Victor Hugo once described The Hunchback of Notre-Dame as a vast symphony in stone.
But Georgiana found the place sinister. The stone cathedral was poorly lit; most of its light came from the three great rose windows in the west front and transept, as well as the clerestory windows. Those enormous windows were filled with dazzling, magnificent stained glass. Sunlight passing through them became far less bright, so candles had to be lit even in broad daylight.
The last time Georgiana had come to see the Crown of Thorns, it had been on the second floor on the north side of the cathedral. After entering through the door behind the organ, there were two spiral staircases leading upward. At the top was a corridor, and on the platform between the corridors stood that small triangular chapel.
The Crown of Thorns had originally been kept in the bell tower of Notre-Dame. Later, fearing that the citizens might damage it, the priests climbed onto the roof at night and hid the relic in the rooster weather vane, allowing it to escape disaster. When peace gradually returned inland, the priests took it out of the weather vane and returned it to its original place.
The lighting there was excellent, and one could look out over the Seine. It was said that three other relics were also kept inside the rooster weather vane, including the remains of Saint Genevieve. Although most of her bones had been burned at City Hall, the priests had managed to rescue part of them and hide them in the weather vane alongside the Crown of Thorns.
This time, however, the place where Caprara had arranged to meet Georgiana was somewhere far less fit for the light: the basement of Notre-Dame, a place few besides priests knew of.
When Georgiana