Arthur realized that she was in a bad mood, but this time he didn't say anything. He didn't want to poke the bear and make it angry.
Lady Vena was silent as she thought about her meeting with the patriarch. She also thought about the last part of the meeting.
After chastising them, the patriarch had said to them, "You may go. Just remember to tell me whenever he needs anything next time. Take this as warning. If you fail the family in this, I might actually turn you over my lap and spank you mercilessly."
He warned them again, "I'm telling you now that I mean it. For your sake, I'll advise you not to test how much I mean it because you will not like the result."
She and Augustus had bowed to him and said, "Yes, patriarch."
Then they withdrew themselves as fast as possible.
On their way back to the party, Augustus said to her, "I guess I need to suck up to my son now."
