midnight
Indeed , he was so fearful of letting slip some word or remark on the subject and thereby awakening suspicion and giving needless pain , that he abstained from all reference to the meeting of that evening , and launched out instead into wonderful and puzzling theological speculations , of which he was very fond . Meanwhile I was carried swiftly into the country . The lamp in my carriage was too dim to permit of reading ; I therefore wrapped myself in my rug and indulged in pleasant meditations . It was past midnight when I arrived at the station for Bingley Manor , where I found a gig awaiting me . A sharp drive of half an hour and I was at the mansion door . Dr McTougall was right . There was little the matter with old Mrs Gordon , but the family were nervous , and rich -- hence my visit .