Chapter 10

"Planning His Invasion"

In London, it was just after sunset when his grace, the Duke of Wellington, had summoned his top officers to Buckingham Palace. The news of the wedding ship attack had greatly shocked not just him, but George II as well.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Arthur," George II said as Wellington walked into the throne room and bowed to the English king. "Are you certain that Napoleon is behind the attack on that wedding ship?"

"I am certain, sire," he replied. "The evidence is overwhelming. 25 Royal Navy officers among the dead per the intelligence I received from our spies in Bretagne."

George II merely rolled his eyes in disgust upon hearing this confession. In his mind, any attack on Britain's defenders was an attack on Britain itself.

"Then Napoleon has left us with no other choice, Arthur. We must launch an invasion of France and for that matter, Spain, since she is allied with Napoleon. Your fellow officers are waiting for you in the drawing room."

The two men then proceeded into a drawing room where a group of British officers were stationed and rose when they walked in.

"Your grace, your highness," the men said.

"Moore, Stowell," Wellington replied. "Sit down."

Sitting down, Wellington opened up a map and brought the men to attention towards it. On the map was an X where the Wedding ship attack had occurred off the coast of northwestern France.

"As you can see, gentlemen," Wellington began, pointing to the map. "A wedding ship concerning the marriage of one of our dukes was attacked by Villieneuve and his fleet. To this end, the time to launch an invasion of France is sooner rather than later."

"Your grace," said Moore. "If we are to launch an attack on France, then we need to enlist the help of the deposed monarchs of those French kingdoms that were driven out."

"Yes," remarked Wellington. "The deposed monarchs will be the ones leading us to Napoleon. I propose that we launch an invasion on Bretagne in Rennes and come in from the north. However, we do not attack Paris until the rest of France is under control."

This brought a hint of surprise to the king and his fellow officers. But, Wellington knew what he was doing.

"But if we attack Paris," advised Stowell. "We can greatly weaken the French right at its heart. It makes perfect sense."

"That's what Napoleon will be wanting us to do, Lord Stowell. If we take Paris now, we will be met with resistance from it's citizens. I do not want any citizen to be harmed."

Wellington then pointed his attention towards Spain, particularly of Gibraltar, which was Britain's stronghold in the southern part of Europe.

"However, the same cannot be said for Spain," he advised. "If we are to have any military conflict of any kind, we must protect Gibraltar at all costs. The Fencibles and armed citizenry guarding the city aren't enough. I will order them to recruit foot soldiers."

"But what about Fox, sire?" asked Stowell.

"Fox is a fool if he thinks that I am going to let him use drunks and whores against the forces of de Reyes. Yes, that's what the Fencibles and the armed citizenry are, drunks and whores!"

Having said his peace, Wellington then turned his attention back to the French and Spanish fleets.

"But right now, our main focus is right here, gentlemen," he said. "Nelson and his forces along with the forces of Eric of Denmark and Elsa of Arendelle should keep them at bay while we invade France from the north."

A hushed silence fell on the table and the four men in the drawing room absorbed the mission that had been given to them by God himself.

"In the meantime," said Wellington, looking over to George II. "I will meet with the leaders of the deposed kingdoms and encourage them to take our side in this conflict. They are at Windsor."

"Very well, Arthur," said George II. "A wounded animal is an angry animal and that's what they are, isn't it?"

Once the meeting had concluded, Wellington boarded his coach and proceeded towards Windsor castle along with Stowell and Moore. As they left, George II watched in hope that Napoleon would suffer a catastrophic defeat of the southern tip of Spain.

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Meanwhile, in her stateroom, Elsa was ensuring that her ice powers were up to form. If Nelson was going to have any chance of stopping Villeneuve and the French/Spanish fleets, she would need to provide the support needed.

"The cold never bothered me anyway," she whispered to herself. "And it's not gonna start now."

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