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As to why Napoleon’s son, Napoleon II, never took up the quest his father had devised for him, this too was a source of despair for Laurent From the time he returned to France with Arienne to his death in 1825, Laurent wrote Napoleon II dozens of letters begging him to obey his father’s wishes, but Napoleon II refused, stating he saw no reason to leave the coao-seek’ ”

Sergeant Léon Arienne Pelletier, it turned out, had one living descendant, a distant cousin named Louisa Foque She enty-one and deep in debt after her parents had died in a car crash a year earlier and left her a thrice-ed Beaucourt farmhouse

“How do you think she’ll take it?” Remi asked

“Let’s find out One way or another her life is about to change”

They climbed out of the car and walked up the path to the front door Remi pulled a leather cord and a bell tinkled A few moht brown hair and a button nose

“Oui?” she said

“Bonjour Louisa Foque?”

“Oui”

Relish

“Yes, I speak English”

“May we come in? We have some information about your family—about Léon Pelletier Do you know the name?”

“I think so My father showed y once Please come in”

Inside they found a kitchen done in quintessential French Provincial: yellow plaster walls, a lacquered oak dining table, and a sage green sideboard displaying a few pieces of Chinoiserie pottery Cheerful orange-checkered toile curtains framed the s

Louisa lish is very good”

“I was studying American literature at Amiens I had to quit There was aI had some family problems”