"I had no excuse for doing so."
"And you had an excuse for staying, eh?"
"Yes."
"Lord Cramer?"
"He begged me to stay. And, as I am going to marry him, I did what he desired, of course."
"Of course. And, of course, you will do what your father desires?"
"If Father is reasonable."
"The Fifth Command says you are to obey your father, and it does not make any exceptions as to whether he is reasonable or unreasonable."
"I intend to marry Richard, and no other man in all the wide world."
"You do not require to be so pointed about it. There is no one here wishes to prevent you."