The soldiers began to provide some covering fire, and Napoleon and Junot sprinted for the army barricades as musket balls cracked off the ground and cut through the air like angry hornets. Then they were at the gates and desperately scrambling over the line of barrels and meal bags that formed the barricade. They rolled over the top and dropped down on the far side, breathless. A sergeant scurried along the line of the barricade towards them. ‘Who the hell are you?’

‘Brigadier Bonaparte and Lieutenant Junot. We’re here to help.’

‘Help?’ The sergeant frowned. ‘Then you could have brought some men with you, sir. A battalion or two of line infantry wouldn’t go amiss.’

‘Sorry.’ Napoleon smiled grimly. ‘We’re all there is.’

‘Pity.’

‘Where is Paul Barras?’

‘Barras?’The sergeant turned and pointed towards the old royal quarters in the centre of the Tuileries. ‘In there, with the other officers, sir.’

‘Fine. Come on, Junot.’

Keeping low, they hurried across the courtyard and up the steps to the main entrance. Behind them the exchange of musket fire kept going a moment longer and then eased off into the odd desultory shot. Inside the palace a young orderly escorted them up the grand staircase to the first floor suite that Barras had chosen for his headquarters. The door was open and the two officers strode in. It was a large chamber, decorated with gilt and fine wallpaper. Little of the original furnishings had survived the mob’s assault on the royal palace a few years earlier and Barras sat at a plain desk. Around him stood or sat several officers, only one of whom Napoleon recognised, and his heart sank.

‘That’s General Carteaux,’ Junot whispered.

Napoleon nodded. The last time they had met, Carteaux had been commanding the army laying siege to Toulon - until the Committee of Public Safety had relieved him of the post for his complete incompetence. Napoleon turned his gaze towards Barras as the latter stood to greet the new arrivals.

‘And who may you two be?’

Once Napoleon had introduced himself and Junot Barras nodded. ‘Any combat experience?’

‘Yes, sir. We served with the army that took Toulon. I commanded the artillery.’

Barras raised his eyebrows. ‘Ah! I remember. So you are that artillery officer. Robespierre could not have praised you more highly. Still, given the way things turned out I’m not so sure how much stock I should place in his judgement.’

The other officers laughed.There was a harsh nervous edge to the sound that made Napoleon’s spirits sink. If this was a sign of how far morale had fallen then the odds against their beating the royalists had lengthened. Barras sat back down.

‘Well then, Brigadier, I expect you want me to tell you about our little predicament?’

Napoleon nodded.

‘From the latest reports it seems that General Danican has gone over to the royalists. My agents tell me that at first light tomorrow over twenty thousand militia men and royalist sympathisers are going to march on the Tuileries. They intend to massacre every soldier and member of the government that they find here.’

Chapter 5

‘How many men do you have under your command?’ Napoleon asked.

‘Five thousand,’ Barras replied. ‘Although a thousand of those are volunteers and have no weapons and another five hundred are reservists. They don’t have weapons either.’

‘So, three and a half thousand muskets against twenty thousand.’ Napoleon shook his head. ‘Not good odds. Not unless we can restore the balance some other way.What about cannon? How many pieces do you have?’

‘None.’ Barras shrugged. ‘This is the seat of government, not a bloody arsenal.’

‘Then we’ll have to find some guns and bring them here.’ Napoleon turned to Junot and snapped an order. ‘There are cannon at the artillery park at Neuilly. Find some men - two companies should do - and bring back ten light pieces. We only need them to fire grapeshot.’

‘It’s too late for that,’ Barras cut in. ‘A royalist column is already on its way there.’

‘Then we must beat them to it!’ Napoleon’s eyes flashed angrily. ‘Unless you want to surrender the palace to them right now, citizen.’

‘Of course not!’ Barras drew himself up and placed a hand on his chest. ‘I have dedicated my life to defending the republic.’

Napoleon drew a deep breath before he continued. ‘We are not in the debating chamber now, citizen. We need actions not words. Better still, we need those guns.’

Carteaux jabbed a finger at him and sneered. ‘And just how do you think we can get them? We’re not at Toulon now, boy.You can’t just pull the guns out of thin air. We’ve already done all we can.’

‘So we sit on our arses and wait for them to come for us, eh?’ Napoleon mocked him.

Carteaux jumped up from his chair and strode towards Napoleon, towering over him. He spoke through clenched teeth. ‘Your Jacobin masters are not here to protect you now. I put up with your insolence far too long before. Now it’s time we settled this.’

‘Gentlemen!’ Barras shouted.‘That’s enough.We have enough enemies out there without making more in here. Sit down, Carteaux.’

The old general glared at Napoleon for a moment before he returned to his chair. There was a tense silence while tempers cooled a little and Napoleon realised that not one of the other officers had spoken since he had entered the office. Clearly the fight had already been knocked out of them. Someone needed to take charge of the palace’s defences. They needed a plan if they were to stand any chance of beating General Danican and his rebels.

His thoughts were interrupted by the harsh clatter of heavy boots and he turned towards the sound as a cavalry officer swaggered into the office. He was a tall man with broad shoulders, long curly hair and bearded cheeks. Approaching the table he glanced round.

‘Who is in command here?’

‘I am,’ Barras replied.

‘No, I mean who is really in command?’

Napoleon took a step forward and cleared his voice. ‘Citizen Barras has been charged by the assembly to defend the palace. But I have assumed command.’ He turned to the other officers. ‘Unless there are any objections?’

There was no reply, not even from Carteaux who stared fixedly at his long boots. Napleon nodded. ‘Very well then. And who might you be?’

‘Major Joachim Murat, of the hussars. I came as soon as I got word that the royalist scum were up to no good. I have brought two squadrons of my men with me.’

Napoleon’s eyes lit up. ‘Cavalry! Your men are ready to ride?’

‘Well, yes.’ Major Murat was taken aback. ‘But we’ve only just got here.’

‘There’s no time to discuss this, Major.You must do exactly as I say. Do you know the artillery park at Neuilly?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Good. Take your men and ride there immediately.You must stop for nothing. Cut down anyone who gets in your way. Citizen Barras will write an order while you are gone to cover that. When you get there find me some guns - four-pounders - and plenty of powder and ammunition, particularly case shot. Then bring it straight back here. Have you got that?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Then go at once, Murat. The fate of France rests on your shoulders today. Remember that.’

‘Yes, sir.’ With a scrape of his boots Murat stood to attention and saluted Napoleon. Then he turned and strode from the room.

‘Murat!’

‘Sir?’

‘Run, don’t walk.’

Napoleon turned back to Barras. ‘Citizen, if you would permit me, I would like to walk round the defences and see to the best disposition of our men.’

‘Of course.’ Barras nodded. ‘Whatever you think best.’

‘Once that’s done, these officers will be assigned to the key points we are defending.They will need to hold them at all costs.’ Napoleon turned to address them all. ‘It is as I said to Major Murat.The fate of France is in our hands. Our hands, gentlemen. We must not fail. And we must not let our men think there is any doubt in our minds that we will beat the royalists. Do you understand me? Our men will look to us in the coming hours. Do not fail them. Show no fear and accept no dissent. Is that clear?’