Bonaparte shook his head as if to disperse the thoughts which held him in the clouds.
“I, too, am a Republican,” said he, “but see what has come of your Republic!”
“What matter!” cried Bernadotte. “It is not to a word or a form that I am faithful, but to the principle. Let the Directors but yield me the power, and I would know how to defend the Republic against her internal enemies, even as I defended her from her foreign enemies.”
As he said these words, Bernadotte raised his eyes, and his glance encountered that of Bonaparte. Two naked blades clashing together never sent forth lightning more vivid, more terrible.
Josephine had watched the two men for some time past with anxious attention. She saw the dual glance teeming with reciprocal menace. She rose hastily and went to Bernadotte.
“General,” said she.
Bernadotte bowed.
“You are intimate with Gohier, are you not?” she continued.
“He is one of my best friends, madame,” said Bernadotte.
“Well, we dine with him the day after to-morrow, the 18th Brumaire; dine there yourself and bring Madame Bernadotte. I should be so glad to know her better.”