‘Sensual?’ Napoleon tipped his head slightly to one side. ‘It’s not a word I have often heard used to describe me.’
‘You surround yourself with soldiers, so that is hardly surprising.’
They were interrupted by the arrival of the first course, a thin soup of duck and herbs, and sat in silence while the steward carefully poured a ladleful into each of their bowls and then retired. Napoleon watched as his guest delicately filled her spoon and raised it to her lips, sipping the hot liquid with caution. ‘Do you like it?’
Louise looked at him. ‘A touch too much garlic, perhaps, but palatable.’
‘I am so pleased.’ Napoleon took a mouthful, and winced at the scalding sensation in his mouth. He glanced up to see her smiling at him, and mumbled an apology. ‘I am sorry, it was hot. Painful.’ He took a sip of wine to cool his tongue.
‘Yes.The trick is not to let anyone know that it hurts.’
Napoleon lowered his spoon for a while, to let the soup cool. ‘Tell me, your majesty.Why are you here? Why did you request to see me in this intimate manner? Did your husband send you to try to charm me?’
‘He does not approve of the meeting,’ she replied. ‘I insisted. I hope to discuss the question of the terms you demand for peace with Prussia.’
‘The terms are already being discussed, by our diplomats.’
‘Diplomats . . .’ She uttered the word with contempt. ‘They talk and talk and resolve little in the longest possible time.’
‘You have Talleyrand precisely.’ Napoleon laughed.
Louise’s expression remained serious. ‘I wished to negotiate more directly with you.’
‘Negotiate? What is there to negotiate? You already know my terms. I will not change them. Not even for you, your majesty.’
‘But you must realise that your demands go too far. You seek to reduce Prussia to the status of a minor power. You would shame us before the rest of the world.’
‘No more than you have shamed yourselves already.’
She was silent for a moment, and then continued in a calm tone, ‘I accept that my husband vacillated before Austerlitz. If I had been king then Prussia would have fought alongside your enemies from the outset.’
‘And very likely you would have defeated me. I must make certain that Prussia is incapable of challenging France for many years to come. That is why I do not wish to have your husband removed from the throne. His presence there is as good a guarantee of peace as I could wish for. If he was weak before you decided to wage war against France, then he will be even more afraid now. I doubt that you, even with your undeniable charms and force of personality, will be able to persuade him to make war again.’
‘I see.’ Louise nodded, and sipped again from her spoon. ‘You must know that the terms you have demanded of Prussia are sure to win you nothing but the hatred of our people.’
‘What do I care?’ Napoleon shrugged. ‘
They ate in silence for a few minutes before Louise looked up again. ‘Has it occurred to you that you might well need the friendship of Prussia one day?’
‘Yes. There may be a time when I need all the friends I can get. But as long as you sit by the side of your husband and drip your poison into his ear, then I suspect that I need not look to Prussia for any hope of salvation. So what have I to lose by making the terms as harsh as possible?’
Queen Louise lowered her spoon, got up from her chair and walked slowly round the table until she was at his side. Napoleon instinctively lowered his spoon, as he felt his body tense at her closeness. She kneeled beside his chair and took his hand. She spoke softly. ‘Your imperial majesty. If I need to I will beg you not to destroy Prussia. On my hands and knees if you say so.’
She grazed her lips over the back of his hand and Napoleon felt a bolt of fire streak up his arm. For an instant he closed his eyes, relishing the feeling, and the Prussian Queen continued to play her lips over the back of his hand before she turned it over slowly and kissed his palm with infinite tenderness.
‘There is nothing I would not do for my country,’ she whispered. ‘Just ask me, your majesty, and I will do anything for you.’
‘Anything?’
‘Yes. Anything.’ She moved her head so that her lips closed softly round the end of his middle finger and he felt her teeth press gently into his skin. He felt his sex stirring and shifted in his chair as he indulged the sensation.Then cold reason reasserted itself and he firmly pulled his hand away from her and opened his eyes. She was looking up at him with fierce intensity blazing in her brown eyes. Napoleon chuckled.
‘Good God, but you are beautiful. Now I understand why Frederick William is your slave. However, I will not sacrifice the needs of France for the sake of a good fuck, your majesty.’
She stood up and backed away, her eyes narrowing.‘You bastard,’ she muttered. ‘You cold, cruel, contemptible bastard.’
Napoleon smiled faintly and raised an eyebrow. ‘As you say.’
‘Truly, you are a tyrant. I pray that I live to see the day when you are brought down and destroyed.’
‘Of course you do.You are my enemy. I am your conqueror. It is only natural for you to hate me. Just as long as you and your people fear me, I shall be content. Now then, may we continue our meal?’
The Queen glanced at her soup and her lip curled. ‘I would rather eat the scraps refused by swine.’
‘Then I suggest you return to your husband and share his repast, before you share his bed. I have no need for you. No desire. Now you may leave me.’
She glared at him, and then with a swirl of her skirts she turned and strode for the door. Wrenching it open,
