seven o'clock
Betty snapped , of course , and snapped vigorously . It was not her fault , she reflected . No one could be expected to be patient if other people would insist on being so horrid and exasperating ! The family dinner was served at seven o'clock , and all the children , down to Pam herself , appeared at table , for Dr Trevor liked to have his family round him at the close of the day , and , thanks to his wife 's good management , the meal was always a bright and cheery occasion . Mrs Trevor was a devoted mother to every one of her flock , but the person in the house whom she mothered most of all was her hard-working husband , whose life was so devoted to others that he had little time to consider himself . From the children 's earliest years they had been taught that to `` worry father '' was one of the most serious offences which they could commit . `` Father spends his life going about from one sickroom to another ; all day long he is meeting people who are ill , and anxious , in fear , and in pain , and when he comes home he must have a cheery welcome .