seven o'clock
`` I 'm not proud , '' said Mr. Milsom . `` I like a convivial evening , whether it 's in the housekeeper 's room or the servants ' - hall . '' `` Then I 'll ask leave to-night , '' answered James Harwood . He sent a little scrawl to Milsom next day , by the hands of a stable-boy , inviting that gentleman to a social rubber and a friendly supper in the servants ' - hall that evening at seven o'clock . To spend a few hours inside Raynham Castle was the privilege which Black Milsom most desired , and a triumphant grin broke out upon his face , as he deciphered James Harwood 's clumsy scrawl . `` How easy it 's done , '' he muttered to himself ; `` how easy it 's done , if a man has only the patience to wait . '' The servants ' - hall was a pleasant place to live in , but if Mrs. Smithson , the housekeeper , was liberal in her ideas she was also strict , and on some points especially severe ; and the chief of these was the precision with which she required the doors of the castle to be locked for the night at half-past ten o'clock .