Chapter 12: The Stupid Brother Came to Paris

 At noon on Sunday, just after lunch, Darcy took Joseph to a cafe near the Palais-Cardinal. The Palais-Cardinal was the private domain of the Duke of Orleans, a great nobleman. His eldest son, His Royal Highness Duke Chartres, who also had 'Joseph' in his name, had transformed the promenade of the Palais-Cardinal into a variety of stores and cafes. Because these places are the private territories of the great nobles, the kingdom's police are not authorized to enforce the law here, so this place has become an "extra-legal land" where ordinary civilians can freely enter and exit.

 In this way, it became the center of 'illegal activities' in all of Paris and none other. All sorts of smuggling and trading, the buying and selling of contraband goods, as well as party activities of organizations plotting against the church and the King, often took place here. This was an important meeting place for the later-famous Jacobins.

 And the man who provided it all, Duke Chartres (who later succeeded his father as the new Duke of Orleans), was himself, though a relative of the king and one of the feudal lords of France, a staunch libertarian and a true believer in Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He was a firm believer in the Enlightenment, advocated the establishment of a democratic, secular, constitutional monarchy in France, believed in the abolition of the feudal system of estates and slavery, and was a good friend of many of the "conspirators.".

 Darcy took Joseph inside the cafe and sat down in one of the seats by the window. By this time, the afternoon sun was shining through the window on top of a bright red rose in the center of the dining table.

 "It looks like we got here a little earlier than Mr. Denardi," Darcy laughed.

A maid came forward and said, "What would you two gentlemen like to order?"

 "Two coffees, please," Darcy said.

 The maid then retreated and later came over with a tray in a short while, placing two cups of coffee in front of each of them.

 "Six sous," the maid said.

 Duke Chartres rented out the stores for a fairly low rent, but he had his own requirements, and that was that the prices of the things in these stores had to be relatively inexpensive. Sometimes, the Duke himself would wear ordinary clothes and pretend to be a commoner, wandering around inside these cafes, bars, and other establishment stores.

Darcy put six sous of coins into the maid's tray. The maid said thanks and turned to leave.

 "Joseph, you can't stay in your house all the time; you need to come around here more often when you have time. You can meet all kinds of people and learn more here." Darcy took a sip of his coffee and said.

 Joseph was about to reply when he saw the door of the cafe being pushed open from outside, and a man in his 40s, dressed in a short gray Tweed top, walked in. As soon as the man entered, he stretched his neck to look in all directions. 

 Darcy then raised an arm and waved it at the guy. Then he said to Joseph, "That's Master Denardi; he's blinder than any brown bear in the Ardennes forest, and he can't see very well even at close distance."

 Denardi, who had evidently seen them, came striding over, pulling over a chair with his own hand, and seated himself beside the two men, laughing. "Darcy, it is true that I am blind as a brown bear, but I have ears and a nose as keen as a brown bear, and I heard that all that you said about me. Haha... well, this is Mr. Bonaparte, isn't it? I'm Denardi, Henri Denardi, head of the Dragon and Rose Theater Company. You can just call me Henri."

 As he spoke, Denardi reached out to Joseph.

 Joseph reached out and shook his hand, saying, "Joseph Bonaparte. I'm a classmate of Darcy's."

 "Best friend," Darcy quickly added from the side.

 "You can also just call me Joseph," Joseph said.

 "Ah, Joseph, I think Darcy has already told you about my coming." Denardi said, "Actually, for a long time, our theater troupe has been in need of a really well-educated screenwriter. I've been hitting on Darcy before. But this guy, Darcy, is lazy with a lot of things to do, and when you ask him for a favor, you especially always have to wait for a long time. That idea you gave us last time was really great, especially the curtain call. At that time, the audience's applause almost lifted the roof. Also I've have read some of the scripts you've translated, and with Darcy's recommendation, Joseph, I think you're perfectly suited to fill Darcy's role. I just wonder if you'd be interested, at this point, in taking a part-time job as a screenwriter for my little theater troupe."

 While there was a discussion between them about ways to work together, the door to the cafe was once again pushed open from the outside. This is also an unusual thing. The cafe is supposed to be a place where people come and go, which is the most common thing, and the people don't even bother to look at the new entery's."

 "Ah, Mr. Phillipe." Darcy's words paused, noticeable at the sight of this Mr. Philippe.

 "Why don't you introduce me to these two friends of yours?" The man, named Mr. Philippe, asked.

 "Ah, Mr. Philipped," Darcy seemed a little flustered as he hurriedly stood up to introduce the other two men to Mr. Philippe. "This is my classmate Joseph, Joseph Bonaparte, and this is Mr. Denardi, head of the Dragon and Rose Theatre Troupe."

 When Joseph and Denardi saw how Darcy behaved, they both knew that this Mr. Philippe must be something special, and they both followed suit and stood up to greet Mr. Philippe.

 "There's no need to be so polite; everyone sit down." Mr. Philippe said, "Let me introduce myself. I am a friend of Mr. Lavoisier, Darcy's uncle, so I recognize Darcy, and I have nothing to do today. I came here to sit down, and I happened to see Darcy, so I came over to take a look. Well, what are you all talking about?"

 "Mr. Denardi is the head of the Dragon and Rose troupe and a friend of mine. He needed to find a screenwriter with a high artistic appreciation, and my classmate Joseph fit the bill, so I introduced them here to meet," Darcy replied hurriedly.

 "The Dragon and Rose Theater Troupe?" Philippe laughed. "Ah, that's the one who performed The Island Governor, isn't it? Well, it was well acted. I went to see it. It was especially funny at the final curtain call when Sancho of yours suddenly stood up straight and was actually one of the tallest in the CST. But the best of all is your imagination; the noble may not be wise and upright, and the lowly can be sublime. The script is good! Who wrote this script?"

 Though Denardi did not know what this Mr. Philippe was about, he also judged from Darcy's manner and Philippe's claim to be a friend of Darcy's uncle, Lavoisier. This Mr. Philippe, too, was not so ordinary as he was dressed. He was more than likely a man of great rank, and even... A conjecture sprang up at once in his head.

So he replied respectfully: "Monsigneur Philippe, I got the bottom of this script myself, and then Darcy helped me revise it, and it was quite different, and as for the use of the tall man as Sancho at the end, it was the idea of this Monsieur Bonaparte."

 "Ah, Darcy, I'm so glad to hear you're still doing something really worthwhile." Philippe laughed. "Mr. Denardi, well, Joseph, you're a classmate of Darcy's, so I'll call you Joseph as well. Theater is a great art that can influence and educate many people. I hope to see more great work from guys like you in the future."

 At that, he stood up, lifted his hat slightly in the air, and said, "I see a friend of mine is here. I'll excuse myself."

 With those words, he left their table and walked over to the other side.

When Philippe was walking away, Denardi lowered his voice: "Darcy, this Mr. Phillipe..."

 Darcy similarly lowered his voice: "He is the owner of this place, His Royal Highness Louis-Philippe Joseph, Duke of Chartres. I didn't expect to meet him here."

 "Is that his Royal Highness, Duke of Chartres?" Joseph was also taken aback. "It's not at all obvious that it's a great nobleman."

 "His Highness the Duke was already an exceptional nobleman; he and the Queen are exactly two extremes," Darcy whispered.

 Joseph had not been a student of history in all his life, and he knew only a little about the revolution that was soon to happen. He was unaware of the pivotal role the Duke, later to be known as 'Philippe Egalite,' had played in the revolution. The only people he can remember are the so-called "Jacobin Triumvirate" of Robespierre, Marat, and Danton.

 But Joseph didn't really want to get too deeply involved with these people at this point. The situation was too chaotic for a while. After the Revolution started today, John cut off Luke's head, and tomorrow Matthew cut off John's head, and no matter who you got too close to, it was all dangerous, and you could end up on the guillotine. Joseph even planned to make sure to find an excuse to hide in Corsica before the Revolution began. 

 The three men continued to talk about cooperation and remuneration and then took their respective leaves at the cafe.

 Joseph then returned to his lodgings, only to see Father Jean-Jacques approaching with a letter saying, "Ah, Joseph, you're back? Well, your brother sent you a letter."

 Joseph then patiently took the letter, thanked Father Jean-Jacques (the fat man), and went to his room. Sitting down at the table by his own little window, he picked up the small table knife that was sitting on the table, cut open the envelope, pulled out the letter, and read it.

 The content of the letter was, in fact, something Joseph had known for a long time: Napoleon. had received his recommendation without incident, and in about a month, around the twentieth of November, he would be able to leave for Paris.