Napoleon felt his blood surge with anger but managed to keep his tone calm and respectful as he replied. ‘Citizen, the news that reached us in Egypt was so alarming that I didn’t hesitate to leave my army, but set out at once to come and share your perils.’ Napoleon grasped the hilt of his sword. ‘I swear that this sword will never be drawn except in defence of the republic, and its government.’

Barras leaned forward and smiled. ‘We are comforted to hear that, General. And we will endeavour to find a new command suited to a man of your talents and ambitions just as soon as we can, so that you might be spared the interminable politics that bedevil Paris.’

The words were spoken with such deliberate emphasis that Napoleon suddenly felt that his façade of loyalty was as transparent as the finest blown glass and that his ambition was on view for all to see. The ceremony ended and he approached the Directors and embraced each one of them in turn, in a frosty gesture of fraternity. As he left the palace the sentries at the gate presented arms and chorused, ‘Long live Bonaparte!’The cry was echoed by the dense crowd of civilians who pressed around his coach as it passed through the gates and on to the street. Napoleon smiled and waved to his public and wondered how many of them would still be so enthusiastic in their support for him in a month’s time.

‘It has to be soon,’ Napoleon said firmly as he looked round at the men in his study. ‘The Directors dare not discipline me now, for fear of the public reaction. But the moment my popular support fades they will move against me, and I will have no chance of leading the coup.’

Sieyès stirred uneasily.‘This isn’t about your salvation, General Bonaparte. It is about the salvation of France.’

‘Of course it is,’ Napoleon agreed readily. ‘I understand that, citizen, as I understand that I am merely the instrument through which our cause will achieve its aim. No man shall rise above his peers.’

‘Quite,’ Lucien intervened. ‘And that point must not be forgotten, whatever else happens. But my brother is right.We cannot wait any longer. Bernadotte is building his support amongst the Jacobins in the Council of the Five Hundred. Unless we move first he will be ready to act within a matter of weeks. Of course, the Directors will oppose him, but if he has the Council, and the mob, then they are finished, and we will have lost our chance. That being the situation, I say we make our move early in November. I have already won over General Moreau to our cause and most of the other generals in Paris will follow my brother.’

‘Until we have a new constitution,’ Sieyès reminded him firmly. ‘Then the general will step aside and return power to a civil authority.’