‘And I’d prefer it if you did not provide me with any more. Understand?’

‘Yes.’

‘So tread very carefully around Talleyrand. He has powerful friends.’

‘Maybe, but that won’t save him if he commits treason.’

‘No,’ Napoleon conceded. ‘It won’t. Just make sure you have enough evidence if the moment comes.’

In the following months Napoleon regarded his chief ministers warily. Fouché continued his campaign against the rebels of the Vendée as vigorously as ever, but operated in a more restrained manner in Paris, relaxing some of the restrictions on popular entertainments and imprisoning newspaper editors less frequently. For his part, Talleyrand continued to work hard to persuade the foreign ambassadors that France was sincere in its desire for peace. His task was not made easier by the intransigence of the English and the opportunism of the First Consul. Although the British had undertaken to return Malta to the Knights of St John within three months of the treaty, the island remained in their hands. As summer ended and the British garrison remained in place, Napoleon summoned his foreign minister and the English ambassador to the château at St-Cloud that had been refurbished to act as a diplomatic residence away from the noise and grime of the capital.

In order to lend the meeting a less tense ambience Talleyrand had suggested that a buffet of regional delicacies should be laid out in the drawing room overlooking the ornate gardens. A small party of dignitaries had also been invited, and while Josephine hosted the main party the three men slipped away to a small arbour at the end of the main lawn and sat in the dappled shade of trellised vines as they talked. Lord Whitworth was tall, over six feet in height, and stiff-necked with the casual bluntness, bordering on rudeness, that seemed to characterise so many of his high-born countrymen. At least he had a decent command of French, Napoleon admitted as they swiftly moved from polite informalities to the real business of the day.

‘I have to confess,’ Lord Whitworth crossed his legs as he drawled, ‘His Majesty’s government is perplexed by France’s refusal to sign a commerce treaty between our nations.’

‘How can I agree to that, when you still remain in Malta?’ Napoleon responded. ‘Surely you can see that it is hard to justify a new treaty to my people while the previous one remains to be honoured?’

Whitworth tipped his head slightly to one side. ‘The situation has changed.’