Matilda was all right. Though she was weak from seasickness, she fell asleep after taking the medicine prescribed by the accompanying doctor. Margarita, on the other hand, cried her heart out and took a long while to calm down.
This inn, full of "British charm," was far too shabby for young noblewomen accustomed to living in palaces. Fortunately, every room had a bathroom. Once she made sure Matilda was asleep, Margarita went to take a bath. When she came out, she found someone standing beside Matilda and screamed in fright.
The adjutants and attendants searched their quarters but found nowhere for anyone to hide. Their room was on the same corridor as Georgiana's, and Napoleon's adjutant was guarding the corridor. He had not seen anyone pass through. The Imperial Guard was posted downstairs as well, and they had not seen anyone climbing in or out through the windows.
So this "thief" either had the ability to turn invisible, or Margarita had seen wrong. But Margarita insisted that she had not. She had seen a shadow standing there.
If she had not just read that travel journal about Jiyin, Georgiana would not have thought in that direction. Children often played shadow games, putting their hands before a candle and changing the shapes of their fingers to "make" animals such as rabbits and dogs. Otherwise, she might have told Margarita that she had mistaken the hanging clothes and hats for a human shadow.
She instinctively glanced at the candle on the bedside table. It was still burning with an orange flame; it had not turned green.
After half an hour of commotion, everything finally returned to normal, and Georgiana went back to her room.
She felt exhausted and was just about to sleep when Bonaparte returned.
"Guess why the Chinese wanted to