There was a brief moment where Elsie felt a little relief as she felt Tyb right next to her suddenly; she'd almost forgotten he was there, her hand reaching for his on instinct, though she stopped herself just shy of actually taking hold.

Whatever response Elsie had been expecting from her cousin it was absolutely not this. Elsie visibly recoiled at Lucinda's fury, words coming out of her mouth that Els never actually heard anyone use in her presence. When she dared to look at Lucinda again, there was a panic that she'd never felt rising as the vitriol practically spilled out of Luce's lips; she absolutely could tell her mother and ruin Elsie's life, but she wouldn't go so far as to ruin Tyb's career, would she?

This time Elsie wasn't brave enough to try her cousin, what else could she say? Lucinda clearly didn't understand where she was coming from, they were two different sides of this coin, but to hear that Lucinda didn't enjoy her status was not what Elsie expected. That was not at the forefront of her mind, however it was just how spiteful Lucinda was being right now, threatening to jeopardize Tyb's career like that. The words that Elsie was going to say did not sound good even in her head and she did not want to risk making her cousin any angrier.

Chancing a glace at Tyb, she managed to tangle her fingers in his ever so quickly and give them a reassuring squeeze. That was all she could do though as she tried to hold her head high and leave with some dignity, but that was nearly impossible. As she passed Luce, she paused briefly, "I'm sorry," She hadn't meant to upset Lucinda in explaining what was going on. "I know I don't get to ask anything right now, but please don't ruin his career." It was barely more than a whisper, but Elsie would be utterly heartbroken if this was going to rebound on the only other thing she knew he absolutely loved. There wasn't much more she could do and she crept out of the library with her heart pounding and her mind racing in a thousand different directions.