About eleven o'clock
To tell ye the truth , minister , half the time 't was a ' I could dae to get doon to curl . '' I sighed heavily and said no more , for Geordie was hopelessly sincere in his idea of first things first . The very next night I was sitting quietly in my study , talking to Margaret and Angus , though I was beginning to suspect already that they had come to endure my absence with heroic fortitude . About eleven o'clock the door-bell rang , and I answered it myself . It was Geordie 's distracted wife . Leading her to the drawing-room , I asked her mission , though her pale and care-rung face left little room for doubt . `` Wad ye think it bold o ' me , sir , gin I was to ask you to find Geordie an ' fetch him hame ?