Although they had originally said they would be delayed for a day, they set off again not long after lunch. This time, they were heading for Yvetot.
Because they had been held up at the ancient battlefield, they missed the textile fair in Louviers. However, he did find time to visit the copper forge in Romilly, since it was not far from Rouen.
The iron Georgiana smelted in the laboratory resembled the crucible stirring method, which could produce a metal similar to Damascus steel. But its output was very low, and Europe's current blast furnaces could not reach the temperatures of magical flames.
Copper or bronze would not rust, but the cost was too high. Copper itself also had a certain value, and inevitably someone would steal the tracks.
Nor was wood a long-term solution. The wrought iron produced by John Wilkinson's ironworks had been forged and refined through rolling mills. It differed from manual hammering; while human strength could not produce such force, it was more precise.
In short, after a bumpy afternoon on the main roads built during Louis XIV's reign, they arrived in Yvetot that evening. The local government had heard that they were to receive the First Consul, but had not known they would be staying overnight in Yvetot. In their panic, they arranged for them to stay at a farmhouse.
Though she suspected that the stone castle on the farm might have been left over from the Hundred Years' War, it was far better than the wilderness. Once the fire was lit, it was quite warm, without that clammy chill.
The pillows and bedding she had bought in Rouen came in handy now, though she had merely wanted to arrange a place where they could roll about on the floor, sit on the ground, and