For nearly two months, Seraphina had managed to avoid seeing her father. It was easy enough. As far as she knew, he was not mobile yet, and she had no reason to take an abundance of interest in his health. After all, she had never shown much interest in anything before. (She did feel bad for Miranda and Robert, who had to see him due to their own positions, but not bad enough to do so herself.)

But as the days and weeks stretched on, it became hard to justify avoiding her father. She had no desire to visit the Rowle Residence or the Castle, but some looks from her household staff indicated to Sera that she usually went to the Castle more than she was. And she did not want to care, but Henry had mentioned it to her the other day, and Sera said that she had plans to visit her father on Monday before she could think better of it, because she did not want Henry to pay attention to why she had not seen her father.

And now she was worried that if she did not visit Algernon Rowle, her husband would somehow find out about it. And — technically, logically — her husband, with a wand and all of the legal rights over her, posed more danger. But emotionally, seeing her father was so much worse. She remembered eye contact, and then the fifteen years of being Under, and she found herself wishing that the stroke had killed him so she could have her very complicated feelings about him without having to see her father.

She took the floo to the house in Wellingtonshire, gave her coat to the housekeeper, and took her time on her way to her father's room. Seraphina did not think that she had ever been in her father's bedroom before. The office, certainly — but his room felt strange, like an invasion. She hesitated outside the door.

But if it was strange to avoid him after saying that she would see him, it was stranger to hide in the hallway and avoid him. Her heart thumped, swift and anxious, in her chest. She turned the handle, felt for her wand in her pocket, and stepped into her father's room.

"Father," Sera announced. Her voice was shrill to her own ears. She took two steps in, and stopped. "It's Sera."

She looked to him, expectant, worried.