Mr. Shipton snorted, his tone nowhere as amiable as it was with Charlotte Allison, and became serious: "What's going on between you and Charlotte?"
Henry Shipton was puzzled: "Dad, what could possibly be going on between me and Charlotte Allison? Didn't you see everything?"
Mr. Shipton looked fierce, clenching his fist with a threatening air: "You little brat, first causing trouble for others, and now onto Charlotte?! Watch me not give you a beating!"
To Henry, these years of empty threats about getting a beating from his father held no real threat, more like a paper tiger.
He, as the son, had to feign some fear for the sake of his father's dignity, otherwise, he might have to deal with complaints to his mother.
He wasn't afraid of his father giving him a real beating, he was only afraid of his mother looking at him with tearful eyes.
However, his father's words amused him, with a hint of helplessness: "Dad, do you talk about your own son like this?"
