The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs was located in Gallifet Mansion, extending south along Rue de Bac from Pont Royal and passing through the Saint-Germain district.
There was a long arcade along this street. Beside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stood a theater where Giuseppina Grassini would perform.
This Saint-Germain district, "saint germain," did not refer to "Saint-Germain-en-Laye." The former was within the city, while the latter lay outside Paris, even farther away than Malmaison. Saint-Germain-en-Laye had once been a long-term residence of the French kings, and Louis XIV had been born there. But to most people, Saint-Germain meant Paris's most expensive wealthy district, near the Bois de Boulogne, where numerous embassies stood. To prevent the ball on February 17 from encountering the same security problems as the previous banquet in Rambouillet, the area had been sealed off in advance. Barricades had been set up at many entrances, making them inaccessible.
Under the soldiers' directions, the coachman had no choice but to circle through the forest before finally arriving before a neoclassical villa—not the Paris Agricultural Association.
Just as she was about to tell the coachman to turn around, someone emerged from the villa. It was her steward, Gaudin Poitvin, along with her maid Sophie. Gaudin came over to open the door for her, helped her down from the carriage, then took Dermide into his arms.
"What is this?" she asked Gaudin, turning to him.
"Our new home," Gaudin told Georgiana. "Bought with the two hundred thousand francs you gave us."
"You went through all this just to show me your new home?" Georgiana asked in confusion.
Gaudin gave her a mysterious smile. "Go in, madam."
She pulled Dermide's cloak snugly around him. The child was not as sturdy as Achille and fell ill easily. Only then did she head