Soundtrack:
Ferdinand Ries - Overture to Schiller's Trauerspiel 'Don Carlos', op. 94
*exterior* *Chateau de Rambouillet [1]*
*Cut to interior* *Emperor Franz is sitting at a table with Baron Vincent and Klemens von Metternich* *the trio are clearly not discussing their respective hands of cards*
Franz: it seems that his Majesty the king of France has already succeeded in convincing the British that my interests in obtaining custody of my grandson is not because I wish to protect him from the vengeance of the Bourbons-
Metternich: if I may, your Majesty, the empress' [Marie Louise] stay at Plombières and her...lack of interest in her son's welfare is having a most unfortunate effect on attempts to persuade them that your efforts are little more than concern for your family's well-being.
Vincent: what would you have his Majesty do? His daughter is no longer his subject. If she refuses to return to Rambouillet or even corroborate his assertion that he is only interested in her son's welfare, what can he do?
Franz: things are not helped by my cousin, Madame Royal- or, as I suspect, King Louis - reminding all and sundry that both my father and I left she, her mother and brother at the mercy of the Revolutionary government.
Metternich: my agents in Vienna tell me that the queen of Naples [2] is increasingly viewing her granddaughter's disinterest as proof that it might be better for his Majesty, the king of Rome, to remain in her niece's custody.
Franz: *grumbling* only this was missing, my one time mother-in-law wading into the fray.
Vincent: in her Majesty's defence, her support may be a species of flattery of King Louis rather than a criticism of your Majesty.
Franz: what would she need to flatter that antediluvian swine for?
Metternich: from talks with the prince of Saxe-Coburg [3] and the Prussian envoy to Paris, it seems that while King Louis talks openly of his support for his cousins in Sicily to be restored to their throne in Naples, in private...as the English say...the matter may well be in his Pater Noster, but it is certainly not in his Credo- since there is talk of him dispatching envoys to the court of General Murat at Naples.
Franz: to what end?
Metternich: per the prince of Coburg, Prince Talleyrand is attempting to convince King Louis that it may be in his interests to, if not
endorse Murat, that it may be useful for France to at least cultivate friendly relations with him.
Franz: *shocked* and the king has agreed to this? To parley with-
Metternich: the king has not expressed his will one way or another on the matter. Although given that his feelings towards the non-assistance provided to him and his by his Spanish cousins since the Revolution began are...well known. One can imagine that with a bargaining chip as powerful as your Majesty's grandson in his possession, the king may believe he can call Murat to heel far more easily than King Ferdinando.
Franz: and the British will accept this matter?
Vincent: I do not regard it as likely sire. They have already made their opinion on the matter clear.
Metternich: *nods* of course. And shall they be landing a force in Stockholm to dislodge Marshall Bernadotte as well?
Franz: the situations are hardly alike, Metternich.
Metternich: the situations are not that different either. In both cases, the rightful holder and his heir were deposed from the throne and banished into exile. A
pet of the usurper was installed as either the heir to the throne or the occupant of the throne in their place. So long as Murat...co-operates with them- as Bernadotte has- the British can say what they like. They are as at the mercy of the winds and tides of events and economy as their ships are on the sea.
Franz: *sighs as the clock chimes the hour*
*a man is shown into the salon and makes his way to the table*
Franz: *studying his cards* what is it Monsieur Cipriani [4]?
Cipriani: I bring news from Paris, sire.
Franz: and what is that?
Cipriani: after having conferred with several of his Majesty's marshals and other members of his court...it seems that there is a species of consensus on the matter of the king of Rome.
Franz: is that so?
Cipriani: yes sire.
Franz: and what is that consensus?
Cipriani: *pauses* many of them share your Majesty's concerns for the king's well-being. There are even fears amongst their number that...once the smoke has cleared and King Louis is more secure on his throne...that the little king will be deemed...superfluous to requirements. That he will gradually be removed from public view and as his memory fades, meet the same fate as the duc d'Enghien.
Franz: a firing squad for a three-year-old seems excessive.
Cipriani: which is another concern. That one of the archroyalists will simply slip the child a sweet or a candied fruit laced with poison-
Metternich: good God man, you sound as if you are talking of the Borgias or the Medici
not the Bourbons. Do any of them have the
brains to carry out such a scheme?
Cipriani: many of the emperor's supporters would not be keen to put the temptation in the way.
Franz: *nods smugly* so we can be assured of their support in our efforts?
Cipriani: *winces like "that was the good news"* no, your Majesty.
Franz: but you just said-
Cipriani: as much as they fear that harm might come to the boy and as much as they do not feel comfortable with him being in- as one said- the shadow of the guillotine...
most- including his uncles, the Kings of Spain and Westphalia- would
prefer that he
not be removed from France.
Franz: even if this was what his father wished [5]?
Cipriani: a decision many feel was ill-advised. They will- per one- not be comfortable with him in the king's hands, but they will not see him in the hands of a foreign government who might use him against France. In this, they and the king- if for different reasons- are of one mind.
Franz: *dismisses Cipriani*
Cipriani: *bows out of the room*
Franz: so then it seems, gentlemen, that we may have only one card left to play. *lays down a full house*
*fade to black*
[1] Emperor Franz had left France by the time of his daughter's departure to take the waters at Plombières. It's understandable that with his grandson (and far more valuable bargaining chip) in "enemy hands" that he's put off his departure some
[2] Maria Karoline of Austria, queen of Naples. OTL she likewise couldn't understand Marie Louise's aversion to Frankie as well. Since while Maria Karoline absolutely despised Napoléon, her great-grandson was a horse of decidedly a different colour
[3] yup, Leopold of Coburg. While he rode into Paris with the Russian army's Maria Feodorovna Cuirassiers in 1814, the guy
had slept with Hortense de Beauharnais
and Caroline Murat (and it was rumoured that Josephine was likewise a notch on his bedpost), so he'd definitely have "some" value as knowing people who would've heard what is being said in private
[4] Giovanni Battista/Jean Baptiste Cipriani Franceschi, a familiar of Napoléon's who sometimes served as a private envoy on his master's behalf
[5] Napoléon's plan was to send Marie Louise and Frankie to his father-in-law in the hopes of obtaining a species of clemency