Nicholas saw them.
It nearly undid him.
“In her words, I found a mirror held up to my own weaknesses.And in that mirror, I saw a truth I can no longer ignore.”
He swept the chamber with a steady gaze.“I am not a Whig,” he said.“But neither am I a Tory.”
Chaos erupted.
Men leapt to their feet.Voices rose in outrage.Half the chamber shouted over the other half.The chancellor pounded his gavel.Winston surged up from his seat as if he’d been struck.
Nicholas did not flinch.
“For the first time in my life,” he continued over the uproar, “I shall cast a vote today not for ambition.”
He paused.
“But for what I truly believe.Unlike the caricatures in the paper would suggest…I am votingforthe reform bill, and I urge those of you with a conscience to do the same.”
He stepped back.
Silence followed, shocked, disbelieving silence.
Nicholas turned once more toward the gallery…just in time to see Bea stand.
Her bonnet trembled slightly as she lifted her chin.Her eyes locked onto his.
Then, before anyone could stop her, she pushed past two startled gentlemen, rushed through the gallery door, down the narrow stairwell, and into the chamber itself.
Gasps filled the air.
A lady—Winston’s daughter, no less—had entered the floor of the House.
Several MPs rose in scandalized outrage.The chancellor shouted for order.Nicholas froze.
Bea.
She stood in the open space at the foot of the benches, chest heaving, eyes shining with tears and fierce resolve.She’d ripped off her bonnet.Her cloak billowed behind her, her hair tumbling loose in golden waves.
She looked wild.
And glorious.
And utterly unstoppable.
She was cradling a copy of the morning paper against her chest.
Nicholas’s breath caught painfully in his chest.“What are you doing?”he whispered.
Her voice shook, but it carried through the chamber like a bell.“What I should have done long ago.”
Winston remained standing, face purple.“Beatrix Winslow, what in God’s name!”
She ignored her father.Her eyes remained locked on Nicholas.
“You didn’t have to say those things,” she said, voice trembling.“Not for me.Not in front of all these men.You didn’t have to?—”
“Bea,” Nicholas replied hoarsely, stepping forward.“I did.You’re the one who made me see.”
