3 o'clock P.M.
The narrative was written by myself -- a citizen of the United States , visiting England with his wife . It described a dinner-party at which we were present , given by Mr. and Mrs. Germaine , in celebration of their marriage ; and it mentioned the circumstances under which we were intrusted with the story which has just come to an end in these pages . Having read the manuscript , Mr. and Mrs. Germaine left it to us to decide whether we should continue our friendly intercourse with them or not . At 3 o'clock P.M. we closed the last leaf of the story . Five minutes later I sealed it up in its cover ; my wife put her bonnet on , and there we were , bound straight for Mr. Germaine 's house , when the servant brought a letter into the room , addressed to my wife . She opened it , looked at the signature , and discovered that it was `` Mary Germaine . '' Seeing this , we sat down side by side to read the letter before we did anything else .