Honfleur was not far from Le Havre; a small boat could take them there.
Unlike Le Havre across the water, with its Italian flair, Honfleur had many wooden buildings and resembled Rouen somewhat. This seemed to be Normandy's style.
The little town was quiet, with seagulls flying overhead.
Beside the harbor stood a red house. Louis XIV had assigned it to one of his ministers, and Ledrell specifically pointed it out to Georgiana.
This was also where the discoverers of Quebec had set out. On September 22 of Year VIII of the Republic, Bonaparte presided over a ceremony in Victory Square commemorating Desaix and Kléber. The ceremony was solemn and dignified; soldiers wore their uniforms, and Victory Square became a sea of flags.
Yet while the spectacle had been grand, it had also been unbearably dull. Garat had written a 107-page speech and spent three hours reading it from beginning to end, extolling those fallen generals—and one general who was still very much alive.
Bonaparte had nearly fallen asleep. When he heard Garat read out his own name and place him alongside the dead, he immediately shot him a murderous glare.
"What a windbag!" Bonaparte said to those around him after returning to the Tuileries Palace following the ceremony.
The next day's speech at Les Invalides was instead presided over by Lucien himself. They moved the remains of Turenne, Louis XIV's Grand Marshal, from the Basilica of Saint-Denis. They were first buried at the botanical garden, then later transferred to the Museum of French Monuments.
Lucien's speech at the ceremony was much shorter. He declared that a new and great century had been born, congratulated today's heroes for extending respectful hands to yesterday's heroes, reconnecting France with history, and celebrated the day France had reformed its institutions while continuing its