given that he remarked- OTL- that he would rather see his son dead than raised as an Austrian archduke- he might regard this (his son at least staying in France, for now) as "oddly preferable" to being effectively exiled. Especially given the fact that the Bourbons are currently without an heir. He might genuinely be deluding himself into thinking that he can still pull a rabbit out of the hat (the man was delusional enough to think the Bourbons would accept him as an acceptable regent for the comte de Chambord, so definitely capable of such "idiocy")@Kellan Sullivan ! Amazing work as always! Boy Nappy is not happy.
thank youGreat chapter!
True.given that he remarked- OTL- that he would rather see his son dead than raised as an Austrian archduke- he might regard this (his son at least staying in France, for now) as "oddly preferable" to being effectively exiled. Especially given the fact that the Bourbons are currently without an heir. He might genuinely be deluding himself into thinking that he can still pull a rabbit out of the hat (the man was delusional enough to think the Bourbons would accept him as an acceptable regent for the comte de Chambord, so definitely capable of such "idiocy")
Makes one wonder if he'll bolt from Elba earlier or be more willing to bide his time here?
Bolting from Elba came in part because Napoleon got wind of plans to send him to St. Helena (with or without leaving the island), because of a lack of money on the island, and because he thought it was the only way to secure anything for his son.given that he remarked- OTL- that he would rather see his son dead than raised as an Austrian archduke- he might regard this (his son at least staying in France, for now) as "oddly preferable" to being effectively exiled. Especially given the fact that the Bourbons are currently without an heir. He might genuinely be deluding himself into thinking that he can still pull a rabbit out of the hat (the man was delusional enough to think the Bourbons would accept him as an acceptable regent for the comte de Chambord, so definitely capable of such "idiocy")
Makes one wonder if he'll bolt from Elba earlier or be more willing to bide his time here?
thank you
Soundtrack: Rossini - Overture to Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghelterra [1]
*Portoferraio* *in a study* *Napoléon is eating when his secretary, Méneval arrives with the mail*
Napoléon: *mouth half full of chicken* what news have we from Europe, Méneval? *wipes fingers on napkin*
Méneval: it seems that her Majesty, the Empress, will not be joining you, sire.
Napoléon: will not? Or cannot?
Méneval: it seems that she has been...delayed at Aix-les-Bains...while travelling to join you [2]
Napoléon: she is taken ill? My son is ill?
Méneval: not that I am aware, sire. In fact, from the intelligence I have on him, he is quite well, sir- Simply that there were some...unforeseen circumstances that have rendered her unable to travel further.
Napoléon: but she will send my son on to join me? The kings of Europe cannot be so cruel, surely.
Méneval: if they show themselves to be such, sire, then it simply proves what all of Europe has known all along.
Napoléon: if Jérôme had just done what I'd told him, taken control of the situation and headed for Brittany instead of following her to Rambouillet like a spaniel [3], they should at least be out of the hands of the enemy.
Méneval: in regards to family business, sire...there are letters from both the Princess Borghese and the duchesse de Navarre.
Napoléon: what does Pauline want?
Méneval: *reading through letter* she wishes to be allowed to join you in your new kingdom, sire.
Napoléon: *frowns* so my sister and my wife are the only ones who care enough to share my life now that I am no longer powerful?
Méneval: *reading further* it seems that the king of Spain has retired to Switzerland. He believes it more prudent to "be discreet"-
Napoléon: *curses Joseph out* discretion...always discretion with him.
Méneval: *nods* the grand duchess of Tuscany is travelling to meet the empress at Aix, so perhaps it can be hoped that she too will join us?
Napoléon: *makes an unconvinced noise* send a response to Pauline that she may join us if she so wishes. Then send a letter to the rest of my siblings and call them all a bunch of disgusting cowards.
Méneval: *nods*
Napoléon: and Josephine?
Méneval: *opens other letter* she trusts that your Majesty is well. She herself has just recovered from a chill. She thanks your Majesty for what you have done for Eugène and Hortense [4]. *clearly summing up* further news of the family. The king of Holland is in Rome- with Lucien and your mother- and he is demanding that Hortense send their sons to him.
Napoléon: where are the boys now?
Méneval: with their mother in France.
Napoléon: *clearly pensive* in the letter to Louis, tone down the language...but tell him that his sons would be best to remain in France for now.
Méneval: sire?
Napoléon: to remove them will bring difficulties for both Josephine and Hortense. It will look like we do not trust them any more than they do not trust us.
Méneval: and we trust them?
Napoléon: not as far as I can spit. But I would rather have my nephews raised in France than by my dolt of a brother in Rome. No doubt that like Lucien, he is kissing the pope's arse already.
Méneval: does your Majesty wish me to put that in the letter?
Napoléon: no. Because to kiss the pope's arse is the same as to kiss nobody's arse [5]
Méneval: *nods* *returns to reading the letter* her Majesty, the duchesse would also like to request permission to join you...just as soon as she has recovered completely [6]
Napoléon: it sounds like a farce by Goldoni, Méneval. One master, two wives-
Méneval: do not forget that the Countess Walewska is also due shortly, sire
Napoléon: if Josephine is here, Marie [Louise] will not join me. Of that I can be sure. So for now, you may write to her Majesty and inform her that she is to remain in Paris- or at Évreux- whichever she prefers
Méneval: *nods* *reads further* ah...there is a post-script. Her Majesty wishes to tell you that unforeseen circumstances require her to remain at Malmaison.
Napoléon: unforeseen circumstances keeping my wife at Aix. Unforeseen circumstances causing Josephine to remain in Paris. Is all of my family just blind or is it simply because they are useless at planning.
Méneval: it concerns your son, sire.
Napoléon: my son? *confused* Josephine? You mean Eugène?
Méneval: I mean the king of Rome, sire
Napoléon: what does that have to do with Josephine's unexpected circumstance
Méneval: *hands over letter with "you better read this yourself" look*
Napoléon: *scanning through letter to post-script*
Josephine v/o: It is my sincerest regret to inform your Majesty that due to some confusion, the king of Rome's carriage was separated from his mother's on the road to Rambouillet. It was intercepted by the soldiers of the king of France and Navarre and the young king has been returned to Paris. At present, I am assured by Tsar Alexander, Prince Talleyrand, Maréchal Ney and others loyal to your Majesty, as to his continued good health while he remains at the Tuileries-
Napoléon: *his face blanching* under the tender care of her Royal Highness, the duchesse d'Angoulême
*fade to black*
[1] reference to the description given of Elizabeth I by Pope Sixtus V "see how well she governs...only mistress of half an island and yet she makes herself feared by Spain, by France, by the Empire, by all". To anyone who points out that the overture is actually that to the more famous Barber of Seville, you're right (Barber was actually it's third recycling, having originally been written for Aureliano in Palmira (1813). Rossini's attempt to write a Tudor opera flopped- mostly due to its premiere audience being in Naples. With an opera based around a "bastard usurper" triumphing over Mary, Queen of Scots, ancestress of the Borbone line, one can kinda understand why it was the quadruple word score of "wrong plot, to the wrong crowd at the wrong time, by the wrong composer" (Rossini was a protege of Eugene de Beauharnais*). The overture (and more than a few numbers (including Rosina's famous "Una Voce poco Fa", originally written for Elizabeth) was hurriedly recycled in 1816 for Barber. Then again, given that the theatre impressario had Rossini "imprisoned" in an attic with several burly thugs and a bowl of pasta to force him to finish the score for Barber's premiere. One can excuse Rossini's recycling.
*he single-handedly engineered that the composer managed to draft dodge and avoid freezing to death in the retreat from Moscow.
[2] aka where she met Neipperg
[3] these were Napoléon's orders OTL. Not sure why he thought that arch-Catholic and arch-royalist Brittany that had given him so many problems down the years would be a good idea, but I can only assume he intended for her to go into exile? If so? Where? America? Britain?
[4] Napoléon tried- as best he could- at the Congress of Chatillon, to provide for Eugène and Hortense. Hortense was to receive an allowance and be left unbothered in France (Louis XVIII bestowed the duchy of Saint-Leu and an annual pension of 400 000 francs on her). For Eugène, he tried to insist that he be allowed to retain his position in Italy (at best) or be granted a sort of "retirement" to inherit Josephine's duchy of Navarre in France when she died. Both were categorically refused
[5] actually what he said OTL
[6] inspired by @Belisarius II 's unfinished TL
^^^^ this sums up my feelings exactly ☺️ fantastic as always, well thought out, realistic - pick a positive adjective, my friend, and it's yours ❤️I no longer know what adjectives to use to describe your works, Kellan, you're seriously putting me in difficulty this time, because to say that you've outdone yourself once again seems reductive
Amen to that.^^^^ this sums up my feelings exactly ☺️ fantastic as always, well thought out, realistic - pick a positive adjective, my friend, and it's yours ❤️
seemingly it was "ruminating" as early as September 1814, when Murat was forced to withdraw his representative to Elba or face retaliation. The same month, Metternich informed Elisa that she wasn't going to be allowed to keep even Lucca. Combined with the king of Württemberg's refusal to allow Jérôme and Katharina to settle in Stuttgart- as they'd hoped- this led to a realization that the Allies weren't planning to keep their word and leave the Bonapartes aloneBolting from Elba came in part because Napoleon got wind of plans to send him to St. Helena (with or without leaving the island), because of a lack of money on the island, and because he thought it was the only way to secure anything for his son.
Indeed. The question this puts to the Emperor, then--does he give enough of a shit about himself and the rest of his family to put his son's fortunes at risk?seemingly it was "ruminating" as early as September 1814, when Murat was forced to withdraw his representative to Elba or face retaliation. The same month, Metternich informed Elisa that she wasn't going to be allowed to keep even Lucca. Combined with the king of Württemberg's refusal to allow Jérôme and Katharina to settle in Stuttgart- as they'd hoped- this led to a realization that the Allies weren't planning to keep their word and leave the Bonapartes alone
will admit that I'm unfamiliar with what he actually did while on Elba. Most biographies give it- at best- a few lines, with no descriptions of how or what he did there/what they thought of him etc.given that in Otl the Elbians immediately loved him
maybe he can fulfil his longstanding ambition and go to Greece?then somewhere else in the Mediterranean...Napoleon Pasha, anyone?
The main problem is financial. Napoleon is acting as a ruler on Elba, albeit in a scaled down way, but Elba cannot support it financially. It requires the subsidies that the Bourbon kings promised to pay being paid, which they weren't OTL.given that he remarked- OTL- that he would rather see his son dead than raised as an Austrian archduke- he might regard this (his son at least staying in France, for now) as "oddly preferable" to being effectively exiled. Especially given the fact that the Bourbons are currently without an heir. He might genuinely be deluding himself into thinking that he can still pull a rabbit out of the hat (the man was delusional enough to think the Bourbons would accept him as an acceptable regent for the comte de Chambord, so definitely capable of such "idiocy")
Makes one wonder if he'll bolt from Elba earlier or be more willing to bide his time here?
thank you
Indeed, he was promised two million francs (which was something in the ball park of £80,000) iirc? France is also not in good financial shape. Louis XVIII inherited a deficit of 75 million francs from Napoleon.The main problem is financial. Napoleon is acting as a ruler on Elba, albeit in a scaled down way, but Elba cannot support it financially. It requires the subsidies that the Bourbon kings promised to pay being paid, which they weren't OTL.
Something is still likely to happen unless somehow the Bourbons have a flash of insight and decide its safer and cheaper to let him play ruler on Elba.
TBH, Napoléon wasn't exactly showing himself as being patient for those subsidies. Given that France was slapped with a massive war indemnity (that IIRC took until 1820 to pay off). One would think that he of all people would understand that the state paying that indemnity took precedence over paying his upkeep. Secondly, he was the one who wanted to take over 1000 people with him to Elba so he could have a court*, an army and a navy (not counting the Mamluks, Polish lancers and Imperial Guard). If he was so worried about his finances, why didn't he downscale? Sorry, his whole "you didn't pay your protection money on time" doesn't buy him a lot of sympathy from me. I understand Elba didn't have a whole ton of natural resources to exploit (pretty sure Saint Helena had still less), but as said, the problem was Napoléon not either the exile or the location of it (the Stuarts, Bourbons, Savoys, Brunswicks and Nassaus were in exile for a lot longer, went with a lot less, and managed to cope)It requires the subsidies that the Bourbon kings promised to pay being paid, which they weren't OTL.
thank youNice chapters Kellan! I love Artois and Madame Royale ganging up on Louis XVIII.
any suggestions for remedying some (if not all) weaknesses (i.e. particularly stupid or obvious ones)Considering how quickly Napoleon was able to reestablish himself in 1815, it points to some weakness within Louis XVIII's initial restoration that will need to be remedied if he decides to cut Napoleon off as he did IOTL.
will admit that I'm unfamiliar with what he actually did while on Elba. Most biographies give it- at best- a few lines, with no descriptions of how or what he did there/what they thought of him etc.
maybe he can fulfil his longstanding ambition and go to Greece?
Resolving the land / property ownership question earlier would perhaps help some.any suggestions for remedying some (if not all) weaknesses (i.e. particularly stupid or obvious ones)
The problem, for the Bourbons, is that no matter how much they try to indoctrinate l'Aiglon into royalism, what is the most they can offer him? To be a minister? Advisor to the King? The Bonapartistes will offer him his father's throne. The Bourbons can't compete with that ... and consequently can never truly trust him in the end.I don't think the idea is too farfetched. For one, it might be a boon to Louis XVIII to have Napoleon's son in his clutches and turn him into a true out and out royalist and a pillar of the Bourbon monarchy.