Her Majesty's Gold Read online

  Chapter Five

  June 15, 1860, Villa Stéphanie Hotel, Baden

  “Welcome to Baden, Your Imperial Majesty. “Princess Marie curtsied to her cousin Louis Napoleon. Emperor Napoleon III stepped down from his carriage as a footman hurried to unravel the carriage steps leading to the ground.

  The French Emperor grasped her by the shoulders and kissed both of her cheeks. “It is excellent to see you again, and I am so proud of you. I wish your mother was still alive as I miss her terribly,” said Emperor Napoleon III. “She was like a mother to me.” He sighed as his grief resonated through his body. He hugged Princess Marie tightly.

  “How was your journey?” Princess Marie replied as she pulled away from his embrace. “I trust it went well. Do the people of France know you have left Paris?”

  “No, and I plan to keep it that way. Or else our mission will fail. We cannot fail, Marie.” Emperor Napoleon III replied.

  The Villa Stéphanie Hotel valet opened the door for the Emperor, and he strode into the grand foyer. General Christophe Roguet, his Aide-de-camp was waiting for him inside.

  “Your Imperial Majesty, your apartments are prepared on the second floor overlooking the woods as you requested.” Said a nervous General Roguet.

  “Good, I must meet with the Crown Prince Regent of Prussia right away. When will he be arriving?” Said the Emperor to General Roguet.

  “In a few hours.” General Roguet replied.

  “Good, I will greet him personally when he arrives.”

  “Are you sure that is wise?” Interrupted Princess Marie with a cautious look.

  “I must assure him I want peace between our two countries.” The Emperor emphasized. “But I will continue maintaining French troops on our border with the German Confederation. They are prepared to attack in case the Crown Prince Regent rebuffs my proposal.” The Emperor said this in a low voice to Princess Marie. General Roguet shifted his feet nervously, fearful anyone else overheard his Emperor describing secret French military plans.

  “What proposal is that, Cousin?” Princess Marie inquired anxiously eager to report it to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

  “I will let you know in due time, Marie.” Said the Emperor as he patted her arm. “But now I must rest for we have a busy evening ahead of us.”

  He began climbing the stairs to his apartments followed by his Aide-de-camp and three valets. Princess Marie was disappointed that he did not confide in her.

  ” Excuse me, Your Imperial Majesty, this is another guest at the hotel.” And she turned to introduce Richard Cordwell who was standing back inside the doorway of the Villa Stéphanie. He had been listening to their conversation. “His name is Richard Cordwell.”

  The Emperor stopped and turned to look at her with a puzzled look on his face. “Cordwell, the name sounds familiar.” Emperor Napoleon III rubbed his mustache and thought for a moment.

  “You were involved in that English Chartist business? Is that where I heard of you?” He inquired of Richard.

  Both Richard Cordwell and Princess Marie were startled the French Emperor recognized his name and his previous mission for Scotland Yard.

  “Yes, your Imperial Majesty,” said Richard Cordwell as he bowed to the Emperor. “But how did the French Emperor know he helped foil the Chartist plot against the British Crown?” He wondered to himself.

  “Oh, well,” said, Emperor Napoleon III. “We’ll have to keep an eye on you, won’t we?” And he jerked his head in his Aide-de-camp’s direction. General Christophe Roguet nodded in agreement and made a mental note to have the French Military Intelligence follow Cordwell.

  Princess Marie hurried inside to ensure all the arrangements had been completed for the evening’s reception for the Prussian Crown Prince Regent. While General Roguet instructed the Emperor’s valet to unload the baggage and bring it to their rooms.

  Meanwhile, Richard Cordwell retreated back to his room to code a telegram to Scotland Yard about the French troops on the border with the German Confederation. And to let his superiors know there was a French spy in Scotland Yard.

  Much later in the evening, Princess Marie overheard a visibly drunk French Emperor discussing his plans for Europe with the Prussian Crown Prince Regent. After rebuffing his advances, she quietly slipped out of the reception. Princess Marie climbed the stairs and knocked on Richard Cordwell’s door.

  “Come in,” Richard said in a whispered voice. Princess Marie entered the darkened room and closed the door behind her.

  Chapter Six

  The next morning, the French Emperor met for breakfast with all the princes of Germany. Emperor Napoleon III assured the German princes that he did not have any designs on their territory during a heated discussion. But they were unconvinced.

  Meanwhile, General Roguet arranged a lunch meeting with Richard Cordwell. They were served drinks on the veranda overlooking the Villa Stéphanie gardens.

  “I discovered we were both veterans of the Crimean War.” Roguet began their discussion. Cordwell was surprised, unaware the French General had reviewed his background overnight with French Military Intelligence. Roguet offered a toast to their comrades who died in the bloody battles during the war.

  “What does the Emperor expect to achieve with these meetings?” Cordwell bluntly asked the French General while sipping a glass of champagne.

  “Peace with the German Confederation,” Roguet stated. “The Emperor merely wants to assure them; he has no designs on their territory.” Roguet continued. “The Second French Empire prefers to resolve issues with diplomacy.” As he finished speaking, the general drank his second glass of champagne.

  Richard Cordwell smiled in disbelief. “The French have no designs in Italy then? Besides Nice and Savoy?” He asked sarcastically.

  The French general grew uncomfortable and began to fidget in his chair. A hawk flew overhead and swooped down in the garden below to capture his prey.

  Roguet responded equally direct. “What has Her Majesty Queen Victoria heard about our plans in Italy?” Knowing Richard Cordwell had been sent to spy on the French Emperor.

  Now, it was Cordwell’s turn to squirm. “I am not aware of your Emperor’s plans.” He shrugged sheepishly. He did not want to reveal that his confidential source was the Duchess of Hamilton.

  The French general drank his third glass of champagne and excused himself. He hurried to the Emperor’s apartments in the Villa Stéphanie, but the Emperor was out. General Roguet told his valet that he needed to see the Emperor as soon as he returns. It was a matter of national security. He suspected a member of the Emperor’s court was an English spy!

  Princess Marie had discovered the French Emperor desired to exploit the gold mines in Mexico. This would secure France all the gold they needed to finance more territory conquests and Paris reconstruction. This was why Emperor Napoleon III desired peace with the German Confederation. But the United States, in turn, would be threatened by a French invasion of Mexico. Richard Cordwell hurriedly retired to his room to code another message to Scotland Yard before it was too late!

  Chapter Seven

  On the last day of the conference, the Prussian Crown Prince Regent spotted Richard Cordwell in the hotel lobby during a break.

  “I see the British Queen is also represented here.” The Prussian Prince Regent winked at Richard Cordwell as he stopped to talk with him while carrying a glass of cognac. Richard bowed low and smiled at him.

  The Crown Prince Regent continued. “I know you are working with our dear Princess. But we have our own spies too.” He smiled at a worried-looking Princess Marie standing across the room. “I would hope the British government would stay neutral in any issues concerning the German Confederation and France.” He observed dryly. “The peace meeting at Baden was in both of their best interests.” The Prussian Crown Prince Regent said to Richard while he drank his cognac. He then gave the empty glass to a valet and strode away without so much as a goodbye to Cordwell.

  After the conferenc
e concluded and the peace treaties were signed, the French Emperor hurriedly left to return to Paris. His harshest political critics in the National Assembly were blasting the French Emperor for making peace overtures with the Germans without their knowledge.

  As Richard Cordwell retired to his suite, he noticed his door was ajar. He carefully drew his revolver and crept through the open doorway. His room had been ransacked, and his coded notebooks were gone. Fortunately, he had already dispatched the notes of his meeting with General Roguet to London by telegram earlier that afternoon. Richard realized “if the thieves were able to decode his notes than Princess Marie would be in danger!” He rushed out of his room and went to the Duchess of Hamilton’s apartments to warn her. Within, he found the Duchess hurriedly packing her things.

  “Richard, I am so frightened! General Roguet threatened to arrest me when I return to France. I must get away from here!” Said Princess Marie as she buried her head into his shoulder. Richard soothed her.

  “Travel with me back to London where you will be protected. Now finish packing your things. We will leave immediately!” Princess Marie agreed and wiped away her tears. He released her and returned to his room.

  Richard foresaw the danger she was in with French Military Intelligence after talking with the Prussian Crown Prince Regent. If he was aware of her spying, General Roguet must also have discovered her clandestine activities.

  Chapter Eight

  Several months later, Delphos, Ohio

  Karolina and her husband Stanislaus answered a knock on their cabin door. Karolina opened the door to discover a disheveled looking man accompanied by the Allan County Sheriff. The sheriff was amiable and took off his hat and bowed to a nervous Karolina.

  “Pleased to see you again, Ma’am. May we come in?” He asked.

  Karolina nodded and gestured for the sheriff and the man accompanying him to come inside. He was carrying a large leather valise stuffed with a stack of paper forms, ready to fall out on the ground.

  “Excuse me, Ma’am.” The sheriff spoke. “Pardon my manners, but this man is the census taker from the United States government. “

  The sheriff looked around for a place to sit among the sparse furnishings in the cabin and sat down in the wooden rocking chair. The census taker remained standing and looked uncomfortable while he opened up his leather valise and pulled out one of the paper forms.

  “I need to ask you a few questions.” The census taker said. Fumbling in his pockets for a pencil. “Your names, please?” he inquired.

  “Nicholas,” said Stanislaus firmly while Karolina looked at him, questioningly. Stanislaus had used his middle name to appear more American and less German since he arrived in America.

  “And your name Ma’am? The census taker peered at her through his reading glasses.

  “Karolina”, she said emphatically with no qualms.

  The census taker wrote down, “Caroline.” “Children?” He asked next.

  Stanislaus mentioned Karl and Albert, who were in school that day and pointed at the baby, Francis sleeping in the crib in the living room.

  “I see you are not Colored.” The census taker chuckled without even looking up from his forms.

  “Why does that matter?” Asked Stanislaus.

  The census taker looked at him over his reading glasses. “Just following orders.” He said flatly. The census of 1860 would be the last one in which Colored slaves were still legally considered property.

  The Allen County Sheriff listened to the answers provided by Karolina and Stanislaus to the census taker. He wanted to make sure they were telling the truth. Stanislaus would glance at the sheriff and then shift his gaze back to the census taker.

  “Profession?’ He asked disdainfully while looking around at the sparse cabin. Stanislaus looked at the census taker and then back at the sheriff.

  “What does “profession” mean?” He asked both the census taker and the sheriff.

  The sheriff spoke up. “Put down Laborer,” he commanded to the census taker. The census taker recorded it in his census form.

  “Property value?”, he asked and looked up again at the cramped cabin. He had noticed the ax propped up by the cabin door when he arrived and observed the pile of cordwood stacked up outside. But little else of value.

  Stanislaus looked at the sheriff again unable to understand the question. The Sheriff stood up and told the census taker. “Put down $300 dollars and no more. That’s what all these land parcels are worth these days.” The census taker quickly wrote it down and then looked directly at the sheriff.

  “Any personal belongings?” The census taker asked.

  The sheriff looked around the room again and asked Karolina. “Do you have any jewelry?”

  Karolina’s eyes quickly darted to the small box under the bed, she shared with Stanislaus. The box contained the remaining money she received from the Dowager Duchess Stéphanie. She pretended not to understand the question.

  The sheriff scoffed and said, “I thought not.” He told the census taker “Put down $100 to cover the cow, horse, and wagon outside. These immigrants don’t have any money.” He said with a sneer.

  The census taker scribbled down the amount and turned to go but forgot to ask one more question.

  “Where are you from?” He asked Stanislaus and Karolina. Stanislaus cleared his throat and answered in a low voice.

  “Baden, Germany.”

  The census taker looked at him with a disgusting look as he wrote it down.

  “Much obliged, Ma’am,” he said deferentially and tipped his hat to Karolina but ignored Stanislaus.

  The census taker closed his notebook as he took off his reading glasses and put them in his pocket. The Allen County Sheriff walked out of the cabin without as much as a tip of his hat or goodbye to Stanislaus and Karolina.

  The census taker followed the sheriff out and closed the cabin door behind them. They rode away in their carriage as Karolina and Stanislaus watched them leave.

  Unknown to Stanislaus and Karolina, the 1860 Census demonstrated the unprecedented growth and westward migration of the immigrant population of the United States. The Northern states were gaining in population at a more accelerated rate than their Southern counterparts. With more population gains, the northern states would gain more seats in Congress. A political cataclysm over slavery was about to erupt in the United States!

  Chapter Nine

  March 4, 1861, Washington City

  There is a cold wind blowing on the steps of the East Portico of the unfinished Capitol Building. The sun was trying to break through the cloud’s overhead to shine onto a wooden platform built for the occasion. A tall, lanky man wearing a black formal suit stood up to take his oath of office from Chief Justice Taney, author of the infamous Dred Scott decision. The decision declared a person of African ancestry could not claim citizenship in the United States.

  Previously, last December 1860, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union after the results of the United States presidential election were determined. The majority of the Southern States soon followed. Before the new president could be sworn into office, the Confederate States of America was formed with Jefferson Davis as its first President.

  After taking the presidential oath, a bareheaded Abraham Lincoln sporting a new beard pulled out a well-worn piece of paper covered with handwritten notes from his topcoat pocket. He began to speak:

  “In compliance with a custom as old as the Government itself, I appear before you to address you briefly...I hold that in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution the Union of these States is perpetual... in your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war...I shall have the most solemn one (oath) to "preserve, protect, and defend it... Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, wil
l yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."*

  *Source : https http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/tr00.html#obj37

  Abraham Lincoln finished his speech, removed his glasses and placed them back into his topcoat. Senator Stephen Douglas stood up and offered Lincoln back his stovepipe hat. Lincoln placed it on his head and turned to go accompanied by former President Buchanan. Various Congressmen and other dignitaries including Secretary of State Seward shook his hand as he climbed the steps to go back into the Capitol building. Upon leaving the Capitol building, former President Buchanan and President Abraham Lincoln entered their carriage for the ride back to the White House. Lincoln rubbed his eyes, the fatigue already beginning to show on his face. He said little to Buchanan as they rode. When they arrived, former President Buchanan escorted him through the front door of the stately mansion, shook his hand and left. Lincoln took off his hat and proceeded to go inside where he was deluged with well-wishers and office seekers.

  Lincoln was unable to stop the relentless march toward civil war, especially after the Southern secessionists fired on the Union’s Fort Sumter and forced its surrender. But as several years went by, Union and Southern support for the war began waning.

  The Confederate army rapidly began losing soldiers. The one-year enlistments were expiring and Jefferson Davis and his cabinet needed to do something drastic to reverse the tide. On April 16, 1862, the Confederate Congress enacted the First Conscription Act. The war now directly affected the home front across the entire Confederacy!

  Chapter Ten

  Spring, 1862, Madison County, Alabama

  Ethan was working in the hot sun alone in his fields. As he bent down to pull a weed out of the ground, he heard a click.