The Rising Storm

After watching for a few moments Roger found Sir William, who apologized with a wry smile for having caused him to hurry his departure from Naples unnecessarily, and explained the present situation by adding that the King had found the sport so good that he had sent a message at midday saying that he intended to prolong his shoot for an hour longer than usual. He then took Roger to the Queen, who had General Acton beside her, and they both received him with marked kindness.

Half an hour later King Ferdinand reached the enclosure. His hair was tousled and he was dressed so like a peasant that he could easily have been mistaken for one. When Roger commented in a low voice to Sir William on the Sovereign's strange choice of costume, the diplomat laughed and replied:

'Nothing delights him more than to be taken by some young beater who does not know him for one of themselves, and egging the poor fool on to grumble to him about what a bad King he is. But such episodes do not cause him to become a better ruler. He regards the matter as a joke, and does not even give the fellow who has amused him a sixpence. He is much too mean for that.'

In a fine good humour the boorish King watched the big bag of mixed game he had shot piled in a small mountain at the Queen's feet. Then, when this ceremony was over, the company entered a row of waiting carriages and was driven back to the palace.

A huge meal followed the hunt and when everyone had eaten their fill the King sent for a blanket. On seeing it brought in Sir William tapped Roger on the arm and whispered: 'Quick! Follow me, or you'll rue it.'

Much mystified Roger got up, and slipped after his mentor to the nearest doorway. As he did so he noticed that quite a number of other courtiers who had been standing about were making unostentatiously for the entrances, and on catching Sir William up he asked what was afoot.

'Watch from here and you will see,' replied the diplomat, entrench­ing himself behind one of the great marble pillars that flanked the door. 'I have seen him play this game before, and know its sequel.'

As Roger watched, the King began to undress himself, and although the ladies pretended to hide their blushes behind their fans they were clearly much amused. When His Majesty was stark naked, he stepped on to the middle of the blanket, which had been spread out on the floor, and, at his order, twelve lusty footmen began to toss him in it. 'One ! Two! Three!' chanted the footmen, and up towards the ceiling sailed the nude monarch.

A dozen times he was shot into the air, amidst clapping of hands and shouts of applause. Then, having ordered a halt, he scrambled out of the blanket, pointed at a fat man near by who had been laughing heartily, and cried: 'You next! Your turn next.'

In vain the fat man protested. He had to submit to the King's will, undress himself and be tossed in the blanket.

'You see,' remarked Sir William to Roger, 'from what I have saved you. That unfortunate is a German diplomat but recently arrived here; and as you are also a stranger His Majesty would certainly have had you tossed had his eye lighted on you.'

Roger was quick to voice his thanks, and they remained carefully concealed from the royal buffoon's eye while half a dozen other victims suffered a similar indignity to that undergone by the German. At length the Queen persuaded his Neapolitan Majesty to dress, and with tears of mirth still streaming from his eyes he was led away between her and General Acton to the council chamber.

They remained in council only half an hour, then General Acton came out to Sir William and Roger, and told them that King Ferdinand had formally consented to receive the Dauphin in his realm. He added that it was Her Majesty's wish that a sloop of the Royal Neapolitan Navy should be placed at Roger's disposal to carry him back to France as soon as possible; but that she wished him to bear a letter for her to Madame Marie Antoinette, which she would write that night, so he was to wait upon her to receive it the following morning.

At the mention of the sloop Roger's heart had gone down into his boots, as he had feared to receive an order for his instant departure; but the codicil about carrying the letter restored his equilibrium, and he breathed again.

When the Prime Minister had left them, Sir William said: 'I keep up a small villa just outside the park, to spare myself the inconvenience of having to return to Naples every night when the Court is resident at Caserta. I shall be happy to offer you a bed there.'

'I thank you, sir, but I beg you to excuse me,' Roger replied. 'Owing to my hasty departure from the capital this morning, my business there is not yet concluded. Fortunately I have not been bidden to attend the Court this evening, so with your leave I propose to return to Naples.'

Sir William gave an understanding nod. ' 'Tis certain that Her Majesty will expect to see you at supper; but since she has issued no command for your appearance, you are free to do as you wish. She will have ample time to talk further with you in the morning. I suggest that you should be here not later than eleven o'clock, as she does her business from that hour onwards.'

'I will be on hand at that hour without fail, sir.' Roger paused a moment, then went on: 'My business tonight concerns a Signora Goudar. I wonder if you can tell me anything of her?'

'I can tell you that she is plaguey expensive.' Sir William eyed Roger speculatively through his quizzing glass. 'Unless you have five hundred guineas to throw away, and are more of a fool than I take you to be, you will find a less ruinous wanton with whom to pass the night.'

'Five hundred guineas 1' repeated Roger, shocked into a vulgar whistle. 'Strap me, sir. But she must be the eighth wonder of the world to demand such a sum for her favours.'

'She is not far from it,' came the quiet murmur. 'Few women that I have met are more beautiful, her conversation is delightful, and her career at least unusual.'

'I pray you inform me of it, sir; though I assure you that I wish to meet the lady only on a matter of business.'

'Then I must give you another warning. Her husband is a rogue of the first water and she is his willing accomplice. As you may know, gambling is forbidden by law in Naples; with the inevitable result that even the beggars gamble in the gutters, and the rich, having no public casinos to go to, feel the greater itch to stake their money, so get them­selves fleeced nightly in private houses where professional games are run. Goudar is the proprietor of the establishment most frequented by Neapolitan society. Thousands of guineas are often won or lost there at a single sitting, and Madame Goudar acts as the lure to draw rich foreigners into this gilded thieves'- kitchen.'

'I had no thought to gamble, either, sir. 'Tis another person's business upon which I wish to see the lady.'

'Even so you may burn your fingers unless you have a care. A com­bination of brains and beauty make the Goudars a pair of cheats second to none in my experience.'

Roger fingered the lace at his throat. 'I will heed your warning well, Sir William. But you intrigue me mightily. I pray you tell me Madame Goudar's history.'

'Some sixteen years ago the lovely Sara was a little slut serving in a London tavern. She had hardly a rag to her back and could neither read nor write. Goudar saw her there and with the eye of a connoisseur appreciated the fact that one day she would be a remarkable beauty. He took the child away, made her his mistress, and spent six years in educating her. He was abundantly repaid for his trouble, for she proved quick to learn, and now, or even when he first brought her to Naples, I would defy you to detect that she had not been brought up among people of the first quality. On arriving here he devised a most skilful expedient for drawing attention to this beautiful little stool pigeon, that he had reared with such care; he made her appear in sackcloth and publicly renounce the Protestant religion as the work of the Devil.' 'What a monstrous thing to do!' exclaimed Roger. 'Not at all,' laughed Sir William, 'for she was of Irish descent and birth, had been baptized into the Catholic faith as an infant, and had never subscribed to any other.'

Roger joined in the laugh. 'What a delightful cheat! They certainly deserved to do well for themselves.'

'And they did,' Sir William rejoined. 'The Neapolitan nobility flocked to Goudar's house to make the acquaintance of the beautiful apostate, and their gaming-room prospered exceedingly. But more, the ladies were so intrigued that they wanted to know her too; and her manners were so charming, her taste so exquisite, her ton so exactly right, that she acquired the friendship of many of the best-born women in Naples, including even that of the Queen. She does not, of course, visit them, owing to the anomaly of her position, but they visit her; and in the afternoons there are often half a dozen titled ladies to be found taking a dish of tea with her in her apartment.'

' 'Tis an amazing achievement for one of such lowly beginnings,' Roger murmured, 'and makes me all the