Dad Threatened Disownment; After Uncle's Release He Went Mad

The day my uncle got out of prison. My father blocked my way and said, "Cordelia, you go and pick up that criminal, and you can stop calling me your father!" I bit my lip and said nothing. I picked up the fifty dollars I'd saved over three years, turned, and left. I paid ten dollars to hire an ox cart, and after forty jolting miles I reached the prison gate on the edge of the city. When my uncle saw that I'd come alone, he suddenly smiled. "Cordelia, your father didn't give you a hard time, did he?"