midnight
As so many of the guests had already gone , they found the halls and anterooms comparatively free of crowds , and easily made their way to the gentlemen 's cloakroom and the ladies ' dressing room , and thence to the entrance hall . Mr. Middleton went out to call the carriage , which was near at hand . And the whole party entered and drove homeward . The sky had not cleared , the drizzle still continued ; but the lamps gleamed brightly through the raindrops , and the Avenue was as gay at midnight as it had been at midday . As the carriage rolled along , Judge Merlin and Mr. and Mrs. Middleton discussed the reception , the President , the company , and especially the young English viscount . `` He is the son and heir of the Earl of Hurstmonceux , whose estates lie somewhere in the rich county of Sussex . The title did not come to the present earl in the direct line of descent .