‘Keep your wits about you.The word is our royalist friends are brewing something up. It could be just a rumour, but I’m not so sure. Keep your ears open. Don’t leave the city and be ready to act if something happens.’

‘Something?’

Carnot lowered his voice ominously. ‘Just be ready.’

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

One morning, late in September, Napoleon was taking his usual morning stroll through the gardens of the Tuileries. The air was crisp and fresh and the slight chill hinted at the coming change of season. The gardens were scattered with people enjoying the clear skies and Napoleon felt his spirits rise. The appointment to the bureau of topography had saved him from the bitter struggle against the Vendée insurgents and, at last, he had been restored to full pay. His debts had been cleared, and now that Marmont had been posted to the Army of the Rhine his expenses had been reduced to maintaining only himself and Junot.

On the far side of the gardens a crowd had gathered outside the hall of the National Assembly. As Napoleon made his way round the gravel path and approached the building he saw that the crowd had swelled in size and angry shouts filled the air. He approached and caught the eye of a man in an expensively tailored coat.

‘Citizen, what’s happening here?’

The man turned and stabbed his finger towards the National Assembly. ‘They’ve just released the details of the new constitution.’

‘Oh? And?’

‘It’s a disgrace, that’s what. Those bastards of the Convention are taking seats in the Legislative Assembly. The scum just want to cling on to their jobs.’

Napoleon couldn’t help smiling. ‘What did you expect? They’re politicians.’

The man faced Napoleon and glared.‘That’s as maybe, but the people won’t stand for it.’ He gestured to the surrounding crowd and Napoleon could see that many faces wore expressions of anger and the air was filled with cries of ‘Fraud!’ and ‘Down with the government!’ Some even cried out for the restoration of the monarchy.

The man turned back towards the National Assembly and added his voice to the angry chants. Napoleon glanced over the crowd one last time and then resumed his walk, making his way back to his lodgings with a heavy heart. The new constitution was supposed to restore political order, but the self-interest of the politicians meant that none had lost any power, or their jobs. What had been lost was the chance to unite the country, and Napoleon’s heart filled with contempt for the political class that simply looked to its privileges and its purses and couldn’t give a damn about the rest of the nation.