three o'clock
Why , then , was she a prey to this dreadful agitation , as though all were over between them ? But why was his answer so long in coming ? ... He had , in any case , gone out to dinner -- of course , he had no one to keep house for him ! So the earliest that he could be home again was three o'clock ... . But if he were not to return home till the evening ? ... She had , indeed , told the commissionaire to wait in any case -- even till the night , if necessary ... . But what was she to do ?