midnight
It must have been , '' answered Hillyard . `` Oh , she had thought out her plan to its last detail . She knew the letter might not be enough . So , whilst we were all dancing at Harrel , she sat alone from ten to midnight in that library , waiting for the telephone to ring , hoping perhaps -- for all we know -- at the bottom of her heart that it would not ring . But it did , and she answered . '' The picture rose vividly before them all . Harrel , with its lighted ball-room and joyous dancers on the one side ; the silent library on the other , with Stella herself in all her finery , sitting with her haggard eyes fixed upon the telephone , whilst the slow minutes passed .