Talleyrand had fallen.
There was nothing surprising about that. This Foreign Minister had never been well liked. On Christmas Day, the wives of ambassadors from various countries refused to attend the ball he hosted. When word reached Napoleon, he learned that during the War of the Oranges, Talleyrand, then Foreign Minister, had accepted a bribe from Fuola, the Portuguese ambassador's wife.
The ambassador's wife had once been Talleyrand's mistress, before remarrying the Portuguese ambassador. Though sacrificing oneself for one's country sounded noble, this sort of "diplomacy" was still revolting.
France had received twenty million francs in war reparations, yet the benefits France gained through the treaty were far fewer than Spain's. The British representative, Cornwallis, had no desire to negotiate the treaty with Talleyrand at Amiens, so Napoleon later sent Joseph Bonaparte instead.
Bonaparte's original plan to leave for Lyon on January 7 had been canceled. Even though he controlled public opinion and the newspapers, word of Talleyrand's treasonous conduct still circulated within a small circle. Yet he still shielded Talleyrand. He "exiled" Talleyrand to Guadeloupe as governor, but he did not appoint a new minister. He had a precedent for changing his mind halfway through an exile, so once the rumors died down, Talleyrand would probably still be reinstated.
Such affairs of state had nothing to do with Georgiana. After being taken away from Chaptal's home, she was sent back to a suite at the Louvre Museum.
She had not taken her luggage when she left last time, so this was a good chance to pack properly.
She did not have much to begin with, and she finished quickly. But Dermide clutched her clothes and would not let her go. His mother was in Saint-Domingue on the other side of the world, and Leclerc had no relatives in Paris