Napoleon's Guard Page 16

  “I am afraid I have little control over where the wounds are or how deep they are. I just try to stay alive.”

  He stood as he finished, “I have heard what happened to your comrades. Do not dwell on it. Look upon each day as a new start. You have been to hell and back and you are reborn. Do not spurn this chance of life. Live each day as though it is your last.” He pointed to the blue uniform hanging up. “The general sent this.”

  I dressed in the unfamiliar blue uniform. I was lucky that they had a spare captain’s uniform. Even as I was dressing I was thinking that these were dead men’s clothes. I joined General Kléber and General Menou for dinner. I had never met him before but I did not like Menou at all. He struck me as an ambitious man. Certainly when we talked over the meal I got the impression that he had not fought very often. I suppose now that General Bonaparte had taken most of the other generals back to France people such as Menou and Hougon were seizing their chances. Brave men died and opportunists were promoted.

  Towards the end of the meal the talk came around to Hougon and General Kléber explained that we would be travelling to Alexandria to confront the man.

  General Menou shook his head, “No! You cannot general. Hougon is a hero. Even if what this captain says is true…” I began to rise; I would not be insulted by anyone.

  Kléber restrained me, “General Menou this man’s honour is without a stain. I suggest you temper your language. Do not even begin to impugn his honour. He has earned the respect of all especially General Bonaparte.”

  He apologised, but not with his eyes, “I am sorry captain but if what you say is true then bringing this matter to the public gaze will not bring your dead comrades back will it? We need all the heroes we can get.”

  “The heroes are all buried beneath the sand.” I pushed my half eaten plate away, my appetite gone. “As I said to the general I am more than happy to mete the punishment out myself. Colonel Hougon once challenged me to a duel and I will oblige him.”

  General Menou shook his head, “That is just as bad. I forbid it!”

  I glared at this pompous little officer. Did he really think that he could stop me? I could see that I was getting nowhere. I did not need to justify myself to him. He was not in command. General Kléber would be travelling with me and I trusted him to see that justice was not only done but seen to be done. “Gentlemen I am tired. With your permission I will retire. Do you require my services tomorrow, General Kléber?”

  “Yes I am meeting with various Egyptians to deal with some civil matters. It would help to have someone else to hear them. General Menou will be leaving in the morning for Alexandria.”

  “Then I shall see you both in morning. Goodnight sir.” I knew that the general would go directly to Hougon and tell him what had transpired. It made no difference to me. I would fight the whole of the 15th if needs be.

  I felt more rested when I awoke. I dressed and presented myself to the general. He saw my sword. “If you would please leave your sword in your room, captain; I do not want to incense the Egyptians any more than I have to.”

  I smiled; I would only need my sword when I confronted Colonel Hougon. “Certainly sir. I do not need the weight anyway. It is far too hot for that.”

  My job, as far as I could see, was to hover behind the general as he sat, Turkish style, cross legged on the cushions. He would listen to the request of the supplicant and then render a decision. Occasionally he turned to ask me something in French and then he would turn back to the supplicant. The morning was spent in such dull intercourses. We had a break in midmorning for a cool drink of sherbet.

  I felt that I could speak freely with the general; he was a soldier like me. “Sir, do you not find this tedious?”

  “Dull in the extreme. I enliven it by asking you questions which heightens the anticipation of the supplicant and makes them more grateful to France for acceding to their request. Do not fear we only have another six and then we are finished and I can get back to being a soldier again.”

  We saw two more supplicants and then the general asked me to fetch him some papers from his room. “We have an important mullah coming. The next visitor is just a student.”

  I found the papers quickly and I returned. As I entered the room I saw the student plunge his knife into the chest of the general. I threw the papers to the floor and launched myself at him. I saw him stab the general in the thigh. I pulled my hand back and punched the student so hard that I heard his nose break and saw his eyes close as he collapsed in an unconscious heap. I quickly turned to the general. His life blood was spilling on the gorgeous cushions. “I fear you will have to deal with the Lieutenant Colonel yourself I…” Then he died. Had he lived then events might have turned out differently but, as I came to understand in the heat of Egypt, sometimes our destinies are shaped by forces that are not of this world.

  The colonel in charge of the guards raced in, his face white with anger. He yelled at his guards, “Why did you not search the supplicants when they came in?” The guards just looked at each other in embarrassment. “Take this prisoner away and lock him up. I will question him later.” He seemed to see me for the first time. “Are you injured captain?”

  “No sir. Just annoyed with myself for not being able to do anything.”

  “I need you to ride to Alexandria and inform General Menou of the situation. He is now the commander of the French Army here in Egypt.”

  “Yes sir.” My heart sank. My quest for justice would fall on the deaf ears of a general who was motivated by politics. I would still make my request but I feared the worst. I packed my old uniform and clothes and requisitioned a horse from the stables. The stable sergeant recognised me. “I heard about the general. Take his horse. It has a mind of its own but you are like the general was, you are a horseman.”

  I thanked the sergeant and rode north. He was right it was a spirited animal but like all such beasts it responded to a firm hand. As I rode I checked that my two pistols were both loaded. Although the road from Cairo to Alexandria was patrolled it was thinner than it had been and there were men, like the murderous students, who would risk their lives to rid the land of us. I could not die until my friends were avenged and then I would not care what happened to me.

  I had to make two overnight stops at two of the forts along the way. I was the bearer of the news of the general’s death and it saddened an already depressed army. General Kléber had restored the army’s faith in its generals after the desertion by Bonaparte. I think that if it had not been for the general then the army might have mutinied. I left each fort feeling less confident about the fate of the French soldiers. They were brave and they were resourceful but they needed leaders like General Kléber and not ambitious and self serving men like Bonaparte and Menou. I had no doubt that Napoleon Bonaparte was a good general but I knew that he did not care about the men he commanded; he just wanted power.

  I reached Alexandria two days after leaving Cairo. I rode directly to headquarters and was told that General Menou and the cavalry were in the Nile Delta and would not return until evening. I gave the general’s aide the news of General Kléber’s death and Menou’s new responsibilities and promised to return after dark. I did not relish hanging around the headquarters building all afternoon and I headed for the harbour. I hoped that François was still there for he was now the last friend I had in this land. All the rest were lying beneath the sand.

  As soon as I saw the little sloop my spirits rose. I tied my horse to a bollard and strode up the gangplank. The crew gave me a warm greeting. I think they had always appreciated that I was not a distant officer who was aloof but I knuckled down to the same work as they did. François’ warm smile left his face as I told him of the general’s death and filled him in on the deaths of those men he had known.

  “We heard that there was a cavalry battle but we heard that it was a great victory. I knew that you and Jean would have been involved in the battle but I assumed that you had been successful. Now I understand why th
ose who rode into Alexandria did not mention the 17th Chasseurs.”

  “I am the last of the 17th François. I am here to see that Hougon is court martialed.”

  “That may not be as easy as you think Robbie. He and the general appear to be fast friends. The 15th are now the unofficial guards of the general.” I said nothing but stared at the worn wood of the table in the cabin. “I do not think he will court martial the darling of the desert.” My face hardened as his words sank in. He was right. The only man who would have done so was now dead. Even before he had left Menou had made it quite clear that he did not want the news to be made public. “Do not do anything foolish! Your friends would not wish you to die needlessly.”

  It did not matter what anyone said if I could not get justice one way then I would another. He was right; Jean and the others would not wish me to die needlessly and I would not. I still had to get to Scotland and fulfil my promise to a kinsman. I smiled and hated myself for the falseness of that smile. “You are right.” I lowered my voice, “There is nothing left for me here. If I chose to leave Egypt would you give me passage?”

  “You mean desert?”

  “How can I desert when I belong to no-one? Besides I would be doing just as Bonaparte did and leaving Egypt.”

  “I would take you in a moment but you know that we have been ordered to stay close to port.”

  “That was general Kléber and he is dead. Besides I think that once General Menou discovers the news he will want a message taking to France and yours is the fastest ship.”

  François chewed the end of his finger as he debated. “If you can get to my ship unseen before we sail then I would take you but I am intrigued. Where would you go? France?”

  I shook my head, “No not France. I am aware that you would not be able to sail into danger but, when we came south we passed Sicily did we not?”

  “Yes it is on the route to Naples and to Toulon.”

  “Then you could drop me on the coast there. I believe that I could gain passage back to England from there.”

  “Sicily is a wild place filled with bandits and brigands.”

  “And Egypt is not? Fear not my friend. I have a plan in my mind and I will not be going to my death. At least not yet. May I leave my chest here? If I do not join you then you and your crew can have the pathetic contents,”

  “Of course.”

  I carried the chest on board and took just one item from it; the stained and dirty cloak I had stolen when I had first landed all those years ago. It was no longer white but a sort of sandy grey with rusty splodges. Each stain told a story of wounds and of death and of betrayal.

  François came to my horse, “Be careful Robbie. That Hougon has a reputation as a killer. He is a duellist.”

  “And I am not. I am a fighter. I will return but I may be in disguise.”

  He laughed, “Do not worry my crew all know you. That will not be a problem.”

  I reached General Menou’s Headquarters before dark. I stabled the horse; I would not need it again and I hung the cloak close by. I slipped some coins to the stable sergeant and asked him to watch the horse and my cloak. He seemed surprised that I would want a rag caring for.

  “I would have thrown it out sir if you had not returned.”

  I smiled, “That cloak has come to my aid more than once and is as valuable a weapon as this sword that I carry.”

  “In that case Captain Macgregor I will guard both the horse and the cloak well.”

  I was surprised that he knew my name. “You know me sergeant? Even in this strange uniform?”

  “We all know you in the Alexandria garrison. If it had not been for you and your men our ships might have been battered long before we made landfall. And we know of the exploits of the 17th. I was sorry to hear of their loss.”

  “Thank you sergeant you have lifted my spirits to know that others remember my fallen comrades as I do.”

  I did feel lifted as I strode into the orderly room. “The general has yet to return sir.”

  “Then I will wait.”

  The orderly brought me some bread with some wine and dates. I nibbled as I waited. I heard the clatter of horses outside and the voices. I steeled myself for a confrontation with Hougon but it was just General Menou who entered. He did not seem surprised to see me.

  “Come into my office you may be able to confirm or deny the rumours I have just heard.”

  Once inside he gestured for me to sit down. After he had taken his cloak off he spread his arms. “Well sir I am here to tell you that General Kléber was murdered a few days ago by a fanatic. I was sent here to tell you that you are now in command of the army of Egypt.”

  “That is what I heard and I feared. The general was a fine soldier and his boots will be hard to fill. Is Cairo under control?”

  “It was when I left.”

  “But it needs me there. I know that. Sergeant!” The door opened and the orderly sergeant stood there expectantly. “Send a message to Colonel Hougon and ask him to join me here and then send a messenger to the ‘Carillon’. I will have despatches for her to take.”

  After he had gone I asked, “Sir, the court martial for Colonel Hougon. The general…”

  “The general is dead and I have no time for such nonsense. I need every commander I can get. Perhaps it would be better if you left for France on the ‘Carillon’. You can deliver the news of General Kléber’s death.”

  “But…”

  He held up his hand. “But nothing. You will obey my orders or find yourself under arrest. Now wait in the orderly room until I have written the report.”

  I had expected nothing else and I stepped into the orderly room. I now knew what I had to do and it would mean I was leaving the French army and living a life on the run but I was determined that I would do it. The sergeant looked up at me. He had heard the raised voices. I smiled and shrugged, “Such is life sergeant.”

  After a few minutes the general came out with a sealed document in his hand. “Captain Macgregor I want you to deliver this message to the authorities in Genoa. You will then report to Paris for assignment. I have written a separate report to that effect. There is also an order for the captain of the ‘Carillon’.”

  Just then the door opened and Colonel Hougon stood there. He was surprised to see me and he looked as though he had seen a ghost. That helped. “Did you think we all died out there colonel? No, there is still one officer from the 17th who knows the truth.”

  “Captain! You have your orders now leave before I have you arrested.”

  Colonel Hougon was white; I know not if it was fear or anger but as I passed I said quietly. “This is not over and my hand is now healed. I will have justice.”

  Outside were two troopers from the 15th. They recognised me and saluted. I returned to the stables where I placed the reports and letters in my saddlebags. “Sergeant I will need my horse shortly and I will be in a hurry.”

  He nodded, “I understand sir and it will be ready.”

  I walked slowly back to the headquarters and stood quietly waiting. The two troopers watched me curiously. One of them said, “Were there many other survivors from the 17th Captain Macgregor?”

  I looked the young trooper in the eye. “No trooper. I am the last of the 17th. They died fighting as brothers.”

  He nodded sadly, “I am sorry sir. We all wanted to…”

  The other one said, “Ssh! The colonel.”

  “It does not matter. You obeyed orders. I knew that you would not have wanted to leave your comrades to die. There will be retribution.” They looked at each other nervously and one of them slid his hand to his sword. “Rest easy it will not be you who pays. Not unless you are foolish enough to go for your sword and then I would be forced to kill you.” There was a cold edge to my voice and he moved his hand carefully away.

  The door opened and Colonel Hougon stood there. He stared at me. “You should be dead! But we can soon remedy that. You say your hand is healed?”

  “It is and
honour dictates that we end this now.”

  “The stables?”

  “The stables.”

  He looked at his two troopers. “Come with us so that others will know of the outcome.”

  I could see that they were torn between curiosity and fear. Duels were outlawed and their participation could result in them being punished but duty overcame their fear and they followed. The sergeant in charge of the stables came out when he heard the hooves. As Hougon took off his cloak, hat and dolman he shook his head. “Gentlemen, this is forbidden.”

  I took off my hat and jacket, “Then absent yourself, my friend, for this will end tonight.”

  I unsheathed my sword. I knew that I was facing a fencer and I was just a fighter. He had more skill with his sword than I had but I had a dead regiment behind me. Where he only had his skill I had my heart as well. We faced each other. He said, “You three are witnesses that we both enter into this willingly.” I could see that he was covering himself for the moment when he killed me. He did not want to be accused of murder. That suited me for it meant that he was overconfident.

  We touched blades and he suddenly darted at me as fast as the strike of a cobra. I had anticipated such a swift start and parried but not fast enough and the blade sliced my cheek. His sabre came away red.

  He looked exultant, “First blood to me!”

  I smiled grimly, “It is not the first blood which counts but the last.”

  He tried another quick flick of his wrist and I parried it away. We circled. The first mistake would result in death and we both knew it. I feinted and he quickly tried a parry. I hacked down with my straight sword. I saw him shake from the force as the vibrations number his hand. For the first time he looked worried. He came at me with four or five quick thrusts and ripostes. I was barely able to beat them away. Then he feinted and I slipped. He lunged and the sabre sliced along my jacket and side.