‘Get that away from me,’ he grumbled, and the servant hurriedly retreated a couple of paces as his master stirred irritably.‘What time is it?’

‘Past two in the morning, sire.’

Napoleon turned his back to the man and instinctively reached his arm across to the other side of the bed. But there was no one there. Josephine had refused to sleep with him since that night in Malmaison, and a frosty cordiality often divided them when they were together now. Napoleon thrust her from his mind.

‘What is the reason for waking me at this ungodly hour?’

‘Sire, there is a messenger from Marshal Murat waiting in your study. He bears urgent news from Madrid.’

Napoleon was fully awake in an instant, and throwing back his bedclothes he rose to his feet and clicked his fingers. ‘Bring me a warm gown.’

‘Yes, sire.’

Slipping his feet into soft slippers, Napoleon allowed the servant to slip the woollen gown over his shoulders. He pulled the folds tightly around his body and quickly tied the sash before pacing from the sleeping chamber and down the dimly lit corridor to the suite of offices at the far end.The courier stiffened to attention as he entered the study. Flames flickered in a candelabra set on the desk and by their light Napoleon saw that the messenger was a young colonel of hussars, splattered with mud and trying not to collapse with exhaustion.

‘You can eat and rest when we are done.’ Napoleon forced himself to smile. ‘I understand you have a report for me. From Murat.’

‘Yes, sire.’The courier opened the flap of the bag at his side and took out a waterproofed and sealed leather tube, which he handed to his Emperor.

‘I will read this later,’ said Napoleon. ‘First, are you able to give me a detailed verbal report?’

‘Yes, sire. That was why the marshal chose me.’

‘Very well.’ Napoleon smiled. ‘Proceed.’

The colonel rapidly collected his thoughts, cleared his throat and began. ‘In accordance with his orders, Marshal Murat was advancing towards Madrid. As far as the Spaniards knew we were marching south, to lay siege to Gibraltar. The story seemed to hold up well enough, sire. We met no resistance of any kind and were still four days’ march from Madrid when we heard that the King and his court had made an attempt to escape to Cadiz. They had got as far as Aranjuez, some twenty leagues south of the capital, when a mob of Ferdinand’s supporters caught up with them and surrounded Godoy’s palace, where they had stopped for the night. The mob stormed the palace and beat Godoy close to death before Ferdinand intervened and saved his life.’

‘A pity.’

‘Yes, sire. After that the King and Queen were placed under house arrest, before the King was forced to abdicate in favour of his son. Ferdinand immediately proclaimed himself Ferdinand VII of Spain and returned to the capital to secure the junta’s confirmation of his title. But the junta is split, sire. Some back Charles, although most support Ferdinand.There was violence in the streets when word of the coup got out.The marshal took an advance force of cavalry and entered Madrid the following day. The people actually came out and cheered us, sire. They are heartily sick of the civil strife that has plagued Madrid for months now. They assumed that the French army had been sent to restore order.’

‘Good.’ Napoleon nodded. ‘Carry on.’

‘Well, sir, Marshal Murat was not certain how to proceed. Events had rather superseded his orders. He was not sure whether to back Charles or Ferdinand. The marshal says that Charles is far too unpopular amongst his people to survive for long on the throne. On the other hand, Ferdinand makes no secret of his hatred for the French, and cannot be trusted.’

‘And what has Murat done to resolve the situation?’ Napoleon asked anxiously.

‘Nothing, sire. He has placed Charles under protective custody and he has refused to recognise Ferdinand as King. He awaits instructions from your majesty.’

‘Murat has done the right thing.’ Napoleon was relieved. For once his cavalry commander had managed to act with discretion. The situation was very promising, he mused. Very promising indeed. There was much that could be gained if he acted quickly. He focused his attention on the colonel again. ‘You must return to Madrid in the morning.’

‘Yes, sire.’ If the young officer was dreading the prospect of several more days in the saddle, he had the sense not to show it.

‘I will have instructions drafted for Marshal Murat. But in case there is any misunderstanding of the written word you are to make it clear to Murat that he is not to intervene on either side at any cost. Nor is he to permit our soldiers to be quartered in Madrid.They must remain in the suburbs and be kept in check. The very last thing we can afford is any of the usual high-handedness with the local people. Murat is to make it clear to the Spanish that he is there to keep the peace and to help Spain improve its institutions in the interests of the common people. Lastly, I want him to instruct Ferdinand to meet me at Bayonne later this month. He is to tell Ferdinand that I wish to discuss the best way to reconcile the differences of opinion that currently divide Spain. Once Ferdinand is on his way to Bayonne, Murat is to wait two days and then send Charles to join him at Bayonne, on the same pretext.’ Napoleon looked closely at the weary officer.‘Is that all clear, Colonel?’

‘Yes, sir. Quite clear.’

‘Good. Now I suggest you have something to eat, and sleep for the remainder of the night.Your orders will be given to you at first light. You have a long journey ahead of you, so get some rest. Dismissed.’

‘Yes, sire!’ The colonel stiffened to attention, saluted and turned to march out of the room, his heavy boots echoing off the floor. Once he was alone, Napoleon sat a moment in silence, his mind swiftly processing what he had been told.Then he broke the seal on the leather tube and pulled out several sheets of paper that made up Murat’s report. By the time he had finished reading through the document Napoleon had decided on his course of action. One that would for ever bind Spain and France together and deal a crippling blow to British interests.

The decision to hold a conference at Bayonne had been made some months before the crisis in Madrid occurred. For a long time Napoleon had intended to assemble his family to explain what he required of them. The purpose of awarding them the lands and titles he had bestowed on them was to provide a close-knit dynasty that would bind Europe together. As it was, some of his brothers were taking their status as rulers a little too much to heart and acting with a degree of independence that ran counter to Napoleon’s interests. He was determined to make them understand what he wanted and that they should do his bidding as efficiently as possible.

The finest houses in Bayonne and the best of the nearest estates had been commandeered for the conference and every luxury prepared for the arrival of the Emperor and his brothers: Joseph, King of Naples and Louis, King of Holland. A spate of last-minute preparations were hurried through in order to welcome Ferdinand and Charles and their immediate retinues. The townspeople had never seen so much royalty gathered together before and the excitement in the town was tangible. Napoleon waved at the crowds lining the streets to greet him, but his mind was elsewhere. The coming days were vital to his ambitions for France, and he would have to play a very careful game in order to secure the desired end.