Frankie Goes to the Hofburg, or Napoléon II, Regent of Austria?

[Kellan Sullivan]

Soundtrack: Claude Balbastre [1] - La marche des Marseillois - Ça ira

*exterior* *Paris* *shots of Les Invalides* *the Hôtel de Ville* *the Palais Bourbon* *the Conciergerie* *finally the Place de la Concorde* *there are milling crowds on the square*
*title card flashes April 7 1843*
*we see Louis Philippe - his hair now dyed - and Marie Amélie in the Tuileries Chapel* *over the organ and the priest, we can hear - however faintly - the rhythmic chant of De-ché-ance! De-ché-ance! [2]*
*standing at the back of the chapel* *Passy and Duchâtel are talking*
Passy: did Monsieur le Gouverneur [Sébastiani] not call on his Majesty?
Duchâtel: no. Nor did he send his chief-of-staff as he promised.
Passy: you think he's playing a waiting game?
Duchâtel: half this ministry is playing a waiting game. They don't want to nail their colours to the mast for the king in case he gets swept out by the comte de Chambord.
Passy: no chance of that.
Duchâtel: you think it's to be a republic?
Passy: my sources in Normandie [3] tell me that Monseigneur has finally been able to charter a boatman at Dieppe.
Duchâtel: to take him where? Cherbourg? Le Hâvre?
Passy: Folkestone.
Duchâtel: In England?
Passy: it seems that Monseigneur has decided that, if there is to be a revolution, he is not prepared to risk his neck.
Duchâtel: this could all be a ruse, Passy.
Passy: he is back to travelling as the Chevalier de Saint-Hermine (and his grandfather). Even his party is dissolving. The men have been slipping away by night. A barkeep in Abbeville overheard a bunch of soldiers expressing their disgust for Monseigneur's cowardice. Something about "he will not fight like a man for what he cannot hold as a woman".
Duchâtel: disgruntled soldiers hardly make reliable witnesses.
Passy: no, but the litter of his erstwhile supporters on roads north and south of Eu, of the aristocrats who are equally disillusioned and putting as much distance between themselves and Monseigneur tells a different story.
Duchâtel: I wonder what made him suddenly so unpopular.
Passy: perhaps it was the announcement of his sudden departure. Or they fear for their own necks if we do have a revolution.
Duchâtel: if he has found a boatman, then let us hope he arrives at Folkestone with all haste. Or the boat sinks in the attempt. Will mean that the king does not have to divide his forces between dealing with whatever trouble Chambord makes in the provinces and whatever mischief the Parisians get up to. In fact, I suspect that now that Chambord has left, they will settle down.
Passy: you don't trust the troops who are guarding the king?
Duchâtel: they have been sharing the duties with Garde National, so who knows how loyal they are. Some of the household troops have even started looking at the royal family as if to say "your minutes are numbered". And even if we could count on their loyalty, the king has ordered that they are not to fire into the crowd, so what comfort would there be?
Passy: he stands by that?
Duchâtel: I've spoken to the duc de Nemours about it. He told me that he will speak to his father about it, as soon as he returns from leaving his wife at Compiègne with the Joinvilles. Although since he backs his father on that the duchesse d'Orléans or her son should not move from Paris, I have my doubts whether he will be of a differing opinion.
Passy: *looks at the duc de Montpensier* what about attempting to rally Monsieur Antoine?
Duchâtel: the boy is more frightened by events. He's actually one of the main voices urging the king to abdicate [4].
Passy: I'm not sure if that makes him sensible or a fool. We'll soon hear what the Assemblée has decided on our proposal from yesterday. Especially since that bastard, Thiers, got slapped down and made a fool of by Craon.
Duchâtel: after I heard of it, I suggested his Majesty meet with either Thiers or Craon. Thiers didn't reply, and the king would not hear of Craon. Instead he orders me to get Sébastiani in. And where are we now, nearly eighteen hours after I sent you, with neither hide nor hair of the governor of Paris. I've even asked his brother to call on him, his brother replied he would see what he could do. *scoffs*

*cut to the cabinet des Ministres* *it looks more or less as it did yesterday* *only Nemours and Joinville are now present as well* *however, what we also notice is that the portraits and ornaments on the walls have been taken down* *with the exception of the table in the middle of the room, the furniture has been dust-sheeted*
Émile de Girardin, from the Chamber of Deputies: your Majesty, I come before the afternoon session is due to commence. We, of the Parti dela Résistance [5], and a great many others in the Chamber have come to a conclusion that we believe will satisfy everyone. Despite the prince de Craon's speech tackling Monsieur Thiers yesterday, there are still too many in the chamber who are not in favour of the council of regency proposed. Fortunately for your Majesty, there is as little appetite for the council of national defense. Many are worried of the legality of the move.
Nemours: quite right that they are.
Girardin: the solution we arrived at was this, sire...you must voluntarily hand over your executive powers to the Corps Législatif. This is so that the Corps Législatif can have the authority to nominate a provisional government to work solely for the salvation of France, whilst leaving the dynastic question untouched. This way, the deputies can make their decisions free of their concerns about their oath of allegiance to your Majesty, and only focus on the matter at hand, namely choosing of a government that will have the teeth of legality attached to it.
Nemours: that is an abdication in all but name, Monsieur Girardin. You would like the king to hand over the powers he has with the promise held out to him that, at some arbitrary date in the future, they will be restored to him. *sarcastically* it's a pity that the Temple Prison has already been demolished, since I feel we would be taking lodgings there before long.
Girardin: not at all, your Royal Highness. The government would be nominated by the Corps Législatif at the invitation of his Majesty. We deputies are not violating our oath and the government will be perfectly legal. All lovers of good order and patriotic citizens will thus be drawn to the government's side, regardless of their party, in order to help steer it through such a terrible crisis as we are now facing.
Joinville: papa, perhaps we should listen to Monsieur Girardin. If only to avoid a revolution caused by you refusing to do this.
Louis Philippe: I cannot, I dare not consent to this. The future - not of France, but of the dynasty - is at the moment, the very least of my worries. Believe me, gentlemen, the ordeals to which I have been subjected have been so painful and so terrible that at present, the thought of preserving the Crown for myself or the dauphin weighs very little with me.
*silence in the room*
Louis Philippe: My only desire, my only ambition, is to carry out faithfully the duties which have been imposed upon me. If you think - if the Corps Législatif thinks - that I am an obstacle and that the name of the king is an obstacle rather than a rallying point and a symbol of resistance, then let them pronounce our deposition: I shall not complain. I can then quit my post with honour. I shall not have deserted it. But I am convinced that the only sensible and practical course is for the country's representatives to rally around me and my government, to put aside for the moment all internal questions and to unite our efforts...As for myself, I am ready to face all dangers and to follow the Corps Législatif to wherever it decides to form a nucleus of resistance. If this resistance becomes impossible, I believe that I could still be useful in obtaining better peace terms [6]. Yesterday, the ambassador of a great power offered to propose a mediation of the neutral states on the following two bases: first, that no territory be taken from France and second, that the dynasty be maintained. I replied that I was ready to accept the first condition, but that I was absolutely opposed to the second. The maintenance of the dynasty is a question which concerns this country only, and I will never permit a foreign power to intervene in our internal affairs.
Joinville papa, keeping the crown would be the only sensible plan, but the circumstances in Paris, both in the streets and in the chambers, make it impossible.
Girardin: you fear, sire, that you will be accused of deserting your post, but you will have given even greater proof of your courage by sacrificing yourself for the public good and in sparing France the horror of revolution.
*doors to room burst open as a messenger hurries in*
Louis Philippe: what is it?
Messenger: the portrait of your Majesty taking the oath to the nation at the Palais Bourbon has been torn down. And the mob has invaded the chamber.
*stunned silence from the ministers*
Girardin: if your Majesty wishes to avoid a revolution, this may be the last chance that exists.
Louis Philippe: *calmly* personally, I believe this to be a mistake, but you gentlemen wish it, and let it never be said that as a constitutional king I have not given up my opinion for yours. But I will have it done legally. The ministers are to be consulted on the matter. Should they agree with your wisdom of the proposed course...no further opposition will be heard from my lips.

*fade to black*


[1] Balbastre was the organist in the Chapel Royal at Versailles pre-1789, the private organist to Louis XVIII at the Palais de Luxembourg, the harpsichord teacher to Marie Antoinette, and after 1789, the organist of Notre Dame de Paris until it was shuttered by the Revolution.
[2] dechéance, literally "forfeiture". The call for dethronement.
[3] Passy's family is from Gisors in Normandie
[4] this is OTL as well. Montpensier was one of the strongest voices in the council in 1848 urging an abdication to prevent bloodshed.
[5] centre-right political party under the July Monarchy of which Guizot was the leader. Many of the members supported the monarchy, but had grown disillusioned with the king. The parti held 58% of the seats after the 1842 election. And with Louis Philippe's growing unpopularity earlier here, that number might even be at the 63% the 1846 elections brought already. Their allies would be practically anyone who wants to get rid of the king but not become a republic. Even Thiers' Parti du Mouvement holding 42% of the house can't necessarily bank that all will be in favour of a republic
[6] France is still (technically) at war with Austria, even if her allies in Sardinia, Belgium and Prussia have already been dealt with

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[Kellan Sullivan]

Soundtrack: Étienne Nicolas Méhul - Le Chant du Départ

*exterior* *Paris* *Palais Bourbon* *we see the cordon of soldiers that have been thrown around the building* *the great gates of the palace have been thrown shut* *the forecourt of the palace is packed with policemen* *we see Paris' préfet de police, Gabriel Delessert arriving with a squadron of mounted gendarmes and some very odd looking guns [1]*
*The title card flashes 7 April 1843*
*We see flashbacks to how the troops and the police have been people through all afternoon* *we pause on a specific flashback of a police gendarme being confronted by a passably well-dressed (lower middle class at best) gentleman with his wife and daughter* *the gentleman produces a slip of paper and hands it to him* *the gendarme reads "I request permission for my wife and daughter to be present at the invasion of the Chambers"* *over it is stamped "granted" and the seal of the city of Paris [2]* *the gendarme looks at the trio* *back at the slip* *shrugs helplessly as he lets them pass*
*a band of the National Guard comes marching up* *according to them, they are to "relieve" Delessert's men*
Delessert: show me your papers, gentlemen, and I'll let you pass gladly *motions to the gendarmes to focus the guns on the troops*
Commander: we were sent by His Royal Highness, the duc de Nemours.
Delessert: *raises his arm to the gendarmes* *speaking to the gendarmes behind him* when I give the word: shoot these liars.
Commander: *looks nervously at the odd looking cannons*

*cut to the interior of the Palais Bourbon* *the men are attempting to debate the options presented to them: Orléans' regency, Thiers' council of national defense or even the actual dethronement of the monarchy* *however, the galleries of the hall are so crowded with spectators that it's difficult to hear anything above the din*
Thiers: *loudly* order! keep order I say!
Crowd: *howls him down*
*the deputies attempt to consider the debate*
President of the Chamber, Paul Sauzet: silence! *bangs gavel*
Crowd: *ignores him*
Thiers: as I was saying...the problem with the regency is that a regency implies, by it's very nature, that the king is acting for someone else. Yet if he will not abdicate, who is he thus regent for? After all, did we not pass legislation just last August that decided that no member of the royal family should hold the powers of a regent?
Sauzet: silence!
*suddenly the doors of the hall burst open* *in comes a man - soaked to the skin - announces that the mob has broken through into the courtyard* *runs up to Sauzet's desk* *seizes the gavel* *climbs on top of the desk and shouts Vive le Républque!*
*this is followed by a surge of equally bedraggled citizens [3] - many in National Guard uniform who are running in* *causing chaos* *tearing up any sheets of paper they find*
*cheers from the gallery as Sauzet scuttles off* *other deputies look around in consternation as republicans like Blanc and Blanqui start echoing the cry* *some even start singing La Marseillaise*
Thiers: *making his voice heard above the din* *climbs on his desk* not here, my brothers! It should be done at the Hôtel de Ville! Follow me! I know the way!

*exterior* *this crowd is walking along the Quai des Tuileries* *numbers swollen by the protestors from the Place de la Concorde* *laughing* *shouting* *singing old Revolutionary stand-bys like the Marseillaise and the Ca-Ira as well as newer spontaneous songs* *they are escorted by hundred of National Guardsmen who've put flowers in the barrel of their rifles* *a carriage stops*
Sébastiani: Monsieur Thiers, where are you going?
Thiers: *stepping up to the carriage* *warmly shaking Sébastiani's hand* my friends and I are going to the Hôtel de Ville to set up the new government. We'd appreciate it if you can return to the Invalides and wait for news.
Sébastiani: *looks at the crowd* *then, to his coachman* back home!

*cut to a drawing room at the Tuileries*
*Delessert is reporting to Louis Philippe what happened*
Delessert: we fired on them-
Louis Philippe: I gave orders not to.
Delessert: it was with water, your Majesty, not bullets. That new cannon that General Mouton and I proposed. But that only made them angrier- and look like drowned rats- we tried to stop as many as we could, but every time we turned around, we found that they were releasing ones we'd already arrested. Half my men went with them, the other half weren't entirely sure if they should join them or-
Louis Philippe: and then? what happened?
Delessert: they went to the Hôtel de Ville. To proclaim the Republic. Thiers is in for a nasty shock when he gets there, since Blanqui, Delescluze, LeDru-Rollin, Marast, Flocon are there already. They're drawing up lists of ministerial appointments. Chucking them out the windows to the crowd below and the list then gets read out. The louder the acclamation, the more likely that person is to get elected.
Guizot: good God!
Delessert: Blanc proposed a simpler method. Namely that the new government was to be simply the existing republican deputies for Paris. Which brings me to my request, your Majesty, if you will not fire on them, at least leave Paris.
Louis Philippe: *sits down emphatically* I will not leave.
Delessert: they have already broken down the railings separating the Jardin des Tuileries from the Place de la Concorde, sire, if they approach the railings between the Jardins and the palais, my men will not be able to hold them. Unless we are allowed to fire into the mob, they will be here in less than a half hour.
Louis Philippe: I will not fire on them.
Guizot: your Majesty, you will not abdicate. Inside an hour you will be in the hands of those who will force you to abdicate. If you leave now, you will still have those rights, sire. And you will carry them wherever you go. If you do not, all of your sacrifice will have been for nothing.
Delessert: sire, I beg of you...do not endanger your wife, sister, daughter [in-law] and grandsons by this foolishness. Compiègne is already ready-
Louis Philippe: *stands up* *walks into the next room*
Marie Amélie: *already taking leave of her ladies-in-waiting* No, I cannot take you with me. You have your own husbands and children to think of. I do not wish to involve anyone else in my own misfortune. Happier times will come again for France.
Louis Philippe: *calmly* you had already decided?
Marie Amélie: *looking at him* *reminding everyone she is Maria Caroline of Austria's daughter* I stayed silent through your foolishness, Philippe, I have put up with more than my fair share. But I would not let you and that silly Hélène endanger our grandsons. She thinks she will be the next Caroline de Berri. Do you care to remind her how you humiliated my niece? Endangered your king? By those libellious reports you allowed printed? You forgot that heaven would have its vengeance. It may be slow in coming, but it is then all the more complete. I would've left you here with Adèle and Hélène had you taken a moment longer. So...you will either come with us to Compiègne, or you can stay here and wait until they come to take you to ride in a tumbril to the Place de la Concorde [4].
Antoine, Duc de Montpensier: *enters the room* *leading his two nephews by the hand*
Louis Philippe: et tu, brute?
Antoine: Maman simply asked me to get them ready-
Marie Amélie: *puts her finger on her husband's lips* not another word out of you. It is your actions that have brought us to this. Not Antoine's. *puts the coat the servant provides around Louis Philippe's shoulders* where is Hélène?
Antoine: she and Aunt Adélaïde have gone to the duc and duchesse de Cadix at Malmaison
Marie Amélie: *irritably putting on her hat* foolish girl. If the Cadix's stayed with all this clamour I'd count myself surprised. *leads the way out of the room* *Louis Philippe stops to grab a green umbrella [5] from the stand at the door* *she looks at him*
Louis Philippe: it looks like rain

*cut to Marie Amélie, Louis Philippe, Antoine [6], and their grandsons in the doorway into the Tuileries Courtyard* *they're about to take a court carriage when Louis Philippe notices something*
Louis Philippe: those have the royal arms on.
Marie Amélie: so?
Louis Philippe: if we take that carriage, we could just as well advertise who's inside.
Antoine: *who's just put his nephews in* he's right, Maman. *motions for his nephews to get out again*
Jean Vatout [7]: my carriage is just along the Quai your Majesty. It's unmarked.
Marie Amélie: well, then, why are you still standing here? Go fetch it.
Antoine: perhaps we should wait for him in the doorway?
*parents nod as they go as fast as they can manage to the doorway* *as they reach it, the noise ticks up* *we see that the mob has broken through the archway through the Louvre* *and they are now moving towards the railing that divides the courtyard in two* *we hear cries of Vive le République! and À bas la monarchie!* *the royals shrink back into the shadows*
Louis Philippe: we should go back inside, go back out through the Louvre.
Marie Amélie: *looking around at the deserted pavement outside* now let us go
Louis Philippe: shouldn't we wait until Vatout returns?
Marie Amélie: one must be bold, Philippe *steps out onto the pavement*
*a street urchin recognizes the king and queen and runs off to tell the crowd of his discovery* *a fiacre [Paris 19th century taxi] is going past]* *Antoine hails it, and unceremoniously shoves his parents and nephews inside* *urchin comes running back* *looks around frantically for the royals* *Antoine catches the urchin by the arm and stands arguing with him on the pavement until the fiacre rounds the corner into the Rue Dauphin [name for Rue de Saint-Roch (1830-1879)]* *having successfully detained the urchin, he lets the boy go* *then goes back into the palais*
*cut to Antoine hurrying around the palace* *we see him talking to various officials and servants* *he thanks them for their loyalty* *asks them to please remember to change out of their uniforms before leaving lest they be harmed in the streets* *he goes through what we can only assume is the whole palace doing this* *he encounters a member of the guards still faithfully standing sentinel duty at the door to the king's chambers*
Antoine: the king is gone.
Guard: is there no one left in the rooms?
Antoine: none.
Guard: *snaps a smart salute* *puts his rifle down in the corner* *and then leaves the palace*
Antoine: *picks the rifle up* better be prepared. [8]

*cut to Louis Philippe and Marie Amélie's cab* *it's bobbing along the Rue de Richelieu through the crowds*
Dauphin: *looking at people tearing the royal arms off the front of a shop* these people are very rude.
Marie Amélie: those people have their own preferences, Loulou. They don't know you very well, they don't know your feelings-
Dauphin: then Grandmère, we must let them know that I love them dearly, that I love them all!
Marie Amélie: *looks pointedly at Louis Philippe as the fiacre turns onto the Boulevard des Capucines [9]*
Louis Philippe: *muttering* pire que de Charles X, cent fois pire que de Charles X [10]

*fade to black*


[1] Delessert is probably one of the best people to lead this, having put down numerous street riots since 1830. These odd-looking guns are based off an idea he and General Mouton had for crowd control. Chalk the fact that they had an opportunity to get a chance for funding for this up to that there's a war going on and you never know when something like this can come in handy
[2] this is something that genuinely happened. People were requestion permission to spectate like it was a play/opera
[3] this was Delessert-Mouton's "idea": a water cannon (roughly a hundred years before it was first used for riot control in OTL)
[4] OTL Marie Amélie seems to have been a "yes dear, no dear, three bags full dear" sort. Here, she's had to lose five children (if we count Françoise and the Comte de Penthièvre), she's lost a grandchild because of her husband's stubborness (Ludo of Württemberg) and perhaps every time she tries to voice an opinion, she gets ignored/shouted down by her sister-in-law. OTL she was the only one in the Orléans household that was in favour of Chambord, and begged her husband not to accept the crown in July 1830, where Adélaïde was the one who accepted it on his behalf. I have no doubt that she probably would've left without saying goodbye, but it's not necessarily "standing with her suitcase, one foot on the train" rather just her maternal instincts to keep what's left of her family safe. Her description of Hélène as silly is because OTL, the main-line's "shunning" of the duchesse de Berri and her seeming "lack" of maternal care, was a big pillar of the Orléans' smear campaign against the Bourbons. They would trot out Hélène, Amélie and the other mothers in the family at every opportunity in order to "tout" their maternal credentials. Here, with Caroline's reconciliation with her kids...that plank isn't there. Which means Hélène isn't "obliged" to form the relationship she did with her kids OTL. In fact, Amélie's comparison of Hélène to Caroline de Berri might imply that there's a similarity in their maternal tactics (or lack thereof). Caroline - having been able to - is very much involved with Henri and Louise, even if we normally only see Henri/Louise interacting with Madame Royal/Angoulême, as she was with her children by her second marriage OTL. Without the "distraction" of a second family, she keeps up the large correspondance with both that she did with her Lucchesi-Palli kids OTL. Hélène, by contrast, might not be an overly maternal figure - nothing I've read about her (aside from dying from influenza caught at her son's bedside) screams "mother of the year" - but she is called "liberal" and "ambitious". Plus, until 1850, she lived "separately" from her in-laws because of differences of opinion during the Revolution. Which means the similarities between she and Caroline might not be "so" strained.
[5] I couldn't resist the imagery of letting Louis Philippe go for a walk with his famed green umbrella one last time
[6] OTL Antoine was likewise more concerned about getting his parents out of Paris safely (Nemours and Joinville have already returned to Compiègne and their wives) than anyone else. Including his wife, who he sort of "abandoned". He's a bit better here.
[7] Vatout is the author, but he seems to have acted in a secretarial capacity at Claremont to his half-brother, Louis Philippe - Vatout was supposedly the bastard of Philippe Égalité and this was the reason for their closeness
[8] Antoine's behaviour is not unlike how we hear stories of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Madame Élisabeth, or Empress Eugènie becoming essentially "a different person" when they were confronted with circumstances. There was likely no place for him in the fiacre - I know the one Louis XVI/Marie Antoinette escaped to the berlin in had no place for three adults and Louis XVII and Madame Royal both had to sit on the floor - so he knows he has to trust that they are safe. Then, he clicks into the bravery/coolness of a soldier that OTL won him some fame in Algeria, and goes back into the palace because he's concerned about the men (the servants). His bravery/coolness under fire here is serving in a very different milieu to a "better" effect.
[9] this technically didn't exist until the Second Empire in its current format, but the street ran along the ramparts of the Saint Fiacre bastion was called the "Rue des Capucines"
[10] worse than Charles X, a hundred times worse than Charles X

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[Kellan Sullivan]

Soundtrack: Giovanni Pacini - Annetta e Lucindo - Quartetto: Fra l'orror di notte oscura [1]

*exterior* *night* *we see Henri and Ney waiting on the beach at Dieppe*
*Cut to them in a little boat out on the water, pulling steadily away from shore* *man on horseback gallops onto beach* *fires a pistol shot into the air to get their attention*
Someone: *stands up in the boat, unsteadying it*
Man on beach: news from Paris, sire! The king has fled! A republic proclaimed at the Hôtel de Ville!
Henri: thank you, Rochejaquelein! *Boat keeps drawing into deeper and deeper water*
Rochejaquelein: *waits and watches until the boat is nothing but a speck* *then stabs his sword into the sand* *kicks angrily* *before yelling wordlessly into the night sky*
Rochejaquelein: *furiously* nothing but a clown and a coward!
*We hear the church bells tolling midnight*
*A title card flashes April 8 1843*

*cut to the Palazzo Farnese [2] in Rome* *a banquet table is laid in the Galleria Farnese* *at the table's one head is seated the King of the Two Sicilies* *at the other end is a heavily pregnant Louise d'Artois* *to the king's right is seated the pope* *to his left is Madame Royal* *to Louise's right is the duc d'Angoulême and her mother's to her left* *along the table we see a whole mess - for want of a better term - of fellow Bourbons* *the Dowager Queens of Spain and Sicily, the duke and duchess of Parma, with their son and daughter-in-law, Clémentine d'Orléans, a pregnant Princess Maria Amelia of Sicily and her husband, Alexander of Württemberg, the Dowager Princess Maximilian of Saxony [3], and D. Miguel of Portugal*
*a messenger hurries in between courses* *whispers something to King Ferdinando* *then leaves*
Ferdinando: *rises to his feet* mesdames et messieurs, I have just had news from Paris that the Corps Législatif has voted for, my sincerest apologies to her Royal Highness *looks at Clémentine* the abolition of the monarchy of King Louis Philippe.
*table makes several noises of approval, ignoring Clémentine's grimace*
Louise: *raises glass in toast* Vive le Roi Henri!
*toast is echoed down the table*
Ferdinando: sadly, they have proclaimed a republic
*shocked looks all around the table*
Ferdinando: the king and queen have fled the capital, and Monsieur Henri was, at last sighting, seen boarding a boat for England-
Louise: I do not believe it!
*several murmurs of agreement*
Ferdinando: believe it or not, Madame, that is what news we have.
Clémentine: and what of my father, my mother, brothers?
Ferdinando: *his tone genuinely concerned* I am sad to report, Madame, that at this time, we have no knowledge of their whereabouts. They were last seen leaving the Tuileries. Where they are now...is uncertain. Your brothers - two of them, anyway - are at Compiègne. The duchesse de Chartres and your aunt left Malmaison [4] and followed the Cadix's to La Rochelle-
*focus on Louise, Angoulême and Caroline*
Louise: *low tones* why on earth La Rochelle? Cherbourg, Le Havre, Calais are all closer!
Caroline de Berri: she thinks she will make a stand, no doubt. Too bad she's decided to do it in the Vendée. After Henri's been there and done what he has...they will not rise for her.
Angoulême: they will not rise for him if he has fled to England.
Caroline: can anyone blame him for doing that? Stouter hearts than his stood against the last "blow" that France had and look for them now. Executed, dead, killed, he is the valuable one. The one who will have a price set on his head. The one it will be a supreme trophy for the new republic to parade through the streets of Paris and exhibit at the zoo.
Angoulême: it just seems a waste, after all that time over the last year and a half.
Louise: never a waste, Oncle, a lesson. *sotto voce* I hope.

*cut to Venice* *Frankie's at dinner with his family when the news arrives* *for all her "disinterest" while he was on campaign, Amalie does look happy that he's home, safe and sound*
Frankie: a republic?
Marmont: yes, sir.
Frankie: why the Hell when they have two kings within spitting distance of Paris, go for a form of government that is likely to provoke a knee jerk reaction from the rest of Europe.
Marmont: according to Marechal Ney's boy in Turin, Paris has decided "its the form of government which divides us the least".
Frankie: that's Paris.
Marmont: and they've excluded all republican deputies from outlying regions from the government. All the new ministry's posts are to be held by Parisians.
Frankie: that will go over well in the provinces. Any of them showing any signs of doing anything?
Marmont: at the moment, sir, nobody seems to be doing much of anything. Although they have reached out for peace terms to Vienna.
Frankie: they don't have the powers to offer peace. Any treaty they sign would be invalid since it'd be a peace treaty between Austria and Paris, not Austria and France. Contrary to what Paris thinks, not everybody agrees with her on everything. The Corps Législatif can't offer peace terms until a new election has been held to ratify those terms. And holding elections takes time to get everybody organized. We've got at best, six weeks before they can mount an election, maybe another month after that before they can even talk about peace. Rome wasn't built in a day, after all.
Marmont: no sir.
Frankie: what of Henri, any word?
Marmont: only his last letter from Dieppe that he refuses to request any foreign assistance to exploit the situation. He will not be, *quoting* dragged in the allies' baggage train as his uncle was.
Frankie: then why leave for England. Why alienate what support he's built up over the last year. I understand his rationale, I do, but he might not get another chance like this.
Marmont: apparently, the deputies have resolved to put a bounty on the heads of both Henri and any Orléans they can find. The duc de Nemours and his wife have already crossed into Belgium. The princesse de Joinville too. The prince and the duc de Montpensier have already left Compiègne to try to rally the troops and join the duchesse de Chartres. The Belgian government is unwilling to allow King Louis Philippe in. Prince Albert has written to say the English are also worried that if they do it will be seen as tacit recognition by the French government and lead to an actual war. Especially since there are many - both Tory and Whig - who are not entirely unfavourable to the current course of events. So, for now, the king and the queen have remained at Compiègne.
Frankie: with their grandsons? Or are they with their mother at La Rochelle?
Marmont: as far as we know, they are at Compiègne, sir.
Frankie: Paris won't just leave them there.
Marmont: as you pointed out, sir, Paris is a touch preoccupied at the moment.

*cut to Henri and Ney arriving on the beach* *it's dawn* *the sea is turbulent* *the skies are leaden* *like its about to rain* *thunder booms and lightning flashes menacingly* *Ney kisses the ground in gratitude [5] while Henri helps the man drag his boat up the beach* *then gives him four gold coins for his pains*
Henri: come on, Monsieur le Marechal *helps a sodden Ney to his feet* there's work to be done.
Ney: for future reference, if they offer me a choice between another firing squad and the sea, I'll take the firing squad. I'm never boarding another boat again.
Henri: with luck, you won't have to, Michel. *walks inland a smidge, above the tideline* *drives the boat's former mast into the sand* *then takes out a carefully oilskin-wrapped package* *it's a flag* *with Ney's help - although he makes sure that Ney never touches the flag - Henri runs it up the mast* *it flutters in the next gust of wind that catches it*
Ney: you're sure this will work?
Henri: it did last time you did it *they walk off with Henri whistling "Hoist the Colours"*
Fisherman: *snaps a salute to the flag* *a gust of wind blows it out* *we see that rather than the tricoleur, it's the two-tailed red oriflamme Henri has raised [6]*
*title card appears* *it says that the fisherman saved those four gold coins that Henri gave him* *one was used for his daughter's dowry* *one for his wife's funeral* *one for his own* *and he was buried with the fourth* *his cottage at Dieppe still stands*
*title card changes as it announces that Henri d'Artois, Duc de Bordeaux, Comte de Chambord and Michel Ney, Duc d'Elchingen, Prince de la Moskowa landed at the town of Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme on the morning of 8 April 1843 [7]*

*fade to black*


[1] in the dark of the night, inspired directly by this song from the film Anastasia. With Rasputin being played by Thiers/Blanc

[2] it was still in the possession of the Neapolitan Bourbons until 1874
[3] born Luisa Carlotta of Parma
[4] Ferdinando and the others might not like Louis Philippe, but this is still a slap in the face to one of their own.
[5] while both might be decent sailors in a calm, to be in what is essentially a dinghy in a tempest can make you seasick without even leaving the harbour
[6] the oriflamme was a flag that represented "no quarter shall be given", last time it was raised was at Agincourt. This isn't him saying "no quarter", this is him saying "I'm gonna do this or die trying"
[7] sorry for the wacky chronology. The banquet at the Palazzo Farnese and Frankie's own family dinner are more just to show the reactions to the revolution and Henri's "supposed flight from Dieppe" provoke in others. Saint-Valéry also has royalist connotations: Hugh Capet spent the night at the abbey and had the dream that he would later be king of France; William the Conqueror launched his fleet from there in 1066; Joan of Arc was imprisoned there until being moved to Rouen; Fénélon was commendatory abbot of the monastery and more recently, Henri's grandfather established a seaman's hospital at Saint-Valéry (that was closed down in July 1830).

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[Kellan Sullivan]

Soundtrack: Étienne Nicolas Méhul - Joseph en Égypt: Vainement Pharaon dans sa reconnaissance - Champs paternels [1]

*exterior* *Paris* *we see the tricolour flag fluttering in the breeze over the Tuileries* *the Palais Bourbon* *we see that the doors of the Palais de Luxembourg [home of the chambre des pairs] has been chained shut* *so to have the doors of Notre Dame* *all over Paris posters are put up announcing a national election to be held on the 26 July 1843 [2]* *announcing that all citizens who qualify should go vote [3]*
*exterior Hôtel de Ville* *cut to interior Dupont de l'Eure, the "interim head of government" is at work in his office [4]*
Dupont de l'Eure: *not looking it up, what is it Alexandre [5]?
LeDru Rollin, Minister of the Interior: news from La Rochelle.
Dupont de l'Eure: the Orléans women are up to something?
LeDru Rollin: not exactly. The king's sister suffered a heart attack.
Dupont de l'Eure: is she dead?
LeDru Rollin: no. But she has been moved to the hospital. Apparently it is serious, but she'll recover.
Dupont de l'Eure: I want that on the front of every newspaper in France. Particularly those at Compiègne. It might entice the king to come out of the castle because he wants to be with his sister if she breathes her last.
LeDru Rollin: if she drops like a fly, we wouldn't have to worry about the king having a brain to react. We all know she's been doing that job for him for years.
Dupont de l'Eure: exactly. And in the same issue, I want you to re-publish that cartoon of the king's landau driving over the body of the dead civilians in his haste to get away from Paris after the Massacre of the Rue des Capucines [6].
LeDru Rollin: *smiles like he's just caught Santa Claus*

*cut to Compiègne*
Louis Philippe: *puts down the paper*
Marie Amélie: *sympathetically* poor Adélaïde, to have endured so much and then die like this.
Louis Philippe: *nods impassively*
Marie Amélie: don't you think the [grand]children should be sent to Louis and Marie [of Saxe-Altenburg]. Just for safety.
Louis Philippe: and have them lose their support like the comte de Chambord did for fleeing to England and then returning? Don't be absurd. Besides...the Belgians will hardly be likely to welcome them in more than they would us.
Marie Amélie: you're wrong about Chambord.
Louis Philippe: the boy's doing the same thing he has for the last eighteen months, marching up and down the countryside
Marie Amélie: since he landed at Saint-Valéry on the 8th, not a single member of his former support has flocked to his side. Troops from Lyon - flying the oriflamme and wearing the Royal Lyonnais uniform [7]- have already helped in Grenoble to declare its independence from Paris as early as the 9th. By the 15th they had St-Etienne and Bourg-en-bresse, by the 17th of April they had taken Toulon and Cannes, Marseilles surrendered day before yesterday [28th April].
Louis Philippe: and the massacre at Limoges that he caused on the 10th?
Marie Amélie: *not looking up from her needlework* you put down the risings in Besançon, Lyons and Dijon last year, how did that work for you, Philippe? Chambord doesn't need to do anything. He just needs to make that they hate him less than what they hate the new republic.
Louis Philippe: exactly. He is willing to drown France in blood!
Marie Amélie: *sweetly* isn't that what you did, Philippe?
Louis Philippe: not on French soil!
Marie Amélie: whether its on French soil or not matters little. The difference is that Chambord hasn't asked these men to lay down their lives for him. They volunteered.
Louis Philippe: and they will demand recompense for it. Say we fought for you now you have to rule like we say.
Marie Amélie: you've spent thirteen years painting him as someone who wouldn't do that. Do you really believe he wouldn't? When your refusal to do that when it would've saved our grandson's inheritance was laid bare for all the world to see?
Louis Philippe: a king does not abdicate. I have seen what happens to kings who do. My father voted for my cousin's execution. Napoléon and Charles X both died in exile. I will die in France.
Marie Amélie: as long as you believe you have a choice in the matter. Chambord's at least doing something. Abbeville surrendered on the 11th, Amiens on the 13th after they refused him entry, he went around to Dury and attacked them at dawn from Dury and Bocage. Four thousand government soldiers put to flight by seven hundred Norman farmboys and fishermen-

*cut to flashback of Henri at Abbeville* *he's seated on horseback* *dressed in the cloak of a pilgrim, with the hood thrown back* *the oriflamme he hoisted on the beach fluttering off a lance in his right hand*
Henri: *now clean shaven for the first time we've seen him in a while [8]* I assure you, messieurs, I come in peace to restore order to France.
Mayor of Abbeville: forgive us, Monseigneur, but your words ill-accord with the flag in your hand.
Henri: *looks at oriflamme* this is for my enemies. It is not for my friends.
Mayor: And anyone who does not agree with you is your enemy?
Henri: anyone who sides with that tawdry republic in Paris is my enemy. And the enemy of all Frenchmen. If you do not allow me to pass, soon they will come for you, and Abbeville will lose her virginity [9] in a mass of senseless bloodshed, Monsieur.
Mayor: you may enter, Monseigneur, however the oriflamme remains outside.
Henri: then I shall not enter at all, Monsieur, and I bid you good day *Ney raises arm for his "assemblage" Henri has taken to referring to as the Régiment de Normandie [10] to go around Abbeville*
Mayor: *frantically* if Monseigneur were to enter with the oriflamme at rest, then the town would know you come in peace.
Henri: *makes order for the soldiers to stop* *smiles sharkishly* will you tell those cretins from Paris the same when they arrive at your gates, I wonder, Monsieur? *rides past the mayor into town* *oriflamme held high rather than "at rest"

*cut to Amiens* *the square in front of the Cathedral* *the survivors of the four thousand troops in Amiens are lined up - as if on parade - while Henri rides by on a black horse* *his former pilgrim's coat is discarded and he is in the grey tunic with black cuffs and collar of the Régiment de Normandie* *the locals are watching the scene*
Henri: Amiénois, these are the men who could not even defend you! Against less than a tenth of their number. This is what Paris thinks of the proud city of Amiens! If I had been an invading army of Spaniards or English, this city's streets would now be running with blood! [11]
One resident: they fired on their king!
Henri: *turns horse* who said that?
One of his Normands brings the Amiénois to him
Henri: *forces the resident to look at the soldiers* *loudly to crowd* I did not bring you here because they fired on their king. I brought you here because they fired on Frenchmen. Not an invading army, not even an army at all. This republic will take your sons and make them serve in their wars, they will drive their carriages over the corpses of your sons. They will make them commanders of the garrisons that will turn their guns inward on you. Your best farms, your factories, your town hall, will be given to their friends and allies. And in a bid to convince them of your loyalty, we will be reduced to Cain killing Abel and from such disorder, you will become the slaves to Paris. And on that day, you will cry out for relief, and none shall listen. None shall heed you [12].
*from the cathedral we hear the organist playing Vive le Roi Henri* *Henri's soldiers start singing the second stanza Au diable guerres, Rancunes et partis ! Comme nos pères, Chantons en vrais amis [13]* *the crowd joins in for the chorus* *we zoom out on even some of the defeated soldiers brightening as they join in singing*

*cut back to present at Compiègne*
Marie Amélie: -then he took Breteuil, Bucqouy and Péronne between the 17th and the 25th. I wouldn't be surprised if he's at Chantilly by month's end.
Louis Philippe: Compiègne comes first.
Marie Amélie: *dropping the bomb about how she knows this* yes, but he said in his last letter he wouldn't want to disturb your leisure. He'd only show up if you invited him.
Louis Philippe: woman! have you any idea what you've done! How you've endangered you, me, the [grand]children?
Marie Amélie: *sharply* if you had listened to me in July 1830, we would not be in danger now. But instead, just like our wedding night when you asked me if you were better than the duc de Berri, it's always come down to a matter of pride with you. *breaks off the colour thread she's using* you forget that I lowered myself to marry you...remember? The traitorous cousin and the fallen daughter of a king? And you have never treated my opinion with the same respect as you have Adélaïde's. I wonder if I were so close to death you would be thinking about risking your life to rush across the country to be at my bedside.
Louis Philippe: *lamely* of course I would
Marie Amélie: *threads the needle with new colour cotton* *sadly* I'd like to believe that as sincerely as you do, Philippe.
Louis Philippe: you doubt it?
Marie Amélie: *ignoring the question* you were so busy focusing on that he was tramping aimlessly around the country, you didn't realize there was a pattern to it. After Dijon: Charolais, Montleul, Lyons, Beaugé, Valéry-
Louis Philippe: *we see his mouth count as he realizes* all the old Condé estates[14].
Marie Amélie: but you never asked where he was going. You just assumed he was on some sort of madcap dash through France. So...his next stop will be Beauvais on the Chantilly road. Then Clermont, then Chantilly, L'Isle Adam, and Paris, if he gets that far.
Louis Philippe: but not here?
Marie Amélie: his words were that *quoting* on account of your age and the great services you have done France, your...repose here is well earned. He suggests that you either spend time with your grandchildren or that you take up a study of history, it's full of lessons.
Louis Philippe: arrogant whelp. He's been out of France for thirteen years, and now he presumes to-
Marie Amélie: if he were the arrogant whelp of your imaginings, he would send his loyalists to Compiègne to have you arrested, perhaps beheaded for treason...but he doesn't. He simply recommends you stay here. He would not want to follow your coffin to Reims. What sort of omen would that be?
Louis Philippe: exiled, in other words.
Marie Amélie: safe.
Louis Philippe: it's the same thing.
*we fade to black as we see what she's been embroidering* *the golden lilies of France on a blue ground* *with the half-stitched slogan of "Qu'à Reims on danse" [15]*


[1] in vain did Pharoah recognize... Fields of my fathers.
[2] the anniversary of the July Revolution. I debated making it Bastille Day, but I suspect that doing so would sort of immediately piss the rest of Europe off
[3] while the OTL Second Republic was for universal male suffrage, that's not to say they will be here. Especially if they know that Henri is a) also for universal male suffrage and b) one of those people who can go vote. To say nothing of the Orléanists etc. The OTL Second Republic was the same, the revolution was in February, the elections in June and the constitution only ratified in November 1848
[4] I know Dupont de l'Eure seems a bit of a cheap cop out to just take the guy from the OTL Second Republic, but a) he's one of the oldest members of the Chamber of Deputies and b) he happens to be the only one of the 6 oldest brought in by the 1842 election who happens to skews "republican" (the rest are all conservatives or "majorité ministrelle"/"majorité conservatrice")
[5] LeDru Rollin. While he isn't a Parisian or a Parisian deputy (he represented Sarthe, and was from Fontenay), he's a political ally of Dupont de l'Eure
[6] figure there was an OTL cartoon of this published about Napoléon III after Sedan, why not. The Massacre of the Rue des Capucines is a similar event to OTL's:

On 23 February 1848, a battalion of the 14th regiment blocked the boulevard to protect François Guizot. In the evening, a crowd of demonstrators tried to break down the barricade. The soldiers fired, killing 35 people and wounding 50. The demonstrators put the corpses in a dumper and called the people of Paris to arms.

[7] the Royal Lyonnais regiment hasn't existed since 1791 (when it became part of the 27th Regiment of the Line), but I could see the city volunteers adopting those as their "official uniform". Not so much to stress their loyalty to the crown but to underline that they are not answerable to Paris
[8] Henri's likely clean-shaven to make him "less recognizable" in event of escape (where all pictures circulated of him likely have him sporting a beard. Also, it doesn't seem irrational that he would've made some vow at Saint-Valéry to "not grow a beard until he has been crowned at Reims" (apparently, according to tradition, a French king was not allowed to have a beard at his coronation). This would also help distinguish "his" supporters (I could see them following the fashion) from the Orléanists (who are no doubt bewhiskered)
[9] Abbeville is known as "Abbeville la Pucelle" (Abbeville the Virgin/Maiden) because it's never been captured. It was also held in high regard by every Capetian king from Charles le Sage to Louis XVIII, honoured with being allowed to display the coat of arms of France on the city coat of arms and to bear the slogan "Fidelis" (I am faithful)
[10] like Royal Lyonnais, the regiment de Normandie hasn't existed since 1791 (when it became part of the 5e Regiment of the Line), but I could see Henri styling the recruits he has gained as this. While many likely are not soldiers, that doesn't exclude the various local aristocrats who, if not having private armies, likely did serve in the French army. As well as actual soldiers of the French army that was based in Normandie (not sure what regiments were stationed there at this time), who have flocked to Henri's banner with the mentality of "rather with him than against him".
[11] Henri IV besieged the city of Amiens (then held by the Spanish) after 6 months. The lifting of the Siege led to the Peace of Vervins six months later on 2 May 1598. The day the city surrenders to Henri de Chambord (April 13 1843) is also the 245th anniversary of the publication of the Edict of Nantes.
[12] this is Henri paraphrasing Samuel's warning about a king in 1 Samuel 8:11-17. It's not so much him villainizing the government in Paris as it is him reminding them what happened last time there was a republic. While he doesn't say "I'm the only one who can protect you from it", if any of them know their Bible, in verse 18, Samuel utters the warning "and on that day when you cry out for relief, the Lord will not hear/answer you". Henri's fully conscious that this opportunity will not duplicate itself. But there's also the Old Testament imagery of Joseph (Champs paternelles), Samuel, Elijah (to the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel: call him [Baal] louder, he heareth not, with knives and lancets cut yourselves...none will listen, none heed you".
[13] they skips over the second verse not because they aren't loyal to Henri but because it's sort of their "mission statement": oh terrible wars / grudges and partisanship! / like our fathers / let us sing as true friends
[14] the Condés held the titles of "comte de Charolais", "sieur de Montleul", "sieur de Beaugé", "comte de Valéry" (I'm assuming it's in the Auvergne, not Saint-Valery in Normandie), duc d'Albret (in Navarre), come de Alais (not sure if it falls in Provence or Languedoc), duc de Mercoeur (in the Auvergne), duc de Fronsac (in Aquitaine), prince de la Roche-sur-Yon (where Henri had the apple/potato thrown at him), marquis de Graville (just outside of Rouen), etc etc. Thus, Henri's journey wasn't a leisurely holiday as it was portrayed or mocked by Louis Philippe, but rather this is him bouncing around between the estates that Louis Philippe robbed him of. This is him underlining both his right to inherit France and his right to inherit those estates. And like Amélie points out: you were so blind to it, you never saw the pattern. Just like he likely never noticed the pattern of his wife's embroidery
[15] "to Reims we dance", with the unfinished part being "singing as they do in Paris, Vive le Roi Henri!". Henri's "patronizing" response to Louis Philippe is insulting, but it's also him trying to keep the old man safe, the encouragement of hobbies is "don't do anything stupid". Also, Henri and his sister had a very close relationship with their grandfather (even before the exile), and it would be very difficult for either to imagine a scenario where a grandfather isn't as interested in his grandkids. And TBF, I can't find anything to indicate that Louis Philippe - for all his portrayal of Caroline de Berri as a bad mother and trying to tout his family as the "better" alternative - was particularly close/involved in his grandchildren's lives in a similar way. By contrast, there is reams of evidence that Marie Amélie was involved. Also, Henri's avoidance of his cousin's "residence" is him replying the same as the title says "Je me souviens" (I remember [i.e. how you stood by])


@The_Most_Happy @isabella @VVD0D95 @Jan Olbracht @Ramontxo @HortenseMancini @Anarch King of Dipsodes @Dragonboy @kaiidth @SavoyTruffle @Wendell @nathanael1234 @Fehérvári @Guatemalan Nat-Synd @Valena @maw @LordMartinax @EmmettMcFly55

 

[Kellan Sullivan]

Soundtrack: Peter von Lindpaintner - Die Sizilianische Vesper - Sinfonia

*exterior* *Rome* *look at the Trevi Fountain* *Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers* *the Spanish steps* *finally we cut to a drawing room of the Palazzo Quirinale* *it is crowded with cardinals, dignitaries, all of Roman society* *and a gaggle of Bourbons and Bonapartes like the comtes de Saint-Leu and Triel* *the pope is christening the second-born son of Ferdinando II of Sicily and Louise d'Artois* *Madame Royal is the godmother, holding the baby at the font* *Angoulême is the godfather* *Clémentine d'Orléans is standing proxy for the baby's other godmother, the Queen of Hungary and Lombardy [Maria Anna of Savoy]* *Clémentine's husband, Danduccio [2], is holding the baby's other godfather, the duke of Calabria* *the baby is christened Enrico Antonio, Duke of Taranto[1]* *a title card says that he will always be known in the family as "Arrigo[2]"*

*cut to Palazzo Correr in Venice* *Frankie is sitting at the left of the (vacant) seat at the head of the table* *around the rest of the table are clustered several of the Italian Habsburgs* *the grand duke of Tuscany* *Francesco IV and his sons* *Rainier and his sons* *Fritz of Teschen* *we've clearly walked in halfway through this conversation*
Frankie: let me make sure I understand this, Onkel Rainier, you wish to be restored to the governorship of Milan?
Rainier: to be restored, nephew, implies that I forfeited it at some point.
Fritz of Teschen: *in admiral's uniform* I think that's technically what it's called when you cross the border. Immediately you forfeit your rights.
Rainier: *glares at Fritz* if you wish to be so pedantic, then I would venture that his Serene Highness' authority as regent doesn't extend to Italy.
Francesco, Prince of Modena: he is to act as Ferdinand's representative, and since Ferdinand is king of Lombardy and thus it is firmly included in his remit.
Rainier: of course the one who benefits the most from this will take his side.
Francesco: I am not taking sides, I am simply pointing out that your argument has no merit.
Rainier: *to Frankie* your grandfather wouldn't have done this.
Frankie: *calmly* that's what my mother said as well. Because neither of you could believe that the man is pissed off because he's had to waste how many troops just fighting to keep you in place when you had troops at your disposal. What did you do with them? Nothing. It was easier to wait until Radetzky and Haynau...Vienna cannot keep getting distracted by Italy burning-
Leopoldo II of Tuscany: because you now have bigger worries in Vienna.
Frankie: *looks at him levelly* because history has shown what happened to my father's empire when he over-extended it. I need capable people in place. And unfortunately, that does not include you, Onkel Rainier.
Rainier: *looks outraged*
Frankie: go ahead. *looks at him inquisitively* tell us what you have been doing in Milan for the last twenty years
Rainier: I have done my best to bring the attentions of the Milanese to his Majesty.
Frankie: *looks at page in front of him* and the only thing you succeeded in doing was to prevent an excessive tax, which was levied later anyway. The rest of the time you have spent tending to your garden at Monza. There is even some suspicion at Vienna that did not oppose your brother-in-law's entrée to Milan because you hoped that you would benefit from some of the "reordering" that the French wished to do.
Rainier: *looks aghast* who is suspecting this?
Frankie: does it matter? That is the reason that his Majesty has removed you from the post. In addition to that, for the last twenty years, you haven't seem to have done much of anything. Even requests I've made of you either go unanswered or you tell me that you simply don't have the ability to do so. These are not large requests. I asked you to attend simple military reviews and you plead illness or that you have scheduling conflicts. These are your troops, Onkel, is it any surprise to anyone here that they were unwilling to fight for you? There is only so much you can pay a man to die for you before even that is not enough for him anymore.
*people at the table who did fight alongside their troops nod in agreement*
Frankie: *softer* but the emperor is not unreasonable. He is willing to allow you to stay at Monza. He is even willing to reward you.
Several other archdukes at the table: reward him?
Frankie: *in tone like there was never any doubt* of course. *looks at Rainier's son, Leopold* Leopold is to be married to Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria-
Rainier: that's his reward? Marriage of my son to a barren girl?
Frankie: she's very beautiful [3], and her father is even willing to toss in a fantastic dowry. Leopold is to be made the new governor of the Theresianum-
Rainier: what for?
Frankie: it may have escaped your notice, Onkel, but Leopold proved himself more than adequate in the campaign, particularly when it came to the engineering which allowed us to capture several cities [4]. It is the emperor's wish that he put those skills to good use in training the next generation of soldiers. Including the Archduke Franz [Joseph].
Leopold: it is an honour, your Serene Highness.
Rainier: no, it certainly is not. It's an insult!
Frankie: *ignoring the outburst* Onkel Rainier, on the second matter, your son, Ernst *looks at Rainier's second son* is to be sent to Pressburg. To the cavalry there. As a reward for he and his cavalry helping us to recapture Milan as well as several territories along the coast, the emperor has agreed to his marriage to Elisabeth of Saxony [5], nomination to the order of the Golden Fleece and several other benefits to be discussed if he accepts.
Ernst: *looks shocked that he's getting anything at all*
Frankie: and lastly, his Majesty would like to nominate whichever of your younger sons you deem suitable for the clergy.
Leopoldo of Tuscany: what on earth for?
Frankie: since Onkel Rudolf *crosses himself* God rest his soul has gone to his final reward, there is a...gap in the Habsburg market for a member of the family in the cloth. I offered either Leopold or Eugène [his sons] for this, but I was turned down since their appointment was deemed to be...likely contentious with both his Holiness and the other heads of Europe. Most of all because of their age. So the emperor is forced to looking at cousins who are...close to being of age, *looks at Fritz* your brother [Wilhelm] for instance or...*mentally counts* one of your sons Onkel Rainier. *aside* we really don't have that many "young" ones left. *normal voice* the emperor deemed it "easier" for someone on the cusp of manhood to be...redirected...than it would for *looks at Fritz* you or your brother [Karl Ferdinand].
Francesco IV of Modena: and what's wrong with my son [Ferdinand Karl]?
Frankie: nothing, your Royal Highness, which is why his Majesty wishes for Ferdinando to marry Princess Hildegarde of Bavaria. It is unfortunate that your brother and his wife [Maria Karoline of Teschen] have produced another daughter, which means that his Majesty is in talks with Archdukes Ferdinand Karl [6] to nominate your son as his heir to his lands in Hungary and Galicia, should his uncle have no heir.
Ferdinand Karl the Younger: *similar expression to Ernst's at the thought of getting anything*
Francesco IV: and if he were to have a male heir? The archduchess is still young and healthy.
Frankie: then the emperor is also discussing with Archduke Maximilian that your son will be named as heir to his lands in Austria. Otherwise, those lands will pass to whomever Onkel Rainier or Onkel Karl [of Teschen] nominates for the clergy.
Francesco IV: *stands up* those are Este lands.
Frankie: *calmly* technically they are the emperor's lands and he can do with them as he sees fit. They were willed to your brothers by the late Elector of Cologne [Maximilian of Austria] and were part of his inheritance as well as lands he owned as the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights. To call them Este lands would be as ridiculous as for the grand duke [of Tuscany] to announce that he wishes for his younger son to be named heir to the grand duchy of Salzburg!
*scattered laughs from the table*
Frankie: it was Prince Metternich's decision that the two inheritances not be united, so you may take it up with him, should you so wish.
Francesco IV: *sits down again*
Frankie: lastly I come to the matter of the Ligurian Gulf. *looks at Fritz* Archduke Friedrich is to be named governor of the ports along the newly conquered territory and to focus on getting them up to scratch so as to avoid the threat of a Sardinian reconquering expedition.
Francesco IV: and who is to be viceroy of Milan? You?
Frankie: *gives the duke an odd look* don't be absurd. Nobody with two cents to rub together would ever trust a Bonaparte in charge of Milan. In fact, I think we should all congratulate his Royal Highness, the Hereditary Prince of Modena, on his appointment as viceroy [7]. As well as his Grand Ducal Highness on that the race to be empress of Brasil is now between the king of Sardinia's sister [Cristina] and his daughter, Auguste. *leads round of applause*

*fade to black*

[1] this is to avoid giving offense to the de la Trémoïlles (who claim to be prince of Taranto), and let's assume that Alexandre Macdonald has been killed in the fighting of the last few years, so the title is "technically" vacant. But it manages to combine the "historic" (prince of Taranto) and the "Napoleonic" (duke of Taranto)
[2] Danduccio was Carlo III's name in the family. As for Arrigo apparently comes from the German "Heinrich", other sources say it's an independent name from the Latin "Arrigus". Clémentine and Danduccio's "role" is less of a snub than excluding them entirely. But it also underlines that they are now "minor" members of the family and they're there at the suffrance of the others (only because they're representing others)
[3] roughly true, Adelgunde and Alexandrine were the only ones of Ludwig I's daughters included among the Gallery of Beauties. Although from the pictures I can find, Hildegarde's face is pretty enough (even in her later years) if not beautiful
[4] this was Leopold's special skillset OTL as well, that he managed to build up a completely "modern" corps of engineers in the Austrian army (albeit this was only in the 1860s/1870s). Chalk it up to the war having been hard on several of the greybeards of OTL, meaning that there's more "room at the top.
[5] OTL duchess of Genoa
[6] yup, they really need some new names. Ferdinand Karl the Elder (b.1781) and his wife, Maria Karoline have two daughters now: Elisabeth Hedwig (b.1841) and Theresia Henriëtte "Jettie" (b.1843)
[7] I know Tuscany seems like it was "stiffed" here, but Leopoldo II's sons are too young (8yo and 5yo) to be credible candidates for much. Naming Leopoldo II as viceroy of Lombardy with Modena in the way is a bit of a logistical nightmare, since both sides are always going to be accusing him of favouring the other. Modena's got the Ligurian Coast, but the appointment of Fritz of Teschen as governor means that it's de facto "semi independent". Francesco IV's younger son is heir to his uncle's lands in Austria. Rainier's sons' "elevation" is more to make his being sacked more palatable, but also to neutralize the family (both boys are being taken far away from Italy and Italian affairs, potentially as a trust issue). With the exception of Tuscany (which got Lucca as stipulated in the Vienna agreement), everybody's getting something. Might not be what they want, but it's more than they had and certainly more than they deserve (in Rainier's case). I was going to go with Metternich's idea for an Italian chancellery but I couldn't find exactly what that would've either entailed or looked like (despite the plan for it dating from 1818)

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[Kellan Sullivan]

Soundtrack: Fromental Halévy - Charles VI - Chant Patriotique: La France a l'horreur du servage - Guerre aux tyrans [1]

*exterior* *somewhere* *we see a bunch of men - stripped to the waist - digging a grave* *among them is Henri de Chambord [2]* *we see some more soldiers leading a cart - drawn by Henri's black horse he rode at Amiens - with bodies to fill it* *Henri seems to be fighting the urge to cover his nose*
Ney: *from the graveside* *he's older than Louis Philippe, nobody's expecting him to help dig graves* you'll get used to the stench, Majesty.
Henri: it's not the strench I mind. It's the pointlessness of it all.
Ney: *chuckling* did you think they were just going to hand it over if you asked nicely?
Henri: I knew they wouldn't. It's just that it always seems so effortless when you talk about it. Napoléon, the Vol de l'Aigle, Moscow-
Ney: I never saw Bonaparte digging graves for his men. *bitterly* he was always too busy filling them. [3]
Henri: *grunts as his shovel strikes a rock* he never lost. *irritatedly throws it out of the way*
Ney: what are you talking about? Big battle. Waterloo. I was there. Definitely lost that one. Leipzig, lost that one. Aspern...lost it. Then there was the whole mess in Russia, in Spain, in Egypt, you Don't believe the myth that he was some brilliant Alexander [the Great]. He wrote that one himself. I've spent the last twenty years telling silly schoolboys that.
Henri: how did you end up teaching school, of all things.
Ney: case of you can never stay in one place long, so you go from place to place. You need money to get from place to place, so you have to work. Soldier is a good option, but unless there's a war on, no real money in that at my age. Three things every town needs: a priest, a doctor and a schoolmaster. Christened Catholic to two Protestant parents, can't say the whole...Cult of the Supreme Being back then made me any more convinced of it. Eglé [his wife], she does religion. Me, it's just always felt- put it this way...I've always admired those who could believe. Even tried it for a bit out in America...didn't really feel any different to here in France. As for doctor, well, I know two forms of dealing with pain: one is a lead pill [i.e. bullet] or a bottle [of booze]. Besides, who better to teach a bunch of rowdy schoolboys about history, geography than someone who's been there?
*one of the other gravediggers* are there no taverns in America? Surely they must drink?
Ney: they drink. But compared to most Lorrains, they're amateurs. But all sorts of problems come to a tavern. First place anyone stops when coming to a town is the tavern. Run into lots of people you'd rather not have dealings with. I considered trekking down to Texas when Lallemand was doing his whole colony thing-
Henri: why didn't you?
Ney: two reasons. Called Emily and Joanna.
*gravedigger leans on his shovel* who're they, Marechal?
Henri: *carries on digging like he's heard this story before*
Ney: *launches into the story* *about his convenient little menage à trois in Carolina*
*first gravedigger* but aren't you married?
Ney: with a whole ocean and a death penalty between me and my wife. Until ten years ago, I thought that that would be the way it would stay.
*second gravedigger* so where are they now?
Ney: *shrugs* see...the thing about sleeping with another man's wife is that sooner or later, he's going to come home from his hunting trip. And you're going to wake up on the wrong end of a shotgun.
*gravediggers chuckle*
Henri: *looks around at the hole* this should be deep enough. It's already deeper than I am tall [4]. *gestures* I think we start laying them on that side, by you, Martin [aka gravedigger #1], and then we lay the rest this side, where Tanneguy [aka gravedigger 2] and I are standing.
*we see them slowly handing down the bodies from the cart* *when it's someone they know, they pause, say something we can't hear* *it seems to be some sort of anecdote about the deceased* *we see that it's also not just Henri's Regiment de Normandie, it's also soldiers in French army uniform* *even though the others don't seem to be to keen on laying them side by side, Henri tells them "right or wrong, they are our brothers, I will not leave them to the buzzards"* *finally we see them filling the grave in* *its now sundown* *the local priest is reciting the prayers for the dead*
Tanneguy: it's probably the first time some of them have listened to a priest in their life.
Ney: I envy people like you, Tanneguy.
Tanneguy: me, marechal?
Ney: people who can believe that there's something after this. Some divine judge that we are all to be held accountable to one day.

*cut to the Hôtel de Ville* *Dupont de l'Eure is now listening to the "acting" minister of war, General de Lamoricière explaining in front of tin soldiers spread out across the map*
Lamorcière: *moving the soldier - wearing a British uniform - from Clermont to halfway between Clermont and Amiens* our army under Colonel Cavaignac [5] has managed to prevent the comte de Chambord's...rabble from taking Clermont. We've managed to push them back as far as Ansauvilliers as of the 17th of May. And they took heavy casualties, the pretender was seen fleeing in the direction of Amiens like the coward he is.
Dupont de l'Eure: *looks at map* and what of Brittany and the Vendée?
Lamorcière: Colonel Bedeau has ensured that our army has been able to hold them - they're calling themselves the Régiment de Bretagne, sir-
Dupont de l'Eure: I don't care what they're calling themselves. I wish to know they have been dealt with.
Lamorcière: *moves rosbif soldier around a bit* we have successfully taken from Honfleur all the way via Le Mans to Orléans on the 13th, sir. Rennes surrendered on the 14th, as did Cherbourg. Brest and Nantes on the 15th. In the east, we've hurried regiments to Nevers and Charolais, suppressed Dijon- again- on the 19th of May.
Dupont de l'Eure: good, good. The quicker this is seen to fail, the better it will be for the republic. So far, the United States and the Sultan of Egypt are the only ones to have recognized the new government. Lord Palmerdton is apparently lobbying for British recognition, but all the British can agree on is that they will not accept Monsieur d'Orléans or in England.
Lamorcière: there is the option of recalling General Bugeaud and his troops from Algeria, sir. They could land all along the south coast and-
Dupont de l'Eure: are you mad? [6] the man is such an Orléans lapdog he gets a boner everytime he hears the words "Louis Philippe"! If he lands on the south coast it will be to claim the land for Monsieur d'Orléans. And then France truly will know civil war. I have no doubt that once Monsieur Capet's actions are exposed as little more than rank opportunism, and things will...settle down and the people will once more become magnanime et calme.
Lamorcière: this is the problem with kings, sir. They always insist on making things difficult for everyone else. Before last year, I had hoped we had heard the last of any of the Artois. That they would just...fade into obscurity...the same way their uncle did under the First Republic. To be treated as a curiosity or a joke. But now they're...acting just as badly as Bonaparte.
Dupont de l'Eure: clearly you don't know these Capets. They're rats. Just when you think you've drowned the last of them, they start swimming. Poison and dogs are the only way that they'll be gotten rid of. *picks up sheaf of papers* this is little Capet's most recent foray. *offers it to Lamorcière* printed in every paper south of Nantes.
Henri: *narrating* how diminishing is the rhetoric of Monsieur LeDru-Rollin? He compares this bloodshed as the difference between flesh and spirit, passion and intellect. That the people are not the political spirit's body or even it's heart, but it's blood, subject to passions and fluctuating humours. That you are incapable of thinking for yourself, France. Even your revolution was deemed as not planned but "par l'instinct, par le génie divin des masses". They say that you are emotional, sympathetic, and it requires a "head", that "thought" is the sole province of certain Parisian lawyers. After all, LeDru-Rollin points out that while freedom is to be enjoyed by all, rule is to be only held by the intellectual faculties of a Parisian brain, and thus of Parisian intellectuals! While legitimacy was left in the body of the people, only the "wise" and the "educated" are allowed to rule. The only ones who are regarded as trustworthy of the governance of this new republic is those who had devoted their lives to the study of it? That while shedding your blood might found their republic, only their wise governance can sustain it! You are allowed to go vote, but instead of being allowed to choose the best candidate to serve your needs, you are told that if you choose anyone but the candidates they select, you are only prostituting your votes! Enough of this: the people of France are not only the blood, or the head of the body...they are the hands that work, the feet that march, the guts who once saw the French flag flying over the Kremlin of Moscow, the walls of Jerusalem and the fortresses of Louisiane and Algeria! They are the lungs that shout "aux armes, citoyens!" and "Quand les autres trahiront" They are the wombs that bear the sons and daughters that have made France great, the breasts which nourished them. The heart that beats for a time when we were all brothers! The Hôtel de Ville is not the only one with a brain! To dismiss your actions in April 1843 as "instinctual" is to slander every Frenchman who is capable of thinking for himself! They presume that they have the only experience necessary to decide what is good for a fisherman in Brittany, a farmer in Navarre, a mother in Limoges whose son was killed in their massacre or a factory-worker in Lyons. Yet when you do attempt to assert your liberty, Paris sends men to butcher you as you stand in your foyers- [7]
Lamorcière: does he not realize that without a head, the body of the people would be perversely mutilated if the head were to be severed.
Dupont de l'Eure: little Capet is an idiot. He is as emotional as the rest. He has made the mistake of appealing to their...baser natures. But he is the one in whose name thousands have died. The government does not come from the people, as he believes. If it did, people would take it and then take it back according to their mood. [8] Monsieur Capet would do better to go back to digging graves at Ansauvilliers. I suspect that thanks to him, France will require a great many once this is done.

*cut to Ansauvilliers* *Henri is sitting - cramped - in a bathtub/trough in what looks like a barn* *he's looking pensive*
Ney: *pokes his head in* supper is ready.
Henri: what is it?
Ney: venison stew
Henri: *as he stands up* again?
Ney: best not to ask what's in it
Henri: it's rabbit, isn't it?
Ney: must've been a pretty big rabbit, then.
Henri: *tiredly* at least it's not fox.
Ney: *surprised* you've eaten fox?
Henri: in Scotland. Tastes like mutton. If you close your eyes and hold your nose.
Ney: sounds like politics. You can believe it is whatever you want it to be as long as you don't think about it.
Henri: *drying himself* *smiles bleakly* *turns to get dressed*
Ney: *looks at I always thought Bonaparte was joking when he said that the royals branded their offspring. *we see he's referring to a healed "brand" of three lilies on Henri's back just under his right shoulder*
Henri: true, unfortunately. Not sure where it started...Maman said it was with Henri le Grand, because of François de la Ramée claiming to be the son of Charles IX [9]. but I think it perhaps goes all the way back to Jean le Posthume. Prevent people claiming to be who they're not.
Ney: like Hervagault [10]?
Henri: *getting dressed* he said he was branded but the location was wrong. I read the report. His was the left calf. And done by his Holiness. Likely just a birthmark or a growth. When I was in Holland two years ago, I stopped in Delft to see the famous...Naundorff. He was out. So I spoke to his wife. No brand. Not even a tattoo that looks like a brand. Naturellement, my aunt was furious that I even went to see him, but I think it set her mind at ease knowing he wasn't her brother.
Ney: do you think he really died in the prison?
Henri: your conscience bothering you, so late in the day, Maréchal [11]?
Ney: no, Majesty, but I would hate to imagine being the one on whose conscience that would weigh.
Henri: give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and leave to God what is God's. He will punish the guilty. As for my cousin, I like to imagine that some pitying angel did take it on themselves to help him escape. And that he died at peace far from this vale of tears. However fanciful that may sound.
Ney: you don't think he'd still be alive? He's young enough to have been my son.
Henri: I don't think it's impossible he's still alive. But that gets us into a very tortured argument that would mean that France hasn't had a legitimate government in fifty years. My aunt believes he died in the Temple. And for her sake, that is what I believe. Even if it is horrific to imagine.
Ney: *calmly* if you are restored, Majesty, promise me that you will not condemn your cousins to that same fate.
Henri: do you truly believe I am the loup-garou from a children's story that would be such a barbarian? I am the product of another exile who showed me kindness when no one else in the world would've dared...striking them from the succession is as far as any vengeance from me will go. -now, come on, before there's none of that ghastly stew left for us.

*fade to black*

[1] sorry for linking the whole opera, the piece in question starts at the 18:15 mark (ironically enough)
[2] figure Edward II and Louis XVI are both attested to digging ditches/foundations alongside the men, why not include Henri in that. Besides, if he's only sharing the good parts with the men, he's not going to remain popular very long.
[3] Ney is old, and after spending roughly eighteen months with Henri, he's probably come to the realization that Napoléon genuinely treated him like shit (mean, as Ney himself says, the only letter he wrote came back with an answer from not even Nappy himself, just his secretary, of "Murat did it better. You should've died with your back to the wall than live with this disgrace"). It's not that Henri isn't "harsh" or "critical", but I think, even if he doesn't respect Ney for his actions, he does respect his age. And, like Henri, Marmont, Frankie, Savary etc, Ney's a man who has spent half his life time away from France. He probably views everything with a sort of jaded cynicism
[4] according to what I can find, Henri was just under 6'1" (185cm), the duchesse de Berri 5'11", Charles X was 5'10", Louis XVI was 5'9", Josephine de Beauharnais 5'7", Marie Antoinette was 5'6", where Napoléon was 5'5" (Napoléon III an inch shorter) and Robespierre was 5'2", so him judging it "deep enough" is probably because it is
[5] Louis Eugène Cavaignac, brother of arch-republican Godefroi Cavaignac. The soldier is in British uniform just to symbolize the "enemy"
[6] this would be Thomas Bugeaud, marquis de la Piconnerie. Dupont de l'Eure's son was involved in a duel with the man in the 1830s and they became bitter rivals afterwards. Bugeaud's loyalty to the Orléans is not being exaggerated, they offered him the presidency, the ministry of war, of agriculture and industry and the government of Algeria during the Second Republic to try to get him onside, he refused them all and contented himself with being part of the army of observation for events in Italy (where he died)
[7] the Second Republic OTL used the language of body and family to try to get the message across, so Henri tossing that language back at them, and then underlining it by seamlessly combining things like the 1812 campaign, the conquest of Louisiana and Algeria, as well as the Crusade of St. Louis, he doesn't talk about what flag was flying, but rather that it was a French flag. He quotes the chorus of the Marseillaise (aux armes, citoyens) and a Vendéan standby "La Chant de Fidelité" (better known in its German version of "Wenn Alle Untreu Werden"), "when others betray, let us be faithful, Comrades, let us defend tradition...we, the heirs of the noble Franks, we fight for our descendants". The Frank/Gaul dichotomy of France was used as early as the Valois (possibly earlier), where anything "good" and "noble" in French culture was a product of the noble, hardworking and courageous Franks, where anything bad or chaotic (like a revolution) was the product of their Gaulish lineage.
[8] while LeDru-Rollin and Alphonse Lamartine were very eloquent speakers and did make convincing arguments, unfortunately the result ended up so muddled that by March 16 1848, just three weeks after the original revolution, the demonstrations of Parisian workers and the National Guard seeking to defer the elections so they could organize, were stripped of their legitimacy by Lamartine: government no longer issued from the people, but rather government opposed the people, he also defined government as the small group of morally enlightened men who had no authority but moral authority, but they had the monopoly on that authority. To the request about postponing the elections, he replied he would rather die than see the independence of the nation infringed in such a manner.
[9] while there's a lot of ink spilled on the "false dauphins", François de la Ramée got there first in 1595 by claiming to be the legitimate son of Charles IX and Elisabeth of Austria, whom Catherine de Medici had (for some reason) removed from the succession. Henri IV greeted the news with a laugh and said "had he done this when I was still at Dieppe, he would be king of France and not I" (alluding to his victory over the Catholic League at Arques).
[10] one of the many false Louis XVII's. He claimed to have been branded by the pope. Also, remember reading a story once where there was also a royal imposter who wasn't branded/marked in such a way
[11] Ney - alongside Berthier, Josephine and Barras, as well as a host of others including Luise of Prussia, her sister, Charlotte, the duke of Brunswick, and I can't remember who else - was allegedly supposed to have facilitated Louis XVII's escape/survival. According to some theories going around at the time, that was why he was executed. Granted, once Ney was dead, that only left Barras to speak, but since he had been out of favour since 1799, nobody gave him much credit. Henri isn't asking if Ney was involved, he's asking if Ney's feeling guilty about what the Republic did to a defenseless child?

@The_Most_Happy @isabella @VVD0D95 @Jan Olbracht @Ramontxo @HortenseMancini @Anarch King of Dipsodes @Dragonboy @kaiidth @SavoyTruffle @Wendell @nathanael1234 @Fehérvári @Guatemalan Nat-Synd @Valena @maw @LordMartinax @EmmettMcFly55

 

[Kellan Sullivan]

Thanks to @VVD0D95 for his suggestions

Soundtrack: Stephan Paluselli - Veni Creator Spiritus [1]

*exterior* *Edinburgh* *various shots of the city* *the Castle* *Arthur's Seat* *St. Giles' Cathedral*
*cut to an interior* *we see a room packed with men arguing*
*cut to the house of Lords* *Henry Thomas, Lord Cockburn, former Solicitor General for Scotland is speaking*
Cockburn: There has never been a greater cause adjudged in the House of Lords on reasons more utterly unworthy of both. A case about a horse, or a twenty pound bill of exchange, would get more thought. The ignorance and contemptuous slightness of the judgement did great mischief. It has irritated and justified the people of Scotland in believing that their Church was sacrificed to English prejudices [2]
*cut to John Edwards being barred from entering his parish church at Marnoch by his parishioners* *judging by the clothes, this is clearly on a Sunday, with the sermon due to start shortly*
*cut to a courtroom where a judge pronounces in favour of Edwards* *we see Edwards gratefully shaking hands with his lawyer and with his patron, the 5e duke of Richmond*
*next thing we are back to the packed room of men arguing*
*cut to seeing one minister after another - seven all told - entering their churches for sermons and finding another minister already in the pulpit* *these ministers are undeterred preaching fearlessly on a soap box at the churchyard gates or on a street corner* *to very large crowds*
*cut to a courtroom where the seven ministers are now in front of the judge, where Edwards formerly stood* *the judge reads out the verdict banning them from preaching in the open-air* *by the verdict, he also declares their suspension and being barred from preaching illegal*
*cut to the packed room of men arguing* *one man, Thomas Chalmers, is standing up and declaring that since the government and the courts continue to interfere in ecclesiastical affairs, he and his ilk are prepared to leave the church* *and we watch Chalmers, followed by an endless stream of other men [121 ministers and another 73 elders] walking out[3]*

*cut to exterior of Holyroodhouse Palace* *Thomas Chalmers, some of his colleagues are standing in the back of the roofless Holyroodhouse Abbey church* *the church itself is packed with courtiers* *Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and their two children are both seated in the front row* *alongside Prince Ernst of Coburg and a pregnant Marie of Prussia* *William of Weimar and Marie of Baden are on the other side of the aisle* *on a broken off pillar, Reverend Robert Smith Candlish is giving his Pentecost sermon [4]*
*the adult royals in the front row are paying rapt attention* *even if technically only Marie of Prussia is Calvinist (everyone else, except for Victoria and her children, is Lutheran)*
*cut to i ictoria and Albert holding a reception on the palace lawns* *among the ministers and their wives [usual after church "meet and greet"* *we hear some of them telling her roughly the same story* *that because of their/their husband's stance, not only have they been chased out of their church, but they have also been put out of various manses, their children have been put out of parish schools, those who doubled as the parish schoolmaster have lost that income as well[5]*
Victoria: that doesn't sound very Christian...are we not supposed to want to be more like Christ then?
Rev. David Welsh: of course your Majesty, but the...fools at the general assembly - and that is an insult to fools in general - have deemed that they are to be the supreme arbiter of Christ's words. They have set themselves up as pope, prophet and priest over us, answering to the House of Lords rather than the Lord[6].
Victoria: and there is no hope of a reconciliation being reached between the two sides? Have things truly broken down so far?
Welsh: unfortunately they have, madam. All we wish to do is to facilitate the return to good, solid, Christian principles, and unfortunately there are certain peers who have their fingers in the honey jar already, and are unwilling to withdraw them.
Albert: unfortunately, Reverend Welsh, neither the queen nor myself can take your side - however justified - against the duke of Richmond.
Victoria: *looks apologetically at Welsh*
Welsh: *half smirking* but your Majesty can. We have the law on our side.
Victoria: *smiles indulgently at Welsh* Reverend, while I am sure that the Lords are all Christians, I would find it very difficult - as a woman - to argue scripture with the archbishop of Canterbury.
Welsh: not scripture, madam. Good British law that they have all sworn to uphold. We are not republicans, madam, not like that vile lot in Paris. We have a concern for legality, and we should've never appealed to your Majesty had we not a good firm foundation on which to stand.
Victoria: and what is your foundation, Reverend? I'm afraid nothing is coming to mind at the moment.
Welsh: the Claim of Right of 1689, Majesty.
Victoria: that was the act that allowed William and Mary to become king and queen of Scotland, correct?
Welsh: it also includes a...however brief...paragraph on how the Kirk of Scotland is to be run. Namely that aside from the king- or queen's- naturally, no head in Scotland is to be above the presbytery's. And as ministers of the church, we take our oath to your Majesty. Not to the Lords, not to the Commons, not to your Majesty's prime minister or government, but to your Majesty directly. So it would be perfectly legal to involve oneself, madam.
Albert: *curiously* *but you can see the wheels turning behind his eyes* are you to be a politician, Reverend? Or a man of the cloth.
Welsh: since I am no longer one, I am simply falling back on the other.
Victoria: we will see if there exists anything at all that we can do. *looks at various children running around, including the prince of Wales* it is such a pity that these men have decided to vent their spleen on innocent children.
Albert: *after thinking* I would like to start a patronage for them. Gather a group of likeminded persons who would likewise be interested in assisting them. I'm sure Lord Ashley, and perhaps the duchess of Buccleuch [7] will take an interest.
Welsh: *half stammering* your Royal Highness is most kind, but we could not possibly accept such charity. [8]
Victoria: then if you will not accept it for the duke's sake, I ask that you will accept it, not as charity, but as a gift from your queen. I am also queen of Scotland, am I not?

*cut to Buckingham Palace* *Victoria is having a meeting with her PM, Sir Robert Peel*
Peel: *in response to something she said* yes, your Majesty.
Victoria: *one more thing tone* concerning Scotland.
Peel: what of it, Majesty?
Victoria: matters with the Kirk.
Peel: *innocently* which matters would these be, madam?
Victoria: the recent, well...I suppose not just recently...disputes in the Kirk of Scotland.
Peel: *blasély* a few ministers with radical ideas, Majesty, is nothing to be concerned about.
Victoria: I wonder if that is what the cardinals said to the pope about Martin Luther, Sir Robert. And four hundred ministers of the Kirk of Scotland have left over this matter. Hardly a few. King Louis Philippe was overthrown by a few noisy Parisians. And as for the Kirk's behaviour since- *twists face* barely conscionable.
Peel: what has the Kirk done?
Victoria: expelled these men from their parishes, their wives from the manses and their children from schools. All for holding to their view?
Peel: to their view that they are to be the supreme arbiters in matters of religion, I agree with them, madam. But I do not believe that a few rowdy, misbehaving churchmen should hold themselves in higher regard than the law.
Victoria: except that is their right, is it not? *Quotes paragraph of the Claim of Right [9]*
Peel: *now nervous* those terms were set in place in a time of chaos, Majesty. Both King William and Queen Anne later passed acts enforcing the patronage these men object to.
Victoria: allow, Sir Robert, permit, tolerate, consent to, not enforce. And as you have pointed out, that was a very different time, and the circumstances were very different. We had a foreign king ruling by right of conquest-
Peel: he was invited by parliament.
Victoria: *smiles sweetly* did he not threaten to leave you to the mercy of King James by withdrawing his armies if parliament did not agree to make him king?
Peel: *now visibly awkward*
Victoria: as I understand it, King William and Queen Anne's acts were the products of bribery. To the Scots lords from the monarch, in order to keep the peace in Scotland. The days of the Jacobites are over, but it is now the Lords who abuse that privilege settled on them in order to what, exactly? They cause chaos and disorder by persisting in this course.
Peel: the Lords will not like it, your Majesty.
Victoria: and I do not wish for the Kirk of Scotland to be torn in two. We've already had one Reformation, and I think anyone will agree that that was quite enough blood spilled. Or would they prefer we end up as they are in France at the moment? The king a fugitive, the comte de Chambord reduced to digging graves and hiding in barns, while an army sent by Paris rampages through the countryside unchecked? It sounds an awful deal like our own civil war.
Peel: if I may make a suggestion, madam, perhaps you could mollify the Lords somewhat by...picking a side to support. Lord Palmerston is already saying we should support the French Republic now, in order to benefit by leveraging relationship in our favour.
Victoria: *indifferently* does he now? And what does Lord Aberdeen say?
Peel: that we should sit this dance out and, when the smoke clears, dance with whomever wins.
Victoria: *shudders* even if that is a republic?
Peel: provided they do not do as the last did and execute their sovereign or insist on waging war across Europe, they might be a more...reliable ally than King Louis Philippe was. After all, our relations with the Texans have improved considerably...to the point where they are similarly holding back on recognizing the new French Republic.
Victoria: *looks at Allen Ramsay's portrait of George III* I will not recognize any French government prematurely before, as Lord Aberdeen says, the smoke clears. The duke of Wellington pointed out that these are exactly the circumstances Napoléon exploited. Fortunately for us, the duke of Reichstadt seems to show no inclination towards being a new Charlemagne.
Peel: you trust him in this regard?
Victoria: I think that he saw with this recent war how easy it would be to range opposition to him. -back to the matter of the Scots, I think the recent French analogy of the count of Chambord...that why is only a Parisian wise or enlightened enough to rule counts for Scotland as well? If the Lords persist in arguing this point, there may soon be no Kirk to argue matters of patronage over. They may turn aside, but this lady is not for turning [10].
Peel: perhaps if your Majesty were to grant them concessions elsewhere-
Victoria: such as?
Peel: if the crown were to surrender something small, such as the interest in the post office or the India Company. As a gesture of good will?
Victoria: *stands up* *stares Peel down* I must present the Lords with a gesture of good will in order for them to surrender a privilege they cling to at the expense of the commons? So that they can decide to turn men, women and children into the street? When I am attempting to prevent Scotland once more into vermin's nest of dissent as it was under George II? Would they have me ready to flee at a moment's notice?
Peel: these are different times, your Majesty.
Victoria: *puts hand out for Peel to kiss* yes, they are *as Peel is kissing it* which is why you may tell them that is time to render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to ask them, who is the caesar and who is to do the rendering?

*Fade to black*






[1] Come o creator spirit, a common hymn for Pentecost. I realize that these are Kirk of Scotland men who are unlikely to say it in Latin, but the martial tone just "fit" so well
[2] Cockburn really did say this
[3] this would be the Great Disruption of the Scottish Church of 18 May 1843, 474 ministers and 191 preachers later signed
[4] Easter Sunday 1843 was on Sunday 18th April. Which puts Pentecost 29 May 1843. As for Robert Smith Candlish, he was commonly acknowledged as one of the Evangelicals (what Chalmers and his crew were called) finest preachers, so I could definitely see him being chosen to preach before the queen. I could also see it being...quite different to anything these royals are used to. The Abbey being used because as they are technically under "censure" from the Kirk, they would be unable to preach in the palace's chapel (which would be Kirk "property")
[5] all OTL. Never let it be said that the Calvinist Church does things by halves. They black ball you, they black ball practically everyone who agrees with you as well (as a result of this Scotland's Kirk's numbers dropped by more than half)
[6] even at the time, the Disruption was compared to the Reformation, so I could see Welsh - the foremost thinker of the group - using a lot of Reformation imagery such as popery
[7] Emma Mary Mcinnon, her dad is the guy who founded the RSPCA
[8] why is Welsh suddenly so reticent? Not reverse psychology, but this is like when you ask your parents for something, make an argument for why you should get it, then instead of no, they say yes. Suddenly your brain goes into "what's this gonna cost me"
[9] That Prelacy and the superiority of any office in the Church above presbyters is and hath been a great and insupportable greivance and trouble to this Nation and contrary to the Inclinationes of the generality of the people ever since the reformatione (they haveing reformed from popery by presbyters) and therfor ought to be abolished
[10] couldn't resist the idea of Victoria channeling her inner Margaret Thatcher

@The_Most_Happy @isabella @VVD0D95 @Jan Olbracht @Ramontxo @HortenseMancini @Anarch King of Dipsodes @Dragonboy @kaiidth @SavoyTruffle @Wendell @nathanael1234 @Fehérvári @Guatemalan Nat-Synd @Valena @maw @LordMartinax @EmmettMcFly55

 

[Kellan Sullivan]

Hope @HortenseMancini @isabella @ everyone else who thinks Marie Antoinette got a crappy deal OTL is satisfied with her ultimate "vindication" here

Soundtrack: Ferdinand Hiller - Die Zerstörung Jerusalems - Chor des Israeliten

*exterior* *Rome* *we see a papal procession through Rome* *that thousands of pilgrims have flocked to the city due to Pope Gregory XVI declaring an extra-ordinary Jubilee Year because of the peace*
*shots of the seven pilgrimage churches: San Giovanni in Laterano, San Paolo fuori la Mura, San Lorenzo fuori la Mura, San Sebastiano fuori la Mura, Santa Croce delle Gerusalemme, Santa Maria Maggiore and finally Saint Peter's* *all of them are packed* *a title card announces that many of the pilgrims have traveled to the Eternal City by these spanking new train lines that the papal states have been building while the rest of Europe was at war[1]* *it tells us that many of the pilgrims include a special stop at a non-clerical destination: the Palazzo Farnese* *there they hope to catch a sight of, or even kiss the hand of the daughter of "San Luigi" [2]* *it then announces that the pope has beatified not only Louis XVI, but also Marie Antoinette, Madame Élisabeth, Louis XVII, the Princesse de Lamballe and the duc d'Enghien, the Fourteen Martyrs of Compiègne, Salomon Leclerq [3], the Daughters of Charity of Arras [4], the Martyrs of Valenciennes [5], the Martyrs of Orange [6], Father Noël Pinot [7], Father René Pierre Rogue [8], the Martyrs of Rochefort [9], Father Pierre Adrien Toulorge [10] and while we're at it, Joan of Arc also gets named a saint*

*Cut to the pope's summer residence at Castel Gandolfo* *night*
*Men with flaming torches stand along the darkened driveway as a carriage drives past* *while the shutters are drawn and we can't see in, we do catch a glimpse of the arms on the door* *a lion and five arrows*
*Cut to the dinner table* *his Holiness and several guests, both cardinal and lay , are in the midst of the meal when the camerlengo enters with the message that "there's a man here to see your Holiness"*
Gregory XVI: *rises from his seat*
*Rest of table rises*
Gregory XVI: Antonio, will you accompany an old man?
Antonio Tosti, the Papal Treasurer: of course, your Holiness.

*Cut to library* *an eagle-faced man with swept back hair is lounging in a chair next to a small table with sherry and biscuits* *another man with similar features is browsing the shelves*
*Takes out a book* *opens it* *we see his eyebrows go up*
Man: now, what do you think a nice old man like the pope is doing with a copy of the *checks the cover* Kama Sutra in his library?
Man in chair: put it back Carl.
Carl: I'm simply saying, James, I can understand why the Protestants regard it as decadent and corrupt.
James: they say the same thing about us wh-
*doors open* *Gregory XVI and Tosti both enter* *James rises to his feet* *both men walk over to the pope* *James goes down on one knee and lifts the bottom of the pope's skirt to kiss it* *Carl replicates the gesture*
Gregory: be seated, my sons
Tosti: *takes his place at the side of Gregory's arm chair* you did not do that last time.
James: last time we had not yet made the acquaintance of the king of Rome. He told us that if we were ever to show such disregard for your Holiness again [11], he would consider it a personal privilege to ensure that no one in Europe, Britain, the Americas or the Indies would ever do business with anyone with the last name of Rothschild ever again.
Tosti: and you believed him?
James: *cynically* I believe that he believes that. And when dealing with a man who has his own brother's death on his conscience, I find it's best to nod and agree.
Tosti: typical Jew.
Carl: *starts out of his chair*
James: sit down, Carl.
Carl: *clearly irritable sits back down*
James: now...as to why we are here...the recent events in France have occasioned some...reordering. Namely the seizure and nationalization of several banks in France, such as Banque Hagermann [12], who is seen as "unpatriotically French", same with Banque André & Cottier [13] I'm afraid.
Gregory: so they are just as greedy and rapacious as the first lot of republicans?
Carl: some would say even more so, since at the rate they are slitting one another's throats I dare say what the First Terror and the Terreur Blanche didn't finish, this government will accomplish.
Gregory: it is tragic that such a great and powerful kingdom like France has been laid low by this cycle of revolutions and counter-revolutions.
James: very, your Holiness.
Tosti: that has outlined the situation, not why you are here.
James: in the contract when we extended a loan ten years ago to Monsignor [Antonio] Garibaldi and Monsignor [Alessandro] Torlonia, there was a condition to that loan: namely that the papacy may not apply to any banking house for a new loan without first informing the Rothschilds so that we could offer our own options. Which means that technically-
Tosti: the Church would be in breach of contract.
Carl: that would seem to be the case.
Gregory: so you are coming to collect then, Signor Rothschild?
Carl: fortunately for you, my brother is a bigger fool than even I thought possible.
James: *smiles like "ignore him"* due to the current situation, with Hagermann and André & Cottier both currently being in difficulties- there was a run on A&C just last week. I am willing to deduct the amount your Holiness borrowed from both banking houses from the total that you owed to us. Which would make it around two-hundred-and-fifty-nine thousand pounds-
Tosti: and what is the reason for such charity, Jew?
James: *mockingly* has your Eminence not heard? It is the year of jubilee [14]?
Tosti: *sourly* you don't say.
James: and since this is my fiftieth birth year, forgiveness of certain debts are...mandatory.
Gregory: for which I am most grateful.
James: there are certain requests that I wish to make of your Holiness-
Tosti: *rolls his eyes* of course there are.
Gregory: what are those, my son?
James: the Jews of Ancona. The local priest, Vincent Soliva-
Tosti: inquistor.
James: forgive me, your Holiness, I do not know the hierarchies aside from pope and cardinal. -But he has revived an old law by which the Jews are to once more be confined to the ghettos.
Carl: don't forget the special uniform we must all wear identifying us as Jews.
Gregory: and you wish me to tell Fra Soliva to desist?
James: I do not wish to tell your Holiness what to do, I only ask for the relief of my people.
Tosti: they are the pope's subjects.
Carl: did his Holiness become Jewish while we weren't looking? Mazel tov.
James: I ask this of your Holiness, please do not allow him to restrict us back to the ghettos.
Gregory: the papacy is an ecclesiastical, not a secular state. The church cannot abolish such statutes, for what should happen if the poor Christians who are obliged to work for Jews? Or-
Carl: they'd get paid. Probably far better than what their Christian employers do.
Gregory: Or how can I allow Jews to live outside the ghetto among the Christians?
James: because the Jews - regardless of their beliefs - are your Holiness' faithful subjects. They do not deserve to be rounded up and penned in like livestock. Not when they were willing to fight for your Holiness the same as any other soldier in this recent war. They-
Tosti: his Holiness has given you an answer, Signor Rothschild. Now leave the matter be.
James: if a Protestant army were to invade Italy, sack Rome, and pen up all of Rome's Catholics in the Vatican, would your Eminence not also be pleading for them to be set free?
Tosti: *scoffs* what Protestant army?
Carl: there are Württemberger, Saxon, and Hannoverian soldiers still loitering around Lombardy, I'm sure they could be prevailed upon to make common cause with whatever Waldensians are left in the Alpine valleys.
Tosti: is that a threat?
Carl: that is a statement of fact, your Eminence.
James: I had hoped that this would not be necessary *reaches into jacket pocket* *hands pope a letter* from the comte de Chambord.
Tosti: he cavorts with Jews?
Carl: wouldn't call it cavorting no.
Gregory: *reading letter* *puts it aside* you have enlisted him in your cause?
James: your Holiness has the comte and the queen of Westphalia [15] to thank for putting up the money I wrote off the church's debt. Such are good friends to have in times such as these-
Tosti: but you would be better?
James: no, your Eminence. I am simply pointing out that it would be foolishness for his Holiness to dismiss their good will out of hand [6].

*fade to black*

[a]
[1] the Habsburgs in the North and the Bourbons in the south probably made sure that the papal states had a sort of protective pocket.
[2] OTL the pope refused to canonize Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and Madame Élisabeth despite several requests from members of the French royal family up until a final ruling that "no, we can't canonize them because they didn't die for their faith". Here... it's probably very different to refuse their very stubborn daughter when confronted with her face-to-face.
[3] the Fourteen Martyrs of Compiègne were a group of nuns from Compiègne who were executed. The first of them was strapped to the guillotine singing Laudate Dominum (same as Madame Élisabeth), and they rode to their execution singing the Salve Regina. They were such an inspiration that when the soldier threw the 78-yo Mother Thérèse - who could barely walk - out of the cart into the street, the republican crowd attacked him. Leclercq was executed because he refused to take the oath to the republic. He was only beautified in 1926. The sisters of Compiègne in 1906.
[4] the daughters of Charity (oldest of whom was 71yo, youngest was 41, refused to take the new oath to the Revolution. They were only beautified in 1920
[5] eleven Ursuline sisters who fled to Mons at the outbreak of the Revolution, but returned to Valenciennes to continue teaching the Catholic faith despite the law. They went to their execution singing the Veni Creator. Only beautified in 1920
[6] 32 nuns of various orders who were executed at Orange in July 1794 for both refusing to take the oath and teaching the Catholic faith, in their prison cell they sang the Te Deum, cared for the other inmates' medical and spiritual needs, and watched as day by day their group was whittled down. They were only beautified in 1925
[7] Noël Pinot fought in the Vendée and guillotine in his clerical vestments. The martyrs of Angers likely included as well. Only beautified in 1926
[8] guillotine in Vannes by one of his own former students, after being arrested while administering the Last Rites to a dying man. Only beautified in 1934
[9] 505 priests who were held aboard ships moored in Rochefort Harbour in conditions that make slavery look humane (not condoning slavery, just how bad it was). There was even a decision (never carried out though) of burning the ships down to the waterline with them inside. Only beautified in 1995.
[10] French priest executed on false testimony. Only beatified in 2012. What's with all the beatifications ahead of schedule? It's the Church firing a shot across the bows of the new republic. Saying to them "we remember what you did last time. Kill Catholics, we'll make martyrs of them". Louis XVII is included on the list just in case anyone decides to come forward and "claim" to be him. Enghien because - while it reflects badly on Frankie, the fact is he seems to have little truck with his father's actions, so he probably encouraged it - if we're doing Lamballe, might as well go the whole hog. Joan of Arc because I seriously believe it was long overdue (and trying to get a king to Reims to be crowned has a lot of parallels both in Caroline de Berri's aborted 1832 rising - it made Rossini consider an opera on Joan and Eugène Scribe even prepped a libretto - and what's currently happening). Granted, here they all likely get a single feast day (27 July - the end of the Reign of Terror and start of the Thermidorian Reaction - also happens to be slap bang in the middle of Les Trois Glorieuses, so you can't celebrate the one without the other). Joan of Arc is likely the only one who gets a separate feast since she's canonized, not beatified
[11] when James and Carl met the pope in 1832, they sparked outrage in Catholic Europe by not showing due deference to Christ's vicar. One wrote: "a wealthy Jew now kisses the pope's hand, while a poor Christian kisses his feet. Still, the Rothschilds are nobler than their ancestor, Judas Iscariot, for Judas sold Christ for 30 pieces of silver while James [Rothschild] would buy Him were he for sale". For reference James was the head of the French branch of the Rothschilds, while Carl was head of the Neapolitan branch (even though King Ferdinando did most of his banking through the Protestant Pourtalès family), Francesco I had still taken out sizeable loans from the Rothschilds in the 1820s.
[12 Jonas Hagermann -a Swedish Protestant - owned a bank at Genoa that had made several (very large) loans to the Sardinian crown over the past fifteen years. Of course, Sardinia now being shrunk in size, means that those loans (specifically where assets in Savoy/Piedmont which now belong to the French government were pledged as surety) are going to default. Unfortunately, the pope also has borrowed a loan from Hagermann. Hagermann also put up the money for Maria Cristina, the Dowager Queen of Spain, to buy Malmaison with, as well as being Agustin Munoz's business partner and backer in several deals. Likely also the bank that handled the payment of the duke of Modena for what would become Théodelinde de Beauharnais' dukedom of Galliera, since Hagermann was close to the Bernadottes as well
[13] again, a foreign owned bank based in France where the pope has loans. In both cases, the papacy took out these loans in order to pay back the massive (£34-36 million) loan they had taken out from the Rothschilds, for which (surprise surprise) Metternich and Louis Philippe had stood surety for.
[14] under Old Testament Law, in the year of Jubilee, debts were to be forgiven and repayment on loans cancelled according to Deuteronomy 17. Jubilees were every seven years, and then each fiftieth year was to be a "special" jubilee. James is born in May 1792, so while he's now technically 51yo in June 1843, he has his reasons
[15] Betsy Patterson. Betsy knew how to turn a coin three ways before she spent it. It's the reason Frankie has given her charge over Jérôme's finances. But I wouldn't be surprised if there are several other Bonaparte relations (like Henri's secretary, Fritz Baciocchi whose wife was an heiress to a banking fortune herself; or Betsy's stepdaughter, Mathilde) who also contributed, but didn't want to tarnish the family's rep as anti-church (after all, those Bonapartes married in France will be expected to toe the religious line, this would be a good way of "proving" it)
[16] Gregory dismissed Metternich, Ferdinand of Austria, Leopoldo II of Tuscany and the Rothschilds (although OTL they communicated by letter) requests like this OTL when he was in far worse straits (James was not so magnanimous in forgiving the debt, he simply bought up the "tickets" that the other banks held for their loans so the pope now owed him twice). His refusal (ecclesiastical vs secular state) is OTL. However, he hasn't thrown his chestnut as he told Metternich that "Nor does the loss of the Jews' primitive fanatacism render the observance of the canonical sanctions on them any less necessary. Indeed, it makes such observance all the more necessary, because i fthey lose their fanaticm regarding Jewish laws and practices, they certainly do not lose their national hatred for the religion of Jesus Christ and for the Christian name itself. On the contrary, these increase as they abandon themselves to philosophism and iniefferentism". So whether he'll force Soliva to walk back (since I've no doubt that Henri's letter has also been signed by other people the pope owes money/favours to- like Ferdinando of Sicily or the regent of Spain (for the iron and steel for those new railways))

@The_Most_Happy @isabella @VVD0D95 @Jan Olbracht @Ramontxo @HortenseMancini @Anarch King of Dipsodes @Dragonboy @kaiidth @SavoyTruffle @Wendell @nathanael1234 @Fehérvári @Guatemalan Nat-Synd @Valena @maw @LordMartinax @EmmettMcFly55

 

[Kellan Sullivan]

Soundtrack: Donizetti - Maria de Rohan - Bella e di sol vestita [2]

*exterior* *Paris* *night* *view of the Place de la Concorde* *huge bonfire* *we see a chair and some other items in the bonfire[3]* *there's a crowd gathered around it* *cheering as the items are burning* *military bands are playing La Parisienne [4] and there are many waving the tricoleur*

*cut to interior* *several men, including Lamorcière and Dupont-de l'Eure are talking* *none look happy*
Dupont de l'Eure: I would simply like to know where Little Capet acquired ships. French ships. Or should that be how, Arago?
François d'Arago, Minister of the Navy: sir, the navy has proved...divided. While many of the officers are in favour of the new government, given the failures at sea of the king, the crewmen are...a cowardly and superstitious lot. The pope's recent...spate of beatifications has fooled many into believing that they are fighting for a just cause. As a result, instead of damping down the flames, it has done nothing but make them burn more strongly.
Godefroi Cavaignac, Minister of Education and Religion: first we have two kings in France, and now the pope has decided to get involved. This is why we need to remove religion and superstition from the education system in France. We cannot have these...priests running amok in the country where their only loyalty is only to some foreign potentate rather than to Paris.
Lamorcière, Minister of War: I agree, Godefroi's brother cannot be forced to put down one rising after another-
Arago: it's odd how the man who is responsible for the army's defeats is blaming the man who cannot control the navy.
Lamorcière: and what does that mean?
Arago: why didn't the new General Cavaignac secure the ships in the ports of Brest and Cherbourg when he seized the towns? Or at least have the crews brought on land so that they couldn't abscond with a whole ship! With guns. That - after they left port they sailed for Bordeaux and Bayonne to gather reinforcements that they then dumped at Saint-Malo and Lorient that we have ended up starting this whole dance again.
Lamorcière: because General Cavaignac no doubt believed that the navy would at least be on our side once he took the port admiral hostage.
Arago: perhaps it was his summary beheading of the man that sparked it.
Godefroi: François, these legitimists are now a "state within a state", we are sitting with the same problem that Richelieu sat with with the Huguenots-
Dupont de l'Eure: except ours are on two fronts: the royalists out there. And the socialists in Paris.
Lamorcière: the only thing to be grateful for is that the duchesse de Chartres' attempts to raise support are failing. Otherwise we'd have to deal with two royalist armies.
Arago: you're surprised her attempts are failing? On the one hand, you have her son, who's wandering around Compiègne not knowing anything's the matter [5]. On the other hand, the duc de Bordeaux has been actively campaigning in the region for months, built up a strong base...now she - a Protestant - wants these people to get them to support a child? In a region that is fiercely Catholic? Prince Charles [Edward Stuart] had a better chance of conquering England.
Dupont de l'Eure: where are Monsieurs de Nemours and de Joinville?
LeDru-Rollin, Minister of the Interior: Joinville is - theoretically - with the duchesse, we aren't entirely sure of his whereabouts. We know that Nemours has been seen in Brittany, with one of these...groups of volunteers.
Dupont de l'Eure: perhaps we should help them divide. So they can know the division France is feeling.
Arago: *idly* it won't work. the duc de Bordeaux has refused to even receive his cousins. He's made it clear that they can expect no clemency from him, even if they fight for him.
Lamorcière: and the Orléanists just accepted that? Surely they can-
Arago: they can support the Orléans? Why on earth would they do that? On the one side, you have an old king who is unpopular. On the other side is a young king who is not old enough to rule, and he will need a regent. While the laws of a regency were published last August, nobody will trust the Corps Législatif with the regency, now. Which brings us to three options: first is the duchesse as regent, unacceptable to the Catholics; then we have the duc de Nemours as regent, unacceptable to the liberals; and lastly, there is some talk of a conseil de régénce - presided over by Monsieur Guizot and Monsieur Thiers-
Godefroi: Thiers is with the royalists?
Arago: you sound surprised. Thiers is against your newspaper [La Constitutionelle], and his exclusion from the government has made him...more opportunistic. He feels slighted by the regime after all he did for it. So naturally, he's taking the side against the regime
Dupont de l'Eure: what he did is minimal.
Arago: be that as it may, sir, many of his supporters are endorsing him as the candidate they would choose in the election.
Dupont de l'Eure: *to LeDru-Rollin* then perhaps we should publish that he and Monsieur Guizot are working together for a royalist restoration to compromise his chances. The people - regardless of what they believe - will always vote for the radicals because it is only the radicals who have their best interests at heart [6].
Messenger: *enters the room with a dispatch* *hands it to the president*
Dupont de l'Eure: *reads* *hands it to Arago* well, isn't this a pretty kettle of fish...those ships that the rebels stole from France to attacked St Nazaire and blockaded the Loire.
Lemorcière: if they succeed, sir, and Nantes falls, that will mean they have control of the entire coast from Calais all the way around Brest to Nantes. The only port they don't have is Le Havre, and I have no doubt that that will not hold out long. In three weeks they have already taken everything from the coast as far as Falaise, Alençon, Le Mans. Angers declared for them, which means Nantes will be likely to be attacked from both sides.
Godefroi: my brother would never let that happen.

*three days later* *13 June 1843*
*cut to Henri riding on a white horse into the courtyard of the Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne* *to the near ecstatic cheers of the citizens* *there's ringing church bells* *a regimental band playing La Victoire est à Nous [1]* *the citizens eagerly press forward to get a glimpse* *young women are blowing him kisses* *others are holding out their babies for him to bless* *even the captured men of the French army seem to be rather puzzled by what is, likely a frankly bizarre mixture of imperial pomp, an outpouring of national (or at least Breton) feeling and the Ancien Regime traditions* *not to mention that many of them's "only" knowledge of Henri is what they read in the papers* *that call him "Little Capet" and "Henri the Fourth and a Half"* *so instead of walking in shackles behind a cowardly dwarf or a corpulent ogre - as both regimes have portrayed him - they are being led by six-foot-one man with his arm in a sling from a bullet wound riding on a horse* *flanked by Marechal Ney* *and whoever the African guy is on his left*
*cut to the prisoners being lined up - as if on parade - before Henri* *the people are assembled to watch him deliver judgement* *Henri himself is seated on a hastily erected scaffold* *between a standing Ney and the seated African man*
Ney: *in a loud voice* General Cavaignac, step forward.
Eugène de Cavaignac: *roughly brought forward*
Henri: *sharply to the crowd* do not hurt him. He has not hurt me. *resumes speaking to the black man*
Cavaignac: *shakes the arms off* *walks proudly erect towards Henri*
Ney: this is where you bow, General.
Cavaignac: are you my dancing master, Ney? Traitor like yourself.
Henri: *breaks off conversation* *looks at Cavaignac* and what does that make you, General Cavaignac? The man who has levied war against his own countrymen?
African man: *looks at Cavaignac in disgust* and his king.
Henri: it was not against me that he built those abhorrent enfumades [7], Majesté. But against his own countrymen. What would your Majesty recommend we do to such a man.
African man: sire, unfortunately, I cannot tell you what we would do in Haïti, since it would only confirm the opinion of us as savages, I will only say that my mother would've interceded for my father to spare him
Henri: and would he have?
African man: *looks at Cavaignac* if he agreed to swear allegiance to him-
Henri: *about to respond*
Cavaignac: no Frenchman will ever take the advice of a [historically racist expletive that would get me banned] like you.
Henri: *to Cavaignac* so not only do you have no respect for your countrymen, but you have no respect for guests. It's a pity...I had hoped to show mon cousin, the king of Haïti [8] that even the republicans in France have manners.
Cavaignac: I will never serve a tyrant like either of you.
Christophe: we are all born to be tyrants: *looks at Henri* mon cousin, son Majesté, to you who would pour sulphur on the deck of a ship and burn it while the weak and defenseless are trapped below [9]. No man does not abuse power, and history has showed that the ones who rail against tyranny are the same who become the most abominable despots when they seize the sceptre. [10]
Henri: *walks to edge of scaffold* *to crowd* *with Cavaignac* since they say we are a tyrant...that we cannot respect laws...take this man and let him be judged according to the laws of France. Let it not be said that our hand weighted the scale against him. Let him not be tried and drawn and quartered for daring to attack us, but let the courts judge him for his actions against the honour of France.
*numerous boo's from the crowd, who, if not expecting an outright execution, were at least expecting some form of judgement.*
Henri: *holds up his hand for silence* *quietly to Cavaignac* do you see how many of them would approve of me pushing you from this scaffold right now?
Cavaignac: *looks at Henri* *as if expecting him to do just that*
Henri: It is also our desire, that, provided these men either agree to lay down their arms or join us, are to be allowed to depart in peace.
*the soldiers look they can't believe it* *the boo'ing is louder this time*
Henri: *bows his head reverently* *starts reciting in French* Nôtre Père, qui es aux ciel-
Crowd: *obediently bows their heads - numerous members remove their hats - some even go down on their knees* *Ney and Christophe are mouthing the words* *some of the French soldiers are puzzled by this* *only the staunchest anti-royalists, like Cavaignac, leave their heads covered and stay silent* que ton nom soit sanctifié, que ton règne vienne, que ta volonté soit faite sur la terre comme au ciel. Donne-nous aujour hul nôtre pain de ce lour [11]. Pardonne-nous nos offenses come nous pardonnons aussi à ceux qui nous ont offensés [12]-
Henri: *raises his head suddenly* *interrupts the recitation* *loudly to the crowd* now...do not lie to God.

*fade to black*

[1] march of Napoléon's Old Guard (the victory is ours). The tune is originally by the same guy who wrote "O Richard, O Mon Roi". Henri "appropriating" Napoléonic symbolism like this isn't as "cheap" as it sounds. He's basically "earned" the right to do it. He's fought alongside his men, shared their hardships, been raised in "their bosom" as it were with exposure to Frankie, and now Ney.

[2] play on Petrarch's hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary "Beautiful Virgin clothed with the sun". The opera is subtitled "a duel under Richelieu" (technically, there's a duel in each act). The acts are labelled "Unfortunate Consequences of Duels", "Not Love But Gratitude" and "Senseless Revenge". The aria for baritone (duc de Chevreuse) is shortly after he discovers, his wife the title character, is cheating on him with the comte de Chalais, and that the two of them have resolved to "run away together or die trying". Well, Chalais gets his wish in the finale where he winds up in a duel with Chevreuse, gets killed, then Chevreuse remarking to his wife that she's now "his and his alone", promptly abandons her.
[3] the Second Republic burned not only the throne but even the court carriages in 1848
[4] song of the July Revolution of 1830
French people, brave people,
Liberty reopens its arms.
We were told to be slaves,
We said instead: let us be soldiers!
Suddenly Paris, in its memory,
Has found its cry of glory:

[5] not that impossible. In 1830, at Rambouillet

On the other hand, the two children, the Duc de Bordeaux and Louise Marie-Thérèse, lighthearted and excited by seeing the crowd, leaned their little heads out of the window. And the crowd, seeing them, murmured compassionate words, called them “Poor innocents!” and waved their hands to them.

[6] this was genuinely the opinion of the radicals in 1848
[7] Cavaignac originally used the enfumades in Algeria to "smoke the Arabs out like foxes". While the enfumades were mainly associated with Bugeaud, it is Cavaignac who began them. Unfortunately, two of the biggest critics of the tactics were Ney's son and the Prince de Wagram (who has some very powerful allies through the Clarys, the Bonapartes and the Beauharnais). And I have no doubt that Cavaignac used a similar - or equally ruthless - tactic against his opponents here.
[8] I know this is probably a bit weird (and pre-POD), but I was wondering if it were possible that Victor Henri Christophe (aka Henri II of Haïti) avoids his murder in 1820. He'd have only been 16yo at the time. Likely he has wound up, with his mother and sisters, living in England, then moving to Italy in 1828 with her. Henri de Chambord referring to Christophe as "mon cousin" (rather than the traditional "mon frère") is probably the same how Henri refers to Frankie as "mon cousin". Why is Christophe there? His father fought for the French monarchy before the revolution, it's not unthinkable that Christophe has been making a living in Europe as a soldier (not unlike the Bonapartes).
[9] apparently Napoléon (or some of his generals) ordered this in the reconquest of Saint-Domingue, not sure if there's any truth to it, but it could explain why Henri is giving Christophe such "preference". Not to speak for him, or to "atone" but to underline the fact of Henri's that "I stand by what I said about abolishing the slave trade in France", as well as showing the average Frenchman that an African is capable of more than the base savagery presumed by many contemporaries.
[10] by Joseph de Maistre in his On Monarchy.
[11] give us this day our daily bread. In France, the king was known as the "First Baker of the Kingdom", hence why at the Revolution, they chanted, as they brought Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette back to Paris "here we come with the bakerman, the baker's wife and the little baker's boy!" Henri is doing several things here. He's underlining the king's role as leader of the people (at no point does he force them to recite the prayer after him), the fount of justice (throwing Cavaignac on the mercy of the courts), the fount of honours (his recognition of Christophe), and by reciting the Pater Noster in French rather than in Latin (which is probably his usual setting), he is demonstrating that he is not the "rabid Catholic"/"pope's lackey" that he has been portrayed as and who wants to take away all the rights of non-Catholics in the kingdom. However, by resorting to the Pater Noster rather than giving some high-flown speech on redemption, he once again both elevates political theatre (to the Divine level) and lowers it to the understanding of the simplest Frenchman (even Ney, who professes he isn't particularly religious).
[12] forgive us our offenses, as we forgive those who have offended against us. By Henri doing this, he makes it that this "clemency" is not the king's will, but God's. It's a case of "those who wish for justice will see it, those who wish for mercy will get it".

@The_Most_Happy @isabella @VVD0D95 @Jan Olbracht @Ramontxo @HortenseMancini @Anarch King of Dipsodes @Dragonboy @kaiidth @SavoyTruffle @Wendell @nathanael1234 @Fehérvári @Guatemalan Nat-Synd @Valena @maw @LordMartinax @EmmettMcFly55

 

[Kellan Sullivan]

@isabella hope you still like Henri after this

Soundtrack: Carlo Coccia - Caterina di Guisa - Finale: Ah! M'uccidi [2]

*exterior* *Rennes* *we see a group of canonesses arriving in town* *many of them are young girls* *some are - as expected - serious and spend their time glancing nervously around them* *others are more light-hearted*
*cut to Henri reopening the Abbey of St George [3]* *and bidding the nuns, and their new Abbess, Mother Clothilde [3] welcome to France* *and that he hopes that they will be happy to call this their new home* *he also asks the kindness of the people of Rennes for their new residents* *as well as announcing, that he hopes the sisters will be able to continue their good work in France [3]*

*cut to La Rochelle* *Adélaïde d'Orléans is sitting up in a hospital bed, looking old and wan* *reading a newspaper that announces Henri's new "La Pelicaine" [4] Hospital in Bordeaux has just opened* *with plans to build a new hospital as soon as possible*
Adélaïde: *huffs* pretty excuse for him to import a new bunch of nuns.
Hélène, Duchesse de Chartres: *at her bedside* *quietly sewing coverlets for the hospital bed* so the rumours are true then, Tante? That he intends to re-Catholicize France with filthy Jewish money?
Adélaïde: it seems so, my girl. If there was one thing the Revolution did properly, it was to kick all those fat-arsed layabout whores out of France [5]
Hélène: they say he will be in La Rochelle soon.
Adélaïde: what would he come back here for? He wants to go to Paris. Not to La Rochelle or Bordeaux. Only reason he would come through here is if he gets his arse kicked by those government troops and he needs to board a ship to get away.
Hélène they don't seem to be doing too well.
Adélaïde: nor does he. He hasn't moved past Amboise or Châlons in a month.
Hélène: to be far, everything south of the Loire, Brittany, Anjou, Maine, Normandie, the coast all the way to Belgium is flying the oriflamme now-
Adélaïde: a flag of oppression. Trailed in the blood of the people. The French will accept it no more than they would the white flag of the Bourbons. He will not remain in France long, my girl. Prince Metternich has already refused to meet repeatedly with Jules Bastide's men [6] regarding putting this war to an end, once and for all. But the republic is foolish for wanting the war over. As soon it is finished, so too are they. For with peace, the troops - loyal Orléanists to a man - return to their homes. And the Orléanists will not stomach some Bourbon bastard any more than they will tolerate a republic. It is why the republic is so keen to have the election before they make peace. So that it is a fait accompli when the troops return. But they will have no troops left if they and that bastard Chambord carries on slaughtering his own people like he does. Hundreds of troops - and General Cavaignac - executed at Nantes [7] for nothing more than following orders. And then, the soldiers will be able to restore the Orléans to the throne. *pats Hélène's hand* you'll see.
Hélène: he requests a meeting with me. About my son.
Adélaïde: what did you tell him?
Hélène: of course not. I know what he will ask. And I refuse to subject my son to such a humiliation. I would rather see him torn to pieces and pierced on soldiers bayonets before I give up the rights which rightfully belong to him.
Adélaïde: if only the Rochellois would see the devotion of a mother instead of favouring the policies of a tyrant with a swarm of Jesuits in his train. *she folds her newspaper and we see the headline "Madame Rancune [8] Lands At Marseilles!"

*cut to Chateau de Chambord* *we see Henri strolling in the gardens* *alongside him is the latest pretty, young "flavour of the week" [9]* *while a distance behind him trails the rest of the court* *we see familiar faces: the comte du Saint-Leu and Triel; the duc and duchesse de Uzes, the prince and princesse de Craon, the prince de Polignac talking to his fiancée, Josephine Bonaparte* *true to her genes, Josephine has grown into the spitting image of her paternal grandmother, Hortense; with just a bit of the Clary look about the eyes* *we see the king of Haïti and his wife [10] walking in another part of the garden watching their children, as well as Saint-Leu's, Uzes and Craon's flying kites*
Henri: *teasingly* I cannot believe you like him, Anne. He looks rather...squirrely.
Anne: that's Monsieur le Duc d'Abrantés if you please. *looks at the duc walking some distance away from either party talking to the duc de Choiseul-Praslin and Marechal Ney* and he has made a name for himself as a war correspondant in Italy.
Henri: you mean people are now being paid to lie to the public? Would've solved my financial worries if I'd known that.
Anne: he's not like the rest. Or his mother. He only reported what was really happening.
Henri: his sister was involved with Cavaignac.
Anne: that's his sister. Not him.
Henri: and you are sure about this? Your grandmother would never forgive me if I married you to a fortune hunter.
Anne: please, your Majesty...we have been friends for all of our lives and your approval would mean a great deal to me.
Henri: my approval or my consent?
Anne: *looks at him like "what do you thinK"*
Henri: *chuckles* *turns to the crowd* everyone...we have an announcement to make. After...much convincing by Mademoiselle Anne...we are honoured to announce the engagement of Louis Andoche Junot, Duc d'Abrantès and Mademoiselle Anne de Rohan-Chabot [11]. *looks at Junot* Monsieur le Duc, you are indeed a lucky man. We wish you every happiness and blessing going forward.
*cloud politely applauds as Anne runs over to her now fiancé*
Fritz Baciocchi, Marquis de Talhouët: *comes up to Henri* *quietly* your Majesty, Monsieur Thiers is here to see you. He's waiting for you in the Grey Salon
Henri: is he now?
Fritz: he suggested that it would be more discreet.
Henri: let him wait. I'll finish my walk first. It's nice to hear the birds and the wind for a change. Hear something other than boom-boom-boom of guns for a change, don't you agree, Fritz?
Fritz: *nods* I only wish we didn't have to hear that at all, sire.

*it's close to sundown when Henri finally appears to see a clearly impatient Thiers*
Henri: *walks into salon* oh, Monsieur Thiers, I had no idea you were here. When did you arrive? We hope you haven't been waiting long.
Thiers: *butter wouldn't melt smile* of course not, your Majesty. I've been quite comfortable.
Henri: I often come in here to have discussions with their Eminences myself *on the wall are portraits of three great clergymen in French history under the Bourbons: Richelieu, Mazarin and the Éminence Grise, Father Joseph Leclerc du Tremblay*
Thiers: *indulgently* what do you talk to them about, sire?
Henri: about what would be best for France. They never answer of course.
Thiers: of course.
Henri: *sits down* *says nothing when Thiers sits down as well* now, what did you wish to discuss with us?
Thiers: *looks like a child who has been told he can tell the class what he did on the weekend* *takes a brown leather wallet from the side table and opens it* *he pulls out a sheaf of papers* *it looks a bit like a book without a binding* hopefully, this will satisfy your Majesty's question about what would be best for France.
Henri: is it the long awaited first volume of your history on the Consulate? I am so looking forward to that. I enjoyed your work on the Revolution immensely.
Thiers: *surprised* your Majesty has read it?
Henri: of course. What better way to keep up with the mood in France than to look at the biases that it's best authors display in their works
Thiers: there are no biases, sire, only facts.
Henri: *nods* *but makes no move to take the booklet Thiers is holding [12]*
Thiers: *grudgingly rises and walks the booklet over to Henri*
Henri: *accepts the book* thank you. *reads title* Discours de M. Thiers sur la role du Loie, l'Assemblée National et du roi dans la Constitution. *unexpectedly opens it and starts looking* *Thiers is walking over to his seat* don't sit down, I may regard facts as biases and require you to differentiate.
Thiers: *stands awkwardly*
Henri: *flips through the roughly forty page manuscript* *petulantly* there are no pictures.
Thiers: pardon, sire?
Henri: I like books with pictures in them. Helps me visualize things better. For your volume on the consulate.
Thiers: of course, sire.
Henri: *pauses on the title page before closing it* who was the original dedicatee?
Thiers: pardon, sire?
Henri: the page is thicker, like *holds the booklet to the light* ah, there it is. To S.M. Napoléon II. Empereur des Français. -how did he take this...publication of yours?
Thiers: *nervously* the package returned unopened.
Henri: so you decided to regift it to me?
Thiers: not a re-gift, sire, I simply thought I would bestow it on one clearly more interested
Henri: so what would the king's role be in your...constitution. Since from what I could make out, he would not even be allowed to address the chambers without their permission.
Thiers: your Majesty, I fully support the monarchy, since outside of the monarchy there is nothing but chaos, and considering the way of things today, for yourself and myself, in practice, a republic is absolutely impossible [13]
Henri: but from what I can make out of this...your monarchy would be nothing but a republic with a crown on top.
Thiers: What I am describing is a policy of conservatism; the path of our policy is the policy between two extremes, sire.
Henri: *closing booklet* you irritate the right without appeasing the left, Monsieur Thiers.
Thiers: sire, there is only one way for you to mount the throne, and that is by the means I've outlined. Accept a constitution and I assure you the public will vote for you at the election at the end of July.
Henri: *purses lips* but I am not standing for election.
Thiers: but if you did, the public would be overwhelmingly on your side.
Henri: [royal] we will think on it. We hope that you will join us tomorrow for the hunting.
Thiers: your Majesty is most generous but I should be returning then.
Henri: we will give you our answer then.
Thiers: *just nods defeatedly*

*fade to black*

Spoiler

*next day* *we see Henri and others on horseback in pursuit of a red deer stag* *Thiers is in the coach with the queen of Haïti, Madame Ney, Princesse de Craon and the marquise de Talhouët [14]*
*we hear one of the horns sounding that they've cornered the deer*
Duc de Noailles: *rides up with a grin* Monsieur Thiers, his Majesty has decided to let you deal the stag the deathblow.
Thiers: *in surprise* me?
Duc de Noailles: of course, it is your first hunt, after all. *motions to them to bring one of the spare horses [14] *waits patiently as the horse is brought out* *the stirrups are adjusted for Thiers* *and then they proceed at a trot to the deer*
*it's a magnificent creature, at least sixteen points on the antlers [15]* *Henri, Ney, the king of Haïti, Abrantès, Talhouët, Fitz-James, the ducs de Richelieu and Choiseul-Praslin, the duchesses d'Uzes and de Noailles, Anne de Rohan-Chabot, her brother, Charles de Rohan-Chabot, the prince and princesse de Wagram and the eighteen-year-old prince de la Trémoïlle (and his sister) are all present as Thiers and Noailles ride in*
Thiers: *softly* he's beautiful.
Noailles: imagine what he'll look like mounted on the wall in your library
Henri: *gives his own rifle to Thiers to shoot* *calmly shows him how and where to aim, squeeze the trigger and fire*
*the gunshot echoes* *no more Bambi's dad*
Thiers: *still a little stunned from the recoil on the gun* *looks at the deer that's now dead* *there's a smattering of applause from the company* *nods his head in acknowledgement* *his chest swells a bit more*
Henri: Wagram.
Napoléon Alexandre Berthier, 2e Prince de Wagram: yes...your Majesty.
Henri: you are the Grand Huntsman of France, are you not [16]? Do your duty.
Wagram: *dismounts* *accepts a silver and ivory hunting dagger from a groom* *goes over to the deer and cuts off the right rear hoof off* *he offers them to Henri [17]
Henri: *declines* *motions for him to give them to Thiers*
Wagram: *offers the hoof to Thiers* Monsieur Thiers, please accept this humble offering as a mark of your magnificent kill.
Thiers: *accepts the hoof gladly* *although seems a bit puzzled as to what to do with it*
Henri: and since it's his first hunt, Berthier.
Wagram: *grins* *walks back to deer* *dips fingers in the blood* *returns to Thiers*
Thiers: *worriedly* what are you doing? wai- stop- what-
Wagram: *steps aside*
*we see that Thiers' whole face - even his collar - is stained with the blood*
Ney: *grins* now you are a hunter, Monsieur Thiers.
Thiers: *first smiling a little unsurely* *then breaks into a bigger grin*
Henri: *motions for the servants to gather up the carcass and return it to the chateau*
*they return Thiers to the carriage*
Henri: *dismounts to hold Thiers' horse to allow him to climb off* *the little man is looking pleased as punch with himself*
Thiers: has your Majesty thought about what we spoke of last night?
Henri: of course. But I will not be the king of a party or a class. I will be king of all France...or no king at all-. *faces Thiers fully* *touches his arm like a friend would*
Thiers: this is a wasted opportui- *gasps*
*we see why* *in full view of the court and the servants, Henri has driven the hunting dagger into Thiers' belly and under his ribs*
Henri: -and I would rather be the sweeper of a crossroads, Monsieur Thiers, than what I will be made into your puppet.
*we see Thiers collapsing on the ground, bleeding. Henri calmly withdraws the dagger, wipes the blade on the grass, then returns it to the sheath as if it's nothing* *none of the court even blink*
Henri: *climbs back on his horse* and for your information, Monsieur, the king of Rome did read your idea. He likened you to his father "great in intelligence, small in stature and narrow in mind and heart". My name is already besmirched with the honour of the Frenchmen I have killed, but I will not sully it further by associating with a man who callously celebrated sending thirty-thousand of his countrymen to the knacker's yard [18] because it meant thirty thousand less that he had to share power with.

*fade to black*

[14] the coach - or tapissière - was reserved for those who wished to accompany the hunt but were either unable to ride or couldn't. I've seen nothing that says Thiers was able to ride, hunt or shoot, and even if he was, putting him with the women sends a very clear message about where he's regarded as ranking. Hunts would also keep spare horses for in case one was injured (unfortunately an all too common occurrence)
[15] a deer with twelve points (six prongs per antler) to the antlers is termed a "royal stag", fourteen points is termed an "imperial stag", and sixteen or above is a "monarch".
[16] Berthier's father was Grand Huntsman of France under Napoléon. The two holders of the office under the Restauration both having died, the post is vacant.
[17] this was one of the traditional duties of the Grand Huntsman. At a royal/imperial hunt he's to do this and offer the "prize" to the king/emperor or other highest ranked member of the hunt
[18] knacker's yard: the area of a slaughterhouse where the parts not fit for human consumption are taken to be boiled down or cut up to make useful things (like glue). Also a place where old and injured animals - like horses - are taken to be killed. As for the number (there are some sources that list it as the "true" number of deaths caused by Thiers at the Paris Commune), Henri's maybe not just including the "civil war" but every death since the Thiers-encouraged July Revolution where he wrote in his paper "The legal regime is over; that of force has begun; in the situation in which we are placed, obedience has ceased to be an obligation". This is both Henri dealing with with a potential rival and him taking a long-overdue revenge.

[1] a traditional melody/folk dance from Central France and/or Brittany (descriptions vary). A bourée is a skipping country dance, usually done with clogs (it evolved from the Bransles des Sabots), that became popular at the court of the last Valois thanks to La Reine Margot and remained so until well into Louis XIV's reign when it opened most court balls.

[2] Ah, it kills me!
[3] the Abbey of St. George was closed in 1792 by the Revolution and its property confiscated by the national governmen. If the name "Mother Clothilde" looks familiar, that's because this Henri's OTL wife and former "headmistress" of Frankie's little school in Venice. And while he doesn't go outright and say it, but this is the first volley of his "education attempt" in France. I have this idea that Frankie's set up a teaching college (similar to what they had in Bremen or Switzerland at the time) for young women who wish to become governesses. Unfortunately, to become a governess is still a bit of a scandalous profession for girls in the upper bourgeoisie "the grim existence of a governess" as one contemporary writer phrased it (and would remain so until around the 1850s and 1860s). You only became a governess if "a father dies, a bank breaks , a husband is killed or a brother requires a university education". So calling them "secular canonesses" along the lines of what was established at Mons, or Herford or Quedlinburg sounds more "respectable". These girls are not nuns, they do not take holy orders (unless they so wish), but they are trained in either medicine or teaching. They are free to leave the convent if they marry (governess was usually associated with spinsterhood), but they are basically Henri/Frankie advancing of women's education without ruffling too many feathers. Henri is thus giving Rennes a gaggle of qualified teachers and nurses for their hospitals, where before, as a French contemporary put it "[girls' schools] were usually run by older women and men of disparate qualifications and motivation". The school is distinct from the abbey, perhaps not even located within the abbey premises since then the pope would get involved.
[4] the she-pelican. Dating back to the Middle Ages, the pelican mother has been the symbol of charity who on returning to her nest to find her young dead, strikes her breast until she bleeds. Her blood then revives her offspring. It's why the pelican has been associated with charity, self-sacrifice, and the Resurrection. There was actually a campaign in the later 19th century to have the pelican - not the cross - as the symbol for hospitals/all things medical, but by then, the Red Cross had already got under way, so it was rejected. Although Henri's niece in Spain, for her "Carlist Red Cross" called "La Caritad" did take the symbol of a pelican.
[5] Adélaïde spent most of her time during the Revolution jumping from place to place with her aunt, Maria Fortunata d'Este, Princesse de Conti, and Louise Adélaïde de Condé, another nun. Having gone from being raised in a very secular household (where her father had no great respect for the piety of either his wife or his father) to what must've been an atmosphere "cloying with sanctimonious hypocrisy" (as Nancy Mitford describes Madame de Maintenon) no doubt has played a role in forming her anti-clericalist opinions. The hypocrisy of Adélaïde, that she is lying in a hospital bed, in no doubt a free hospital, benefiting from the care of nuns makes it all the more bitterly ironic
[6] the acting minister of foreign affairs
[7] these troops likely surrendered and went over to Henri's side - no doubt his actions at Nantes (essentially forcing the locals to allow them to leave in peace) made a big impression on many - while Cavaignac was executed. What the Republic is failing to mention is that it was their own laws that found Cavaignac guilty, not some arbitrary justice of the mob (as its probably portrayed). And saying Henri executed that many troops instead of that many troops deserted...more suited to rouse the flagging patriotism to portray this as a "just and holy war".
[8] "Madam Grudge" , points to anyone who knows who this is
[9] Henri is a Bourbon after all. But I think most girls are shocked when "nothing happens". Make no mistake, Henri's no prude, but he's not going to risk a scandal by leaving a wake of bastards like his namesake. Or a woman who can lay claim to be maîtresse-en-titre and so cause problems for any potential marriage. As Peel and Victoria both point out, times are different. But he probably isn't above a little innocent flirtation, maybe some kissing and a (non-sexual) cuddle
[10] Henri II Christophe is going to be under enormous pressure to marry. However, no sane king in Europe is going to let him marry his daughter, but I have this imagine that after (or perhaps before) the childless death of Jacques II Dessalines (only legitimate son of Emperor Jacques I of Haïti), Christophe married one of Jacques' legitimate sisters (both to settle any bad blood between the families as well as because there may have been a desire to strengthen Henri II's claim - not unlike how Henri-Frankie have intermarried the "nobility of the lance and the aristocracy of the cannon" - and neutralize that of any of Jacques' bastard half-siblings). This marriage had no Frankie involvement on it, even if it does seem "right up his street". It could have been financially driven though - one of them, either Madame Dessalines or Madame Christophe ICR which had apparently sent a large part of her fortune in Europe even before the death of her husband - as well.
[11] elder son of Marshal and Lauré "la Petite Peste" Junot. Anne (b.1822) is the second daughter of the duc de Rohan-Chabot and the elder daughter of Henri's ex-governess, the duchesse de Gontaut
[12] Versailles etiquette. Royalty and aristocracy never took something, they waited until it was "handed" to them. By walking the book over to Henri instead of just leaving it on his lap, Thiers has already displayed who is in charge in the room
[13] Thiers did say this OTL. Just with "republic" and "monarchy" switched around


@The_Most_Happy @isabella @VVD0D95 @Jan Olbracht @Ramontxo @HortenseMancini @Anarch King of Dipsodes @Dragonboy @kaiidth @SavoyTruffle @Wendell @nathanael1234 @Fehérvári @Guatemalan Nat-Synd @Valena @maw @LordMartinax @EmmettMcFly55

 

[Kellan Sullivan]

@VVD0D95 and others wondering what game Henri is playing, hope you enjoy

Soundtrack; Goran Bregović - Le Mariage

*exterior* *Toulon* *King Louis XIX [aka Angoulême] and Queen Marie Thérèse disembark at the harbour* *they are followed by a swarm of courtiers from exile led by Caroline, Dowager Duchesse de Berri and her two "stepdaughters", the Princesse de Lucinge and the new Comtesse de Mayenne [2]*
*The mayor makes a short speech welcoming the king and queen to Toulon* *expressing his (and all the citizens) loyalty and undying devotion* *both king and queen make polite responses, but you can see from their faces this is more a question of "for how long this time?"*
*Cut to view of a train of coaches travelling out of Toulon on the Avignon Road*
*Cut to a similar scene playing out in Avignon* *mayoral speeches* *cheering crowds shouting "Vive le Roi! Vive la Reine! Vive la France!"* *You can see Madame Royal is genuinely moved when a little girl steps forward to present the daughter of St. Louis with a posy of flowers*
*Interior of the king's carriage* *she is looking sentimentally down at the little posy*
Madame Royal: *suddenly frantic* Antoine, where are we going? The exit to Lyons is that way.
Angoulême: *pats her hand reassuringly* Doucement, Marie, Henri thought you would enjoy getting to Lyons quicker in this heat by taking a...shortcut.
*Carriage stops* *Angoulême gets out* *Madame Royal follows him*
Madame Royal: a train? [3] *looks uncomfortably at the engine*
Angoulême: he didn't tell you about it because he knows you don't like them.
Madame Royal: he wants us to travel by railroad?
Angoulême: *gently escorting her towards where the train - festooned with ribbons, lilies and roses [4] - and coaches - painted white and blue, picked out in gold - is waiting* *we see the name of the train "Duc de Berri[5]"* he does.
Madame Royal: but its so...undignified. To travel like-
Chateaubriand: *dressed in the uniform of a chamberlain* *bows deeply* your Majesties, on behalf of Monseigneur le Duc de Bordeaux, I bid you welcome to Avignon. His Royal Highness hopes that you will find this mode of transport far more comfortable than a long journey by coach.
Madame Royal: *unsurely as she watches the luggage being loaded* if he says so. *Climbs on board*

*Cut to the train puffing along the countryside* *despite the fact that they're far from major urban centers, there are cheering crowds standing alongside the train tracks* *some are even holding up placards with portraits of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Louis XVII, Madame Élisabeth, Princesse de Lamballe and the duc d'Enghien depicted as a sort of "Holy Family" [6]*
*We even see some cuts of Madame Royal smiling and waving back at the people [7]* *Angoulême looks like he's rather enjoying this whole trip*
Madame Royal: *to Chateaubriand* will Henri be at Lyons?
Chateaubriand: no, your Majesty, it is simply that the railway was only built so far when the duc d'Orléans fled to Compiègne. The line at Avignon was supposed to reach all the way to Marseilles or Arles- I can't remember- but the company went bankrupt before it could.
Angoulême: they don't sound like very sensible businessmen. What happened to the days when things were planned out to the last sou?
Chateaubriand: it is why his Royal Highness has decided to establish a ministry of railways subdivision in the minister of the interior's portfolio. That the railways will be built by a joint state-private enterprise to a single standard, set by the king. While the railways will, for now, remain in private hands, they will be subject to government scrutiny regarding completion, maintenance and financing. If they cannot complete the project by dates they have set, they will be required to pay a fine to the treasury.
Angoulême: well, that's good. I'm sure it will also be a good source of work for the locals, either to build or to feed the builders. Madame Royal: why not nationalize them? Or make them the king's property?
CHateaubriand: unfortunately, Majesty, the recent spate of nationalizing even the churches has made many Frenchmen, his Royal Highness included, nervous about it. Last thing one would want to do is to make enemies among the railway owners by such a move. After all, this assurance was partially why he has been able to move troops around as effectively as he has. He ensured that many closed their railways to the government troops, but allowed his troops to move around-
Madame Royal: they will bite him back. If they turned for him, they will turn on him.
Chateaubriand: quite, Majesty. That was why he was careful to word it as the state and not the king. By turning on him, they would be turning on their own countrymen. And France has seen its glut of brother shedding the blood of brother. He has made the owners answerable to - as no doubt General Cavaignac discovered before he was executed - a far more ruthless and fearsome master than the king: the people.
Angoulême: so he has surrendered the power to the people?
Chateaubriand: no, sire, he has not, like Napoléon, risen to power on the army's bayonets, or the duc d'Orléans who has rose to power - and fell - at the mob's baying. Rather, he has returned to the ancient idea that the king is to position himself between the people and the aristocracy, the bankers and the industrialists. The one side wishes to avoid oppression, one side wishes to oppress. And in the tension between those two sides, the king rules.
Caroline de Berri: how positively Machiavellian.
Chateaubriand: while I can't say I approve, Madame, the fact is that remains is that he has accomplished more in less than two years than I believe anyone thought possible when he crossed the border. Then he was a solitary fugitive...now he is capable of calling a hundred thousand men -royalists, Orléanists, Bonapartists, even some conservative republicans - to his side should he decide to attack Paris.
Caroline: but suely his refusal to accept Monsieur Thiers' suggestions has alienated some of the republicans?
Chateaubriand: I regret to inform your Majesties that Monsieur Thiers has gone to meet his reward.
*Stunned silence in car*
Angoulême: from the mob in Paris? I had heard they burned his home.
Chateaubriand: at the hands of the king, Monsieur Thiers' suffered from being "stabbed in the back from the front".
Madame Royal: Henri did that?
Chateaubriand: yes, your Majesty. Stabbed him in front of the full court.
Madame Royal: *angrily* he decides to emulate the last of the Valois? Does he wish to end as they did? As his father did?
Angoulême: Thiers was no duc de Guise, Marie.
Madame Royal: *clearly upset* but now the republicans will murder him just the same. As revenge.
Chateaubriand: actually, Majesty, the two largest rivals to the current...leader, Monsieur Dupont de l'Eure, in the election at the end of the month, are his fellow Minister Cavaignac, and Monsieur Thiers. I dare say the...congratulatory note that arrived at Chambord for his Royal Highness from Monsieur Dupont de l'Eure by acknowledging that Monsieur Thiers' death was "as necessary as that of the duc d'Enghien", has rather...shocked many who would support him south of the Loire when it was published in the paper.
Caroline: so Dupont de l'Eure wishes to be the new Bonaparte.
Chateaubriand: as did Monsieur Thiers.
Angoulême: *smiling out the window at the crowd* did he? I always believed him to be more like...Talleyrand.
Chateaubriand: speaking as someone who has met both, your Majesty, I would say Thiers is no more Talleyrand than he was the duc de Guise. His constant ambition of playing the ends against the middle has...unfortunately...caught up with him. He has changed his political allegiance six times since arriving in Paris - first for Charles X, then against, for the duc d'Orléans, then against, first for the republic, then for the duc de Reichstadt, then the duc d'Algiers, then for the duc de Bordeaux-
Madame Royal: *holds up hand* who is the duc d'Algiers?
Caroline: it's the title Riton offered the duc d'Orléans for his grandson, c'est à dire Monseigneur le Dauphin. The duchesse encouraged the man to accept, his sister and daughter-in-law is encouraging the man to refuse.
Chateaubriand: and for that reason the duc is being mocked in the Paris newspapers as Macbeth consulting the Three Witches.
Angoulême: which has the benefit of splitting his support as well.
Chateaubriand: exactly. Not unlike Monsieur Thiers. Unlike Talleyrand, he has never been patient enough to wait for the waters to settle and build up allies before changing. His arrogance made him unpopular among his own party. And his death - in the papers termed a hunting accident - has split the republicans. The radicals like Dupont de l'Eure. The conservatives liked Thiers. And the middle of the road was Cavaiagnac. The conservatives are now forced to choose between Cavaignac or Dupont de l'Eure, or to support the duc de Bordeaux.
Madame Royal: so Henri has managed to divide the politicians into bite-sized blocks.
Chateaubriand: and in dividing the politicians, Majesty, he has united much of France behind him.
Madame Royal: then why does he tarry at Chambord instead of going on to Paris?
Chateaubriand: he has announced a ceasefire. Out of respect for the "new government". So as to...not compromise the elections they have scheduled. He's even ordered that the men - even the aristocrats - in the parts of France under his control go out and vote. And allowed them to set up stations to do so.
Caroline: what on earth for? Why is he helping the republicans?
Angoulême: *grinning at them* he's brilliant, that's why. He knows that the government in Paris will attempt to only count the votes for the region they control. Or that, if they lose, they will call the election compromised due to the state of war, and see it as a reason to "hold onto" their powers until such time as "proper elections" can be held. -which will be on the last Saturday of never- Their main criticism of Riton at the moment is that he is a raving Catholic absolutist who will try to set the clock back to 1789, except he's playing their game. Who do you think people south of the Loire, Brittany, Provence, even Lyons, will vote for? The man who's done his utmost to control the violence and bloodshed? Or the government that has sent armies against them?
Madame Royal: *distastefully* so he's to be a king of the bourgeois, then?
Chateaubriand: no, Majesty, he's holding up a mirror to the public that regardless of what they say, Paris will decide what is in its own best interests. They cannot announce that the man they have been painting as a bloodthirsty hunchbacked dwarf beat their "enlightened government" at the polls-
Madame Royal: which means they will, naturellement, falsify the election results.
Chateaubriand: which will lead to dissatisfaction from anyone who didn't vote for them. The petit bourgeoisie and the poor are already against them for not being included in the vote, but imagine what will happen when even the bourgeoisie are thwarted. They will side with the party that best protects their interests, and at the moment, the destruction of the Thiers' home is likely making many of them wonder whether they're safe in town. Most aristocrats have already left the capital for the country. Many have gone to Chambord or Compiègne, depending on their allegiance, others have retired to their estates to wait it out. But they fear a repeat of the Terror. Even the duc d'Orléans sent whole wagonloads of art-works and furniture by night from the Tuileries, Louvre, Palais Royal, Neuilly., Saint-Cloud..to Compiègne, Versailles and Fontainebleau for in the event of riots breaking out in Paris.
Angoulême: about the one honourable thing he has done.
Madame Royal: so Henri proves the republic is falsifying the election, then what? The mob is a horrific thing, as the duc [d'Orléans]'s father found out. They cannot be muzzled once unleashed. Paris will not yield to him-
Angoulême: it's why it's so brilliant, the new elected government but have no choice but to appeal to Riton to rescue them from the mob. His would be the nearest army they can "count on".

*cut to the train arriving at the station in Lyons* *the mayor once again makes the speeches* *there are a bunch of little girls in white dresses lined up with posys while the little boys are dressed in miniature "Royal Lyonnais" uniforms to greet the king and queen* *one little girl - obviously the leader, around eight or nine - steps forward and launches into a speech of welcome* *she talks about how grateful Lyons is to receive the royal visit, buzzwords like "Peace", "Justice", "Industry" and "the Church"* *suddenly, the young girl stops*
Madame Royal: *looks at the girl's frantic glances to the curé and around* *realizes that the "sudden stop" was because she'd forgotten the words* *trying to spare the little girl the embarrassment* thank you for your kind words of welcome, ma petite.
Curé: *encouragingly* give the queen the posy, Zaubette.
Zaubette: *insistently* wait, I'll remember.
Madame Royal & Angoulême: *pressing mouths into a firm line to stop laughing*[8]
Caroline: *fixes a glare at some courtier's chuckle*
Zaubette: *suddenly off again as she remembers* *gabbling on and on and on* *then she stops again as she's clearly forgotten what comes next*
Curé: *now desperately trying to save face* *frantic* Vive le Roi!
Crowd: *echoes it*
Zaubette: *glares at the Curé for interrupting her, then rattles off the remaining text*
*there's a muffled groan as she stops for the fourth time*
Zaubette: *seems to herself be annoyed by this* *simply decides to call it a day* Vive le Roi de France! Vive la Reine de France! Vive Madame, Duchesse de Berri! Vive le Duc de Bordeaux! Vive la France! VIve tout le Monde!
*rest of reception goes with polite nods* *we see Madame Royal and Angoulême climbing into their coach* *as soon as it starts moving she bursts out laughing* what I wouldn't have given at that age to have had Zaubette's bravery. [9]
Angoulême: *nods understandingly as he takes his wife's hand affectionately*

*cut to the Chapel Royal at Chambord* *in the pews we see various familiar faces* *Henri, now joined by his mother, aunt and uncle* *Caroline is even in conversation with the queen of Haïti behind their fans* *in the other seats are the ducs de Noailles, Broglie, Fitz-James, Richelieu, Rohan-Chabot, Biron and Choiseul-Praslin [10] alongside their wives (except Choiseul-Praslin)* *we also see Ney, his wife, his two oldest sons, Wagram, the marquis de Rochejaquelein, the comtes de Saint-Leu, Triel (his wife and three sons), Morny, Mayenne [10]*
*at the front of the church, we see not one wedding, but four taking place* *Anne Rohan-Chabot to the duc d'Abrantès* *Josephine Bonaparte to the Prince de Polignac* *Louise de Choiseul-Praslin to Charles Antoine, Prince de la Trémoïlle* *and the last couple to get married is an absolute surprise: Enrique, duque de Seville and a red-headed beauty with white skin* *we hear the priest call her "Marie Eugènie, Comtesse Montijo[11]*

*fade to black as the priest declares "je vous déclare mari et femme" and the choir starts chanting the Beati Omnes qui timent Dominum [12]

[1] the motto of King François I: I nourish [the good] and extinguish [the bad]
[2] her husband has been fighting with Henri against the royalists, trying - same as Marmont and Ney - to regain the honour he lost by abandoning the duchesse in 1832. The title is a "victory title" derived from the Battle of Mayenne rather than Henri seeking to recreate the comte-pairie that belongs to the Grimaldis (although he probably has no time for Honoré V).
[3] the Avignon-Lyons railway only dates from 1846/1850s, but its not impossible that with a war with Italy, the French government decided to build the route earlier to get troops down to Italy faster
[4] irises (fleurs-de-lys) for France, roses for Antoinette the "rose du Danube" according to one of the early poems written to celebrate her wedding
[5] Henri honouring not only his own father but also a tip of the hat to Louis XVI
[6] not impossible. The Second Republic did the same with Daumier's Family on the Barricades, portraying a working class family of rebels in such a way. Vigée-Lebrun did it as early as her portrait of Antoinette with her children, which was probably the base for this. Élisabeth would likely either be an angel or the saint of her name, while the Princesse de Lamballe is St. Anne (the Virgin's mother) and Enghien as St. John the Baptist
[7] IIRC from Nagel's autobiography, she was at her happiest/most relaxed away from Paris. Unfortunately, the Parisians are the ones who made up their minds about her being a "sourpuss". Angoulême is nearly seventy. He's likely at that point of his life where he's just happy he wakes up. Plus, the last time he'd have been down this way was when he fled with his father to Turin in the 1790s when people believed the Revolution would soon be defeated. So for him, to be travelling this route again, hearing cries of "Vive le Roi!" is probably a big thing for him
[8] figure that both Madame Royal and Angoulême were, by nature, shy individuals (regardless of what history has portrayed them as), so they would definitely want to spare Zaubette [a pet form of Isabelle/Élisabeth] the embarrassment.
[9] this laughter is basically what they've been forced to hold in the whole time, like how you get the church giggles and by the time you let it out, it's even worse for building up. Even Marie Antoinette commented on the two sides to her daughter's personality: the lively, happy child and the serious-minded, duty-obligated princess. Her admiring the girl's bravery is because maybe she wound up in a similar situation several times
[10] these are some of the oldest (and staunchest royalist) names in France like Rohan, Biron, du Plessis and Choiseul. Once again demonstrating that Henri is the "glue" tying all of these seemingly disparate people together
[11] I know the title's anachronistic, but I figured why the Hell not. Enrique contracted a scandalous marriage OTL, no doubt Eugènie will send his mother into another attack of vapours (and be blamed for hastening his mother's death), but her mother's likely thrilled at the idea. Plus, Enrique's pretty far down in the Spanish pecking order as the second son of a third son by now TTL. Likely he made his peace with his godfather (Henri de Bordeaux) in exchange for royal consent to this match. And Henri's got his own interests in seeing this match go through. Eugènie's got the connections: her sister, Paca, is to be married to Fitz-James' boy [instead of his cousin in Spain] when he turns 17 (in 1845), her dad is the son of a member of the de Croy-Havre family (the daughter of the 5e duc de Havre and his half-de la Trémoïlle Lante della Rovere wife to be specific; the 5e duc's sister was married to a prince of Hesse-Darmstadt). But most descriptors of Eugènie is devoted to floods of ink describing her mother (Maria Manuela Kirkpatrick) as the daughter of a wine merchant (which is probably the Bonaparte attempt to portray it as a second "Napoléon-Josèphine" rather than "Napoléon-Marie Louise").
[12] standard psalm (Psalm 127 in the Vulgate, 128 in ordinary bibles) used for weddings (also churchings): Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways./ For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. / Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. / Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD. / The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. / Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel.

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[Kellan Sullivan]

This is a short segue to look at Henri's foray into foreign affairs. And that he knows he needs to marry. But right now, he's leveraging being single:

Soundtrack: Friedrich Dionys Weber - Variations for Trumpet and Orchestra in F Major

*exterior* *Berlin* *flitting around the city we see various landmarks before the camera stops on a carriage stopping at the Alte Palais*
*cut to interior* *Wilhelm of Prussia is sitting down to lunch when the usher shows in Louis Emanuel, duc d'Almazán*
Almazán: *bows* your Royal Highness
Wilhelm: How are you Ludwig?
Almazán: I am good thank you, your Royal Highness.
Wilhelm: we were very surprised to hear of your return to Berlin. It's been what...fifteen years?
Almazán: I was tasked with a very important task by the French government, your Royal Highness, one does not simply shy away from such an opportunity.
Wilhelm: *reaches for his wine glass* *sips* my brother does not recognize the French government. Not until they've had their election, he says.
Almazán: then he and i are of the same mind.
Wilhelm: they can have one hundred elections and it will not make a jot of difference.
Almazán: of course, sir. The business I have concerns the king.
Wilhelm: my brother will not hear some more whining from the king. He blames the king for having gotten us into this shameful mess in the first place.
Almazán: that is not the king of whom I speak, sir.
Wilhelm: *realizes* I forgot you're one of those Henricunts? Or what do they call them?
Almazán: Henriquinquistes, your Royal Highness.
Wilhelm: ridiculous sounding name if you ask me.
Almazán: of course.
Wilhelm: well...what does your king want to say to me?
Almazán: first, he would like to express his congratulations on the recent birth of your Royal Highness' son [1]. He trusts that the baby and the mother are both in splendid health, and congratulates you on the addition to your family.
Wilhelm: too damn loud. At least we know that his lungs are sound. And he shits more than any child I've ever encountered [2].
Almazán: his Majesty will be greatly pleased to know the child is in good health. Which brings me to the second part of his request, your Royal Highness.
Wilhelm: and what is that?
Almazán: he has asked if...as a means of...forgetting the unhappy recent past and in memory of the kindness which your parents showed to his aunt, uncle and great-uncle...your Royal Highness would grant him the honour of allowing to be the newborn's godfather.
Wilhelm: *looks at Almazán like he cannot believe he is asking that with a straight face* the Berliners will revolt if we give my son a Catholic godfather.
Almazán: Frederick the Great had a Catholic godfather without too much fanfare.
Wilhelm: that was a different time.
Almazán: his Majesty does understand that there will be some awkwardness. But he wishes to assure Prussia of his friendship and devotion.
Wilhelm: friendship and devotion, eh? He is an uncrowned king who - according to what was that law they passed in May? That confiscated all the properties belonging to the kings of France: from Versailles and the Tuileries down to a damned hunting lodge at Randan. So he's not only an uncrowned king, but he's one with no property.
Almazán: actually, your Royal Highness, the law was directed at the duc d'Orléans' family not the king of France. As the duc realized as well, the chateau de Chambord was the gift of the nation, and they would seem rather callous indeed if they attempted to confiscate that from a man who - as you point out - has nothing else.
Wilhelm: we have both seen this play before, Ludwig, after the confiscation of the property comes the expulsion of the family. And soon Chambord will be out on his arse, just like the Orléans. No doubt he hopes that by being godfather to my son that he may have assured of a place to hang his hat when they boot him out.
Almazán: no, your Royal Highness. He simply wishes to draw a line under what has gone before. And to remind your Royal Highness that it was not him that cost the Prussians so dear.
Wilhelm: *looks at Almazán over his wine glass* fine. He may be godfather. But I will not have my son called "Karl" after his father or grandfather, is that understood [3].
Almazán: his Majesty wouldn't dream of it. He actually recommended "Louis" after your Royal Highness' mother. And then either "Ferdinand" after his father, or "August" after the child's mother.
Wilhelm: not Heinrich?
Almazán: he said only if your Royal Highness wishes it. Otherwise Ferdinand would suffice.
Wilhelm: *clearly this is now a different conversation* do you think he means it? The friendship and devotion?
Almazán: His Majesty said to tell any who questioned his loyalty that it is not by his order that there are still French soldiers in Prussian territory. And that if Prussia had any princesses of suitable age, he would earnestly consider the hand of such a young lady the highest honour [4]
Wilhelm: even if one of suitable age existed, my brother would not marry her to Paris. Not after the last few queens have all ended up. Auguste pointed out that it sounds like the nursery rhyme about Henry VIII's wives: beheaded, divorced, survived, exiled, dethroned...will the last one be died [5]?
Almazán: his Majesty has admitted that the record is not encouraging.
Wilhelm: he does not speak of it to promise he will stop it.
Almazán: he has said that he will not be a fool to promise the future. It is why even he has refused to start looking for a bride until things are...settled.
Wilhelm: I suppose he has more sense than his predecessor then *raises glass in toast to portrait of his mother on the wall* may things soon be...settled then.

*fade to black*

[1] OTL Auguste had miscarried a son in 1843
[2] this isn't actually a criticism. It's said more with a sort of gruff paternal pride. I can't find any record of what Wilhelm was like as a father when his children were younger
[3] this is less Wilhelm having an objection to Charles X or the duc de Berri than his own dislike of his brother, Prince Karl
[4] Henri is not being "unfaithful" to Austria here. This is him attempting to "separate" his actions from those of King Louis Philippe or the republic's in the eyes of foreign courts. A sort of "passive aggressive" getting a johnny-on-the-spot that is known to the Berlin Court (Almazan, the godson of Marie Antoinette, was ambassador to Prussia under Charles X) before some republican flunky gets in. He's also ensuring that Prussia will "withhold" recognition from the Republic rather than run to their defense. Almazan approaching Wilhelm rather than the king is sort of an oblique way of doing it. It's not an official request, and it's not like the Hohenzollerns would allow some republican president to be godfather. It's a personal matter, but it's a personal matter with political ramifications
[5] beheaded [Antoinette], divorced [Josephine], survived [Marie Louise], exiled [Madame Royal], deposed [Marie Amélie]

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[Kellan Sullivan]

Soundtrack: Händel - Saul - Gird On Thy Sword! [1]

*exterior* *Venice* *we look at the Doge's Palace* *the Bridge of Sighs* *we see a large boat with lots of luggage being rowed down the canal* *a gondola with a dark-haired woman follows behind*
*interior* *Ca' Rezzonico* *we see the brunette being helped out of her coat and hat* *we realize how tiny the woman's waist is* *it suits her elfin size but still*
Woman: where's François?
Marmont: he'll be here shortly, Madame-
Woman: *girlish giggle* Mademoiselle-
Marmont: he'll be here shortly, Mademoiselle. Although he was not happy to have unexpected visitors.
Woman: didn't he get the letter to say I was coming.
*Frankie walks into reception hall between Karoline and Therese* *Leopold's busy chattering about something, complete with sound effects*
Frankie: *coolly* I likely didn't get it, Fanny, because you haven't started writing it yet.
Fanny: *looks at her daughters* *neither looks particularly thrilled that their mother is here*
Therese: *stiffly* welcome home, motherdear.
Karoline: *looks at her mother* how long are you going to be here this time?
Fanny: awhile.
Frankie: *examining his finger nails as if he's heard this all before*
Fanny: *gestures to the trunks* *one of which is now open* I brought you presents from England, from America, Paris- such a horrid man that comte de Chambord disturbing the peace like he is - even Russia-
Frankie: *calmly* you shouldn't have.
Karoline: *walks over to the trunk* *but she doesn't look excited about the dolls or other toys* *almost disinterested*
Therese: thank you, mamma. *looks at the stuff* *its all very girly* But what did you bring for Leopold and Eugène?
Fanny: oh, I didn't know they'd be here.
Frankie: can I talk to you, Fanny? *tone implies "alone"*

*cut to Frankie's office* *Nardus and Lorenz are both in the "playpen" that we've seen Leopold and Eugène in* *Frankie closes the door after he and Fanny walk in*
Fanny: *looks at the two boys* I see you didn't waste any time
Frankie: *ignoring the barb* how long's it for this time?
Fanny: what?
Frankie: you staying here? Is it awhile, or is it until the wind changes like it always is?
Fanny: I don't leave that often.
Frankie: *throws himself down on couch* *Nardus toddles over to him* *stretches out his arms to be picked up* *Frankie duly obliges* *then scoops up Lorenz to put on his other knee* *we get the idea - like with his appointment with Léon where he called Therese his "good behaviour insurance" that he's doing something similar*
Fanny: I don't have the option to sit around all day like my sister does.
Frankie: that's the Countess Hohenau [2] to you. And you had the option. Back when I was a lot younger, and a lot stupider.
Fanny: you know why I told you no.
Frankie: thus nullifying your right to complain. Now, how long? Until Giselle finishes playing at La Fenice? No. That's not long at all...maybe you'll still stay while you're in Milan and Bologna. It's not too far. You could be here on your days off.
Fanny: don't start.
Frankie: again, it was you that brought it up.
Fanny: what did you say to them about me...they didn't even look happy to see me.
Frankie: Therese took three weeks of ignoring me when I came home just because I didn't keep my promise to write to her once a week. Imagine how much it hurts having a mother who's away for nearly three years and never writes.
Fanny: are you turning into this into one of your rants about your mother? *smirks at him* yes- I remember those. That was the main reason I didn't marry you. I wasn't willing to be your "mother".
Frankie: I wasn't going to turn it into a rant about my mother. What I was going to say is that I always knew when my mother arrived with trunks full of toys for me from Parma that the toys were for her, not for me. She didn't care about me. She brought those toys to ease her nagging conscience.
Fanny: so you get to leave, but I don't?
Frankie: no Fanny, you don't get to leave *ignores Lorenz standing up and pulling on his moustache* and then pretend that you leaving to dance in America and me going to war is the same. I knew where the girls were, that they were safe, who they were with...you didn't even ask who Marmont was, you just assumed he was the butler to take your coat. For all you know, I could've married one of the girls off to him and you'd be looking at your son-in-law [3]. Did you ever think about them at all?
Fanny: safe? If Venice had been attacked, and they'd been killed or raped, how is that safe?
Frankie: spare me the theatrics *bats away Lorenz's finger that's pulling on his lip now* this isn't one of your shows. There was a warship at the ready to evacuate all my pupils to Trieste or Pola in the event that that happened. And if you were so concerned, why didn't you come home? -and what you did to Leopold was extremely rude.
Fanny: must I buy toys for all your bastards when I buy toys for my daughters?
Frankie: *pointedly* did you buy presents for Franz [her son by the Prince of Salerno] as well?
Fanny: *silent*
Frankie: that's what I thought. And no, I don't expect you to buy toys for my bastards. But you knew that he'd likely be here, that I'd likely be here. And then to flaunt what you brought for your daughters in front of him, it was tasteless. And now, I will have two sets of children to console- him because you brushed him aside more disdainfully than his own grandmother did the first time she met him- and the girls because do you know how long a journey from Vienna is with two of them crying because instead of coming home to them you decided to go to America? This arrangement was supposed to be three months while you danced in Paris. In the meantime, the French crown prince you danced for is dead, his father's been overthrown, Europe's had a war and now peace. Surely, Fanny, you can understand how that will make them feel?
*knock on door*
Standejsky: *pokes head in* your Serene Highness, you said you wished to go visit the prisons? Your escort is here.
Frankie: thank you, Standejsky.
Standejsky: and Signora Rivelli would like to come in.
Frankie: send her in.
Signora Rivelli: *nowadays practically part of the furniture [4]* *bustles in* *curtseys to Frankie, gives Fanny the stink-eye*
Fanny: *gives the stink-eye right back* [5]
Rivelli: *looks at how Nardus has now curled up on Frankie's lap and watching this with big eyes* *Lorenz has finished investigating Frankie's nostrils and is now treating his Frankie's thigh as if its a horse* really your Serene Highness, you're worse than the children.
Frankie: it's no surprise they were bored. I suspect even you would be bored by this talk Valeria.
Rivelli: It's time for them to have lunch *picks Lorenz up* and Countess von Pettau [6] would like to see you before you leave.
Frankie: *grimaces as, while climbing off, Nardus steps on his crotch* of course, I'll be there shortly.
Rivelli: *nods as she leads the boys out*
Frankie: *stands up* *picks up his coat from the hat stand next to the door*
Fanny: and that's it? You go running because a countess is here to see you.
Frankie: that countess is the woman who's been raising our daughters, Fanny. You remember Amalie?
Fanny: she's a countess?
Frankie: unless I marry her, then she becomes duchess of Pettau, but yes. *smirks at her* isn't it strange to think that...had you been willing to "be my mother" as you call it, that title could've been yours. *kisses her hand* you'd have never had to dance again *puts on his hat, picks up his cane and walks out*

*in the boat on the canal* *en route to the Campo San Severo*
Marmont: the election result from France is in. *hands Frankie a letter*
Frankie: *opens it reads* eighty seats to the moderate republicans. one hundred and twelve to the Montagnards, thirty eight to the conservative republicans. *chuckles* and twelve for me. *shakes heads* the fools. That's only 242 seats. How many are there in the Chamber. Four hundred?
Marmont: by their new seating plan five hundred.
Frankie: who got the rest of the seats?
Marmont: I believe it was Saint Augustine who said "Tolle Lege [7]"
Frankie: *frowns* *looks at letter* *reads* two hundred and fifty three for Henri? That still leaves five seats.
Marmont: they voted for the Orléans. So Henri has the majority in the chamber. A slight majority,
Frankie: I wouldn't call two hundred and fifty three to one-hundred-and-twelve slight, Marmont. A coalition government is proof of weakness. The Montagnards have the majority, they will be the ones calling the shots. And they won't take long before they are pissing off the rest of their coalition.
Marmont: *offers paper to Frankie* it seems they already have, sir.
Frankie: *reads headline* *we see the same election results* *but now reversed* *the republicans are the one with 253 seats* *plus another 212 Montagnards elected* *and the royalists - c'est à dire the Orléanists, Légitimists and Bonapartists - only received thirty five seats*
Frankie: we are sure that the letter is true?
Marmont: the letter comes from Monsieur Hugo. Who is no fan of the monarchy, and identifies as a radical republican. But Monsieur de Toqueville, slightly more moderate the way the Atlantic Ocean is a large lake...gives similar figures to Hugo. As does Madame Sand.
Frankie: what have we heard from Henri? Now that his ceasefire has ended.
Marmont: he has set the Royal Lyonnais on the march northwards. Their objectives are to take Dijon and Besançon. The republic attacked his army at Le Mans on 2nd August already, but we're not sure if that was anything official or just some hotheads acting up.
Frankie: *looks up at the facades of the Palazzo Priuli and the Palazzo Grimani* *they frown down on the Rio San Severo as the boat docks at the landing stage* if the first, then Henri is retaliating. If the second, they cannot control their army and deserve to be put out in the street *climbs out*
Marmont: they heave recalled the troops from Germany...to combat this army headed for Dijon. Officially it is to "ease tensions" with Prussia.
Frankie: they're just scared that Henri's looking good to the Prussians right now.
Marmont: and they've recalled General Bugeaud from Algeria to lead them.
Frankie: *smirks sharkishly* well this just got a whole lot of interesting. An Orléanist general leading a republic's army against the son of the woman he beat, raped, got pregnant [8]? It's almost as deliciously ironic as Henri stabbing Thiers.
Marmont: you are far too happy about this, sir
Frankie: Henri killing Thiers like that - even if no one in Europe believes it was a hunting accident - prevented him from becoming a martyr. Thiers - and Cavaignac and the Republic - probably hoped that they would be executed in public. With crowds. Ready to make some sort of grand geste, a noble sacrifice for the republic in the face of the tyranny of kings. Henri has cheated them both. Cavaignac was unable to use his brother's execution to rouse the population in favour of the moderate republicans because he was executed legally. And Thiers dies quietly in the country with no one to mourn him- I hear not even his wife is particularly upset. Then again, considering how he was carrying on with first her mother, and lately her sister [9], she's probably relieved. *his gondolier has now finished tying up the boat* all ready, Daniele?
Daniele: yes, your Serene Highness. *they walk into the prison*

*inside San Severo*
Daniele: dear God, what is that smell? *covers face with cloak*
Frankie: *indifferently as they walk down the corridor* a life I saved you from, Monsieur Manin, when you and your friends tried to seize the Arsenale.
Daniele: *looks around furtively*
Frankie: now, I know there are some - Metternich, for instance - who calls me a fool for allowing you to live, but a living republican is far more useful to me than a dead martyr. Look at what I did with the carbonari. They're now surrounded by good Catholic, royalist Spaniards and made themselves useful. I don't believe in making martyrs. Killing my brother was a lesson in that *stops in front of a room* *a guard opens the door*
*inside we see two men lying on beds* *they ignore Frankie when he walks in*
Frankie: *takes chair and straddles it* *resting his arms on the back* Attilio and Emilio Bandiera, at long last we meet. I'd say I'm delighted to make your aquaintance, but I most certainly am not.
Attilio: *spits at him* your father would be ashamed of you. You have betrayed everything a great and noble man stood for.
Frankie: *frankly bored* *looks at Emilio* and you? Anything from you?
Emilio: you have to resort to treachery and deceit to get your agendas across. But we know your game, Bonaparte.
Frankie: and with that contribution from the peanut gallery, I would like to introduce you to the true architect of your downfall: step forward Daniele Manin.
*Attilio & Emilio grow wide-eyed as Daniele steps into the "cell"* *suddenly burst into more accusations of traitor and coward and-*
Frankie: that's enough.
*silence*
Frankie: Monsieur Manin was acting as my agent on this. I had to see how far the pair of you would go. And by God, even I was surprised at your devotion to your cause. Or the fact that,basically you've been betrayed more times than Christ, and still you thought Daniele was trustworthy? I wouldn't trust him further than the other side of this door. I'm here because I would like to know what exactly it is that I've done to any of you that you have any grievance?
Attilio: you wish for us to return to the old ways, like before your father freed us from the chains-
Frankie: *half chuckling* is that what they're teaching in schools nowadays? Well...I'll have to keep that in mind. -Now, if I wanted to return to the "old ways", you would either be sloshing around in the pozzi [10] or broiling in the piombi [11]. And if that great and noble man who freed you from your chains were here, he'd have had you shot without a trial. Like he did to the duc d'Enghien.
Emilio: he would've supported our work
Frankie: Marmont, care to make a rebuttal?
Marmont: he certainly would not have. It would've been death and confiscation for your plots against the throne. It would've been banishment for your mere conspiring. Your opinions and your opposition would certainly not have been allowed. [12]
Frankie: thank you. *turns back to Bandieras* now, had this remained confined to Venice I would have...continued to turn a blind eye. Unfortunately for you two fools, you decided that you would try to agitate for risings from the lagoon all the way to Bari. Then flee to Corfu, where instead of settling down quietly and enjoying the "liberty" from the British government you so crave, you again agitate the citizens to such an extent that...if the pair of you hadn't been picked up, more dead than alive, by the Royal Lombard [frigate], you'd have drowned or gone mad from drinking sea-water and never been heard from again. Which would've saved me this headache.
Emilio: what headache?
Frankie: well, let's see checks off on fingers* the British in Corfu want to arrest you. *next finger* the king of Sicily wants to arrest you *next finger* the pope wants you executed for your attempts at Ancona *next finger* the French - don't care which government - want you on trial for your behaviour in Corsica *next finger* Metternich wants you executed- and I'm running out of fingers.
Attilio: let them execute us then.
Frankie: see...that would be the wrong answer. The easy answer. But the stupid one. We were actually just discussing it on the way here. And it's given me an idea of how we can do it. You call monarchs unjust and tyrannical...let's re-establish the Council of Three and the State Inquisition - just for your trial, and we'll see who was crueller: my father or the people you claim to espouse [13]
Emilio: the Council of Three hasn't sat since-
Frankie: my father took the city in 1797. -so obviously you're the brains. -But who do you trust more to decide your fate? The despotism of the Council or the tyranny of the mob?

*fade to black*

[1] Gird on thy sword, thou man of might
Pursue thy wonted fame:
Go on, be prosp'rous in fight,
Retrieve the Hebrew name!
Thy strong right hand, with terror armed,
Shall thy obdurate foes dismay;
While others, by thy virtue charm'd
Shall crowd to own thy righteous sway
[2] this was the title given to Rosalie von Rauch (morganatic wife of Prince Albrecht of Prussia, now sadly deceased). I could see Frankie arguing for a "better" title for Prince Adalbert's wife, Fanny's sister, than "baroness" (as she was OTL)
[3] while this sounds gross, it does underline Frankie's point that Fanny never bothered
[4] this is one of those nannies - like Frederick the Great's Madame de Roucoulle "everybody's aunt" - who has probably been around far longer than anyone expected to. She first came in for Karoline, then stayed through Leopold and Eugène. She probably thought after Eugène "well, at least there aren't more", until Nardus and Lorenz showed up. So I think she ranks in a "second place" in the household after Amalie in the children's affections. Her behaviour towards Fanny is less a case of loyalty to her employer, but rather a woman abandoning her children for the sake of a career. The stink-eye may also be a case of class differences. Fanny is servant's class - her dad was part of the Eszterhazy staff - where governesses/nurses were usually lower/petit bourgeoisie (sometimes even impoverished lower level aristocrats).
[5] governesses/nannies/nurses had a very ambiguous place in the hierarchy of German households in the 19th century. A governess was not considered part of the staff - her quarters were separate from theirs: where the staff usually resided either on the ground floor or the Kavaliershaus, the governess resided in the attic storey of the house (usually over the rooms of her charges and connected by a staircase). She was also not invited to join the family at dinner or in the salon at home, despite accompanying them on visits to the opera, the theatre or church (to look after children) because she was not seen as "nicht dinnerfähig" (not dinner-worthy, i.e. unpresentable at table). Her meals were also not taken with the servants but rather with the children. One writer describes this "part of the ship but not part of the crew" mentality as "she [the governess] remains stuck between the roles of guest and beggar ... she is neither fish nor frog, and onerous to the family which condemns her to this position as a foreign element."
[6] based on the ancient Lordship of Pettau on the Austro-Slovenian border. The Lords of Pettau - loyal Habsburg supporters - ruled practically everything between the Mur River and the Bachergebirge, they went extinct in 1438. As much as he might disapprove of Frankie-Amalie's "liaison", he cannot dispute that this is a woman who has done the crown some service (not just for Frankie, but for the Emperor's own granddaughters - bastard and legitimate (his Brasilian granddaughters) alike), granting her a title in recognition of her services is not that weird. Especially as creating Frankie "duke of Pettau" would likely ruffle feathers, since if the grant includes the lands the Pettau's owned were all the way from Styria and the Hungarian border, to the bishopric of Brixen and Salzburg. It's also a nod to Franz's former mother-in-law, Maria Karoline, Queen of Naples, who bought the castle at Eichfeld (in former Pettau territory). In doing this, Franz isn't so much "raising a rival" but he's giving Frankie a base in Austria (where before he's been confined to Bohemia).
[7] according to the story, Saint Augustine of Hippo was having a "quarter life crisis" at 31 (Frankie's 32, but you get the imagery), when he heard a child's voice chanting "Tolle lege, tolle lege" (take up and read). Augustine picked up the bible and the future of Christianity was changed forever
[8] Bugeaud was Caroline de Berri's jailer. And his treatment of her was absolutely appalling - even his contemporaries and fellow party members thought so. - Not saying that he did this OTL, but given the rest of his actions - like suffocating Algerians in caves by lighting fires in front of them or collapsing them on top of women and children - him raping/beating her while she was under his "care" at Blaye is not a far stretch. Essentially, the government sent her to Blaye as a prisoner, only to find that women of the old aristocracy formed themselves into a committee to provide her with clothes, money and "whatever luxuries she may require". Even her jailers started getting chummy with her. Thiers advised Louis Philippe that "we have to get rid of her somehow. She's more dangerous as a prisoner as she is at liberty"

Thiers, who had been instrumental in introducing the traitor Deutz into Caroline Ferdinande’s life, now sent a certain General Bugeaud de la Piconnerie to supersede as governor of Blaye the too amiable and too sympathetic Colonel Chousserie. This Bugeaud was, as Thiers well knew, a bitter enemy of all the Bourbons. During their régime, when Colonel of artillery, he had seen his military career come to an inglorious end through his secret activities on behalf of the Orléanist cause. After the revolution of 1830 and on the accession of Louis Philippe, he came back into his own, was promoted to the rank of general, and now was only too ready to take up a position which would give him the opportunity of making himself unpleasant to one of the Bourbon faction. By Bugeaud’s nomination to the governorship of Blaye, Thiers hoped that he had put an efficient spoke in the wheel of Madame’s projects, whatever they were. The general’s eyes, sharpened by hatred, would see all there was to see, and guess what there was not.

[9] All OTL. Thiers married his mistress' daughter. Then further scandalized the Parisians and the aristocracy by having an affair with his wife's married sister. What his wife thought of the deal is unknown, but even Thiers' brother wrote to him from Pondicherry that it was "disgraceful".
[10] the prison cells under the Doge's Palace, below sea-level, where the water varied from ankle deep to waist deep
[11] the prison cells under the lead roof of the Doge's Palace
[12] Bandiera (and their co-conspirator, Mazzini) idolized Napoléon. Napoléon who had posters put up in Venice after he seized the city saying "Liberty is preserved by obedience to the law. Dawning liberty is protected by force of arms. Established liberty leads to universal peace". Sounds like something out of certain other regimes that shall remain nameless
[13] Thanks to a few foreigners' tales, our own negligence, and the exaggeration of novelists, poets and politicians, Venice now exists in the imagination as a monstrosity, a sort of prison write large, where the terrible sword of the Ten and the State Inquisition hung over the head of everyone - Cesare Cantu.
Napoléon's rule played a big role in why Venice was perceived as tyrannical and decadent, when even writers like Montesquieu and Voltaire praised the Venetian system of government as something to be admired. Unfortunately, in the 19th century, neither Austria nor the Piedmontese had any interest in combatting it. In fact, they actually worsened it by playing up the "corruption and tyranny of an earlier age" in order to mask their own corruption and tyranny (essentially selling the people that "things are bad, but they're still much better than they used to be"). When the truth was that Montesquieu called the State Inquisition a "political work of art".


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[Kellan Sullivan]

Soundtrack: Saverio Mercadante - Il Reggente (highlights)

*Exterior* *we see a rowboat on the water at La Rochelle* *zoom in and we see that the two passengers - along with their luggage strewn haphazardly - are Hélène, duchesse de Chartres and Madame Adélaïde*
Hélène: well, I shall certainly not be returning to La Rochelle any time soon.
Adélaïde: fine hospitality they've shown. *Shakes fist back at city* Damned lot of socialists!
Hélène: I don't even understand why we had to leave. The Republic is winning. We were no threat. Everybody in town was siding with Chambord!
Adélaïde: the Montagnards have the majority. Chambord murdered the only man aside from my brother who could've saved France. For what? A constitution that we would've gladly accepted.
Hélène: to think about him one cannot help wondering if this is how he means to end thd bloodshed. By murdering anyone who stands against him?
Adélaïde: what more could you expect from someone who was raised by Bonaparte filth.
Hélène: what I want to know is how the republic has the right to confiscate the family lands? But they leave Chambord's.
Adélaïde: Chambord was a gift of the nation. It would be difficult enough to seize it even if they held the countrside around it. These lands missed being nationalized the night before Philippe took the throne. And Chambord's pronunciomento that he would be in Paris by his birthday [29 September] panicked a lot of deputies that they only see royal and non-royal. Aside from Chambord's chateau, the Angoulêmes have no property in France aside from Rosny [1]. Whereas Philippe left a ripe plum for hungry ravens. They believe that by confiscating those palaces to the people, it will inspire the people to defend those lands.
Hélène: and you don't think it will, Tante?
Adélaïde: take it from someone who lived through the last frenzy of nationalizing everything...if Chambord's announcement panicked the deputés, and the recent act they have passed preventing aristocrats from serving in the army or holding office, even if elected by the people has panicked the aristocrats...this will panic the country. If they have no respect for the king's property they will have no respect for anyone else's.
*Through a speaking trumpet they hear "boat there!"*
Adélaïde: finally, why couldn't they have sent a boat to shore to fetch us?
Hélène: my uncle [Prince Bernhard of Weimar] said it was because the Dutch don't wish to make it appear as though the Netherlands are taking sides.

*Cut to on the deck of the Dutch vessel, Medusa* *the sailors are all smartly turned out on deck to receive Madame Adélaïde and Hélène* *they salute as the ladies pass*
Man: your Royal Highnesses, welcome aboard his Majesty's vessel Medusa. I am Admiral Carel Hendrik Ver Huell [2], if I may present his Royal Highness, Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands
Hendrik: *one-eyed [lost at the battle of Scheldt] snaps a salute* we were returning from a trip to the Indies when we received our uncle's request to stand to for a potential evacuation. We apologize that we could not anchor closer to shore and spare your Royal Highnesses the voyage in these seas, but my father ordered not to enter French waters.
Hélène: we are most grateful for your efforts.
Hendrik: it was nothing, Madame. I hope that you will have a pleasant journey.

*cut to Compiègne*
Marie Amélie: absolutely disgraceful. The way the republican soldiers attacked Chambord's army while they were at mass for the duc d'Angoulême's birthday [6 August]
Louis Philippe: the fact that the republicans won is what concerns me.
Marie Amélie: of course it should concern you, I'm told there were people slipping in the blood on the paving of Chartres Cathedral from the butchery.
Louis Philippe: but it is good for us. Chambord being beaten removes the halo around his head that any of these superstitious fools still had of him being the prince sans reproche. His murder of Thiers and Cavaignac shows he will not tolerate those of differing opinions. His reaction to this massacre, and first being driven back to Artenay, then chased back to the Loire on the 10th is a good thing.
Marie Amélie: how is it a good thing?
Louis Philippe: because those are Orléanist soldiers. They have been away from all this hurly burly and corruption. Their loyalty isn't compromised. And now that Bugeaud is in command we can be sure that the victory will be on our side.
Marie Amélie: that is a victory over Frenchmen you are talking about, Philippe.
Louis Philippe: a victory over that little ponce.
Marie Amélie: that little ponce has been doing more since April than you have.
Louis Philippe: illegally. Since now that his uncle- doddering old fool- is in town, that undermines Chambord's authority as head of his army, head of the family. If the abdication of Angoulême was legal then Chambord's abdication is as well. Which leaves myself as the king. If the abdication wasn't valid, then Chambord's nothing more than a potential heir. The Légitimist camp is in chaos because they don't know who to listen to. That's why they're being defeated. Too many Caesars is not good.
Marie Amélie: and what exactly are you hoping for, Philippe? That if he gets defeated enough, people will flock to your banner? He is our only hope. And defeats at Chartres, Artenay, Langres and Chaumont on the 12th and 17th aside, he's still taken Besançon and Belfort on the 16th, Versoul and Laon on the 18th, Soissons on the 19th. While he was driven back from Chartres, the Republic is still losing more ground to him than other way around.
Louis Philippe: if he wished to end this, he would have attacked Paris directly from Chartres. Not given his troops the day off to celebrate his fool of an uncle's birthday. Spared that butchery. Not waste time trying to get Lorraine and the north to try and fall in line, so he can link up and make a final drive on Paris. If he marches into Paris with an army, they'll never forgive him for it.
Marie Amélie: perhaps he has decided something new: like being one of those men who do not believe the world begins and ends in Paris. And a great part of the middle is also in Paris.

*Cut to French army camp*
General Bugeaud: now that Le Havre is once more in the right hands, we shall advance from Chartres to Dreux. From there we shall take Mantes and Rouen from the pretender and drive his soldiers into the sea.
*Several cheers from his soldiers* *afterwards*
Adjutant: sir, there is man here. From the comte de Chambord.
Bugeaud: I'll not see him.
Adjutant: he says that he has important news of Chambord's army.
Bugeaud: a deserter, eh?
Adjutant: he didn't say, sir. Just that it was urgent to speak with you.
Bugeaud: *sees man there* *in an updated version of an Ancien Regime uniform* no need to point him out. *Smiles* good afternoon my fine young gentleman. What can I help you with?
Young man: *salutes smartly* General Bugeaud, I am Captain Ducrot [3]. I fought under you at the Mouzouia Pass, sir.
Bugeaud: you got injured in that battle, didn't you?
Ducrot: a slight wound in the arm. Nothing serious.
Bugeaud: so why're you here, Ducrot?
Ducrot: the massacre at Chartres. Its rattled a great many of the men. At roll call yesterday morning we found that over five hundred men had deserted.
Bugeaud: including yourself.
Ducrot: I told them that nous sommes dans un pot de chambre et nous y serrons émmerdes [4], sir. And that it would be better to change sides.
Bugeaud: and these men are with you?
Ducrot: most of them just want out of this damned war, sir, we were pressed into service whether we wanted to or not. The comte wanted us to attack Pithiviers so he can get to Fontainebleau. He won't listen to reasonable advice from his generals that its suicide to try. Its why we got out, sir.
Bugeaud: what else can you tell me?
Ducrot: *looks longingly at food* can you feed me first? Thats another reason the men are deserting the comte: he's dining on the best foods thst can be found and day before yesterday, he ordered that the soldiers only be given a handful of flour as sustenance.
Bugeaud: flour?
Ducrot: some of us haven't eaten in a week.
Bugeaud: *leads Ducrot to the pot of stew* tell you what, Ducrot...I'll feed you, then you go back to those other men and tell them there's enough food here. We don't force you to eat flour.
Ducrot: *nods appreciatively*

*Cut to Chambord's camp at Évreux* *night*
Henri: and?
Ducrot: Bugeaud's food is up to shit. The men are...not exactly loyal to him. Old wine in new wineskins. But he's changed his plan to come north in favour to crush what he believes is a starving, dispirited army being badly led on a suicide mission to Pithiviers. If I may say, your Royal Highness, the duc d'Orléans and the Republicans really did your work for you to sell you as a merciless and selfish tyrant.
Henri: *smiles* simply living up to expectations *continues eating* I'd offer you some, Ducrot, but then you won't be convincingly starved enough to sell him the rest of my strategy.

*Fade to black as they both chuckle* [5]


[1] pretty much OTL. AIUI Louis Philippe agreed to the nationalization of places like Saint-Cloud and Compiègne and the Tuileries in exchange for preserving the Orléans' homes like Neuilly, Palais Royal, Eu and Randan as private property of the Orléans family. Chambord and Rosny as a private property already rather than as a possession of the royal family, was exempt from this. Going into exile, the duchesse de Berri appointed her aunt, Marie Amélie, as custodian but didn't relinquish her ownership.
[2] Ver Huell is a bit like Talleyrand in how many times he changed his loyalties: Orangist, Batavian Republic, King of Holland, French Empire, Kingdom of France, July Monarchy. Except he did it even better than Talleyrand in that he managed to do it and retain the trust/respect of his former colleagues. Oh, and for irony, he's a potential father of Napoléon III. Ver Huell is the highest ranked officer on ship, but he's not in command, he's more there as "training wheels" and "tutor" for Prince Hendrik
[3] yup, Auguste Alexandre Ducrot. I'm not sure where Mouzouia Pass was in Algeria or who was in command, since I can't find anything on it
[4] we're in a chamberpot and we're all going to get shat on
[5] Ducrot encouraged Henri to attempt a coup OTL, Henri refused.

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[Kellan Sullivan]

Soundtrack: Johan Helmich Roman - Drottningholmsmusiken - Allegro

*exterior* *Stockholm* *we see a parade of the changing of the guard at the royal palace*
*interior* *St. Reinold's Church in Dortmund* *we see a ten-year-old Carola Vasa walking down the aisle in a white dress* *she's clutching a bouquet of tulips, interspersed with the wheat-sheaves [1]* *she's smiling from ear to ear as she walks past the audience*
*in the pews we see Empress Karoline, Archduchess Sophie, her eldest two sons, and the Queen of Saxony* *also the duke of Nassau, Prince Frederik of the Netherlands and his wife, Luise of Prussia; Grand Prince Karl of Saxe-Weimar and his wife, Princess Sophie of the Netherlands; Archduchess Joseph of Austria, her stepson and daughter-in-law, Archduke and Archduchess Stephan; the duke of Teschen, the Crown Prince and Princess of Württemberg, the Dowager Duchess of Oldenburg, the duke and duchess of Saxe-Altenburg, King Ernst August of Hannover; the grand duke and duchess of Baden; the irrepressible Grand Duchess Charlotte is there with her son and daughters, Elizabeth and Ekaterina* *and lastly the camera stops on Archduchess Sophie's sister, Ludovika, Duchess in Bavaria, wife of the Bavarian Governor of the Palatinate, and her two oldest children: 12yo Ludwig Wilhelm and 9yo Helene [2]*
*finally the camera angle turns to see that she is walking ahead of Marianne of the Netherlands* *in a dress of silver tissue* *on the arm of her father, former King Willem I of the Netherlands* *carrying Marianne's ermine-trimmed train is her 12yo daughter, Princess Charlotte of Prussia, and her 15yo niece, Princess Louisa of the Netherlands*

*cut to Ca' Rezzonico* *Frankie is having a "moment" with Amalie in his office* *their foreheads are put together as they speak* *clearly the issues of the last few months have been forgotten as we see him putting a protective hand on her stomach*
Standejsky: *clears his throat*
Frankie: what is it Standejsky?
Standejsky: the Swedish ambassador is here to see you, sir.
Amalie: I thought he's only a charge d'affaires?
Frankie: he's taking Bernadotte as his example to give himself airs and graces.
Amalie: *as walking out* I'm not lying, Frank, I want that woman gone. She's upsetting Leopold deliberately, the girls are just getting confused. Worse is when she sits in on some of the classes and deliberately interrupts the masters [3].
Frankie: I'm starting to wish Giselle's run at La Fenice would be cut unseasonably short.
Amalie: can't you do anything? Shut it down? Yell fire in a theatre or something?
Frankie: *sighs* only by re-imposing Metternich's laws of censorship, and since I sort of repealed those, the minute I bring them back everyone will call it another "Vol de l'Aigle". She's a personal problem, not a state problem. So unless she toasts "Long Live the Republic" even Metternich would have his hands tied. *sits down behind desk* *to Standejsky* send the *mockingly* ambassador in.
Amalie: good thing I'm not Metternich.
Frankie: *grins* thank God for that. Much better tits.
Amalie: *rolls her eyes at him as she leaves*
Swedish Ambassador, Johan Wilhelm Bergman [4]: *comes to stand before Frankie's desk*
Frankie: if you're an ambassador, Monsieur Bergman, then this would be the part where you bow. And present your credentials.
Bergman: *looks slightly surprised by this*
Frankie: but since you are only to be a charge d'affaires, haven't presented your credentials and not accredited to any Habsburg court, I trust you will forgive me not offering you to be seated.
Bergman: the grand duke of Tuscany and the duke of Modena have, your Serene Highness.
Frankie: that is in your remit, Milan and Venice is not. I have no doubt that should you call at the Palazzo Reale in Milan, you will be treated the same. If you find it objectionable, you should take it up with the King of Sweden and ask to be promoted. Now...I assume you have not arrived to discuss diplomatic etiquette with me, Monsieur Bergman?
Bergman: most certainly not. My master wishes for me to present to you his objections to the recent...spectacle made of the called Prince of Sweden's wedding.
Frankie: I know of no spectacle, Monsieur. But then, aside from being unable to attend, I wasn't involved in the wedding. Anything that took place would be best taken up with the happy couple themselves.
Bergman: it was a royal spectacle. The bride wore ermine! The wedding invitations were sent out for the prince of Sweden-
Frankie: the bride wore ermine because she is a princess, both by birth and by marriage. To call him simply Prince Vasa makes it seem as though this is a mere morganatic marriage. So if that is your main objection-
Bergman: and the guests. The empress and the whole galaxy of archdukes?
Frankie: hardly a galaxy. If that was what your master had wished, he should've told them to invite the emperor and then it would really have been a spectacle.
Bergman: he is most displeased.
Frankie: again, I can only wonder why his Majesty would believe that I had anything to do with it.
Bergman: he doesn't believe that you had anything to do with it, sir, but he believes that you would be the correct avenue to speak through to Vienna about creating a repetition of such a scene. For the maintenance of good relations.
Frankie: so let me make sure I understand correctly why Maréchal Bernadotte feels offended: a soldier has been rightfully rewarded for his loyalty to the army he fights for, not unlike the king's own principality in Pontecorvo. The bride was allowed the dignity of her rank as a princess at the wedding. The soldier is being criticized for displaying his coat of arms and calling himself Prince Gustaf- rather than King Gustaf- and what you call a spectacle, I deem a family gathering. Does that about sum it up?
Bergman: there is the matter of allowing the marriage at all. And the prominent display of the liveries in the Swedish colours-
Frankie: they are blue and orange, the Nassau colours, not blue and gold, the Swedish colours. Did the king actually have any objections or was this simply an ennumeration of points of etiquette better suited to be addressed to a chamberlain or a scullery maid?
Bergman: there is also the matter of the unit that the called Prince of Sweden has sent to the pretender in France.
Frankie: Gustaf didn't mention that he was sending me soldiers.
Bergman: I mean the comte de Chambord, sir.
Frankie: *nods* what of it?
Bergman: the soldiers are being kitted out in blue-and-gold, and they're being called the Royal Suèdois, sir.
Frankie: blue and gold are the colours of France as well, Monsieur. And as for the Royal part, most of the units under the comte de Chambord have taken that etiquette to indicate their opposition to the republic.
Bergman: these are not Swedish soldiers.
Frankie: and the Darmstadt regiment that became my father's Imperial Guard didn't come from Darmstadt. They were also royal despite the fact that Darmstadt was only a landgraviate at the time. But what the queen of France [Madame Royale] deems to dub her bodyguards is again, not my concern. If she had called them the Regiment Royal Béarnaise would the king have taken such offense, even if they all came from Pau, like he does?
Bergman: he is not king in Béarn, sir.
Frankie: the king may consider it an honour that her Majesty is willing to grant such recognition to the not-Swedish soldiers at all by calling them thus. Of all people in France, she is the one who would have no love for King Carl or Sweden, yet she wishes to show her affection in such a manner...I would be honoured were there to be a Royal Corsican regiment- as unlikely as I know that is to happen. Perhaps the King should attempt to establish good relations between Stockholm and Paris once more. He has a granddaughter of some good French stock [5]...the comte de Chambord is unmarried... perhaps instead of being so touchy about it, the king should see what, I'm sure, was nothing more than a careless slip of the tongue by an old woman, as a potential olive branch.
Bergman: you cannot be serious, sir.
Frankie: it would be quite the feather in the cap to the rest of Europe, no? If a formerly parvenu house like the Bonapartes or the Bernadottes were able to supply a new queen to France? Alas, I have no cousins left of worthy stature or age to offer.
Bergman: they would never accept.
Frankie: why shouldn't they? The queen of France was proposed for Prince Gustaf's father before the Revolution [6]. Of course, when the comte was still in Vienna there was some talk of him marrying Prince Gustaf's daughter [7], but the matter of her needing to convert made Prince Gustaf uneasy, as he thought it would damage his chances of being restored. Still...I'm sure your master would be able to recognize how...tempting an offer such as making his daughter Queen of France...would be. After all, that spectacle in Dortmund that makes Sweden so uneasy would be representative of the family ties she could bring to the table. Which is, unfortunately, the main thing likely to stand in the way of the Bernadottes: they have no ties worth mentioning. Modena and Bavaria is hardly in the same wheelhouse as Prussia and the Netherlands.
Bergman: *looks like he's mulling this over*
Frankie: perhaps when you next write to your master, you should tell him that instead of believing me to be the root of all ills towards Sweden, he should be thanking me.
Bergman: thank you, your Serene Highness?
Frankie: His trusted friend, Prince Metternich, originally proposed that, instead of irritating Prussia in the Rhineland, or perhaps because he had hoped to receive those lands for himself, that Prince Gustaf be granted the former Swedish lands in Pomerania...right across the sea from Sweden. Fortunately, I was able to stop this madcap scheme...but if it had gone through [8]...I doubt you or I would only be talking about a few liveries and guests, Monsieur. Since if Prince Gustaf were to decide that, since he has remarried and has a hope of sons, he would waive his religious objections...your master would do well to wish him sons so as to avoid a Bourbon prince becoming king of Sweden.
Bergman: that would never happen [9].
Frankie: such are the times we live in, Monsieur. The son of an innkeeper from Pau became king of Sweden, the son of an artilleryman from Corsica is set to become the regent of Austria, the born bastard son of the grand duke of Baden - and Prince Gustaf's brother-in-law - to be the präsident of the German Confederation if the emperor's dies before his grandson is of age. Binding oneself to absolutes nowadays is to build on sand.

*fade to black*

PS: Sorry for the heavy footnotes:

[1] the Vasa's coat of arms was a bundle of wheat. Plus, it emphasizes prosperity and fecundity, so why not
[2] this odd mixture of Catholic and Protestant isn't that weird. By the 19th century, thanks to improved transport, royalty often used family events as opportunities to do a bit of unofficial diplomacy and matchmaking. While it only became famous thanks to Queen Louise of Denmark doing it in the 1860s, Grand Duchess Charlotte [Elena Pavlovna] did it with her daughters, and Louise's father had actually established what Bismarck would later call "the whispering gallery of Europe" at Rumpenheim in the 1820s/1830s. And before that, the Badens (Carola's paternal-great-grandmother) and the Hesse-Darmstadts (specifically Princess George of Darmstadt) used to do it in the 18th century. The characters listed are all "related" to the bridal pair by some means:
Sophie, Ludovika, Marie of Bavaria (Gustaf Vasa's maternal cousins)
Frederik, Luise (Marianne's brother and sister-in-law)
Adolph of Nassau (Marianne's cousin)
The Crown Prince and Princess of Weimar (Marianne's niece)
Archduchess Joseph (Maria Dorothea of Württemberg) and her sisters, Princess Wilhelm of Baden and the duchess of Altenburg (and the duke of Teschen's late wife) are all cousins through Willem V
Archduke Stephan (the nephew of Gustaf's sister, Cecile)
The grand duchess of Baden (Gustaf's sister)
Only "independents" are Ernst August (who might be attending as head of the Steuerverein rather than as king of Hannover), Grand Duchess Charlotte (Ernst's niece through his wife) and the crown prince and princess of Württemberg
[3] Fanny is, ultimately, the house guest from Hell. She's lived on her own too long to be comfortable with not being able to do what she wants, when she wants. Worse, she knows her "star quality" and what a "scandal" it would cause if Frankie puts her out of the house, so she probably flaunts it. Given her origins (the daughter of a copyist/valet at the Eszterhazy staff) she likely "outdoes" the actual royals (like La Belle Françoise, OTL princesse de Joinville) in her "snobbery"/"pomposity" to show she's "made it". It'd be like having any superstar diva coming to stay. As for the interrupting the masters: imagine how nervous whoever the dance-teacher is if the "great" Fanny Eissler is sitting in on the class while they're teaching the girls "deportment"; worse, imagine how it would be if she openly contradicts the master. I did consider making the dance teacher a fellow ballerina like Carlotta Grisi or Paul Taglioni - Paul's dad was Frankie (and TTL Henri/Louise)'s dancing master - where there's a quart of jealousy involved: Grisi's rave reviews in the prima ballerina role in Giselle in 1841 and Fanny refused to dance with Marie Taglioni in 1844 because Marie was accorded the "premier" role instead of her.
[4] Bergman is technically out of his jurisdiction here, he was Swedish charge d'affaires to Rome 1841-1852, after which he was promoted to Swedish ambassador to Madrid. As charge d'affaires to Rome, Bergman holds the jurisdiction of "to the courts of Italy", but Lombardy-Venetia and Naples do not fall under that umbrella. However, Vienna at this point is between Swedish ambassadors (Lowenhielm left in 1842, and the next one was only appointed in 1845). And even the Swedish diplomats at Vienna are only "envoys" (rank below ambassadors, usually tasked with handling a specific situation rather than a permanent posting). A charge d'affaires ranks below an envoy in that they represent their nation not their king and thus - technically - are not extended the same courtesy as ambassadors/envoys/minister plenipotientaries, such as Amalie being obliged to curtsey. Their dealings are also supposed to be with the minister of foreign affairs, not the head of stat, and they have no authority to negotiate treaties or deals between states, by the standards of the Congress of Vienna. On an added note, from 1781 until 1956, no Swedish diplomat to Vienna held the rank of ambassador.
[5] while Eugènie of Sweden (b.1830) is very young, only turned 13yo in April 1843, Frankie isn't wrong when he sells her as "good French stock": her mother's a Beauharnais, her father's Navarrais and Marseillaise. "Working class" roots on the Bernadotte side (innkeeper at Pau and a silk merchant at Marseilles; sugar farmers on the Tascher de la Pagerie side). The main objection is likely to be her religion. But at the same time, this is Frankie using Henri's leverage of being the most eligible bachelor in Europe at the time to deflect from the matter of Gustaf
[6] this was more as a bit of banter between Louis XVI and Gustaf III than it being an actual proposal, but Eugènie's mother and grandmother are both Catholic, she's got ties to Bavaria and Modena (two ancient allies of France's)
[7] this may have actually been proposed. Carola - through her father - was heiress to some sizeable lands in Moravia and Bohemia that had been granted to Gustaf, and a court in exile always needs money, so marrying Henri and Carola doesn't seem crazy
[8] I'll leave it up to the readers to decide whether this was Frankie or Metternich's idea. But given how Metternich (seemingly) stabbed Prussia in the back for his own principality in Munster, I suspect nobody's going to be "verifying" whose idea it was.
[9] while the Swedish constitution after the coup that dethroned Gustaf IV limited the succession to males only, I'm unsure what rights girls had to inherit under Gustaf III's constitution. Still, Sweden has a precedent of a girl succeeding as queen, so it's not too unthinkable

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[Kellan Sullivan]

For @HortenseMancini wondering what will happen to Adélaïde-Hélène:

Soundtrack: Carl Czerny - Introduction and Variations Brillantes on Gli Arabi nelle Gallie, Op. 234

*exterior* *Compiègne* *a carriage enters the courtyard of the chateau* *the footman opens the door and we catch a glimpse of a skirt tumbling out*
Louis, Dauphin de Viennois (age 6): Mamma! Mamma! *breaks the line and runs to Hélène, Duchesse de Chartres* *his brother, the 4yo duc d'Orléans hangs back* *hiding behind his grandmother's skirt*
Hélène: Monseigneur le Dauphin *extends hand* [2]
Louis: *shakes it* *although the disappointment is clear on his face*
Madame Adélaïde: *descends from the coach*
Louis Philippe: sister, we had heard you were at death's door.
Adélaïde: fiddlesticks. I'm tough as old boots
Marie Amélie: *sotto voce* and I'm sure if we boiled a pair, they'd be softer.
Adélaïde: what was that your Majesty?
Marie Amélie: *smiles sweetly* I was only expressing my relief that the rumours of your demise were greatly exaggerated, sister *kisses cheeks*

*cut to salon in Compiègne* *the dauphin keeps trying to tell his mom about what he and his brother have been doing for the last few months* *we can see by the look on Hélène's she's listening but really doesn't care [3]*
Louis Philippe: I heard you were evacuated on a Dutch ship from La Rochelle?
Adélaïde: only to bring us to Le Hâvre. There we were put ashore and sent upriver to Évreux
Louis Philippe: what on earth for?
Hélène: *spits* to see him.
Louis Philippe: who?
Adélaïde: *said like she's talking of a crate of dead rats* the comte de Chambord
Louis Philippe: he's at Évreux? I thought he was with the army fleeing to Troyes.
Usher: His Royal Highness, the Duc de Nemours; his Royal Highness the Prince de Joinville!
Marie Amélie: *looks up to see her sons* *nearly bursts into tears at the sight of them*
Nemours: *embraces his mother* *shakes hands with his father* a ruse, I'm afraid. The supposed army Bugeaud crushed at Pithiviers and Montargis was not the main army. The main army's been withdrawing to Lorraine.
Louis Philippe: less work for Bugeaud's army, mopping up the remnant.
Joinville: afraid Bugeaud hasn't been doing our side any favour by how his troops are behaving. Seize what they like without paying, setting fire to the fields- I think he thinks this is Algeria and these are Arabs that must be rooted out.
Louis Philippe: so what did Chambord want at Évreux?
Hélène: to talk. Said that we should have this settled before we enter Paris.
Louis Philippe: *chuckles* how's he going to enter Paris if he's withdrawing to Lorraine?
Usher: His Royal Highness, the Duc de Montpensier.
Louis Philippe: *looks at his youngest who's clearly ridden hard to give the news he's got* let me guess, you've met with Chambord as well?
Montpensier: no, I just came from Nogent to tell your Majesty that Marechal Bugeaud has won a great victory over Chambord's army. Everything between Paris and the Loire is in our hands.
Louis Philippe: now who the Hell has the right story?
Usher: His Majesty, the King of France and Navarre. Her Majesty the Queen of France and Navarre.
Angoulême: *walks in* that would be me, cousin.
Madame Royal: *glares at him*
Louis Philippe: h-h-h-o-o-w-w-w-w d-d-d-did y-y-y-ou get here?
Madame Royal: how did you get here, your Majesty.
Louis Philippe: *swallows*
Angoulême: we must've left Chantilly about an hour after Louis [Nemours] and François [Joinville].
Marie Amélie: *evinces none of her husband/sister-in-law's reticence* *makes a deep curtsey to the Angoulêmes*

*cut to them all now sitting and talking* *definite Ancien Regime rules since Angoulême and Madame Royale are in the chair with arms, while Orléans boys are on tabourets [4]* *Louis Philippe, Madame Adélaïde and Hélène stand at the fireplace to avoid the "degradation" of having to take a chair with no arms* *Marie Amélie, OTOH, seems more than happy - relaxed even - to be sitting in the chair with no arms [5]* *courtiers and servants are notably absent from the room* *the doors are closed, the windows shuttered* *it makes it very clear that this is a "private" meeting*
Angoulême: the reason that we have travelled here is to hammer out some sort of...détente...to draw a line under the events of the past. To start afresh. Henri does not with for the air to be clouded with the stench of acrimony.
Adélaïde: does not wish, then perhaps he should leave France. Since he is the main cause of this acrimony.
Marie Amélie: *sharply* Adéle, shut up and listen! *small voice to Madame Royale* forgive me your Majesty, I've been wanting to do that for years.
Madame Royal: *smiles indulgently*
Adélaïde: *looks like she's just been slapped* *but rallies* the people, the chamber of deputies gave my brother the crown-
Madame Royal: And just like with my father, they took it away again. We all saw how that ended. Oh, that's right...your father was the man who voted for that to happen. So of course you remember. How is he nowadays? Oh...that's right. *vicious smile* They beheaded him as well.
Angoulême: we are not here to debate who's right and who's wrong. Or whose method is more effective at keeping a throne. Henri's main concern is that we present a united front.
Hélène: *snorts* not bloody likely. See my son cheated out of his inheritance.
Madame Royal: Hardly cheating if you had nothing and lost nothing.
Louis Philippe: what are his terms for his rapprochement.
Adélaïde & Hélène: *both look horrified*
Angoulême: you acknowledge myself as head of the house-
Louis Philippe: that was never in question.
Angoulême: -when we enter Paris, you can either ride alongside us as duc d'Orléans or be dragged in chains as "spoils of war"-
Hélène: he first has to take Paris. He's getting a little ahead of himself
Madame Royal: *smirks* says the woman who couldn't even raise La Rochelle? Left in a packet boat I heard.
Louis Philippe: Cavaignac won't just invite him in.
Angoulême: -which brings us to the last of his demands. You order Bugeaud to stand down.
Louis Philippe: I am not the one who unleashed him.
Angoulême: no. But you are the one he fights for, cousin. So he will obey an order from you.
Louis Philippe: and if he does not?
Angoulême: then Henri will treat him as an enemy combattant. And after what he did to Thiers, I'm sure General Bugeaud would like to retire with some honour.
Louis Philippe: I want it in writing, that Henri will grant my family and I clemency. That any who fought for us will be allowed to remain unmolested. And restitution of family properties.
Angoulême: *smiles* I take it you accept then?
Louis Philippe: I will do what is best for France.
Madame Royal: if only you had had such sentiments in 1830. We'd have been spared all this butchery.
Hélène: Chambord brought us to it, we did not choose this except for him!
Madame Royal: Henri brought you to it? It is only thanks to Henri that there is still a head on your shoulders. It was his mercy that appealed to anyone to send a ship to La Rochelle to rescue you you ungrateful wretch. It is his mercy that has gone without troops so that he can spare men to protect your sons in this palace.

Spoiler: Wasn't sure about this part

While you have been experiencing your...interesting condition-
Angoulême: Marie, don't *he doesn't sound overly concerned about it*
Louis Philippe: *to Hélène* what is she talking about?
Madame Royal: I just want to know if it was a boy or a girl. I already suspect I know who the father is.
Hélène: *stares her down*
Madame Royal: fine. You were already planning to "go to the country" for the summer so as to avoid scrutiny. Take conveniently ill somewhere and be forced to stay...then miraculously recover before the leaves turned. Madame Adélaïde knew. She was possibly the only one who did...one or two servants you knew would lie for you...and then you got driven from Paris. You didn't want to come to Compiègne, ostensibly because you wanted to rouse the Vendée...which *looks at Adélaïde* as an intelligent woman you must've known would be next to impossible so soon after Henri had been through there. Madame Adélaïde "took ill" as a convenient excuse for you to be forced to stay in La Rochelle. And I'm sure if we consult the records, there'd have been a child born around...July? June? that well, the mother sadly died in childbirth.
Louis Philippe & Marie Amélie: *both staring at their daughter-in-law in disbelief*
Madame Royal: Caroline at least had the excuse she was raped. But what was yours with Monsieur Asseline [6]?
Hélène: *breaks down crying*you don't know how it feels. To be deprived of a husband so early. To be alone-
Madame Royal: have you ever spent three years locked in a single room with no news of the outside world, Madame? To hear your brother's screams next door as they flog him. I have seen and experienced things that would make the most hardened of soldiers throw up. You wish to use your loneliness as a shield for your weakness, at least Caroline bore her punishment- as unjust as she knew it to be- in silence. With dignity. Who do you think would rally to your side if they knew? It is Henri's mercy that has seen you be returned to your children than slandered like his mother was, like mine was. *gets out of chair walks over to Hélène, lifts her chin to look her in the eye*

so...when you encounter the king, you will approach, you will dip the lowest révérance you are capable of, and then, you will thank him for sparing your miserable excuse of a life.
Joinville: I assume Henr- his Majesty will want us to join his army, Madame? Our forces with his?
Angoulême: I wasn't aware you had forces, François. Where have you been hiding them all this time? Perhaps they would've been of an assistance to your brother when he lost his leg?
*we see that he's referring to the fact that Nemours only has a single leg*
Joinville: I did not mean soldiers, I meant-
Angoulême: the journalists, writers, bankers? Who would be on yourside? Messieurs Hugo, Tocqueville and Dumas are already on Henri's side, as is Madame Sand, Madame d'Agoult, Messieurs Rothschild, Fould, Cottier & André...the way I hear it, half the cast and orchestra performing Auber's Charles Édouard [7] tonight at the Opéra are supporting Henri. Your assistance is appreciated, François, but he did not gather you here to be "useful" to him. He gathered you here to ensure that you will not be able to claim that you are owed for anything you've done.
Adélaïde: such arrogance.
Angoulême: Madame. There have been many times over the years that I have been extraordinarily grateful that we never married. I fear that if we had, I should've been caught between my duty to the king and your ambitions. Henri is not arrogant. He merely wished to...as he put it, avoid confusion about who did what. Do you remember the parable of the workers in the vineyard [8], Madame? Or has your aumonier taken an indefinite leave of absence? Henri pointed out that "the kingdom of France is not the kingdom of Heaven"
Montpensier: but he will need us. We have the better knowledge of France. The army. The capital-
Madame Royal: if your knowledge of France is so useful how is it that none of you has been able to use it to stop Henri? Your army is used to fighting highly mobile Algerines who attack and then leave. As Bugeaud has shown, he erects gibbets when fighting against men who are defending their homes. Henri simply wishes to keep it clear who the men are fighting for and who they are fighting against.
Montpensier: and Paris? Does he plan to put it under siege to gain entry?

*cut to Hôtel de Ville* *we see the new president of France, Godefroi Cavaignac swearing his oath to the people [9]*
*cut to the council room at the Hôtel de Ville*
Bedreau, Minister of War: your Excellency, on behalf of the people of France I insist that you recall General Bugeaud. His troops are rampaging south of Paris. There is even a concern among the farmers that he will burn their crops and slaughter their cattle as he ordered in Algeria.
Cavaignac: how many men does the National Guard have at its disposal to deal with him?
Nicolas Changarnier, Commander of the National Guard: around a hundred thousand, but they are scattered throughout France. Not including all the soldiers that the comte de Chambord keeps returning to Paris [10]. And if we pull the 45e from the German frontier-
Bedreau: we would leave the border to Chambord?
Changarnier: he will not part with it any more than we have. In fact, he's been clearing the Badenois out of Alsace since he got there.
Cavaignac: I do not like it any more than you, Bedreau, but perhaps it would be the easiest: once we have dealt with that pestilence Dupont de l'Eure decided to bring in from Algeria, we would be able to throw our full force on Chambord. And rid ourselves of the Bourbons root and branch.
Jules Dufaure [11], Minister of the Interior: Excellency...if I may make a suggestion. And this might serve to quell the royalist mood throughout France as well as sparing our own troops from unnecessary bloodshed- why not use Chambord to rid ourselves of Bugeaud?
Bedreau: are you insane? We would be allowing the pretender as near to Paris as Sénart!
Changarnier: What would you rather have, General? We currently have three French armies on French soil. We do not have the manpower or the capacity to face one or the other without recalling the troops from Algeria or Piedmont. If we allow Chambord to have the Rhine border, he will cut off any supply to the troops in Piedmont. Keeping him from doing that. We pull our troops back to defend Paris and the surrounds as much as we can. While recalling the National Guard from the provinces. Bugeaud and Chambord are going to come to battle royal anyway...you've seen the cartoon in this morning's papers. By withdrawing and allowing them to duke it out, we will illustrate to France (and the world) that the Republic is not for anarchy and that this is merely a squabble between two equally out-of-touch parties. It will serve to bolster the republic as not being some rampaging tyrant like the 1793 republic was, and to France that we merely want order.
Cavaignac: or it could be seen by the French as cowardice and abandonment.
Changarnier: strategy, Excellency. Chambord has the larger army, but it is starving, hasn't been paid in months. Morale is broken and the factions are beginning to show. Bugeaud has the better troops. Having looked at the reports of his previous battles...while Chambord is a skilled soldier without question, he is the stuff of a colonel, not a general or a marshal [12]. His best generals - like Ney, Villevallio and Carfort - are old or others - like Cadoudal and Pontfarcy [13] - are Breton fanatics little better than Bugeaud. If we were to use one problem to clean up another, not only will we rid ourselves of one potential pestilence but the rats will eat one another.
Cavaignac: and you just assume that whoever is left will meekly surrender?
Changarnier: no, but they will find Paris harder to take with their armies exhausted and their credibility tarnished as petty and vindictive.
Cavaignac: you have a point. Although I still do not wish for-
*we hear an explosion* *the glass in the windows rattles* *a white-faced messenger scurries in* *hands a note to Cavaignac*
Cavaignac: *reads it* *then passes it to Bedreau* it's out of our hands now. Bugeaud's troops have opened fire on Paris. Can your one hundred thousand National Guardsman or the 45e get here fast enough, General Changarnier?

*fade to black*

[1] not a literal plague, but as Henri pointed out, they've painted/slandered him as a "rabid Catholic". So...why not channel full Old Testament symbolism of king, priest and prophet: Moses. After all, not unlike the Plagues of Egypt, Henri has served to highlight the impotence of placing faith elsewhere

That line of "into your streets, into your house, into your bed, until you break, until you yield". Even the analogy of locusts "I send the locusts [soldiers] on the wind such as the world has never seen, on ev'ry leaf on ev'ry stalk until there's nothing left of green". "Upon your cattle, upon your sheep, upon your oxen in the field" (the fears of Bugeaud's retaliation. "I send the thunder from the sky, I send the fire raining down" [cannon fire].
[2] this is a little boy who hasn't seen his mother since April - it's now September (so nearly six months) - and he gets a brush-off
[3] comes back to the whole July Monarchy not having to present themselves as a "bourgeois" family, and so Hélène becomes, as Princess Mathilde Bonaparte described the Prince Imperial: "there are three of us who love that boy: the emperor, myself and the empress avec une devoir" (with her mind). Like Empress Eugènie, Hélène could be accused of "she only loves her son as heir to the throne". Unlike Eugènie, with Hélène it isn't necessarily rubbish. She's described as ambitious and only married her husband to be "queen of the French" disregarding the wishes of her family in this matter.
[4] chairs with arms are for kings, tabourets for dukes.
[5] this is a woman who wore a hair-shirt under her dresses every day of the July Monarchy, and who called the crown her husband had accepted "a crown of thorns", who supported the reconciliation between the two branches, and who asked that she only be buried as "Duchesse d'Orléans" and not "Queen of the French". Of course she's happier
[6] there were rumours about a possible liaison between the widowed Helene and her late husband's secretary, Adolphe Asseline, OTL as well. Difference was there, she was protected as mother to the heir. How does Madame Royal have this information at her disposal? Asseline's uncle was her confessor, then Louis XVIII's, Asseline's aunt was in the household of the duc de Crussol (Mathilde Bonaparte's father-in-law), and numerous other overlaps between the Paris court and the court at Frohsdorf both OTL and TTL that wouldn't have been too difficult for someone to put the pieces together.
[7] Auber wrote an opera/ballet on Lambert Simnel at this time OTL. Why not go for Bonnie Prince Charlie, a figure who roused a whole nation to rebellion, but was ultimately defeated by government troops. Who was an absolutist, a rabid Catholic etc (slanders used against the Jacobites and French Legitimists are shockingly similar. Even Hortense de Beauharnais commented on it).
[8] Matthew 20:1-16. Basically the vineyard owner goes out and hires workers at three different times of day. At the end of the day, those he hired in the morning wish to object to the fact that the ones hired later are paid the same as them. The moral of the parable is that regardless of when you convert, you are still assured of an equal place in Heaven. Henri is using this to illustrate that he is the owner of the vineyard (France), and that he will not be paying for "lack of work". Nemours lost his leg fighting for Henri, but its unclear what Joinville has been doing (he was a navy man, so I could see him not having a big role). Montpensier has been with Bugeaud (probably in a "mascot" capacity)
[9] inspired by the way the Belgians "swear in" their king. Also, allows Cavaignac to show his "dedication" to the people. I imagine a swearing in in front of the deputies (given that's what happened with Louis Philippe) would have monarchical overtones as well
[10] the soldiers Chambord returns are likely the die-hard republican or Orléanist sort who wouldn't fight for him anyway rather than he just sends all of them back at once
[11] same guy that was later Prime Minister of France
[12] Napoléon said this of Eugène de Beauharnais as well
[13] Villevallio is born in 1767, while Carfort is born in 1774. Joseph de Cadoudal (b.1784) was one of the leaders of the 1832 Chouannerie (his older brother was executed in 1801 for taking part in the first) and Camille, Comte de Pontfarcy (b.1792) is actually from Anjou/Maine.

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[Kellan Sullivan]

Soundtrack: Ernst Wilhelm Wolff - Osterkantate: Thut auf die Pforten [1]

*we are shown a montage of troops wearing the "Henrician" uniform marching out of the cities of Verdun, Toul and Epinal* *we are shown clips of battles, surrenders and mutinies* *to put it in context, we are shown a map of France on 6 September 1843* *it is in three colours, white south of the Loire, Lorraine and along the Channel Coast for Henri; red for the area controlled by the republic; and blue for the area between Paris and the Loire, for Bugeaud and the Orléanists*
*on 7 September - the day after the armies left - we are told that the Epinal armies fought against Bugeaud's troops at Jussey* *the Verdun army enters the city of Châlons-en-Champagne*
*on 9 September all three rendezvous to surround Bugeaud's troops at Troyes and force the city to surrender*
*after Troyes, the army splits in five* **with the Toul and Epinal branches continuing their southward sweep* *while the Verdun and other two armies - led by Henri - head north*
*on 10 September we see Henri's army being defeated at Esternay* *Henri himself is seen shortly thereafter with a bandaged leg looking ruefully as he picks out the bullet in his saddle* *we see the hat he's wearing also has a bullet hole in it*
*on 11 September the Toul army - under the 9e Duc d'Aumont [2] - accepts the surrender of the city of Sens*
*on 12 September Henri's army is again on the brink of defeat at Villenauxe-la-Grande when they are saved by the arrival of the "Royal Soissons"* *it tips the balance in their favour*
*on 13 September we see Bugeaud's men refusing to fight at Orléans when they're attacked by the Epinal army reinforced by the Lyonnais* *the city of Orléans surrenders to the Henrician army* *Bugeaud and a loyal core - including Ducrot - retreats to Beaune-la-Rolande*
*by 14 September, we see that the blue spot in the middle between the Seine and the Loire, between Fontainebleau and the Forest of Senonches* *further reduced as it announces that the comte de Bourmont [3] has accepted the surrender of Nemours, then the town of Fontainebleau and was killed at the action at Melun to the Toul army*
*on 15 September* *Henri is shown leading his men from the ruins of the chateau de Coulommiers [4]* *again Bugeaud - now trapped between the Armée de Toul on the Fontainebleau Road to Paris and the Armée de Epinal on the Orléans Road - is shown as having disputes with his men*
*16 September* *the comte d'Autichamp [5] leads an army through the forest of Senonches to surprise a wing of Bugeaud's army*
*17 September* *Henri - victorious at Mormant - receives word that Autichamp has secured the Chartres and Dreux roads to Paris*

*cut to Henri in his tent* *getting a sword cut to his lower forearm - like he held up his arm to shield his face from a blow - stitched up*
Henri: am I supposed to feel this tired, Michel?
Ney: it's normal, sir, It will pass. If it helps, most of the men have slept as little as you in the last ten days.
Henri: and according to this news from Paris, if I actually get that far, I don't even have a bed I can crash into, since, I'm not sure if this was that idiot Bugeaud or just random event, but the Tuileries and parts of the Louvre have been gutted by fire.
Ney: sounds deliberate, if you ask me, sir. Them reasoning that "if we destroy your home, you've got nowhere to come back to".
Henri: except it was the duc d'Orléans' home as well.
Ney: and Napoléon's. It sounds like the actions of someone who really didn't want the monarchy - or even the idea of it - back.
Henri: it's fitting then that it took three days to put it out. One for each day of the Trois Glorieuses. Only thing I'm glad about is that the monstrosity is gone and that it took the Palais d'Orléans with it [6].
Ney: the ruins will be a bigger eyesore, sir.
Henri: there was enough bad blood around that place to drown all of Paris.
Ney: it was your home, sir, for whatever faults it may have had.
Henri: it was a prison. My aunt and her family watched as their friends and acquaintances were butchered. She still has nightmares of running through the blood. Then Napoléon moved in and- begging your pardon- it became even worse. He made it so that my uncle and grandfather were forced to live there. I echo what my aunt responded with when I told her "good riddance".
Ney: so where is the king to live in Paris?
Henri: we could always move back to Versailles.
Ney: they'll revolt.
Henri: they'll revolt no matter what we do. If we rebuild the Tuileries, it'll be about the cost. If we move anywhere else - Saint-Cloud, Vincennes, Meudon, even Malmaison - it's too small for the court and we'll live like rabbits in a hutch. -Also, when we get to Paris, that's the first thing I'm striking off the royal menu. If I eat another rabbit, I'll grow a cottontail.
Ney: *chuckles* Bonaparte always carried three chickens with him, ready roasted, on campaign.
Henri: *long-sufferingly* when we're this close to Paris he tells me this. -how would he have dealt with the fire.
Ney: claimed it was a plot by the Jacobins, the royalists, really, who don't we like this week, to attempt to assassinate the emperor and jeopardize the government of French. Round up some people who are known sympathizers. Make them a head shorter, then masquerade under having saved the nation, get them to cough up money to rebuild.
Henri: except nobody was in the palace at the time.
Ney: it's a symbol. Symbols are powerful.
Henri: *makes face*
Ney: you could always do what Bonaparte planned to do.
Henri: which is?
Ney: Chaillot. He planned to build a home there for his son. Would've made Versailles look miniature.
Henri: *wryly* somehow, I can see François living there. But my [great] uncle had the foundations filled in.
Ney: foundations can be redug.
Henri: France will need other things far more urgently than the king needs a new home.
Ney: nobody will take a king who lives in a cottage seriously, sire. It's why Napoléon moved to the Tuileries in the first place. He'd have gone to Versailles if it hadn't needed so much work.
Henri: let's first get to Paris, and see what we find there. I doubt the Tuileries was the only thing destroyed.
Ney: before we meet with the men from Paris, I have only this adivce to give your Majesty: if Bonaparte had gone up against you, I say without flattery that it would've been you that ended up in the moat at Vincennes, and not the duc d'Enghien [7]

*title card shows 19 September* *road in the woods at Pontcarré [8]* *we see the carriages stop* *President Cavaignac climbs down* *followed by General Bedreau, General Lemorcière and Commander Changarnier* *escorted by an armed contingent of National Guardsmen*
Cavaignac: this is ridiculous. I don't understand why he wanted to meet with us. To offer us terms, no doubt. I cleaned up your mess for you, now you clear out?
*other members grumble as a carriage comes around the bend* *as a sort of guard around the carriage ride Ney, Berthier Jr, Junot Jr, the marquis de Rochejaquelein, the duc d'Aumont, comte d'Autrichamp, and duc de Mayenne [9]* *they stop at a healthy distance away* *only Rochejaquelein rides forward*
Rochejaquelein: good day, gentlemen. *tips hat at Cavaignac, even though you can see it galls him to do so*
Cavaignac: where is his Majesty?
Rochejaquelein: in the carriage
*hand pokes out the window and lazily waves* *like it couldn't be bothered*
Cavaignac: is he too good to speak with the man whose brother he murdered?
Rochejaquelein: his Majesty thought you could talk better en route to Paris. He has invited you to ride with him.
Bedreau: *looks at Cavaignac like "I told you this would happen"* his Majesty is most generous. But as you can see, we already have our own transport.
Cavaignac: I'm afraid General Bedreau is quite right. We cannot be seen to be overly partial to his Majesty's...whims, lest the people perceive us as having violated our principles *look pointedly at Ney, Berthier and Junot*
Ney: to violate principles presumes you had any to start with
*several laughs from the company*
Cavaignac: the king can discuss the matter with us here.
Rochejaquelein: very well *rides back to the coach* *converses at the window* *we see one of the footmen open the door* *there's a crack of a rifle*
Ney: to arms, men! Defend the king! But do not harm them! They will answer to heaven for this!
*suddenly there are soldiers in Henrician uniforms everywhere* *there is a brief scuffle* *but most of the National Guardsmen give up and look abjectly terrified before they even try to fight*
*cut to the royal coach practically flying over the road* *behind it, the ministers coach is surrounded by soldiers* *two particularly terrifying looking soldiers are seated in the coach opposite them*

*cut to earlier in the morning* *we see Henri accompanied by the ducs de Noailles, Broglie, Fitz-James, Richelieu and Rohan-Chabot arriving at the Porte de Gentilly* *he's dressed every inch the king - except for the crown*
National Guardsman: *holds out hand* stop!
Henri: *obliges*
National Guardsman: what is your business?
Henri: I have an appointment. With President Cavaignac. At the Hôtel de Ville.
National Guardsman: we weren't told to expect anyone, were we? *looks at comrade*
Henri: judging by your sloppy dress and your disgusting manners, clearly you weren't. Been dans la tasse [10] have we?
National Guardsman #2: no sir. By the Virgin we haven't.
Henri: you shouldn't swear by the Virgin. The Republicans won't like it. Can anybody remember who they swore by last time.
Noailles: *shrugs* by Madame Guillotine, sire?
National Guardsmen: *blanch at the mention*
Henri: now, may I enter? I have no desire to be late for my appointment. Lest his Excellency think that I do not regard him as important enough-
National Guardsmen: *frantically stand aside* *the party rides through* *Fitz-James gives them both a gold coin as they pass*
*zoom in on the coin* *it's actually a medal* *with the Franco-Navarrese coat of arms on one side* *and a figure - presumably Henri - on the other* *he is stepping on a dragon and holding a piece of paper in his hand that says "Libertés Nationales" while the Virgin Mary crowns him with laurel* *the legend around the edge reads: Sans moi tout périt [11]*

*cut to Henri riding down the Rue de Fontainebleau [12]* *nobody stops him* *even though a lot of people - including several gendarmes and national guards patrolling the street - everyone seems to be sort of frozen* *there's no mistaking him to even someone who's never seen him [13]* *of course, as he passes through the gates into the Salpetriere Hospital, we are reminded that everyone in Paris knows who he is* *there's the equivalent of a "wanted" poster pasted up on one of the gateposts*
*Fitz-James goes to tear it down*
Henri: leave it. Let them know exactly what an unworthy head this is.

*cut to the interior of the Hôtel de Ville*
Dufaure: *looks up at a knock on the door to his office* ah, Caussidière, come in. What is it?
Marc Caussidière, Prefect of Police: the king. He is in Paris.
Dufaure: *shocked* Louis Philippe?
Caussidière: Chambord! The brat is at the Salpetrière like it's a court event. The nurses have objected to the amount of people that have followed him in. I wanted to know what President Cavaignac would have me do.
Dufaure: President Cavaignac, Generals Bedreau and Lemorcière are likely with him.
Caussidière: that's that the thing. Nobody has seen them with him.
Dufaure: nonsense, they left to meet him at Pontcarré not an hour ago.
Caussidière: according to the reports, he arrived before they'd have even left then.
Dufaure: and they're not back?
Caussidière: *shakes head*
Dufaure: *stiffens* then we must assume that either they are dead or imprisoned and this is a coup. Arrest him then. Then tell Blanqui, Barbes and Bernard to stand ready [14]

*cut to Henri riding down the Quai des Tournelles* *there's now a substantial crowd of hangers on who just want to see where this ends up* *nobody's shouting anything like "Vive le Roi", indeed, if it weren't for the chatter, the procession would be silent* *he crosses the Pont Neuf onto the Île de la Cité* *and we see what he's looking at* *the Palais de Justice and the Conciergerie both show signs of extensive fire damage* *the Sainte Chapelle has had windows smashed, there seems to be fire damage, the spire has collapsed and the roof has caved in* *as he rides further, the Hotel Dieu Hospital is a smouldering ruin* *Notre Dame is looking distinctly crispy in places as well, but aside from the police prefecture on the Île de la Cité, it's pretty much the only other building that looks like it would still be safe to enter*
*we get a look at Henri's face as he raises his eyes up to the belltowers of the cathedral*
Henri: all eyes were raised to the top of the church. They beheld there an extraordinary sight. On the crest of the highest gallery, higher than the central rose window, there was a great flame rising between the two towers with whirlwinds of sparks: a vast, disordered and furious flame. A tongue of which was borne into the smoke by the wind. Below that fire, below the gloomy balustrade with its trefoils showing darkly against its glare [15].
*with one final look, he sadly turns his horse away* *riding faster now, as if trying to get away from the crowd* *in fact, nobody in the crowd is chattering now* *its as if they've all just realized the gravity of what's happened*
Citizen: *standing in front of Henri* *dressed in black* there were five hundred people inside the Hôtel Dieu - doctors, nurses, bedridden patients- when the National Guard burned it down, sire.
Henri: *his face is now blackly furious* is this true?
Crowd: *starts chattering* *everybody seems to know somebody it happened to*
Henri: I asked if this is true!
Crowd: *falls guiltily silent* *as if scared to admit the truth*
Henri: *spurs his horse to a canter as he rides off the island* *the ruins of the Tuileries still smoulder in the background* *but the Hôtel de Ville stands proudly erect and unscathed*
Ney: *voice over* it's a symbol. Symbols are powerful.
Henri: *the horse pacing the Place de Grève restlessly* *pawing at the stones* *raising his fist in the air and yelling up at the windows* come out and fight you cowards! Burn down a church! Burn down a hospital with men, women and children in it! And you claim to be on the side of the people! That you speak for them!
*in the middle of the rant* *the royal coach practically bursts into the square at breakneck speed*
Henri: what happened?
Ney: what we feared, sire. They were waiting in ambush for you.
Henri: is Charles alright.
Charles Louis Auguste Oreille de Carrière [aka Henri's half-brother, but it looks like his twin [16]]: *steps out of coach* *grinning* if their shooters are all such piss-poor shots, no wonder you're still alive
Henri: *up at windows* *where there are now several heads poking out anxiously* murderers! cowards! you attacked my brother when we came to you in good faith! *sees carriages with Cavaignac, Changarnier and Lemorcière - and the Henrician soldiers escorting the National Guardsmen* *to the people* *points at Hôtel de Ville* bring them to me alive.
*the mob needs no second bidding to surge into the Hôtel de Ville*

*title card shows 21 September 1843 [17]*
*Henri is on horseback at the Porte de Saint-Denis - the ceremonial entrance to Paris - in full uniform* *a procession of royal coaches comes trundling down the road* *there are large crowds lining the route* *in fact, they seem a lot happier at the sight of this parade than they did last we saw them in April* *maybe it's just appalling cynicism or gratitude that this war is now "over"*
*the lead coach stops* *the postilions scurry to the doors to open them* *out steps the duc d'Angoulême, followed by Madame Royal*
Henri: *removes his hat* *loudly* your Majesties, Paris welcomes your return on this...most felicitous occasion. The Parisians apologize for the shoddy state their city is in, but assure your Majesty that it shall be set to rights by the time of your coronation.
Angoulême: you mean your coronation, nephew.
Henri: I have done nothing to earn so high a reward, your Majesty [18]. *shouts to crowd* Vive le Roi! Vive la Reine!
Crowd: *almost as one echoes its response*
*we see Louis Philippe close the shutters of his carriage* *then Marie Amélie reaching over to open them again*
Henri: *salutes as Caroline's coach passes by*
Caroline: *looks as if she's about to burst with pride as she looks up at her son*
Henri: *looks a little misty-eyed himself as we fade to black*

*words appear on the screen: And they all lived happily ever after....*

[1] Open the gates! The gates of the world! Allow the King of Glory to enter! Who is the king? It is the hero, terrible, mighty in his struggles. "Why do you wear such bloody garments?" "I trod the winepress, all alone, I fought alone on the day of battle, and was covered in blood!"
The all alone imagery is not Henri's arrogance or even him identifying as some Saviour, but merely illustrating Angoulême's point of earlier "no need to confuse the men who they're fighting for or against"
[2] he was on Henri's side in 1832
[3] former marshal of France who was deprived of his rank after he rose for Henri in 1832. Dying in the saddle, with his boots on, "redeems" some honour
[4] once owned by the Gonzagas, the Henrietta Maria, then passing to the Orléans and allowed to decay
[5] again, rose for Henri in 1832
[6] Palais Royal
[7] this is more Ney pointing out to Henri "be on your guard. Bugeaud might be the one firing guns at them, but Henri is the one forcing them to pick up the check
[8] village on the outskirts of Paris.
[9] Henri's brother-in-law, de la Charette with the exception of Junot Jr, these are all men who have been fighting for Henri.
[10] in the cups (i.e. drunk). OTL the duchesse de Berri always maintained a phonetic/haphazard speaking of French. Instead of saying "dans le tas" (with the crowd, i.e like all the rest) to a question of whether she enjoyed her social life, she replied "dans la tasse" (drunk) to some ambassador. On another occasion, where she wanted to say that she had had a cold when someone asked her how she'd been, she couldn't think of the French for flu (grippe), so she just turned the Italian for bronchitis (constipato) into "je suis constipé" (meaning I am constipated). I could see Henri - while he can speak proper French, imitates his mother's careless grammar in private. Here, this could mean Henri's implying the two individuals look like they've been drinking on duty (still a floggable offense under French army law until after the Franco-Prussian War IIRC) or it could be a comment on the national guard as a whole ("worthless, like all the rest")
[11] without me, all things perish
[12] current Avenue d'Italie. Back then it was mostly guingettes and the odd house.
[13] as Henri Marchand (a legitimist himself) would later write: Le Roi de France, vous le reconnaîtrez toujours à ce signe ineffaçable, inamissible et inaliénable : le rang de sa naissance !...Qu'il vive ici ou là, tout près ou tout au bout du monde, qu'importe, il est le roi! (the king of France, you will recognize him by these immutable signs: the rank of his birth!...Whether he lives here or there, near or at the far end of the world, it matters not: he is the king!)
[14] Caussidière was part of Blanqui's Societé des Saisons and was imprisoned by him for the conspiracy
[15] from Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame
[16] I have no idea what Charles Oreille de Carrière or his full-brother Ferdinand looked like, but Henri's maternal half-brother could apparently pass for his twin as well - indeed, the pair often used to swap clothes halfway through an engagement as a prank
[17] Louise d'Artois' birthday
[18] there are several reasons for Henri "stepping back". To have him as the face of government when most of the last eighteen months he's been running around being the guy everyone's fighting against, is gonna be awkward. Passing over Angoulême (i.e. regarding his abdication as binding, means that then, Henri's was binding as well) is going to needlessly antagonize the more conservative wing. Also, he has no children, so everyone knows Henri's next up to bat. But it also gives Henri an opportunity to distance himself from the image of "bloodthirsty, arrogant conqueror". The Parisians/foreign courts might prefer "an old fool" like Angoulême in charge to Henri that they might fear is only looking for an opportunity to exploit to go all Sun King. And let's face it, Angoulême is turning 70 next year, he isn't going to be up to the travel required of a royal representative to foreign christenings-weddings-funerals, going around France, etc. Likely Angoulême's not moving further than Fontainebleau from Paris. Also, as the daughter and sister of saints, Madame Royal has the "glamour" that Henri can't match. Also, being "heir" rather than king means Henri has more opportunity to do things he wants (a visit to Algeria is not impossible). By acclaiming his uncle publicly like this, he also voids any objection from his supporters (mostly because they know that while Angoulême will be the face, Henri's going to be the one actually running the show in all likelihood) and voids compromising his stance that his critics can say "he drove his carriage to his coronation over his uncle's body" (paraphrase of what they said of Queen Mary II). Besides, if nothing else, Angoulême and Madame Royal have bloody well earned it. In fact, Madame Royal being crowned (when her mother wasn't) is likely to be a capstone that the Revolution is finally finished.

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[Kellan Sullivan]

hopefully this will be the last look at Paris for 1843, but I thought it would be important to look at the ramifications Henri's actions have caused outside of France.

Soundtrack: Pacini - Maria, Regina d'Inghilterra - Forza ai remi; giammai piu serena

*exterior* *Brussels* *we see a newspaper being sold with the headline "The King is Out. Republic's In. No He's [the king]'s Back".* *It mocks Marianne by showing her as a woman standing in front of the mirror, behind her, in a trunk, are her clearly visible clogs, Phrygian cap and tricolour* *Marianne herself is fixing her Ancien Regime hairstyle and her Louis XV dress spangled with fleurs-de-lis* *to herself Marianne comments "yes, I think this is the dress that suits me best "*

*exterior* *Venice* *we see a man carrying newspaper across the Piazza de San Marco that shows a headline called "The Judgement of Paris"* *it shows a reversal of the mythological story* *Paris is a seated woman confronted by three suitors* *Louis Philippe* *Cavaignac* *and Henri* *she awards the apple - which looks a lot like a coronation orb - to Henri*

*exterior* *Vienna* *a newspaper is being sold that has a headline of "The French Waltz"* *it shows a dashing Henri cutting into the dance that a clearly repulsed Marianne is sharing with a squirrely looking Cavaignac* *on the edge of the dancefloor Louis Philippe and Dupont de l'Eure scowling at him*

*exterior* *Naples* *a newspaper flutters on a gust of wind* *we see its called "The Colossus of Paris"* *it shows a bloody handed colossus astride the Seine* *in one hand it holds a document entitled "Fraternité" although the illustration makes it look like a guillotine frame* *around it's neck is the bewigged head of an aristocrat [interpreted as Louis XVI] while for a head it has a skull with snakes crawling out of the eye sockets* *Henri as Zeus strikes it down with a lightning bolt*

*exterior* *Stockholm* *same illustration as we saw in Brussels* *only in this one, Marianne is clearly wearing a wedding dress and the skirt is being tugged down over a pile of corpses by her bridesmaids [Madame Royale, the queen of Sicily and the duchesse de Berri]*

*exterior* *London* *we see a newspaper* *Henri is shown standing in the pose of Holbein's Henry VIII over France* *the ghost of Bloody Mary stands on England with a scroll marked "Title Deeds" in her hand that she presents to Henri* *a smirking Bloody Mary to Henri: Sire, I no longer feel I deserve the title I have borne. Henceforward it is as much yours as Calais*

*interior Buckingham Palace we see a [once more pregnant] Victoria putting aside a copy of the newspaper* *This one with the headline of "Thou Did Not See Peter's Years [1]"* *it shows Napoléon and Louis Philippe - both dressed in mourning - strolling side by side down a gallery with busts of French kings* *we see that under the bust of Louis XIV it says "reigned 72 Years", under Louis XV it says "reigned 58 years" *finally we get to St. Louis - 43 years; Philippe Auguste - 42 years; François I - 32 years; Philippe le Bel - 29 years and Henri IV - 20 years* *they are standing in front of a bust of Louis XVI - over a tag of 18 years - who smugly says "even I outlasted you"[2] There's an empty plinth engraved with Henri V and a question mark next to years*
Victoria: rather ghoulish, I must say.
Albert: what is?
Victoria: to make such sport of it all seems very French.
Albert: they are French.
Victoria: but to act as if this were all dead and buried so soon after it happened.
Albert: after what happened?
Victoria: that a king should have to step over so many corpses to the throne. It's no wonder everyone in Europe is hanging back in recognizing Henri like they did the republic. Who knows how long it will last?
Albert:I think that if you compare the numbers, it's significantly less than either Robespierre or Napoléon did. And his grandfather, great-uncle and Louis Philippe all showed what will happen to a king who allows his enemies to abuse his kindness. Usually a king who is too humane is overthrown and replaced by a government which is decidedly less concerned for human life. Take the burning of the Hôtel Dieu, for instance...that was people burned in their beds...Henri had nothing to do with that.
Victoria: *butters her toast* yes, but his siccing the mob on the people's representatives was unnecessary.
Albert: and if he hadn't, they would've sicced the mob on him. And he would've likely ended on the same guillotine

*flashback to Paris, afternoon 19 September* *the mob drags almost everyone who was part of the government from the Hôtel de Ville* *President Cavaignac, Generals Bedreau, Lamorcière and Commandant Changarnier are all now standing next to Henri's horse* *Henri announces his punishment to these men* *that they be tried by the same laws they've perverted* *not for attacking him or standing against the monarchy, but for their crimes "against France"* *the crowd roars its approval*
*cut to the interior of the Palais Bourbon* *we see these men defending themselves, arguing as they try to persuade the court of their "innocence"*
*cut to 16th October 1843* *a scaffold has been erected on the Place de Grève [3]* *we see Angoulême, Madame Royal, the duchesse de Berri, Henri and all the court - including both Orléans and the literatti - Agoult, Balzac, Hugo [4], Sand, Dumas and Tocqueville - in attendance* *seated on a sort of dais*
*Cavaignac and the others of the government are led out* *we see their eyes bulge as they see the guillotine* *but in a way, they have a sort of swagger to their step* *like they know this is all theatre*
*first up is Dupont-de l'Eure* *he stands on the scaffold* *he starts trying to make a speech* *Henri motions* *the Henrician uniformed drummers start beating their drums to silence him* *Dupont-de l'Eure falls silent* *the drummers stop* *Dupont de l'Eure tries again* *this time the drummers need no order* *the executioner grabs Dupont de l'Eure* *straps him to the board* *next thing the blade falls with a sickening swish* *we see Caroline de Berri flinch slightly*
*the mood of Cavaignac and the others changes from cocky at being pardoned to abject terror* *one of them cries out "Pitié, Majestés!"* *but Cavaignac, Blanc, Blanqui, Barbes, Bernard and Caussidière all get summarily led up the steps* *all of them are drowned out by drummers when they attempt to make speeches* *all of their heads end up in the bottom of the basket*
*finally* *after it*
Angoulême: *rises from his throne* *many in the crowd remove their hats* *some bow their heads* it is with a heavy heart that we have signed those death warrants. But let this...on the fiftieth anniversary of our beloved mother-in-law's death...be the last blood that the Revolution will spill. It is our will that we finally draw to a close this gruesome and strange chapter of our history. We are not to forget the lessons it has taught us, but it belongs as much in the past as the system which caused it. We are all to embrace one another as brothers *steps forward to Orléans to embrace him as a brother*
Louis Philippe: *looks awkward at this* *but then - after a glance at the still bloody scaffold - walks towards Angoulême* *but the floor must be uneven since he seems to fall over his own feet into Angoulême's open arms*
Angoulême: it is good to be friends again, cousin.
Louis Philippe: *says nothing*
*the crowd applauds loudly* *even Madame Royal is not unmoved*

*back to Buckingham Palace*
Victoria: still, it is difficult to accept that such a neighbour is likely to remain at peace with us for long.
Albert: like the duc d'Angoulême?
Victoria: they say that the comte de Chambord is the one really in charge.
Albert: and in France they also say that Mr. Peel is the one really in charge in England, which you and I know not to be true at all.
Victoria: what sort of man is Angoulême?
Albert: I keep forgetting you haven't met him. But he's more Anglophile than Uncle Leopold. He even takes high tea each afternoon and knows the words to "God Save the Queen" by heart. I hardly think that he will be invading England.
Victoria: *sarcastically* now I can have that to worry about too.
Albert: I was always told the French are hysterical and the English do understatement. Well, the way the English papers have been going at it of late, you would say it's the other way around.
Victoria: *tartly* we are not hysterical. We are cautious. To look too overeager to embrace the king of France will look as though we had always supported him. And we do not wish to be accused of censoring our press as he has.
Albert: he hasn't censored it. It's an idea which Henri and I debated nearly all the way to Rome: there are politicians who own newspapers, and journalists - such as Messieurs Thiers and Cavaignac - who become politicians. The act to "censor" the press as the Times calls it is no more than an act to prevent a politician owning a newspaper or a journalist from running for politics. The duke of Reichstadt has done the same in Venice and I don't hear anyone calling it censorship-
Victoria: that is because Prince Metternich's system is already censorship.
Albert: all Angoulême has done is forced newspapers to "pick a side". If anything, the French press now is more free than it ever was under Louis Philippe. There are papers for the Republicans, the Orléanists and the monarchy. They are free to say what they like, within certain limits [5].
Victoria: according to Monsieur Guizot it is radically unsound.
Albert: you'll have to send him away when you acknowledge Angoulême.
Victoria: *irritatedly* when? Shouldn't that be if?
Albert: Victoria, this is hardly a revolutionary regime. Your uncle's government accredited a new ambassador to Louis Philippe within six months of his coup, while King Charles was in Scotland.
Victoria: and you deem King Louis Philippe a revolutionary?
Albert: I think he is a man who has gambled and lost. He should be grateful for Henri's mercy that he was allowed to return to Paris and to keep his estates. When, by rights, he should've been tried and executed for treason. The only thing that stopped him fleeing the country was the fact that nobody wanted him. The man hasn't had to forfeit his estates or been arrested or even barred from court...that is more kindness than he showed to Henri. The only thing Louis Philippe has had to disgorge are the Condé estates which were willed to Henri anyway.
Victoria: what of his move to disband the National Guard. That doesn't smack of him being no better than King Charles?
Albert: Again, an idea that's been rivetted in Henri's skull for as long as I've known him. The National Guard is essentially a pretorian unit. Imagine if you couldn't trust the Queen's Guard outside because they were republicans or Chartists. That is what the National Guard is. Their behaviour in the Revolution and their behaviour in April, to say nothing of their behaviour in trying to assassinate Henri on the orders of the Préfet of Police, Monsieur Caussidière...would you trust a unit of guardsmen who had fought for Cromwell or Bonnie Prince Charlie?
Victoria: no, I wouldn't.
Albert: he hasn't disbanded them. He's simply trimmed them down from a hundred thousand men-
Victoria: *in disbelief* a hundred thousand?
Albert: you can see why he equates it to the Janissary Corps. Actually, it's roughly twice the size. It's a law unto themselves. So, Henri simply announced that there would be no further recruitment for the Guard. And then established the Gardes Français from among the soldiers who fought for him in the provinces. It's men he knows will be loyal to him, and Paris can't call him elitist because many of those men are little more than farmboys who left the plow. It's why he made their motto "le roi a appelé, nous avons répondu [6]. Then Angoulême named all fifteen hundred and eighty-nine to the Legion d'Honneur [7].
Victoria: and the National Guard?
Albert: most are being dispatched to Algeria, to go and fight there.
Victoria: speaking of Algeria, what is Angoulême going to do about General Bugeaud. The man's...less than savoury actions towards both Chambord and his mother cannot have left much of a place safe for him.
Albert: as repugnant as he is as an individual, he is a good general. Even Henri admitted that in his letter that he hoped he would not have to meet Bugeaud in battle. But to do anything to him would cause his soldiers in Algeria to rebel and lose the impetus there. So for now...the general is safe. He hasn't even been stripped of his Maréchal's baton. Although I suspect Henri will be keeping a very close eye on him. But Paris is still in ruins.
Victoria: I keep reading that there were buildings burned or damaged but they're vague on what it is or was.
Albert: the customs house at La Villette, most of the Ile de la Cité, the Hôtel de Salm, the Ministry of Finance, parts of the Rue de Rivoli, and the Protestant church when the wind changed direction and the Louvre-Tuileries fire jumped. The synagogue on the Rue de Nazareth, the Cour des Comptes, the Caisse des Dépots, the Arsenal, the Place Vendôme, the Théâtre Lyrique, the Rues du Bac and Royale, parts of Auteuil.
Victoria: the poor city. It's almost as bad as Hamburg.
Albert: worse, because Hamburg was accidental. These places all had meaning for everything the republic stood against: religion, royalty; the army, the rich. I don't blame Henri for noting that to still organize a coronation on top of such damages - not to mention the war debts - looks in frightfully bad taste.
Victoria: he or his uncle must be crowned. Even if only for form's sake. To forego that shows that he's just like Louis Philippe. He can no longer think of himself, he needs to think of the whole country. And the whole country needs something to rally around. Even Bonaparte understood that.
Albert: perhaps he'll take it better coming from you: the importance of duty. I seem to be up against a wall with that.
Victoria: perhaps I will.

*cut to Angoulême and Madame Royal at the Élysée* *they're taking tea à la Anglaise with the duchesse de Berri, her two stepdaughters, Henri, the duke and duchess of Seville [Infante Enrique and Eugenie de Montijo]* *a footman brings in a letter hands it to Angoulême*
Angoulême: *opens letter* *reads*
Victoria: *voice over* Sir, my beloved brother. Being desirous to maintain uninterrupted the union and good understanding which happily subsists between Great Britain and France, I have made choice Lord Cowley, a peer of my United Kingdom, Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, to reside at your Most Christian Majesty's Court in the character of my Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. The long experience which I have had of his talents and zeal for my service assures me that the choice which I have made of Lord Cowley [8] will be perfectly agreeable to your Most Christian Majesty, and that he will prove himself worthy of this new mark of my confidence. I request that your Most Christian Majesty will give entire credence to all that Lord Cowley shall communicate to you on my part, more especially when he shall ensure your Most Christian Majesty of my invariable attachment and esteem, and shall express to you those sentiments of sincere friendship and regard with which I am, sir, my brother, your Most Christian Majesty's good sister. Victoria Regina

*fade to black on Angoulême smiling like a cheshire cat*

[1] an old saying that means "now that something has served it's usefulness, it's best to be rid of it".
[2] moral of the story, these are the "famous" kings of France who could (excepting Louis XV/Louis XVI) qualify as "great". But even as hapless as he was, Louis XVI outlasted both of them. The headline is a play what gets said to each pope on his election "thou shalt not see Peter's years" (by tradition, St. Peter reigned as Pope for twenty-five years, and legend had it that no Pope in history would rule longer). When they said this to Pius IX on his election, he just laughed at it (and then became the first pope to reign longer than Peter's "traditional" reign at 31 years)
[3] traditional site of executions in Paris
[4] Hugo was notoriously against the death penalty
[5] I don't think this is quite as "free" as Albert makes it sounds. It's probably more comparable to the set-up in England in the 1840s though.
[6] the king called, we answered
[7] think about what Angoulême/Henri is doing here. They're not abolishing the Legion d'Honneur (or the National Guard), but they're "minimizing" it's importance (which is what the Bourbons should've done at the Restauration IMO) by bestowing it on men who - to the minds of most of the National Guard and probably a fair few other Legionnaires - don't even deserve to get it (I wouldn't be surprised if there are many who return theirs or resign from the order- if you can- in protest). It's also a way of rewarding loyalty "cheaply" (no idea if there's still paid the salary originally stipulated by Napoléon, since by the end of the Empire, with 38 000 members, that would've been something ruinous) and better still, most of those "farmboys" are likely to be from intensely royalist districts (like the Vendée, Brittany, Lorraine, Provence, parts of Aquitaine/Navarre/Auvergne) loyal to Henri, not some passing mood in the capital.
[8] while Cowley had served as ambassador to Louis Philippe, this is also the duke of Wellington's brother, so much as they might find him irritable due to the whole "ambassador to Louis Philippe" part, they can't really "object" without causing a diplomatic incident. While Victoria's language is typical diplomatic speak - she likely would've said the same to Cavaignac - the useage of the term "my brother/your Most Christian Majesty" is a giveaway to her feelings on the matter. Also, the signoff "Victoria Regina" says that for all the first person rather than the royal plural, indicates that this is an official recognition

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[Kellan Sullivan]

@Fehérvári : hope I did it justice

Soundtrack: Ferenc Erkel - László Hunyadi - Overture

*exterior* *Hungary* *montage of new cloth-spinning factories that have been built* *cut to men at an ironworks pouring out molten metal* *cut to Karl of Brunswick inspecting one of his mines* *Hermine has made herself useful in the mining "village" by establishing what's clearly a hospital tent and a "school" tent while we see men building the actual hospital* *we see a steamship or two plying the Danube* *cut to land being cleared for railways* [1] *cut the countryside is waving fields of wheat* *cut to the fields where we see farm-workers looking up from harvesting the wheat to cheer a train steaming past*

*exterior* *Pressburg* *we see the imperial train arriving at the station [2]* *from the first coach disembarks King Ferdinand and Queen Maria Anna* *from the second disembarks a rather wide-eyed thirteen-year-old Archduke Franz [Joseph] [3] accompanied by railway president, Count György Andrássy*
Franzi: *in Hungarian* do you really mean it? That one day we'll be able to travel all over with trains?
Andrássy: of course, your Royal Highness, with time and peace, I have no doubt that Hungary will be able to prosper as much as Bohemia or even England.
Franzi: I should like it if that were to happen.
Andrássy: as would we all, sir. It is our society's [4] most fervent wish.
*conversation is ended by Franzi being called to his uncle's side for the "official welcome"*

*cut to the Städtischer Aupark* *there's an exhibition of sorts going on* *it looks like a cross between a country fair and an industrial exhibition* *we see Franzi presenting the prizes to the winners in each category* *including him pinning a prize ribbon on a frankly massive Hungarian Grey bull [5]* *we then see the elderly Dániel Csapó Tagyosi coming forward on stage* *Franzi is making a short speech in Hungarian honouring Csapó's "life's work" in the modernization of Hungary 's agricultural sector. For successfully being able to bind quicksand and making the ground useable. For his work in sheep and horse farming. And for the recent publication of his work Gazdasági kistükör [Economic Mirror]* *in honour of these accomplishments Franzi asks that Csapó accept a small token - "certainly not commeasurate with the amount of good you have done for our kingdom" - of gratitude* *the old man bows as Franzi places "by Order of His Most Apostolic Majesty" the ribbon of the Order of Saint Stephen around his neck [6]* *the old man straightens and faces the crowd* *he looks like he wants to cry*
From the crowd: Long Life to His Majesty! Long Life to Archduke Franz!

*cut to the Diet*
Archduke Joseph: *announces a debate about the regency bill that the Emperor has made, naming Frankie as regent in the event of his demise before his grandson's majority* *his tone just sounds like he's done this dance before*
Count Lajos Batthyány: *rises from his seat* I call to mind the speech made from this very throne that should we agree to his Imperial Majesty's wishes, he would regard us better than the Venetians. But now he clearly distrusts not only us but also the Palatine that he appointed to steer the kingdom through such crises. How many more proofs of loyalty must Hungary give?
Prince Pál Esterházy: how very like a cur like you, Batthyány, to try to try to conflate the two issues.
Count Istvan Széchenyi: and how like an Esterházy to be willing to cut Hungary's own throat for the payment of Austria.
Esterházy: how is your steamboat fleet faring on the Danube, Count?
Széchenyi: *doesn't answer*
Esterházy: do you not have not only our gracious Palatine to thank for you to be allowed to indulge such a whim but also thanks to the successful lobbying of the duke of Reichstadt?
Széchenyi: that is not the quite the same. *looks at Joseph* I am very grateful for the confidence that his Royal Highness has placed in me, and I am very grateful for the duke of Reichstadt's patronage-
Esterházy: but not grateful enough to support this bill?
Batthyány: my honourable colleague is entirely correct when he mentions that these matters are chalk and cheese. We cannot allow the duke of Reichstadt to "run" Hungary from Vienna. We must be watchful Prince Esterházy.
Esterházy: so by that imagery, Batthyány, if he were to come set up shop in Buda, you would find no quarrel with the idea.
Batthyány: do not put words in my mouth. I am simply pointing out that there is no evidence to suggest that his Serene Highness will understand the intricacies of Hungarian politics. Or respect them.
Esterházy: and you are basing this on what evidence exactly? The duke of Reichstadt could hardly have been expected to understand the "intricacies" of the government of Venice, and yet...here we sit...with him having clearly mastered the intricacies.
Széchenyi: But Hungary and Venice are unfortunately, very different.
Esterházy: and you think your cousin, Metternich, will leave Archduke Joseph in place once the emperor dies?
Széchenyi: he will have no choice. Prince Metternich will not have the power to remove the Palatine-
Esterházy: Prince Metternich was also supposed to have had the power to curb the duke of Reichstadt. He hasn't done that. In fact, the main thing Hungary has to be grateful for is that the duke of Reichstadt has given him a new target for his ire so that he can no longer pester the Palatine.
Batthyány: but as long as the king remains opposed to Prince Metternich the Palatine will be safe.
Esterházy: how charmingly naive of you, Batthyány. The king is not strong enough to stand against Metternich. That is why the emperor has devised this scheme. So that Metternich will have someone to stand up for the king. A champion as it were. If it were up to Metternich, we should've forfeited the lands in Silesia and Italy that Hungary's sons fought and died for. Prince Metternich will sweep the Palatine aside and impose someone who will lick his boots...likely that fool, Rainier *to Joseph* I apologize for insulting your Highness' brother, but what else am I to think of a man who cannot even rally his own troops.
Batthyány: and will you rally your troops to defend the Palatine, Esterházy, or will you simply look out for your own interests? Is it not true that his Serene Highness has tipped you for leading the embassy to Paris?
Esterházy: I resent the implication, Count Batthyány, that I am only driven by self-interest. It is one thing that I'm grateful to this recent Fronde in France for demonstrating that loyalty to the crown does still count for something. Even one who repents so late in the day like Maréchal Ney has now been rewarded with the French ministry of education, much like the duke of Reichstadt was. When you accuse me of "benefitting", perhaps you should fix your eyes upon how Count Széchenyi looked as if he had just beheld the Virgin Mary herself when there was talk at yesterday's session of Hungary being allowed into the Steuerverein. Or does that not count as self-serving enough for you?
Batthyány: *glares at his colleague*
Esterházy: the fact of the matter remains, gentlemen, that if you wish for the Palatine to remain in charge, you would support the duke of Reichstadt as regent. However misguided attempts are such as his endorsing your steamboats, Széchenyi, or wishing for Hungary to join the Steuerverein, he is at least an honourable man. Which is more than I ever thought I would say of a Bonaparte. Prince Metternich has already showed that he is not above backstabbing his own allies if it achieves his ends. Yet you would rather have Metternich in charge?

*cut to interior of the Royal Palace in Pressburg* *Franzi is standing in a corner of the hallway* *Stephan comes walking past* *sees him*
Stephan: you're a little old for playing hide-and-seek aren't you?
Franzi: *half snooty tone* *hushed voice* I'm not playing hide-and-seek. I'm just hiding so that Erzsi doesn't find me.
Stephan: *hushed voice* and why is my sister looking for you?
Franzi: because she's decided that we're going to get married. And have lots of children and-
Stephan: *seriously* and you don't want to get married.
Franzi: *terrifiedly* not to her I don't.
Stephan: come along, [step]Mother has told her my rooms are off limits. So she won't look for you there. And if anyone asks, you can say we were busy discussing my "rock collection".
Franzi: *falling in beside him as they walk* I don't really like rocks. That's more...Maxi's thing.
Stephan: don't worry. I won't talk about rocks.

*cut to Stephan's study* *Stephan's "rescue dog", Bela, is lying snoozing in front of the fireplace*
Stephan: *motions to Franzi to sit down on the sofa* *takes a seat in the revolving chair at the desk*
Franzi: *looks at it* does it spin all the way around?
Stephan: *demonstrates*
Franzi: that's more interesting than a collection of rocks.
Stephan: you like mechanics?
Franzi: Leopold [Archduke Rainer's son] is teaching me about them.
Stephan: and you're enjoying it.
Franzi: *nods as Bela pads up to investigate*
Stephan: *suddenly serious* do you know what they're discussing at the Diet today?
Franzi: Hungary's entrance into the Steuerverein
Stephan: among other things. Has your grandfather or your uncle told you about how he wants to name your Uncle Frankie regent if he dies before you're eighteen?
Franzi: Uncle Klemens [Metternich] says its a bad idea. But every time I ask him why, he tells me not to worry about it.
Stephan: and what do you think of it?
Franzi: nobody tells me what it's about so I do what Uncle Klemens says and "I don't worry about it".
Stephan: *to himself* of course he did. *to Franzi* simply put, the bill says that when your grandpa dies, Uncle Frankie is going to be the one in charge until you're eighteen.
Franzi: not Uncle Ferdinand?
Stephan: Uncle Ferdinand is sick...you've seen him. Uncle Frankie is going to be regent for him-
Franzi: until he gets better?
Stephan: until he gets better. Or you turn eighteen. Then you will be able to take over.
Franzi: but what about Uncle Frankie? What'll he do after that?
Stephan: he needs to get the job first.
Franzi: you mean he won't? But what about Uncle Ferdinand being sick.
Stephan: Metternich is going to try to convince everyone that there's nothing wrong with Uncle Ferdinand- you've seen how he parades him around in Vienna to try and convince everyone he's not sick, haven't you?
Franzi: *nods* *he's taken to absently stroking Bela*
Stephan: that's so he won't need a regency. And then, Prince Metternich will be the one in charge. And he hates your Uncle Frankie, my father, me-
Franzi: why?
Stephan: you know how some people carry a picture around in their heads about how they think something should look. And they're not happy until it looks like that?
Franzi: like a painter?
Stephan: *nods* now, Prince Metternich has one picture in his head. Uncle Frankie, my father, myself, Cousin Albert, even Uncle Karl [of Teschen] have a different picture. In Prince Metternich's picture...Uncle Frankie's not there. My father is not there.
Franzi: because they make his life difficult?
Stephan: yes.
Franzi: so you're like the good Bourbons and the wicked Orléans who cut off the king's head?
Stephan: yes. You being here? If it were up to Prince Metternich, you'd never have to leave Vienna. Cousin Leopold wouldn't be teaching you about mechanics and Prince Felix [Schwarzenberg] wouldn't be your tutor. You'd have some man who's starched outside and sawdust inside instead.
Franzi: like Louis XVII?
Stephan: except your Temple will be the Hofburg. He'll take Uncle Frankie, your Mama, Papa, Annchen, Lisa [7] away from you. He'll lock you up all alone.
Franzi: *looks at his cousin with big eyes*
Stephan: the bill in the diet is about that. Father had to promise them that he will...look at some legislation about removing some of Prince Metternich's censorship laws.
Franzi: he says those laws are necessary. That if we didn't have them, we'd all be in terrible danger all the time. And we'd wind up like Louis XVI.
Stephan: Father and Uncle Frankie want to change that. Not allow anyone to say what they like, but rather to add a penalty for if they say something that puts people - not just us - at risk. Like that the newspapers will be fined, or forced to print a retraction if they say something like...Uncle Frankie is Maxi's dad.
Franzi: mama cries whenever she hears them say that. And that I'm Prince Gustaf's son, not Papa's.
Stephan: you asked about Louis XVI, did you see what happened to him when they said his son wasn't his.
Franzi: *draws a finger across his throat*
Stephan: and five decades of civil war. Father and Uncle Frankie want to make it so that people who write things like that end up in jail. They don't want to do what Prince Metternich does and just jail people because they thought it.
Franzi: why not just chop of Prince Metternich's head and be done with it? It's what Louis XVI should've done with Philippe Égalité.
Stephan: because then we're just as bad as him [8]

*cut to Vienna*
Prince Metternich: *tosses a newspaper angrily into the fireplace* *as we see the flames licking at it greedily we see the headline "Hungarian Diet Passes Regency Bill for Duke of Reichstadt. Censorship Laws Relaxed"* *for an illustration, there is a boat on a lake [Balaton?]* *in the boat - at one end - are Metternich, Archdukes Johann, Ludwig and Rainier* *in the boat's prow that's lifted out of the water is Frankie standing with Franz [Joseph] trying to "balance" the boat* *on the dock, Archduke Joseph waits for the boat to arrive so he can step in, clearly on Frankie's end* *Teschen is shown on the edge of the picture asking "room for one more?"* *to which the cartoon Metternich gestures to the vacant seat beside him*
Metternich: *face almost purple with rage* *stalks out of room*

*fade to black*


[1] while this may seem "unlikely", Hungary hasn't actually been suffering from the war in the same way that parts of Bohemia and Moravia have, so it's not unthinkable that, in fear of getting shelled, more than a few iron-works in Bohemia and Moravia have opened a "Hungarian branch" (or gone into partnership with Hungarian owners). Also, railways would be deemed as "essential services" so I could see a lot of people being "drafted" to work on the railways and roads. It gives those recently freed serfs something to do (and let's them feel like they're "involved" in the country), lets them be seen as productive (by parts of society that might otherwise be skeptical of the benefit of freeing the serfs) and they likely earn an income. Even if its not for the "technical work" they can at least be put to use clearing and excavating land for tracks, building bridges for railway routes, feeding the hungry workmen's camp etc etc. It beats starving to death in the cities
[2] Bratislava's main station was only completed in 1848, so it might be more along the lines of a "platform" than a "stationhouse", although presumably the station could have probably been built earlier
[3] this might be his first trip "on his own" (sans Archduchess Sophie etc)
[4] this would be the National Hungarian Economic Association (while OTL it was pretty much just farming and farming equipment, I could see it having expanded its reach industrially)
[5] this exhibition is a combination of the 1850 exhibit in Budapest and the 1841 exhibit organized by the the patron of the National Hungarian Economic Association, Archduke Joseph. The war delayed the 1841 exhibit but timing it to coincide with a royal visit doesn't seem unthinkable. As for Franzi presenting the prizes, this is both to get him "exposure" in Hungary and because Ferdinand's epilepsy could make it very awkward if he starts having a fit in the middle of it.
[6] the order of Saint Stephen's statutes stipulate that the bearer must have "seize quartiers" of nobility. Csapó is the son of wealthy commoners. Figure he's a year away from dying and the man has worked his ass off (the Economic Mirror being published when he was 65yo) for it.
[7] Franz Joseph's TTL sisters, Maria Anna (b.1835) and Elisabeth Sophie (b.1837)
[8] this is not to say that Frankie hasn't imagined several ways of separating the man's head from his body with a blunt pair of gardening shears. Just you don't want to make Franz Joseph think that that's the way to rule


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[Kellan Sullivan]

Soundtrack: King John IV of Portugal - Adeste Fideles

*exterior* *Sicily* *we see a pregnant Louise [1] with her eldest son, the duke of Calabria, her "stepson" and Calabria's inseparable companion, Ludo of Württemberg; the Princesse de Capua, her two children, the Comtesse de Syracuse [2] and her two daughters* *they are visiting the hospitals[3] in Palermo* *we see them going from bed to bed sharing a few words with each of the patients [4]* *then at a banquet for the doctors, priests and nurses at the Palazzo d'Orléans [5] presided over by the king and queen of Sicily*
*interior* *the coach* *Ludo and Calabria are sitting opposite Louise*
Ludo: why do we have to go to the hospitals anyway? We could send a monkey there and he'd do the job as well
Louise: then why was Jesus born? If we could send a monkey to do his job?
Calabria: no we couldn't. He was born to redeem mankind.
Louise: He was. And that is why we visit the hospitals.
Ludo: *frowning* but we don't redeem them. We don't even make them better by going. Not like we can say "pick up your mat and walk [6]".
Louise: *smiles* Christmas is a melody of two tunes. The words tell us a simple and heart-breaking story of a baby born outside of society, in a stable, because there was nowhere else on Earth for him. The music is the angels singing their "hallelujahs" because Heaven is open to all of us. It is the king's job to bring a touch of Heaven to a weary world.
Calabria: I like that idea.
Louise: its the axiom of Christmas, Ludwig...that the birth of a homeless child is celebrated in every home.

*cut to the Palazzo di Ficuzza* *we see that the interior has been decorated not only in the French style [7] but also for Christmas*
Louise: *removing her gloves* what is it, Annunziata?
Annunziata, the lady-in-waiting [8]: Majesty, there's been news from Paris. A...revolt.
Louise: *panicked* a revolt? Or a revolution?
Annunziata: a revolt, Madame. The king has suppressed the National Guard.
Louise: about time.
Annunziata: unfortunately, Madame, the National Guard wasn't too fond of that idea. And they took to the streets trying to mass the Parisians to dethrone the king and restore the republic.
Louise: *nervously* and my brother, mother, aunt, uncle?
Annunziata: they are unharmed, Madame. The National Guard was, for the most part, stopped by the Parisians, and the king sent the army in to keep the peace.
Louise: *skeptically* the Parisians? Stopped a revolt? Well....it truly is a season for miracles.
Ferdinando: *walking in* as I understand it, it's been brewing for a while. At first, they were deprived of their "privilege" to guard the king.
Louise: my aunt wouldn't have let those men near her for all the bergamot in Reggio. Not after how they've stabbed the kings in the back every time there's even a hint of a revolution
Ferdinando: *nods as he takes over from the maids* *dismisses Annunziata* quite. There was a compensation that the guard was to be a sort of "garde civile", to sort of keep the peace in Paris. They weren't too fond of that idea. But although they grumbled, Paris' new governor, Catherine?
Louise: Cathelineau [9]. He's one of my brother's fiercest supporters.
Ferdinando: Cathelineau ordered them to do it. But as the new batches of the Garde have been returning to Paris from the provinces, and being replaced by the king's men, the tensions have been...increasing. The spool that broke the camel's back was over the matter of lodgings and a matter in the courts.
Louise: lodgings? As in room at the inn?
Ferdinando: their barracks. It would seem the king has turned some of their casernes over to the Garde Français. And as a result, many of the National Garde returning found that they had nowhere to return to.
Louise: most of them don't live in the barracks anyway. That's where the whole problem comes in. Instead of living in the barracks like they're supposed to, they live in town.
Ferdinando: then the king passed a decree that the National Garde was to be incorporated in the army - just like the Garde Français, so as to enforce that rule-
Louise: and their loyalty.
Ferdinando: which of course, irritated some more. And then...it seems...there was an incident involving one of the casernes, a Parisienne - according to the official report she's the daughter of some or other shopkeeper, according to what was said in the courts, she is little more than a...street walker. - and five of the National Garde who...had some sport with her.
Louise: *horrified*
Ferdinando: the court found the guardsmen guilty of the offense and sentenced them to imprisonment. But of course, this inflamed the rest of the garde, which called the charges "spurious" and, when they swarmed the streets...they were shouting that the king plans to do this to all "loyal sons of the fatherland" and "long live the Republic".
Louise: five men get held accountable for what they did and that's cause for revolution?
Ferdinando: as Annunziata noted, the Parisians put a stop to the disturbance themselves. With help from the army. There has been some...rather vicious fighting in the streets of Paris- roughly what we feared would happen when Henri rode into Paris- many of the guardsmen would - according to their words "rather die fighting for the republic, than live as the king's slaves".
Louise: *sits down in front of dressing table in her nightdress* their actions show that they don't deserve to be free. They deserve to be chained up and forced to row a galley-
Ferdinando: *starts brushing her hair* then I suspect you will enjoy the punishment your uncle has devised for them.
Louise: exile to Algeria?
Ferdinando: that would just turn Algeria into a problem. And since Henri plans to visit Corsica and Algiers before your uncle's coronation, I suspect not a wise one. No, your uncle has decided that, since the National Garde is now part of the army, the military punishment for mutiny is to be observed. Four hundred were executed after being court martialled. And the rest...well, they have been stripped of their ranks, any decorations and commendations for partaking in this uprising. Then the king ordered that these men - apparently there's something like seventy-thousand of them - be punished by "assisting" the Parisians clearing the rubble from the fires that were set. Or they can face the firing squad as well.
Louise: serves them right.
Ferdinando: almost enough to make one wonder if Henri didn't plan this from the start.
Louise: I doubt he would've encouraged them to rape a girl.
Ferdinando: I meant the "get them all to Paris" before giving them a reason he could snuff it out.
Louise: you believe my brother far more cruel than he is.
Ferdinando: *muses* I suppose. He was, after all, the main voice against putting the duc d'Orléans on trial.
Louise: I thought it was already decided? After all, he should at least stand trial for crimes against France if not treason to his king.
Ferdinando: it seems the king's doctors suspect the duc has cancer [10]. Even if he does stand trial, there's no assurance that the trial will have even started before he dies. Your uncle wanted it done by the book. With evidence and witnesses, even a jury in the Chambre des Pairs...but...it's now being rationalized that the cancer is punishment enough. To convict an old man already at death's doorstep...it would have a horrible backlash. Not to mention it would make the king look petty.
Louise: *nods as he leaves* *crosses herself then looks in the mirror* Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord, their foot shall slip in due time, for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things to come hasten upon them [11].

*cut to next morning* *Louise comes into the nursery where Calabria and Ludo are busily working on something*
Louise: *scolding* your father's in a dreadful state, Carluccio. Haven't you heard him calling you?
Calabria: I did. But Ludo and I wanted to finish first.
Louise: finish what?
Calabria: *smiles happily at his model* it's a bridge.
Louise: it's very nice, Carluccio, but your father is not going to be impressed knowing that you made him wait for a bridge.

*cut to another room where Ferdinando is playing with his other children* *Louise enters with Ludo and Calabria* *they're both carrying their model between them* *their "bridge" is little more than ice-cream sticks and glue but they're clearly proud of it*
Louise: I found the little stowaway *sits down next to Ferdinando* he was busy working on something to show you. *motions to Calabria to go ahead*
Calabria: *bows* your Majesty...*presents the model to his father*
Ferdinando: it's a bridge?
Calabria: *nods happily* Ludo and I built it.
Ferdinando: well, it looks *you can see he's trying to find something to say about it* why don't you tell me about it.
Calabria: *points at the "river" of the model* this is the straits of Messina. *points to one side* this is Calabria and this side is Sicily. Ludo and I got the idea when we saw how Cousin Nulfo [the prince of Salerno's son, Leopoldo Adinolfo, b.1829] got so sea-sick and he was saying he wishes there was a bridge.
Ferdinando: a bridge over the Straits?
Ludo: then he can ride in a carriage over it and he won't get sea sick, your Majesty.
Ferdinando: *looks at model speculatively[12]*

*fade to black*



[1] Ferdinando had thirteen kids OTL, he and Louise's mom also grew up in a rather large family. I could definitely see her having more than the four she did OTL (given that she's nearly a decade younger at the time of her marriage TTL). Considering that her "stepsisters" (the princesse de Faucigny and Comtesse de Vierzon) had five and ten kids respectively, and her mom was 35yo when she popped out another five kids in rapid succession by her second husband, I don't think it's ASB. Especially since she and Ferdinando seem to actually "like" one another.
[2] I could see Louise "taking in" the Countess of Syracuse in a Marie Antoinette-Princesse de Lamballe analogue after her husband deserts her.
[3] Palermo was actually a relatively "modern" in terms of medical care. The city had several hospitals. Ospedale San Teodoro was reserved for the foreigners/tourists, Ospedale Santa Maria la Marcata was a woman's hospital (from what I can make out it sounds like a maternity hospital). San Dionigi (St. Denis) was for the nobility, San Giovanni del Lebbrosi was originally for the lepers but later became a mental hospital. San Bartolomeo was for the treatment of prostitutes and syphilitics. San Filippo (the Filippone) was a women's hospital, San Francesco for the poor, San Giacomo for the military. Most of these hospitals (due to their large numbers of religious staff) were shuttered either by the Napoléonic invasion or the Piemontazzione process, one was reduced first to twenty beds (when it had an annual turnover of 1000 patients) and then turned into a military barracks
[4] basically the "cercle-ing" of court, just with hospital patients instead of courtiers
[5] the choice of this is probably very pointed. Louise had no love for the Orléans clan, even the duchesse who had remarked on the potential betrothal of Ferdinand de Chartres and Louise that "if she lives". Her dislike of them only intensified during exile, and while she may have held her tongue before, expect her to indulge in the odd pettiness towards them (Henri as well). As for the banquet, it's not unthinkable that with Louise's patronages of hospitals and medical schools that this is an annual event.
[6] these are the words of John 5:8. Not sure how "deep" Ludo's spiritual instruction would be at this age, but there is a Sunday school song that says "Peter and John went to pray / they met a lame man on the way / he held out his palms and asked for alms / and this is what Peter did say / silver and gold have I none / but in God's name give I thee / in the name of Jesus of Nazareth / rise up and walk!" Also, Calabria is really growing up "ecumenical": his parental family is Catholic; the Princesse de Capua is Anglican (from what I can make out) and Ludo is Protestant
[7] I could see this being Louise's influence. That Ficuzza has become her "private" home (settled on her by her marriage contract) and a bit of a Saint Cloud/Chambord/Sandringham (private residence rather than a royal one, even if the king stays there). Louise's "cosmopolitan" upbringing in France and Vienna also means that another tradition likely gets revived: the Christmas tree. It was originally introduced to Naples by Maria Amalie of Saxony (Carlos III's wife) but after her death faded. But I could see Louise "reviving"/"introducing" this practice that it stands side-by-side with the Presepio
[8] I couldn't find who would be likely to be lady-in-waiting, so I made one up. Perhaps Antonietta's brother/husband is the Sicilian ambassador to Paris (was there one?)
[9] Henri Cathalineau, who also gets made "Comte de Beaupreau" as a reward for his services. Henri de Chambord made him a "comte" in 1845 for doing (comparatively) nothing, so him getting a reward for actually fighting
[10] I swapped Angoulême being diagnosed with cancer in December 1843 with Louis Philippe.
[11] Deuteronomy 32:35
[12] the plans for a bridge over the straits is as old as Charlemagne (at least). And while Calabria/Ludo come up with the idea as a sort of "childish kindness", the fact is that a "road link" between Naples and Sicily can help with trade between the two parts of the kingdom as well. Not saying Ferdinando will build the bridge, but the idea's there.


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