CHAPTER 1

Henry John Temple quickly closed the door behind him, the coldair and snow blowing through the opening like he was at theNorth Pole instead of the back room of a pub in London. But it wasJanuary 25th, 1865, so what did he expect?

He quickly placed the satchel he was carrying on the table nextto the one lamp in the room, which cast off shadows in the dark anddank room. Taking off his heavy coat and hanging it on a peg, hemoved the four chairs that were around the table, placed them infront of the small fireplace in the room, put two pieces of wood onthe fire, and looked around cautiously to make sure no one could seein anywhere, although there were no windows in the room. He alsowent to the door that went into the pub and listened to the boisterouscrowd living it up on the other side, knocked twice very quietly, andwhen he heard two knocks back, he was satisfied his guard was onduty and no one could hear what was going to be said in this room.He then sat down and waited.

As Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain andIreland, under direct orders from Her Majesty Queen Victoria, hethought about the mission he had been given and the consequencesof what might come from the meeting this night. The history ofthe world might be changed with his daring plan! If only he couldpersuade these two men coming tonight! He had met EdouardDrouyn de Lhuys, Minister of Foreign Affairs for EmperorLouis-Napoleon Bonaparte III of France, and Antonio de Benavides,Foreign Minister of Queen Isabella II of Spain, twice before at statefunctions when the royal rulers had visited and entertained oneanother, and Antonio when he had been ambassador to London. Bothseemed intelligent and ambitious, and he knew they would listen withgreat interest. Their countries had a lot to gain, their monarchs wouldreceive a lot of glory and realized it by agreeing to this meeting, andtherefore they, personally, would also benefit greatly.

He played back in his mind the brief history he would give asbackground. For France, he would begin with the joint venturebetween the French, Spanish, and British against Mexico begunin 1861, that now had ended with a French invasion and theestablishment of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico back in Mayof 1864. Even though the U.S. Congress officially opposed themonarchy with a resolution, there was little they could or would doabout it at this time.

He would also bring up the Louisiana Purchase back in 1803, howFrance had given up so much of their claimed territory to the UnitedStates, and how a few of the old men would still remember the salewith bitterness. Being British and a diplomat, knowing what to sayand what not to say given the circumstances, he would not mentionthe territories that were now in the Province of Canada, under Britishcontrol, or how Napoleon had done it to increase the power of theUnited States to offset the power of England. Instead, he would makea point of how his nephew, now Emperor Napoleon III of France,longed for more territory and would forever be remembered andhonored in his country if he could gain it back!

As for Spain, he would recall how the first Queen Isabella hadsent Christopher Columbus on his voyages which had resulted inthe founding of the New World, as they had called it, in the firstplace back in 1492, all the Spanish conquistadors like Coronadoconquering and claiming lands across much of the southwest of theUnited States (not mentioning Ponce de Leon or Florida), and, afterBalboa had discovered the Pacific Ocean and claimed the west coastof the New World for Spain in 1513, the Spanish priests had spreadthe Catholic faith throughout the California Pacific coast, up intoOregon and Washington (again leaving out the part in the Province ofCanada), and eastward into the New Mexico and Arizona territoriesand beyond.

And now, Queen Isabella II would have the chance to regain theProvince of California sold to Mexico in 1821, lost in war to theUnited States in 1848 and made a state in 1850, and all the otherterritories bought or claimed by the United States since then. Shewould be remembered as the Spanish Queen who had taken back allthe territory granted to the first Queen Isabella!

And, as for England itself, many still remembered the War of1812 and wished at that time that Great Britain had taken back theoriginal thirteen colonies lost in the American Revolution. France andBritain had recently been allies in the successful Crimean War withRussia that had ended in 1856, and in 1859, Tsar Alexander II hadoffered to sell Alaska to both the United States and Great Britain,fearing the English expansion into the Colony of British Columbiawould result in a takeover, Temple reasoned. Knowing that such apossibility strongly existed would definitely weigh upon the Tsar'sdecision, he would now suggest to Her Majesty that she make thatpurchase of Alaska at a very reasonable cost, not only to preventanother costly war to take it and increase the territory of the Provinceof Canada, but also to prevent even more United States expansion.Hopefully all three countries could be allies again!

The back door swung open, and again a cannon blast of Arcticair and snow followed a man into the room and again ten secondslater when a second man also entered. Both were unrecognizable intheir coats with the hoods drawn over their heads—which was whatTemple had hoped for on such a night—but as they discarded theirwraps he was pleased to see that, indeed, it was Monsieur de Lhuysand Don de Benavides.

"Gentlemen, I appreciate you coming here in this veritableblizzard, but I assure you what you will take back to your Emperorand Queen," nodding slightly to each man in turn, "will make itworthwhile."

They took off their wraps, hung them on pegs alongside Temple's,and hurriedly began warming themselves by the fireplace while hehanded each a glass he had poured from a bottle also on the table.After just a moment of input from each man about their health andsuch, Temple asked, "And now, would you like to see why you werebrought here tonight?" With this, he went to the door that adjoinedthe pub and quietly knocked three times. The door swung open andthree people began to enter the room, the first quietly saying "Thedoor is secure" to Temple, acknowledging that another person was onguard still to ensure that no one would disturb them or see or hearwhat was going to be done in the back room.

The first man was tall and very sturdy, even with his outer coatslung over his arm. The second was of average height and build, butlooked comparatively small next to the first man. The third personwas smaller still while even wearing a hat and coat.

Temple began the introductions, first with the two importantemissaries from France and Spain, and then he preceded theintroductions of the three with "These three people have been incontact with me for several years now. They have been and will beinvaluable assets to us and our plan."

"First," indicating the large man who had told him the room wassecure when he entered, "may I introduce Major Josiah Sterling ofthe British Royal Marines, a special person attached to Her Majesty'sEnvoy in the Legation to the United States as an observer of their Warof Secession, what they call their Civil War. He has had access to theirtop military, government, and business personnel at social gatheringsand more. If you will excuse the pun, he has jolly well been sterlingin his assignment, as he remembers almost anything he sees or reads.His observations and assessments will continue to be...