two in the
morning
Three hours afterward Georgiana flung herself , breathing fast , upon her knees beside her open window and lifted her face toward the sky . She would have fled to her garden for this vigil she must keep , but the extraordinary truth was that she did not dare be alone there . Her hands gripped the sill , her eyes stared without seeing at the vaulted depths above her . After a long time -- hours -- she rose and went to her door , opened it without making a sound , and , listening till she had made sure that the house was as silent as all houses should be at two in the morning , she stole slowly along the upper hall . Presently she stood outside the closed door of the guest who was sleeping under the roof for the last time . With a fast-beating heart she noiselessly laid her hand upon the panel of that door . `` You did steady me , '' she whispered .