Suddenly there were several puffs of smoke and then the flat crack of musket fire. On the second and third floors of the palace, windows shattered, showering those nearest in the mob with shards of glass; victims of their foolhardy companions with firearms.The shooting continued for nearly a quarter of an hour, shattering every window and pockmarking the facade of the palace. Then a white sheet fluttered at one of the windows and the shooting gradually stopped. A figure appeared on one of the balconies and gestured down to the crowd. Those closest to the palace roared out a reply, and moments later the doors of the palace opened and the mob began to surge inside.

Was this it, Napoleon wondered: the moment when the Bourbon dynasty fell, torn to pieces by the Paris mob? He felt a great sense of regret and disgust well up inside him at the thought that France now belonged to these animals. It was too horrible to contemplate, but a morbid fascination kept him standing there on the window sill, straining his eyes towards the distant entrance to the palace. Shortly afterwards he saw the tall doors open behind a balcony overlooking the courtyard and several figures shuffled out into the full view of the mob. There was a cheer. In amongst the figures stood a man and woman in powdered wigs.The King and Queen, Napoleon realised, his blood going cold with dread. But it was soon clear they were not in mortal danger. A man stepped up beside Louis and placed a red bonnet on his head. The crowd cheered and Louis made no effort to remove it. Instead he raised a glass, made some kind of toast and then took a swig as the crowd cheered again.

'Lieutenant Buona Parte?'

Napoleon looked down and saw Monsieur Perronet with a companion on the edge of the square below him. He waved a greeting and climbed down to join his landlord.

'A sad business,' Perronet said quietly after making sure no one was close enough to overhear.

'Indeed,' Napoleon replied.

Perronet turned to indicate his companion. 'My friend Monsieur Lavaux, a lawyer.'

'A lawyer?' Napoleon smiled. 'It seems that your profession may soon be out of business. A few more days of this and there won't be any law at all.'

Lavaux nodded. 'It's an outrage. How dare those animals treat the King and his family like that? It's an outrage!' he repeated through clenched teeth.

'You must forgive Monsieur Lavaux,' Perronet smiled. 'He is something of a royalist.'

Napoleon shrugged. 'You don't need to be a royalist to be offended by such a spectacle.' He stared at the distant figures on the balcony, being displayed before the mob. 'I tell you, if I was in charge of the royal bodyguard such things would not be tolerated.'

Perronet exchanged a quick look of surprise with his friend, before he turned back to Napoleon. 'And what would you do to prevent such an event, Lieutenant?'

Napoleon glanced at the mob and narrowed his eyes. 'They're nothing more than a rabble. A quick blast of grapeshot and they'd bolt like rabbits. That's what I'd do.'

'Maybe,' Lavaux conceded.'But they'd be back, sooner or later.'

'Then I'd have the guns loaded and ready,' Napoleon replied. 'And sooner or later, they'd realise the futility of opposing me.'

'Er, quite.' Lavaux shuffled uncomfortably, and then smiled at his friend Perronet.'We must go, or we'll be late for our meeting.'

'Eh?' Perronet looked confused, then grasped the point. 'Of course. Please excuse us, Lieutenant. We must go. If I may, I'd advise you to get off the streets.'

Napoleon tore his gaze away from the distant balcony and smiled. 'Later. I want to see how this ends.'

'Be careful, then.' Perronet waved a farewell and made off with his friend.

When they were out of earshot, Lavaux turned back for one last look at the young artillery officer bearing witness to the public humiliation of the royal family. He nudged Perronet and whispered, 'What on earth do you make of that – "If I was in charge…"?' For a moment he chuckled at the young man's astonishing hubris, and then idly wondered if he would ever hear of the name Buona Parte again.

Chapter 63

King Louis had played his hand well, Napoleon conceded in the days that followed. What could have turned into a violent overthrow of the monarchy ended in a public party that continued well into the evening. By ordering his troops back to barracks, wearing the red bonnet and toasting France with the crowd massing before the palace, Louis had won them over and they had cheered him to the heavens. But, as the euphoria quickly wore off, it was soon clear that a decisive confrontation between the King and his people had merely been delayed. The gate was repaired, the broken windows boarded up, and as the capital basked in ever hotter weather the palace was steadily fortified and its garrison strengthened by royalist volunteers who took up residence in the rooms on the ground floor. They were determined never to permit a repeat of the earlier outrage and steadily built up enough supplies of food, powder and weapons to withstand a siege.

Over at the National Assembly, Napoleon regularly listened to debates where deputy after deputy stood up to denounce the King's refusal to dismiss his palace guard. Robespierre was foremost amongst them, and where he led the Jacobins followed, broadcasting their views in increasingly fervent tones designed to stir up the anger of the Paris mob.

Amid all the growing tension, Napoleon almost ceased to care about the ongoing investigation into his role in the affair at Ajaccio. Then, on 10 July, a message from the War Office arrived at his lodgings. As he held the letter all the dread for his future rushed back and for a moment he dared not break the seal. Then with a grim expression he opened the letter, unfolded the paper and began to read.

From the Office of Citizen Lajard, Minister of War Dated 9 July in the Fourth Year of Liberty

To Lieutenant Buona Parte of the Regiment de la Fere Copy to Citizen Antoine Saliceti, deputy for Corsica.

Citizen, following representations by Citizen Saliceti, the Ministry of Justice yesterday rejected the charges brought against you and Colonel Quenza with respect to the assault on the garrison at Ajaccio earlier this year. Consequent to this the Artillery Committee at the Ministry of War has reported in favour of your rehabilitation as a serving officer. Further to this, the Committee has recommended that, due to the exigencies of the military situation, you be appointed to the rank of captain, effective 1 September. You are requested to remain in Paris pending appointment to your existing regiment, or such another as may require your services.

Yours respectfully, Citizen Rocard, secretary to the Minister of War

Napoleon felt a wave of relief wash through his body, and he quickly reread the letter. His career had been saved. Better than saved. He had been promoted to captain. Clearly the war was going badly enough to require the services of every able-bodied officer, no matter what sins they may have committed. Napoleon smiled at the irony of it all. That he had survived the serious charges brought against him was entirely due to France's defeats on the battlefield. Thank God for the war against Austria. He couldn't help smiling. And thank God for Antoine Saliceti.

He decided to send a note to Saliceti expressing his gratitude.

Napoleon delivered the note in person to Saliceti's clerk and received a brief acknowledgement from the deputy the following day. Saliceti affected to have had only a marginal influence on the judgement but informed Napoleon to stay in Paris and be ready to carry out a special task. There would be more details later, when Saliceti would brief him in person. But first there was a crisis to be resolved and Napoleon was advised to stay away from the Tuileries complex during August. Saliceti would give no more details at present.