At the dinner, the "North American Three Sisters"—Corn, beans, and pumpkin—along with charcoal-grilled bison meat, made Lafayette frown repeatedly. Only the grilled salmon was passable.
It was said that the head chef had retired from Versailles Palace, though Lafayette had serious doubts about that.
Early the next morning, Napoleon could not wait to gather all the Colony's senior officers for a war council.
But the moment everyone had arrived, he spotted the person he least wanted to see.
Napoleon rose to greet him and said softly, "Marquis, I recall you saying that you came here to work on colonial development."
Lafayette motioned for his attendant to open the suitcase, then respectfully removed a parchment with gilded edges from within. "There is a personal letter from His Highness the Regent that must be delivered to you, General Bonaparte. The theme of yesterday's banquet was fine wine and food, so it truly was not suitable to discuss such matters."
Napoleon hurriedly accepted the letter and saw the words written upon it: I await news of your decisive victory, General Bonaparte. It was signed Louis Joseph...
Yes, Joseph knew very well that for a man as stubborn and self-assured as Napoleon, that one sentence was enough.
Sure enough, a gleam of pride and excitement flashed through Napoleon's eyes.
He put away the parchment, stood at attention with his head held high, and declared, "I will not disappoint His Highness!"
Then he looked at Lafayette again. "I suppose it will not be long before my name appears in the Paris newspapers once more."
"I look forward to that day." Lafayette smiled and nodded. "Then I shall be going to the Governor's Mansion. Good luck!"
Seeing that he truly had no intention of attending the meeting, Napoleon finally relaxed. He returned to the seat at