. Wickham cross-examined the others about details then sat back and regarded them with a steady stare.

  “Well, I don’t think I can blame you for putting Napoleon in the first consul’s seat as it looks like sheer coincidence and bad luck. But we won’t be running any more missions in France until we can see what he will do next. We think he will consolidate his position and may even ask for peace.”

  “What will happen to us?” Marty asked.

  “Well, that is one reason we wanted this debriefing here rather than the admiralty,” Wickham replied, “The First Sea Lord, Hood, and I all want to keep the S.O.F. going. But if we leave you in England and visible, the pressure to disband you will just mount. The damn politicians will wind down the armed forces as soon as peace is agreed.” He paused as if considering what he would say next.

  “Linette, would you join Madam St. Martin in the drawing room please?”

  “Martin,” he began as soon as she left.

  Chapter 10: A Brief Respite

  Marty laid in the arms of his lover and contemplated his life to date. He had gone from cabin boy to lieutenant in five years. He had been in action or on duty the vast majority of that time but had still managed to meet and fall in love with Caroline. The fact that she waited for him while he was away amazed him as did the depth of her passion when they got back together.

  Later that day, they would go to a ball held by the Regent, and he would probably be presented to the King. The gossips had already noted his return and it would be common knowledge all over London society before he got there.

  He also had to get down to Dorset to see his family as he hadn’t seen them since he was a midshipman. The good thing was he had time. He knew he wouldn’t be sailing again until February- just before his 18th birthday.

  At that moment, Caroline decided she needed his full and undivided attention and the rest of the morning just flew by.

  That evening, dressed in full dress uniform, he walked with Caroline on his arm through the doors of the ballroom at St. James palace. The herald announced in a load voice,

  “The Duchess of Candor and Lieutenant Stockley Royal Navy”

  Heads turned, and comments were whispered behind raised fans as they made their way across the floor. They were greeted by many of the good and the great in attendance. Hypocrites, thought Marty. He knew that both he and Caroline were thought of as ‘new blood’ that had ‘no breeding’. All the same, he thought, she is a Baroness and I am an officer, so they can stick that right up their…

  They joined the line to be presented to the Prince Regent and Caroline chatted merrily with the people to either side of them. He caught his first glimpse of the future King and his first impression was, “What a dandy!” The Regent was resplendent in the latest fashion with his long hair styled to look a bit Navy-ish. He wore the symbols of his rank and other jewels and fairly glittered.

  Suddenly, it was their turn, and Caroline elbowed him in the ribs to get his attention as she started to curtsey. Marty made a leg and bowed deeply as required.

  “My dear Lady Caroline!” Prince George exclaimed as he kissed her proffered hand, “And this must be your dashing Lieutenant that all the ladies are talking about.” He looked sideways at Admiral Hood, who was standing off to the side and added.

  “I hear you are the protégé of that old fox, Hood. In and out of his office then disappearing to who knows where and getting blown up to boot!” He laughed.

  Marty was taken aback and didn’t know what to say when Hood materialized at his side and bowed to the Prince.

  “Your Highness,” he said, “I see you have met one of our promising young officers.” He made a point of glancing back along the line of people waiting to be introduced. “But I see you have quite the line of people waiting. I must not let him monopolise your time.” And to Marty,

  “Come, young man, you can’t keep the Prince all to yourself. There are other people waiting!” And led the bemused couple away. Marty glanced back and saw that the Prince was watching them over the shoulder of the next person in line and grinning like a cat that just surprised a mouse.

  Hood manoeuvred them to a quiet spot
and said to Marty,

  “That explains a number of things. We knew my office was being watched but didn’t know who was behind it. That meddling fool doesn’t know when to keep out of things he should leave alone.”

  “That explains the meeting at Wickham’s house then,” Marty observed.

  “Yes, that is one debrief that we didn’t want overheard,” Hood replied

  Caroline looked from one to the other and said,

  “I think it’s about time you two let me in on just what the hell you have been up to.” She raised a hand to Hood before he could object and said, “Before you deny it, let me tell you I have sources of my own and have already guessed the truth about what goes on at the farm with the Deal boys. I am, after all, one of the biggest distributors of wine and spirits in England.”

  That was a complete surprise to Marty, who looked at her in astonishment.

  “You think I just sit around and count my rent?” She laughed, “I am your ‘Deal Boys’ biggest customer.”

  Marty looked at Hood, who also looked surprised but got himself under control with and effort.

  “They needed a network and money to distribute their ‘imports’. I had access to my father’s business network. It was quite simple to persuade him to allow me to use it to move my goods through it as well.”

  “Let’s go for a walk through the long hall,” Hood said.

  The long hall was traditionally used by the ladies of the palace to exercise when the weather outside was inclement. It was quiet this evening and was lined with works of the world’s most famous artists.

  During their perambulation, Hood told Caroline about the true purpose of the farm and Marty’s position as second in command. He didn’t go into the details of their missions.

  “You can see that it is vital that this is kept a secret for both the national interest and Martin’s safety.”

  Caroline gave him one of her ‘don’t treat me like an idiot’ looks and said,

  “You have my word that I will not divulge this to another living soul.”