ten o'clock
`` Thank heaven ! she loves me , and is ready to fly with me , and will steal out some time after dark to meet me in the garden . '' As there was no occasion for him to stay longer , Geoffrey returned to the village where they slept the night before , and accounted for his companion 's absence by saying that he had been detained on business and would probably not return until late at night , as he would not be able to see the person with whom he had affairs to transact until late . It was past ten o'clock when Gerald Burke returned . `` It is all arranged , Geoffrey . I hid in the garden close by the terrace as soon as it became dark . An hour later she came out and sauntered along the terrace until I softly called her name ; then she came to me .