half past
nine
`` Do n't you know that you ca n't ramble over the country alone at this time of night ? '' `` If you speak any louder , '' she said , with some urgency of manner , `` you 'll be ` hopelessly compromised socially , ' as Mrs. Alderman McGinnis and the Duchess of Gwythyl-Corners say '' -- she directed my glance , by one of her own , through the open door to Mr. Percy -- `` because HE 'LL hear you and know that the sketch-book was only a shallow pretext of mine to see you . Do be a little manfully self-contained , or you 'll get us talked about ! And as for ` this time of night , ' I believe it 's almost half past nine . '' `` Does Miss Ward know -- '' `` Do you think it likely ? One of the most convenient things about a chateau is the number of ways to get out of it without being seen . I had a choice of eight .