Chapter Summaries

Georgiana and Napoleon rode around Versailles, then shared an intimate conversation by the pond about love, war, and their differing bonds. Napoleon asked Georgiana to shave him every morning as his birthday gift, and she agreed before kissing him with chocolate.

• Georgiana rode her pony beside Napoleon and the Imperial Guard around the ruins of Versailles.
• Napoleon caught Georgiana as she dismounted, and they discussed his love for her and his marriage to Josephine.
• By the pond, Napoleon admitted he wanted the magical power to appear whenever Georgiana missed him, and she told him about her ring and its engraved word.
• Georgiana explained Napoleon's birthday flower and its meaning of homesickness, then promised to accompany him to war and answer his letters.
• Napoleon asked Georgiana to shave him every morning as his birthday gift, and she agreed before kissing him with chocolate.

Georgiana struggled with her feelings for Napoleon and the shame of being happy while still remembering another man. Bishop Caprara warned her that Napoleon’s plans and reputation were threatened by political suspicion, and urged her to persuade him toward a less provocative statue rather than a costly campaign to obtain the Pietà.

• Georgiana attempted to shave Napoleon as a birthday gift, but he sent for his valet when she threatened his work schedule.
• Georgiana reflected on her plans to train former servants and soldiers by building a greenhouse for herbs and employing them in a nursery.
• Georgiana confessed to Caprara that she loved her life with Napoleon but wanted to defend her husband’s honor and felt torn by her feelings for two men.
• Caprara asked Georgiana to consider the marriage proposal she had received and discussed how much she meant to Napoleon, whom his mother called Leon.
• Caprara revealed that Napoleon wanted to bring the Pietà to Paris and advised Georgiana to persuade him not to take the original, suggesting a statue of the Virgin Mary in her likeness instead.
• Caprara warned Georgiana that critics accused her of being a British spy and claimed the proposed canal would drain France’s wealth, while she considered practicing shaving on another man.

Georgiana discussed Napoleon’s policies, the British delegation, and the care of discharged soldiers and widows with Caprara. When Napoleon appeared, she agreed to be sculpted but left, fearing that she could be made a scapegoat and would have to protect herself.

• Caprara told Georgiana that young men had made her the prize in their rivalry, and she repeated James Mill’s account of a British member of Parliament that led Caprara to suspect the Earl of Aberdeen was involved.
• Georgiana explained that she planned to have widows learn nursing from nuns so they could support themselves while caring for discharged soldiers.
• Caprara questioned Georgiana about Napoleon’s planned military expedition and the danger she faced, but she said she did not know what he was handling at Malmaison.
• Georgiana told Caprara he could help guarantee the nuns’ safety, and Napoleon arrived in the garden as they spoke.
• Caprara said Georgiana had agreed to be sculpted, and Napoleon asked her to choose a sculptor; she glared at him and walked away.

Georgiana enlisted Gaston Martin to raise thirty million francs for Napoleon’s Saint-Martin Canal, offering a way around Parliament and the Senate of the Directory. Napoleon pressed Georgiana to marry him, but she refused while insisting that the man she believed was missing was still alive; afterward, she discussed free will with Caprara.

• Georgiana asked Gaston Martin to raise thirty million francs so Napoleon could build the Saint-Martin Canal, and Martin said he could rally support from chambers of commerce.
• Georgiana showed Martin her greenhouse plans and discussed her wedding clothes, while Martin suggested a linen dress and a dowry for Napoleon.
• Napoleon arrived, ordered Martin out, and accepted Georgiana’s proposal to fund the canal through a company whose investors would buy shares.
• Napoleon asked Georgiana to marry him, but she refused and insisted that the man she believed was missing would return; Napoleon kissed her after she said no.
• Napoleon left, and Caprara joined Georgiana to discuss theology and the meaning of free will.

Georgiana lost control of the property arranged for her as Napoleon and Caprara redistributed it, while political disputes over the Saint-Martin Canal and Napoleon’s next expedition unfolded. After receiving male horses as a birthday gift from the Prince of Wales, Napoleon grew furious, but Georgiana urged him not to retaliate against Josephine and to protect his health; once she left, he swept his papers and pens to the floor.

• Napoleon and Caprara signed documents transferring the use rights to Madame de Maintenon's estate to the Church and returning land-use rights to Napoleon, leaving Georgiana without her property.
• Public financing resolved the Saint-Martin Canal dispute, and Napoleon prepared to send troops on another expedition over a silver Roman eagle standard taken from Portugal.
• Napoleon asked Georgiana to teach him, and she confessed her guilt over having suspected a good man she believed was dead.
• A valet delivered the Prince of Wales's birthday gift of male horses, and Napoleon became grim as Georgiana warned him not to kill Josephine.
• Georgiana told Napoleon she would stay with him even if he lost everything and urged him to share his burdens and avoid being provoked.
• After Georgiana left, Napoleon swept the papers and pens from his table.

Georgiana brooded over her inability to bear Napoleon’s child, then learned from Carolan that she could still try potions or arrange for Josephine to raise the baby. She left the kitchen determined to urge Napoleon to write to the Prince of Wales and offer him money so he could marry his Catholic widow.

• Georgiana grew angry about the British gift of stallions and worried that Napoleon’s sisters would reject her if Josephine fell from favor.
• She made candied citrus and cream cake to bring to Letizia, while fretting over whether Napoleon’s mother would like her.
• Carolan Lestrange teased Georgiana about wanting to defeat Napoleon and told her that he wanted her child, even if it were a daughter.
• Georgiana admitted that dark magic had left her unable to have children, and Carolan suggested potions or having Josephine pretend to be pregnant and raise the baby.
• Georgiana returned to the round hall to urge Napoleon to write to the Prince of Wales and lend him money so he could marry his Catholic widow.

Georgiana negotiated with Bonaparte for influence in Britain and a role in restoring France’s Ministry of Magic, while they discussed children, his family, and their future together. The chapter ended with Georgiana preparing to visit his mother and Bonaparte joining her.

• Georgiana considered how Bonaparte could secure an heir and agreed that rebuilding France’s Ministry of Magic could fall to the Lestrange family.
• Georgiana asked Bonaparte to make the British believe she had influence with him, and offered to help ease pressure on his government through trade and canned food.
• Georgiana told Bonaparte she would try to curry favor with his mother, and advised him to invite his siblings to the ceremony.
• Bonaparte confessed that he feared losing Georgiana and asked her to give him a daughter; she comforted him and discussed accompanying him on a state visit.
• Georgiana put on lace undergarments and joked about restoring lace’s monopoly rights to raise tax revenue, then insisted they go see Bonaparte’s mother.
• Bonaparte got out of bed to join Georgiana as the servants heard their laughter from outside the room.

Napoleon urged Georgiana to negotiate with the British over tobacco, while she worried that the plan would turn French interests against her. As they reached Petit Trianon, she reunited with Letizia, leaving Napoleon’s tobacco scheme and Georgiana’s place in it unresolved.

• Napoleon considered using Italian trade monopolies to bypass Strasbourg and blockade Austria, while imagining how Vauban’s flood defenses might trap an invading army.
• Napoleon decided that a tobacco monopoly could bring France more revenue than lace and told Georgiana to speak to the British about tobacco.
• Georgiana feared French plantation owners would see her as a threat and wondered whether Napoleon was serious about handing French interests to Britain.
• Napoleon told Georgiana to find her own way to survive and urged her not to disappoint him, then let her punch him when she raised her fist.
• At Petit Trianon, Georgiana embraced Letizia and tearfully said that Napoleon had bullied her, while Napoleon presented Letizia with a basket of Corsican pastries.

Georgiana struggled with her feelings about Napoleon and the political danger surrounding his plans, then found comfort with him and his mother, Letizia. After Letizia offered money for Georgiana’s canal project, Napoleon declared Georgiana the compassionate mother of the French people and led her back to the Grand Trianon.

• Georgiana worried that Napoleon’s plans for a tobacco monopoly and reduced spending on Feland Fortress could endanger France, then stopped crying and went to him for comfort.
• Letizia asked Georgiana whether she loved Napoleon, and Georgiana admitted that she did while explaining that her husband had died.
• Letizia offered eight million francs toward Georgiana’s canal project, and Georgiana awkwardly thanked her as Mother.
• Georgiana asked Letizia whether she minded that Georgiana could not have children, and Letizia said she cared only about her son’s happiness and safety.
• Napoleon led Georgiana to a grove and argued that she had chosen truth over happiness, while promising to fight anyone who came to take her away.
• Napoleon named Georgiana the compassionate mother of the French people, and she rejected the burden before he escorted her back to the Grand Trianon.

Georgiana traveled with Carolan and Sophie to inspect Nicolas Appert’s canning factory and consider where to establish a new factory. Madame Montesquieu joined their carriage, and her sharp exchange with Carolan left Georgiana to manage the two hostile companions on the road.

• Georgiana set out under Imperial Guard protection to visit Nicolas Appert’s factory and investigate why large farms in the Seine Department were breaking apart.
• Carolan disguised Sophie with magic, and Georgiana explained that she wanted the canning factory to treat workers as people rather than soulless parts.
• Madame Montesquieu joined Georgiana’s carriage and argued that oversized capitals and uneven population distribution harmed a country.
• Carolan and Madame Montesquieu clashed over salons, Persian Letters, and castrati, while Georgiana urged them not to fight.

Georgiana traveled through Marne and considered how France could address rural depopulation and food shortages by improving agriculture and establishing a cannery. She left with a plan to seek British engineers and produce canned meat, while worrying that food-safety failures could cause panic.

• Madame de Montesquieu asked Georgiana how the cheering people of Marne compared with the British, and Georgiana reflected on the countryside’s shortage of young men and farm laborers.
• Georgiana wrote down a proposal to have Britain provide engineers to improve farming tools and suggested placing work and supply points between cities and rural areas.
• Georgiana proposed starting a cannery with meat and expanding pastures, while Sophie asked what food they would produce.
• Carolan challenged Georgiana about population growth and Muggles, and Georgiana rejected the idea of handing the French Ministry of Magic to the Lestrange family.
• Madame de Montesquieu urged Georgiana to restore the balance between cities and provinces, and Georgiana observed that rural women and older people remained behind as men left.
• Georgiana considered canned meat and fish as immediate food sources but worried that contaminated cans could cause public panic.

Georgiana visited Appert’s cannery and arranged to expand production, then went to a military camp in Vincennes Forest to plan a new cannery for the army. She arrived at the castle determined to work and shape a different future rather than give up.

• Georgiana watched Appert demonstrate canning and ordered Sophie to record her plan to recruit and train workers for new factories.
• Carolan offered to connect Georgiana with suppliers of beef and beans, while Georgiana decided Appert’s workshop was too small for her needs.
• Imperial Guard Maret escorted Georgiana and the women to the garrison so she could sit down and write letters.
• Georgiana entered the Vincennes Forest camp, changed Carolan into a woolen dress, and considered building a cannery near the castle.
• Georgiana saw the quartermaster-like men waiting at the castle and resolved to keep working rather than surrender to despair.

Georgiana arranged loans and jobs for discharged soldiers, hoping to return them to rural life, then angered Napoleon by spending heavily on their severance and other plans. After confronting him about their relationship and the danger behind her stay in the barracks, she agreed to leave with him.

• Georgiana loaned money to discharged soldiers who lacked capital and arranged transport work for hesitant veterans, while encouraging others to farm with rural women.
• Georgiana planned to recruit female Sans-culottes as mounted police and guards, buy British Thoroughbreds, and spent freely from Napoleon’s bank account.
• Napoleon confronted Georgiana about the bills she had signed and told her that some soldiers refused retirement because their superiors had treated them unfairly.
• Georgiana and Napoleon argued about their past and the danger that had prompted her to stay in the barracks; she said she would continue assisting him but would move to the hospital.
• Napoleon insisted Georgiana return with him immediately, and she went to pack her things.

Georgiana remembered her intimate visit with Bonaparte and discussed her feelings about his marriage and the men around her. Bonaparte then blindfolded her with a borrowed ribbon and led her away to show her a surprise.

• Georgiana recalled how she had comforted Leon and proposed using colonies as a solution to France’s population and migration problems.
• Georgiana told Madame de Montesquieu that her reasons for accepting Bonaparte’s refusal to divorce Josephine were private, then asked Sophie about the young Gaudin pursuing her.
• Georgiana compared Gaudin’s discretion with Harry Potter’s well-intentioned exposure of Severus’s privacy and reflected on the limits imposed by the Unbreakable Vow.
• Bonaparte joined the women’s gathering, and Georgiana mentioned a playwright and asked whether he wanted to see an opera.
• Bonaparte took Georgiana outside, covered her eyes with Kelly’s ribbon, and promised her a gift.

Georgiana explored the greenhouse Leon Sterndale built as a wedding gift, then shared an intimate moment with him and reflected on grief, suffering, and the world they inhabited. Afterward, she told him she wanted to go on more dates and considered renovating the greenhouse’s washroom into a bathroom.

• Leon Sterndale revealed a grand greenhouse to Georgiana as a wedding gift, and she eagerly explored its rooms and conservatory.
• Georgiana suggested adding a hammock and tempted Leon Sterndale into an intimate encounter while others were outside.
• Georgiana reflected on Paris, death, grief, and the pain associated with September, wishing for a miracle and praying that her loved ones would be spared further suffering.
• Leon Sterndale declared that he had won their competition, and Georgiana angrily objected before telling him to plan another date.
• Georgiana went to the washroom and decided it should be renovated into a bathroom with running water.

Georgiana and Napoleon spent a walk in Mont Park discussing water systems, women’s work, and France’s political needs, while their romantic relationship remained strained by her feelings for Severus. Napoleon gave her a matching Regency Tassel, and the chapter ended with them laughing together as she considered tying hers to an abacus.

• Georgiana and Napoleon argued about his idea of a date, and she challenged him to build a racecourse before he took her toward an ancient ruin.
• Napoleon refused to remove Georgiana’s shackles, kissed her in the park, and gave her a Regency Tassel matching his.
• Georgiana confessed that she feared Napoleon would stop loving her and admitted she hated herself for having drawn Severus’s affection.
• Napoleon recalled his responsibility to veterans’ widows, and Georgiana proposed employing women in a cannery and moving Venetian lace workshops to France.
• Napoleon asked Georgiana to introduce promising accountants to him, tied his tassel to his sword, and laughed with her as she imagined attaching hers to an abacus.

Gianluca showed Severus and Gong Saiyi the Book of Two Ways and explained a little-known route to the underworld through water splashed onto The Wedding at Cana. He warned Severus that finding his wife might not mean she would return, and the men prepared to try their old entrance first.

• Gianluca found the Book of Two Ways among his manuscripts and explained its water and land routes to the underworld.
• Gianluca described how they could enter another world by splashing water onto The Wedding at Cana, and Severus agreed to try their previous entrance first.
• Gianluca questioned whether Severus's wife would return with him and urged him to prepare for a dangerous encounter with Napoleon's forces.
• Severus said his wife had fought a giant using Devil's Snare, and Gianluca told the men to sleep before the coming danger.

Georgiana accompanied Bonaparte and two generals to Quail Hill, where he confronted Ms. Martin about using horse-buying funds to gather intelligence and buy weapons. Martin revealed a possible Austrian plan to destroy Ulm Fortress, and Bonaparte insisted Georgiana stay to hear the discussion because her husband was a double agent.

• Bonaparte took Georgiana, General Bertrand, and General Daru to the Bonafou Transport Company in Quail Hill.
• Bonaparte questioned Ms. Martin about her loyalty, her desire for respect, and the money she had been given to buy horses.
• Martin said she was investigating reports that Austria planned to plant explosives in Ulm Fortress and destroy its supplies if France invaded.
• Martin admitted she had used some of the horse-buying money to acquire guns so she could help a friend escape or destroy an arsenal.
• Georgiana refused to get involved in espionage, but Bonaparte ordered her to stay and listen because her husband was a double agent.

Georgiana learned that Mr. Martin had obtained guns and intelligence about a plan to destroy Ulm, while Napoleon questioned whether Martin had overstepped his authority. The discussion revealed political opposition to the Junker nobility and left Georgiana under suspicion as Napoleon asked about her husband’s surname and ties to Enghien.

• Georgiana recalled why she had told Mr. Martin and Leconcourt to speak less and do more, and why she had redirected France’s horse purchases toward inferior horses that could later be used for meat.
• Napoleon questioned Mr. Martin about the guns and intelligence he had brought back, and Mr. Martin said a friend in the occupied territories had supplied them.
• General Bertrand and Mr. Martin explained Ulm’s strategic importance and described how German officials opposed the Junker nobility’s control over peasants and industry.
• Mr. Martin said Colonel Schmidt had been assigned to destroy Ulm, and the men discussed the risks to the city’s residents and France’s supply lines.
• Napoleon called Georgiana a spy and asked her husband’s surname; when she answered “Smith,” he asked whether her husband had been in contact with Enghien.
• Mr. Martin told Napoleon that not every British commoner had contact with the Royalists and offered to explain.

Georgiana and Napoleon discussed the assassination rumor, her husband's history as a double agent, and Napoleon's pressure on Chanon Transport Company. After Georgiana recognized Napoleon's political maneuvering, she asked him to treat Britain more gently, but he made his answer depend on how she treated him.

• Napoleon asked Georgiana why her husband became a double agent, and she explained how he had shared a prophecy with a dark wizard and later protected Lily's child.
• Georgiana told Napoleon she feared him but believed she could still reason with him, and he admitted he had taken her to meet Mr. Martin so she would see his true character.
• Georgiana said Martin could be useful but demanded that Napoleon take back the Saint-Martin Canal's operating rights, and Napoleon said the cost did not concern him.
• Napoleon told Georgiana he had gone to Milan to establish the Cisalpine Republic, and she guessed that he had set a trap for Britain.
• Georgiana asked Napoleon to be gentler with Britain, and he told her it depended on how she treated him before she kissed him.