five o'clock
`` You can try that if you like , '' said Meldon . `` But I do n't expect she 'll be at all satisfied . '' In spite of the fact that his trousers were white instead of black , and that he wore a shirt with a soft collar attached to it , Simpkins looked hotter and more dishevelled than Meldon when they arrived together at the gate of Ballymoy House . They had ridden fast , and it was only a little after five o'clock when they turned off the highroad into the shady avenue . `` Now , '' said Meldon , `` you can dismount if you like , and walk up under the trees to cool yourself . I quite admit that an appearance of breathless eagerness is suitable enough under the circumstances . Every woman likes to feel that a man would come to her at the top of his speed .