eleven in the evening
she stammered . `` What does this mean ? Explain yourself ! '' Then M. Desmalions asked simply : `` What were you doing last night between half-past eleven in the evening and two o'clock in the morning ? '' It was a terrifying question at the stage which the examination had reached , a fatal question implying : `` If you can not give us an exact and strict account of the way in which you employed your time while the crime was being committed , we have the right to conclude that you were not alien to the murder of your husband and stepson -- '' She understood it in this sense and staggered on her feet , moaning : `` It 's horrible ! ... horrible ! '' The Prefect repeated : `` What were you doing ?