The Rape of Venice Read Online Free PDF Page A

succeeded in drawing the Venetians in, as allies, you would find them worthless.’
    â€˜You speak without having given the matter due thought. The Serene Republic has lasted near a thousand years, so you may be sure that it will not lightly surrender its independence. Its territories have a population of over three million, so they could put a considerable army into the field; and the Croatian levies that they draw from across the Adriatic are said to be exceptionally brave fighters. Look, too, again at the map. The Venetian lands lie right athwart Buonaparte’s only line of advance to the Tyrol. All this makes Venice a potential ally that we should now spare no pains to secure. Like our other allies she will, of course, demand a subsidy to pay her troops, and you have my authority to tell Signor Malderini that it will be forthcoming.’
    â€˜Devil take me!’ Roger jumped to his feet. ‘You can’t really mean that with our Treasury near empty, and our taxes so high, you’d actually pay these soft, lazy decadent Italians tomake ugly faces at Buonaparte. For I’ll vow that’s all they will do.’
    The Prime Minister’s glance became icy, and he snapped, ‘That, Mr. Brook, is my affair, not yours. If the war must go on I’ll leave nothing untried which may help to bring us victory. All I require from you is an answer to the question: will you, or will you not, do as I wish?’
    In an instant Roger’s whole attitude changed. Placing his hand upon his heart, he replied, ‘Such sentiments, Sir, make me as ever your devoted servant. You may count upon me to do my best.’

2
The Unexpected Happens
    Georgina lay dozing in her great canopied bed at Stillwaters, the gracious Palladian mansion, near Ripley in Surrey, of which she enjoyed a life tenancy under the marriage settlement made by her first husband. She greatly preferred it to White Knights Park, the seat in Northamptonshire of the Earl of St. Ermins, whose tragic death had made her a widow eighteen months before; so she made her home in Surrey for the greater part of each spring and summer.
    She was now twenty-nine, and in the full flower of her striking beauty. Although blessed with the voluptuous curves that were considered the hall-mark of a perfect figure in Georgian times, she had not a pound of superfluous flesh, and, on the splendid mounts she kept in her stables, she could outride most men. Her rich complexion, strong white teeth, glossy dark hair and full red lips all testified to her abundant vitality. Her wicked black eyes were constantly alight with laughter, but when she felt inclined, from under their thick lashes she could launch a challenge that even a monk would have found irresistible.
    A discreet knock came on the door of the room. She called ‘Good morning, Jenny’, then sat up in bed and stretched out a hand for the nightdress that she had left draped over a nearby chair. As the figure beside her did not move, she added, ‘Roger, my love, did you not hear. Tis time for you to leave me.’
    â€˜Plague on it!’ Roger muttered drowsily. ‘Although but half awake my thoughts were set on making love to you.’
    Smiling, she leant over and kissed his cheek. ‘Then you have left it too late, dear heart. In ten minutes Jenny will be bringing me my chocolate.’
    Jenny had been Georgina’s personal maid since her girlhood, and it was a long established custom that she should call her mistress a short while before coming in with the breakfast tray. In theory the interval was to give Georgina an opportunity to wash and tidy herself, but in fact it was to give time for her lover, if she had one with her, to make himself scarce by way of the boudoir.
    â€˜Really!’ Roger protested a shade petulantly. ‘That we should continue to behave like ostriches is farcical. Jenny knows that we have been lovers on and off for years. As you have no secrets from her,