Summary: Prologue – Beatrice

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter opens with Beatrice unconscious, overhearing fragments of conversation. An attendant apologizes to “Your Lordship” for not realizing he'd slept in the room again, and a warm voice—Teddy's—asks to be called by his first name. Teddy has been keeping vigil on a couch, unwilling to leave in case Beatrice wakes. He tells her he loves her and begs her to wake up.

The scene shifts without transition. Connor knocks at Beatrice's door, telling her her father is looking for her. She's at the family's mountain house in Telluride, and the memory of being stranded with Connor in a snowstorm in Montrose crashes over her—a moment “where everything had changed.” They exchange a secret smile and a quick kiss before she dresses in snow gear.

Beatrice joins her father, King George IV, at the kitchen table. He asks her to go for a walk, and they snowshoe through the trails. He reflects on the past year, on victories and mistakes, and advises her that a leader must listen to critics—especially those she disagrees with most.

Beatrice's thoughts turn to the constant public criticism she faces: she isn't fashionable like Princess Louise of France, she holds back her emotions and seems aloof, and commenters wish her brother Jeff had been born first so America would have another king instead of its first queen. At her weakest moments, she wonders if that would have been easier.

They spot fox tracks in the snow. Her father remarks that male foxes don't venture into the cold as much—they aren't as fierce—and says this is one of the many reasons Beatrice will be a great queen. She protests that she's intellectual, serious, and dedicated, but not fierce. He insists her convictions are fierce, and that she'll need that strength: she must be the stabilizing force beneath a rotating carousel of senators and judges, a constant amid the changing times.

The conversation turns to Teddy. Her father mentions that Beatrice and Teddy seemed to be enjoying themselves at the New Year's Eve party. Beatrice stumbles through an explanation: she and Teddy have been dating to appease the media and their parents, though she admits she feels relaxed with him and considers him a friend—something she doesn't have in spades. Her father says he worries about her being lonely in the role.

Then they see the fox—a flash of red foxtail behind the trees. Beatrice grabs her father's forearm, and he observes, “Her pulse is picking up.” The fox darts off. Beatrice realizes her father has been moving more slowly than usual, stalling, and she asks if he's okay. He tells her he misses her, that he loves her.

The scene breaks. Beatrice opens her eyes to fluorescent light, the beeping of machines, and Teddy's face. He calls for Dr. Jacobs. She tries to find Connor in the room but can't, and before she can make sense of anything, she slips back into darkness.

Key Events

Teddy keeps a vigil at Beatrice's bedside while she's unconscious, sleeping on a couch and refusing to leave.
A flashback reveals Beatrice at the Telluride mountain house, recovering from being stranded with Connor in a snowstorm.
Beatrice and Connor share a secret kiss and smile, establishing their hidden romance.
King George IV takes Beatrice on a snowy walk and reflects on leadership, critics, and her future as queen.
The father-daughter conversation touches on public criticism of Beatrice and the possibility that Jeff would have been a more popular heir.
The fox sighting becomes a symbolic moment: her father links the fox's fierceness to Beatrice's own qualities.
Her father's words take on a farewell quality—“I miss you, Bee. I love you so much.”
The chapter returns to the hospital, where Beatrice wakes briefly, fails to find Connor, and loses consciousness again.

Character Development

Beatrice is caught between two worlds in this chapter. In the flashback, she's thoughtful and self-aware, acknowledging her public image problems while privately wondering if her brother would have been an easier choice for the throne. Her secret romance with Connor contrasts sharply with her public relationship with Teddy, revealing the gap between her duty and her desires. Her father's words about fierceness challenge her self-perception—she sees herself as serious and dedicated, but not fierce, even as he insists her convictions are.

King George IV appears reflective and unusually vulnerable. He admits to making mistakes, advises listening to critics, and speaks with a philosophical weight that suggests he knows something Beatrice doesn't. His slow movements, his stalling, and his final words—“I miss you, Bee”—carry an undertone of farewell that becomes clear only when the scene snaps back to the hospital.

Teddy is devoted and gentle, keeping vigil and refusing to leave Beatrice's side. His presence in the hospital contrasts with Connor's absence, setting up the emotional tension between the two relationships.

Connor appears only in the flashback, but his role is significant: he's the secret, the person Beatrice looks for when she wakes, and the one who isn't there.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Coma and vigil: The frame structure places Beatrice between consciousness and memory, letting the reader experience her past and present simultaneously. Teddy's vigil establishes the stakes of her condition.

Fox symbolism: The fox represents fierceness and the qualities Beatrice's father believes she possesses. His comment that female foxes are fiercer than males directly connects to his faith in her as the first queen.

Duty versus personal desire: Beatrice's public relationship with Teddy exists to appease the media and parents, while her real feelings are with Connor. The chapter makes this tension explicit.

Loneliness of leadership: Her father's worry that she'll be lonely in the role, and Beatrice's admission that she doesn't have friends in spades, underscore the isolation of the crown.

Memory and flashback structure: The chapter deliberately blurs the line between memory and reality, using the coma as a framing device to make the flashback feel dreamlike and unreliable.

Why This Chapter Matters

This prologue establishes the central mystery of the novel: what happened to Beatrice? The reader knows she's in a hospital, that Teddy is keeping vigil, and that Connor is nowhere to be found—but not why. The flashback provides crucial context: her last meaningful conversation with her father, whose words now read as a goodbye. The chapter also introduces the love triangle (Teddy vs. Connor), the weight of being America's first queen, and the public scrutiny Beatrice faces. It's a masterful setup that gives readers emotional stakes before the main narrative begins.

Study Questions

1. Why does the author use a flashback within a coma scene rather than telling the story chronologically?

The structure creates dramatic irony. Readers experience Beatrice's peaceful memory of her father—his advice, his love, his farewell-like words—while knowing from the opening scene that something has gone wrong. The coma frame also makes the memory feel fragile and dreamlike, mirroring Beatrice's own uncertain state. It establishes the emotional stakes of the story before the plot begins.

2. What does the fox symbolize in the conversation between Beatrice and her father?

The fox represents fierceness and the qualities her father believes Beatrice possesses. He explicitly connects the female fox's willingness to brave the cold to Beatrice's own strength, telling her that her convictions are fierce. The fox also embodies something wild and untamed—perhaps the secret romance with Connor that exists outside the controlled world of royal duty.

3. How does this chapter establish the central conflict between duty and personal desire?

Beatrice's public relationship with Teddy is a performance for the media and their parents, while her real feelings are with Connor, whom she must keep secret. Her father's advice about being a stabilizing force and a constant amid changing times reinforces the weight of her duty as the first queen. The chapter shows Beatrice navigating these competing pressures, setting up the central tension of her character arc.