midday
Armed with this , and having got out of the landlord the cardinal fact of Lord Harry 's alleged death , the lady 's - maid went in search of this respectable widow . She found her , in her own apartments , a respectable woman indeed , perfectly ready to tell everything that she knew , and evidently quite unsuspicious of anything wrong . She was invited to take charge of a sick man on the morning of Thursday : she was told that he was a young Irish lord , dangerously ill of a pulmonary disorder ; the doctor , in fact , informed her that his life hung by a thread , and might drop at any moment , though on the other hand he had known such cases linger on for many months . She arrived as she had been ordered , at midday : she was taken into the sick-room by the doctor , who showed her the patient placidly sleeping on a sofa : the bed had been slept in , and was not yet made . After explaining the medicines which she was to administer , and the times when they were to be given , and telling her something about his diet , the doctor left her alone with the patient . `` He was still sleeping profoundly , '' said the nurse . `` You are sure that he was sleeping , and not dead ? ''