Chapter Summaries

Georgiana considered the legal and political dangers surrounding the conflict in Italy as she traveled with Catherina, Polina, and Dermide. She arrived in Novara, where Piedmont gendarmerie commander Dubois welcomed her and offered his protection.

• Georgiana reviewed the limits on Scamander's travel and her own rights as a British citizen, including the possibility of losing her citizenship.
• Georgiana reasoned that the situation in Italy did not justify an emergency arrest and reflected on the war, the refugees, and the use of dark magic in the Alps.
• The carriage carrying Georgiana and her companions arrived in Novara, near Milan.
• Georgiana entered her temporary quarters in a red-brick fortress and met Dubois, commander of the Piedmont gendarmerie.

Georgiana settled uneasily into Novara Castle and questioned Dubois about unrest, taxation, and Turin’s plans. After riding with him to view the city and its bridge, she remained focused on the suspected double agent and wondered whether her memories of the future were wrong.

• Georgiana rejected Oksana’s suggestion that they leave Novara, while Mary angrily walked away.
• Georgiana summoned Dubois and learned about Piedmont’s political tensions, Murat’s dispute with General Trelier, and the effects of the cadastre and interrupted British steel deliveries.
• Dubois refused to give Georgiana a military map of Turin but offered to take her there.
• Georgiana rode with Dubois to view Turin’s bridge, urban plan, and Villa della Regina.
• Georgiana considered the city’s design and questioned whether she had remembered the bridge near Les Invalides correctly.

Georgiana considered the practical challenges of building a bridge over the Po and the conflict between French reforms and local land customs. As she weighed a possible scholarly exchange with the University of Turin and reflected on colonial land policies, a Messenger arrived with letters.

• Georgiana recorded her observations of the Po River and assessed the proposed bridge site, materials, and engineering requirements.
• Georgiana considered the difficulties of imposing the French cadastre in Piedmont and thought about sending Turin’s surveyors and professors to France.
• Georgiana considered asking Catherine Bonaparte to arrange an exchange of scholars with the University of Turin, while wondering whether she and the children could go to Milan.
• Georgiana reflected on land ownership and colonial rule, including Cornwallis’s settlement in Bengal.
• Georgiana touched the two pendants around her neck as footsteps sounded, and a Messenger entered carrying a stack of letters.

Georgiana read Talleyrand’s letter and a soil mechanics manuscript from Charles Bennett, then considered the political danger of Napoleon’s gift of Piedmont to Sardinia. After receiving Napoleon’s furious warning about a planned uprising and the deployment of Swiss troops, she asked Aligi to help her write a reply.

• Georgiana read Talleyrand’s letter, which relayed Fawkes’s question about whether a French-built ship owned by Britain belonged to France or Britain.
• Georgiana studied Charles Bennett’s manuscript on soil mechanics, including its analysis of the Leaning Tower of Pisa’s foundations.
• Georgiana worried that Napoleon’s gift of Piedmont could leave Sardinia exposed and give Britain time to move its Mediterranean forces.
• Georgiana read Napoleon’s letter accusing her methods of being improper and harmful and threatening to treat her as a traitor if rumors spread that he ruled by witchcraft.
• Aligi told Georgiana that Napoleon still loved her, and she demanded useful advice before asking him to help compose her reply.

Georgiana considered the Alpine region’s people, transport, and tourism while managing the fallout from the Turin construction-site trouble and Napoleon’s anger. She put away Charles Bennett’s paper and left the office, still dressed as a woman and uncertain how much longer she could protect herself.

• Georgiana reflected on Mont Blanc’s migrant culture, its literate shepherds, and the mounted chasseurs’ loyalty to Napoleon.
• Georgiana promoted mountaineering guides about avalanche dangers and arranged for gendarmes to watch the crowded Turin construction site.
• Georgiana concluded that only Napoleon could command Murat, who was likely to disobey, and remained prepared to seek out the Swiss.
• Georgiana reviewed Charles Bennett’s proposals on soil classification, drainage, roads, and desalination, including their possible use on Perim Island.
• Georgiana put away Bennett’s paper, left the office, and continued wearing women’s clothes despite being alone among the women and maids.

Georgiana confronted Melzi over Italy’s constitutional future and urged him to establish a gendarmerie to defend constitutional order. When she learned Murat planned to arrest Captain Cheroni, she set out to intervene with Dubois and Augereau.

• Georgiana told Lestrange to handle the Goblins’ doubts as Britain had handled its Goblin Rebellion.
• Catherina brought Vice President Melzi and General Terlier to meet Georgiana at the gendarmerie.
• Terlier explained Napoleon’s orders to reorganize defenses and report how bandits reached the trade route, and Georgiana told him to describe events accurately.
• Melzi asked whether France would annex Italy, and Georgiana argued that constitutional order and shared values protected freedom.
• Melzi warned that Murat planned to send General Lechi to arrest Captain Cheroni, so Georgiana took Bonaparte’s clothes and the Regent Diamond sword and summoned Augereau before leaving with Dubois.

Georgiana confronted Murat in Milan and ordered him to withdraw his command, then led an armed force to La Scala Opera House to capture Cheroni. After firing blank rounds to frighten those inside, she sent Augereau and the soldiers into the theater, leaving the operation unresolved.

• Georgiana arrived at Murat's residence with Melzi and presented Napoleon's clothes as proof that she represented the First Consul, ordering Murat to recall Lechi.
• Murat agreed to bring cannons to La Scala Opera House, where Georgiana's forces surrounded the theater and demanded that Cheroni come out.
• When people inside refused to surrender, Murat's artillery fired four volleys of blank rounds that shattered the theater windows and silenced the occupants.
• Augereau put on a gendarme's coat and entered the theater with the soldiers while Georgiana waited outside with Murat.

Georgiana tried to confine the opera-house crowd humanely and arrange lawful arrests after the Milan riots, but found that the South-of-the-Mountains Republic lacked an effective police force. As Italian honor guards were replaced by Chasseurs, she formed a new plan and summoned Aligi to help carry it out.

• Georgiana ordered that the opera-house prisoners be kept in decent conditions and told the manager to arrange separate rooms, food, and water without releasing anyone.
• Police questioning connected Cheroni to Bologna magistrate Magenta, salon hostess Greta de Lors, and legislator Cicognara.
• Georgiana considered how to arrest Magenta and the others through Italian institutions, but found no suitable police force and asked Polina to find a way to call Murat back.
• Georgiana watched the damaged opera house and weighed the need for procedural justice against Napoleon’s influence and the force used to suppress the unrest.
• Chasseurs replaced the Italian honor guard outside the bank, and Georgiana summoned Aligi to consider having the trained guards invite the suspects in.

Georgiana reviewed the people connected to Milan’s disturbance and questioned Leopoldo Cicognara, who denied replying to Captain Cheroni’s letters. She let him return home under restricted movement and ordered him watched while she searched the Digest for legal guidance.

• Georgiana reviewed files on Pio Magenta, Leopoldo Cicognara, and several prominent women connected to Milan’s political and social circles.
• An honor guard brought Cicognara to Marino Palace, where he greeted Georgiana flirtatiously and said Cheroni had written to him but he had never replied.
• Georgiana told Cicognara he was suspected of participating in a disturbance and restricted him to his residence until the investigation ended.
• After Cicognara left, Georgiana ordered Aligi to have policemen watch him.
• Georgiana took out Bonaparte’s Digest and looked for a comparable case to guide her investigation.

Georgiana discussed the case against Cicognara and her plans to develop a cotton-processing trade with Murat. Murat left with her letter for an engineer in Turin and asked her to lend him two hundred thousand, while Georgiana remained intent on bringing Cicognara back to France.

• Georgiana studied an Italian roads map and reviewed the history of Naples and the Bourbon rulers.
• Murat questioned Georgiana about why she had not arrested Cicognara, and she explained that the letters did not prove his guilt and that she had ordered him to stay home.
• Murat told Georgiana that Cicognara had helped bring about the King of Savoy's abdication and had secretly met Napoleon after leaving Genoa.
• Georgiana gave Murat Talleyrand's letter for an engineer in Turin and proposed sending cotton from Naples to Piedmont for processing before exporting it to France.
• Georgiana suggested taking Cicognara back to France, and Murat asked her for a loan of two hundred thousand before leaving and inviting her to dinner.

Georgiana reflected on Italy’s political divisions, foreign interference, and the prospects for economic cooperation as she considered how little authority she had to intervene. Martin then brought banker Ferdinando to meet her, leaving her facing a discussion about Lombard transport and finance despite her frustration and concern that a certain wizard had not come to find her.

• Georgiana recalled how a Genoese diplomat had allied with Bonaparte and how Italian officials and exiles became entangled in corruption and political factions.
• Georgiana considered Magenta’s economic plans, the divide between northern and southern Jacobins, and the violent collapse of the Parthenope Republic.
• Georgiana questioned whether she had any right to interfere in Italy after being expelled from Paris, despite her doubts about the South-of-the-Mountains Republic.
• Martin introduced Georgiana to Ferdinando, the banker who headed Orionda Import-Export Company, although she was not in the mood to discuss roads or trade.
• Georgiana wished she could summon the wizard who had not come to find her.

Georgiana confronted Julian Ouvrard over Murat’s demand for money and asked him to help bring Cicognara back to France to negotiate legal jurisdiction and extradition. She left for Brera Academy, thinking about her plans for an Iron Curtain and the sacrifices needed to connect distant regions.

• The owner of Orionda Import-Export Company told Georgiana he wanted a post in the South-of-the-Mountains Republic, and Martin invited her to Brera Academy.
• Julian Ouvrard arrived angrily and said Murat’s steward had demanded 200,000 Francs from him.
• Georgiana made Julian promise secrecy and told him she wanted to bring Cicognara back to France to negotiate arbitration, judicial jurisdiction, and extradition terms.
• Julian questioned her choice of Cicognara, and Georgiana said he was clever and had once persuaded the King of Savoy to abdicate.
• Georgiana told Julian she was going to Breda Palace and described her plan to establish an Iron Curtain, then left Marino Palace by carriage.

Georgiana spent the afternoon at Brera Palace amid debates over religion, government, borders, and Italy’s political history, then returned to Marino Palace and spoke with Julian Ouvrard. Julian warned that Cicognara seemed suspicious and asked what Georgiana would do if Magenta could not come the next day, leaving her without an answer.

• Georgiana reviewed Milan’s political tensions, the history of the duchy, and the challenges facing the South-of-the-Mountains Republic.
• Georgiana visited Brera Palace, where she reflected on religion, scientific research, and the republic’s borders and customs disputes.
• Georgiana returned to Marino Palace and found Julian Ouvrard smoking alone in the meeting room.
• Julian told Georgiana that Cicognara was now considered unsuitable as an envoy and that Julian himself found him suspicious.
• Julian asked what Georgiana planned to do if Magenta could not come the next day, and Georgiana left without answering.

Georgiana reviewed Milan’s political and intelligence files before attending Murat’s dinner, where she discussed a paper about the Po River Bridge with Pellonnet and another engineer. She left the chapter hoping to find a way to preserve Milan amid its political tensions.

• Georgiana read files on Teresa Fogliati and Giovanni Battista Guastavillani, considering his possible role in a future gendarmerie.
• Georgiana reflected on extradition, arbitration, and the risk that Italy might return to Austrian control.
• Georgiana arrived at Murat’s home and learned that Pellonnet, who was responsible for the Po River Bridge, had come to meet her.
• Georgiana discussed her paper with Pellonnet and another engineer while Murat talked with Caroline and Polina.
• Georgiana considered the danger of Milan being set ablaze and hoped someone could find a better way to protect the city.

Georgiana listened to the engineers discuss the Po River Bridge’s design and hydraulic needs before Murat redirected the conversation to security and Turin’s military resources. She stayed at Murat’s home, where she considered whether the bridge could withstand artillery fire.

• The engineers explained the Po River Bridge’s construction, waterworks, and proposed downstream dam, while Murat asked whether the proposal was useful.
• Pellonnet asked to transfer a man from Gibraltar, but Murat said it was impossible and ushered the guests out.
• Murat warned Georgiana that her honor guard lacked leadership and fighting strength, then gave her his pocket watch and asked when she planned to act against Magenta.
• Murat revealed that Turin held 240 cannons and their ammunition, and Georgiana said she would consider moving the operation to midnight.
• Georgiana stayed in a guest room at Murat’s home and wondered whether the bridge could endure artillery fire.

Georgiana spent the early morning worrying that Turin’s strategic importance and military secrets could make it a target, while waiting at Marino Palace for Magenta. Magenta finally arrived after a flood delayed him, and he explained that he had been fertilizing mulberry trees for the spring silkworms.

• Georgiana considered how Murat’s interception of letters could have exposed Charles Bennett’s presence in Gibraltar and left her vulnerable to suspicion over leaked military information.
• Georgiana went to Marino Palace and waited for Magenta, reflecting on Turin’s defenses, its bridge, and the danger of war.
• Aligi told Georgiana that Magenta had arrived late because a flash flood had swollen the Sesia River and blocked their crossing.
• Magenta told Georgiana he had been at the fertilizer factory preparing mulberry trees for the spring silkworms.
• Georgiana invited Aligi and Magenta to sit down, and they began breakfast.

Georgiana visited Cicognara’s library after dinner, where he showed her a pentagram formed by five royal buildings in Turin and called it part of the city’s protective magic. She asked to visit the sites, leaving her plans to explore Turin unresolved as Cicognara agreed to take her sightseeing in Milan.

• After a tense dinner, Magenta returned to his Milan residence under the honor guard’s escort.
• Denon warned Georgiana that distancing herself from Murat would be unwise and questioned how she would resolve her use of military authority.
• Georgiana and Denon visited Cicognara, who welcomed them to his library and offered them Piedmont wine.
• Cicognara showed Georgiana and Denon a map linking five royal buildings in Turin into a pentagram, which he described as protective magic.
• Georgiana asked to visit the five sites, and Cicognara offered to take her sightseeing around Milan that afternoon.

Georgiana discussed art, myths, and ancient history with Cicognara and Denon, then received Bonaparte’s letter and a drawing of a fortress on Elba. She decided to visit Elba and buy artworks for its future summer villa.

• Georgiana admired Cicognara’s collection and discussed the myth of Arethusa with him and Denon.
• Georgiana proposed decorating Pola Bridge with the four Hesperides sisters and recounted the histories of Ramses II, the Trojan War, and the Dorians.
• A Messenger delivered Bonaparte’s letter and a fortress layout to Georgiana while she visited Cicognara’s collection.
• Georgiana read that Bonaparte had ordered Elba’s fortress dismantled and planned to turn it into a summer palace.
• Georgiana asked Cicognara to visit Elba with her so she could buy artworks for the summer villa.

Georgiana considered using the Treaty of Amiens to pursue her legal request, then struggled to write a reply while reflecting on love and her relationship with Bonaparte. Hathor appeared and offered to help, but Georgiana drove her away and began writing.

• Murat helped defeat General Colli at Mondovì, delivered Bonaparte’s terms to Colli, and carried Bonaparte’s proclamation of war to Paris.
• Georgiana considered invoking the Treaty of Amiens to pursue Cheroni’s extradition, but Cicognara had not agreed to her request.
• Georgiana returned to Murat’s home, gave Cicognara’s wine to Polina, and sat down to write a reply.
• Hathor appeared in Nefertari’s form and offered to teach Georgiana what to write, but Georgiana cast a defensive spell and sent her away.
• Georgiana reflected on Severus’s vow and her own feelings about love before beginning her reply.

Georgiana discussed art, power, and gender before Eugene Beauharnais told her of his orders to govern Corcyra and offered a secret channel to Bonaparte. She sent him a sealed letter, then turned away from political concerns to care for the children.

• Georgiana discussed artistic freedom with Cicognara while considering the false portrait of Isabella of Ferrara.
• Georgiana reflected on manliness, political authority, and what Murat needed from her.
• Eugene Beauharnais told Georgiana he had orders to go to Corcyra and described how he planned to govern there.
• Georgiana said she did not want Eugene to leave Italy, then claimed she could not bear a boy because she was a Veela.
• Eugene offered to carry her sealed letter to Bonaparte through his secret channel, and warned her not to investigate the French army's smuggling.
• Georgiana let Eugene leave with the letter and went to look after the children.