She gasped with surprise and whirled round, hand clutched to her throat. Napoleon had entered and trodden quietly across to the table, where he now stood behind her chair, hands resting on the seat back. He stared back at her, frankly appraising her looks. The Queen of Prussia was a slender woman with black hair and strong, almost masculine features. For all that there was a cold, ethereal beauty about her, Napoleon conceded. He smiled. ‘I am sorry. I did not mean to startle you.’

‘Really?’ She arched an eyebrow. ‘I rather think that was precisely what you meant to do.’

‘Oh? And why would I do that?’

‘You employ the same strategy off the battlefield as you do on it.You move quickly, achieve surprise and disconcert your enemy.’

‘But you are not my enemy. I do not make war on women, your majesty.’ Napoleon laughed. ‘But I admit that you have a good grasp of my method of waging war.’

‘It has been a hard lesson,’ she replied coldly.‘One which has cost the lives of many of our subjects.’

‘Well, the war is over, and our meal is about to begin. Please?’ Napoleon nodded to the chair she had been sitting on. After a slight pause, the Prussian Queen glided back across the room and sat down, allowing Napoleon to edge her chair a little closer to the table.Then he took his place opposite, flicked his napkin loose and laid it across his thighs. ‘I took the liberty of sending my chef to your quarters to discover what food appeals to your palate. How is your accommodation, by the way?’

‘It is as good as most we have had to endure for several months.’

Napoleon shrugged. ‘If your husband had come to terms after Jena you would still have the comforts of your palace in Berlin. But then, I imagine that you would not let your husband come to terms. My ambassador to Berlin told me how much Frederick William depends upon your advice. Other men have even said that you are the true ruler of Prussia.’

‘Other men are fools,’ she replied flatly. ‘My husband is a good man and a sound ruler. But he is inclined to caution in dealing with a crisis. I merely acted as a spur to that course of action he knew he must take.’

‘You are too modest, madam.’ Napoleon stared at her. ‘I sense that you are a far more formidable woman than you choose to appear.’

‘Perhaps.’ She smiled, showing a fine set of strong white teeth. ‘For my part I sense that you are a far more sensitive man than your reputation as an all-conquering general would imply. Sensual even.’

‘Sensual?’ Napoleon tipped his head slightly to one side. ‘It’s not a word I have often heard used to describe me.’

‘You surround yourself with soldiers, so that is hardly surprising.’

They were interrupted by the arrival of the first course, a thin soup of duck and herbs, and sat in silence while the steward carefully poured a ladleful into each of their bowls and then retired. Napoleon watched as his guest delicately filled her spoon and raised it to her lips, sipping the hot liquid with caution. ‘Do you like it?’

Louise looked at him. ‘A touch too much garlic, perhaps, but palatable.’

‘I am so pleased.’ Napoleon took a mouthful, and winced at the scalding sensation in his mouth. He glanced up to see her smiling at him, and mumbled an apology. ‘I am sorry, it was hot. Painful.’ He took a sip of wine to cool his tongue.

‘Yes.The trick is not to let anyone know that it hurts.’

Napoleon lowered his spoon for a while, to let the soup cool. ‘Tell me, your majesty.Why are you here? Why did you request to see me in this intimate manner? Did your husband send you to try to charm me?’

‘He does not approve of the meeting,’ she replied. ‘I insisted. I hope to discuss the question of the terms you demand for peace with Prussia.’

‘The terms are already being discussed, by our diplomats.’

‘Diplomats . . .’ She uttered the word with contempt. ‘They talk and talk and resolve little in the longest possible time.’

‘You have Talleyrand precisely.’ Napoleon laughed.

Louise’s expression remained serious. ‘I wished to negotiate more directly with you.’

‘Negotiate? What is there to negotiate? You already know my terms. I will not change them. Not even for you, your majesty.’

‘But you must realise that your demands go too far. You seek to reduce Prussia to the status of a minor power. You would shame us before the rest of the world.’

‘No more than you have shamed yourselves already.’

She was silent for a moment, and then continued in a calm tone, ‘I accept that my husband vacillated before Austerlitz. If I had been king then Prussia would have fought alongside your enemies from the outset.’

‘And very likely you would have defeated me. I must make certain that Prussia is incapable of challenging France for many years to come. That is why I do not wish to have your husband removed from the throne. His presence there is as good a guarantee of peace as I could wish for. If he was weak before you decided to wage war against France, then he will be even more afraid now. I doubt that you, even with your undeniable charms and force of personality, will be able to persuade him to make war again.’

‘I see.’ Louise nodded, and sipped again from her spoon. ‘You must know that the terms you have demanded of Prussia are sure to win you nothing but the hatred of our people.’

‘What do I care?’ Napoleon shrugged. ‘Vae victis.’

They ate in silence for a few minutes before Louise looked up again. ‘Has it occurred to you that you might well need the friendship of Prussia one day?’

‘Yes. There may be a time when I need all the friends I can get. But as long as you sit by the side of your husband and drip your poison into his ear, then I suspect that I need not look to Prussia for any hope of salvation. So what have I to lose by making the terms as harsh as possible?’

Queen Louise lowered her spoon, got up from her chair and walked slowly round the table until she was at his side. Napoleon instinctively lowered his spoon, as he felt his body tense at her closeness. She kneeled beside his chair and took his hand. She spoke softly. ‘Your imperial majesty. If I need to I will beg you not to destroy Prussia. On my hands and knees if you say so.’

She grazed her lips over the back of his hand and Napoleon felt a bolt of fire streak up his arm. For an instant he closed his eyes, relishing the feeling, and the Prussian Queen continued to play her lips over the back of his hand before she turned it over slowly and kissed his palm with infinite tenderness.

‘There is nothing I would not do for my country,’ she whispered. ‘Just ask me, your majesty, and I will do anything for you.’