Read the passage carefully:
Arthur stood by the mantel, holding the letter with a lightness that belied the white tension in his knuckles. Across the room, his sister Eleanor was already cataloging their late uncle’s porcelain, her pen scraping against the ledger with a rhythmic, indifferent precision that seemed to Arthur a form of desecration. To Eleanor, the estate was a sum of recoverable debts, a ledger to be balanced before the winter damp ruined the upholstery. But Arthur, gazing out at the overgrown orchards, felt the heavy, suffocating press of his uncle’s presence in every unpruned branch. He knew Eleanor expected him to protest the sale, to mount some sentimental defense of their childhood summers. Yet, when she finally looked up, her eyes hard with the expectation of a scene, Arthur simply smiled and laid the letter on the table. "The valuation seems fair," he said, his voice flat, emptied of the grief that sat like lead in his throat. He would let her believe him cold; it was easier to endure her disapproval of his supposed apathy than to permit her entry into the sanctuary of his mourning.
Which of the following best describes the motivation behind Arthur’s decision to agree to the valuation of the estate?
- Aassert his own control over the estate's finances in opposition to his sister's ledger
- Bavoid a prolonged argument by submissively accepting his sister's authority
- Cproject a sense of apathy to match the author's critical perspective on the futility of inheritance
- protect the privacy of his grief from his sister’s scrutinyAnswer
- Efocus on the physical layout of the estate rather than the sentimental memories associated with it