midnight
To her amaze , however , the languishing talk was interrupted by his entrance ; he who regarded Sir John as the cause of his disappointment ; he who had last met Susan Raymond at the time of his rejection ; he whom she had left prostrate among the sofa cushions ; he had absolutely exerted himself to brush his hair and put on coat and boots , yet how horribly ill and nervous he looked , totally devoid of his usual cool assurance , uncertain whether to shake hands with the two ladies , and showing a strange restless eagerness as though entirely shaken off his balance . Matters were mended by his entrance . Phoebe liked Lady Raymond from the moment she detected a sign to the vehement Sir John not to keep his host standing during the discussion of the robbery , and she ventured on expressing her gratitude for his escort on the day of the hunt . Then arose an entreaty to view the scene of the midnight adventure , and the guests were conducted to the gallery , shown where each party had stood , the gas-pipe , the mark of the pistol-shot , and the door was opened to display the cabinet , and the window of the escape . To the intense surprise of her brother and sister , Bertha was examining her emeralds . She came forward quite at her ease , and if she had been ten years a woman could not more naturally have assumed the entertainment of Lady Raymond , talking so readily that Phoebe would have believed the morning 's transactions a delusion , but for Mervyn 's telegraph of astonishment . The visitors had been at the Holt , and obtained a promise from Miss Charlecote to spend the ensuing Saturday week at Moorcroft .