The convoy arrived in Le Tréport at around four in the afternoon. This time, they were housed in an Italian-style villa.
The estate was not by the beach, where many private homes had already been built. This was the first city upon entering Normandy and also a seaside resort. Across from the town, on the other side of the river mouth, stood another small town, Mers-les-Bains. Both towns had been built along chalk cliffs, their houses painted in bright colors, with a distinctly Saint-Denis style. Rather than two towns, they were more like one town divided in half by the Somme.
The highest point in town, and also its grandest building, was Saint-Jacques Church. Paris had one too, though only a single tower remained of it now; the main body of the church had been demolished during the French Revolution. Saint-Jacques Church here, however, was perfectly intact. It stood upon a green, vegetation-covered slope, lacking both Gothic delicacy and sharpness as well as Baroque splendor. Their residence was right beside the church.
Renaissance-style houses often had no gardens; even the palaces of Venice were like that. After settling in briefly, the french continued on to inspect the local factories.
Georgiana did not leave because she had received a letter delivered by owl. In half an hour, the Minister for Magic of the British Ministry of Magic would be paying a visit. Fortunately, the house had a fairly spacious drawing room. Georgiana immediately had the maids arrange it and prepare tea for the guests.
Once everything had been arranged, the servants at the door came to report that the guests had arrived. She had initially intended to have them brought in, but then remembered how Napoleon had once personally escorted someone to the door. So she went to greet them herself.