It was the natural expression of a man who had never, in his whole life, considered the inner experience of anyone he held power over to be worth his attention.

Lucas saw that, at nine, and named it, and he was exactly right.

Chapter 17 — He Was Your Family

Arthur stood there and looked down at his grandson, and something in him seemed to collapse, the scaffolding of authority and certainty giving way all at once, leaving behind only what had been underneath it the whole time.

Not a powerful man.

Not a patriarch.