Chapter Summaries

Georgiana considered European trade and political intrigues before meeting Polina, who revealed that Pichegru had come to Paris and that Naples had given Malta to the Tsar. Bonaparte startled Georgiana, and she ended the chapter crying in his arms as he comforted and kissed her.

• Georgiana reflected on British trade, Portugal, Ireland, and the political consequences of European treaties.
• Georgiana met Polina, who said she would go to Milan and blamed Pichegru for putting three thieves up to the previous night's spectacle.
• Polina told Georgiana that Pichegru had been expelled from England, believed Georgiana was responsible, and had gone east.
• Polina revealed that Naples had given Malta to the Tsar, and Bonaparte startled Georgiana with a shout.
• Georgiana threw herself into Bonaparte's arms, admitted she was afraid of what the world would become without people like them, and kissed him.

Georgiana helped Bonaparte dress, confronted him about calling her nothing, and handed him Home Popham’s interrogation record, but he dismissed it and asked her to dance. As she spiraled into worries about her looks and place in his life, Bonaparte tried to comfort her, and the chapter ended with her imagining jewelry she wanted designed.

• Georgiana adjusted Bonaparte’s clothes and asked why he had called her nothing in his letter.
• Georgiana gave Bonaparte Home Popham’s interrogation record, but he tossed it aside and invited her to dance.
• Georgiana reflected on European treaties, colonial boundaries, and Britain’s claims about navigation while dancing with Bonaparte.
• Georgiana began crying and asked Bonaparte whether he would still like her if she stopped being pretty.
• Bonaparte pushed Georgiana away, then leaned close to whisper in her ear as she thought about commissioning mandala-patterned earrings.

Georgiana reflected on historical treaties, sovereignty, and the unequal bargains between nations before Napoleon urged her to use her wand and forget the Statute of Secrecy. Their conversation ended with him leaving after asking whether she wanted his heart, while Georgiana prepared to return to the Seine River Administration.

• The chapter recounted fables about wolves and sheepdogs to illustrate the dangers hidden in apparent peace and security.
• It discussed maritime travel, territorial sovereignty, and the unequal treaties between European powers, including the Methuen Treaty and Treaty of Badajoz.
• Georgiana told Napoleon that the map showed the Iron Curtain and the missing piece of Trieste.
• Napoleon said Talleyrand was a fool for opposing his plan to give Georgiana the Italian State Seal, and Georgiana reminded him of the sword he had given her.
• Napoleon asked Georgiana whether she wanted his heart, then left after she questioned whether he meant to preserve it in an urn.
• Georgiana lay back and planned to return to the Seine River Administration, still unsure who her guardian was or how she would get back after dark.

Georgiana rode with Polina and Dermide after sending the First Consul a cryptic heart-shaped drawing, reflecting on mercy, exile, and her uncertain choices. She asked Polina to take her to Elba before Corsica, and Polina agreed as the three prepared to keep one another company.

• Polina and Dermide collected Georgiana in a carriage guarded by French and British cavalry, and Polina asked Georgiana to pick her up the next day.
• Georgiana reflected on treaties, exile, and the way love and doubt had shaped her choices, recalling that Bonaparte had said she did not exist.
• Georgiana drew a heart-shaped pattern with no solution and sent it to the First Consul through a French cavalryman.
• Georgiana told Polina she loved her brother and asked to visit Elba before going to Corsica, and Polina agreed.
• Polina said she, Georgiana, and Dermide would have to keep each other company, while Dermide declared that he did not play with girls.

Georgiana received a letter from Talleyrand describing his isolation in Belgium and asking when he should act, then sent Mazzi a message by telegraph. She went to bed before continuing her journey the next day, troubled by the balance of power and Bonaparte’s decision to give Malta to the tsar.

• The chapter recounted Alexander’s rise, Philip’s victory over the Greek allies, and the Corinthian League’s destruction of Thebes after its revolt.
• Georgiana returned to her lodgings at the Seine River Administration, where Feilier gave her Talleyrand’s letter from Brussels.
• Talleyrand described his isolation, reflected on waiting for the right moment, and asked Georgiana when that moment would come.
• Georgiana decided that one of Talleyrand’s two bowstrings had snapped and told Feilier to send a note to Mazzi by telegraph to Lille.
• Georgiana worried about the balance of power and Bonaparte giving Malta to the tsar, then went to sleep before her journey continued.

Georgiana considered the limits of river navigation and her uncertain status in France, then arranged how unclaimed bodies from Dashate would be handled. She left the Seine River Administration with Napoleon’s sword and planned to use clothes and a tricorne hat of the First Consul as she set out to meet him.

• Georgiana reflected on Scythia’s ties to Macedonia and the military and diplomatic obstacles facing Alexander’s Danube campaign.
• She reviewed how riparian states controlled river navigation and how Spain, France, Britain, and America used licenses, tariffs, and exemptions.
• Georgiana recognized that her British passport gave her little protection and considered gaining French nationality through marriage.
• After finding a document asking where to relocate the morgue from Dashate, Georgiana ordered that bodies be publicly listed and preserved for ten days before being sent to medical schools and buried.
• Georgiana told Feilier to deliver her instructions, then asked a clerk to obtain the First Consul’s clothes and tricorne hat while she waited in her carriage.
• Georgiana left the Seine River Administration carrying only Napoleon’s sword and set out to meet him.

Georgiana prepared to leave with Polina, received Bonaparte’s clothes and hat along with a letter explaining his political outlook and affection for her, and met the doctor accompanying her journey. She boarded the carriage as the Sharp system on Saint-Sulpice Church’s north tower glowed in the distance.

• Georgiana waited while Polina and the servants loaded their extensive luggage into the carriages.
• Georgiana reflected on Prussia’s naval history, education, river rights, and the consequences of unchecked resource use.
• Bouillon-Lagrange delivered Bonaparte’s hat, sash, sword buckle, and hunting clothes to Georgiana.
• Georgiana read Bonaparte’s letter about Europe’s political divisions, the uncertain future, and his affection for her.
• Georgiana met Doctor Bouillon-Lagrange, saw the Sharp system on Saint-Sulpice Church’s north tower glowing, and boarded her carriage.

Georgiana rode through Paris toward Les Invalides while reflecting on Bonaparte, the fragile peace, and France’s colonial history. She read about Richelieu in the carriage and began telling Dermide the story aloud.

• Georgiana carried Bonaparte’s clothes as the carriage passed crowds gathered to mark the end of peace negotiations.
• The carriage passed Les Invalides and the Beauharnais residence, where Georgiana noticed the crippled honor guard and looked toward Place de la Concorde.
• Georgiana considered France’s sugar supply and traced the history of the French East India Company, from its early ventures through its collapse and revival.
• Georgiana thought about her proposed exchange of Malta for reciprocal freedom of navigation, which she had sent as a message.
• Georgiana read a biography of Richelieu in the carriage, then offered to read it aloud to Dermide.

Georgiana stopped at the abandoned Alfort National Veterinary School and considered how veterinarians and their work would be drawn into war. She left with thoughts of Portuguese diplomacy, Brazil, and asking Istanbul to find information about Mountain Demons and the Jiyin People.

• Georgiana inspected the derelict veterinary school and reflected on animal epidemics, medical training, and the fate of veterinarians in wartime.
• Georgiana took Turkish delight from her handbag and thought of Bonaparte, then recalled Alexander von Humboldt’s unfinished study of a Brazilian meteorite.
• Georgiana considered Miot de Mélito’s appointment to Lisbon and the Portuguese royal family’s secret agreement with Britain to flee to Brazil.
• Georgiana reflected on Brazil’s trade, sugar, salt, and folk beliefs, including Curupira, the forest guardian with backward-growing legs.
• Georgiana left the campus and remembered to ask Istanbul’s book society for materials on Mountain Demons and the Jiyin People.

Georgiana spent a sleepless night reading about Caribbean colonial conflicts, slavery, Mediterranean trade, and French finances while considering how to establish ports in the eastern Mediterranean without becoming embroiled in Ottoman affairs. She ended the night by getting up to read more before the journey to Troyes.

• Georgiana read about Dutch privateering, Tobago’s competing colonial claims, and the shifting control of Caribbean islands.
• Georgiana reflected on slavery, plantation labor, and her plan to use the Portuguese port-and-warehouse model in the eastern Mediterranean.
• Georgiana considered changing trade routes and the declining importance of spices, while remembering Napoleon’s experiences in Egypt.
• Georgiana worried about French finances, the East India Company’s royal revenues, and the political history behind Bagatelle Garden.
• Georgiana could not sleep, so she got up to read and planned to rest in the carriage on the smoother road to Troyes.

Georgiana prepared to receive the people of Sens and attended a lavish breakfast despite her misgivings about feasting during a famine. She used Saint Louis’s reputation for frugality to signal her discomfort to the mayor and left the possibility of a closer look at the city’s circumstances open.

• Bertin dressed Georgiana for breakfast, and Georgiana asked her to replace a feather ornament because the feast felt inappropriate amid famine.
• Georgiana entered the banquet hall, where Polina, Catherina, and Catherina’s companion were already gathered, while Dermide ate separately with his nanny.
• Denon introduced the mayor of Sens, and Georgiana welcomed him and invited him to dine with them.
• After hearing about Sens’s history, Georgiana mixed water into her wine and toasted Saint Louis, prompting the mayor to grow uneasy.
• Georgiana asked the mayor to walk with her later so she could learn more about the harmonious city.

Georgiana traveled from Sens to Troyes, reflecting on local churches, politics, and the unrest surrounding Moreau. After receiving two letters, she wrote to Leon about her visit, Richelieu, Talleyrand, and beet sugar, then listened to Troyes’s bells.

• Georgiana funded restoration work in Sens and the rebuilding of Alfort Veterinary Hospital before traveling toward Troyes.
• On the road, Georgiana told Polina that rivers and tributaries mattered because floods could come from anywhere.
• Georgiana arrived in Troyes and received two letters from a Messenger from Paris, including Cheroni’s letter to Moreau urging him to help Italians resist Napoleon.
• Georgiana read the second letter, then had Feilier prepare writing supplies so she could reply to Leon.
• Georgiana wrote Leon about her visit to Sens, Richelieu’s treaty, Talleyrand’s possible move to Rome, and her plan to develop beet sugar, then sent the letter away.

Georgiana heard Bougainville’s report about Gibraltar’s defenses, its disgruntled garrison, and Spain’s concern that Britain planned to expand toward a nearby village with fresh water. After considering how language and history shaped the present, she summoned the next person.

• Georgiana showed Bougainville the intercepted letter and asked him what was happening in Gibraltar.
• Bougainville explained Gibraltar’s history, the garrison’s boredom and resistance to Governor Charles Bennett’s reforms, and Britain’s worries about a possible Spanish attack.
• Georgiana asked about the monkeys and New Tower, and Bougainville said Spain feared Britain would settle the garrison’s families near the village’s fresh water.
• Bougainville thanked Georgiana because he had won a bet about when she would ask him for the information.
• Georgiana reflected on French replacing Latin as an official language and on old court artifacts before ringing for Oksana to bring the next person.

Georgiana learned about Troyes’s history and churches before setting out for Chatillon, reflecting on war, loyalty, and the Wizarding World she missed. Her journey toward Italy continued through worsening mountain snow, leaving her wondering how Murat’s letters crossed between Paris and Milan.

• Georgiana planned to use the bells of Troyes’s remaining churches as alarms and sent someone to Paris to discuss colored glass for Vulcan Palace.
• Georgiana and her companions left for Chatillon, where she recalled the town’s Revolutionary battles and the history of Renard’s betrayal of Saladin.
• Georgiana thought about leaving Wuthering Heights because Isobel was innocent, while longing for Hogwarts and its familiar sights.
• Catherina spotted Lausanne and the snow-covered Alps from the window, and Georgiana realized the mountain route might be impassable.

Georgiana and her companions traveled from Lausanne through the Alps toward the Great St Bernard Pass, taking a scenic route with hot springs and mountain villages. After receiving a letter from Paris about Britain, France, and Murat, Georgiana replied with news of their journey and continued toward the pass.

• Captain Delait explained the trade route through the Alps, and Polina persuaded the others to visit a secluded hot spring.
• Georgiana found Dermide alone beside the water and hurriedly carried him away from the pond.
• After two days at Archduke Carl's estate, the group set out on wooden tracks through the mountains and stopped at Martigny, Sembrancher, and Orsières.
• Catherina developed mild altitude sickness after visiting the spring and recovered after two days of rest.
• Georgiana received a letter from Paris describing the threat of war with Britain and plans to close the port of Porto.
• Georgiana replied about their travels and Catherina's health, then boarded the carriage for the Great St Bernard Pass.

Georgiana’s party traveled through the Alps toward Aosta, where they were stopped by bandits demanding a huge payment. The bandits left after meeting Georgiana, and the chapter ended with Denon shutting the carriage door without answering her.

• Georgiana reflected on Tsar Alexander’s ambitions and continued her journey through the Alps with Catherina and Polina.
• Georgiana and Polina rested for a day in Aosta, where they visited a well-preserved Roman amphitheater.
• A shrill whistle alerted Georgiana’s party to bandits, and Delait reported that they would speak only with Madame Sèvres.
• Georgiana met two apparent Bohemian bandits, one of whom called himself Cartouche and demanded to see her.
• The bandits demanded two hundred thousand francs and threatened to kidnap the party for ransom if Denon refused to pay.
• The bandits rode away, and Denon shut the carriage door without responding to Georgiana.

Georgiana confronted the Robbers who had trapped her convoy near Nurmengard and used a Mountain-Moving Charm to bury their charging force in an avalanche. She left the survivors’ rescue to the Robbers who had blocked the retreat, giving them one last chance.

• Polina told Georgiana that the Robbers had cut off their way back, and Georgiana realized they wanted more than money.
• Georgiana returned to Rhett Butler and warned him to take his men and leave, then changed into men’s clothes and sent the Chasseurs to scout the Robbers’ camp.
• Georgiana rode with the Chasseurs to a snowy slope near Chatillon and completed the incantation for the Mountain-Moving Charm as the Robbers charged.
• Georgiana sent an avalanche across the charging men and horses, then told Delait to have the Robbers blocking their retreat help rescue the buried survivors.

Georgiana explored an underground lake in the Alps and took a small red stone that radiated a powerful force, despite being warned about the rules. She concealed the chamber and left with the stone, planning to ask Nicolas Flamel to study it.

• Georgiana entered the underground lake and followed a metallic clanging sound deeper into the cave.
• She found a naturally formed red stone radiating the strange force she had sensed in the mountains.
• Dumbledore appeared beside the lake and reminded Georgiana that she knew the rules.
• Georgiana took a pigeon’s-egg-sized piece of the stone, causing the cave to tremble and dust to cloud the lake.
• She concealed the stone chamber, cast a Muggle-Repelling Charm, and left with the stone to seek Nicolas Flamel’s help.

As the convoy left the mountain, Georgiana reflected on treaties, maritime freedom, and the fragility of happiness before offering Dermide a retired rescue dog for companionship. Feeling isolated by Polina and Dermide’s closeness, she wrote to Bonaparte, but Catherina’s interruption left her reading instead.

• Georgiana saw a man on horseback watching the carriage leave and considered how consent shaped peace and treaties.
• Georgiana reflected on the arguments over the Closed Sea and the Sea of Liberty, Britain’s trade restrictions, and Bennett’s unpopularity.
• Georgiana thought about Pomona’s fragile happiness with Severus and her recurring mistakes, then asked Dermide if he wanted a retired Saint Bernard.
• Dermide agreed to take an old rescue dog after asking whether it would die like his father, and Polina embraced him.
• Feeling left out as Polina and Dermide held each other, Georgiana wrote to Bonaparte, but Catherina interrupted her and Georgiana turned to a book.

Georgiana reflected on international law and the claim of universal jurisdiction as the International Confederation of Wizards investigated the treasure cavern uncovered in the Alps. She and Feilier emerged from the mountains onto a vast plain, where the open landscape offered an uncertain freedom of movement.

• Georgiana considered how universal jurisdiction could let Britain intervene in France’s case against Grindelwald and how Julian Ouvrard might use the principle in Italy.
• The International Confederation of Wizards arrived to examine the mountain site Georgiana had revealed.
• The Lombard goblins claimed the ice-sealed treasure cavern as an ancestral city, while French wizards claimed its contents for France.
• Georgiana reflected on the competing traditions shaping the Southern Alps Republic and on the ocean’s indifference to human history.
• Feilier excitedly linked arms with Georgiana as they left the mountains and reached a broad plain.