midnight
Thinking of this -- remembering her own youth , and the stolen interviews with Charles Clancy 's father -- oft under the shadow of night -- she could not , does not , reflect harshly on the absence of that father 's son from home , however long , or late the hour . It is only as the clock strikes twelve , she begins to think seriously about it . Then creeps over her a feeling of uneasiness , soon changing to apprehension . Why should he be staying out so late -- after midnight ? The same little bird , that brought her tidings of his love-affair , has also told her it is clandestine . Mrs Clancy may not like this . It has the semblance of a slight to her son , as herself -- more keenly felt by her in their reduced circumstances .