Page 43 of The Wallflower’s Great Escape (The Wallflowers’ Revolt #1)
One Month Later, The Earl and Countess of Pembroke’s Town House
G eorgie was seated at the head of her own dining table, flanked by Poppy and Bea, with Jason at her right and laughter ringing off the gilded walls.
The long table gleamed with polished silver and crystal, the scent of roasted duck mingling with wax candles and the faintest whisper of roses from the arrangements spaced perfectly down the center.
Georgie took it all in, the soft murmur of conversation, the warmth of Jason’s thigh brushing hers under the table, and marveled at how much her life had changed in only a handful of weeks.
Lord Henderville, she was pleased to say, had not only retreated from Society entirely but had even named his nephew his heir at last, quietly slinking away to the country like the defeated old crow he was.
And Jason…well, Jason had, at some point in the past four weeks, apparently paid a visit to his mother with much the same energy he’d brought to his showdown with Henderville.
Georgie hadn’t been privy to what exactly he’d said to the dowager countess, but he had returned that evening looking quietly satisfied, and his mother had not so much as glanced in Georgie’s direction since.
At the moment, all four of them—Georgie, Jason, Bea, and Poppy— were leaning comfortably in their chairs after the third course, sipping wine and laughing over Poppy’s latest tale of her mother’s antics.
“—and then,” Poppy was saying, nearly breathless with indignation, “she declared she was forming her own opera company and began auditioning footmen in the drawing room. Two of them actually sang arias! To her!”
Bea snorted elegantly into her wine, while Jason shook his head with a bemused smile.
“She has quite the…creative spirit,” Jason murmured dryly.
“She’s a menace,” Poppy retorted, though her lips twitched with reluctant affection.
Georgie chuckled softly, resting her hand lightly on Jason’s arm before turning to Bea.
“Oh!” she said suddenly, remembering. “Bea, did you see the paper this morning? That scathing cartoon of Lord Nicholas Archer? I nearly dropped my teacup when I saw it. The man looked like a puffed-up rooster wearing nothing but Parliamentary robes and a grin.”
At that, Bea’s eyes sparkled with unmistakable amusement…and something else, something sly and secretive.
“See it?” she repeated archly, setting down her glass with delicate precision. “I created it.”
The room fell into stunned silence for a heartbeat. Georgie’s jaw actually dropped. “You… what ?”
Bea smirked, a wicked gleam in her eye. “I drew it,” she said simply, leaning back in her chair. “And delivered it to the paper under a pseudonym. And before you ask…yes. You’re all sworn to secrecy.”
Poppy gasped softly and clapped a hand over her mouth, while Jason merely arched a brow in faint disbelief.
“You’re the artist?” Georgie managed, blinking at her friend as though she’d never seen her before.
Bea’s smirk deepened. “Indeed I am.”
Poppy leaned forward, her cheeks flushed with excitement. “Ooh, do you plan to make any more cartoons, Bea?” she asked breathlessly. “Your father would be so angry if he found out.”
Bea’s gaze sharpened, and for the first time that evening, Georgie saw something almost fierce glitter behind her friend’s usual cool composure.
“Oh, indeed I do,” she replied smoothly, her lips curving into a smile that promised trouble.
“It’s not my fault that my father is on the wrong side of politics. ”
And then, “I’m so glad your revolt worked, Georgie,” she added, her voice low but full of quiet fire, “because I do believe it’s time for mine.”
Bea’s sea-foam eyes glinted as she raised her glass in a silent toast, and her smile turned downright dangerous. “And mine,” she finished softly, “is going to be an all-out war.”
Thank you for reading Georgie and Jason’s story. The next story in The Wallflowers’ Revolt trilogy is The Wallflower’s Secret War . Find out what happens when Bea finally clashes with Lord Nicholas Archer.