ten
o'clock
Although elderly , she was a prominent woman in society , and had recommended many patients to my chief in earlier days , before he attained the fame he had now achieved . I remained with her a couple of hours ; but finding myself utterly confused regarding her symptoms , I resolved to take the afternoon train down to Hove and consult Sir Bernard . I suggested this course to her ladyship , who was at once delighted with the suggestion . Therefore , promising to return at ten o'clock that night , I went out , swallowed a hasty luncheon , and took train down to Brighton . The house was one of those handsome mansions facing the sea at Hove , and as I drove up to it on that bright , sunny afternoon , it seemed to me an ideal residence for a man jaded by the eternal worries of a physician 's life . The sea-breeze stirred the sun-blinds before the windows , and the flowers in the well-kept boxes were already gay with bloom . I knew the place well , for I had been down many times before ; therefore , when the page opened the door he showed me at once to the study , a room which lay at the back of the big drawing-room .