midnight
When Junius had gone , Lawrence turned his face again toward the fireplace , where the last smouldering stick had just broken apart in the middle , and the two ends had wearily fallen over the andirons as if they wished it understood that they could do no more burning that night . Taking this as a hint , Lawrence prepared to retire . `` Old Isham must have gone to bed long ago , '' he said , `` but as I have asked for so much assistance to-day , I think it is well that I should try to do some things for myself . '' It was , indeed , very late , but behind the partially closed shutters of a lower room of the house sat old Mrs Keswick , gazing at the light that was streaming from the window of the office , and wondering what those two men were saying to each other that was keeping them sitting up together until after midnight . Annie Peyton , too , had not gone to bed , and looking through her chamber window at the office , she hoped that cousin Junius would come away before he lost his temper . Of course she thought he must have been very angry when he came home and found Mr Croft here at the only time that Roberta March had ever visited the house , and it was quite natural that he should go to his rival , and tell him what he thought about it . But he had been there a long , long time , and she did hope they would not get very angry with each other , and that nothing would happen .