and so by the tiniest of gestures, by certain looks and signs that Honor‚ was never aware of, he caused the young novelist to like him, to be excited by the work that Calvin had to do, and to want so much to be a part of it that he would come home to America with him. Best of all, Calvin had brought it off so skillfully that Honor‚ obviously had no idea that he had been manipulated into it.
In the meantime, Honor‚'s idea of curing Napoleon's pain once and for all appealed to him. That place in the brain where pain resided still waited for him. Only instead of stimulating it, all he had to do was cauterize it. It would not only cure Napoleon's gout, but would also cure all other pains, he might feel in the future.
So, having thought of it, having decided to do it, that night Calvin acted. And in the morning, when he presented himself to the Emperor, he saw at once that the Emperor knew what he had done.
"I cut myself this morning, sharpening a pen," said Napoleon. "I only knew it when I saw the blood. I felt no pain at all."
"Excellent," said Calvin. "I finally found the way to end your pain from gout once and for all. It involved cutting off all pain for the rest of your life, but it's hard to imagine you'd mind."
Napoleon looked away. "It was hard for Midas to imagine that he would not want everything he touched to turn to gold. I might have bled to death because I felt no pain."
"Are you rebuking me?" said Calvin. "I give you a gift that millions of people pray for - to live a life without pain - and you're rebuking me? You're the Emperor - assign a servant to watch you day and night in order to make sure you don't unwittingly bleed to death."
"This is permanent?" asked Napoleon.
"I can't cure the gout - the disease is too subtle for me. I never pretended to be perfect. But the pain I could cure, and so I did. I cured it now and forever. If I did wrong, I'll restore the pain to you as best I can. It won't be a pleasant operation, but I think I can get the balance back to about what it was before. Intermittent, wasn't it? A month of gout, and then a week without it, and then another month?"
"You've grown saucy."
"No sir, I merely speak French better, so my native sauciness can emerge more clearly."
"What's to stop me from throwing you out, then? Or having you killed, now that I don't need you anymore?"
"Nothing has ever stopped you from doing those things," said,Calvin. "But you don't needlessly kill people, and as for throwing me out - well, why go to the trouble? I'm ready to leave. I'm homesick for America. My family is there."
Napoleon nodded. "I see. You decided to leave, and then finally cured my pain."
"My beloved Emperor, you wrong me," said Calvin. "I found I could cure you, and then decided to leave."
"I still have much to teach you."
"And I have much to learn. But I fear I'm not clever enough to learn from you - the last several weeks you have taught me and taught me, and yet I keep feeling as if I have learned nothing new. I'm simply not a clever enough pupil to master your lessons. Why should I stay?"
Napoleon smiled. "Well done. Very well done. If I weren't Napoleon, you would have won me over completely. In fact, I would probably be paying your passage to America."
"I was hoping you would, anyway, in gratitude for a painfree life."
"Emperors can't afford to have petty emotions like gratitude. If I pay your passage it's not because I'm grateful to you, it's because I think my purpose will be better served with you gone and alive than with you, say, here and alive or, perhaps, here and dead, or the most difficult possibility, gone and dead." Napoleon smiled.
Calvin smiled back. They understood each other, the Emperor and the young Maker. They had used each other and now were done with each other and would cast each other aside - but with style.
"I'll take the train to the coast this very day, begging your consent, sir."
"My consent! You have more than my consent! My servants have already packed your bags and they are doubtless at the station as we