The Second Empress by Michelle Moran Read Free Book Online Page A

divorce papers are being signed, no one knows what to do. Should they talk? Remain in dignified silence? In the middle of writing his name, my brother breaks his quill, and a nervous murmur spreads until a new one is brought. From somewhere behind me, I hear a woman click her tongue and whisper, “Obviously a sign.” But when my brother dips the new nib into the ink and finishes his signature, no one dares to speak. A sharp crack of thunder echoes from outside, and the courtiers look to my brother for their next cue.
    “For the good of France,” Napoleon announces loudly, and everyone repeats his sentiment.
    As people begin to move toward the doors, Talma shakes his head. “Unbelievable.”
    “Isn’t it?” I can’t keep myself from smiling. My God, anything might happen now. And from this day forward, Napoleon will look to his real family for support. He already knows what an ideal queen I would make.… But when I see Napoleon take Joséphine’s hand, my heart stops beating. “He’s not really going to walk her to her apartments?” I exclaim.
    Talma stares at me. “Why not?”
    “Because it’s a divorce, not a waltz!”
    He makes a noise in his throat. “Hard to tell the difference.”
    “I hope you’re not implying that this is somehow inappropriate,” I say, searching for Paul in this insane melee.
    “Of course not. If I ever divorce, I want it to be a grand affair, with dancing and feasting and at least a thousand guests.”
    “I’m not finding you humorous.” Where the hell is Paul ?
    “No?” He smiles, and it’s impossible to resist him when he doesthis. “If you’re looking for your chamberlain, he’s over there—with the Austrian ambassador.”
    “And why is he so popular today?”
    Talma looks incredulous. “It’s the loudest secret in Paris,” he says. “Your brother is to marry an Austrian princess. It was finalized this morning.”

C HAPTER 6

    PAUL MOREAU

    Tuileries Palace, Paris
“ A thousand idle stories have been related concerning the emperor’s motives for breaking the bonds which he had contracted upward of fifteen years.… It was ascribed to his ambition to connect himself with royal blood; and malevolence has delighted in spreading the report, that to this consideration he had sacrificed every other .”
—DUKE OF ROVIGO
    I TRY HUMMING A TUNE TO LIGHTEN THE MOOD, BUT EVEN the weather feels like a conspirator. Sheets of rain have been bearing down against the windows all day, and the thunder has sent Aubree whimpering beneath the bed, so that even if Pauline had been cheerful to start with, she would have flown into a temper anyway.
    “I will never recover from this, Paul. Never .” The princess is lying on her favorite chaise in a gown more suitable for a gala than a day of lying-in.
    “Would you like me to order up some more granadilla?” This was her favorite drink in Haiti, and the emperor has it shipped here each month for her pleasure.
    “Of course not. Does it look like I can drink?”
    “Your Highness had tea this morning.”
    She ignores my response. “Have you sent for Dr. Corvisart?”
    “An hour ago.”
    “So where the hell is he?”
    I stare at her from behind my book. I won’t answer if she yells. This is the mistake her lovers make, trying to reason with her when she is being unreasonable. But the Princess Borghese is a woman of great passions. When she loves, it’s with her entire heart. And when she hates …
    “He did it on purpose,” she says, resting her head against a satin pillow. I catch her wincing and wonder if it’s real or imagined. “He wanted me to be the last to know.”
    “Do you really believe the emperor thinks this way?”
    “He doesn’t think at all!” she cries. “That’s why he’s chosen a fat-lipped Austrian for the future empress of France. And I am the last to know. I suppose you’ve already heard where he’s been these past three days?” She doesn’t wait for me to answer. “Versailles. Caroline