Chapter Summaries

Georgiana waited outside the search of the abandoned canal village, shaken by her encounter with Brooke and troubled by the soldiers entering the homes. Back in Mechelen, Bonaparte warned her that her routines could be used to ambush her and asked her to leave, but she insisted that her actions were necessary to stop events from unfolding.

• Louis of the Beaufort led the wizards into the village while the Mamluks cavalry searched the abandoned houses, and Georgiana waited by the marsh.
• Georgiana reflected on surviving Brooke's sword strike, the Fire Opal Ring, and the danger facing the women in the village.
• Augereau told Georgiana to leave the search to him and introduced Lagrange, Senior Inspector of the Gendarmerie; Fiegel then accompanied her away.
• Bonaparte met Georgiana at her residence and warned her not to let others learn her patterns, suggesting they leave Mechelen.
• Georgiana refused to abandon her efforts, agreed to erase the Mamluks' memories after they returned, and argued that a country should be governed through fairness and justice.

Georgiana discussed France’s textile policies and her concerns about war with Bonaparte, then asked him to exempt married people in Belgium from conscription. The chapter ended with Bonaparte inviting her to walk in the garden after hinting that many people considered fighting him an honor.

• Georgiana packed gifts and prepared a horsehair helmet and hunting outfit for Julien as she considered returning to Paris for Christmas.
• Bonaparte entered Georgiana’s room, explained the legend behind the helmet, and asked what she wanted.
• Bonaparte discussed bankers, textile factories, and the possibility of restoring the 1789 trade treaty with Georgiana.
• Georgiana asked Bonaparte to make married people in Belgium exempt from conscription and warned him against the dangers of continual success and ambition.
• Georgiana explained that she feared her student might be drawn into an unwise war, and Bonaparte invited her to walk with him in the garden.

Georgiana reflected on military history, national identity, and the lives shaped by war while speaking with Bonaparte. She decided to give little Julien a raven helmet, though the story left her saddened by the fallen Giant of Gaul.

• Georgiana considered how the Double Badge Battalion gained its reputation and how soldiers' stories could become legends.
• Bonaparte told Georgiana about Hayreddin Barbarossa's alliance with the Ottoman sultan after the Spanish killed his brother Aruj.
• Georgiana reflected on how Napoleon's army gave soldiers from rural villages a wider world and a new sense of belonging.
• Georgiana put down her wand and contemplated how her chosen domestic life had ended abruptly.
• Georgiana decided to replace the horsehair on little Julien's helmet with a raven, but she felt sad for the fallen Giant of Gaul.

The chapter surveyed the shifting French, Ottoman, Prussian, Dutch, and American interests after France’s campaigns, including efforts to restore relations with the Ottoman Empire and resolve the Mississippi Crisis. It ended with Bonaparte inviting her to listen to Duport play the cello.

• French advisers left the Ottoman Empire for the Ionian Islands, while Britain pressured the Ottomans to pardon Mamluk beys and restore their families.
• Prussia’s hopes for overseas trade and influence were tied to the partition of Austria, the Orange family, and the upheaval in the Netherlands.
• The passage recounted how Choiseul-Gouffier helped train Ottoman military specialists before fleeing to Saint Petersburg, while Istanbul scholars began searching for a Turkish book about Jiyin and Mountain Demons.
• Monroe proposed that France retain the Mississippi Delta and New Orleans while ceding the northern and western lands to America, offering French support in future wars.
• Bonaparte raised Silesia and the need for competing steel suppliers, then invited her to hear Duport perform on the cello.

At a gathering where Duport performed, Georgiana considered France’s fragile financial and political position while worrying that Bonaparte suspected her connection to the assassination plot. She leaned on Bonaparte and concealed her distress until the music ended.

• Georgiana reflected on the Ottoman currency trade, French credit, and the political danger of French troops crossing German territory.
• Georgiana noticed Mrs Borski, whose investment in the Belgian Industrial Promotion Bank and involvement in the response to the assassination attempt made her uneasy.
• Georgiana worried Bonaparte suspected her because she had disappeared on the night of the plot and had not climbed the tower that day.
• Georgiana cast a Tickling Charm on herself to imitate fear, then realized her genuine distress was already making her tremble.
• Georgiana leaned against Bonaparte and asked him not to tell anyone she was trembling, then applauded with the others when Duport finished playing.

Georgiana discussed Elizabeth Lamont’s book on enclosure and grain laws before Bonaparte summoned her to witness Emily and Quincy’s marriage. The couple married after Georgiana offered Quincy a ring and promised him work at an art museum in Mechelen, while Bonaparte refused to provide paintings from the Louvre’s collection.

• Georgiana met Elizabeth Lamont and Maria Edgeworth, who discussed Lamont’s book about enclosure, coinage, and the Corn Laws.
• Elizabeth asked Georgiana about Chiara, and Georgiana said Chiara could return to work at the Louvre Museum despite the rumors.
• Bonaparte led Georgiana to Emily and Quincy, two painters hiding from military service, and asked Emily to marry Quincy.
• Georgiana gave Quincy a diamond ring, and Father Grégoire conducted the wedding ceremony after Emily agreed.
• Georgiana promised Quincy work at an art museum in Mechelen and asked Bonaparte to supply paintings or copies from the Louvre, but he refused to lend its collection.

Georgiana visited the new Mechelen Museum and admired an Enclosed Garden while reflecting on art, poverty, slavery, and economic change. When Borski approached her with a request, Georgiana used Legilimency and guessed she wanted a potion to reverse aging, which Georgiana said did not exist.

• Georgiana and the others visited Hof van Busleyden, where Quincy offered to restore its faded murals.
• Georgiana reflected on Emily and Quincy’s life, the people in their village, and the arguments used to defend slavery and economic expansion.
• Georgiana considered how agricultural loans and mechanization might affect France, and recalled Rutger’s promise to donate paintings to the Mechelen Museum.
• Georgiana admired the Enclosed Garden and realized she was not suited to being a professional woman and had lost her home.
• Borski asked to admire the Enclosed Garden with Georgiana, and Georgiana used Legilimency to discover that the widow wanted something from her.
• Georgiana told Borski that no potion could reverse aging and asked whether she had approached her because she was a witch.

Georgiana discussed a beauty potion with Mrs. Borski, a wealthy widow who wanted to look young again, and agreed to have the potion delivered after Mrs. Borski traveled to Paris. The chapter ended with Mrs. Borski eagerly accepting the trip while Georgiana reflected on the risks and appeal of magical potions.

• Georgiana told Mrs. Borski that aging could not be reversed and that the Philosopher's Stone could only preserve her current appearance.
• Mrs. Borski rejected immortality without youth and asked Georgiana whether she could make her look younger.
• Georgiana described the beauty potion as a poison that would eventually kill Mrs. Borski, and Mrs. Borski eagerly asked how much she would need to drink.
• Georgiana told Mrs. Borski to return to Paris with them so someone could deliver the potion, and Mrs. Borski immediately agreed.
• Bonaparte asked what Georgiana meant, and she explained that Mrs. Borski was willing to go to Paris with her.

Georgiana sorted through old treasures while Pomona reflected on the history of Dutch and Portuguese trade and considered Bonaparte’s plans. She discovered Padma Patil trapped in a chest near Brussels, and Padma’s arrival left Pomona wondering whether she should flee with her.

• Georgiana sorted the warehouse’s old paintings, furniture, silks, spices, and scrolls in the courtyard.
• Pomona recounted how Portugal’s rise and decline in the spice trade led the Dutch to establish their own overseas trade and form the Dutch East India Company.
• Pomona connected Bonaparte’s plans to the problem of everyone wanting to invite Fleur Delacour to the Triwizard Tournament ball.
• Georgiana heard a girl calling for help, opened a chest, and found Padma Patil inside.
• Padma questioned Georgiana, while Bonaparte appeared at a window and then vanished; Pomona considered escaping with Padma.

Georgiana reflected on European marriage, divorce, and inheritance customs as they affected men who had taken local wives in India, including the risks to their children and fortunes. She connected these concerns to the Patil sisters’ work with cursed antiques, just as an enraged Bonaparte arrived and demanded an explanation for Padma’s sudden appearance.

• Georgiana recalled how East India Company employees used private trade and expense loopholes to enrich themselves, and how their relationships with Indian women could expose their embezzlement.
• Georgiana considered the costly, unequal divorce and separation laws that left wives and children vulnerable, as well as wife-selling as a means of ending marriages.
• Georgiana remembered Iris’s grievance over his father leaving most of his inheritance to Mrs Zabini and Blaise, and how family councils could protect children’s interests.
• Georgiana noted that Padma and Parvati worked at the British Museum, where plundered antiques could be cursed and put Padma in danger.
• Bonaparte appeared furious, looked from Padma to Georgiana, and waited for Georgiana to explain Padma’s sudden appearance.

Georgiana tried to get Padma away from Bonaparte and learned that Padma had discovered a supposedly dead Egyptian prince’s sarcophagus leaking water in a museum. After Padma revealed that Prince Khaemwaset had searched for the Book of Thoth, Bonaparte called Georgiana back to the dining room.

• Bonaparte questioned Padma about her untouched meal, and Georgiana explained that some Indians did not eat beef.
• Padma challenged Georgiana’s identity, and Georgiana used details about Padma’s school life to convince her they knew each other.
• Georgiana left the dining room with Padma and urged her to return to Britain to investigate how she had reached this world.
• Padma explained that she had found water flowing from Prince Khaemwaset’s sarcophagus while investigating reports of a running mummy.
• Padma said Khaemwaset had sought the Book of Thoth, which could let even a Muggle use magic, and Georgiana returned to Bonaparte when he called her.

Georgiana reflected on Egyptian history, the Plagues of Egypt, and the power of gods before discussing her troubled student with Bonaparte. Bonaparte assured her the student would be safe in France, then teased Georgiana about being jealous.

• Georgiana considered the stories of Nefertari, Phryne, and the Book of Thoth while connecting Ramses II’s reign to the Plagues of Egypt.
• Georgiana asked Bonaparte whether gods lost their power when people stopped believing in or fearing them, and wondered how frightening Jehovah’s disasters had been to the Egyptians.
• Bonaparte asked why Georgiana’s student had come to see her, and Georgiana said the student had run into trouble.
• Bonaparte said the student could stay in France because no one there would dare harm her.
• Bonaparte asked whether Georgiana was jealous, and after she pinched him, he tickled her until she giggled.

Padma explained how the cursed Book of Thoth and a drowned collector’s family were connected to the restless mummy she had been tracking. Georgiana silenced Padma after she questioned her ties to Napoleon and Mr. Smith, then urged her to flee to France while Georgiana waited for Mr. Smith.

• Padma told Georgiana that Prince Khaemwaset had returned the Book of Thoth to a tomb after its magic brought a curse, and that a private collector’s family had drowned before the museum acquired the sarcophagus.
• Padma compared the mummy’s harmless wet footprints to Moaning Myrtle and asked Georgiana who she really was.
• Padma questioned Georgiana about Napoleon and Mr. Smith, and Georgiana sealed Padma’s mouth with a silent, wandless spell.
• Georgiana warned Padma that Britain was unsafe under the Witchcraft Act and suggested she stay in France, where Bonaparte could protect her.
• Georgiana said she would wait for Mr. Smith to take her away and told Padma to leave if she had the chance.

Georgiana met with scholars to discuss Khaemwaset, ancient libraries, and a magical book said to have drawn Ptolemy I into collecting books. The chapter left the book’s name unknown and ended with Georgiana telling bookseller Jacques Champollion that he would have a gifted son.

• Padma asked Georgiana why the Witchcraft Act could make spirit summoning dangerous, and Georgiana explained that unauthorized summoning was forbidden.
• Georgiana and Padma entered a meeting where scholars discussed the Bounty mutiny and the marooned sailor John, the island’s sole surviving adult man.
• Georgiana asked the scholars about Khaemwaset, and one man described the Library of Alexandria, the Library of Pergamon, and the prince’s search for a magical book.
• Georgiana asked the bookseller’s name and learned he was Jacques Champollion, then told him he would have a gifted son.
• Georgiana left the identity of the magical book unresolved as the chapter recalled Pitcairn Island and the Bounty.

Georgiana discussed the historical importance of Alexander’s body, Egyptian mummification, and ancient libraries while helping Jacques Champollion sort books. She discovered a message from Sybill hidden in a book and left the meeting room to read it privately.

• Georgiana considered how Alexander’s preserved body helped Ptolemy secure his rule in Egypt.
• Georgiana reflected on Egyptian beliefs about mummies, the Library of Alexandria, and the Mouseion.
• Jacques Champollion handed Georgiana a book while sorting old volumes.
• Georgiana waited until fewer people were watching, then left the meeting room with the book.
• Georgiana opened the book in a safe place, recognized a message from Sybill, and murmured that Sybill knew how to cause trouble.

Georgiana sorted books, reflected on hope and leadership, and visited the archbishop before her expected departure for Brussels. The archbishop gave her an ancient Egyptian poem on knowledge and dreams, then asked to visit the library in Brussels.

• Georgiana had the staff officer translate a German etiquette guide, kept it for her collection, and sent Padma and Feilier to the sitting room with Richard Edgeworth as their temporary guardian.
• Georgiana rode with Fiegel to meet the archbishop and asked him whether hope could be sold; Fiegel said she did not think it could.
• Father Roy led Georgiana to the archbishop, who confirmed that he was waiting for her and asked whether she was going to Brussels soon.
• The archbishop showed Georgiana an ancient Egyptian papyrus about the creation of day, night, sleep, and dreams, then gave it to her as a Christmas gift.
• The archbishop asked Georgiana to visit the library in Brussels with him, and she jokingly called the visit her Christmas gift to him.

Georgiana discussed fanaticism, political legitimacy, and religious history with the Archbishop, then confided that someone she knew had nearly made her lose compassion. She left his office after questioning whether simple love could survive beyond physical beauty.

• Georgiana argued that shared hatred made an unstable foundation for political and religious unity, and that Belgium should take time to discuss reforms.
• The Archbishop told Georgiana he knew she could use magic, and she refused to promise never to use it on him.
• The Archbishop explained the history behind the Barbarossa prophecy and asked why Georgiana cared about it.
• Georgiana told the Archbishop that someone she knew had nearly turned her into a person without compassion, and asked whether she should repent for seeking love and family.
• The Archbishop warned Georgiana that the devil could take the form of someone she knew and said she should easily find love because she was beautiful.
• Georgiana questioned whether love based on beauty would last, then said good night and left the Archbishop's office.

Georgiana reflected on the dangers of abandoning personal choice to a collective cause and examined a papyrus gift while considering how to display the assassins’ identities. General Mortier interrupted her with news about Polish prisoners and questioned what the Austrian envoy had said, leaving him bewildered by Georgiana’s claim that the envoy had threatened to expose her as a witch.

• Georgiana considered how Grindelwald’s movement offered belonging while denying individuals the right to choose for themselves.
• Georgiana examined her papyrus gift and thought about ancient writing materials, Caesar’s wax effigy, and using a wax figure to reveal the assassins’ identities.
• General Mortier told Georgiana that the British were handing over Polish prisoners from Saint-Domingue and that France was debating whether to send them to Europe or recruit them into the American Legion.
• Mortier asked Georgiana what the Austrian envoy had said to her, and she admitted that he had threatened to expose her as a witch.
• Mortier questioned whether Georgiana was serious, and she could not answer him.

After Caesar’s assassination, Octavian received support from Caesar’s legions in Macedonia, while news of Napoleon’s assassination and Prussia’s diplomatic maneuvering reached Paris. Georgiana reviewed a British ambassador’s protest over his confinement in Hamburg and questioned her associates about Prussia’s role.

• Octavian learned from a letter dated March 15 that Caesar had been assassinated, and his mother urged him to return to Italy quietly.
• Military officers from nearby legions pledged their support to Octavian, while representatives of Apollonia offered condolences and protection.
• Mortier brought Georgiana news of Napoleon’s assassination and the secret delivery of Polish prisoners of war.
• Georgiana learned that the British ambassador in Hamburg had been confined to his embassy and asked who was responsible.
• Bowens suggested Prussia was using the situation to persuade northern cities to join its alliance, while Aston Martin remained silent.

Georgiana discussed France’s finances and the uncertain fate of Louisiana with her advisers, arguing that France should avoid war in North America and preserve the peace with Britain. The meeting ended without a workable plan for Louisiana, as the group considered and rejected various proposals to divide or sell it.

• Margarita delivered wine to Georgiana’s meeting, and Georgiana shared it with the assembled advisers.
• Georgiana argued that France needed to restore its finances and domestic order, and said she opposed slavery but would wait for the right moment to seek its abolition.
• After learning that Spain planned to block Americans from the Mississippi River, Georgiana ordered the Poles quarantined and told the group that France would not join a North American war.
• Périer proposed dividing Louisiana and selling it to several countries, while Aston Martin, Fargeon, and others questioned whether the plan would work.
• The advisers floated Russia, Scottish settlers, and the Irish as possible buyers or colonists, but none offered a convincing solution.