midnight
No lies , no reserve , no tears , and all will come right . As for me , command me , '' and the good old lady rose to take her leave with as kind a look on her face as ever irradiated saint or angel . `` I go early , '' she added , `` for the others will go when they see me do so , and the sooner you are alone the better . '' By half an hour before midnight her guests had gone . Hanky and Panky were given to understand that they must still be tired , and had better go to bed . So was the Mayor ; so were her sons and daughters , except of course George , who was waiting for her with some anxiety , for he had seen that she had something serious to tell him . Then she went down into the study .