To be honest, Harry was relieved to have the whole business with voting committee to be over and done with. Oh, he'd been glad to have a part--it was important, and feeling like he was actively doing something was always better than sitting on his hands and hoping for the best. He hadn't expected anything about the whole thing to be easy, mind you, but it was better than the alternative.

Maybe he should have known better than to accept a dinner invitation at such a time, but perhaps he'd been worn down by the effort to keep his thoughts to himself in public. No one had ever accused Harry Berkwood of being a quiet man, and while he was actually very good at keeping secrets--see his real connection to Marigold Davenport for proof of that--it was exhausting when everyone and their brother knew he had secrets to keep.

Still, at Paxton's question, Harry couldn't help but snort. "That's probably my last foray into taking such an active part in politics, yeah," he said. That was more or less true. He still had a very real interest in reform, but public roles weren't really for him, he'd discovered.

---