midnight
And if you should happen to meet my wife anywhere in public , you will oblige me greatly by cutting her . '' This letter he left on the table outside for postage in the morning . Then he went back to the dining-room and drank a great deal more than was good for him . Of course he left the drawing-room window open and the lamp burning , and by midnight he was sleeping heavily in the adjoining room . And the wind got up in the night : it played with the muslin curtains , flinging them out like streamers into the room ; played with the flimsy parasol lamp-shade until it tilted , and the little lamp was thrown on to the floor . Mrs. Nevill Tyson woke with the light crash . She sat up for a moment , then got out of bed , crossed the passage , and opened the drawing-room door .