Napoleon’s gaze fixed on his hands. It was over twelve years since he and Junot had won their spurs in the siege of Toulon. Much had happened between then and now, and suddenly Napoleon felt older than his years. The strength of will and swiftness of mind that had singled him out from his peers as a young man were starting to fade. His once thin face and slender body had been replaced by rounded, overindulged features and a creeping portliness. He was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of disgust at the changes in his body.Very well, then. If he could stay young in body, he would stay agile in thought. His eyes flashed up towards Berthier.

‘Is everything in hand for the shoot?’

‘Yes, sire. It has all been taken care of. Even the weather.’ Berthier nodded towards the cerulean sky and laughed.

But Napoleon just nodded, absent-mindedly, and muttered, ‘Good. That’s good.’

Once the guests had arrived, and been served with wine and snacks by the imperial footmen, they began to congregate in groups, filling the air with good-humoured conversation, punctuated by laughter. Napoleon, with a small entourage, moved amongst them, greeting his guests, sharing jokes with old comrades and making flirtatious exchanges with the most beautiful of the women. Then he paused as he saw the Portuguese ambassador in earnest conversation with a small group of foreign dignitaries on the periphery of the party.

‘Excuse me,’ Napoleon said tersely to his followers. ‘Wait here.’

He strode across the trampled grass and the Portuguese ambassador fell silent as the Austrian diplomat, Prince Metternich, nudged his arm.

‘A word with you,’ Napoleon called out as he strode up to them and the other men at once stepped back to make space for the French Emperor. Napoleon rounded on the Portuguese ambassador. ‘I am still waiting for your King to respond to my demands. Well? Heard anything?’

The ambassador bowed his head and replied in a subdued tone,‘Alas, no, your majesty.’

‘I see.’ Napoleon frowned. ‘This discourtesy has gone on long enough. I will not endure it, do you hear? If your King does not do what I want, then he and the house of Braganza will no longer rule Portugal a few months from now.You tell him that. And tell him that with Russia as my ally there is nothing that can stand in the way of France now. Nothing!’ Napoleon glared round at the other diplomats and continued in a menacing tone, ‘And if there is any other nation in Europe that chooses to defy me by receiving any British envoys, I will declare war on them too. I will not be defied, gentlemen.’ He stood there a moment, to make sure they could see that he was serious, then wagged a finger at them and turned to stride back towards his entourage.