midnight
All that infernal business to go through again ! -- probably in the very midst of disturbances in the mining district . The news from the collieries was as bad as it could be . * * * * * He reached home very late -- close on midnight . His mother had gone to bed , ill and worn out , and was not to be disturbed . Isabel Fotheringham and Alicia awaited him in the drawing-room . Mrs. Fotheringham had arrived in the course of the evening .