midday
`` Interesting -- yes , '' replied Constance , slowly . And she added , pressing the nib of her pen on her finger-nail , `` They say he does n't marry just because he is poor and honourable . '' `` It 's possible , '' Lady Ogram rejoined , and , after a moment 's reflection , said in an absent voice that the day 's correspondence was finished . Though Mrs. Toplady seldom rose much before midday , it was not the mere luxury of repose that kept her in her chamber . As a rule , she awoke from refreshing sleep at eight o'clock . A touch on the electric button near her hand summoned a maid , who appeared with tea , the morning 's post , and a mass of printed matter : newspapers , reviews , magazines , volumes , which had arrived by various channels since noon on the previous day . Apparatus of perfected ingenuity , speedily attached to the bed , enabled her to read or write in any position that she found easiest .