Bob, from America, was a bounty hunter. His job was to track down fugitives, but unlike other bounty hunters, he pursued con artists. This swindler had made off with a fortune worth 800,000 francs and come to France, apparently intending to live it up in Paris for a while. Bob needed to catch him before he squandered all the money.
What Josephine spent on jewelry and clothes was actually still within an acceptable range. The problem was that she had a gambling habit. Bob had once run into her at a casino.
Georgiana had still been wondering how a woman could owe two million francs. It was actually understandable. Some women, when emotionally empty, filled the void with other things: jewelry, fine clothes, and gambling. After Napoleon returned, she had restrained herself considerably, though she still secretly placed a few bets now and then. However, she had hidden it well from Napoleon. Napoleon was like the male lead holding a baby in "Celebration of New Life." Everyone knew a secret except him. If Josephine had not had a gambling streak, why would she have married an officer so poor that all he had left was a cloak and a sword? And that officer had to carry out a military mission that was as much of a gamble as gambling itself, with no certainty that he would return alive.
Staff officers were already considered the civilized men of the army, yet in the baker's eyes, he was still an awful choice for a son-in-law. Bonaparte had told Georgiana that "modern" warfare was unlike ancient warfare. Command posts were also within range of enemy artillery fire. In other words, a single shell could take this staff officer's life at any moment, leaving the baker's daughter Catherine a widow.
Paris had poor public