Suzanne chuckled. “That was true even in the harem. The politics were endless and sometimes lethal.”
Simon was about to reply when his voice changed. “The duke has seen me and he’s heading this way.”
Suzanne glanced over and saw that Wellington had broken away from his entourage and was striding purposefully toward them. “Colonel Duval! Good to see you. I didn’t know you were in Brussels.”
“We came to Brussels on some personal business, sir,” Simon said as the men shook hands. “Allow me to introduce my wife, Suzanne Duval.”
The duke turned his appreciative gaze on Suzanne. She managed a greeting, but felt absurdly shy. He’d been a distant, godlike figure in her mind, and here he was in person. Not godlike, but certainly a man who radiated power and authority, and one who was on easy terms with her husband.
Simon said, “I heard that you traveled from Vienna to Brussels in a mere week?”
“Not a week I care to repeat,” Wellington said tersely. “I heard you sold out?”
“After the emperor’s abdication, it seemed time to tend to my own affairs.” He smiled fondly at Suzanne. “Which have gone very well, as you can see.”
Other people were beginning to come after Wellington. “I’ve business to attend to as well,” the duke said. “Call on me first thing tomorrow. There’s something I’d like to discuss.”
“Of course, sir.” They settled on a time before Wellington’s attention was claimed by a flirtatious and very expensively dressed lady.
As Simon took Suzanne’s arm and they resumed their journey from the park, she said, “I wonder what he wants of you.”
“Perhaps he’d like me to become an unofficial staff member,” Simon said thoughtfully. “I know the work, and since I’m not a serving officer anymore, I could be brought on quietly, with fewer political complications.”
Suzanne bit her lip, not saying anything. With war coming, this couldn’t be good.
Chapter 27
Wellington greeted Simon promptly when he showed up for their meeting the next morning. “Sorry to invite you over so early, but it was the only time available for the next several days.”
“I can only imagine the demands on your time.”
“Not only military and political, but social,” the duke said wryly as he gestured Simon to a chair. “The population needs to be reassured that Bonaparte isn’t going to march into the city next week.”
Simon seated himself. “That’s not likely, but with Napoleon, who knows?”
“Exactly, which is why I wanted to talk to you.” Wellington sat opposite his guest, his expression serious. “The emperor has always been an impatient devil. It was a mistake for him to break out of Elba while the Congress of Vienna was still in session. With leaders from all the Allied nations there, we immediately declared him outlaw for breaking the Treaty of Paris.” The duke gave a dangerous smile. “And we were able to agree on a strategy to defeat him once and for all.”
“His error is our good fortune,” Simon said. “I gather that the plan is for the Allies to field half a dozen armies in a great arc across half of Europe, then to all march on France and crush Paris. Britain and the Dutch-Belgians are here at the western end of the arc, the Prussians are immediately to the east, and the Austrians and Russians on the eastern end.”
Wellington nodded. “But it will take time for the Allies to organize those armies. Napoleon can move much more quickly. He may not have the support of all the citizens, but the army is solidly behind him, and they’re some of the best, most experienced soldiers in Europe.” He scowled. “While my best troops were sent to North America to teach the Americans a sharp lesson. They’ve been recalled, but moving my Peninsular army back here will take time, and I don’t think we have enough of that.”
“Napoleon has always preferred attack to defense,” Simon agreed. “If I had to guess, I’d say he’ll try to defeat the different armies one at a time rather than waiting for them to surround him. Belgium is closest to Paris and he thinks of it as part of France and rightfullyhis.He’ll probably try to split the British and Prussian troops so he can hammer the armies separately.”
Wellington gave an approving nod. “I see your wits haven’t dulled since you sold out. You are officially out of the army now, aren’t you?”
“Yes, it’s official. I’m a civilian again.”
“Good.” Wellington frowned. “There’s a damnable shortage of military intelligence available. Because we’re in a limbo of not quite war, I’m forbidden to send cavalry scouts into northern France to see what’s going on.”
“Have you been able to bring Colonel Colquhoun Grant in? He’s extraordinary at intelligence work.” Simon knew that, having worked closely with Grant.
“He’ll be in charge of the official intelligence operation, but he’s regular army. You no longer are.” The duke fixed Simon with a gimlet stare. “You’re as good at intelligence work as Grant, and you’re no longer an officer. Plus, with your French heritage, you can travel through France as a Frenchman.”
Simon had sensed this was coming. “So you’d like me to go into France as a civilian to see what I might observe.”
The duke nodded. “I need to know which way Bonaparte is going to jump and you might be able to figure that out. But it could be dangerous since you wouldn’t be in uniform. If you’re caught and charged as a spy, you’ll likely be shot.”
Which had almost happened to Simon in Portugal. He thought about it. His ability with languages had led to his doing other intelligence work out of uniform, and he’d damned near died because of that.
