E-text prepared by Suzanne Shell, Carla Foust, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) Transcriber's note: Minor punctuation errors have been changed without notice. Printer errors have been changed and are listed at the end. All other inconsistencies are as in the original. THE TWELFTH HOUR by ADA LEVERSON London Chapman & Hall Originally published 1907 by Grant Richards Ltd. Reissued 1951 by arrangement with the Richards Press Ltd. Printed by Brüder Rosenbaum, Vienna, Austria Cat. No. 5090/4 CONTENTS Chapter Page I FELICITY 7 II THE TRIALS OF WOODVILLE 23 III A LOVE SCENE 32 IV "AUNT WILLIAM" 40 V ARTHUR MERVYN AT HOME 55 VI AN AGREEABLE RATTLE 70 VII THE NIGHT OF THE PARTY 82 VIII FELICITY AND HER CLIENTS 100 IX A DINNER AT WILLIS'S 112 X THE THIN END OF THE WEDGE 125 XI SAVILE AND SYLVIA 138 XII AT THE STUDIO 148 XIII AT MRS. OGILVIE'S 155 XIV LORD CHETWODE 166 XV MADAME TUSSAUD'S 175 XVI A GOLDEN DAY 189 XVII SAVILE TAKES A LINE 195 XVIII FELICITY'S ENGAGEMENTS 202 XIX THE VELVET CASE 216 XX ZERO, THE SOOTHSAYER 232 XXI "THE OTHER GIRL" 246 XXII SAVILE AND JASMYN 255 XXIII SAVILE AND BERTIE 261 XXIV THE EXPLANATION 267 XXV THE QUARREL 274 XXVI VERA'S ADVENTURE 282 XXVII AUNT WILLIAM'S DAY 292 XXVIII THE TWELFTH HOUR 302 CHAPTER I FELICITY "Hallo, Greenstock! Lady Chetwode in?" "Her ladyship is not at home, sir. But she is sure to see you, Master Savile," said the butler, with a sudden and depressing change of manner, from correct impassibility to the conventional familiarity of a patronising old retainer. "Dressing, eh? You look all right Greenstock." "Well, I am well, and I am not well, Master Savile, if you can understand that, sir. My harsthma" (so he pronounced it), "'as been exceedingly troublesome lately." "Ah, that's capital!" Not listening, the boy--he was sixteen, dark, and very handsome, with a determined expression, and generally with an air of more self-control than seemed required for the occasion--walked up deliberately, three steps at a time, knocked, with emphasis, at his sister's dressing-room door, and said-- "I say, Felicity, can I come in?" "Who's there? Don't come in!" Upon which invitation he entered the room with a firm step.