This was a fairly horrific event for Elliot to be at, but him and George had made an appearance, and he intended on simply implying that the rest of the family was too prone to being Welsh and avoiding society and hoping for the best. He was going to cover for Ginny by being visible, everywhere — like he could not possibly be covering for someone if he was being this social.

Of course, he maybe would have reevaluated had he known that he would hear Mr. Goshawk flirting with Mrs. Mulciber. Elliot coughed, and covered it up by taking a sip of his drink.

"I'm not sure that my father ever stayed home because we were ill," Elliot said, "Yourself, Mr. Goshawk?"

If Mulciber flirted back to Goshawk he supposed he would have to flee.