her father said, his voice low and harsh. “Do you have any idea what you have done to our family? To your mother?” He grabbed her upper arm and squeezed. Elinor cried out and reflexively tried to pull away, but without success. She barely felt the hard pressure of his hand; she was numb with shock and the beginnings of fear. He could not have found her so soon. He could not be there. Uniformed men stared at their tableau and whispered, but no one stepped forward to intervene. “Papa,” she began. “Do not address me. I do not wish to hear a single word from you. You will return with me immediately, and we will attempt to mitigate the unparalleled disaster you have brought upon yourself. Everyone knows what you have been about, Elinor. They know you have spent untold hours alone with the worst kind of reprobates the Navy can dredge up. Lord Copley himself took great pleasure in telling me where you were; can you imagine my humiliation?
