five minutes
after eight
But of course he did not wish to prejudice Adelaide ; he wanted to leave her free to form her own opinions , and he was glad , excessively glad , that she had formed so favorable a one as to ask the woman to dinner . There was no question about his being glad ; he surprised his servant by whistling as he put on his white waistcoat , and fastened the buckle rather more snugly than usual . Self-knowledge for the moment was not on hand . He arrived at exactly the hour at which he always arrived , five minutes after eight , a moment not too early to embarrass the hostess and not too late to endanger the dinner . No one was in the drawing-room but Mathilde and Farron . Adelaide , for one who had been almost perfectly brought up , did sometimes commit the fault of allowing her guests to wait for her . '' ` Lo , my dear , '' said Mr. Lanley , kissing Mathilde .