After dressing up, Pomona met the equally splendidly dressed Fiegel at the door. Fiegel wore a dragoon's uniform, with Chabert, the Mamluk cavalryman, following behind him.
A "grand occasion" still required enough people to set the atmosphere. Just as Georgiana approached the carriage, her guardian, Richard Edgeworth, stepped down from it, along with his wife Francis. Bertin, who had been holding up Georgiana's train, skillfully shut the door after seeing her into the carriage, then turned and left.
The moment Georgiana saw Edgeworth's expression, she knew something was wrong.
With a faint jolt, the carriage began to move, followed by the crisp clatter of hooves. The sound seemed loud enough to conceal their conversation.
"I've had a very hectic day, Georgiana," Edgeworth said wearily. "Do you know how many people want to see you?"
"I know."
"No, you don't. The last time Talleyrand went to Berlin, he wasn't only discussing Ceylon. Do you know the plan Sieyès proposed when he was ambassador in Berlin?"
"Berlin?"
"They intend for three parties to divide Germany. Prussia is forming an alliance with Russia," Edgeworth said. "Prussia was the first to withdraw from the Anti-French Coalition. They signed the Treaty of Basel, and now the neutral states that signed it have formed the North German Confederation."
"And I should be worried about that?" she asked.
"London's position is to preserve the present borders. If Prussia and Russia successfully form an alliance, they will not stand by and watch Austria be partitioned without taking action. Besides, the Treaty of Lunéville cost Austria all its lands on the Left Bank of the Rhine River, but the princes who lost those lands can be compensated with other territories. Guess who the victims are."
"If you have something to say, say it. I'm not in the mood for