about eleven o'clock
There was no longer any doubt : it was from head to foot the description given by Buvat . Bathilde was the more able to assure herself of this , that D'Harmental , without taking off any of his attire , took two or three turns in his room , his arms crossed , and thinking deeply ; then he took his pistols from his belt , assured himself that they were primed , and placed them on the table near his bed , unclasped his sword , took it half out of the scabbard , replaced it , and put it under his pillow ; then , shaking his head , as if to shake out the somber ideas that annoyed him , he approached the window , opened it , and gazed earnestly at that of the young girl , who , forgetting that she could not be seen , stepped back , and let the curtain fall before her , as if the darkness which surrounded her were not a sufficient screen . She remained thus motionless and silent , her hand on her heart , as if to still its beatings ; then she quietly raised the curtain , but that of her neighbor was down , and she saw nothing but his shadow passing and repassing before it . The morning following the day , or rather the night , on which the events we have just related had occurred , the Duc d'Orleans , who had returned to the Palais Royal without accident , after having slept all night as usual , passed into his study at his accustomed hour -- that is to say , about eleven o'clock . Thanks to the sang-froid with which nature had blessed him , and which he owed chiefly to his great courage , to his disdain for danger , and his carelessness of death , not only was it impossible to observe in him any change from his ordinary calm , which ennui only turned to gloom , but he had most probably already forgotten the strange event of which he had so nearly been the victim . The study into which he had just entered was remarkable as belonging to a man at once a savant , a politician , and an artist . Thus a large table covered with a green cloth , and loaded with papers , inkstand , and pens , occupied the middle of the room ; but all round , on desks , on easels , on stands , were an opera commenced , a half-finished drawing , a chemical retort , etc. .