eight o’clock
` It is necessary , my child , ' said he . `` I knew my father 's love for me so well that I said no more , only I asked that Gertrude , my nurse , should accompany me . My father quitted me , telling me to get ready . `` At eight o'clock -LRB- it was dark and cold , for it was the middle of winter -RRB- my father came for me . We descended quietly , crossed the garden , when he opened himself a little door leading to the forest , and there we found a litter waiting , and two men ; my father spoke to them , then I got in , and Gertrude with me . `` My father embraced me once more , and we set off . I was ignorant what danger menaced me , and forced me to quit the castle of Méridor .