ten o'clock
Several of these persons also recollected the curiosity that had been expressed in regard to Mlle. de Beaumesnil , who was then in a foreign land , and whom no one had ever seen , so a majority of Madame Mirecourt 's guests would consequently witness to-night the solution of the problem propounded several weeks before . Was the richest heiress in France as beautiful as a star or as hideous as a monster ? Was she glowing with health or a hopeless consumptive ? It was ten o'clock , and Madame de Mirecourt was becoming very uneasy . Madame de Senneterre and her son had not made their appearance ; Mlle. de Beaumesnil might arrive at any moment , and it had been arranged that Ernestine should be chaperoned by Madame de la Rochaiguë or Madame de Senneterre the entire evening , and that Gerald should dance the first quadrille with the heiress . Every minute the crowd increased . Among the newcomers , M. de Mornand , accompanied by M. de Ravil , advanced in the most disinterested air imaginable to pay his respects to Madame de Mirecourt , who greeted him very graciously , and innocently remarked , without the slightest suspicion how true her words were : `` I am sure you came partially to see me , but chiefly to see the lioness of the evening , Mlle. de Beaumesnil . ''