(Aurora's POV)
Phineas told me that evening.
"Tomorrow," he said. "We go to the estate. I want you to meet my father properly."
I felt it immediately - that cold tightening in my chest that I associated with rooms full of people who had already decided what they thought of me.
"He's going to have reservations," I said. "About my history. About the fact that I was married to someone in your family."
"Probably."
"That doesn't bother you?"
Phineas looked at me steadily. "If he makes it impossible, we leave. We build something on our own terms. I've told you that before and I meant it."
He wasn't performing certainty. He just had it.
He mentioned Rosalind then - the painting, the handprint, what had happened at the dinner. I listened without saying anything.
I wasn't happy about it.
