midnight
He did not hope to be able to reconcile her to his marriage at once ; and perhaps he entertained some faint idea that for the first six months of his new married life the Cedars would be quite as pleasant without his mother as with her ; but a final reconciliation would be more easy if he and his wife had the Mackenzies of Incharrow to back them , than it could be without such influence . And as for the London gossip of the thing , the finale to the romance of the Lion and the Lamb , it would be sure to come sooner or later . Let them have their odious joke and have done with it ! `` Mother , '' he said , as soon as he could find himself alone with Lady Ball that day , not waiting for the midnight conference ; `` mother , I may as well tell you at once . I have proposed to Margaret Mackenzie again to-day . '' `` Oh ! very well . ''