Abbot Chardon was standing in his study overlooking the courtyard of the school at Autun. It was morning break and outside the boys were playing in the snow. Wrapped in coats, scarves and mittens, they were indulging in s...o...b..ll fights as usual, shrill shrieks of excitement and surprise filling the air, and clearly audible even this side of the gla.s.s in the window.Then his attention fixed on a figure standing at the school gate and his smile faded.The stiff posture of the distant boy was unmistakable. Little Napoleon Buona Parte on his own once again.

It was over a month since the two Corsican boys had joined the school, and while Joseph had begun to settle in and make some friends, the younger child resolutely held himself apart and only a.s.sociated with his brother, and only then when the latter was not playing with his new friends. It surprised Chardon that the older brother seemed so timid and obviously in awe of Napoleon. But then the young boy had a fierce and forceful personality, such as the abbot had never before encountered. Despite coming to Autun to learn French and benefit from perhaps the best education that Europe had to offer, the boy was defiantly Corsican and was more than willing to resort to a shouted tirade, or fists, if anyone impugned his native land.Which, of course, had made him the prime target for all those boys predisposed to tease or bully any of their peers who stood out from the rest.

Napoleon crossed his arms, tucking his hands under his armpits to keep them warm. He had been still long enough for his toes to start feeling numb, and now he began to slowly pace up and down in front of the gateway. He hated this numbing cold, and the clinging damp on his face and bedclothes when he rose each morning. In Corsica at this time of year the air would be cool but dry, and the winds blowing off the Mediterranean kept the skies above Ajaccio clear and blue. Thoughts of home were never far from his mind, and they tormented him terribly, especially that last moment before the ship had set sail from Bastia. He could almost smell his mother, feel her touch and the warmth of her breath on his ear as she had whispered her final word of farewell.

He clenched his hands and stiffened his lips. He would not give in to this homesickness. He would not be seen to be as weak and self-indulgent as other people.

A s...o...b..ll struck him on the back of his head and a chorus of cheers filled the air. They died instantly as Napoleon whirled round, eyes blazing and gloved fists s.n.a.t.c.hed out from under his arms.

'Who did that?' he screamed. 'Who did that?'

Someone giggled at his fierce expression and then like a current it flowed through those boys who were staring at him until laughter rang in his ears.

'Who did it?' he shouted.'Tell me! Tell me or I'll fight you all!'

But the laughing continued, so Napoleon charged forward towards the nearest knot of boys. At once, they broke up and ran away, still laughing nervously. Kicking spurts of snow up behind him Napoleon ran after them, but he was too small and too slow, and they kept their distance easily. After a few more steps he gave up and stopped, breathing heavily as he shouted after them, 'Come back and fight! Cowards! Cowards! Cowards . . .'

'Napoleon!'

He glanced round and saw his brother warily approaching. Joseph held up his hand, a concerned expression on his face. 'Napoleon. Calm down . . . Calm yourself.'

Napoleon continued breathing deeply as he lowered his fists and felt the tight tension in his chest begin to ease, flowing out of his body like a poison and leaving him feeling cold and weary. Joseph stepped up to his side and put an arm around his brother's shoulders.

'You're shivering. Come inside. We'll go to the boot room - there's a fire there where we can warm up. Come.'

He steered his brother towards the outbuildings behind the school, away from the boys in the courtyard. Some still jeered, hoping to provoke another explosion of rage, but quickly lost interest as Napoleon allowed himself to be led away.They entered the boot room and Joseph shut the door. Wooden boot racks stretched down one side of the room, each one numbered for one of the pupils. On the other side, flanking the fireplace, were rows of pegs. This was where wet footware and coats could be dried and the atmosphere was warm and humid, and smelled musty. Joseph pulled up a pair of stools, positioned them in front of the glowing grate and eased his brother down.

'You missed breakfast. You must be hungry. Here.' Joseph pulled a hunk of bread out of one pocket and a small lump of hard cheese from the other. He smiled. 'I saved these for you.'

Napoleon looked at the offerings for a moment before he reluctantly accepted them with a nod of thanks. He began to eat, and soon appet.i.te got the better of him and he gnawed hungrily on the cheese. Joseph watched him for a moment, and then reached for another log from the woodpile and placed it over the glowing embers in the grate.

'Feeling better?'

'Yes. Thank you.'

'What are brothers for?' Joseph grinned. 'I'm supposed to look after you.'

'I can look after myself.'

'Yes. I noticed.You were doing a fine job . . .'

Napoleon glared at him, and his brother could not help laughing as he wagged a finger at him. 'Now don't you start that again! I was just joking.'

For a moment the familiar wild expression burned in Napoleon's eyes. Then he relented and turned his gaze towards the fire as Joseph continued, 'You really must stop reacting like a madman every time someone says something.You have to control that temper. I thought you wanted to be a soldier.'

'I do.'

'Well, you can't go mad in the middle of a battle.You have to have a cool head, especially if you want to be an officer.'

Napoleon considered this, and reluctantly nodded his agreement. 'I will learn to control my feelings one day.'

'You'd better learn sooner than that,' Joseph said quietly.

His brother looked at him curiously. 'Why do you say that?'

'Because you'll be leaving Autun next month.' Joseph forced himself to smile.

'What are you talking about?'

'Father has sent us a letter. I found it on my bed at the start of break. That's why I came to find you outside. Just in time, it seems.'

Napoleon stiffened his back and held out his hand.'Let me see the letter.'

Joseph's cold fingers fumbled inside his coat for a moment, before emerging with a folded sheet of paper bearing a broken wafer seal. He pa.s.sed it to Napoleon and the young boy opened the letter out and began to read, his eyes eagerly scanning the spidery lines of his father's script.

'Brienne.' He looked round at Joseph and smiled. 'A military college.'

'Just what you wanted.'

'Yes . . .' Napoleon's smile faded as he glanced back at the letter and read it again, quickly. 'He doesn't mention you.'

'No.' Joseph's voice wavered. 'It seems I'm to stay here.'

'We're not going together? There must be some mistake.They can't separate us.' Napoleon gripped his brother's hand. 'I don't want to be alone.' The sudden thought of being so far from his home and his family, and even then denied the rea.s.suring presence of his brother's company, filled Napoleon with dread. 'I don't want to be alone,' he repeated softly.

Joseph opened his mouth to reply, but no words came at first. What comfort was there to offer? He tried to make himself sound persuasive. 'I don't want you to leave me either. But this is for the best. Father wants to give you a chance to become a soldier. Brienne's the place for you. I . . . I'll stay here and study for the Church.'

Napoleon felt a lump in his throat as he refolded the letter and handed it back to his brother. He coughed and then tried to speak steadily. 'You will write to me?'

'Of course!' Joseph put his arm round his brother's shoulder again, and this time he felt Napoleon lean in towards him. Soon, Napoleon realised, there would be no human comfort for either of them to ease the pain of homesickness. Each would be forced to endure life as an outsider in an unfamiliar culture. He felt a surge of fondness for his older brother and reached for his hand.

'I want to go home.'

'I know. Me too.'

'Do you think, if we wrote to Father, that we could persuade him to take us home?'

Joseph was Corsican enough to wince at the prospect of being thought of as weak-spirited. 'No. He won't stand for it.'

Napoleon struggled to hold back the tears. He knew his brother spoke the truth and he felt torn by hatred for his father's cold determination and by the bitter contempt he felt for himself for being prey to such unworthy emotions. If only they had never left Ajaccio.

'Joseph? What is to become of us?'

'I have no idea,' the older boy replied miserably. 'I just don't know.'

Napoleon shut his eyes tightly and murmured, 'I'm afraid.'

Carlos Buona Parte came to visit his sons at the end of April. At first father and sons had been overjoyed to see each other again. Then, as it quickly became apparent how miserable Joseph and Napoleon were and how much they wanted to return home, Carlos's manner towards them cooled, and became dismissive and angry. They were ungrateful, he said. Ungrateful of all the sacrifices that he and Letizia had made in order to make sure that the two boys had futures the family could be proud of. Given all that had been done for them, the least that Joseph and Napoleon could do was make something of the opportunities that they had been given.

They stood before him, heads hung in shame and despair, and for a moment Carlos's resolve weakened and he placed his hands on their shoulders.

'Come now, it can't be as bad as that.' He forced himself to laugh. 'When I was your age I'd have thought this would be an exciting adventure. A chance to travel, see more of the world, learn from the best teachers that can be found. You particularly, Naboleone.'

'They call me Napoleon here,' the small boy said softly.

'Napoleon?' Carlos frowned for an instant before he gave a shrug. 'Well, why not? It sounds more French.'

'But I'm Corsican, Father.'

'Of course you are. And you should be proud of it.'

'I am!' the boy replied fiercely.

'That's fine. But don't let it become an excuse for others to tease you,' he added shrewdly. 'I spoke to Abbot Chardon before I came to find you. He says there have been some . . . incidents.'

'They started it! But I paid them back.'

Carlos could not suppress a laugh. 'I'm sure you did. As a Corsican, I applaud your spirit. But as a father, I worry for you. I don't want you to make life hard for yourself. So behave.' Carlos lifted his son's chin so that their eyes met. 'Promise me.'

Napoleon kept his silence and merely nodded.

'I'll take that as a promise, then.' Carlos ruffled the boy's lank dark hair. 'Anyway, I'm sure you'll appreciate the change of scene. Brienne's one of the royal military colleges. That place will make a man of you, and if you do well you might win a place at the Royal Military School in Paris. Then one day you'll be Colonel Buona Parte, with a regiment of fine soldiers to command. Wouldn't that be grand?'

The boy stared at him, mind racing. It was true, he wanted everything his father had mentioned, and for a moment a small selfish part of him wanted to embrace it all. But then there was the awful prospect of being alone at Brienne. The past three months at Autun had been bad enough, so how much worse would it be without Joseph for company?

He swallowed and looked at his father nervously. 'Can Joseph come too?'

Carlos shook his head. 'Brienne only had one scholarship available and I was lucky to secure that for you.'

The small boy turned back to him and met his gaze in silence for a moment, before nodding faintly. Carlos smiled and cupped his hand round Napoleon's cheek. 'There's a good boy. Now you must go and pack your trunk, while I talk with your brother.'

An hour later the hired cart rattled out of the school gate and on to the rutted track.While his father stared stiffly ahead Napoleon turned his head and looked back at the school, at once fixing his eyes on the solitary figure of Joseph standing to one side of the gatehouse. Joseph raised his hand and waved slowly. His younger brother returned the wave as Abbot Chardon stepped into view, laid a gentle hand on Joseph's shoulder and led him back through the gatehouse and out of sight.

Chapter 15.

The military college was on the outskirts of the small market town of Brienne. The college was comprised of functional buildings neatly laid out around a quadrangle. It was designed, Carlos told his son, to accommodate one hundred and twenty cadets, half of whom were scholarship boys like Napoleon. So he should not feel unduly out of place.As the cart pa.s.sed through the quadrangle and made for the coach house and stables at the rear of the main building, Napoleon stared keenly about him.

While one of the college grooms took charge of the cart, a porter scurried over to unload Napoleon's trunk, then led Carlos and his son to the administrative section at the heart of the college. Inside, a hall stretched the length of the building and the varnished parquet gleamed in the light slanting through tall shuttered windows that stretched along the side of the hall opposite the offices.The tang of polish filled the air and the sound of their shoes echoed off smooth plastered walls.

'Over here, sir.' The porter indicated a door to one side. A neatly painted sign indicated that this was the office of the director of the inst.i.tution. A plain bench ran along the wall beyond the door.

Carlos bowed his head. 'Thank you.'

'I'll take the young gentleman's trunk to his cell, sir.'

'Very well.'

As the porter, burdened down by the luggage, tramped off down the corridor, Carlos and his son exchanged brief looks. Carlos flashed a quick smile and whispered, 'Well, here we are, Napoleon.'

He raised his hand to knock on the polished wooden panel, paused to take a deep breath, then rapped sharply.

There was a m.u.f.fled cough from inside and then a thin, reedy voice called out, 'Enter!'

Carlos pressed the handle down and pushed the door open. It was heavier than he expected and resisted his efforts with a faint squeak from the hinges before it gave. Inside was a large office, lined with bookcases along which gleamed the gilded spines of books so regimented that it seemed that they were rarely, if ever, taken from their places.The office was bathed in light from a large window that looked out over the quadrangle. In front of the window was a modest walnut desk. Sitting behind it was a thin man in a plain black frock coat and powdered wig. He wore a pair of gla.s.ses that made his eyes look far larger than they really were, and Napoleon felt them bore into him as the man subjected him to intense scrutiny. There was a moment's stillness before Carlos coughed nervously and gently pressed his son forward.

'Carlos Buona Parte, at your service.' He raised his eyebrows slightly. 'You must be the director, sir?'

The man slowly swivelled his gaze away from Napoleon towards his father. He made a thin smile and replied in his weak strained tone, 'Yes, I believe that's what the sign outside the door says, Signor Buona Parte.' His eyes flickered back to Napoleon. 'And this is the new boy.'

Carlos's expression was frigid at being addressed in the Italian fashion, but he bit back on his irritation and bowed his head.'Yes, sir. My son, Napoleon.'

'We were expecting you two days ago.'

'I was delayed in Bastia, by a storm. I made up some of the time before I could fetch my son from Autun. I apologise.'

The director nodded his head briefly, as if to indicate that he could barely tolerate the apology.'Very well, sir. I think it only fair to tell you that the boy's entry in the college is allowed under sufferance.'

'Sufferance, sir? What do you mean?'

'Only that it is our custom to extend places to the sons of French n.o.bility. This is our first application from Corsica.'

'Which is now French, as you well know, sir.'

The director shrugged his bony shoulders. 'So it would seem. In any event, I would rather not dilute the quality of our student body by admitting someone from outside of France.' He paused and smiled. 'Mainland France, at any rate.'

'Dilute?' Carlos felt his chest tighten in rage. 'Did you say, "dilute"?'

'I did, sir. But I intend no slur on your island, nor your son, naturally. I am sure that in time the inhabitants of Corsica will acclimatise to their new nationality.To their new culture. Until such time, it is my opinion that the mixing of our respective cultures can only confuse the educational ethos of the college. It is as much a concern for the wellbeing of your son as it is for the rest of the students here. And were it not for the well-meaning but misplaced representations of the Comte de Marbeuf to the Royal Court, I would be able to prevent this unfortunate state of affairs.As it is . . .' He shrugged again and opened out his pale white hands.

Carlos placed a hand on Napoleon's shoulder and gave him a rea.s.suring squeeze as he responded to the director.'But as it is, you have been instructed to accept my son into this establishment.'

'Yes, sir. I am sure you understand the sensitivity of the situation.'