three o'clock
`` Upon my word I do n't know , '' said the Lady Margaretta , `` for I was half-asleep . But I do know that I was called some time in the middle of the night and was dressing myself before daylight . '' Wise people , when they are in the wrong , always put themselves right by finding fault with the people against whom they have sinned . Lady De Courcy was a wise woman , and therefore , having treated Miss Thorne very badly by staying away till three o'clock , she assumed the offensive and attacked Mr. Thorne 's roads . Her daughter , not less wise , attacked Miss Thorne 's early hours . The art of doing this is among the most precious of those usually cultivated by persons who know how to live . There is no withstanding it .