ten o'clock
That she , herself , was that subject she had not the slightest doubt , and although it was of no earthly use for her to sit there and gaze upon that light streaming into the darkness of the yard , but revealing to her no more of what was going on inside the room than if it had been the light of a distant star , still she sat and speculated . At last the office door opened , and Junius came out , turning to speak to the occupant of the room as he did so . The brief vision of him which the watchers caught , as he stood for a moment in the lighted doorway before stepping out into the darkness , showed that his demeanor was as quiet and composed as usual ; and one of the three women went to bed very much relieved . From breakfast time the next morning until ten o'clock in the forenoon , at which hour the Midbranch carriage arrived , Junius Keswick had been vainly endeavoring to get an opportunity to speak with Miss March . That lady had remained in her own room nearly all the morning , where his cousin had been with her ; and his aunt , who had her own peculiar ways of speeding the parting guest , had retired to some distant spot on the estate , either to plan out some farming operation for the ensuing season , or to prevent her pent-up passion from boiling over in her own house . Thus Junius had the lower floor to himself , and he strode about in much disquietude , debating whether he ought to send a message to Roberta , or whether he should wait till she had finished her packing , or whatever it was , that was keeping her up-stairs . His last private interview with her had not been a pleasant one , and if he had intended to speak to her for himself , he would not have felt much encouraged by her manner of the preceding evening ; but he was now engaged on the affairs of another , and he believed that a failure to attend to them would be regarded as a breach of faith .