Read Online For the King by Catherine Delors - Free Book Online Page A

man grunted. “Do I look lucky? Oh, we fished out old boots, a female fetus, a few dead dogs and of course enough animal entrails to fill the Tuileries. Those butchers from the slaughterhouses of the Châtelet toss the offal into the river. So no, no luck. Very little to show for a day spent chilling myself here.”
    Sobry paused to gaze at Roch. “About you? Things going well with the Prefect?”
    Roch grinned bitterly. “Who told you? Bertrand?”
    “No, not Bertrand. Another sort of animal, of the weasel kind: Henry. You were begging for trouble, Miquel, with your Chouans. Everyone knows the Jacobins did it.”
    “No one knows any such thing yet. I certainly don’t.”
    “Then you should. The First Consul himself said so the other night at the Opera. Piis was there, sitting in the box of some fellow aristocrat, and he told me about it. According to him, Bonaparte promised that the Jacobins would pay, and pay dearly for the attack, and he said it aloud. He meant to be heard by everyone.”
    “Bonaparte was furious,” said Roch. “Quite understandable at the time. By now he will have quieted and realized that there is no evidence pointing one way or the other.”
    “I am not privy to what he has realized yet, but I would not bet a sol on Fouché’s future. They say the First Consul has given him no more than a week to prove the Jacobins’ innocence. How can that be done in such a short time? Fouché will be fortunate to avoid arrest himself. He is a former Jacobin, after all, and Bonaparte has never trusted him.”
    “Bonaparte owes Fouché everything. His coup last year would never have succeeded if Fouché had not looked the other way.”
    “Bonaparte expects more than that from his followers. Fouché was content to do nothing, wait for the outcome, and then side with the victor.”
    “Doing nothing was already a great deal for a Minister of Police, when he had to know of Bonaparte’s projects.”
    “Maybe, but Fouché didn’t rally to Bonaparte’s banner until the result was clear. Would he have hesitated a moment to arrest Bonaparte if the coup had failed? No, believe me, Bonaparte has tolerated him so far, but he will seize this opportunity to rid himself of the man.”
    Sobry looked intently at Roch. “Everyone at the Prefecture knows you to be Fouché’s creature. It was fine, of course, as long as Fouché was powerful, but now it puts you in a dangerous position. Switch allegiances, friend, before it is too late. What is stopping you? Loyalty? Fouché himself has betrayed everyone and everything in due time. Go to the Prefect today . Tell him that you realized your error, that you are now absolutely convinced of the Jacobins’ guilt. He won’t be fooled, of course, but he might spare you when Fouché falls, in a few days.”
    Roch remained silent. He was staring straight ahead at the river. It ran slowly like molten lead in front of his eyes.
    Sobry shrugged. “Always stubborn as a mule, I see. Oh well, have it your way, Miquel, but don’t be surprised if you find yourself sharing Fouché’s fate, whatever it may be.”
    Roch felt the need to change the subject. “So what has Citizen Vigier to say?” he asked. “I came here to question him.”
    Sobry waited a minute before answering, then nodded in the direction of one of the houses on the embankment. “I already talked to him. He lives right there. He only heard a splashing noise shortly after eight last night. Since his baths are closed in this season, he didn’t come out to see what it was. He didn’t think anything of it until he learned of the attack this morning.”
    “He didn’t hear the explosion? He must be deaf as a pot! From here, the racket would have been enough to awaken the dead. Much louder than any splash in the river a few minutes later.”
    Sobry grinned. “You will question Citizen Vigier yourself, of course, but he didn’t strike me as the sort of man who would come out by himself in the dark. Especially if