The city's celebratory atmosphere had not reached the Grand Trianon.
Early in the morning, Brongniart Alexander, director of the Sèvres Porcelain Factory, was already waiting for her in the reception room.
Georgiana had met this lean man once before. She had originally assumed Brongniart was an administrator, but after he introduced himself, she learned that he was a French mineralogist, geologist, and naturalist. Like Napoleon, he was a member of the French Academy. When Brongniart had come to fetch Georgiana, he had worn the dark blue French Academy uniform embroidered with olive branches and gold boughs.
He had packed Georgiana's schedule for February 17 full. She could skip that "grand occasion" and visit the French Academy, the National School of Arts and Crafts, or even the Sèvres Porcelain Factory instead.
Georgiana did not put up much resistance before following Brongniart. After all, Dermide was with her. The innocence of human childhood was brief enough already; she did not want Dermide's childhood and pure soul to be tainted too soon. He was only three years old.
Men were always like this, keeping certain matters outside and refusing to let their families know. Severus and Albus had hidden many things from her in the past as well. Only when their strength was no longer enough to hold back the tide would the women learn what had happened. By then, it was already too late to undo anything.
Home was the harbor where those "sailors" docked. There, they could rest, find peace, and receive a woman's tenderness. No matter how much she had prepared herself, Georgiana did not have the confidence to become someone capable of killing. Yet she could not simply enjoy herself while others risked their lives. She wanted something to occupy herself with, so she asked Mr. Brongniart to take