Chapter Summaries

Georgiana accompanied Napoleoni and his generals on a boar hunt in Montmorency Forest, where she learned the generals were seeking a Christmas gift for him and discussed virtue, honor, and Britain’s intentions with him. The chapter ended with Napoleoni demanding that she kneel and Georgiana slapping him before he extinguished the candle.

• Ouvrard used Spanish trade passes and American ships to arrange the transport of silver and grain, while Georgiana wondered at his influence and France’s dependence on foreign shipping.
• Lucien and Pauline disrupted Georgiana and Hortense’s cowpox inoculation demonstration with a mazurka in pink tights, enraging Napoleoni.
• Napoleoni led a grand hunting party to Montmorency Forest to kill wild boars threatening farmers’ crops, and the generals feasted and sang after returning with their game.
• Georgiana heard that the generals wanted to find Napoleoni an unusual Christmas gift and warned the women to keep their drunken husbands from hunting again.
• Napoleoni questioned Georgiana about the Prince of Wales and his intentions, then spoke of Desaix’s death and demanded that she tell him she loved him.
• Napoleoni ordered Georgiana to kneel; she slapped him, and he blew out the candle.

Georgiana reflected on Saint-Domingue’s history and the planned military expedition while considering France’s finances, taxation, and Napoleon’s motives. After finding inspiration in the book Leon had given her, she left her tent with a plan she believed he would like.

• Georgiana considered the dangers and strategic importance of Saint-Domingue as Napoleon’s forces prepared for the expedition.
• She weighed ways to address France’s silver shortage and rejected exploiting Jewish usurers or burdening ordinary people with new taxes.
• While the hunt continued outside, Georgiana reflected on Napoleon, war, and Rousseau’s warning that leaders could use conflict to strengthen their rule.
• Georgiana searched for Leon’s Christmas gift, On Divination, and felt inspiration as she read it.
• Georgiana decided she had found something Leon would like, closed the book, and walked out of her tent into the sunshine.

Georgiana learned that Spain’s six warships were sailing from Carthage and discussed a commemorative column and porcelain trade to fund the Saint-Domingue expedition. As the hunting party returned, she watched Napoleon and worried that he had forgotten her, while preparing to meet him away from his public image.

• Granet told Georgiana that Spain’s six warships had sailed from Carthage and might join the expedition to Saint-Domingue.
• Georgiana described an antidote for poison and proposed making amulets for people traveling abroad.
• Georgiana asked Gaudin to arrange a commemorative column funded by donations and to investigate replacing silver plates with Sèvres porcelain.
• Georgiana warned Sophie to guard the maids and prevent anyone from exploiting her name, then organized the women to make amulets.
• The hunting party returned, and Georgiana watched Napoleon ride into camp before returning to her tent to prepare to face him.

Georgiana struggled with jealousy over Eugenie Désirée Clary and wrote down plans for making Sèvres porcelain profitable before Napoleoni arrived. They discussed monuments, their relationship, and the possibility of war with Britain, leaving Georgiana and Napoleoni sharing candy and reaffirming their affection.

• Georgiana learned that Matilda had gone to watch Madame Bernadotte and became jealous at the thought of Napoleoni's former lover Eugenie Désirée Clary.
• Georgiana wrote notes on selling graded Sèvres porcelain, warned against imprudent policies, and reflected on how inequality and passionate speeches could fuel unrest.
• Napoleoni arrived, praised Georgiana's idea for columns honoring Kléber and Desaix, and read her proposal about nationalizing the Sèvres Porcelain Factory.
• Georgiana mocked Napoleoni about Eugenie, and he told her that his wedding gift of Madame de Maintenon's estate had completed a Corsican marriage tradition.
• Napoleoni questioned Georgiana about her Latin conversation with Granet and said he would fight Britain rather than accept British conditions or let it occupy the Mediterranean.
• Georgiana told Napoleoni she liked him and wanted him to protect British expatriates, and they kissed while sharing raspberry and strawberry candy.

Georgiana and Napoleon argued over his threats and marriage proposal during the ceremony raising Kléber’s commemorative column in Paris. She publicly kissed him, then challenged him to kiss her before the crowd, and he did as tens of thousands cheered for France.

• Napoleon and Georgiana attended the ceremony for Kléber’s column while preparations continued for the expeditionary force to Saint-Domingue.
• Georgiana questioned Napoleon about his promise to Baolin and warned that marrying her would make her and the child targets of his family and the French.
• Napoleon threatened Georgiana and demanded to know whether she would resist him as she resisted Britain.
• Georgiana kissed Napoleon before the assembled crowd and called for freedom.
• Napoleon kissed Georgiana after the crowd urged him on, and tens of thousands cheered for France.

Georgiana managed Napoleon’s household and considered how to help France through a harsh winter, while worrying about her uncertain place in Napoleon’s life. When Napoleon sent her new potted plants, she went to see him, intending to prepare the lunch she wanted.

• Georgiana arranged work for Rochambeau’s relatives and chose Phyllis over Paula to serve her, fearing a rivalry for favor.
• Georgiana discussed the coming agricultural shortfall and the cost of teaching farmers improved methods, then told Napoleon about Japanese hop as a substitute for hops.
• Georgiana considered visiting the British barracks near Sèvres but decided she should tell Napoleon first, and reflected on how easily she might be replaced.
• Carolan urged Georgiana to invite Napoleon to lunch, but Georgiana refused to seek him out; when Sophie announced that Napoleon had sent her potted plants, Georgiana went to prepare lunch.

Georgiana prepared a greenhouse dinner with Pauline and Madame Tallien, who revealed Napoleon's clingy nature and discussed the coming famine. The gathering took an awkward turn when Napoleon arrived with General Leclerc, whose reunion with Pauline appeared tense.

• Georgiana arranged a greenhouse dinner and reflected on her troubled relationship with Napoleon and her willingness to resist him quietly.
• Pauline and Madame Tallien changed the greenhouse decorations, and Madame Tallien told Georgiana that Napoleon had once been jealous and clingy with Josephine.
• Georgiana warned Madame Tallien that France would suffer another famine and urged her father to stock grain.
• Pauline asked Georgiana for the gifts intended for the British envoy, and Georgiana offered her underwear to promote.
• Napoleon arrived with Granet, General Leclerc, and a scholar, and Pauline's expression froze at the sight of Leclerc.

After Napoleon’s quarrel with Pauline, Granet explained how trade rights, colonial policy, and Britain’s pressure on neutral shipping shaped the dispute over Saint-Domingue. He warned Georgiana to make Ouvrard cooperate, while she rejected his suggestion that she manipulate Napoleon by diverting his attention to the Church.

• Napoleon argued with Pauline over settling in Saint-Domingue, then told Granet he could restrict imports and foreign ships after a peace treaty was signed.
• After the others left the dining room, Granet explained to Georgiana the history of colonial trade rights, British licenses, and the Duke of Orange’s claim to compensation.
• Granet said Leclerc’s family would sail from Brest and that Leclerc might rest in Paris if Pauline gave him peace.
• Georgiana and Granet discussed British and American shipping tensions, Napoleon’s ambitions, and Granet’s belief that Ouvrard needed to be controlled.
• Granet asked Georgiana to turn Napoleon’s attention toward the Church, but she rebuked him and left the table.

Georgiana cared for Delmir while discussing food supplies, canals, and Napoleoni’s plans for Paris with Chaptal. Napoleoni invited her on a date to Lyon, and she went to change clothes despite feeling unsettled about falling in love with him again.

• Georgiana kept Delmir with her after Pauline and Leclerc left him behind, and she let him join her household at the Grand Trianon.
• Georgiana listened as Chaptal discussed potato cultivation, granaries, canal construction, and plans to expand Paris, while she questioned the dangers of concentrating so many people in the city.
• Chaptal suggested that Georgiana explain Homer’s epics to Napoleoni as a Christmas gift, then left her with Delmir.
• Napoleoni arrived and invited Georgiana to revisit the Lyon street where they had met, proposing that they call the outing a date.
• Georgiana admitted that falling in love with the same person twice felt strange, then went to change clothes for the outing.

Georgiana and Napoleon went on an awkward Christmas date, where they argued about his former lover, jealousy, and their unequal relationship before he kissed her in public. She reassured him that she would not leave with Severus, while warning him not to use death to threaten her.

• Georgiana rejected their original plan to see The Dancing Girl and went with Napoleon to Cavo Café instead.
• Georgiana questioned Napoleon about the actress he had slept with and said she would not fight for his favor or let his relatives turn the woman against them.
• Napoleon asked Georgiana not to leave him, and she warned him that she would resist if he tried to control her.
• Napoleon kissed Georgiana in the café, and newspapers later reported the public scene as a new Paris fashion.
• Georgiana promised she would not leave with Severus without a duel, then told Napoleon not to use death to threaten her.

Georgiana joined Napoleon at a crowded tavern, where their talk about food shortages and political power led Napoleon to urge her to take a role in government. The conversation ended in a tavern brawl, with Georgiana paying the waiter to keep quiet as Napoleon and his men confronted the drunks.

• Napoleon took Georgiana to a poor tavern and recalled hiding there during the French Revolution, while Georgiana listened to farmers discuss plows, manure, and potato cultivation.
• Napoleon argued that farmers would be more receptive to potatoes than unfamiliar sweet potatoes, and Georgiana defended her efforts to help avert famine.
• Napoleon praised Georgiana’s political instincts and told her to apply for a position at the police station, but she said she did not want to spend her time on the matter.
• Napoleon challenged Georgiana to decide what should be done when soldiers faced a crowd, and she answered that the troublemakers should be thrown into the Seine.
• Napoleon led his footmen toward a group of drunken men as Duroc stayed with Georgiana, while the tavern patrons cheered and the waiter demanded money to give false testimony.

Napoleoni brought Georgiana to the Tuileries and argued with her about jealousy, marriage, and his relationship with Josephine. Georgiana left after he said he had Pauline and her son taken onto a ship, while promising to explain more after Christmas.

• Napoleoni told Georgiana that the Tuileries dining room would become her office and asked her to redecorate it.
• Georgiana reflected on famine relief, bakery loans, potato farming, and the problems facing France's people and economy.
• Napoleoni and Georgiana argued over his other women and whether she was jealous, before he asked why marrying her was so difficult.
• Napoleoni said Josephine feared she could no longer bear children and wanted a child to make their marriage feel complete.
• Georgiana told Napoleoni not to seek her out if he returned to his family, then left after he revealed that he had sent Pauline and her son onto a ship.

Georgiana stayed with the Chaptals while planning an independent life and considering a silk-dyeing business. After hearing Madame Tallien’s account of Pauline’s humiliation at a ball, she met Pauline’s young son Dermide, who brought her violets as an apology, and left with him.

• Georgiana planned the Tuileries dining hall, considered moving out of the Louvre, and decided that restoring Chaptal as her guardian would help her become independent.
• Georgiana told Madame Chaptal what she had endured and stayed at the Chaptal residence, where she learned of Chaptal’s past and his affection for Miss Dumesnil.
• Georgiana discussed dyeing Napoleon’s white silk with Marianne and Madame Tallien, but decided not to involve Chaptal and considered using woad instead.
• Madame Tallien recounted how Madame de Contades publicly mocked Pauline’s ears at a ball, prompting Georgiana to remember de Contades with anger.
• Dermide arrived with violets and called them a belated apology; after learning that an unnamed uncle had brought him, Georgiana thanked Madame Chaptal, took Dermide by the hand, and left.

After Talleyrand fell from favor, Georgiana stayed in Paris to care for Dermide and visited Meudon Forest, where Thomas Granet warned her that Napoleon’s plans in Antwerp threatened Britain’s navy. She left with Dermide under Imperial Guard escort, while Granet feared Britain was unprepared for the danger ahead.

• Napoleon learned Talleyrand had taken a bribe and sent him into exile as governor of Guadeloupe without appointing a replacement.
• Georgiana returned to the Louvre, but Dermide clung to her, so she set aside her plans to leave and resumed caring for him.
• Georgiana sought a painter for the Tuileries dining room, then took Dermide to Meudon Forest to play with local children.
• Granet gave Georgiana a wool shawl and asked her to stop making trouble while the treaty was being settled.
• Granet told Georgiana that Napoleon planned a giant Apollo statue in Antwerp, funded by Dutch merchants, and warned that Britain’s navy might fall into Napoleon’s trap.
• Georgiana called Dermide back and left Meudon Forest under Imperial Guard escort after saying goodbye to Granet.

Georgiana discussed Napoleon’s history, relationships, and plans with Maret and Teresa, then decided to travel south and take up farming to frustrate Josephine. She left her next move dependent on whether Napoleon would agree.

• Georgiana learned from Maret about Napoleon’s marriage to Josephine, his family disputes, and how he handled the marital problems of those close to him.
• Teresa asked Georgiana about her feelings for Napoleon while they looked at his portrait, and Georgiana evaded questions about their intimacy.
• Teresa observed that Napoleon wanted peace but would fight anyone who denied it to him, and Georgiana concluded that he wanted to return to Josephine.
• Georgiana suspected Josephine had misled Napoleon about traveling south and declared that she would go south herself to farm and make Josephine angry.

Georgiana attended an agricultural meeting, then argued with Napoleon about the Alps, Britain, and his plans before agreeing to skate with him. Napoleon ended the chapter by declaring his desire for Georgiana and taking her to the frozen lake.

• Georgiana brought Dermide to the Agricultural Association, where members approved continuing the promotion of potatoes and discussed pasture, livestock, and clearing Alpine roads.
• Georgiana left the meeting with Dermide and asked an Imperial Guard soldier to teach him to climb a tree.
• Napoleon confronted Georgiana, pressed her to advise him, and revealed that he had spread a rumor about a ship carrying pyrite while challenging her to bet on whether it would be attacked.
• Napoleon asked Georgiana to hear the story of a carpet at a picnic, but she proposed skating instead and secured his promise not to behave improperly.
• Napoleon said he wanted Georgiana rather than ceremonies or triumphal arches, kissed her, and ran with her toward the frozen lake to skate.

Napoleon and Georgiana enjoyed the comforts of the Tuileries and Grand Trianon as Napoleon pursued diplomatic and economic plans involving the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, and France’s food security. When Napoleon left Paris alone to inspect the western army corps, Georgiana wrote to Caprara, worried that he might be gone for a long time and reflecting on the men she could lose.

• Napoleon repurposed a Cairo pilgrimage carpet for the Ottoman Sultan, and the gift helped prompt diplomatic contact between France and the Ottoman Empire through Monsieur Beauchamp.
• Napoleon explained to Georgiana that he had feigned misunderstanding Chaptal’s proposal for artificial pastures because pasture speculation could worsen France’s food crisis.
• Napoleon described his ambitions to make Egypt fertile with windmills and watergates and criticized Saint Louis for failing to consolidate his position in Alexandria.
• Georgiana prepared an Ottoman-style reception room for state guests after Granet raised the question of where a carpet from Sultan Selim III would be displayed.
• As the weather turned cold, Napoleon departed Paris alone with the Imperial Guard to inspect the western army corps.
• Georgiana wrote a handwritten letter to Caprara, praying for Napoleon’s safety and fearing both a prolonged absence and the loss of the men she loved.

Caprara warned Georgiana that Bernadotte might pose a threat and urged her to understand the political and military situation around Paris. Georgiana chose to travel to Sèvres with Caprara to mediate a dispute between local residents and British townspeople over suspected grave robbing.

• The chapter recounted Napoleon's struggle to secure parliamentary approval for the Concordat of 1801 and his decision to replace legislators after the chambers opposed it.
• Caprara told Georgiana that Bernadotte was not fully loyal to Bonaparte and warned her to prevent him from returning to Sèvres.
• Georgiana revealed that Bonaparte planned to build a giant bronze statue in Antwerp and expected British ships to attack the gold shipments funding it.
• Caprara explained that Sèvres residents were preparing to confront the British townspeople over allegations that they had dug up local graves.
• Georgiana refused to move troops from Versailles and decided to go to Sèvres with Caprara, wearing judge's robes to help settle the dispute.

Georgiana prepared to mediate a confrontation at Sèvres Bridge while Napoleon was away, using Davout and the Imperial Guard to protect the meeting. Before setting out, she coached Michelle in how to conduct herself and spoke with Dermide about courage, danger, and smallpox inoculation.

• Georgiana chose the bridgehead at Sèvres as a defensible place to meet representatives of both sides and sent Michelle and Phyllis to fetch Davout.
• Georgiana dressed in black, arranged hot chocolate and porcelain for her guests, and brought Dermide with her as she prepared to receive the agitated parties.
• Davout arrived with the Imperial Guard, and Georgiana ordered him to invite representatives to the bridge while warning him to defend himself if attacked.
• Georgiana rebuked Michelle for speaking out of turn, then advised her to use her manners and learn how to influence the men around her.
• Georgiana asked Dermide to pretend to cry if she pinched him, discussed the dangers facing him, and promised to arrange smallpox inoculation when Napoleon returned.

Georgiana mediated a dispute between French townspeople and British visitors after a young woman’s corpse disappeared from an unmanaged cemetery. She secured agreement on compensation and cemetery oversight, then left without meeting Bernadotte, asking Caprara to guide her onward.

• Captain Jean Pino offered Georgiana the bridgehead, but Davout’s message sent her to the Sèvres Porcelain Factory, where both delegations awaited her.
• Georgiana challenged the French townspeople to provide evidence against the British and pointed out that the cemetery had no caretaker or proper management.
• Georgiana told the British to offer compensation and urged the French to report the missing corpse to the police rather than conduct their own search.
• The French leader agreed to a written contract, and Georgiana asked the most agitated Frenchman and Briton to leave so the others could settle the matter.
• Georgiana declined to see Bernadotte and asked Caprara to guide her to the next destination.