It was unfortunate, Algernon thought, that it had to come to this. He, of course, didn't like that his children seemed intent on forcing his hand. He was a reasonable man--some imperfection was, if not truly tolerable, was at the very least... understandable. To a degree. And perhaps, under different circumstances, he might have respected a certain amount of spiritedness. Perhaps.
But everything had its limit, and the circumstances could not be changed. And, frankly, Algernon thought that they were well past reasonable. This was a matter of family safety, after all. He couldn't very well tempt fate and wait for another child to be permanently crippled. Or worse.
When the expected knock came at his office door, Algernon called out his permission to enter. "Philip." He nodded curtly at the chair in front of his desk. "Sit."