Pauline stared back at him. ‘I love my husband, General, but I loathed life as an officer’s wife back in France. I have not sacrificed anything to follow him. In truth I escaped the drudgery of eking out a life in a rented room while waiting for him to return. There has to be more to life than that. There has to be adventure.’

‘Indeed.’ Napoleon leaned closer to her. ‘And have you found it?’

‘I thought so, for a while. But now I am a mere lieutenant’s wife once more.’

‘Yes . . .A woman of your beauty deserves better.’

She looked at him for a moment and then tilted her head slightly.‘What are you saying, General? Are you going to offer my husband a promotion?’

‘No.’ Napoleon felt uneasy about what he was about to suggest and his eyes fixed on hers. ‘A general’s position is an isolated one. I cannot acknowledge any man, any friend, as an equal.Yet I need companionship . . .the comfort of intimacy.You understand? I need a woman. A special woman.’

‘But you are married.’

‘Yes,’ Napoleon replied bitterly. ‘And as you have no doubt heard, my wife has found a companion of her own. I will deal with her when I return to France. Under the circumstances I do not feel obliged to remain faithful to her. And I find that I am uncommonly attracted to you.’

‘I see.’ Pauline nodded. ‘And what exactly are you offering me?’

‘A palace here in Cairo.The company of the finest officers and scientific minds in Egypt. Is that not adventure enough for you, Madame Fourès?’

She considered this for a while before replying. ‘And what of my husband? What becomes of him?’

‘I will send him back to France. It would be best for all three of us.’

‘Yes.’ She licked her lips. ‘A palace, you say?’

Napoleon nodded.

‘And what happens when the campaign is over?’

‘I don’t know yet. Let’s see what happens. But I will make no promises.’>

‘No promises, then.’ She took his hand and kissed it. ‘Please, call me Pauline. And when can this . . . adventure begin?’

Napoleon felt his heart beating faster as he gestured towards the arched doorway on the far side of the room. The night suddenly seemed unbearably hot. ‘My bedchamber is over there. The choice is yours.’

Pauline rose from her chair, and staring down at Napoleon she reached up and pulled the pins from her hair, so that it cascaded down over her shoulders.Then she turned away and glided across the room towards the bedchamber.

Chapter 40

Chapter 40

‘You have to admire their sense of humour.’ Napoleon smiled as he laid down the dispatch from Alexandria and reached across the bed to stroke her back. ‘Who would have thought the English were capable of it?’

‘Oh, yes, it’s very funny,’ Pauline snapped.‘I can hardly control the mad desire to laugh like a lunatic.’