Free Leopard in Exile by Andre Norton, Rosemary Edghill Page A

humanism
    that flourished in the days before the First Consul had begun his climb to power, no act was unthinkable
    and no practice forbidden. By the time Napoleon had found it politic to make his peace with Rome,
    d'Charenton had rendered himself indispensable to the apostate madman determined to become the
    master of Europe.
    "I assure you, Monsieur Talleyrand, the Holy Grail is in the New World, and I will find it. Who has the
    Grail is the master of the world. No army will be able to stand against him. With the Grail in his hands,
    the other Hallows will quickly fall to the Emperor—and with them, victory eternal!"
    "And having such power in your hands, you will instantly turn and give it to the Emperor?" Talleyrand's
    voice was mocking.
    "I have no interest in the things of this world," d'Charenton said sullenly. He was as much vain as proud,
    and loathed being the object of ridicule.
    It was fortunate that the man was mad, Talleyrand thought, for if d'Charenton had not been, Talleyrand
    could not even have pretended to believe him. Of course d'Charenton wanted the Grail for some purpose
    of his own. Anyone who did not was too foolish to have any hope of gaining it.
    It was Talleyrand's business to encourage d'Charenton to seek the prize, and his business also to assure
    himself of its ultimate possession. Talleyrand was that rarest of creatures, a true atheist. He believed the
    Grail to be a fantasy, but a fantasy for which men would kill and die—and a fantasy that would ultimately
    ensure the supremacy of France.
    And thus, Talleyrand had placed an agent in d'Charenton's suite, an agent who would share the Imperial
    Governor's highest counsels. An agent who would report to Talleyrand and d'Charenton even as he
    planned to betray both of them; trustworthy because he believed he deceived them all, and acted only for
    himself.
    A man whom Talleyrand would betray in turn when he no longer had need of him.
    "Then there is no reason for us to quarrel," Talleyrand said smoothly. "The Emperor desires to rule this
    world, and you desire to rule the next. And I exist only to fulfill the desires of each of you. Now,"
    Talleyrand said, suddenly practical. "I shall send you and such ships and soldiery as France can spare to
    Louisianne at once. You will move at once to secure the colony, suppress rebellion, and end
    collaboration with the English. The Occidenteaux will find you a hard master, I hope?"
    D'Charenton smiled and rubbed his hands together. His rings glittered. "And there will be no
    interference?" he repeated eagerly.
    Talleyrand shrugged. "Louisianne is far away, and news travels slowly across the ocean… when it travels
    at all. Why should the Emperor care what happens to a rebellious colony—providing his revenue
    continues uninterrupted? Give him the Spanish treasure ships, increase the taxes, and you may do with
    the people as you choose."
    He thinks I am a fool . D'Charenton regarded his longtime adversary-turned-ally. Talleyrand meant to
    turn the Grail to his own use, and thought he could steal it from d'Charenton to do so. But d'Charenton
    meant to put it beyond his or any man's reach the moment he gained it, in a way Talleyrand could not
    foresee.
    As Talleyrand said, the New World was far away… a land without a King to make the ancient
    land-pledge, and hold the power of the soil and the Ancient Races at his command. But if there were one
    who knew the ancient ritual, who knew what payment would be asked, and who could lay his hand upon
    that payment at need, such a man would be a power to challenge not only the Emperor, but the very
    Powers That Were.
    "Then there is nothing more to say, Monsieur Talleyrand. I shall leave at once for Nouvelle-Orléans," the
    Due d'Charenton said.
    The street was quiet when Wessex and Hirondel passed through the dooryard of the Globe and Triangle
    once more, and for a moment Wessex thought longingly of Sarah and home. He did not think she would
    easily forgive him for