nearly one o'clock in the morning
And I should put our hostess very high -- would n't you ? -- among the chatelaines of the ` great fortified posts ' ? '' Meadows assented , but rather languidly . The day was extremely hot ; he was tired , moreover , by a long walk with the guns the day before , and by conversation after dinner , led by Lady Dunstable , which had lasted up to nearly one o'clock in the morning . The talk had been brilliant , no doubt . Meadows , however , did not feel that he had come off very well in it . His hostess had deliberately pitted him against two of the ablest men in England , and he was well aware that he had disappointed her .