eight o'clock
It was almost an hour later that she went cautiously downstairs . He was gone -- had been gone since half-past six o'clock , Joseph reported . Norma went in to dinner with Mrs. Melrose , and they talked cheerfully of Chris 's return , of Leslie and Annie . By eight o'clock , reading in Mrs. Melrose 's upstairs sitting-room , that first room that she had seen in this big house , eight months ago , Norma began to feel just a trifle flat . Chris Liggett was one of the most popular men in society , in demand everywhere , spoiled by women everywhere . He had quite casually , and perhaps even absent-mindedly , kissed his wife 's young protégée upon meeting her after an absence , and she had hastily leaped to conclusions worthy of a schoolgirl ! He would be about equally amused and disgusted did he suspect them .