mornings, nine o’clock
Getting up and breakfasting were generally bustling affairs at Lady Augusta 's ; but the confusion of every day was as nothing compared with that of Sunday . Master Tod was wrong when he complained that he had not been called . The servants had called both him and Gerald , who shared the same room , but the young gentlemen had gone to sleep again . The breakfast hour was the same as other mornings , nine o'clock ; but , for all the observance it obtained , it might as well have been nine at night . To give the servants their due , breakfast , on this morning , was on the table at nine -- that is , the cloth , the cups and saucers : and there it remained until ten . The maids meanwhile enjoyed their own leisurely breakfast in the kitchen , regaling themselves with hot coffee , poached eggs , buttered toast , and a dish of gossip . At ten , Lady Augusta , who made a merit of always rising to breakfast on a Sunday , entered the breakfast-room in a dirty morning wrapper , and rang the bell .