midnight
I became aware , after this visit , that Mrs. Raymond had become my jailer as well as her mother 's . She came regularly at supper-time thereafter to superintend Dinah 's arrangements , to give Mrs. Clayton her night-draught , which did not assuage her direful vigilance one particle , but rather seemed to infuse new powers of wakefulness in those ever-watchful eyes , until sunrise , when , protected by the knowledge that others besides herself were on the watch , she permitted sleep to take possession of her senses . I earnestly believe that no one ever so effectually controlled the predisposition to slumber as did this woman . After locking us up regularly for the night , the `` Lady Anastasia '' withdrew , followed by Dinah ; and I would hear , later , sounds of festivity , in which her well-known laugh was blended , in the dining-room below , where , with Bainrothe and his friends , she held wassail , frequently , until after midnight . The groans of Mrs. Clayton would then commence , and , with little intermission , last until morning 's light . Yet it was something to be rid of Mrs. Raymond 's surveillance during those very hours I had selected for my second effort to escape . This must be hazarded , I knew , between eight and ten o'clock of the evening , during which time I had reason to suppose the house-door remained unlocked .