about two in the morning
Anyhow , Mary had no doubt of its genuineness . She slipped off after dinner , hired a carriage with two broken-winded screws and set off up the valley . She left a line for Wake telling him to follow according to the plan -- a line which he never got , for his anxiety when he found she had gone drove him to immediate pursuit . At about two in the morning of the 19th after a slow and icy journey she arrived at the inn , knocked up the aged servants , made herself a cup of chocolate out of her tea-basket and sat down to wait on my coming . She has described to me that time of waiting . A home-made candle in a tall earthenware candlestick lit up the little _ salle-a-manger _ , which was the one room in use . The world was very quiet , the snow muffled the roads , and it was cold with the penetrating chill of the small hours of a March night .