It took a moment to register just how late it was and all it did was settle the sinking feeling of dread in her stomach. She'd certainly missed breakfast, and couldn't quite conjure an excuse for not being in her bed, but she could figure it out. Though lying was not exactly second nature to her, in fact she was quite bad at it, Elsie had read enough books in her life that she could fabricate something convincing. Or so she hoped.

Sighing softly, she leaned in to press a kiss to his cheek before scooting toward the edge of the bed. "Please don't be sorry, I'm not." She smiled slowly at him, just a hint of mischief behind it. Though last night had not been anywhere near what she'd anticipated for the evening, she did not regret it, not at all. Hopefully there would never be a reason to regret it, at any point down the line.

First she had to collect her scattered clothes, just the thought of it bringing a blush to her cheeks, but fortunately, at least until she was home and alone, she didn't exactly have time to think about it. (Needless to say, the putting on of the layers was far less fun than taking them off!) Els located her wand in the pocket of her skirt and with a with a specific flick, a practiced motion from years at school without much help dressing, she was already halfway re-dressed by the time she had conjured a half-excuse for her mother. "I'll be fine, don't worry." Though she sounded sure and meant to reassure him, she wasn't quite as positive on the inside. It wasn't like her mother would have any reason to doubt what Elsie said, whatever it was she came up with. She may find herself housebound (oh no!) for a while, but it wasn't as if Stella had much to punish her with.

"I'll tell Mother I had an urgent owl from a friend and I needed to go." Perhaps her mother would believe that. It wouldn't be out of character for Elsie, though if it were the truth, she would certainly tell her parents first. "Shouldn't be too bad." She shrugged a little, hoping that was exactly the case.