We would usually apologise for coming home late to a loved one. It is usually very considerate to text or call the person you're living with to tell them you will be coming home later than usual. This helps as the person would be put at ease.
When you do arrive at home, it's polite to apologise for being late. When saying "Forgive me..." It just shows that you are being sincere and truly are sorry, hoping that the person can forgive you for being home late.
The scenario is speaking about some one "returning home" late there is no need for a formal or business like response to the question. The responses that i have given are referring to a child that has to apologise to a parent or someone that they are staying with; therefore i have given three conversational phrases that one can use at home.
There are many ways to apologise for being late. Many times people are delayed in someway. I am so sorry I was delayed at work. I'm so sorry my train was delayed. I'm so sorry there was a lot of traffic and I lost a lot of time. If you prefer not to give an explanation as to why you were late, you can simply say "sorry for being late". More formally, for work or business, you can say " Please excuse my lateness", but this is not casual or familiar. Another very common way is to state, "I'm sorry, it took me longer than expected" This is used a lot and for any situation. It took me longer than expected at the store. The meeting ran longer than expected. The restaurant took longer than expected. It took longer than expected at the gas station.
遅れたことを謝る言い方はたくさんあります。大抵、遅れるときには理由があります。
I am so sorry I was delayed at work.
（ごめんなさい、仕事が遅くなってしまって）
I'm so sorry my train was delayed.
（ごめんなさい、電車が遅れてしまって）
I'm so sorry there was a lot of traffic and I lost a lot of time.
（ごめんなさい、渋滞に巻き込まれてしまって）
理由を言いたくないなら、シンプルに「Sorry for being late（遅れてごめん）」と言えます。
仕事などでは、よりフォーマルに「Please excuse my lateness（遅れてすみません）」と言えます。ただ、これは打ち解けた言い方ではありません。
もう一つよく使われるのは「I'm sorry, it took me longer than expected」です。状況を問わず、よく使われます。
It took me longer than expected at the store.
（お店で時間を取ってしまって）
The meeting ran longer than expected.
（会合が長引いてしまって）
The restaurant took longer than expected.
（レストランで時間を取ってしまって）
It took longer than expected at the gas station.
（ガソリンスタンドで時間を取ってしまって）
Sorry for getting back so late / I am sorry I got home so late - You can use these interchangeably for telling someone you're sorry that you arrived late to your home.
I'm sorry I am so late - You can say this when you get home and want to apologize for returning late, or you can use this in any situation where you have arrived late.
Sorry for getting back so late / I am sorry I got home so late（帰りが遅くなってごめんなさい）
- どちらも同じ意味です。家に帰るのが遅くなったことを謝る場合に使えます。
I'm sorry I am so late（遅くなってごめんなさい）
- 家に帰るのが遅くなったことを謝りたいときに使えます。それ以外でも、到着が遅れたときなら、どんな場面でも使えます。
When you want to apologize for having come home late, then you may say it in the following ways:
-Sorry I'm late
-I am sorry for getting home late
-I'm sorry I'm only getting here now
帰りが遅くなったことを謝りたい時は、以下のフレーズが使えます：
Sorry I'm late（遅くなってごめんなさい。）
I am sorry for getting home late（帰りが遅くなってごめんなさい。）
I'm sorry I'm only getting here now（遅くなってごめんなさい。）
こんにちは。
様々な言い方ができると思いますが、例えば下記のような表現はいかがでしょうか：
・Sorry I'm home late.
帰りが遅くなってごめんなさい。
シンプルですがとても使いやすい英語フレーズだと思います。
sorry はご存知の通り「ごめんなさい」となります。
get home late で「帰りが遅くなる」を英語で表すことができます。
ぜひ参考にしてください。
日本 
アメリカ合衆国 
南アフリカ 
イギリス 
