ten o'clock
He sent a little scrawl to Milsom next day , by the hands of a stable-boy , inviting that gentleman to a social rubber and a friendly supper in the servants ' - hall that evening at seven o'clock . To spend a few hours inside Raynham Castle was the privilege which Black Milsom most desired , and a triumphant grin broke out upon his face , as he deciphered James Harwood 's clumsy scrawl . `` How easy it 's done , '' he muttered to himself ; `` how easy it 's done , if a man has only the patience to wait . '' The servants ' - hall was a pleasant place to live in , but if Mrs. Smithson , the housekeeper , was liberal in her ideas she was also strict , and on some points especially severe ; and the chief of these was the precision with which she required the doors of the castle to be locked for the night at half-past ten o'clock . On more than one occasion , lately , Mrs. Smithson had a suspicion that there was one offender against this rule . The offender in question was Matthew Brook , the head-coachman , a jovial , burly Briton , with convivial habits and a taste for politics , who preferred enjoying his pipe and glass and political discussion in the parlour of the `` Hen and Chickens '' public-house to spending his evenings in the servants ' - hall at Raynham Castle . He was rarely home before ten ; sometimes not until half-past ten ; and one never-to-be-forgotten night , Mrs. Smithson had heard him , with her own ears , enter the doors of the castle at the unholy hour of twenty minutes to eleven !