eleven o'clock
At length she guided him downstairs , and shut the outer door , and bolted it -- as if by bolts to keep out facts . Then she went back into the dining-room , and effaced all traces of his presence , as far as she could . She went upstairs to the nursery and sat there , her head on her hand , thinking what was to come of all this misery . It seemed to her very long before her master and mistress returned ; yet it was hardly eleven o'clock . She heard the loud , hearty Lancashire voices on the stairs ; and , for the first time , she understood the contrast of the desolation of the poor man who had so lately gone forth in lonely despair . It almost put her out of patience to see Mrs Openshaw come in , calmly smiling , handsomely dressed , happy , easy , to inquire after her children . ` Did Ailsie go to sleep comfortably ? '