CHAPTER XXX
CITIZEN FOUCHÉ'S REPORT
On arriving the next day, toward eleven in the morning, at the
Hôtel des Ambassadeurs, Madame de Montrevel was astonished to
find, instead of Roland, a stranger awaiting her. The stranger
approached her.
"Are you the widow of General de Montrevel, madame?" he asked.
"Yes, monsieur," replied Madame de Montrevel, not a little
astonished.
"And you are looking for your son?"
"Yes; and I do not understand, after the letter he wrote me--"
"Man proposes, the First Consul disposes," replied the stranger,
laughing. "The First Consul has disposed of your son for a few
days, and has sent me to receive you in his stead."
Madame de Montrevel bowed.
"To whom have I the honor of speaking?" she asked.
"To citizen Fauvelet de Bourrienne, his first secretary," replied
the stranger.
"Will you thank the First Consul for me," replied Madame de
Montrevel, "and have the kindness to express to him the profound
regret I feel at not being able to do so myself?"
"But nothing can be more easy, madame."
"How so?"
"The First Consul has ordered me to bring you to the Luxembourg."
"Me?"
"You and your son."
"Oh! I am going to see General Bonaparte; I am going to see General
Bonaparte!" cried the child, jumping for joy and clapping his
hands. "What happiness!"
"Edouard, Edouard!" exclaimed Madame de Montrevel. Then, turning
to Bourrienne, "You must excuse him, sir; he is a little savage
from the Jura Mountains."
Bourrienne held out his hand to the boy.
"I am a friend of your brother's," said he. "Will you kiss me?"
"Oh! willingly, sir," replied Edouard. "You are not a thief, I know."
"Why, no; I trust not," replied the secretary, laughing.
"You must excuse him once again, sir. Our diligence was stopped
on the way."
"Stopped?"
"Yes."
"By robbers?"
"Not exactly."
"Monsieur," asked Edouard, "when people take other people's money,
are they not thieves?"
"That is what they are generally called, my dear child."
"There, you see, mamma."
"Come, Edouard, be quiet, I beg of you."
Bourrienne glanced at Madame de Montrevel, and saw clearly from
the expression of her face that the subject was disagreeable
to her; he therefore dropped it.
"Madame," said he, "may I remind you that I have I orders to
take you to the Luxembourg, and to add that Madame Bonaparte is
expecting you?"
"Pray give me time to change my gown and to dress Edouard, sir."
"How long will that take, madame?"
"Is half an hour too much to ask?"
"No, indeed; if half an hour really suffices I shall think you
most reasonable."
"Be easy, sir; it will be sufficient."
"Well, madame," said the secretary, bowing, "I will attend to
an errand, and return in half an hour to place myself at your
orders."
"Thank you, sir."
"Don't be annoyed if I should be punctual."
"I shall not keep you waiting."
Bourrienne left. Madame de Montrevel dressed Edouard first, then
herself, and was ready five minutes before Bourrienne reappeared.
"Take care, madame," said Bourrienne laughing, "lest I tell the
First Consul of your extreme punctuality."
"What should I have to fear if you did?"
"He would keep you near him to give lessons in punctuality to
Madame Bonaparte."
"Oh!" exclaimed Madame de Montrevel, "you must forgive unpunctuality
in a Creole."
"But I believe you are a Creole also, madame."
"Madame Bonaparte sees her husband every day," said Madame de
Montrevel, laughing, "whereas I am to see the First Consul for
the first time."
"Come, mother, let us go!" said Edouard.
The secretary drew aside to allow Madame de Montrevel to pass
out. Fifteen minutes later they had reached the Luxembourg.
Bonaparte occupied the suite of rooms on the ground floor to
the right. Josephine's chamber and boudoir were on the first
floor; a stairway led from the First Consul's study to her room.
She was expecting Madame de Montrevel, for as soon as she saw
her she opened her arms as to a friend. Madame de Montrevel had
stopped respectfully at the door.
"Oh! come in, come in, madame!" said Josephine. "To-day is not
the first that I know you; I have long known you through your
excellent son, Roland. Shall I tell you what comforts me when
Bonaparte leaves me? It is that Roland goes with him; for I fancy
that, so long as Roland is with him, no harm will befall him.
Well, won't you kiss me?"
Madame de Montrevel was confused by so much kindness.
"We are compatriots, you know," continued Josephine. "Oh! how
well I remember M. de la Clémencière, and his beautiful gardens
with the splendid fruit. I remember having seen a young girl who
seemed its queen. You must have married very young, madame?"
"At fourteen."
"Yes, you could not have been older to have a son of Roland's
age. But pray sit down."
She led the way, making a sign to Madame de Montrevel to sit beside
her.
"And that charming boy," she said, pointing to Edouard, "is he
also your son?" And she gave a sigh. "God has been prodigal to
you, madame, and as He has given you all you can desire, will
you not implore Him to send me a son."
She pressed her lips enviously to Edouard's forehead.
"My husband will be delighted to see you, he is so fond of your
son, madame! You would not have been brought to me in the first
instance, if he were not engaged with the minister of police.
For that matter," she added, laughing, "you have arrived at an
unfortunate moment; he is furious!"
"Oh!" cried Madame de Montrevel, frightened; "if that is so, I
would rather wait."
"No, no! On the contrary, the sight of you will calm him. I don't
know just what is the matter; but it seems a diligence was stopped
on the outskirts of the Black Forest in broad daylight. Fouché
will find his credit in danger if the thing goes on."
Madame de Montrevel was about to answer when the door opened and
an usher appeared.
"The First Consul awaits Madame de Montrevel," he said.
"Go," said Josephine; "Bonaparte's time is so precious that he
is almost as impatient as Louis XV., who had nothing to do. He
does not like to wait."
Madame de Montrevel rose hastily and turned to take Edouard with her.
"No," said Josephine; "leave this beautiful boy with me. You will
stay and dine with us, and Bonaparte can see him then. Besides,
if my husband takes a fancy to see him, he can send for him.
For the time, I am his second mamma. Come, what shall we do to
amuse ourselves?"
"The First Consul must have a fine lot of weapons, madame," replied
the boy.
"Yes, very fine ones. Well, I will show you the First Consul's arms."
Josephine, leading the child, went out of one door, and Madame
de Montrevel followed the usher through the other.
On the way the countess met a fair man, with a pale face and
haggard eye, who looked at her with an uneasiness that seemed
habitual to him. She drew hastily aside to let him pass. The
usher noticed her movement.
"That is the minister of police," he said in a low voice. Madame de
Montrevel watched him as he disappeared, with a certain curiosity.
Fouché was already at that time fatally celebrated. Just then the
door of Bonaparte's study opened and his head was seen through
the aperture. He caught sight of Madame de Montrevel.
"Come in, madame," he said; "come in."
Madame de Montrevel hastened her steps and entered the study.
"Come in," said Bonaparte, closing the door himself. "I have
kept you waiting much against my will; but I had to give Fouché
a scolding. You know I am very well satisfied with Roland, and
that I intend to make a general of him at the first opportunity.
When did you arrive?"
"This very moment, general."
"Where from? Roland told me, but I have forgotten."
"From Bourg."
"What road?"
"Through Champagne."
"Champagne! Then when did you reach Châtillon?"
"Yesterday morning at nine o'clock."
"In that case, you must have heard of the stoppage of the diligence."
"General--"
"Yes, a diligence was stopped at ten in the morning, between
Châtillon and Bar-sur-Seine."
"General, it was ours."
"Yours?"
"Yes."
"You were in the diligence that was stopped?"
"I was."
"Ah! now I shall get the exact details! Excuse me, but you understand
my desire for correct information, don't you? In a civilized
country which has General Bonaparte for its chief magistrate,
diligences can't be stopped in broad daylight on the highroads
with impunity, or--"
"General, I can tell you nothing, except that those who stopped
it were on horseback and masked."
"How many were there?"
"Four."
"How many men were there in the diligence?"
"Four, including the conductor."
"And they didn't defend themselves?"
"No, general."
"The police report says, however, that two shots were fired."
"Yes, general, but those two shots--"
"Well?"
"Were fired by my son."
"Your son? Why, he is in Vendée!"
"Roland, yes; but Edouard was with me."
"Edouard! Who is Edouard?"
"Roland's brother."
"True, he spoke of him; but he is only a child."
"He is not yet twelve, general."
"And it was he who fired the two shots?"
"Yes, general."
"Why didn't you bring him with you?"
"I did."
"Where is he?"
"I left him with Madame Bonaparte."
Bonaparte rang, and an usher appeared.
"Tell Josephine to bring the boy to me." Then, walking up and
down his study, he muttered, "Four men! And a child taught them
courage! Were any of the robbers wounded?"
"There were no balls in the pistols."
"What I no balls?"
"No; they belonged to the conductor, and he had taken the precaution
to load them with powder only."
"Very good; his name shall be known."
Just then the door opened, and Madame Bonaparte entered, leading
the boy by the hand.
"Come here," Bonaparte said to him.
Edouard went up to him without hesitation and made a military salute.
"So you fired at the robbers twice, did you?"
"There, you see, mamma, they were robbers!" interrupted the child.
"Of course they were robbers; I should like to hear any one declare
they were not! Was it you who fired at them, when the men were
afraid?"
"Yes, it was I, general. But unfortunately that coward of a conductor
had loaded his pistols only with powder; otherwise I should have
killed their leader."
"Then you were not afraid?"
"I?" replied the boy. "No, I am never afraid."
"You ought to be named Cornelia, madame," exclaimed Bonaparte,
turning to Madame de Montrevel, who was leaning on Josephine's
arm. Then he said to the child, kissing him: "Very good; we will
take care of you. What would you like to be?"
"Soldier first."
"What do you mean by first?"
"Why, first a soldier, then later a colonel like my brother, and
then a general like my father."
"It won't be my fault if you are not," answered the First Consul.
"Nor mine," retorted the boy.
"Edouard!" exclaimed Madame de Montrevel, timidly.
"Now don't scold him for answering properly;" and Bonaparte, lifting
the child to the level of his face, kissed him.
"You must dine with us," said he, "and to-night Bourrienne, who
met you at the hotel, will install you in the Rue de la Victoire.
You must stay there till Roland gets back; he will then find
you suitable lodgings. Edouard shall go to the Prytanée, and I
will marry off your daughter."
"General!"
"That's all settled with Roland." Then, turning to Josephine,
he said: "Take Madame de Montrevel with you, and try not to let
her be bored.--And, Madame de Montrevel, if _your friend_
(he emphasized the words) wishes to go to a milliner, prevent
it; she can't want bonnets, for she bought thirty-eight last
month."
Then, giving Edouard a friendly tap, he dismissed the two women
with a wave of the hand.
