Madam Clegg gently patted Dodo on the back, saying, "It's okay, it's okay. As long as grandma is here, no one can bully our Dodo."
But as soon as her words fell, Hank Clegg coldly interjected, "If she did take the medal, she must be punished."
Upon hearing Hank Clegg's statement, Dodo's sobbing became even worse.
Punishment... Does Father think he hasn't punished them enough? His cold treatment of them - isn't this the greatest punishment?
Does he have to break their hearts completely?
"Punishment, what punishment! Hearing Dodo's crying, Mr. Clegg was distressed and roared in anger, "The ones who truly deserve punishment in this house are you! And this Rebecca Smith! Dodo is entirely correct: you two are conspiring together - in essence, you're abetting evil!"
Mr. Clegg's defense of Dodo surprised Hank.
In his memory, whenever any of the three brothers committed an error, regardless of who was at fault, their father would always decree their guilt and chastise them.
