***
Higher above Jason’s villa, the king was also watching the prisoners through his telescope. The king felt powerless. He consoled himself with the thought that the terms of the treaty were known to most of the nobles who had fled to Montuga. They had all knowingly assumed the risks involved by choosing to seek refuge in a principality of France. He, the king, was not to blame. This fresh line of reasoning offered the king scant comfort, however. He also wondered about what he would do about Philippe. He wondered whether Jason could find a place for Philippe on one of his ships.
A large crowd gathered at the harbour to witness the arrival of the French warship and to stare at the prisoners before the French soldiers loaded them onto the ship. Various republicans made fun of the prisoners. There were numerous references to the guillotines which awaited them. A few royal guards threatened to arrest anyone who continued to mock or harass the prisoners. The crowd then became largely silent as they stared at the prisoners. The Marquis noticed Du Pont arriving at the harbour in a carriage provided to him by the Montugan king as a courtesy. He alighted from the carriage and walked towards the prisoners. The Marquis realised that Du Pont had recognised him instantly. True to his word Du Pont walked up to him and produced the watch. Wordlessly he pretended as though he was going to return the watch to the Marquis. He then returned the watch to his pocket with an evil grin.
‘Not yet. Maybe after we get under way.’ The meaning of the conversation was not apparent to other prisoners who overheard it. But the Marquis realised that his hours would be numbered from the moment that the ship left Monte Vista. He stared upwards, at the palace. He could make out a solitary figure standing on the balcony. He could not see if it was the king. He waved anyway. There was no reaction from the palace. The Marquis held no grudges against his friend for facilitating his arrest. He realised that the king ultimately had no choice.
Back at the palace the king could see the Marquis’s wave clearly through his telescope. He considered responding but could not bring himself to. He did not even know if he would be able to face young Philippe later in the day. The king began feeling lightheaded and unwell and he vacated the balcony and retired to the royal lounge.
To the king’s considerable annoyance, Du Pont arrived at the palace and requested a further audience. The king received him in the Great Hall. Du Pont removed his hat and held it to one side. He then performed a series of elaborately low bows, waving his hat in small circles as he did so.
‘I thought you would be under way by now.’ The king chose to ignore Du Pont’s excesses.
‘There is the matter of the boy, your majesty.’ Du Pont’s gritted teeth scarcely permitted the enunciation of the last two words. ‘I refer of course to the Marquis’s son. I understand that you have him.’
‘The boy is not going anywhere. He is not on your list.’
‘He is a citizen of France, the son of someone who is on the list. I must insist that he sails with us.’
‘I do not intend to deliver him to you. As I mentioned yesterday, I had no choice about handing over the others. Montuga cannot be seen to be harbouring enemies of France. But the boy is only twelve. He presents no danger to France. I will not countenance his execution.’
‘I give your majesty my assurance that he will not be executed. But the fact remains that his place is in France.’
‘I beg to differ. He is the son of a noble. There is no future for him in France. I will see to it that he has a good life here. A life he is accustomed to.’
‘You suggest that it is not possible to have a good life in an egalitarian society?’ Du Pont was clearly annoyed.
‘I make no comment on an egalitarian society,’ the king responded diplomatically. He smiled benignly at Du Pont. Before he could stop himself, however, the king added: ‘Although one cannot help but wonder what the nobles in France would say about your ‘egalitarian society’ if their power of speech were not so restricted by the absence of their heads.’ This remark prompted a several sniggers from those in attendance at Court.
Du Pont glared menacingly at the king. Such was the rush of blood to his face that his hue almost turned a royal shade of purple.
‘Those who were executed in France were guilty of crimes against the people of France. But there is no point in our arguing about this matter. It is enough to say that if you fail to hand the boy over to me, it will be seen as a major affront to the people of France.’
‘The people of France have no say about what happens in this kingdom. The boy’s continued presence in my country does not violate the treaty or any international law. The boy is here at the request of his father who is his legal guardian. I deem this to be sufficient cause to keep him here.’ The king rose from his throne and glanced at the usher and the four royal guards in attendance in the Great Hall.
‘Will you please see that Commander Du Pont does not get lost on his way out? He has a ship which is waiting to depart.’ He then turned to Du Pont. ‘Goodbye Commander. I trust you, and your passengers will have a good journey.’ The king smiled benignly at Du Pont, placing similar emphasis on the word ‘passengers’ as Du Pont had earlier placed on his ‘your majesty.’ Without waiting for a response, the king then withdrew from the Great Hall through the royal exit located immediately behind the throne.
About half an hour later the king spotted the French warship clearing the harbour’s entrance. The crew deployed additional sails as the vessel made for the open sea. As the king looked back on the twenty five years of his reign, he could only remember one day darker day than this one - the day his wife had died. The fact that he had saved the boy was of little comfort to him. The situation was made worse by his knowledge that Montuga might pay a high price for his refusal to comply with the request to deliver the Marquis’s son to Du Pont’s custody.