Chapter Summaries

Georgiana reflected on Rome’s collapse and the economic pressures facing Britain and France before Bonaparte confronted her about Austrian threats and her pregnancy. She explained the dangers of a witch and Muggle relationship and considered disappearing, but Bonaparte reassured her and held her close, leaving their future unresolved.

• Georgiana connected Rome’s civil wars and the decline of its republic to inequality, slavery, and failed reforms, then considered how tariffs and labor policy affected Britain and France.
• After the gathering, Georgiana saw Padma dancing with Saint Merry before Bonaparte’s aide summoned her to Bonaparte’s suite.
• Bonaparte asked why Georgiana had concealed the Austrian threats, and she explained that she had not considered them serious.
• Georgiana told Bonaparte about laws and persecution targeting witches who loved Muggles, and said she might disappear and begin again elsewhere.
• Bonaparte asked about the child and the dark magic affecting her; Georgiana described half-bloods and the suppression of magical powers.
• Bonaparte told Georgiana she did not have to suppress herself, and she embraced him while reflecting on her uncertain vision of the future.

Pomona connected the history of American finance and debt to the longing to be cherished, while reflecting on her own painful sense of isolation. She ended by forcing herself to face the next day despite wishing she could disappear into sleep.

• The chapter described Palmstruch’s Swedish banknotes, Hamilton’s national financial system, and the political disputes surrounding the American currency and bonds.
• Duer speculated in bank shares while serving as a government minister’s creditor, and Jacob used Scamander’s silver Occamy egg as collateral for a bakery loan.
• Pomona recalled a warning that America’s real estate boom would leave many people homeless and considered how banks treated homes as collateral.
• Pomona reflected on Queenie’s desire for a loving family and Rose’s wish to be cherished rather than to possess wealth or a jewel.
• Pomona wished she could sleep forever, but sat up and resolved to face tomorrow.

Georgiana prepared to intervene in the financial crisis surrounding Duer and the New York Million Bank, fearing that failure could help reignite war in Europe. After considering how power and revenge might change her, she played fetch with a large black dog and found comfort in the simple game.

• Georgiana woke, dressed with Bertin's help, and joined the assembled men for breakfast and a discussion of the financial scheme.
• Georgiana considered how Duer had speculated with Secretary of War Alexander Macomb's money and how the unapproved New York Million Bank could collapse when investors learned the truth.
• Georgiana feared that a financial disaster could upset the balance between nations and undermine the Treaty of Amiens, so she concluded she had to act before war broke out.
• Georgiana reflected on her fear of becoming consumed by anger and revenge, and remembered that she still wanted the simple happiness of being a Hufflepuff upperclassman.
• Georgiana played fetch with a large black dog and enjoyed the game.

The chapter traced how reckless lending and credit contraction damaged the Bank of Stockholm and drove William Duer’s New York speculation to collapse, then described Aaron Burr’s water-company scheme and the contested design of George Washington. Georgiana learned that an old associate had begun a shipping business in New York, and Périer identified him as Gabriel Ouvrard.

• The Bank of Stockholm expanded its lending and note issuance until a depositor’s large withdrawal exposed its lack of reserves and triggered a run.
• The Swedish government ordered loans recalled, and Parliament’s partial loan recalls failed to prevent a severe recession.
• The Livingston family withdrew gold and silver from the Bank of New York, prompting credit contraction that ruined Duer and other speculators.
• Dr. Joseph Brown proposed a New York water company, and Aaron Burr used its charter to establish a bank while providing little water service.
• Pierre L’Enfant’s plan for George Washington was replaced by Ellicott’s blueprint, and the narrator described the city’s original design as a magical rune.
• A Nantes banker told Georgiana that an old friend had started a New York shipping business, and Périer named Gabriel Ouvrard.

The chapter described America’s financial expansion, westward growth, and disputes over building the Erie Canal, while Eli Whitney developed a system for producing interchangeable musket parts. It ended with the question of whether Sweden could be persuaded to stop making shackles used in the slave trade.

• L'Enfant remained in America after learning that the king had been executed, while his canal plans had previously clashed with Thomas Jefferson’s priorities.
• Burr’s approach enabled a surge in company formation and wildcat banks, as New York Mayor DeWitt Clinton sought support and federal approval for a canal linking Lake Erie to the Hudson River.
• American traders used charters sold by Gabriel Ouvrard to travel along the Mississippi and visit Spanish ports despite restrictions imposed by Spain.
• Eli Whitney accepted a contract to make 10,000 muskets and later used specialized milling machines to produce standardized, interchangeable parts.
• The chapter connected Whitney’s cotton gin to slavery’s revival and considered whether Sweden could be persuaded to stop producing shackles.

Georgiana listened as the bankers discussed the Louisiana Purchase, American bonds, and Labouissière’s role in international finance. Exhausted by the conversation, she chose Fargeon to accompany her on a walk in the garden.

• Gabriel Ouvrard sent men to New Orleans and Veracruz while Spain and Britain tried to stop the shipment of Mexican piastres.
• The discussion linked the Louisiana Purchase and American bonds to the Anglo-Dutch banking group and the possibility of war in the Americas.
• The account described Labouissière’s rise from a Dutch cotton broker to a partner of Hope and a son-in-law of Sir Baring.
• Georgiana grew tired of the bankers’ discussion and selected Fargeon to walk with her in the garden.

Georgiana walked with Fargeon as he explained the history of Parisian cafés and the economics of cotton, slavery, and industrial competition. Their conversation ended with Fargeon recalling the decline of Saint-Germain and wondering which old friends he would find when he returned to Paris.

• Fargeon described how cafés became popular in Paris and said the Palais-Royal cafés drew customers through their association with women and court life.
• Fargeon explained how cotton plantations in Saint-Domingue and America expanded, and how enslaved people were used as labor and collateral for loans.
• Georgiana reasoned that rising cotton and slave prices could shrink textile demand, worsen planters’ debts, and heighten conflict between America’s free and slave states.
• Fargeon argued that Britain needed new sources of raw cotton, such as Egypt, and described how Britain used technology and trade to compete with France.
• Fargeon told Georgiana that Saint-Germain had declined and said he did not know how many of his old friends would still be there when he returned to Paris.

Georgiana considered commerce, slavery, and the risks of adapting to a changing world while talking with Fargeon in Paris. After learning Turner had refused to sell her portrait and lost his patron, she asked Fargeon whether he was interested in paper.

• Fargeon described the Palais-Royal as a place where people of different backgrounds mingled and soldiers pursued women.
• Georgiana and Fargeon discussed cotton prices, slavery, and how Egypt might become a source of raw cotton that could weaken Britain's trade advantage.
• Georgiana reflected on the risks of business and how her caution compared with Josephine's ability to survive turbulent times.
• Fargeon told Georgiana that Turner had refused to sell her portrait and that his patron had stopped supporting him.
• Georgiana asked Fargeon whether he wanted to find a new line of work involving paper.

Georgiana faced merchants’ objections to retaking Egypt, while Barillon proposed investigating whether Algiers could grow cotton. The chapter ended with Barillon urging her to send her friend to Algiers instead of Congo.

• A Marseille merchant warned Georgiana that retaking Egypt would threaten trade with the Ottoman Empire and argued that France could not act before Britain withdrew.
• Aston Martin's cough silenced those preparing to support the merchant, while Georgiana remained quiet and Fargeon stood by her.
• Barillon asked whether Algiers could grow cotton, and Périer said an investigation was needed.
• Barillon urged Georgiana to organize an expedition to Algiers and send her friend there instead of Congo.

Georgiana reflected on the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, the Marquis of Pombal’s reconstruction and political purges, and Labouchere’s plans to finance a Portuguese palace with Brazilian diamonds. She then remembered a ball where she had wanted to stay longer with him and ended the chapter crying over his failure to keep her there.

• The 1755 earthquake devastated Lisbon, and the Marquis of Pombal imposed order, punished looters, and controlled rebuilding.
• King José accepted Pombal’s plan to rebuild Lisbon, whose uniform regulations left many poor people unable to afford homes.
• After an assassination attempt against King José, Pombal blamed the Jesuits and old nobility, arrested more than a thousand people, and expelled the Jesuits.
• The royal family sought a loan from Labouchere to build a palace, offering Brazilian diamonds as collateral.
• Georgiana recalled wearing a gown and Pearl hairpin to a ball and regretted returning to school when Labouchere failed to find an excuse to keep her there.
• Georgiana went somewhere empty and cried over her disappointment.

Georgiana reflected on Portugal’s reforms, trade, and the value of diamonds before finding Bonaparte waiting for her after she cried. Their conversation turned intimate as he comforted her and carried her to bed, where he stayed beside her holding her hand.

• Georgiana left the room after drying her tears and found Bonaparte waiting outside.
• Bonaparte told Georgiana he had heard what happened and defended recovering the diamonds, admitting he had stolen them back.
• Georgiana explained how Hamilton’s bond rules and the value of diamonds affected financial power, and Bonaparte kissed her.
• Georgiana recalled her school friendships and Lily, while Bonaparte questioned her about people who had pursued her and spoke of loss.
• Georgiana asked Leon to carry her to her room, and he carried her to bed.
• Bonaparte stayed beside Georgiana and held her hand as she silently accepted his presence.

Georgiana weighed how diamond trading and monetary reforms might affect the Mississippi conflict, while confronting her doubts about her own choices and the risks tied to her position. After Bonaparte left, Padma and Feilier arrived joking about a request to exorcise a ghost, and Padma asked Georgiana what she taught as a professor.

• Hamilton used silver coins, postal revenues, and government bonds to restore the value of American currency and finance Bank of America, though raising enough gold remained difficult.
• Quesnay challenged Fargeon's proposal to source cotton in Egypt, and Georgiana considered diamond trading as a way to circulate wealth and remint the proceeds into new Francs if the Netherlands submitted to France.
• Georgiana reflected on the necklace, the judgments passed on women who loved jewelry, and her fear that her efforts might not prevent the Mississippi conflict from escalating.
• Georgiana wept but decided she needed rest, while Bonaparte left to attend to business.
• Padma and Feilier entered laughing after someone asked Miss Perti to exorcise a ghost, and Padma asked Georgiana what subject she taught.

Georgiana and Padma heard William Coke’s account of the scandal surrounding Fanny’s death and agreed to help him prove his innocence. He then revealed that Addington had supported buying Louisiana for one million pounds, leaving Georgiana worried about the explosive political consequences.

• Padma recounted how William Coke and Fanny’s relationship, Thomas’s threats, and Fanny’s suspicious death led the Kent family to accuse William of murder.
• Georgiana agreed to meet William Coke, who looked identical to a man she had seen in South Kensington, and asked what information he could offer.
• William asked Georgiana and Padma to help prove his innocence so he would not lose his son to the Kent family.
• William claimed he had overheard Addington tell Sir Baring in Richmond Park that Britain should pay one million pounds for the Louisiana Purchase.
• Georgiana warned Padma that William’s allegation could become a devastating scandal if it leaked, but admitted she could not ignore it.

Georgiana weighed the dangers of sending Padma to London to investigate a witchcraft accusation and asked her guardian, Richard Edgeworth, to arrange protection. Edgeworth agreed, and the chapter ended with Georgiana warning him to quit smoking.

• Georgiana considered how witchcraft accusations, missing evidence, and William Coke’s financial motives could shape the investigation into his wives’ deaths.
• Georgiana decided Padma needed protection if she traveled to London to investigate the witchcraft accusation case.
• Edgeworth showed Georgiana a drawing of a new steam engine without a condensing apparatus and mentioned a young inventor with a pressure cooker for extracting essential oils.
• Georgiana asked Edgeworth to have his friends protect Padma in London, and he agreed to arrange it.
• Georgiana asked whether Watt had met Bonaparte, and Edgeworth assured her he would not seek him out.
• Georgiana stopped Edgeworth from smoking and advised him to quit for the sake of his health and his young wife.

Georgiana discussed the uncertainty of political change and her refusal to replace Josephine with Richard Edgeworth, who explained that he had brought Richard Trevithick to her as a potential inventor seeking a sponsor. She accepted that good intentions could lead to harmful outcomes, while Edgeworth realized their meeting answered her earlier question.

• The chapter recounted how Watt's separate condenser improved steam engines, how Trevithick turned toward high-pressure engines after Watt and Boulton pursued royalties, and how he came to Belgium seeking support for a vehicle-mounted engine.
• The chapter described how Whitney's cotton gin accelerated American cotton production and how Thomas Jefferson pursued the purchase of Louisiana despite political and constitutional opposition.
• Edgeworth asked Georgiana why she continued trying to influence events when governments were already arguing over peace and war.
• Georgiana said she would not replace Josephine and did not want to become another Anne Boleyn, then told Edgeworth she had only wanted a genuine family and to do what was right.
• Edgeworth revealed that he had brought Trevithick to Georgiana because she sought talent and Trevithick sought a sponsor.
• Georgiana said the invention might still be used in war, but Edgeworth argued they could not know the outcome without trying, then realized this was her answer to his earlier question.

Georgiana and Edgeworth discussed America’s political tensions and the risks surrounding the Louisiana Purchase, then turned to New York’s plans and the possibility of manufacturing canal locks. The chapter ended with Georgiana asking Edgeworth whether he truly believed in America.

• The narration described the Federalists’ criticism of Thomas Jefferson’s election and the political pressure he faced to complete the Louisiana Purchase.
• Georgiana asked why trouble had begun in winter, and Edgeworth explained that General Viktor could not travel from Amsterdam without reinforcements.
• Edgeworth challenged Georgiana to consider how Rome’s laws and political system had failed as the nation expanded.
• Georgiana asked whether Sweden could produce rust-resistant canal locks, and Edgeworth discussed ironworking and New York’s desire for self-government.
• Georgiana compared political accusations to the Salem witch trials and asked Edgeworth whether he truly believed in America.

Georgiana reflected on Edgeworth’s lessons about history, authority, and treating Padma as an equal before deciding to test her Animagus magic. She leaped from the window into the wind, and a white feather drifted into the room.

• Edgeworth’s stories about swords, Irish legends, and Abelard and Héloïse reminded Georgiana that she should have asked Padma whether she wanted to investigate in London and treat her as an adult.
• Edgeworth challenged Georgiana’s claim to authority as Padma’s teacher and publicly dismissed her supposed prophecies as nonsense.
• Georgiana considered how fear and superstition shaped people’s beliefs about witches, wizards, and poor harvests.
• Georgiana opened the window after Edgeworth left and prepared to test whether she could fly as an Animagus.
• Georgiana summoned wind into the room, ran toward the window, and leaped; moments later, a snow-white feather drifted inside.

Georgiana transformed from a swan back into a human near the castle, reflecting on honor, loyalty, and Julie’s sacrifices. After a crossbow-wielding stranger approached, she stunned him, made herself clothes from leaves, and left the lakeside.

• Pomona left the lakeside after Sirius dismissed her help with the Animagus project and James loudly announced that his Animagus was a stag.
• Georgiana, still in swan form, flew south and plunged into the lake, using what she remembered about hand movements to transform back into a human.
• Georgiana swam to shore and sat shivering as she reflected on Julie, courage, honor, betrayal, and Sirius’s hatred of Peter Pettigrew.
• Georgiana noticed a stranger holding a crossbow, cast Stupefy on him, and turned summoned leaves into clothes.
• Georgiana shook off an alluring memory, hummed as she left the cold lakeside, and felt temporarily warmer.

Remus explained how he and his friends chose their nicknames, while Georgiana dealt with Brussels officials over Laeken Castle and local affairs. She ended the chapter worrying about the dangerous journey back to France and dismissing the idea of pursuing the Sun Gold.

• Remus told Pomona how James, Sirius, Peter, and he became Prongs, Padfoot, Wormtail, and Moony, and recounted the fairy tale behind his nickname.
• Nicolas-Jean Rouppe visited Georgiana to discuss Laeken Castle, Brussels affairs, and his complaints about Lannes.
• Rouppe asked Georgiana whether she wanted to stay at Laeken Castle or in Brussels, but she worried more about the unsafe route back to France.
• Georgiana returned to her study, picked up the fire-opal ring, and recalled the legend of the Nibelung dwarf and the magical gold.
• Georgiana put the ring back on and decided she could not make use of the Sun Gold in the Alps with her limited alchemy.

Georgiana traveled from Mechelen to Brussels, where she attended a formal welcome and arranged to stay at the Duke of Arenberg's residence. After resting at City Hall, she prepared to receive guests while thinking about American politics and helping Padma choose a more suitable dress.

• Georgiana learned that Bonaparte had left Mechelen that morning and traveled with her entourage toward Brussels.
• Georgiana passed a construction site with a makeshift dock and crane before reaching Laeken Castle, then continued to Brussels because the castle lacked suitable rooms.
• Brussels welcomed Georgiana with lit streetlamps, fireworks, and a ceremony at City Hall, where Chaptal and Edgeworth introduced Louis de Vos and Henry-Joseph van Langenhove.
• Georgiana left the reception early, rested in a City Hall lounge, and considered the political scandal involving Burr and Jefferson.
• Padma arrived in a blue diamond-set dress, and Bertin took her away to change before Georgiana prepared to receive guests.