More ships joined the fleet along the way, and by the time they reached Boulogne, it had grown to fifty vessels. By then, night had fallen.
Napoleon disembarked there, where many people were already waiting on the beach. A large military camp stood by the shore at Boulogne, and bonfires had been lit all along the route from the camp to where Napoleon came ashore. The orange flames twisted constantly in the sea wind, as if they might ignite the uniforms of the soldiers standing beside them at any moment.
Georgiana did not ask why he did not continue sailing under cover of darkness. Boulogne was already part of the province of Calais, within the range of the Dover Strait. Going any farther would be too risky.
Perhaps they would travel overland from here. There was a broad highway from Boulogne to Calais. Yet two men stood at the front of the welcoming party: Admiral Latouche-Tréville and Colonel Vuille from the Netherlands. The former had fought Nelson before and, though it had only been a local engagement, had emerged victorious.
Colonel Vuille, meanwhile, had many years of naval combat experience and was thoroughly familiar with the sea conditions around the Netherlands and Belgium.
The two men were introduced only briefly before Napoleon entered the camp surrounded by the commanders of the garrison. As for Georgiana, she had intended to stay behind obediently and spend the night aboard the ship, but a group of people brought her to a country estate not far from headquarters. For a moment, she thought she had been placed under house arrest.
It was not until she was invited to observe the preparation of a portable altar and saw the priest in white robes that she felt at ease. Once the portable altar was set up,