@cfnorfolk
Norfolk had always done his utmost to prioritize his family. The Howard name was one of the things that mattered the most to him in the world - anything that he could do to advance the family’s success was the route he would always choose first, without hesitation. Yet his relationship with his daughter was not so straightforward. He had never had the highest hopes for Mary - she was prone to all of the weaknesses of women that he had little patience for, sentimental and soft and other manner of things.
Even still, he had to put in the effort. Aside from his own Henry (his heir, always his pride), Mary had risen the highest of his children, married to the late King’s own blood. He had scarcely spoken to her in some time - standard, considering they were scarcely close in affection - and so he sought to rectify that, to make out what precisely the Duchess of Richmond was doing, how her marriage was playing out. So he had invited her to visit him for dinner - just the two of them aside from staff, Bess quietly sent away for the evening to avoid the unnecessary tension that would surely arise from her presence. He was already seated at the table when his daughter arrived, posture upright and stiff.
“You have become lax in terms of your punctuality,” was the first thing out of his mouth, annoyance contained, but only barely. “Has some important business kept you from your father, Lady Richmond?”