Georgiana, who had, in fact, brought the novel in hopes of seeing Coppet, the late novelist’s home, was delighted. “I would like very much to see it, if such a plan were agreeable to you. Several of her works are housed at the library here, and I have been reading about her during our stay here. Might we go to-morrow, if the weather is fine?” Darcy could not hide his pleasure at Georgiana’s eagerness for the plan, and immediately set about making arrangements for the family to travel up to Coppet by boat early the next day, stopping only to remark that Georgiana desired to go, indeed, if she were urging another journey aboard-ship.

“That is certainly true, Brother,” answered Georgiana, “The very recollection of the voyage to Calais is sufficient to produce an apprehension of the sea-sickness. However, I believe the lake to be much calmer than the Channel, and so willingly—temporarily—forsake the shore in favour of a visit to Coppet.”

For this day, Georgiana appropriated the office of guide wholly to herself. As they sailed to the village, she related a brief history for the benefit of her brother and sister. The Château de Coppet was purchased and improved by de Staël’s father, Jacques Necker, who had the prescience to purchase a safe haven in the wake of the long years of upheavals in France. Following his daughter’s public denunciations of the Emperour, Buonaparte—unsurprisingly—exiled Madame de Staël in retaliation. Living at her father’s estate at Coppet until her death, she entertained the leading intellects of the day. Since that time, pilgrimages to her home were become de rigueur, and the Darcys found that many of their fellow passengers on board were similarly bound for the château.

In Coppet, a closely packed mediæval village, a short walk up the hill brought them to a fairly modern château of rose colour, decorated and furnished in the fashion of Louis XVI. Walking through the large courtyard, Georgiana imagined herself as the heroine Corinne, cast aside by her one true love. She walked slowly through the rooms of the house, leaving Elizabeth and Darcy outside to admire the views of Lake Geneva and the snow-covered Alps, explore the stables, and inspect the wine-press. Walking through the north end of the courtyard, she found herself in the portrait room, where she spent many minutes examining the faces of de Staël’s two husbands, looking for an aspect of cruelty in the first, and of gentleness in the second. A portrait of Madame de Staël as a child caught her attention, the little girl sitting stiffly on a small chair, with her powdered hair piled high upon her head. The portraitist had captured her in a pose of conversation, and the child’s earnest, serious face reminded Georgiana of herself.