Chapter Summaries

Georgiana toured the Imperial Academy, considered its language program and scholarships, then received troubling news about France’s finances and Napoleon’s decisions. As she prepared to tear down Brussels’s walls and pave an avenue through contracted labor, a letter from the First Consul arrived just after she comforted Matilda.

• Georgiana enjoyed a tour and luncheon at the Imperial Academy of Arts and Sciences and considered funding a scholarship for an interpreting student.
• At the French Embassy, Georgiana learned that France faced a severe deficit, Napoleon had waived tariffs, and securities used to buy grain might not be redeemed.
• Georgiana reflected on British law, prison labor, and the limits of her authority, then decided to have Brussels’s city walls demolished and the rubble used to pave Brussels Avenue.
• Margarita showed Georgiana her henna designs, and Georgiana embraced Matilda and promised she would not let anything terrible happen to her.
• Feilier delivered a letter from the First Consul, and Georgiana accepted it.

Georgiana read a letter reflecting on a bereaved soldier’s wife, ambition, and the dangerous role she had assigned Georgiana, then struggled with how to answer its unknown sender. She warned Feilier that selling Louisiana could lead to renewed war and slave trading, while Feilier challenged Georgiana to stop avoiding practical choices about her future.

• Georgiana read a letter about a German soldier’s widow who chose to raise her child alone, and the writer compared her devotion with Josephine’s and Georgiana’s ambition.
• Georgiana discovered the letter was burning, put out the flames, and learned from Feilier that an Aachen farmer had delivered it.
• Georgiana decided to attend a concert because Mr. Duport would be there, despite Feilier’s concern about her keeping many secret documents.
• Georgiana told Feilier that France was short 26 million Francs and that selling Louisiana could enable slave trading and lead Europe back into war.
• Georgiana questioned Feilier about accepting favors and urged her to be cautious, then explained her insecurity at court and difficulty becoming pregnant.
• Feilier challenged Georgiana to make practical efforts toward having a child, and Georgiana angrily left the lounge.

At a concert, Georgiana wrestled with Bonaparte’s accusation that she had lied and wrote him an emotional letter she did not send. After encountering the adopted daughter of the former Duchess of Abar, she returned to her box and wondered whether anyone would remember her if she disappeared.

• Georgiana reflected on her past meetings with Bonaparte and worried that her interference had helped spread rumors about witch hunters.
• Captain Nightingale asked Georgiana where Bonaparte was, and she told him what she knew from the letter.
• During intermission, Padma gave Georgiana spices, and Georgiana wrote Bonaparte a letter expressing her hurt and asking him not to forget her.
• Georgiana crossed out the letter’s final sentence and put the draft away to revise later.
• Georgiana bumped into the adopted daughter of the former Duchess of Abar, then realized she had left her brass sphere of spices behind.
• Back in her box, Georgiana thought of Leta Lestrange, Severus, and whether anyone would remember her if she ceased to exist.

Georgiana reflected on hearsay, circumstantial evidence, and the dangers of unreliable accusations as she considered William Coke’s case and Harry’s suspicion of Draco Malfoy. After burning a reply, she was confronted by Charlotte, who made her copy a letter intended to help track down Boli.

• The chapter contrasted the unreliable evidence in William Coke’s case and witch trials with the risks of accusing someone without proof, including Harry’s accusation against Draco Malfoy.
• Georgiana returned to her quarters and burned a reply, then felt too weak to stand steadily.
• Charlotte entered Georgiana’s room and asked whether she had replied to Boli.
• Charlotte left a folded note on the table and told Georgiana to copy its letter so people could use it to find Boli.
• Georgiana copied the letter while glancing at the burned paper and feeling like a liar.

Georgiana and Charlotte discussed Napoleon, jewels, and the prospect of Georgiana finding a new residence in Belgium. Their search for Madame de La Rochefoucauld ended when they caught the woman they had rescued trying to steal jewelry, and Georgiana demanded her identity.

• Charlotte told Georgiana how Josephine had acquired an expensive pearl necklace and recounted Buliang's resignation after a clash with Napoleon.
• Charlotte probed Georgiana about her relationship with Bonaparte and persuaded her to show her jewelry.
• As they walked to find Madame de La Rochefoucauld, Charlotte advised Georgiana to restore a palace for her new residence.
• Charlotte kicked open a door and found the rescued woman trying to steal jewels while carrying a bundle and a dagger.
• Georgiana cast Reparo to restore the damaged room and demanded that the woman identify herself.

Georgiana captured Betty, a bandit posing as a victim, and planned to use her to lure the rest of the gang into a trap. After Charlotte warned her about Saint Merry and rumors of a plot against him, Georgiana struggled to write the truth about her feelings and went to check on Madame de La Rochefoucauld.

• Georgiana learned through Veritaserum that Betty belonged to a murderous bandit gang and had been using victims as bait for years.
• Georgiana handed Betty and the plan to trap the other bandits to Chabert, then let Charlotte choose a jewel as a reward.
• Charlotte wore Georgiana's emerald necklace and, while drinking with her, questioned her spending, her ties to Napoleon, and rumors that she was a spy.
• Charlotte warned Georgiana that Saint Merry might be exploiting their parties and said General Junot planned to kill him.
• Georgiana considered writing the truth about Charles but hesitated over how to send the letter safely.
• Georgiana abandoned the letter and went to visit Madame de La Rochefoucauld, realizing she lacked a doctor to treat her.

Georgiana reflected on sympathy, escape, and the pain she had witnessed before ordering Alice to stay with her injured mother. She left Langenhoven’s proposal to build a prison and settlement outside Brussels unresolved, wandering without knowing where to go.

• Georgiana overheard Alice weeping beside Madame de La Rochefoucauld and wondered whether her own sympathy had made people take advantage of her.
• Georgiana recalled her visions of Napoleon, Pomona’s past, and Albus’s suffering, then spoke with a youth who vanished after she asked about his family and Aberforth.
• Alice emerged demanding revenge, but Georgiana refused to let her join the pursuit and ordered her to care for her parents.
• Langenhoven told Georgiana that Lupe planned to resign and proposed building a prison outside Brussels for him to manage, with a settlement for people driven from the forest.
• Georgiana rejected the conversation and walked away without a destination.

Georgiana struggled to sleep after Betty’s failed attempt to bring her accomplices to the castle, then drafted a letter to Bonaparte about anonymous virtue, fame, and the need for rules. After Charlotte offered to connect her friends with construction work, Georgiana revised the letter and went to find Duroc.

• The Mamluks searched for the people meant to receive Betty but found no one, and Betty was handed over to the Belgian police for questioning.
• Georgiana lay awake and began writing to Bonaparte about Betty’s attack, anonymous citizens, and the restraints needed to keep ambition from becoming destructive.
• Charlotte read Georgiana’s letter, challenged her views on fame and profit, and asked her to help her construction-worker friends find work.
• Charlotte warned Georgiana not to mention Venice, and Georgiana revised the letter before going to find Duroc.

Georgiana reflected on Prussia’s laws and political decline while considering the dangers of corruption and public distrust. Rather than wait for Bonaparte’s reply, she decided to seek inspiration for raising the 26 million Franc needed for her plans.

• Georgiana considered how Prussian law upheld noble privileges despite its language of equality, as Prussia’s finances and prestige declined under Frederick William II.
• After Betty was arrested, hundreds of citizens reported missing relatives and suspected highway robberies to the Brussels police.
• Georgiana noted that Napoleon had provided 200,000 Franc for the road, sparing her involvement in the Brussels Council’s dispute over prison funding.
• Georgiana thought about public distrust of royal extravagance and the soldiers remembered by Napoleon.
• Georgiana decided to go out and look for inspiration instead of waiting for Bonaparte’s reply, hoping to find a way to raise 26 million Franc.

Georgiana visited a farm near Laeken Castle and inspected a castle being converted into a bank. As she considered how to borrow enough money to repay the twenty-six million Franc bonds, she wondered who should pay to expand the crowded offices.

• Georgiana watched farmers pen pigs and feed them beet pulp at a farm near Laeken Castle.
• She considered the livelihoods of Belgian farmers, their clothing, and the burdens of rent and taxes.
• Georgiana rode to the garden near Tervuren Castle and considered building a road and protecting cash wagons traveling through the forest.
• She entered the castle and saw that workers had turned its ballroom into a busy banking hall with language sections and service desks.
• Georgiana noticed the bank lacked Spanish and Russian sections and had too few rooms, and she debated whether the bankers or she should fund an expansion.

Georgiana discussed France’s grain debts and the Louisiana Purchase with Krete, then realized the new bank needed better security. After learning that the Duke of Avaray was in Brussels, she decided to visit him despite her riding clothes.

• Georgiana reflected that selling Louisiana could help France repay its debts and that war might soon break out.
• Georgiana asked Krete about the cost of grain purchases and learned that the First Consul had bought British grain in anticipation of a crisis.
• Georgiana noticed a carriage passing through the woods and asked Krete whether the bank grounds were safe from thieves and bandits.
• Krete explained his experience with infrastructure and asked Georgiana whether she knew why the Duke of Avaray had come to Brussels.
• Georgiana declined Krete’s offer to accompany her, then left to visit the duke’s family despite being dressed for riding.

Georgiana rode into the forest after sensing danger and unleashed powerful wandless magic, uprooting a tree before restoring it. She left the forest with a bloody nose and uncertain whether she had exhausted her magic.

• Georgiana encountered Saihe’s bank clerk and reflected on Bourrienne’s fall from favor and the risks of losing Napoleon’s protection.
• Georgiana worried that the Grim still appeared in her tea stains and decided not to return, telling her companions to follow the church bells.
• Georgiana galloped through the forest, where panicked animals fled and her horse stopped; she fell, then rose and tried to make the trees float.
• Georgiana’s wandless magic lifted leaves and branches and uprooted a tree, after which she used her wand to return the fallen tree to its place.
• Carolan offered to wipe the witnesses’ memories, but Georgiana left the choice to him; one tree toppled again, and Georgiana failed to move it with Levicorpus.
• A black dog barked at Georgiana, who discovered blood on her hand from her nose and noticed that the sky seemed brighter.

Georgiana encountered homeless people resisting an official’s efforts to move them into shelters and then met Rutger, who was assessing land for a proposed prison. They went to a former abbey now owned by a banker, where Rutger showed her maps of land available for auction, sale, or lease.

• Georgiana saw homeless residents distrust an official’s promise that they would not be forcibly conscripted if they accepted shelter.
• Rutger told Georgiana that a prison was planned and showed her a list of vacant land, prompting them to look elsewhere.
• Rutger led Georgiana to a former abbey estate, where she met Philippa and explained that she was a woman named Christine.
• Rutger spread out a map showing land awaiting auction, plots available for sale or long-term lease, and former church properties whose future use was undecided.
• Georgiana drank sparkling wine with Rutger and praised it as tasting like Champagne.

Georgiana discussed Paris’s public spaces, political authority, and the danger of Vilvoorde Prison’s typhoid outbreak with Laggett. Their conversation was interrupted when a gunshot sounded and an attack began.

• Georgiana examined a map of former religious and charitable properties and considered how their destruction had left poor people without shelter.
• Laggett discussed Napoleon’s plans for opening private spaces to the public and the risks of political conspiracies.
• Georgiana and Laggett debated popular sovereignty, public decisions, and the urgent need to address typhoid at Vilvoorde Prison.
• Laggett heard a noise outside, and a gunshot rang out.
• Someone shouted that there was an assassin, and gunfire erupted.

Georgiana helped repel an attack on the manor and learned that the robbers had targeted her, though they had mistaken Philippa for her. After sending word to Langenhoven and Lupe, she withdrew to a room and fell asleep, exhausted.

• Georgiana transformed the manor's iron fences into spiked barriers and tried to control the gate as the attack unfolded.
• Forest guards arrived, and Georgiana persuaded many of the attackers to surrender while the Mamluks subdued the rest.
• Georgiana and a forest guard found Philippa crying in Laget's arms in the wine cellar, where Laget said she had been nearly kidnapped.
• Georgiana learned that Beckland's band of robbers had targeted her but mistaken Philippa for her, and she suspected Beckland would retaliate.
• Georgiana sent a Messenger to Langenhoven and Lupe, then lay down alone and fell asleep.

Georgiana reflected on growing up, guilt, and her desire to help others before waking in the castle where poachers had been held. Duroc brought her a letter, but Georgiana refused to read it and left the castle with him.

• Georgiana told Albus she wanted to grow up and help people, and said she no longer thought Severus's mistake was unforgivable.
• Georgiana woke in the castle used to hold poachers, where Duroc had brought her a letter.
• Georgiana compared the rival interests in Botsford, Watermere, and Oldheim to a story about a bishop, a king, and a rich man ordering a soldier to kill the others.
• Duroc said Georgiana's promise to spare the invaders might anger someone who doted on her, but Georgiana insisted she would keep it.
• Georgiana refused to open the letter and hurried out of the castle, ordering Duroc to leave with her.

Georgiana wrestled with worry and uncertainty after Padma abruptly left for Britain, and reflected on Bonaparte’s risks, kingship, and the meaning of hope. She returned to her room without opening Duroc’s letter, deciding to bathe before reading it.

• Georgiana hesitated to open Duroc’s letter while thinking about how difficult it was for information to travel between Aachen and Brussels.
• Margarita told Georgiana that Padma was leaving for Britain with Mr. William Coke, and Georgiana hurried downstairs to see her off.
• Padma reassured Georgiana that she could protect herself with magic, urged Georgiana to stay safe, and departed by carriage into the forest.
• Georgiana thanked Margarita for alerting her in time to say farewell, then returned to her bedroom and reflected on Bonaparte’s compassion toward plague patients and the uncertainty of hope.
• Georgiana recalled Article Eighty-Seven of the Gryffindor Code, decided she could do little beyond blessing Padma, and went to bathe without opening the letter.

Georgiana reflected on human nature, political privilege, and Josephine’s fear that she might threaten her position beside Bonaparte. After Georgiana emerged from the bath, Charlotte Golding surprised her with a love letter and teased her about it.

• Georgiana considered how desire and self-interest shaped people, comparing Harry Potter’s choice to help Cedric with Voldemort’s willingness to take what he wanted.
• Georgiana reflected on the French Revolution, the relationship between rights and duties, and how Napoleon’s conscription had changed social inequalities.
• Georgiana considered Josephine’s fear that Georgiana could threaten her status, despite Georgiana’s belief that she could not bear children.
• Georgiana heard someone beyond the screen, summoned her bathrobe, and knocked the screen over to confront Charlotte Golding.
• Charlotte handed Georgiana a letter and called it a proper love letter, and Georgiana snatched it before sitting down to read.

Georgiana read Bonaparte’s letter and reflected on love, suffering, justice, and the pursuit of happiness, thinking about Voldemort and Albus Dumbledore. The chapter ended with her leaving a lipstick mark on a handkerchief that looked like blood in the candlelight.

• Bonaparte’s letter described the Church’s duties, Rustam’s hopes for family life, and his promise to protect the woman he loved.
• Georgiana set the letter down and wondered what Bonaparte meant by his “secret garden.”
• Georgiana reflected on immortality, suffering, Voldemort, and whether people could rely on justice when divine rewards and punishments were absent.
• Georgiana considered Albus Dumbledore’s lost chance at family life and how people pursued what they could not regain.
• Georgiana pressed her lips to a handkerchief and remembered a cold cave she had once shared with Pomona and Severus.

Georgiana watched a black Shadow emerge from a pool of blood and was carried through a strange vision involving Sirius Black’s tattoo, an ancient symbol, and a library. After dreaming of happiness and encountering a girl with a Habsburg jaw, she woke to find the Shadow gone and cursed the forces behind her visions.

• Georgiana saw a black dog and a humanoid Shadow fight over blood from her handkerchief, and the dog transformed into a tattooed man.
• She recalled James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus, and Pomona discussing Sirius’s tattoo, then connected its design to the Egyptian Djed Pillar.
• A Shadow pulled Georgiana into a blood-colored pool, carried her to a library where two figures watched her, and took her away as Mozart’s Requiem played.
• Georgiana heard a voice ask whether she wanted revenge against the world, then dreamed of a garden, ice cream, and a girl named Georgiana sharing candy.
• Georgiana woke to find the Shadow and blood gone, vanished the handkerchief, and cursed the general whose influence had drained her happiness.