midnight
Tea having supplied the place of the more substantial evening meal , Richard and his sister had supper about ten o'clock . Alice drank champagne ; a few bottles remained from those dedicated to the recent festival , and Mutimer felt the necessity of explaining the presence in his house of a luxury which to his class is more than anything associated with the bloated aristocracy . Alice drank it for the first time in her life , and her spirits grew as light as the foam upon her glass . Brother and sister were quietly confidential as midnight drew near . ` Shall you bring her to London ? ' Alice inquired , without previous mention of Adela . ` For a week , I think .