Isaac had a bright smile, seeing Chairman Lucius needed his help.
Chairman Lucius looked at him with an expression that said, very clearly, that he did not find his smile amusing.
Isaac gave Chairman Lucius a pat on the shoulder — perhaps a touch more cheerfully than was strictly necessary — and moved to the living room.
Everyone had settled back into their own conversations after breakfast, but Isaac could tell that Alice was waiting for them, and Celia was practically radiating curiosity from where she sat, pretending to be absorbed in something Charlotta was saying.
He set the spatial ring down on the table in front of Alice.
"Father-in-law brought gifts. Go ahead and look through it," he said.
Alice picked up the ring and directed her perception inside.
She was quiet for a moment, then raised her head and looked across the room at Chairman Lucius, who was standing near the doorway with his hands clasped behind his back and an expression of careful neutrality.
