ten o'clock
The room in which she and Waymark sat when they were by themselves was in no danger of invasion , but she feared the possibility of meeting her mother to-night . Her father was away from home , as usual , but the days of his return were always uncertain , and Mrs. Enderby might perchance open the door of the little sitting-room just to see whether he was there , as it was here he ordinarily employed himself when in the house . From her bedroom Maud could hear several people ascend the stairs . It was ten o'clock , but an influx of visitors at such an hour was nothing remarkable . She could hear her mother 's laugh , and then the voice of a man , a voice she knew but too well -- that of Mr. Rudge . Her nerves were excited . The night was close , and there were mutterings of thunder at times ; the cloud whence they came seemed to her to spread its doleful blackness over this one roof .