Frederick William nodded, then lowered the pen to the paper and wrote his name slowly, as if each letter was agony to write. At the end he lowered the pen and sat back abruptly, staring straight ahead, refusing to look at the French Emperor sitting at his side. Talleyrand slid the treaty across the table towards Napoleon. Behind a mask of regal calm Napoleon felt consumed by the pleasure of his triumph. He took up his pen, dipped it in the ink and signed the treaty, ending with a flamboyant flourish.The French officers and diplomats at once burst into applause, with Ney stamping his foot as he roared out ‘Bravo! Bravo!’ at the top of his voice.

There was a dull scrape as the Prussian King slid his chair back and abruptly rose from his seat and strode towards the door. As soon as he had left the room, his staff and courtiers filed out behind him, their ears deafened by the thunderous celebration of the French.

Talleyrand leaned close to his ear and said, ‘Congratulations, sire.’

‘Thank you.’

‘I pray that you have won us a lasting peace.’

Napoleon turned to look up at his foreign minister. ‘What is there to pray for? Prussia is humiliated, and I have the Tsar wrapped round my little finger. Trust me, my dear Talleyrand. Russia has been tamed, completely.’

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

The streets of Paris echoed with the sound of the salute being fired from the heights of Montmartre.Tens of thousands of people lined the route of the procession and waved coloured ribbons and tricolour flags the instant they caught sight of the head of the imperial convoy. A cuirassier regiment led the way, breastplates sparkling in the bright sunshine as their glossy mounts clattered over the cobbles. Behind them came a battery of the Guard artillery, caissons and gun carriages freshly painted and every brass fitting polished to perfection.The crews sat erect in their best uniforms as the wheels rumbled beneath them. Then came a battalion of the Old Guard, their bearskins making every man look like a formidable giant. Two companies of light infantry followed, bearing captured enemy standards. A short distance behind came the imperial carriage bearing the Emperor and Empress, and immediately behind them rode the marshals who had fought in the long campaign to subdue Prussia and Russia.

At the sight of Napoleon the cheering of the crowd increased in a deafening crescendo that drowned out even the sound of the salute being fired by the guns on Montmartre. Napoleon was sitting on a large cushion to elevate him above his wife and every now and again he waved to each side of the route, smiling as he acknowledged his people. At his side, Josephine sat still, as she knew that it was not her place to respond to acclaim that she had not won. As the procession turned down the rue St-Honoré and made for the Tuileries, she touched her husband’s leg.