about
midnight
`` Mrs. Stapleton called yesterday afternoon to ask if Dulcie might dine with her in town and go to the theatre . Of course I raised no objection '' -- Sir Roland in no way shared my suspicion concerning Mrs. Stapleton ; on the contrary , she attracted him and he liked her , though Aunt Hannah did not -- `` and Dulcie dressed and went off at about five o'clock . They were to go to ` The Rook , ' Mrs. Stapleton said , where she would dress , and then they would motor to London . Mrs. Stapleton assured me that she would bring Dulcie back here by about midnight or one o'clock , and Dulcie took with her the key of the back door , so that nobody need wait up for her -- she told her maid to go to bed . Her maid has just come to tell me that when she went to awaken Dulcie , she found that she had not returned . I have telephoned to ` The Rook , ' and they tell me there that Mrs. Stapleton has not been back to the hotel since yesterday soon after lunch . So I suppose that after leaving here she decided to motor straight to town , and dress there .