Jeffrey shifted, unsure whether to nod, bow, or simply stand still. “You must be my—”
“Grandfather,” the old man finished for him, a ghost of a smile on his lips. “Yes. Though I see you inherited more of your mother’s modesty than your father’s confidence.”
There was no malice in the words, but no affection either. Just cool observation.
Arden quietly excused himself, bowing once more before stepping back out and closing the door. Jeffrey felt his stomach tighten. Now it was just him and the patriarch.
“Please,” Sebastian Hunt said, gesturing toward a chair opposite the desk. “Sit. You’ve traveled far.”
Jeffrey did, glancing briefly around the room as he did so. Every inch of it was arranged with precision—no book out of place, no stray speck of dust on the furniture. It wasn’t a libr
