Bourrienne broke the seal and unfolded the dispatch. He held it carefully so that the perspiration that glistened on his brow did not drip on to the paper and make the ink run. The steam that filled the bathroom of Napoleon’s apartment at the Luxembourg Palace was bad enough already for the documents that Bourrienne was obliged to bring in to read to the First Consul, while Napoleon spent up to two hours at a time immersed in the hottest water that he could stand. Peculiar working conditions, Bourrienne thought to himself, but then Napoleon was a peculiar individual. Since the December plebiscite had confirmed popular support for the new constitution, Napoleon had drawn to himself the workload of almost every major office of state.The First Consul worked seventeen or eighteen hours a day, not counting his baths, and there seemed to be no detail, however small, that ever escaped his phenomenal memory. With a mind like that in charge of France’s affairs the other two consuls had soon proved to be superfluous. Sieyès and Ducos, after some faltering efforts to stand alongside Napoleon, had accepted the inevitable and given up their posts at the heart of the new government. But not everyone supported Napoleon’s rise to power. Many politicians and army officers were uncertain about the bloodless coup of November, and none more so than Moreau.

In the weeks that followed Napoleon had been careful to reward his followers and make peace with his rivals. Murat had been appointed commander of the Consular Guard - a hand-picked corps of tough veterans whose duty it was to protect Napoleon. Murat had also been permitted to take Caroline Bonaparte as his bride, and while Napoleon was glad to have such a formidable soldier for a brother-in-law he could not help thinking that Murat had his work cut out with the most shrewish of Napoleon’s sisters. Fouché was now head of police and Talleyrand was in charge of foreign affairs. Masséna was in command of the Army of Italy, Berthier would shortly be in command of the Army of Reserve and Moreau had the most prestigious command of them all - the well-equipped and hard-fighting Army of the Rhine. Which was where Napoleon’s chief difficulty lay.

Bourrienne quickly scanned the note and then began to read it through.‘He’s taking issue again with your plan for the coming campaign.’>

Napoleon was silent for a moment, his brow gradually tightening into a dark scowl as he stared at the chandelier overhead. At length he muttered, ‘Damn the man, what does he think he is playing at? We must beat Austria and we must beat her swiftly.To do that we must destroy her armies and take Vienna before autumn sets in. Any fool can see that. But not Moreau. No, he wants to creep forward like a tortoise, and duck back into his shell the moment he senses danger. Bastard . . .’