Chapter 5: A Coded Message
The next day, as the family was sitting around the breakfast table, two notes arrived: one for Letizia, and one for Mireille. Letizia's hands shook as she broke the seal on the first note, which read:
"Citoyenne Bonaparte,
"We have your son. We are holding him on the island of Ratonneau. If you don't pay us 100,000 francs within a week, we will slit his throat."
The whole family turned pale with shock. Letizia gasped, and held her hand to her mouth as she exclaimed, "Oh, Lucien! My poor boy!"
"100,000 francs? How are we ever going to come up with that much?" asked Napoleon. "We've always been poor, and whatever money we had on Corsica is gone now."
"Perhaps I could borrow the money from Citoyen Clary," suggested Joseph. The father of Julie and Désirée was very wealthy, as they all knew.
"No, you are not to run up any more debt," said Napoleon.
"But to save Lucien!" Joseph shook his head. "We should never have let him go. I should have tried harder to talk him out of it."
"But he was determined. And how were we to know?"
"We couldn't, of course. Let's go to Citoyen Clary and see what he can do."
"I'm not sure if that's such a good idea," said Napoleon. "It's not just because of the debt we'd run up. Haven't you noticed Citoyen Clary doesn't like us much? He thinks we're not good enough for his daughters. Haven't you heard him muttering behind our backs, about us being Corsican adventurers? If we go asking him for such a large amount, he will never let us marry his daughters."
"I suppose you're right," said Joseph. "But can you think of a better plan?"
"Perhaps I could help," said Mireille. For the first time in her life, she realized she was a wealthy woman. The de Remy fortune, which should have gone to Valentine, was now hers after Valentine's death. The Abbess had reminded her of that fact in a letter she had received soon after she had come back to Paris from the desert-just a few days before she killed Marat. But things had moved so quickly, and after that horrific night, the fact of her recent wealth had been far from her mind.
"You?" asked Napoleon. "I know how brave you are, of course, but you have no obligation to us."
"But I do! You said yourself, I'm practically part of your family. Don't all of you agree?" They all nodded. "And I care for Lucien. I still don't know if I care for him in the way you want," she looked at Elisa. "But I certainly do care for him, and I want to save his life. I think I may be able to. You see, please forgive me for not thinking of this sooner, but I own a considerable fortune now."
"You always told me you were poor," said Elisa. "Not that this isn't welcome news, of course, but have you been hiding the fact you're wealthy?"
"Not intentionally, of course. But I'd forgotten," said Mireille, hoping she and Elisa wouldn't quarrel again, especially with Lucien's life in danger.
"How can you forget being rich?"
"It happened so suddenly, and I've had so much on my mind. As I told you, Elisa, Valentine was the heir to a large fortune and estate, which belonged to her grandfather. My father was a poor younger son, as I said, and he had nothing to inherit. It was all to go to Valentine, as the daughter of the elder son. But when Valentine died, there was no one left but me to inherit it. The Abbess told me in a letter, that I'd inherited the fortune, but it arrived just a few days before I killed Marat, and after that... well, I had too much on my mind to think of it again, until now."
"I understand," said Elisa. "Oh, Mireille, it would be wonderful if you could help us, and save Lucien! Where is your fortune now? In Paris, I suppose."
"No, the Abbess set up a bank account for me in London. She assumed I was going there to find Talleyrand."
Elisa's face fell. "So you'd have to go to London to get the money."
Mireille realized what she meant. "Oh, I see. And it would be impossible for me to go to London and back in a week." Tears came to her eyes. "All that money, and I can't use any of it to help Lucien!" A thought came to her mind. "Would they accept a promise of some sort? Perhaps I can sell what little jewelry I have, and give them the money from that, with a promise that the rest will come, as soon as I can get back from London?"
Napoleon shook his head. "These are rough and violent men. There's no guarantee they will accept a promise like that. At least you tried, Mireille, and I'm grateful for it. But we're no closer to saving Lucien."
"But what does my note say?" asked Mireille. "I should open it now. Perhaps it has further instructions." She broke the seal on her note and frowned. "It's in code."
Elisa looked over her shoulder at the jumble of letters. "How will we figure that out? It could take us a week or more, and then we'll be too late."
"No, it won't! I'm going to try to figure it out now." Mireille's mind went to work, and she began writing down letters in the blank space on the paper. Soon enough, she rolled her eyes. "I've got it! Oh, I can't believe how easy this is! These kidnappers must be dumb, to use such an easy code."
Elisa frowned. "It doesn't look easy at all to me. I can't understand a thing."
"It's a substitution cipher. They're substituting one letter of the alphabet for another. One of the easiest codes in the world. I believe it was first used by Julius Caesar's armies, but codes have become much more sophisticated since then. Only someone who's very inexperienced in writing codes would use it now. So it was easy for me to figure out how they've done it. They're substituting each letter for the one eight places down the alphabet. So A, the first letter, becomes I, the ninth letter, B becomes J, and so on."
"Mireille, you're amazing! I don't know how you figured that out. And you say that's easy?"
"Once you learn about these things, it is." Mireille quickly began transcribing the message:
"Citoyenne de Remy,
"We are on the island of Ratonneau. We have something very valuable to you, and we don't mean Citoyen Bonaparte. If you can't give us the money we asked Citoyenne Bonaparte for, within a week, come prepared to bargain. You choose, Citoyen Bonaparte or the other thing that's valuable to you. We will release one, but not the other."
Mireille wrinkled her brow. "There are still two lines I haven't deciphered, one of them all in capitals. They must be using a different code for those. Could they be smarter than I think?" She went to work again, and a short while later, she exclaimed, "No, they're dumb! They're just doing it the opposite way. They're going eight places up the alphabet instead of down: I becomes A, and J becomes B, and so on." She transcribed the last two lines, and shuddered:
"Bring the eighth child with you.
"WE KNOW WHAT YOU DID."
She shuddered and turned white as a sheet. "Does everyone know I killed Marat?" Then she turned on Elisa. "Thanks to your loose tongue, they do!"
"I didn't say a thing to anyone except us and Laplace. And Désirée, of course, but I trust her completely. How could these kidnappers know?"
Mireille shook her head. "I'm sorry, Elisa. I didn't mean to blame you. I'm just too upset to think straight. I don't know how they know, but obviously they do. And it worries me. How could they have found out? I know you didn't tell anyone else, and when you told Laplace, Lucien had already been kidnapped. If I knew how they found out, I might be able to figure out who they are."
"Well, who else knows you killed Marat?"
Mireille thought for a while. "Robespierre knows, that devil! When Charlotte Corday visited me in prison, she told me that. She found out when she was in my uncle Jacques-Louis David's studio, looking for painter's clothes to disguise herself in while she visited me. She heard him talking to my uncle. So obviously my uncle knows, too. And he was a big supporter of Marat, as you know. I'm afraid he's turned against me now. The only relative I have! Even though he's such a coward, it hurts, very much."
Elisa held her in her arms. "I'm so sorry, Mireille. And how did Robespierre find out?"
"I wish I knew! Charlotte didn't have time to tell me. It might have been something I said at my trial, but I don't think I gave anything away, to say I wasn't Charlotte, because all the newspapers said Charlotte killed Marat. So how could Robespierre have known? Unless he saw my birthmark." She pointed at the figure 8 on the palm of her right hand. "That could be. He's in the Game, of course, so he knows what it means."
"Yes, that could very well be. So if Robespierre and your uncle know, who else knows?"
"I have no idea. Certainly no one who could have put it in the newspapers, because they don't mention me. But Robespierre and my uncle have so many friends in the Jacobin Club, they could have told anyone. There's no way to know." Then the truth hit her: "These people must be in the Game! The cipher subsitutes one letter for the one eight places away. Oh, Elisa, these people are more dangerous than we ever thought!" Her face fell. "Don't you see? Lucien was kidnapped because of me. I'm sure that the other thing they have that's valuable to me is a piece of the Montglane Service, or several pieces. I don't know how they got them. I'd have to know more about them to know that. But they took Lucien so they could bargain with me. If I don't do what they want-let them keep the pieces, that is-they'll kill him, or they'll have me sent to the guillotine."
"What are we going to do?"
"Rescue him, of course. I know where the island of Ratonneau is. It's one of the islands in the Frioul archipelago that Lucien pointed out to me." Then Mireille's face fell. "I just remembered. It's right next to the Château d'If."
"That fortress that no one ever escapes from?"
"Yes. But at least they're not holding him there."
"Not yet," said Elisa. "Oh, Mireille, how can we rescue him?"
"We'll go there and try to bargain with the kidnappers. You know what they want from me."
"But what if you don't do what they say?"
"We'll think of that when the time comes. I promise all of you, I will not let them kill Lucien. Even if I have to go to the guillotine for it."
"But I'm not letting them send you to the guillotine! Isn't there a way to save both yourself and Lucien?"
"I hope so, Elisa. We've got to try."
Elisa looked at the message again. "And what do they mean by 'Bring the eighth child with you?'"
"The eighth child! That's me!" shouted Jerome, his eyes bulging with excitement. "They want me to come with you, Mireille!"
"No, I think they mean me," said Elisa. "You see, Jerome, Maman and Papa had four babies who died, all born before me. So even though I'm the fourth child now, if you count the babies I never knew, I'm the eighth."
"So I'm really the twelfth?" asked Jerome, looking disappointed.
"That's right." Elisa thought for a moment. "So that means these people know about the babies who died. They must know our family history very well. So who can they be?"
"I can think of a few possibilites," said Mireille. "They could be from Corsica. Your family has a lot of enemies there. We defeated those bandits in the cave when we rescued the White King, but they could have regained their strength. Or it could be other enemies of yours."
"That could be. Everyone on Corsica, friend or enemy, knows each other. Any Corsican would know our history," Elisa agreed.
"Or it might be people from the Jacobin Club. Lucien might have talked about his family history. And if they're Jacobins, they might have learned from Robespierre or David that I killed Marat."
"Yes, that could be, too."
"That's the most frightening possibility to me," said Mireille, her voice filled with sadness. "If they found out through the Jacobin Club, who knows how many people know I killed Marat? Perhaps every Jacobin in France knows by now! My life could be in danger as long as I stay in France."
"But you're going back to the desert, and then to England, aren't you?"
"Not until we rescue Lucien. I won't even think about leaving until we do. Even if my life is in danger."
Elisa squeezed Mireille's hand. "Thank you, Mireille. You're the best friend in the world. But I hate to think of your life being in such danger."
"That's what happens when you kill a man. It's not as heroic as you think."
"We'll come up with a plan tonight on how to save him," said Elisa, and Mireille nodded in agreement.
The others had been listening to their conversation without saying anything, but soon Napoleon said, "You can't do this without a man."
"Oh, yes we can! We can do anything we like without a man!" shouted Elisa.
"But women are fragile. They need men to protect them. And you also need a man to help you come up with your rescue plan. Don't you know that men's brains are larger than women's?"
"That's not true!"
"Yes, it is. It's been scientifically proven."
"Well, even if men's brains are larger, I'm sure women use more of theirs!"
"Stop it, you two!" Letizia interrupted her children. "I can't have you quarreling when your brother is in danger."
"I'm sorry, Maman. But I'm sure you agree with me," said Elisa.
"I don't know anything about the size of people's brains. But I do know that you and Mireille are more than capable of acting on your own. You proved that on Corsica."
"So we have your permission to rescue Lucien without any help from Napoleon or Joseph?"
"Yes, you do. And it seems clear to me that it's you and Mireille that the kidnappers want to bargain with. No one else. Who knows, it could ruin things if you bring someone else."
"Thank you, Maman. We will rescue him, I promise."
That night, in their bedroom, the girls came up with their plan. "So, we're going into danger again, just you and I," said Elisa.
"Danger seems to follow us wherever we go," Mireille agreed. "It's all part of this Game."
"What should we do? We don't have our swords any more. We left them on Corsica."
"Don't worry. I always go armed now," said Mireille. She pulled up her skirts and showed Elisa a knife strapped to her leg.
Elisa gasped. "Mireille! Is that...?"
"The knife that killed Marat? Yes."
"You mean, you've had it all this time?" Elisa's eyes bulged in astonishment.
"Yes, Charlotte gave it to me when we traded places in prison. It was in with the paints and brushes she took from my uncle's studio, as part of her painter's disguise. I didn't even know it was there at first. Not until I was on the ship to Marseille, in fact. When I put the paints and brushes away, it was there."
"But how did she get it?"
"I'm not sure exactly. But she was waiting in the carriage outside Marat's house, the whole time I was with him. And things were in such chaos after I killed him, she was probably able to sneak into the house and get it, before anyone knew. That's my guess, anyway. I'll never know for certain. But I always wear it now as a sign of my guilt."
"Mireille! How morbid."
"Perhaps, but you know how I feel. It's not just that, though. My life is in such danger, I need to go armed everywhere I go now. But just to defend myself. I don't want to kill anyone ever again!"
"It might come to that, though. What if you need to kill someone to rescue Lucien?"
"I mean to fight to wound, not to kill, just like we did on Corsica."
"But what if that doesn't work? It could even happen by accident."
"I can only hope it doesn't happen."
"Well, I would certainly kill to save Lucien."
"Elisa, you say that now, but if you kill someone, it's going to weigh on your mind for the rest of your life. Would you like that?"
"If it means saving Lucien, yes."
"Oh, Elisa, I hope it never comes to that!"
"But it might, and I'll think about it then."
"I don't want you to suffer as I do."
"I won't. These are evil men, whoever they are, and if I kill one, he deserves to die. And so did Marat, as you well know." She changed the subject. "I wonder who these men really are. And whoever they are, they're in the Game. On the White team, of course. How did they get these pieces they're holding with Lucien?"
"I don't know for certain, but I might be able to guess. Marat told me, just before I killed him, that he had eight pieces instead of the five I thought he had. He got those five pieces from nuns of Montglane who were murdered by his friend the White Queen. But where did those other three pieces come from? Friends of his, perhaps? And I just told you about all the chaos in Marat's house after I killed him. If Charlotte could have gotten in to get the knife, these people could have come in and gotten those pieces. Perhaps the pieces were theirs in the first place, and they were just getting them back from him."
"That means they were in Paris when you killed him."
"Yes, it does. But I don't know that's what happened. I'm just guessing."
"So they could be Parisian Jacobins who came to Marseille?"
"They could be. That could explain how they know I killed Marat. Do you know if there are many Parisian Jacobins who attend the club here?"
"Probably so. The Marseille Jacobin Club is the largest outside of Paris, and many visitors attend it. It could be they heard Lucien speak, and that's how they know about our family history."
"That would explain a lot, if it were true." Mireille nodded. "But it's just an assumption, until we actually go there and come face to face with them. Let's see what we need to do. First of all, we need to get a knife for you."
"That's easy enough. I can get one from the kitchen. Should we dress as boys again?"
Mireille shook her head. "They know who we are, so we don't need a disguise. As much as I would like to dress as a boy again. It gives us so much more freedom. Now, let's see what else. We need to get a boat, to go out there."
"We have a boat. It's only a small one, but it will do for the two of us. And for Lucien, when we rescue him."
"And we need a boatman."
"No, we don't. I can row."
"I can't."
"Don't worry about that. I can do it alone."
"I don't want to make you do all the work."
"If it's one of the islands we can see from the docks, it's not that far. I will do the rowing. And Lucien can row, too, so, if he is well, he can help to row on the way back."
"But perhaps you can teach me."
"Sometime, yes, but we can't delay any longer."
"So, we'll have our knives, and we have a boat. What else? My bag, so we can bring the pieces back."
"You plan to get both Lucien and the pieces, don't you?"
"Of course."
"Then you'll be breaking your word to them. You could put yourself in even more danger!"
"I'm sure they won't keep their word to us, so why should we keep our word to them? No, I mean to defeat them, so Lucien and the pieces will be safe!"
Elisa smiled. "That's what I like to hear."
