midnight
But let him say what he would , she was prepared to hold her own firmly , determined to provoke him by no open opposition , unless matters came to an extremity , and then to let him see at once and for ever that her resolution was fixed , and that it was useless to persecute her . `` If I have to go out of this house to-night , I will not flinch , '' she said to herself . She had some time to wait . It had been past midnight when they came home , and it was a quarter to one when William Carley came into the parlour . He was in an unusually communicative mood to-night , and had been superintending the grooming of his horse , and talking to the underling who had waited up to receive him . He was a little unsteady in his gait as he came into the parlour , and Ellen knew that he had drunk a good deal at Wyncomb . It was no new thing for her to see him in this condition unhappily , and the shrinking shuddering sensation with which he inspired her to-night was painfully familiar .