Chapter 47 April 25, 1814: Napoleon Has Gone To El

Jean has been staying at the Embassy. Ive seldom seen him. He has been busy with his allies, and with Talleyrands government.

They were very generous to the Bonapartes. They made Napoleon leave France, of course. But they let him go to Elba, which is not far from Corsica. And they let him keep the rank of Emperor. All his friends went with him. Only the empress refused to go.

The French government will pay a lot of money to his mother and to his brothers and sisters. Joseph ad Julie will get half a million francs every year. But they must all live outside France.

Julie is very sad about that. Perhaps, if I ask King Louis, hell let her stay here in my house. Without Joseph, of course. King Louis may refuse, but I must try. Shes my only sister. And if I have her as my companion, I can get rid of Madame La Flotte. Im tired of that woman.

Tonight, after dinner, Jean suddenly appeared. "Ive come to say goodbye," he said. "Im going back to Sweden tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!"

"Yes. Ive finished my work here. Napoleon has gone to Elba, so theres peace in Europe. The allies have agreed that Denmark must give us Norway. But ---" He paused. "But unfortunately the Norwegians dont want a Swedish king. They want a Norwegian one. They want to be free.

"Then you must let them be free," I declared.

"I cant, Desiree. I persuaded the Swedes that they ought to be joined with Norway, not with Finland. I promised to make this possible. If I break my promise, theyll look for another Crown Prince. Then theyll get rid of me." He looked straight at me. "Desiree, I need you in Stockholm. Wont you come with me?"

"Ill come when youre King of Sweden," I said. "then the court will have to accept my customs. But I wont come while Queen Hedvig is there. She makes me feel ashamed. She enjoys doing it too. She hates me."

Jean didnt argue. "I understand," he said. "I must go back alone. But I want to do one thing before I go, Desiree. I want to drive with you through Paris for the last time. I shall never come to France again."

The open carriage rolled along beside the Seine. I put my head on Jeans shoulder, and I felt his arm around me. When we reached "our" bridge, the carriage stopped. We got out and looked over the side of the bridge, where the lights of Paris were dancing on the water.

Memories poured into my mind. I remembered the saddest day of my life, when Napoleon broke his promise of marriage. I wanted to drown myself then, but General Bernadotte stopped me.

I remembered, too, the happiest day of my life, when the same General Bernadotte brought me back to that bridge. I had just agreed to be his wife. That was a warm April evening, like this evening.

Now we drove on, past the church of Notre Dame and into the country. We were going back to our first little home. I remembered the warm June night when we drove there after our marriage. The stars still shine, and the village hasnt changed. Only we ourselves have changed.

We stopped outside the familiar cottage. I was thinking: "Oscar was born behind those bedroom windows."

At the same moment Jean said: "Oscar has to shave already! Twice a week!"

Yes, tonight we shared our thoughts and our memories.

We drove slowly back to Paris. When the carriage reached our door, we got out and stood in silence. Then Jean raised my hand to his lips.

"Goodbye, Jean," I said. "Give my love to Oscar. And dont give yours to a Russia princess!" Then I added "Ow!" very loud, because Jean had bitten my finger.