Boulogne-sur-Mer was an ancient city, visited by many travelers every year, not least from Britain.
If they were to hold a "truce banquet," British guests would inevitably be needed. But the previous "peace banquet" with the Americans had been a complete failure. Even with actresses there to accompany them, those Americans had remained grim-faced.
The earliest immigrants had been Puritans aboard the Mayflower. Mention the Puritans, and Cromwell naturally came to mind. During his rule, quite a few theaters had been shut down. After he fell from power and the "Merry Monarch" returned to the throne, theaters reopened. Even in America's early immigrant days, there had been no such places as theaters, which were said to "encourage vanity."
Though she did not have Paris's finest master of ceremonies, she still had Saint Merry to hold up the occasion. Naturally, there would be no actresses serving as companions at this banquet.
What should they perform? Then she thought, hey, this was not something she needed to worry about at all. It was Saint Merry's job. She gave only one instruction: after setting off fireworks all night in Le Havre, she did not intend to continue doing so in Boulogne-sur-Mer. The sound would remind her of those terrifying cannons.
She had not asked Bonaparte how many days he intended to remain in Boulogne-sur-Mer, because he was currently occupied with arranging artillery positions. He usually observed the high ground from the small village where he was temporarily staying, then appeared unexpectedly in Boulogne to inspect the preparations in person. Or he invited artillery or engineering commanders to dine with him over lunch or supper.
His arrival in Boulogne-sur-Mer this time had been quite unexpected. Everyone had assumed he would travel overland through Abbeville.
Perhaps he truly had planned to do so. Or perhaps