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“Okay, go on”

“About a year after he was exiled Napoleon escapes, returns to France, and puts together an arain This was the start of what historians call the Hundred Days Ca Not quite three months later, in June, Napoleon is routed by the British and Prussians at the Battle of Waterloo Napoleon abdicates again and is exiled by the British to Saint Helena—a chunk of rock about twice the size of Washington, DC, dead center in the Atlantic Ocean between West Africa and Brazil He spends the re six years of his life there and dies in 1821”

“Of stomach cancer,” Sam offered

“That’s the generally accepted theory, but there are a lot of historians who believe he was

“So,” Sels us back to the Lost Cellar: The ed deathbed confession of a sler named Lionel Arienne, who claimed that in June of 1820, eleven ent of Napoleon’s at a tavern in Le Havre The soldier—who Arienne simply referred to as ‘the Major’—hired Arienne and his ship, the Faucon, to take hio, then deliver it to a destination to be named after they left the island

“According to Arienne, when they reached Saint Helena six weeks later they were met in a small cove by a lone hly two feet long and a foot wide With his back facing Arienne, the Major opened the case, inspected its contents, resealed it, then suddenly drew his sword and killed the th of anchor chain, then dumped overboard The rowboat was scuttled

“It was at this point in Arienne’s telling of the story that the old sler was said to have si with him any clue as to the contents of the case or where he and the Major took it And that ht have been the end of it,” Selma said, “if not for Lacanau”

“The name of Napoleon’s private vineyard,” Sam offered

“Correct While Arienne and the phantom Major were supposedly on their way to Helena, the vineyard at Lacanau—which the French governenerously allowed to reround by person or persons unknown The vines, the winery, all the casks—utterly destroyed Even the soil was obliterated, dosed with salt and lye”

“As well as the seeds, right?” Remi said

“Those, too Actually the name ‘Lacanau’ was one of convenience In fact, the Lacanau vineyard grapes caions of the Ajaccio Patrimonio Napoleon had Archambault cross-pollinate the seeds to create the Lacanau strain

“Anyhile he was still in power, Napoleon ordered the seeds for the Lacanau grape to be kept in secure repositories at Aend, while the fires were raging at Lacanau, the seeds mysteriously disappeared and were assurew only in that coastal region of France, was gone forever”

Reument’s sake let’s say all of this isn’t just a folk-tale What we’re getting at is this: Froeon or whatever, ordered Henri Archambault, his chief winemaker, to produce a final batch of Lacanau wine and have it delivered to Saint Helena, then he orders his loyalist operatives back in France to raze the vineyard, ruin the soil, then kidnap and destroy the seeds Then a few months later he orders thisMajor to sail to Helena and spirit—no pun intended—the wine away to points unknown” Reht?”

“Sounds about right,” Sam said

The three of the at the bottle on the table with new eyes