Though they had said they would bring nothing, when Georgiana saw the carriage she was to ride in out in the courtyard, it was piled high with bags and parcels.
But compared to Polina's, hers was nothing.
"Is it really necessary to bring so much?" Georgiana asked, looking at the carriageful of luggage.
"We're not fleeing for our lives, so what's the rush?" Polina snapped coquettishly.
Polina had an entire trunk just for shawls. Georgiana, meanwhile, had a carriage devoted solely to books, which were heavy things too. They would have to cross mountains and valleys along the way; these horses might be worked to exhaustion.
Seeing that they were still packing, Georgiana found a quiet spot, ordered a cup of black tea, and sat down to wait.
Prussia did in fact have a navy. It had been established by Frederick William, who sent men to the Netherlands to recruit sailors. A sailor named Raule enlisted, became a Prussian admiral, and also served as Frederick William's naval adviser.
Home Popham had once enjoyed the Tsar's trust as well. Paul I gave him ten thousand men in an attempt to retake the Helder Peninsula. But the continental campaign ended in failure, and the Tsar never saw him again.
Raule, on the other hand, gathered the naval forces of Germany's fragmented states under his command and sought to use the opportunity to establish a true navy, but he did not receive Frederick William's support. Following the East India Company's model, they conducted various voyages and astronomical surveying expeditions while actively pursuing overseas colonies, establishing several supply stations in West Africa.
After the Great Elector died, Frederick I succeeded him. Yet, because of financial constraints, he had no choice but to reduce the number of ships. By 1700, the entire navy was down