midnight
And the opportunity came in the shape of Quarrier . As though wedlock were actually the sanctuary which an alarmed nation pretends it to be ! Now , approaching the threshold of a third and last season , and having put away her almost meaningless mourning , there had stolen into her sense of security something irksome in the promise she had made to give Quarrier a definite answer before winter . Perhaps it had been the lack of interest in the people at Shotover , perhaps a mental review of her ancestors ' capricious records -- perhaps a characteristic impulse that had directed a telegram to Quarrier after a midnight confab with Grace Ferrall . However it may have been , she had summoned him . And now he was on his way to get his answer , the best whip , the most eagerly discussed , and one of the wealthiest unmarried men in America . Lingering irresolutely , considering with idle eyes the shadows lengthening across the sun-shot moorland , the sound of Siward 's even voice aroused her from a meditation bordering on lassitude .