nine o’clock
During the uncorking and the filling up of glasses a profound silence reigned ; but neither of us took it seriously -- any more than his stumble . `` One day , '' he went on again in that curiously flavoured voice of his , `` my mother took a heroic decision and made up her mind to get up in the middle of the night . You must understand my mother 's phraseology . It meant that she would be up and dressed by nine o'clock . This time it was not Versoy that was commanded for attendance , but I . You may imagine how delighted I was ... '' It was very plain to me that Blunt was addressing himself exclusively to Mills : Mills the mind , even more than Mills the man . It was as if Mills represented something initiated and to be reckoned with .