ten o'clock
Breakfast proved a very silent meal that morning , quite oppressively silent ; Erica felt like a child in disgrace . Every now and then the grimness of it appealed to her sense of the ludicrous , and she felt inclined to scream or do something desperate just to see what would happen . At length the dreary repast came to an end , and she had just taken up a newspaper , with a sort of gasp of relief at the thought of escaping for a moment into a larger world , when she was recalled to the narrow circle of Greyshot by a word from Mr. Fane-Smith . `` I wish to have a talk with you , my dear ; will you come to the library at ten o'clock ? '' An interview by appointment ! That sounded formidable ! When the time came , Erica went rather apprehensively to the library , fearing that she was in for an argument , and wishing that Mr. Fane-Smith had chosen a day on which she felt a little more up to things .