Your Majesty,â Huff said as he settled back into his chair, wheezing. âWhen I had my laboratory at the Briars, one of my experiments with electricityâI shall show it to you if you like, sirâcaused some commotionââ
âHe blew up the cellar,â I amplified.
ââand I was banished forever from doing my work there,â Huff continued. âAnd when the magistrate got wind of it, anyplace else on St. Helena was forbidden to me as well. Betsy told me of this cave, where she went when in search of solitude. She offered it to me so I could continue my experiments in secrecy.â
The emperor nodded solemnly, as if to promise he would keep the old manâs secret. Huff fixed me where I stood with his cloudy blue eyes. I sensed I was about to receive a lecture.
âNow, young lady, let me attempt to rectify the deficiencies in your education. The man who stands before you is a political and military genius. Now, donât look at me that way, Betsy. Take heed. Bonaparte is the greatest conqueror of our time! The victor at forty battles. Lord and master to seventy million souls.â
âEighty,â the emperor corrected him politely.
âThe rightful successor to Alexander the Great!â Huff continued with a flourish. He nearly toppled from his chair, and the emperor reached out to support him.
âAh,â I said sarcastically. âYou mean he was a dictator.â
âDictator?â Huff said. âDo you call the president of the United States a dictator?â
âDonât tell me he was president, too,â I remarked, pretending to yawn.
âNone of your nonsense, young lady,â Huff scolded me. âBonaparte was elected as surely as any American presidentâby a vote of the people. The constitution that first brought him to power in France was approved by a vote of three millionâto only twelve hundred against!â
âI must be truthful,â Bonaparte said. âYou are not correct, monsieur.â
Huff and I looked at him questioningly.
âIt was fifteen hundred against,â Bonaparte said, smiling. âAnd how I would have liked to have conversed with them.â
Huff chuckled.
âAnd when they made him first consul for life, more than half a million more people gave him their votes,â the old man added.
âBut now there were ten thousand against,â Bonaparte interjected. âThey did not mind the company of Napoleon for a little while, but for some, a lifetime seemed excessif. As old Docteur Franklin used to say in his Poor Richardâs Almanac: âFish and visitors stink after three days.ââ
I was not impressed. I had already known ofBonaparteâs military exploits. Knowing he was elected to the post of âprofessional murdererâ did nothing to increase my admiration for him.
âYou seem quite interested in my life, monsieur,â Bonaparte said to Huff.
âI am half French,â Huff replied. âMy motherâs side.â
âAh,â said Bonaparte playfully. âI suppose thatâs why you knelt only on one knee.â
Huff smiled toothlessly at him. âAnd I am also an admirer of greatness,â the old man added.
Bonaparte swept off his hat and nodded in acknowledgment. I wrinkled my nose in disgust.
âIt seems mademoiselle does not agree with your assessment,â the emperor remarked.
âShe is young,â Huff said with a sigh. âShe will learn.â His condescension was an annoyance, at best. Huff turned to me once more. âNapoleon Bonaparte brought the blessings of civilization to all of Europe. A gift of knowledge, justice, and order. Had Wellington not stopped him at the Battle of Waterlooââ
âI should have sent my reserve troops up sooner on the seventeenth,â Bonaparte muttered, as if refighting the battle in his brain. He shook his head.âI wish Iâd died in Moscow. Till then