Chapter Summaries

Georgiana met Brussels officials and cultural leaders, handled requests, and attended a ball where she noticed Alice blushing beside Charles. As she continued socializing, she worried about Bonaparte’s canal project and the economic forces shaping the new order, leaving her uncertain how to prevent its future problems.

• The Royal Opera House manager asked Georgiana to allow The Magic Flute to be performed at the welcoming reception, and Needham asked whether someone would replace him as headmaster.
• Georgiana met Brussels’s social notables individually, giving each visitor five minutes to make requests without making promises lightly.
• At the ball, Georgiana noticed Alice’s flushed face and learned that her handsome dance partner, Charles, was the cousin of the seventh Duke of Arenberg.
• Georgiana worried that Bonaparte’s personal oversight of the Ourcq Canal could expose him to blame for corruption and worsen tensions between Lyon and Paris.
• As she continued socializing, Georgiana reflected on slavery, fuel, urbanization, and cotton’s economic effects, and doubted anyone would heed her concerns about the new order.

At a Brussels ball, Georgiana saw Bonaparte arrive unexpectedly and dance with her while they discussed an opera house. She remained determined to find Padma and send her back to her original world.

• Guests discussed Maria, the young fourteenth Duke of Alba, and the duchess’s connection to Goya’s paintings.
• Georgiana searched the ball for Padma and regretted not having her wear the blue dress.
• Bonaparte arrived in Brussels and led Georgiana onto the dance floor for the opening waltz.
• Georgiana noticed Maria watching her with an unusually mature gaze.
• Georgiana and Bonaparte discussed The Magic Flute and the demolished La Monnaie Opera House, and he revealed interest in building a new one.

At a Brussels ball, Bonaparte appeared with his soldiers and took Georgiana to Louis XIV's palace, where they argued about her concern for Padma. The chapter ended with Georgiana deciding to ask Bertin whether Padma was with her.

• Georgiana and Bonaparte discussed the history of the La Monnaie Opera House and the opera Atys.
• Bonaparte appeared at the Brussels ball, startling guests worried about the tense situation in Hamburg.
• After dancing, Bonaparte took Georgiana to Louis XIV's palace, where a large painting depicted Napoleon crossing the Alps.
• Georgiana worried about becoming like Anne Boleyn and tried to leave to find Padma, but Bonaparte insisted Padma was an adult and should act responsibly.
• Georgiana offered to run Bonaparte a bath, but he turned away without answering.
• Georgiana decided to ask Bertin whether Padma was with her, remembering that Scourers were active nearby.

Georgiana comforted Padma after she felt left out at the ball, then was summoned to Bonaparte’s billiards room. She arrived to find him playing with several people, and he beckoned her over.

• Georgiana toured the palace and found Bertin working on uniforms while Padma cried in the next room.
• Georgiana entered Padma’s room, urged her to wear her dress to the opera, and tried to reassure her about Ron and love.
• Georgiana told Padma that Bonaparte had changed for her and described a tragic opera star and Harry’s parents as examples of people changing for love.
• An attendant summoned Georgiana to the First Consul, and an Imperial Guard escorted her to a billiards room.
• Bonaparte sank a black ball, then beckoned Georgiana over as the Imperial Guard shut the door behind her.

Georgiana discussed prison labor, textile production, trade routes, and Irish migration with Bonaparte and the others. The conversation ended with her stressing standardized weights and measures before Bonaparte guided her through a game of billiards.

• Bowens proposed using prisoners as weavers, but Georgiana warned that prison labor could encourage petty arrests and put girls at risk.
• Langhenhoven and Semonville discussed Britain’s influence over textile production, cotton trade, and shipping routes, prompting Georgiana to consider how the Suez Canal could affect West and North Africa.
• The group discussed Ireland’s economic troubles and plans to take Irish migrants to Antwerp and road-building crews, while Georgiana rejected sending them to build the Suez Canal without better living conditions.
• Langhenhoven raised a proposed canal between Brussels and Charleroi, and Georgiana argued that standardizing weights and measures was a priority.
• Georgiana asked Bonaparte to teach her billiards, and he guided her hand as she played.

Georgiana reflected on slavery, tariffs, and American history while Bonaparte and the congressmen moved between rooms. Aston Martin, Lupe, and a banker arrived to meet Bonaparte, and Lupe’s remark about having no assistants made Bonaparte smile before they resumed billiards.

• Georgiana considered the limits of canals and railways and wondered whether Edgeworth’s recommended steam-engine designer had arrived.
• The chapter examined how tariffs, slave prices, debt, and plantation labor shaped American slavery and compared it with the capture and enslavement of American sailors by North African pirates.
• The narration described Freemasonry and the arguments used to defend slavery, contrasting an orderly slaveholding society with the suffering of families torn apart and sold.
• Bonaparte invited Aston Martin, Lupe, and an Industrial Promotion Bank banker into the room, while Georgiana asked for fruit.
• Lupe said he had no assistants and asked whether Bonaparte might someday end up the same way, prompting Bonaparte to smile as Lupe set up the billiard balls.

Georgiana learned about Lupe’s past as a priest, revolutionary official, and mayor of Brussels, including his conflicts with French authorities over the city walls. During a billiards game, Lupe hinted at his political sympathies and invited Georgiana to a gathering, but she rejected him and demonstrated her magic before he left.

• Georgiana heard how Lupe abandoned the priesthood, rose through Brussels’s administration, and became mayor after building influence through a charity society.
• Lupe protected two merchants who had tried to cut timber from Brussels’s old walls, angering Fouché and leading to his imprisonment in Paris until citizens petitioned for his release.
• While playing billiards, Lupe repeatedly pursued the orange number five ball and hinted that some people still clung to William of Orange’s legacy.
• Lupe asked Georgiana whether necromancy was real and invited her to a gathering, but she refused because using magic before Muggles was against the law.
• Georgiana opened the room’s door with a wave of her hand, astonishing Lupe, who bowed and left while Bonaparte laughed and rested on her lap.

Bonaparte addressed Brussels after the city’s mayoral selection, while Georgiana reflected on soldiers, violence, and the limits of force. After his speech, Bonaparte and Georgiana left the city center by carriage.

• The chapter described Charleroi, Waterloo, and the damaged roads and wartime history of the region.
• The account traced Dumouriez’s victories, suspected mismanagement of French funds, and the rise of Lupe and Langenhoven as candidates for Brussels mayor.
• Bonaparte led the crowd back to city hall after the final ballot, where Langenhoven’s wife and daughters joined him.
• Bonaparte gave a speech about restoring order and prosperity as Georgiana watched the officers and reflected on soldiers and violence.
• Bonaparte finished his speech, took Georgiana’s hand, and left Brussels’s center with her by carriage.

Georgiana explained rules of evidence and the danger of witchcraft prosecutions to Padma, then welcomed Mrs. Langenhoven and her daughters for tea. The chapter left Georgiana considering whether the young girls could be inoculated against smallpox.

• Georgiana explained to Padma how British courts assessed evidence and why testimony from a medium could be admitted under the Witchcraft Act.
• Georgiana described Anna Göldi’s judicial murder and warned Padma that torture could make an innocent person’s confession seem like evidence of guilt.
• Layla du Renard told Georgiana that Mrs. Langenhoven had arrived, and Georgiana left Padma to study before greeting her visitor.
• Mrs. Langenhoven introduced her daughters, Henrietta and Eugenie, to Georgiana, who invited them to join a breakfast tea gathering with French ladies.
• Georgiana thought about smallpox, Jenner’s cowpox vaccine, and whether children as young as Henrietta and Eugenie could be inoculated.

Georgiana stayed at a castle outside Brussels while reflecting on the French Revolution, her memories of Hogwarts, and the dangers facing Henrietta. Before leaving for the Grand Place, she discussed Padma’s ominous feeling and showed her how she had hidden her wand.

• Georgiana considered how Louis XVI might have escaped France and recalled how Jean-Baptiste Drouet had stopped him at Varennes.
• While watching Henrietta eat cake, Georgiana remembered taking Lily and Severus to Hogsmeade and thought about Severus's Christmas surprise.
• Georgiana worried that bringing Henrietta to Paris as a hostage could separate the child from her family.
• Georgiana found Padma studying the Witchcraft Act, and Padma said she had a bad feeling about their trip to the Grand Place.
• Georgiana revealed her wand in a flower bracelet and promised to help Padma hide a wand in a glove as a Christmas present.

Georgiana explained the Witchcraft Act and the legal problems surrounding the accusations against William Coke, including how inadmissible evidence could undermine the case. She and Padma arrived at the crowded square in Brussels, where Georgiana stepped onto the red carpet and headed toward Julien Fountain.

• Georgiana considered the history of witchcraft accusations and the rules governing admissible evidence in William Coke's case.
• Georgiana told Padma that investigators might exhume Elizabeth's body, though any findings would not necessarily prove that William Coke killed Fanny.
• Georgiana noted that William Coke had witnessed Prime Minister Addington secretly meeting with Sir Baring, making the accusations against him politically dangerous.
• Georgiana explained the Witchcraft Act to Padma as their carriage approached the crowded square, and Padma asked whether they would get out alive.
• Georgiana checked Padma's wand, then stepped from the carriage onto the red carpet as the crowd roared.
• The mayor of Brussels led Georgiana toward Julien Fountain, followed by the Bishop of Ghent's niece carrying Julien's clothes beneath golden silk.

Pomona warned Cedric to stop rumors about the Quidditch World Cup from spreading in Hufflepuff, then worried that she had not first asked how he felt. In Belgium, Georgiana gave a speech at a beer-fountain celebration and left Brussels with Richard Edgeworth for their next destination.

• Pomona questioned Cedric about the rumors he had discussed and told him to prevent more talk in the Hufflepuff common room.
• Pomona asked Cedric how he was feeling after his ordeal, and he said he could handle it.
• Georgiana read a speech at a Brussels celebration for the Industrial Promotion Bank and watched the crowd gather beer from Julien's fountain.
• Staff placed a silver-plated raven helmet on Julien, and Georgiana explained its story to Richard Edgeworth in the carriage.
• Georgiana and Edgeworth departed in a grand procession toward their next destination.

Georgiana, Edgeworth, and Padma discussed Irish trade restrictions, the union, and the political unrest tied to Ireland’s volunteer forces. Edgeworth brought them to the Royal Institute of Natural Sciences, where Saint-Hilaire was waiting.

• Georgiana noticed Edgeworth’s blue sash and cautiously asked about the Orange Order.
• Edgeworth described the history of the Irish Volunteers and the political and economic conflicts surrounding Ireland’s trade with Britain.
• Georgiana explained to Padma how tariffs on indigo and cotton cloth shaped the competing interests of British industries.
• Georgiana asked Edgeworth which side Wedgwood had supported, but Edgeworth avoided answering and said they had arrived.
• Edgeworth identified the destination as the Royal Institute of Natural Sciences, where Saint-Hilaire stood on the steps.

Georgiana, Padma, Edgeworth, Saint-Hilaire, and Chaptal toured the Brussels Natural History Museum as the chapter discussed Ireland’s land and trade inequalities, animal cruelty, and the creatures on display. The visit ended with Georgiana questioning whether the enormous Beast of Gévaudan belonged in a natural science museum.

• The chapter described how British laws, absentee landlords, and layers of middlemen left Irish farmers paying high rents for tiny plots of land.
• Georgiana and Padma viewed the museum’s specimens, and Saint-Hilaire explained animal mummies and ancient Egyptian hunting dogs.
• The chapter recounted Martin’s proposal to protect animals and described bull-baiting, bear-baiting, and slaughterhouses in Britain.
• Georgiana criticized Maria’s novels for lecturing readers, and Padma’s amusement faded when she saw the enormous specimen in the next hall.
• Chaptal identified the creature as the Beast of Gévaudan and said it had attacked more than a hundred people; Georgiana wondered why it was displayed in the museum.

Georgiana examined the Beast of Gévaudan specimen as Saint-Hilaire and Chaptal explained its history, the attacks, and the region’s religious past. She then proposed turning the exhibition space into a venue for social gatherings and matchmaking, but the others moved on without relocating the specimen.

• Georgiana questioned Saint-Hilaire about the Beast of Gévaudan’s supposed curse and heard how Pierre Marck’s death was followed by attacks in the region.
• Saint-Hilaire and Chaptal explained that three beasts had existed, that the displayed specimen was the cub, and that the attacks continued after it was captured.
• Chaptal described the Albigensians and the hardship of Gévaudan’s farmers, while Georgiana challenged his comments about the Church and its schools.
• Georgiana proposed redecorating the hall for balls and matchmaking, but Saint-Hilaire objected and Edgeworth praised the shepherd children who had driven off the beast.
• Chaptal led the group to the next exhibition hall, leaving the frightening specimen in place as Padma and Feilier escorted Georgiana along.

Georgiana toured the natural history museum with Edgeworth and discussed its décor before Chaptal introduced her to a new sea-salt soda water made at his son's factory. She suggested names and debated its appeal with the others, ending by wondering whether the museum's rest area should have a bar.

• Georgiana suggested having painters depict the museum's planned decorations to make bidding easier, then asked to rest.
• Chaptal offered Georgiana sea-salt lemon soda water produced at his son's factory and asked her to name it.
• Georgiana proposed Lavender, then Selene, and explained the meanings she associated with the names.
• Lupe doubted ordinary people would appreciate the soda water or its packaging, while Georgiana argued that salted water could quench thirst better in summer.
• Saint-Hilaire ordered soda water and lemons for the group, and Georgiana recalled Severus mixing her a drink in Southampton before considering a bar for the museum.

Georgiana reflected on politics, publishing, class, and her desire for peace while touring a museum with her companions. After Lupe received troubling news and dismissed it as a small matter, Georgiana continued the tour.

• Georgiana considered Brussels's street lighting and the political and patent disputes that delayed the adoption of gas lamps.
• Georgiana recalled the uncertain prospects of émigré nobles and Chateaubriand's rise to fame through Atala.
• Georgiana and Edgeworth discussed Ireland's collapsed reprinting trade and the printers and publishers who had left for Philadelphia and Britain.
• Georgiana reflected on Lily, James Potter, Severus, and the difference between ordinary people and the privileged.
• Georgiana decided to tell Matilda to add a soda water supplier and worried about where Josephine would go if Napoleon fell.
• A young man brought Lupe a message; Lupe called it a small matter, and Georgiana resumed touring the museum.

Georgiana reflected on Irish politics, the Watt and Boulton families, rabies, predators, and the risks of conflict between Muggles and wizards. After Padma asked whether reconciliation was possible, Georgiana could not confidently defend the power of education and waited for the musician to arrive.

• Consulate officials reconsidered the Church after learning about Irish political unrest, the Garcia family, and the pamphlet opposing Ireland's freedom.
• Young James Watt studied in North Germany, fell into debt, and sought help from Matthew Boulton, who later immersed himself in French culture.
• Saint-Hilaire considered whether rabies explained the Gévaudan attacks and wondered where the male wolf was.
• Georgiana supported Martin's Act and asked Duport to perform Bach at the museum.
• Padma asked Georgiana whether Muggles and wizards could reconcile, and Georgiana replied that they could not do so now.

Georgiana reflected on Ireland’s suffering, Britain’s economic history, and the difficulty of rebuilding a country without repeating past failures. After listening to music with Lupe and applauding with Padma at a museum, she left with them for the next location.

• Georgiana considered how British economic policies and crises had contributed to Ireland’s poverty and famine.
• Georgiana recalled the hardships faced by child workers and reformers including Wilberforce, Martin, and Edward Jenner.
• Georgiana thought about whether England could rebuild Ireland without recreating the conditions that had weakened it.
• Georgiana listened to music while watching Lupe, who seemed worried but not anxious.
• Padma nearly pulled her wand from her glove while applauding, then Georgiana, Padma, and the others left the museum by carriage.

Georgiana and Padma traveled to a developing village outside Brussels, where the Freemason Alliance was beginning to build houses. There, Georgiana was astonished to meet a much younger-looking Mrs. Borski, who hinted that a potion had changed her appearance.

• The chapter described how suppressed magic could create Obscurials and recounted the hardships that left some children unable to attend wizarding school.
• The carriage arrived at Metz, a village near Brussels with new workshops, an inn, and a warehouse under construction.
• A wooden walkway led Georgiana to a decorated platform where Mrs. Borski greeted her warmly.
• Georgiana failed to recognize Mrs. Borski, who suggested that a potion had made her look younger.
• Padma questioned Georgiana about the potion, and Georgiana said a French wizard had given it to Mrs. Borski before walking on.