midnight
Her maid , thinking it might be of consequence , picked it up and laid it on the mantelshelf . Only God knows what would have become of Lady Atherton but for this oversight . Her absence was not discovered until evening , when it was time to dress for dinner ; then the maid could not find her . No notice was taken of her absence at first ; they thought she had gone out and had been detained ; but when midnight arrived , and there was still no news of her , Lord Atherton became alarmed . He went into her dressing-room , and there his eyes fell upon the letter . He opened and read it , bewildered by its contents . At first he did not understand it , then he began to see what it meant .