‘Well I am here, safe and sound. Come, sit.’ Napoleon thrust his chair back and patted his lap. Josephine crossed the room and eased herself down, wrapping an arm round his neck and dangling her hand from his shoulder. She bent her head down and kissed him on the lips.

‘We haven’t done this for some time.’

‘No?’ Napoleon frowned, and then chuckled and kissed her again. ‘You are right. It is a pity. I have been neglecting you.’

‘You have.’

There was a serious edge to her tone, but before Napoleon could comment she had turned to read his notes, her eyes flicking over the uneven lines and figures. ‘What is so compelling about Spain at the moment?’

For a second Napoleon considered brushing the matter aside. He was tired and wanted to rest his head against her naked chest and fall asleep there. But his mind was still working, still turning over various possible actions and consequences. He drew a breath and sighed. ‘It is time the regime in Madrid was changed.’

‘Why? Spain is our ally.’

‘Some ally.’ Napoleon sniffed. ‘That wretched little mercenary, Godoy, has been taking our money for years and France is not seeing as much benefit from her investment as I would like. Many of Spain’s ports openly trade with our enemy. Godoy schemes with other powers and now it seems that he is trying to block the marriage between Ferdinand and Lucien’s daughter.’

‘Louise? I thought that matter had been settled.’

‘So did I. The marriage would have gone a long way to cementing the alliance. But now it seems that Ferdinand is not keen to hold to the agreement, and Godoy refuses to use his influence with King Charles and the Queen to force the issue.’

Josephine thought for a moment before looking directly at Napoleon. ‘So what do you intend to do about it? Not another war, surely?’

Napoleon shook his head. ‘There’s no need. Madrid is riven by dissent. The members of the royal household spend their lives plotting against each other while the people look on in despair. So it will be simple enough to engineer a crisis.The King will ask me to intervene.

I imagine Ferdinand will make a similar request as well. Then my soldiers who are already in Spain can seize control of the towns along the frontier and I will adjudicate the grievances between Charles and his heir.’

‘While disposing of Godoy, naturally.’

‘Yes.’

‘What then?’ Josephine asked as she moved her hand and began to softly stroke the back of his neck.

‘If Godoy goes, then so must Charles. I will make Ferdinand King, and ensure that he knows who his master is.’

‘And if Ferdinand does not like being your puppet?’

‘Then he must go as well.’

‘Then who will rule Spain?’