seven o’clock in the
evening
All the cunning , all the feverish activity within the old woman protested against this . She knew Pierre was quite capable of some brutal resolve such as that which he had taken when he compelled his mother to sign the receipt for fifty thousand francs ; the tool was indeed a useful and unscrupulous one ; but she felt the necessity for guiding it , especially under present circumstances , when considerable suppleness was requisite . The official news of the Coup d'Etat did not reach Plassans until the afternoon of December 3 -- a Thursday . Already , at seven o'clock in the evening , there was a full meeting in the yellow drawing-room . Although the crisis had been eagerly desired , vague uneasiness appeared on the faces of the majority . They discussed events amid endless chatter . Pierre , who like the others was slightly pale , thought it right , as an extreme measure of prudence , to excuse Prince Louis 's decisive act to the Legitimists and Orleanists who were present .