however , three weeks of unabated anxiety and hard work , compounded by the events of the last half hour , had all combined to take their toll , and for the first time in weeks , sheridan let herself daydream : closing her eyes , she fantasized that the invitation to the skeffingtons had nothing to do with her , that she would be able to remain on the third floor , undiscovered for three days , and that stephen westmoreland was not going to be here .