eight o'clock
In a paroxysm of indignation at the base subterfuge under which he did not doubt Euphemia had screened some accidental discovery of her absurd passion , he hastily threw on his clothes , and determined , though in defiance of Miss Dundas 's mandates , to fly to Harley Street , and clear himself in the eyes of Miss Beaufort and her venerable aunt . Having flown rather than walked , he arrived in sight of Lady Dundas 's house just as a coachful of her ladyship 's maids and packages drove from the door . Hurrying up the step , he asked the porter if Miss Dorothy Somerset were at home . `` No , '' replied the man ; `` she and Miss Beaufort , with Miss Dundas and Mr. Somerset , went out of town this morning by eight o'clock ; and my lady and Miss Euphemia , about an hour ago , set off for Scotland , where they mean to stay all the summer . '' At this information , which seemed to be the sealing of his condemnation with Mary , the heart of Thaddeus was pierced to the core . Unacquainted until this moment with the torments attending the knowledge of being calumniated , he could scarcely subdue the tempest in his breast , when forced to receive the conviction that the woman he loved above all the world now regarded him as not merely a villain , but the meanest of villains . He returned home indignant and agitated .