midnight
They were kept in a state of watchfulness all day , but Frank 's mission remained a mystery which they could not penetrate ; and in the evening Gerald alone made his appearance at the hall to dinner , explaining that Louisa had a headache . Now Louisa 's headaches were not unfrequent , but they were known to improve in the prospect of going out to dinner . On the whole , the matter was wrapt in obscurity , and the Wentworth household could not explain it . The sisters sat up brushing their hair , and looking very pretty in their dressing-gowns , with their bright locks -LRB- for the Wentworth hair was golden-brown of a Titian hue -RRB- over their shoulders , discussing the matter till it was long past midnight ; but they could make nothing of it , and the only conclusion they came to was , that their two clergymen brothers were occupied in negotiating with the Squire about some secret not known to the rest of the family , but most probably concerning Jack . Jack was almost unknown to his sisters , and awoke no very warm anxiety in their minds ; so they went to sleep at last in tolerable quiet , concluding that whatever mystery there was concerned only the first-born and least loved of the house . While the girls pursued these innocent deliberations , and reasoned themselves into conviction , the Squire too sat late -- much later than usual . He had gone with Frank to the library , and sat there in half-stupefied quietness , which the Curate could not see without alarm , and from which he roused himself up now and then to wander off into talk , which always began with Gerald , and always came back to his own anxieties and his disappointed hopes in his eldest son .