eleven o'clock
Let them do so . Send the servants to bed , too . You and Miss Lorne go to your beds at the same time as the others -- or , at least , let them think that you have done so ; then come down and let us out . '' To this Sir Horace assented , and , taking Miss Lorne with him , went at once to the picture-gallery and joined his daughters , with whom they remained until eleven o'clock . Promptly at that hour , however , the house was locked up , the bride-elect and her sister went to bed -- the servants having already gone to theirs -- and stillness settled down over the darkened house . At the end of a dozen minutes , however , it was faintly disturbed by the sound of slippered feet coming along the passage outside the consulting-room , then a key slipped into the lock , the door was opened , the light switched on , and Sir Horace and Miss Lorne appeared before the eager watchers . `` Now , then , lively , my men -- look sharp ! ''