midnight
Life was a lonely thing to Claire in these days , for Cecil went out regularly every Saturday and Sunday , returning so late that the two girls did not meet from lunch one day until breakfast the next . She vouchsafed no explanation of her sudden plunge into society , neither beforehand when she sat stitching at pathetic little pieces of finery , nor afterwards when letting herself in with her latch-key she crept slowly to bed , never deigning to enter Claire 's room for one of those `` tell-all-about - it '' _ seances _ dear to a girl 's heart . It was the sight of those pathetic little pieces of finery which first suggested the idea of a man to Claire 's mind . However dear and intimate a woman friend may be , the prospect of meeting her does not inspire a fellow-woman with sufficient energy to sit up until after midnight to cover a shabby lace blouse with ninon , or to put a new silk collar and cuffs on a half-worn coat . It is only the prospect of meeting the eyes of some male creature , who in all probability will remain supremely unconscious of the result , which stimulates such effort , and Claire , noting Cecil 's restless excitement , cast anxious thoughts towards the particular man in this case . Was Sophie Blake correct in her deduction as to a previous unhappy romance ? Claire had no tangible grounds to lead her to a conclusion , but instinct induced her to agree .