five o'clock
Her youth had been cruel , disorderly , and vicious . It had lasted long ; but now , when middle age stood at last confessed , she was lapsing , it seemed , into amiability and good behavior . She was , indeed , fast forgetting her own history , and soon the recital of it would surprise no one so much as herself . It was five o'clock . Madame d'Estrées had just established herself in the silk-panelled drawing-room of Donna Laura 's apartment , expectant of visitors , and , in particular , of her daughter . In begging Kitty to come on this particular afternoon , she had not thought fit to mention that it would be Donna Laura 's `` day . '' Had she done so , Kitty , in consideration of her mourning , would perhaps have cried off .