Tannhauser 02: The Twelve Children of Paris by Tim Willocks Read Free Book Online Page A

counts some of them among his dearest friends.’
    ‘A king who cannot kill his dearest friends for the good of his people is no king at all,’ said Tannhauser. ‘Suleiman strangled his own sons to preserve the peace. He strangled the wrong ones, but that’s another matter.’
    ‘I can’t use an argument that compares His Majesty unfavourably to a Turk.’
    Tannhauser wanted to get out of the carriage. He didn’t.
    ‘His Majesty must demonstrate raw power. At so late an hour as this, the only currency that buys such power is blood. Coligny’s alone is no longer enough, for his is now the blood of a martyr. But if such blood were diluted with that of his fellow conspirators while quelling a plot to seize the throne – which, in effect, is what Coligny is attempting to do – then the martyr would become the traitor that in truth he is. Be scrupulous to avoid any wider repression of the Protestant religion and the rest of the Huguenot nobility will come to heel. It worked for the English. The more dear friends he kills, the better. And he should seize the Protestant strongholds, in particular La Rochelle, preferably by riding up to the gates in person and demanding the keys. If he had the mettle to do that, I doubt they’d have the mettle to shoot him.’
    Tannhauser did not expect this last advice to be taken seriously. It was not.
    ‘Dilute the blood of the martyr.’ Retz relished the phrase. ‘The King will say it is wrong.’
    ‘Has the King seen the state of his kingdom?’
    Retz did not answer.
    ‘I’ve just ridden the length of this country from the dock at Marseilles. It should be the Garden of Eden. It’s a wasteland. It’s a disgrace to its keepers. But I’m not finished.’
    Retz nodded at him to go on.
    ‘A strong king would go beyond a cull of the Protestant elite. He’d arrest Guise and a dozen more Catholic schemers and have their heads, too. He would cleanse his palace of the libertines and live like a man. With the fear and respect thus earned he could banish civil war. If at that point his subjects wanted to worship idols carved from mud, he could let them do so, for no one would dare break his peace.’
    ‘You would spill a lot of blood.’
    ‘Hundreds of thousands have died in these wars for the vanity of men like Coligny. The King wept no tears of grief and shame for them. He played tennis.’
    Tannhauser sat back on the scented cushions. The carriage was too small for him. He felt that if he took the deep breath he needed, the walls would be rent apart.
    ‘I see it,’ said Retz. ‘Yes. I see it all.’
    Tannhauser reflected on his advice. Some might consider it monstrous. Carla, for one. Perhaps it was. He couldn’t think of anything he had said that wasn’t true. It wasn’t his problem.
    ‘You have armed me with some powerful propositions,’ said Retz. ‘Now, what can I do for you?’
    ‘For me?’
    ‘No one gets as close to the throne as you now sit without asking for something. Preferment, a pension, a pardon, a grant of monopoly, a contract of supply. The very life of the court consists in a perpetual seeking of advancement and advantage by all who manage to gain access.’
    At another time Tannhauser might have squeezed Retz, but he felt tainted. He had spoken the truth, but he knew he had been used. He did not want to be paid for it.
    ‘I appreciate your offer, but it sits ill with me to stand in any man’s debt. I want to be reunited with my wife, nothing more.’
    ‘I’m disappointed.’ Retz smiled. ‘Your answer makes me wish you were indeed in my debt. Instead, I am in yours. I salute you, sir.’
    ‘In looking for my wife I need to locate a palace functionary called Christian Picart. If a word from you would make that task easier, I’d be grateful.’
    ‘A simple courtesy is no reward, but yes, of course.’
    They climbed from the carriage.
    Across open ground to the east stood the Louvre: part fortress, part palace, fashioned by diverse kings in