midnight
She had never lost the sense of having snatched her child from some dim peril which still lurked and hovered ; and he became more closely hers with every effort of her vigilant love . For the act of rescue had not been accomplished once and for all in the moment of immolation : it had not been by a sudden stroke of heroism , but by ever-renewed and indefatigable effort , that she had built up for him the miraculous shelter of her love . And now that it stood there , a hallowed refuge against failure , she could not even set a light in the pane , but must let him grope his way to it unaided . Mrs. Peyton 's midnight musings summed themselves up in the conclusion that the next few hours would end her uncertainty . She felt the day to be decisive . If Dick offered to show her the drawings , her fears would be proved groundless ; if he avoided the subject , they were justified . She dressed early in order not to miss him at breakfast ; but as she entered the dining-room the parlour-maid told her that Mr. Peyton had overslept himself , and had rung to have his breakfast sent upstairs .