Lannes's hairstyle looked a lot like Napoleon's, or rather, Bessières's hairstyle was unlike either of theirs. He braided the hair on both sides of his cheeks. Georgiana had seen the same thing among the Chasseurs, supposedly to keep their cheeks from being cut.
In an age when many people no longer wore wigs, kept their natural hair, and cut it short, such a hairstyle was easy to recognize.
Georgiana remembered that the last time she had visited Aston Martin's office, his cabinet had held many stockings. Now that he wore a long robe, she could not tell whether he still had on those knee-length stockings underneath.
He had brought Georgiana a Christmas present. It was not jewelry, but a deed to a house.
"I heard that you have been asking where you would live after returning to Paris. What do you think of this place?" Ms. Martin asked.
The place was in the Marais District, separated from the Italian Embassy by only a wall.
The last time Ms. Martin had gone to Italy, it had been to buy silk, and she had encountered Napoleon's army on the road.
In the East, there had once been a merchant named Lü Buwei. He had thought a certain prince was "a rare commodity to be hoarded" and invested a great deal in him.
But Georgiana was not so optimistic about Bonaparte, because "in history," he had only remained emperor until 1815.
"I want to live at the Jardin des Plantes." Georgiana put down the deed.
"Why?" Ms. Martin asked in surprise.
She felt that she could do yoga and meditate in the Jardin des Plantes. It might be the only "natural" place in all of Paris.
"Leon told me to live at the Jardin des Plantes," Georgiana said softly.
Ms. Martin thought for