a quarter to two
Elizabeth never loved David or she could n't have done what she did ... . Nothing will happen to her , '' she said aloud . It occurred to this gentle woman that nothing ever did happen to the people one felt could be spared from this world ; which wicked thought made her so shocked at herself that she hardly heard Nannie 's nervous chatter : `` If she has n't come home , Blair will be back here in half an hour ; it takes fifteen minutes to go to the hotel and fifteen minutes to come back . If he is n't here at a quarter to two , everything is all right . '' They went into the parlor and lit the gas ; Nannie suggested a fire , but Mrs. Richie said it was n't worth while . `` We 'll be going up-stairs in a few minutes , '' she said . She was not really worried about Elizabeth ; partly because of that faintly cynical belief that nothing could happen to the poor young creature who had made so much trouble for everybody ; but also because she was singularly self-absorbed .