midnight
Wingarde smiled faintly , contemptuously , as he made reply . `` Really , that 's very kind of you , '' he said . `` But I am compelled to plead a prior engagement . You will be home by midnight , I suppose ? '' Archie made an abrupt movement . For a second he hovered on the verge of an indignant outburst . The man 's manner , rather than his words , was insufferable .