midnight
`` I heard him drop an ` h ' once , '' whispered Grace , in a sleepy voice . But there was no reply . Anne was already dreaming of her four beautiful new dresses . It might have been midnight , perhaps a little later when Grace awoke with a start . Not a sound disturbed the peace of the old house except the ticking of the clock on the mantel and the occasional crackling of dying embers in the fireplace . Yes ; there was one sound and it aroused her . A loose board creaked in the floor , or was it a door which opened and closed softly ?