Lunch felt like another test.
It probably wasn't. Claude was prone to overthinking—but overthinking has made him cautious, and overthinking was the reason he answered each of Desmon Louis Erancus' questions with practiced ease.
Phineas and Claude sat next to one another, Desmon at the head of the table. The private dining room at Erancus manor had a high-ceiling with a chandelier hanging over the rectangular table, two butlers stationed by the door waiting in case they were needed. A mixture of smells engulfed them—smoked salmon, curry roasted cauliflower, sautéed green beans, and balsamic chicken.
They had to keep up the act—a couple who's comfortable taking food from each other's plates, who coaxes the other to try the food being fed to them.
Phineas enjoyed doing that particular bit
