midnight
She was getting out as she spoke , and he had already knocked at the door . `` Come in for one moment , '' she said as he paid the cabman . The woman the while was standing with the door in her hand . It was near midnight , -- but , when people are engaged , hours do not matter . The woman of the house , who was respectability herself , -- a nice kind widow , with five children , named Pipkin , -- understood that and smiled again as he followed the lady into the sitting-room . She had already taken off her hat and was flinging it on to the sofa as he entered . `` Shut the door for one moment , '' she said ; and he shut it .