midnight
By this time the cab was rattling through the busy streets of London , and the train of the landlady 's thoughts was broken . Only in a vague way did she know where she was going . The cab was taking her there , and it would take her back again . When they reached the convent she had to ask for Mrs. Ritson , and say she was sent to take her to St. Pancras Station to meet her husband there , and return to Cumberland by the train at midnight . That was all . The clock of the abbey was marking the half-hour after eleven as the cab passed into Parliament Square . In another minute they drew up before the convent in Abbey Gardens .