Chapter Summaries

Georgiana received a rose and poetry collection from Josephine, who offered to help her leave in exchange for dealing with Grassini. Georgiana refused the bargain, questioned Lord Blom about an attack at a venue she had arranged, and ended the chapter startled by an illustration in William Blake’s poetry book.

• Maria gave Georgiana Josephine’s Queen of Violets rose and a copy of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence.
• Maria relayed Josephine’s offer to help Georgiana leave if she dealt with Grassini, but Georgiana refused to owe her a favor.
• Lord Blom challenged Georgiana to use witchcraft against Grassini, and Georgiana said she would not act herself or need Josephine to plead for her.
• Georgiana told Lord Blom that she was using Bonaparte to take revenge on Mr. Smith and asked whether an attack had occurred at the venue she arranged.
• Georgiana read the poetry collection and snapped it shut when an illustration in Europe: A Prophecy frightened her.

Georgiana met Sir Merry and John Smithman, who offered a steel aqueduct design and pressed her to help secure peace between Britain and France. Sir Merry then outlined a scheme to make Georgiana Queen Regent and install a child king, leaving her escorted toward her newly renovated office.

• Georgiana considered Britain's colonial ambitions and grew angry as she reflected on her poor choice of men.
• Sir Merry introduced John Smithman, who showed Georgiana a cast-iron aqueduct and proposed cooperation if Britain and France made peace.
• Sir Merry told Georgiana that Parliament wanted her to persuade Josephine to become Queen Mother and Demirld to become King of France.
• Sir Merry explained the proposal to make Georgiana Queen Regent and suggested the Prince of Wales could become king instead of a German elector.
• Lord Bloom and several men appeared at the door, and Georgiana gathered two newspapers and left with them toward Saint Luke Palace.

Georgiana met Napoleon at Saint Luke Palace after Britain offered a steel contract in hopes of securing a peace treaty. She challenged him over the British King’s demands and asked about Tipu Sultan, leaving Napoleon eager to enlist her help.

• Georgiana was escorted to Saint Luke Palace by Martin Michel Charles Gaudin and Nicolas Francis, where she inspected Napoleon’s Indian-style lounge.
• Georgiana told Napoleon that Britain wanted him to accept steel supports for the aqueduct and overlook George III’s demands.
• Georgiana asked whether Sieyès had truly planned to make an Elector King of France, and Napoleon explained that the story had been a deception used during the Coup of 18 Brumaire.
• Georgiana refused to urge Napoleon to sign the peace treaty and insisted that he keep resisting.
• Georgiana asked Napoleon about his relationship with Tipu Sultan and mentioned that the Sultan had left two little tigers, prompting Napoleon to embrace her and welcome her help.

Georgiana discussed India, Mysore, and Napoleon’s ambitions in the East, then urged him to use grain exports as a condition for peace with Britain. Napoleon sent her to deliver that demand while ordering her to keep his thoughts about the two hostage princes secret.

• Georgiana recounted the story of Guo State and the stratagem of borrowing a route to attack Guo as she and Napoleon sat by the fire.
• Napoleon described his belief that Asia held the world’s greatest rulers, while Georgiana considered how France might use Mysore and its two captive princes to challenge British power in India.
• Napoleon asked Georgiana to wrap herself in a curtain like a sari, then spoke gloomily about her being English and questioned how she had learned about his concerns.
• Georgiana told Napoleon she had guessed by trying to understand him and promised she had not told anyone.
• Napoleon invoked grain bounties and ordered Georgiana to tell the British envoys that peace talks required them to accept a condition, while keeping the two brothers’ situation secret.

Georgiana considered how Napoleon’s grain export bounties could worsen France’s food crisis while questioning her precarious place in his plans. Maria Lenormand advised her to live like a sleepwalker while awake, but a British Auror named Lufu Durumen appeared and revealed that she had been sent to protect Georgiana.

• Georgiana reflected that Napoleon’s export bounties could drive grain prices higher during the poor harvest expected in 1802 and deepen the risk of famine.
• Living in a confiscated villa in Sèvres, Georgiana questioned whether Napoleon meant to leave her any way to survive and considered the aqueduct project she had sketched.
• Michelle brought Georgiana a second Violet Queen rose from Josephine, then admitted Maria Lenormand, who said the First Consul wanted to know when Georgiana would return to the palace.
• Georgiana asked Lenormand for advice, and Lenormand told her to stay quiet if she could or speak honestly to someone she could not afford to offend.
• Lenormand called herself a sleepwalker while awake and warned Georgiana that remaining involved would mean giving up absolute fairness.
• A woman removed an Invisibility Cloak, stopped Lenormand from casting a spell, and introduced herself as Lufu Durumen, an Auror sent by the British Ministry of Magic to protect Georgiana.

Georgiana spoke with Louvre Truman about her ominous prediction and went to sleep, where she dreamed of Leon Sterndale and heard a warning about the monarchs of 1802. Leon admitted he hated a man and had imagined killing him, while Georgiana agreed to stay by his side and let Britain go for now.

• Louvre Truman questioned Georgiana about her Divination, then urged her to choose a side and asked whether she wanted to return to Britain.
• Georgiana told Louvre to read The Wealth of Nations, saying her prediction was in the book, and then fell asleep.
• In a dream, an old wizard warned Georgiana that the monarchs of 1802 were not in their right minds and that the king she had chosen needed her.
• Georgiana dreamed of Leon Sterndale, who confessed that he hated a man and had fired seven shots to kill a trapped stag, imagining it as that man's corpse.
• Leon told Georgiana to keep the man's condition secret and sleep beside him; she agreed, and he fell asleep while his blackened hand stained her clothes and the sheets.

Georgiana planned a reception to bring French and British business interests together, while considering Napoleon’s ambitions in trade, finance, and public works. After Napoleon damaged a porcelain equestrian statue, Georgiana broke it herself and proposed a moving horse sculpture for the industrial exhibition, then privately questioned its maker, Brongniart, about joining the Conservative Senate.

• Georgiana asked Mrs. Bilis to arrange a reception at the Sèvres Porcelain Factory and invite business figures, officials, and wealthy porcelain buyers.
• Georgiana considered warning Napoleon against meddling in international futures and thought about charging for water by usage to discourage waste.
• Michelle brought Georgiana to Mars Hall, where Napoleon was breaking the leg off Brongniart’s porcelain equestrian statue.
• Georgiana proposed smashing the statue and creating a moving horse sculpture for the industrial exhibition, then kicked the statue to pieces as Napoleon and the officials watched.
• Georgiana left with Brongniart and asked whether he wanted to enter the Conservative Senate, advising him to receive communion before making such a move.

Georgiana advised Brongniart on politics and public works, then learned of a bribery scheme involving Napoleon's relatives and Talleyrand. She rejected a meeting with the French Minister for Magic, argued with Napoleon about her choices and his ambitions, and left him furious after refusing to support a religious ceremony with Josephine.

• Georgiana told Brongniart that supporting the concordat could help him become a legislator and asked him to find someone to introduce water meters.
• Brongniart secretly told Georgiana that people had been rumored to bribe Napoleon's relatives and Talleyrand to appease Bonaparte.
• Lufu Truman asked Georgiana to cooperate with the Minister for Magic over the Quidditch World Cup, but she refused and warned him about the dangers around Saint Luke.
• Napoleon arrived and dismissed Lufu, then asked Georgiana to help find the inventor of a threshing machine and agreed to attend her reception with Joseph.
• Napoleon raised the prospect of a religious ceremony with Josephine, but Georgiana said it was not yet time, and he stormed out.

Georgiana discussed French industry, trade, and political reform with Sir Merry and met John Wilkinson, who hoped French orders would save his failing ironworks. Napoleon’s arrival shifted the reception, while Lucien challenged Sir Merry over British control of an Indian dam and warned Georgiana that Sieyès was seeking generals again.

• Sir Merry introduced John Wilkinson to Georgiana, and Wilkinson presented her with a painting of the iron bridge he hoped would help him secure French orders.
• Georgiana considered plans for French industry, including processing ores in Portugal, promoting potatoes, and bringing Scottish workers to France.
• Sir Merry urged Georgiana to persuade Napoleon to accept Sieyès’s constitutional revision, but Georgiana worried about hereditary Senate seats and France’s vulnerability.
• Napoleon arrived at the reception as the crowd applauded, while Joseph remained with Cornwallis and Louis stood apart displeased.
• Lucien returned and questioned Sir Merry about the Mir Alam Dam in India, prompting Sir Merry to leave for Napoleon.
• Lucien told Georgiana that Sieyès was looking for generals again.

At the Easter ceremony, Georgiana weighed British political demands against France’s fragile stability while Lucien warned her about Napoleon’s power and her influence on him. She left the reception knowing Napoleon wanted a secret passage to visit her and that she still owed Lucien seventy-five million francs.

• Georgiana discussed Merry’s message with Lucien and said she would not persuade Leon to accept Sieyès’s legislative oversight proposal while France remained in crisis.
• Lucien explained Napoleon’s views on federalism and urged Georgiana to win Napoleon’s favor rather than involve herself in conspiracies.
• Georgiana told Lucien about a plan for Britain to transport and process South American iron ore through Portugal, while they discussed Napoleon’s ambitions and Godoy’s fears.
• Lucien warned Georgiana that destroying the statue had harmed Napoleon’s public image and relayed that Napoleon wanted to dig a tunnel to her residence.
• Georgiana left the reception, angry that Napoleon wanted to meet her privately and that she owed Lucien seventy-five million francs.

Georgiana reflected on privilege and Napoleon’s virtues and flaws before discussing Lucien’s marriage and government appointments with Bonaparte. The conversation ended with Georgiana dancing for him and the two sharing a kiss.

• Georgiana rested with Michelle and drank tea at her villa before Bonaparte arrived.
• Georgiana asked Bonaparte to spare Lucien and stop interfering in his marriage, and he said sheep had to grow into lions.
• Bonaparte offered to let Hortense handle future receptions and discussed dividing the Council of Five Hundred into groups, with Carnot as a rapporteur.
• Georgiana recommended Lan Zhi and supported Carnot, while Bonaparte discussed funding research at the porcelain factory.
• Bonaparte asked Georgiana to dance, and she performed Flamenco for him before they kissed.

Georgiana prepared for the coup by shaping Malmaison’s court etiquette and planning receptions that would include workers and peasants. After exchanging notes with Napoleon about religion and law, she welcomed Dermide and ordered Phyllis to bring in the family whose corpse had been stolen.

• Georgiana instructed Hortense to invite skilled peasants and workers to future high-society gatherings and considered selling or giving away some of Napoleon’s furnishings to fund the receptions.
• Georgiana reviewed the political factions of the Conservative Senate and considered Leoncourt’s position and the prospects of his grandson Lance.
• Phyllis told Georgiana that Louis-Claude Berthollet had come at Napoleon’s request and presented Napoleon’s note about religion restraining the masses.
• Georgiana replied with a quotation about people obeying the same laws, sent her note back to Napoleon, and arranged to meet Berthollet in Sèvres the next day.
• Dermide visited Georgiana and told her that Hortense’s ghost stories had failed to scare him; Georgiana said people were scarier than ghosts.
• Georgiana told Phyllis to bring in the family whose corpse had been stolen and ordered that none of her residence’s mirrors be covered with black gauze.

Georgiana told Dermide a bedtime story about Count of La Pérouse before bringing him to the Sèvres Porcelain Factory, where she arranged silk preparations and recruited Jean-Pierre Chauffier for a possible government role. She left Jean-Pierre to consider her offer and instructed Hortense to handle future guests in the same way.

• Georgiana told Dermide the story of Count of La Pérouse's vanished ships, sang to him, and took him to the Sèvres Porcelain Factory the next morning.
• Georgiana met Citizen Berthollet and Julian Ouvrard, discussed redyeing Lyon silk with Hortense, and explained how Hortense should promote its fashionable designs at the reception.
• Georgiana told Hortense that furniture would be moved for another department and revealed that Jean-Pierre Chauffier would be the first commoner guest at the reception.
• Georgiana offered Jean-Pierre a chance to become an agricultural inspector, enter the special tribunal selection, or advise on patents, and asked him to decide by the reception.
• After Jean-Pierre left, Georgiana told Hortense to handle people that way in the future, while Ouvrard asked whether the offer was compensation.

Georgiana learned that Napoleon’s plans depended on buying British grain and keeping Louisiana from being sold, while France faced a strict blockade and strained credit. Michelle asked Georgiana to deliver a letter to her father, who was being sent to Saint-Domingue, and Georgiana agreed to visit Napoleon that night.

• Julian Ouvrard told Georgiana that France needed to repay inherited debts before it could borrow again, and asked whether she still shaved Napoleon in the mornings.
• Georgiana considered the risks of Napoleon selling Louisiana and wondered whether Britain was maneuvering to secure it.
• Michelle told Georgiana that Pauline had been taken to Saint-Domingue and asked to write to her father, who was sailing there for France.
• Michelle asked Georgiana to deliver her letter to Napoleon at Saint Luke Palace, and Georgiana agreed to visit him that night.
• Georgiana reflected on punishment, death, and her former wish to become a Vestal Virgin, then chose white silk with gold trim to wear to Napoleon.

Georgiana, devastated by Napoleon’s plans and her own disillusionment, tried to die in a sealed room at the Sèvres Porcelain Factory, but Dragon’s Breath transformed the pottery and she emerged alive. She rejected Napoleon and left, declaring herself free and refusing to lend him a wizard’s power for war.

• Georgiana learned that Napoleon’s circle was negotiating to sell Louisiana to pay France’s debts, and she grew convinced that Josephine’s influence shaped his decisions.
• Georgiana resolved to preserve Sieyès’s life and constitution and prevent the sale of Louisiana, then sealed herself inside a pottery-drying room with the discarded draft constitution.
• Dragon’s Breath erupted from the Black Lake in Georgiana’s vision, and its heat fired the pottery around her as she waited for death.
• Sieyès called Georgiana out through an opening in the flames, and she told Napoleon that his affairs no longer concerned her and that she would not help him win his war.
• Georgiana used her ring to turn the flames into red clothing that protected her from bullets, then left the building alive and free.

Georgiana tried to leave Napoleon’s villa, but Lucien stopped her and explained the political danger surrounding the proposed sale of Louisiana. She returned to the villa, still determined to reject Napoleon and leave once she could remove her shackles.

• Georgiana tried to leave without telling anyone, but Michelle and Dermide confronted her, and she told Dermide that Pauline Bonaparte was his mother.
• Lucien blocked Georgiana’s path and argued that she should give Napoleon a second chance, while she insisted that some mistakes could not be made even once.
• Lucien told Georgiana that Josephine and others had been approached about selling Louisiana and that the deal could benefit Louis XVIII at France’s expense.
• Georgiana said she would not stay in France to support another king and would live as a widow rather than return to Napoleon in secret.
• Lucien reminded Georgiana that she needed to recover and have her shackles removed before she could leave, and she returned to the little villa.

Georgiana reflected on the fragile rule of law and the shifting balance between republicanism and monarchy as France celebrated the Treaty of Amiens. After Napoleon sent her an apologetic caricature, she decided to write back, leaving their relationship poised for another exchange.

• Georgiana considered how Napoleon’s government was reshaping the Republic and resolved to preserve key republicans while France remained threatened.
• On March 25, the Treaty of Amiens was signed, while Cambacérès purged the Council of Five Hundred and Lucien Bonaparte joined it.
• Georgiana questioned the secrecy surrounding the Louisiana treaties and worried that peace would not last or secure France’s withdrawal from occupied territories.
• Michelle brought Georgiana a newspaper containing a caricature of Napoleon on a woman’s body and a handwritten apology from him.
• Georgiana decided to write Napoleon a reply and planned to have Michelle deliver it.

Georgiana urged Napoleon to use Turgot’s famine-relief policies, create public works, and include political opponents in government, while seeking to clear the Marquis de Condorcet’s name. Napoleon entertained some of her proposals but revealed his ambitions over colonies, trade, and a navy, leaving Georgiana alarmed by his growing possessiveness and power.

• Georgiana discussed Sieyès’s proposed court system and the danger of renewed political purges, then asked him to invite former members of the Council of Five Hundred to her home.
• After Sieyès left, Georgiana read Condorcet’s annotated edition of The Wealth of Nations and reviewed Turgot’s measures for relieving famine.
• Georgiana showed Napoleon Turgot’s policies and urged him to fund public works, aid the poor, and appoint relief-office directors; Napoleon said Chaptal would handle the monthly payments.
• Georgiana told Napoleon she wanted to clear Condorcet’s name and argued that political opponents should have a voice, but Napoleon said he preferred that they remain quiet.
• Georgiana proposed taxing carriages, while Napoleon defended his tariffs and demanded that Britain return Mysore’s lands in exchange for Ceylon.
• Napoleon said he would not trade Georgiana for seventy thousand British prisoners, accused Britain of seeking global control, and threatened to confine her if she fled again.

Georgiana reflected on famine, Napoleon’s political power, and the people around them before asking Henri Grégoire to become her court confessor. The chapter left Grégoire with the offer and ended with a reference to Thomas Jefferson’s letter to Cabanis.

• Starving peasants attacked grain carts and depots, and cavalry sometimes failed to protect the food shipments.
• Napoleon planned to spend April on church matters and offered Henri Grégoire a path back to public work through the National Conservatory or Georgiana’s proposed school.
• Georgiana considered Napoleon’s surveillance, the Republic’s financial weaknesses, and his tolerance of Grassini, while suspecting Josephine had betrayed her.
• Georgiana turned from the rose garden to Henri Grégoire and asked him to become her court confessor.
• A note cited Thomas Jefferson’s 1803 letter to Cabanis about philosophy and destroyed hopes.

Georgiana read Napoleon’s letter about American affairs, Louis’s education, and their strained affection, then arranged for Jean-Pierre Choffier to accompany Henri Grégoire to Avignon. She sent Choffier back with a letter and rose for Napoleon and asked him to watch over Grégoire as they traveled.

• Henri Grégoire told Georgiana about rural hardship in the south and prepared to promote agricultural improvements in Avignon.
• Jean-Pierre Choffier arrived without an appointment and delivered Napoleon’s letter to Georgiana.
• Napoleon’s letter discussed American relations, constitutional power, trade, Georgiana’s resolve in love, and plans for Louis’s education.
• Georgiana asked Choffier to travel to Avignon with Grégoire and assigned him ten Mamluks for protection.
• Georgiana gave Choffier a sealed letter and a Violet Queen rose for Napoleon, then asked him to recommend servants and keep an eye on Grégoire.