about midnight
We sat down to supper . I put on the most serious air I could assume , while the servants were in the room , and at length having got rid of them , we passed , beyond all comparison , the most agreeable evening of my life . I gave Marcel orders to find a hackney-coach , and engage it to be at the gate on the following morning a little before six o'clock . I pretended to take leave of Manon about midnight , but easily gaining admission again , through Marcel , I proceeded to occupy G -- M -- 's bed , as I had filled his place at the supper table . `` In the meantime our evil genius was at work for our destruction . We were like children enjoying the success of our silly scheme , while the sword hung suspended over our heads . The thread which upheld it was just about to break ; but the better to understand all the circumstances of our ruin , it is necessary to know the immediate cause .